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Withdraw from the World

‘A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere, before who I may think out loud,’ said Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ideally that person should be your spouse – the person above all others with whom you can be real. You don’t have to pretend. That’s what I like in our marriage, Mick and I don’t have to pretend with each other – ever. For us, this has not been a good week in that Mick and I have not been well. Nothing earth shattering, just the usual cold and flu winter ills, sore throats, stuffed up noses, coughing … Continue reading →

Homeschooling around the World Europe

Homeschooling is not unique to the United States and Canada. I am pointing this out because I often receive messages from people in other countries about homeschooling. Most are not aware of their homeschooling options. Therefore, I decided to discuss homeschooling around the globe. Here is the state of homeschooling in Europe. In Europe there is a general distrust of homeschooling and for the most part it is difficult to homeschool. Still many families fight for the right to educate children on their own terms. Bulgaria: There are less than 100 homeschooling families in Bulgaria, and homeschooling is only allowed … Continue reading →

More Thoughts on the Disney-Lucasfilm Buyout

Now I’ve had some time to think about it, I have more sophisticated thoughts about the Disney-Lucasfilm buyout. The idea that I’m struggling with the most is that Disney wants to keep releasing more films every few years into infinity. One day soon, the original trilogy will be buried under a pile of new films, and I just feel so strange about that. According to George Lucas, the script treatments for episodes 7-9 are totally original; they won’t follow any specific plots from the novelized extended universe. Disney’s most likely going to follow Lucas’ scripts, but if it keeps making … Continue reading →

Disney Buys Lucasfilm, Now Owns Star Wars

This is probably the hugest and craziest Disney news story I’ve ever heard, and possibly ever will, I can’t think of anything bigger: this week, Walt Disney Company announced that it is buying Lucasfilm for about $4 billion dollars. That’s right: Disney will own Star Wars. The news is entirely shocking. In the past year George Lucas has announced his intention to retire from film making, or at least big-budget film making, instead focusing on smaller projects. But no one expected him to sell his company (Lucas is the sole owner), and certainly not to Disney. When one thinks about … Continue reading →

His Needs, Her Needs by Willard F. Harley Jr.

This is truly my favorite relationship book. It really gets to the core of the problem, explains why things like infidelity happen and then give you tools to prevent it. The analogies in this book are great, for example, the Love Bank. They use the love bank to explain how when you meet someone and things are wonderful, this person is making deposits in your love bank. Eventually those deposits add up to a marriage. They also explain how certain things cause withdrawals from your love bank. In the normal course of marriage you will both make deposits and withdrawals … Continue reading →

Is Your Kid a Spendthrift?

We’ve entered a new dimension at Casa Cheplic: Cashdom. Now that my daughter is 7, we’ve bid adieu to threats and time outs and are embracing the wonders of using cash as incentive for good behavior. So, yeah, basically I get my kid to behave by bribing her with big bucks. Actually, it’s mostly coins, but the occasional dollar bill makes an appearance if she achieves a monumental accomplishment. We’ve got the wall chart, the stickers, a list of jobs and rules and, of course, a jar full of shiny, jangly loot. Using monetary rewards as a method of behavior … Continue reading →

Safer Than Cash

Internationally acclaimed personal finance expert, Suze Orman swears by cash. The money guru constantly encourages viewers of her CNBC show to stop using credit cards and start using cash in order to stay out of debt. Well, now the money honey is advocating something she calls, “better than cash.” Orman recently created a new prepaid debit card, and she wants the whole world to get one. It’s dubbed the Approved Prepaid MasterCard, and according to Orman it could mean added security for people who are trying to get their financial lives in order. “I heard from so many people who … Continue reading →

Consumers Want Insurer’s Websites to be Convenient

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A recent survey shows that consumers want to be able to have online access to their life insurance policies. This is especially true for customers who are from Generation X or Generation Y. This means that insurance companies are going to need to make sure that their websites have what consumers are looking for, in order to stay competitive with more tech savvy insurance companies. A survey was done by LIMRA, a company that does worldwide research, consulting, and professional development. LIMRA assists insurance companies, and companies that offer financial services, to be more effective with their marketing efforts. The … Continue reading →

What is Financial Abuse?

Abuse is a tricky topic that people are often not comfortable discussing. It can come in many forms, only some of which are obvious. Financial abuse is one of the ways that an abuser can harm their victim, and it is often directed at a spouse or domestic partner or an elderly relative. The effects of financial abuse can be devastating and can restrict the victim’s ability to leave the abusive relationship. In marital and domestic relationships, an abuser often uses one or more tactics to restrict the other person’s access to money. They accomplish this by stealing money from … Continue reading →

Interview: John Hauserman on 401k Retirement Funds

Today I’m continuing my interview with John Hauserman of RetirementQuest.com. Yesterday we chatted about the money that was withdrawn from 401k plans when the economy took its tumble. You can read the full article here. John, you indicated that pulling money from our 401k accounts might have been action spurred by the emotions of the moment. Can you tell us a little more about this? Savvy long-term investors might have noticed something—history tells us very clearly that panic-driven dips generally turn out to be an unusually rewarding time to be buying stocks (assuming you have time to wait out the … Continue reading →