HOW: Whitney Williams started her first business at the age of ten. An avid artist, Williams designed stationery for friends and family, creating custom invitations and Christmas cards. Soon after, she bought a laminating machine, and by laminating the pages of fashion magazines and enlisting the help of the local shoe cobbler, Williams started making purses that she sold to her friends. So, with the entrepreneurial spirit in her from a young age, it was no surprise that, by the time she was a freshman in college, she’d launched Tramonti by Whitney, LLC – a line of handcrafted jewelry that Williams launched from her dorm room at Baylor University. More…
Nine out of ten women find asking for money – i.e., a raise – embarrassing, according to a survey out this morning from Sheconomics.com. This compares to six out of ten men. And women are two and a half times more likely than men to find negotiating for pay humiliating.
Humiliating?
Embarrassing?
How about necessary and – when it goes well – empowering? More…
Where can I find the money to help my kids get through college? How can I cover my credit card bills when collecting unemployment? Under what conditions can I withdraw money from my 401(k) without penalties? For the answers to these questions (and more!) watch the video from this morning’s Money 911 below.
Today, we use the internet for everything from paying bills to buying groceries and re-stocking our wardrobes. But are we putting ourselves at risk having so much of our personal and financial information online? Watch the clip below from NBC’s Today for the facts — and some tips to keep your identity secure and your money safe.
“My niece is stuck in a 20% private student loan that wants $800 a month. She has contacted them several times for options and they tell her there are none. She has put the loan into forbearance twice. There has got to be a solution. She wants to pay, but she can’t afford that much — she only makes $1000 a month. She has several other federal loans that are in repayment & she is handling those, but this one pushes her over the top.” – Sheri
Unfortunately, this is a common situation these days for students trying to pay off private student loans. The fact is, when you have private loans, you have fewer options for adjusting the repayment plan than you do with federal loans. That being said, going into forbearance is not a good choice – the interest will still build up while the payments defer. More…
If you have teenagers, this is a busy time of year. Trust me, I know – as we approach summer break, the dances, parties, plays and sports events just seem to pile on. But you also likely have something else on the brain: Helping those kids find a summer job.
My kids have been working for extra spending money for quite a while. And I firmly believe that teenagers should spend at least part of their summers working, because as you know, no money is as valuable as the money you’ve earned yourself. More…
HOW: A Montana native, Brian Morgan knew that his full-time job at a software company wasn’t the career path he had in mind. “It was just a filler so I could eat and pay rent,” he says. His real passion stemmed from a 10-month trip he’d taken to South America before starting his day job. “After getting my Masters in Economics, I moved to Ecuador for eight months,” says Morgan, “and traveled around Bolivia and Peru for another two.” Upon his return to the U.S., he started looking for work – and while he waited for interview calls, he started to dream up a business. More…
This month, I wrote an article for Women’s Health Magazine — “Slim Body, Fat Wallet.” Research shows that becoming secure in one part of your life (your finances, for example) can help propel you to change other things you’re unhappy about (like your waistline). Making changes step by step — starting with preparation, setting a goal, positioning yourself for success, and then rewarding yourself a bit for your hard work — can really pay off. Visit WomensHealthMag.com to read it — or pick up a copy!
It is definitely true that necessity is the mother of invention. Nothing will force you to new heights of creativity like lack. If most of us are honest we spend money the way we do because we have it and we can. But what happens when you don’t have it? When your “cans” don’t stretch far enough to cover your “wants?” That’s when the power of relationships comes into play big time. More…
This is my heavy-duty travel season. Last week, I flew from New York to Ithaca to Kansas City (with a stop in Detroit) before heading home. This week, it’s New York to Chicago to Ft. Lauderdale then home again. I’m not complaining. Being busy, particularly in economic times like these, is a good thing. But I did do a double take at Spirit Air’s announcement a few weeks ago that it would begin charging $45 for carry-on bags that wouldn’t fit under the seat; my luggage of choice. Just the itineraries of the past two weeks would cost me more than $300. And I breathed a sigh of relief at Chuck Schumer’s announcement Sunday that five carriers more major than Spirit had pledged not to follow suit. More…
WHO: Whitney Williams
Nine out of ten women find asking for money – i.e., a raise – embarrassing, according to a survey out this morning from Sheconomics.com. This compares to six out of ten men. And women are two and a half times more likely than men to find negotiating for pay humiliating.
“My niece is stuck in a 20% private student loan that wants $800 a month. She has contacted them several times for options and they tell her there are none. She has put the loan into forbearance twice. There has got to be a solution. She wants to pay, but she can’t afford that much — she only makes $1000 a month. She has several other federal loans that are in repayment & she is handling those, but this one pushes her over the top.” – Sheri
WHO: Brian Morgan
This month, I wrote an article for Women’s Health Magazine — 
This is my heavy-duty travel season. Last week, I flew from New York to Ithaca to Kansas City (with a stop in Detroit) before heading home. This week, it’s New York to Chicago to Ft. Lauderdale then home again. I’m not complaining. Being busy, particularly in economic times like these, is a good thing. But I did do a double take at Spirit Air’s announcement a few weeks ago that it would begin charging $45 for carry-on bags that wouldn’t fit under the seat; my luggage of choice. Just the itineraries of the past two weeks would cost me more than $300. And I breathed a sigh of relief at Chuck Schumer’s announcement Sunday that five carriers more major than Spirit had pledged not to follow suit. 
