Personal Finance

[Editor's Note: Ah, money. Moneymoneymoneymoneymoneymoney. Who doesn't fight about money with her significant other? Apparently, Kristia doesn't ... any more. It takes a long time to learn to effectively share resources, and I think all Kristia's tips are spot on. -Rita]  Read more

[Editor's Note: I love thrifting, but I totally understand where Lakeitha is coming from with her warning -- it's so cheap, it's so pretty, but do you NEED it? Where's it going to go? Otherwise you might end up with a whole garage full of stuff -- check out Lakeitha's photos. -Rita]  Read more

[Editor's Note: I have experienced the same trajectory with Groupon and other online deals sites as Carly has. It was almost the same trajectory I had when Internet shopping came into my life in the nineties: Euphoria followed by financial constraints followed by resolutions to rein it in. Have you had an experience like hers, or do you still love them? -Rita]  Read more

Whether it's voluntarily or involuntary, going from two incomes to one is a tough adjustment. Brittany at Knewlywifed recently quit her job to go back to school. Here's how she's adjusted.  Read more

Have you ever been laid off? I have come *thisclose* by being tipped off beforehand and quitting before I got the talk Traci describes. I'm not sure it made me feel much better to have left before the inevitable ax fell. It really, really sucks to get let go. Traci captures the feelings of both devastation and hope in her post.  Read more

[Editor's Note: How do you lose your savings and build up credit card debt? Does it happen all at once, as with a medical emergency, or slowly, little by little, as tiny changes eat their way into your monthly take-home? Fire Wife analyzes what happened to her family. -Rita]  Read more

[Editor's Note: I tried to do the allowance thing with my daughter, and I still half-heartedly give her two dollars a week when I remember, oh, and when she does her chores without complaining ... but I'm horrible about consistency and I often don't feel she's connecting the work with the money. Which I want her to. Because that's the way the world works. I like this system of Izzy's. -Rita]  Read more

[Editor's Note: Suzanne's post about buying your kids stuff out of guilt following a divorce stands up for those of us who are still in a relationship, too -- we overcompensate with gifts and dinners out for all sorts of reasons. And we really should stop. Here's why. -Rita]  Read more

[Editor's Note: Reading The Headmistress's impassioned argument against restaurants accepting food stamps gave me pause. Initially I had a liberal knee-jerk reaction about her assumptions about those who need food stamps. Then I thought a bit and tried to tease out whether or not restaurants should be eligible for food stamps when they are actually a luxury line item in most people's budgets. I'm still not sure where I come down on this one. Check out her argument and weigh in! -Rita] Restaurants Seeking to Accept Food Stamps  Read more

[I started sort of extreme couponing (for me, any use of coupons at all is extreme) after following Denise's Extreme Couponing series here on BlogHer. I have slacked off a bit after a few weekends when I couldn't spend an hour with the Sunday paper. So I laughed pretty hard at this post from Happily Random! -Rita]  Read more