I love Ireland. I was so fortunate to travel there with my daughter Lisa in 2016. So, I decided a good way to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day Friday is to post some of the photos from our trip. We were fortunate to meet with some of my grandmother Laura Baylee Slingsby’s relatives. Laura was born in 1877 and died in 1939. Read more →

Presidents’ Day sort of sneaked up on me this year. At times in the past, I’ve written about Presidents’ Day as a time to appreciate our democracy and celebrate the many freedoms we have as a result. As thoughts of democracy come to mind, the war in Ukraine looms large. Read more →

Best wishes to you and your loved ones on this day to celebrate relationships. I hope if your budget is tight that you have figured out inexpensive ways to celebrate. Although it’s estimated that Valentine’s Day spending for 2023 is estimated to be $192.80 per person celebrating, about a third of people plan to give an experience this year. Read more →

American consumers spend more than $25.9 billion on Valentine’s Day each year. It makes the holiday the third-priciest on the calendar for U.S. consumers. Valentine’s Day spending for 2023 is estimated to be $192.80 per person celebrating, according to a Valentine’s Day survey by WalletHub, a personal finance website. Read more →

It’s fun to write my weekly newsletter, Helpful Money Tips for You. It’s free and when you sign up, you’ll get lot of tips to help you with saving money, budgeting, and learning about the latest financial news. Below is the latest copy of my newsletter. As you can see, it has ideas for saving money for Valentine’s Day, on streaming services, and by using appliances more wisely. Read more →

As always, there’s a lot to consider oncMartin Luther King Jr. Day. I’m so glad that King Day was finally established. After a 15-year battle, legislation was signed in 1983 creating a federal holiday marking King’s birthday. The federal holiday was first observed in 1986, making 2023 the 37th anniversary of the King federal holiday. Read more →

How was your holiday? Did you get lots of neat presents? Were you able to celebrate with family and friends? Were you exhausted when it was all over? I was fortunate because I was able to celebrate Christmas twice. My daughter from Spain came for an early celebration and my daughter from Sacramento drove up to Washington state, too. Read more →

I don’t know about you, but 2022 went by so fast for me. After four years, I was finally able to get the first draft of the book about my journalism career done, but the printed copy is still elusive. I’m not a person who makes resolutions, but I’ve written about why people make them and how well they work or don’t work. Read more →

My best wishes to you and your loved ones for 2023. On New Years eve, I wrote about the top consumer and personal finance stories of 2022. Inflation and higher interest rates topped the list, and I predict that those two issues will continue to confront consumers throughout the new year. My recommendations include: Read more →

Unfortunately, I got caught up in the Southwest Airlines holiday flight cancellation debacle around Christmas. Scheduled to return home at 10:45 Monday Dec. 26, I was shocked when my daughter came in my room just as I finished dressing and began packing to go to the airport and said my flight had been canceled. Read more →