Layaway Can Be A Girl’s Best Friend

Over the weekend I did a little shopping at TJ Maxx.  Now, I am not a TJ Maxxinista like my mother.  But I occasionally grace their doors for some incredible sales to spruce up my overly corporate-ish wardrobe (hey, I’m working on it!).  Imagine my pleasant surprise to see layaway prominently advertised for the frugal [...]

The Money Mom: I Am Thankful!

This past November we celebrated Thanksgiving. For many of us, we had turkey, dressing, pies, cakes, and family on our minds. And I was no exception. I love that time of the year because I get to take time off from work to be with my family. This is not always easy for me to [...]

Bad Behavior on the Job

With the unemployment rate teasing 10 percent, you would think that those of us with jobs would do our best to keep it. If you’re going to screw up on the job, there are about 100 people more than willing to switch places from the unemployment line. So it is particularly frustrating to hear a [...]

This Week in Washington: September 7, 2010

The White House: President Obama used his weekly address to talk about “his fight to make America work for the middle class and make sure hard work is rewarded — rather than greed and recklessness.”  This week, the President will travel to Cleveland, Ohio where he will make remarks to update the American people on [...]

Clothes Make the Woman

The economy doesn’t appear to be getting any better any time soon. We’ve all cut back. Life’s simple luxuries, such as my daily Starbucks fix and weekly hair appointments, have given way to free office coffee and stretching that hair appointment out another week.  The same applies for clothing.  No matter the circumstance you must [...]

Children are Priceless, Raising Them Is Not

Time Magazine reports on a recent birth rate study detailing a 2 percent drop in 2008 of  U.S. birth rates, apparently the biggest drop in four decades.  Why?  Kids aren’t cheap and the economy has proven to be an effective contraceptive. Nancy Gibbs at Time reports: …a typical family will spend about $221,000 raising a [...]

What’s Your (Career) Fallback Position?

Millions of Americans are jobless, and millions more fear they may soon join the ranks of the unemployed as well. Even workers who already have jobs may consider getting evening or weekend training and certification to prepare themselves for these “fallback careers” or “survival jobs”. These certificate programs at trade schools and community colleges may [...]

Homeownership No Longer Building Black Middle Class

Kai Wright, writing in the liberal American Prospect, discusses home ownership as the foundation for black middle class and the imploding mortgage crisis’ effect on it, all told through the lens of his mother’s own foreclosure experience: For years, scholars have primarily turned to one of three measures to identify the middle class: occupation, income, [...]

Applying for a Credit Card? Some Points to Ponder

Credit cards can seem -to some – an answer to their prayers. But the truth is, if you can’t manage your personal finances to begin with, credit cards will get you into greater debt and cause more problems than they solve. A few points on credit card debt: Credit card debt has increased significantly in [...]

Superman Needed

Jamal Simmons writes in today’s Politico on the need for financial superheroes: In sports, as in politics, people like to root for and against a team. That tendency helps college basketball soar in popularity during March Madness because avid fans and casual observers alike cheer for the teams that will help them win that office pool. Americans similarly root for President Barack Obama, as evidenced by his high poll numbers, as he takes on Rush Limbaugh and the Republican naysayers in Congress.

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