Feed items

Whenever I see a typical gift idea list, I have two immediate frustrations.

One, the gifts on it are often expensive. If there’s someone out there I’m going to be spending $100 or more on for a gift, it’s very likely that I know that person well enough that I don’t have to be looking at a gift list for ideas. Gift lists are good for that last-minute person or for the person you don’t know that well, not for your spouse.

That leads to the second problem. Gift lists usually seem to be just tossed together, like someone literally went to Amazon and did a search for items in a certain category and made a list out of the top few results. I might like two or three of the items and then have no idea why some of the other ones were even on the list.

When and how should you tell your kids that your family is in debt? Photo: Gordon

Parenting is a no easy task, as you already know. There is no playbook or instruction manual to tell you the best way to handle a given situation.

One tough parenting dilemma and highly debated issue is whether your children should know when your family is struggling with debt.

There are many schools of thought on this topic, and no clear-cut answer. Many feel that money issues, especially where you’re financially struggling, are an adult issue that children shouldn’t need to worry about. Children are helpless in the situation and need to feel a sense of security, so telling them about your financial problems may only make matters worse by scaring them or confusing them.

Looking for a recession-proof business? Insurance is one of those industries that is largely untroubled by the state of the economy. The reason is that most insurance products are necessary part of modern life. You usually can’t own a car without automobile insurance, and your mortgage company will likely require that you have homeowners insurance. The […]

The post How to Start Your Own Insurance Business appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

Cramped kitchen quarters? Elevate. Get your pots and pans, knives, mugs, and large utensils out of the cabinets and onto the wall. Photo: Ikea

Need more space in your kitchen? No problem at all! All you have to do is tear down some walls and add more cabinets.

Easier said than done, especially if you don’t have thousands of dollars stuffed in those cabinets just waiting to be spent on a kitchen renovation. Even if money isn’t an issue, there are probably plenty of other ways you’d rather use your hard-earned cash.

So, in an effort to avoid the contractors and unrest that accompanies a home renovation project in the heart of the house, here are some ways to get the most out of your current kitchen space: