“More than 20 percent of adults read at or below a fifth-grade level — far below the level needed to earn a living wage.” – National Institute for Literacy
“Nearly half of America’s adults are poor readers, or ‘functionally illiterate.’ They can’t carry out simple tasks like balancing check books, reading drug labels or writing essays [...]

It’s no secret that college costs are rising to ridiculous levels. Kids are graduating with huge debt loads. Even if their parents have saved for their schooling since birth, costs are rising so fast they’re still likely to have to take on debt or work during school. In the last twenty years or so we’ve [...]

If you’re debt free, chances are that you are one of the few in your family or circle of friends who is. In the circle of people I know well, only my parents and two close friends are debt free. I’ve met others but of the people I’m close to, I’m one of five debt [...]

When money gets tight, lessons and coaching for the kids often end up on the chopping block. Whether it’s sports, music, or dance, these extracurricular activities are often costly and expendable in hard times. If your child is already in training to be an Olympic athlete or halfway to Julliard these strategies may not work, [...]

I’ve mentioned that my son attends a parochial high school. That means that right about this time every summer, we receive a list of his classes and directions to visit the school’s on-line book store. I love books, but it is always with a bit of trepidation that I make my preliminary on-line visit [...]

I grew up watching Little House on the Prairie in the 70’s. Each episode had a moral to it, but it wasn’t until I staged a marathon viewing session courtesy of Netflix that I realized how many of those episodes dealt with the subject of money in some form. Maybe some of my money habits [...]

Now that the Fourth of July has passed, the next big item on the calendar is back to school shopping. This year is likely to be financially tighter than previous years for many people. Not only are families facing tighter budgets, state shortfalls are placing more of the supply burden on parents rather than school [...]

I am in the midst of a job search. Although I have excellent experience and academic credentials, I am one of the hundreds of thousands of intelligent, articulate and qualified jobseekers in the market today. I am sure I shall eventually find a job, but my job search has taught me that despite [...]

I was listening to the radio the other day and the DJ was talking about how he had to call someone to come fix his garage door opener. No matter how much he pushed the button, it wouldn’t open. There was no sign of life from the thing; even the overhead light didn’t work. So [...]

One of the most enduring images that I recall from college was a video clip of an obviously drunk student at a football game and holding up a sign which read, “I don’t care. Daddy’s paying.” At the time, although my parents had paid for my tuition, I was working about 20 hours [...]