Family Finances

The Importance Of Money And Status For Getting Into Private School

If you have a baby or toddler or are planning to have a baby, this post is for you. I’ve been running an interesting, real-life, real-time experiment on how hard it is to get ahead if you have below-average money and little status. In 2017, we ended up applying to three preschools that accepted toddlers […]

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How To Retire Early With Kids: A Nearly Impossible Task

Do you want to retire early with kids? I’m sorry, but it is nearly an impossible task. As a father of two children now, I look back and feel like retiring early without kids was a walk in the park in comparison. Retiring early with kids is at least three times harder than retiring without

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Nature Will Dictate The Best Time For Parents To Go Back To Work

The best time for parents to go back to work is dictated by nature. You don’t have to overthink things too much once you’ve run the financial numbers. Over the past two years, I’ve gotten to know another stay-at-home dad in the neighborhood. Bob has a boy who is also two years old. We try

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Have A Budget Wedding! The Average Wedding Cost Is Too High

The last thing any couple should want to do when they start a marriage is get buried in debt and stress. Debt and financial stress can break relationships down. Instead of creating unnecessary anxieties, have a budget wedding and start your married life on the right foot! What’s the average wedding cost in the US

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The Only Time You Should Consider Buying A Vacation Property

I’m on record saying that buying a vacation property is a suboptimal investment. But that’s also because I bought a vacation property in 2007, right before the market really took a dive. This post will discuss the only time you should consider buying a vacation property if you insist on not taking my advice. Perhaps

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Everything To Know About The 529 College Savings Plan

The best gift any parent can give a child besides unconditional love is a great education. A 529 college savings plan is a solution that is designed to help families tax-efficiently save for future college costs. You contribute after tax money with the benefit of paying zero federal and state income taxes on the profits when

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The Cost Of Fourth Trimester Childcare: Potentially $40,000 And Up

The cost of childcare is high. The cost of fourth trimester childcare, the three months after your baby is born, may be the highest! Not only are you dead tired during the first three months after you baby is born, you may want to spend up to get some night doula or au pair help.

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Child Millionaires: Not Necessary Thanks To Canceling All Student Debt

One of the things many responsible parents are doing today is saving for college, usually in a 529 plan. Not saving for college and expecting a student loan bailout in the future is bad planning. The same goes for not saving for retirement and hoping the government will take care of you once you can

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Forgoing $1 Million In Lost Income To Be A Stay At Home Parent

One of my beliefs as a stay at home dad is that I wouldn’t trade the time I spent with my son for any amount of money. Lost income be damned! Given time is way more valuable than money, especially as you get older, this sounds like a logical statement. But perhaps this statement is

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