THE FATHER LIFE

Editor’s Note: We are honored to welcome guest columnist Don Harrold from practicaldad.com.  This article is the second in his three-part series exploring college planning. The first column, published in January, is “Rethinking the College Model.”
The experience of choosing a college is very different when you’ve got a teenager and are looking at it [...]

The dawning of a new year prompts many people to take a fresh look at their annual budget, and what they’ll find is that auto insurance costs are substantial.  Even after that revelation many people just grin and bear it, but a larger number of people are now spending more time searching for better insurance [...]

Orthodontists and College. No two words scare me more since each involves kids and significant amounts of money.

But college is the scarier word. Orthodontia might or might not be required, but if the kids are going to have a leg up in the world, then some form of higher education will be required.

One thing auto industry veterans will tell you is they never saw a year like 2009 … and they never want to see another one like it. The year included the seemingly unthinkable: bankruptcy for General Motors. And as an added fillip, Chrysler went bankrupt too and was rescued by the unlikely combination of the [...]

Using technology makes filling in and shipping out your tax forms easier. Now, your use of gadgets can help you even more by reducing the amount of tax dollars you owe. Computers, iPhones, GPS devices, and other gadgets may be tax deductible if you use them for work. Congress recently added recession-era provisions to [...]

“Might I have another lump of coal for the fire, Mr. Scrooge?”
-Bob Cratchit (Dickens’ A Christmas Carol)
What in the world do we have to learn from Ebenezer Scrooge about protecting our identities during the busy holiday season? Plenty!
Scrooge was a miserly old git who wouldn’t share anything – his coal, his wealth, his love. The [...]

The face of identity theft victims is changing quickly as thieves have begun to prey on young children with flawless credit. Parents must take steps now to protect their kids from the potential for future financial trouble.
While the majority of kids spend most of their time worrying about homework, friends and [...]

Upromise is a very easy way to save money for college. There are several ways in which you can save money, and the great thing is that, you don’t even have to think about it. Once you sign up and register your credit cards (don’t worry it’s safe), you just go about your normal spending [...]

Owning a home has always been an integral part of the “American Dream.” With housing producing double digit gains in the early part of the 21st century, purchasing a home seemed like a no brainer. Credit was made available so openly that nearly anyone who had the desire to own a home could make their [...]

A running debate continues over the use of credit cards. Much of the controversy involves matters like annual fees, interest rates on the unpaid balance, and the use of an account to establish credit. Articles abound on charge strategies to secure tax deductions for otherwise nondeductible interest payments. There are even dissertations [...]