I've never had much interest in traveling, although in recent years I have decided that I would like to see Hawaii in person one day.  I've lived in Arizona my entire life.  I've been to California four times, and I've spent at least one day in each of the following: New York, Oregon, and Washington DC.   My parents were born here, all my siblings, my husband and his family; although both sets of grandparents come from the mid-west.  Farmers, the… Read the rest

The following is a guest post. For many people, it seems strange that even rich people can get in debt. If not having enough money is the reason why we get in debt, then how can even the richest people in the world suffer from financial strain? The first thing to understand about debt is that most people accumulate debt simply because they are spending more than they are earning. It sounds simple enough, so why do so many people… Read the rest

This is a guest post from Mr. Accountability. By now you have probably heard about President Obama's newest government debt scheme which is supposed to lower our deficit and help reduce our debt by implementing the Buffet Rule. From whitehouse.gov: No household making more than $1 million each year should pay a smaller share of their income in taxes than a middle class family pays. This is the Buffett Rule—a simple principle of tax fairness that asks everyone to pay… Read the rest

I know there are some people who would never have a mortgage loan, or they have had one at some point in time but they feel much more comfortable renting.  I have never been one of those people, and I wonder how much I was affected by an incident that happened when I was about 7 years old.  It was a couple of years after my father abandoned his family to start a brand new family.  My mother was pregnant… Read the rest