Life Lessons

Financial Education at Home As a personal financial coach, I work one-on-one with my clients teaching them how to create a unique budget for their future goals. Currently, only 44% of Americans have $1,000 saved for an emergency. That is the highest percentage since 2014.  Recent...

Lessons From Having a Roommate I loved college.  I was a student at Western Michigan University from 2002-2007. Yes, I was there for five years, and I graduated with a bachelor's degree. During my freshmen year, I lived in the dorms. The next four years, I...

Flood Damage In Military Housing On January 16, 2021 our washing machine flooded the first floor of our house at Camp Pendleton. Lincoln Military Housing, LMH, owns the home. We had USAA renters insurance, but our flood damage was not initially covered. Then, on May 27,...

$60,000 In Debt My husband, Richard, and I were married in 2011. Shortly after our wedding we realized that we had $9 in our checking account, $100 in our savings account, and we owed $60,000 in debt. We took a personal budgeting class at Marine Corps...

Holiday Shopping It’s the middle of September, and I have started Christmas shopping. We have set aside money this month in a sinking fund for holiday gifts. A sinking fund is an area on your budget when you can gradually add money to for a larger...