Recently by:
Andrea

 In another article, I addressed the cost of having a baby and raising your child from birth to age 2. 

I focused on absolute necessities that parents would have to buy including food, clothing, diapers,  and hospital costs.  Not included were things like a crib, the cost of a bigger home with an extra bedroom, and toys, because a savvy parent can probably do without those items or figure out how to get them for free.
 
As your child reaches age 2, your family will find it absolutely necessary to carve out personal space for the newest member of the family.  He or she will need a bedroom, a bed, a full wardrobe, and other necessities. 

Following are the types of expenses generally required to raising a toddler age 2-4...

Did you know?... First time homebuyers can get up to $8,000 in the form of a tax credit from the U.S. government. And you don't have to pay it back!

Hopefully this will provide an added incentive to get people house hunting again.

So... who exactly qualifies? How does it work? How do you take advantage of this incredible tax credit?

When cash is low, barter is better. 

More people are turning to online barter exchange these days in lieu of purchasing items with cash. 

When you barter, if you have something laying around you can get rid of (or perhaps a service you can perform), you simply do that in exchange for items you need. 

Here are the best bartering sites and a little about the basics of bartering for newbies...

What types of jobs are minimum wage jobs? 

...You might be surprised!
 
Below you will find:

• some minimum wage jobs that most people wouldn't think of
   
• some high-paying jobs that most people wouldn't realize
   
• some tips for moving beyond minimum wage jobs

Have you ever taken advantage of free resources only to discover that you are stuck with a bill or a major inconvenience? 

Now, I am not one to knock getting free stuff.  I love free stuff... to a certain degree. 

But I also think you should be aware of what those free things will really cost you.

There is a lot of talk in the news lately about credit card companies having unfair business practices.

Here's how to tell if your credit card company is unfair or not.

Now, consider this...

Can you imagine your children being overlooked for admission into a good college because other students who went to their high school did poorly at the school, even when your child's scores are superior to those other students?

Can you fathom a dentist drilling and filling teeth that don't need cavities just because your neighbors generally get cavities in the teeth they have targeted?

What if you were denied car insurance because you once visited a car wash that has a customer base of people who get into accidents. 

Well, if these scenarios sound a bit odd and unfair, imagine how Kevin Johnson of Atlanta (who has a near excellent credit score) felt when his credit card limit was dropped nearly $7,000 based on nothing more than a store he shopped at!

Never mind that his credit score was impeccable.  Never mind that he never carried a balance.  Never mind that he owned his own home and was a successful business man. 

One innocent stop at one store led to his account being flagged as a potential credit threat. 

I had a friend who did mystery shopping for a living. 

It seems every week she was visiting and "grading" a different place.  She got to check out hotel rooms.  She had free restaurant meals.  She also got to purchase a few cool things and she was reimbursed for them.

Over the years, I have tried mystery shopping a few times. My hope was that I would have the kind of success with mystery shopping as it seemed my friend enjoyed. 

Here's how mystery shopping went for me, plus some tips for making money as a mystery shopper...