When I married my husband, we had five babies in seven years and moved 11 times in 13 years. I also had two stepdaughters for a total of seven children to support. I left a nice job as a broker to have a more rewarding career as a SAHM (stay at home mom). One of the...
The Kay family had five babies in seven years. That roughly adds up to three kids in diapers at once, 10 years of not sleeping through the night, four teenage drivers at the same time, three kids in college at once and today, we have five Millennials in their 20s...
On Black Friday and Cyber Monday of every year, I get all my shopping done so that we can have a simple holiday–no last-minute panic, no stress–just a simple life. But a few Christmases ago, I got talked into having "some work" done in our kitchen that was...
As far as military families go, I'm a brat, a grandbrat, a wifebrat and a mombrat. Yes, military service runs deep in the Kay family. My grandpa died as an aircrew member in World War II, my dad retired as a chief master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force; my hubby flew...
My husband brought me the credit card bill and asked "What did you do on your last trip to New York?"He was stunned. "These charges are to a tattoo shop, an liquor store and a series of bars. Please tell me this is some kind of mistake!"It was a classic case of...
"My kids will never come back to live with us after they are launched.""I don't have worry about boomerang children; mine have great jobs.""Junior would never get into trouble and need me to bail him out; he's a good boy.Have you ever made a declarative statement that...
"Bye, bye!" I smiled and waved from the front porch, Bob by my side, "Nice to meet you!"Speaking like a ventriloquist, I continued to wave at my son and his girlfriend."I give It less than one week," I told my husband, "Two weeks tops."Bob smiled, giving his...
"Mama, can you ask Miss Natalya if I can hold the baby?" my 6-foot-4-inch son asked with hopeful expectation.Moments later, he was holding the pretty little 3-month-old baby girl and smiling proudly, "Now, take my picture."Ever since he was a teenager, he absolutely...
My longtime friend Edith and I found heaven on earth this past weekend and we were determined to milk it for all it was worth. Milk chocolate, that is! We took a day trip to Chocolate World in Hershey, Pennsylvania from her new house in Mechanicsburg, and we...
This week, I got a phone call from Jonathan, my fighter pilot son, sharing his latest bargain. He may have gotten his flying abilities from the world's greatest fighter pilot, but he learned how to save from another family member, who will remain nameless. He talked...
(Editor's Note: See Part 1 of this article here.) When people ask me how we are putting our kids through college debt-free, the answer is multi-fold.First, we train our children from a young age that going to school, doing your homework and getting good...
When our daughter Bethany was 4 years old, she came running in the house, sobbing uncontrollably. I smoothed her blond curls and held her. "What's wrong, Bunny?""I don't want to leave you and go to college!" Her chubby arms held my neck tight."Um, well, Bunny, you...
There are no quick fixes, but there are ways to gain control over bad credit-spending habits.Many years ago, I read in a financial self-help book that if I had a problem with credit card spending, I should put the card in a bowl of water and freeze it. The idea was...
There are no quick fixes, but there are ways to gain control over bad credit spending habits.
Many
years ago, I read in a financial self-help book that if I had a problem
with credit-card spending, I should put the card in a bowl of water and
freeze it. The idea was that it would be such a hassle to thaw it out,
you’d have enough time to thoughtfully consider the purchase and avoid
impulse buying.
Nice thought–in theory, that is. But here’s a
word of advice. If you have to thaw that card, don’t put it in the
microwave because it will (1) demagnetize the card and (2) melt the card
into a misshapen mess.