Please, make a run to your bank and withdraw ALL your money!!  Just kidding.  You would think that the government made that announcement on Friday night.  You wouldn’t believe how many people are coming into the bank trying to withdraw all their money.  I have seen people wanting to cash checks for $100,000!  First of all, most branches are lucky if they have that much in the whole branch, and secondly, what are you going to do with it?  Bury it in a coffee can in your back yard?  Put it under a mattress?  What bad ideas! This is my opinion on what you should do currently:  Make sure you are FDIC covered.  If you have more than $100,000 in one bank, add someone as Payable on Death (POD).  That will increase your coverage to $200,000 ($100,000 per depositor). DON’T go run and close out your bank accounts.  If everyone closes out their bank accounts, of course the banks are going to fail!  Relax, maybe have a little cash on hand, and ride it out. Just because the FDIC has [...]

I am so ready for this year to be over. I have had the worst luck this year! My grandmother passed away in January, we had the tree fall on the house in January as well, I thought I had cancer (I go to the oncologist tomorrow for a check up), my dad is currently in the hospital, and now we have all this car trouble. I am ready for a break! Monday I decided I was going to take my car in to the mechanic because it was running funny. It sounded like something was going to fall through the floor, and when I turned, I heard this “wubba wubba wubba” noise.  Of course that’s not good.  When the mechanic called me on Monday to tell me that the Motor Mounds were bad and that it was a miracle the motor hadn’t fallen out, I asked him how much it would cost to fix. Around $500.  Then, he proceeded to tell me that because of the motor mounds being out it ruined an axle, which will cost me another [...]

Next month, which is rapidly approaching, I am making a trip to Wisconsin to visit a friend. As excited as I am, I am also thinking ahead on the financial effect it is going to have on our October budget.  At first, I thought I would fly up there, but I couldn’t find a non stop flight that wouldn’t take longer than driving, and I couldn’t find one cheaper either.  It looks like I will be driving. I’m still searching air fares in the event something comes available. I really wish I could get a plane ticket for a decent price, because it would be a whole lot shorter time wise to fly than it is to drive.  Driving won’t be as stressful on me as flying would. I’ve thought about taking a bus or train up there, but there are no buses that go from here to there, and neither does the train. Sometimes I wish we lived closer to a larger city! I’m going to save money on a hotel room by staying with my friend. We’ll cook [...]