• Family Finances - Budgeting - Saving - Investing - Retirement - Kids

What Should You Do If You Lose Your Wallet?

Realizing that you’ve lost your wallet can be a scary experience. Suddenly, you find yourself faced with the horrific feeling that someone somewhere has access to all of your personal information. You scramble to remember exactly what was in your wallet and where you saw it last. What a mess!
Although nothing can [...]

Filed under: Personal Finance

What is Private Mortgage Insurance?

Anytime you discuss financing a home or obtaining a mortgage, you’re certain to be told how advantageous it is to avoid needing private mortgage insurance. But, what you may not be told is what exactly private mortgage insurance is. Isn’t insurance usually a good thing? Why does this insurance have such a [...]

Filed under: Personal Finance

How to Save on Diapers

Expecting parents are often advised to prepare themselves for major expenses when their new baby arrives. No matter how much you plan, however, nothing can prepare you for the sticker shock you will experience once you start clothing, feeding and diapering your little bundle of joy. Fortunately, the love and affection you’ll feel [...]

Filed under: Frugal, Kids

How to Maximize Your Back to School Savings

The return to school is a momentous occasion for any family. Your children look forward to getting to see their old friends again, learning new things, and all of the activities that come with school. You can enjoy having more time to get things done, whether you will be taking care of household [...]

Filed under: Kids

Mid Week Roundup - Teaching Kids About Money, Money Secret, Estate Planning

The Family Wallet participated in this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance. As usual, there were many interesting personal finance articles including:
This Wasn’t In The Plan writes “Teaching My Kids About Money: A Perfect Opportunity.”
You Need A Budget shares the one secret to money in marriage.
The Financial Blogger begins a [...]

Filed under: Personal Finance

Ten Quick Ways to Reduce Food Costs

photo credit: Phillie Casablanca
For many families, food costs make up a huge part of the monthly budget. While some luxuries like cable television or expensive clothes can be cut from a budget when necessary, food is always going to be a part of a regular budget. There are, however, many ways to reduce food [...]

Filed under: Food Expenses

How to Save on Airline Tickets

photo credit: Dan Muntz
Unless you’ve been in hiding for these last few months, you’ve probably already heard that airline ticket pricing has been soaring to previously unheard of heights. Tales of fares that have doubled are everywhere, and there doesn’t seem to be an end to the increases in sight. It’s more important than [...]

Filed under: Personal Finance

Turn Closet Cleaning into Cash

Do you dread the thought of cleaning out your closet? Maybe as long as you can get the door closed, you feel that the closet is under control. Once you’ve realized the value of your closet overflow, you may be ready to tackle that chore you’ve been putting off all this time.
You may be thinking [...]

Filed under: Money Management

Why Payday Loans Are Always a Bad Idea

It seems that you can hardly drive anywhere these days without passing one or two payday loan businesses along the way. They’ve popped up on virtually every corner. Perhaps you’ve even seen their commercials advertising a convenient way to borrow money. If you just need a small loan to get you by until your next [...]

Filed under: Personal Finance

Starting a “Gift Closet” for Children’s Birthday Parties

If you have little ones in your family, chances are you’ve forgotten to get a gift for a child’s birthday party at some point. Maybe your son or daughter forgot to tell you about the party ahead of time. Or maybe you just forgot to add a gift to your shopping list. Either way, here [...]

Filed under: Gifts, Kids