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Family Finance Favorites
Do the Rich Really Pay Less In Taxes Than Other Americans?
Tax the rich has become a popular political mantra. It’s an ancient political strategy that leverages a popular villain to gain the masses support. And it’s further fueled by a repetitive soundbite we hear over and over – that billionaires pay less in taxes than their secretaries. Or that specific ultra-wealthy individuals paid no taxes…
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3 Reasons Net Worth is the Smartest Measure to Track for your Family Finances
How do you track your family finances? And more importantly, how do you track your progress to your financial goals, beyond just your income and paying your bills every month? The answer is net worth. Learn more about the definition of net worth, why it’s the smartest measure for tracking your wealth, and how shifting…
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Awesome Finance Books Every Woman Should Read
The most successful people in the world all have one thing in common: they never stop reading. Having previously shared what I consider the best books about finance, many of you expressed interest in reading and discussing them together, as well as having regular recommendations on finance books to read. And so last year, the…
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How to Keep Money Problems Out of Your Marriage
Money problems and marriage don’t have to go hand in hand. Learn how this simple solution can keep money problems out of your marriage for good. How many of you struggle with money problems in your marriage? I have a secret for you… you are not alone. Very few marriages are free of money problems.…
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10 Different Ways 2020 Hurt the Average Family Budget
One of the most popular posts here on Family Finance Mom is the example of a family budget, based on the 2018 Consumer Expenditure data released annually by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This month, the BLS released the data for 2020, giving us a detailed look at just how 2020 – with the pandemic,…
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How to Calculate How Much House I Can Actually Afford
First time homebuyers, and even experienced homebuyers who may be buying in a new area or buying into a higher price point, often ask me how much house they can really afford or how much of their income their mortgage should be. The key to answering these questions is understanding that the total cost of…
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How Much Money Should I Save for Retirement
Once your budget is under control, the next most common question I get is “How much should I save for retirement?” Our retirement plan is likely to look a lot different than it did for our grandparents, and even our parents… and most of us aren’t saving nearly enough!
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Where Should You Keep An Emergency Fund?
The first major step on the Family Finance Road Map to free yourself from credit cards and adding to your debt is to build an Emergency Fund. But where to keep that emergency fund is this week’s follower Ask Me Anything topic. Every day, I get lots of great questions from followers across social media,…
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How to Shop at Aldi
Learn the ins and outs of how to shop at ALDI, the international discount grocery chain, to save money on your family’s grocery bill. When it comes to budgeting, many families single biggest struggle is grocery spending. You try to save money by meal planning, you make lists, you try to eat in instead of…
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Monday Market Update 11-8-2021
The stock market hit new all-time highs again last week, as Q3 earnings season continues to demonstrate solid corporate earnings performance, with countless positive earnings surprises. We also got jobs numbers for October, an update from the Fed, and Congress finally passed a bill – the $1 trillion infrastructure bill. What do they all tell…
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Monday Market Update 11-1-2021
The stock market hit new all-time highs again last week, as Q3 earnings season continues to demonstrate solid corporate earnings performance. We also got the first estimate for Q3 2021 GDP and September Disposable Income, Consumer Expenditures and the PCE Price Index, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation. What do they tell us about the…
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Financial Truth or Myth: Is A House a Good Investment?
An ongoing debate in the personal finance community is this… is a house a good investment? Or is it a liability in disguise? Welcome to a new ongoing series here at Family Finance Mom, Financial Truth or Myth. I should probably also add a third category, opinion. With each topic I’ll break it down with…
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How American Student Loans Morphed from a Hand-Up to Hopelessness
The Federal Student Loan program first began in 1965. It was intended to make student loans accessible to all, to make the American Dream – going to college and earning more money – possible for everyone. A Federal American Student Loans program was supposed to be the great economic and opportunity equalizer… but somewhere along…
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How To Get Personal Finance Classes in Every High School
There are two things I hear consistently from Family Finance Moms on a daily basis: I wish I had learned this when I was in school. How do I make sure my kids learn what I didn’t about finance? The way to address both of these is simple. Personal finance classes in every high school…
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20 High School Seniors Ask: How to Prepare for College Financially
I remember my college search process, the campus visits, and final choice like it was yesterday… my thought process went something likes this: I deserve to go anywhere that accepts me. Cost barely registered in my decision-making – and certainly not because my parents could afford it. My mom just kept telling me “we would…
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Lazy Mom’s Quick and Easy Shepherd’s Pie
One of my favorite, go-to meal plan ideas for Fall and Winter is Shepherd’s Pie… but seriously, who has time to cook the filling, make mashed potatoes, put it all together, and then, bake it all over again??? Here’s how I make all the same flavors happen in 30 minutes or less for a quick…
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10 Best Things to Buy At Costco
When it comes to saving money on groceries, I swear by two things: meal planning and Costco! For families, you can save tremendously on your grocery budget by buying right and buying in bulk… and there’s no better place to do it than Costco. Just before the holidays, I asked my Instagram followers what are…
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How to Save Money At the Grocery Store
When it comes to budgeting, many families struggle with sticking to their food budget every month. There are lots of ways to lower your monthly grocery spend: you can save money on groceries by meal planning, eating in instead of eating out, but you can also learn how to save money at the grocery store…
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Budgeting Your Time to Maximize Your Mom Schedule
If you’re a busy mom who feels like your days are passing in a blur, while your to-do list grows faster than you can ever seem to keep up with, this one’s for you. While it may seem as a stay at home mom in particular, you should have all the time in the world,…
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How to Protect Your Children: 10 Things to Know About Will vs Estate Planning
No one likes to think about their own mortality. However, once you have children who depend on you, it becomes essential. If something happens to you, what will happen to them? How do you make sure they are protected and financially provided for? I was recently asked about wills during a weekly Ask Me Anything…
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The Ultimate Guide to Finance for Baby’s First Year
Congratulations, your precious baby is finally here. Now the real fun begins! While you may have purchased everything on your baby registry list, there are many family legal and financial tasks you cannot actually begin until your baby arrives, and some come with significant time sensitivity. So even if you’ve been preparing for a baby financially…
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