Financial Freedom

I was flipping channels the other day when I stopped on PBS.  They were having a special to raise money for their station, and their guest speaker, who was also promoting her new book, was Suze Orman. 

Her book is called The Money Class and she had some really good tips:

1.  You have to live below your means, but within your needs.  This is how you start saving and paying off debt.

2.  Before anything else, if you can, contribute the max amount each year to a Roth IRA.  You contribute after tax dollars now and get your investment back at retirement, TAX FREE!

3.  Next, if your employer offers a 401(k) plan with a match, contribute up to the match amount if you can.  This is FREE money!

4.  To save for your child's education, the best plan is a 529 Plan.  The 529 Plan is in your name, not your child's.  Do not put a plan in your child's name because then they may not be able to qualify for financial aid.

I thought these were some great tips!  You can find more information about her HERE.  I also found a link to a clip and information from the PBS special. 

Disclosure: This product was NOT given to Our Homeschool Reviews for review purposes. I just wanted to share what I learned with you! I have received no compensation from it and all opinions and experiences within this review are my own.

The Christian Home is a weekly Blog Magazine posted every Monday morning by The Legacy of Home.  Articles are submitted by various Christian bloggers.

Do You Have an Emergency Fund?

We all have those days...or weeks...or months, where it seems like one thing after another happens.  This was one of those months for us!!

It started off with our dog being taken to the emergency vet one Sunday evening, and then again to our regular vet the next day.  Thankfully she ended up being OK.

Then the engine light came on in my car so we took it to our mechanic to see what was wrong.  Thankfully nothing was.

Yesterday our air conditioning unit started making noise and was giving off a strange odor.  We have a guy coming out today to take a look (at least I hope he is coming today).  Praying it will be something small.

Tomorrow is our annual termite bond inspection.

Oh yeah, and when we purchased that electric piano for our daughter back at the beginning of the month, none of this had happened yet.  ;o)

And although each of these are minor in relation to other things, we can't wait for February to come!! 

So the point to my rambling about our crazy month is that it is a good idea to be prepared for times like these.  If you are not already setting aside money each paycheck for emergencies, you should.  If it would make it easier, you can set up a separate account at your bank.  You never know what is around the corner, so be prepared, and thankfully we were.

"Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer let your requests be made known to God."  Philippians 4:6.