Debt Reduction 101

When I was a kid, I think that I probably had a romantic vision of what Valentine’s Day would be like when I was an adult. My suitor would dazzle me with a dozen long stemmed red roses and would whisk me away to a romantic candlelit meal complete with steak, wine and cheesecake. Jewelry [...]

This one is from my friend Jodi who is a single mother. I’ve known her since I was a kid and adore her entire family – her daughter Ashley, now 16, is particularly funny. Here’s Jodi’s thought: “When Ashley was about 5 I was taking classes and the subject of poverty came up. Technically, we [...]

CAD is another college friend who hails from a small town in Iowa. One of the things that has always struck me about CAD is her practicality – then again, she’s a scientist (and a PhD to boot!) What’s interesting is that sometimes I feel like CAD and her husband are the “Jones” that Future [...]

D is my ex-editor and is my former “work spouse.” These days, D lives way the hell near Fargo and is living life as a single dad to his two sons. During our tenure together when we worked at the newspaper, I had the pleasure of meeting D’s mom – the formidable Mama D. I [...]

Victor is one of my best friends from college (second only to Future Husband although I’ve known Victor longer.) Victor grew up in an affluent suburb of the Twin Cities and continues to be an active community member in his hometown and owns an independent bookstore. Victor’s sense of poor is influenced by the community [...]

OK – I’m apologizing in advance for the glut of posts today. It is an extremely slow Sunday at the cab company and I’ve been catching up on unread articles, emails, etc. I stumbled across this article and a corresponding blog on CNN this morning and couldn’t wait to share it. The article looks at [...]

I would fairly call it a time suck, but I am a big fan of Facebook, the social networking website that recently turned five years old. If you’re already on Facebook, I’ve now created a group for this blog called DebtReduction101.com. If you’d like to join, go to the search engine in the right hand [...]

Last month in a moment of writer’s block, I asked readers to submit questions to me and I would do my best to answer them. (And THANK YOU to you guys who participated … you’ve made my life easier by your ideas.) Emily asked me a question that even gave my Future Husband pause. “What [...]

I thought this was a neat article from CNN.com. It follows the Humphrey family who take family excursions and pick up “lost” money – i.e. that penny you saw in the parking lot but passed up. The part that totally blew me away about this article is that the mom in the family has been [...]

My paystub from the full-time job came today and over lunch, I got to indulge in one of my favorite past-times … figuring out where my money is going to go. This is exhilerating when things go my way and I feel like I made a dent in all that I owe with my paycheck. [...]