MONEY
“Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.”
—Henry David Thoreau
How to Survive on $350,000 a Year
I keep seeing versions of this MarketWatch article come across my feed. Take a quick look. It shows how difficult it is for this "middle class" family to live on $350K/year. $350,000 is approximately 4-10 years of the average teacher salary (depending on your job,...
“Help! I can’t stop spending!” These 5 baby steps will help…
The teacher spending struggle is real. Since we've gone turkey with the No-Spend Summer Challenge, that's the number one thing I hear. "I can't." We must defeat the "I can'ts" with this challenge. But, not everyone can go cold turkey. You'd never let a student say "I...
5 Ways to Avoid Hoarding for School
Are you buying or hoarding? Teachers often say we're buying when we're not "buying" so much as "hoarding." Teacher spending is an affliction, but some of us sprint right over that line into hoarding. Here's how to tell if you're in danger of being on a Discovery...
5 Types of Teacher Spending That’ll Make You Broke: What Type Are YOU?
Do you know how much money you spent on your classroom last year, or is school a financial vortex? A black hole that sucks away your paycheck and leaves you scrambling to pay your bills? Teachers don't make a lot but we sure know how to spend. Sometimes, it borders on...
Challenge: Resisting Target’s Back to School Sales
You can--and must--resist the Target back-to-school sale. It's July 1 as I write this. I walk into Target with one mission: dish towels. Mine are clean, but stained with god-knows-what and tons of holes but who cares because they still work, right? Teacher towels....
Movie Food Smuggling
Why would anyone in their right mind pay $20 for a small box of candy and a few kernels fake-butter popcorn after paying a million dollars a ticket to go to a movie--that starts with a half-hour of commercials? That's insane. Theatre food isn't what I want anyway--a...
What Kind of Computer Do I Get My Kid?
Right now my son has The Peach Salsa Computer, and it's going to die. It's time to start computer shopping for middle school. But with a birthday around the corner, I'd like to kill two birds with one stone--get him something that looks like a gift but is really for...
Secret to Saving $2100 a Year by Reducing Subscription Charges!
Do you have a ton of subscriptions you don't use? Most of us do. And it costs us hundreds. "But it's only (insert ridiculously low amount here)..."If you're not paying attention, those little charges add up. Most software--and even physical products--offer...
Dealing with Your No Paycheck Summer
"Have fun this summer... by the way, there's no paycheck!" Does your office say that on the last day of school? Some teachers don't get paid during the summer months. If you're a new teacher or switching districts, you might not think about pay structure, you're just...
Stop Spending Your Paycheck on Your Job!
Teachers--how much money from your last paycheck did you give back to your job? Stop spending--before it's too late! It's prom season. ($40) "Can your department donate a basket to our fundraiser?" ($10) "Dress down day." ($10/month) Hosting a breakfast before...