Dear Chuck, My wife and I have decided to give regularly. She’s thrilled, I’m not. If God loves a cheerful giver, I dread knowing what He thinks of me. Modern Scrooge Dear Scrooge, While I don’t like addressing you as Scrooge, Charles Dickens’ classic book Christmas Carol about a greedy, stingy, selfish man by […]
Dear Chuck, We have a lot of debt. Rather than taking on another job or trying to excel at his current one, my husband is seeking money in undesirable places. He buys weekly lottery tickets, shops garage sales and thrift stores looking for “treasure.” Meanwhile, I’m teaching piano lessons in our home while trying to […]
Dear Chuck, My friends rave about their Amazon Prime membership. I’m not convinced. Do you have an opinion? Not Ready for Prime Dear Not Ready, Thanks for your question. It is one I had not carefully analyzed, so this may be helpful for members and non-members alike. My wife, Ann, and I have […]
Dear Chuck, I like nice, quality things. My husband prefers lower prices. My perspective is that buying quality is better in the long run. Is there a right or wrong way to look at it? We are stuck on which refrigerator to buy to replace the old one we have now. Needing A Compromise […]
Dear Chuck, I’m 64 and like my job as a plant supervisor. I plan to continue working until I am 70. Is it better to begin drawing full Social Security at age 66 or wait until 70 and get the higher amount? I am getting conflicting advice. Not So Secure Dear Not So, You […]
Dear Chuck, I am engaged to be married late this summer. My father recently asked if we are planning to have joint accounts like he and mom have for decades. I didn’t have an answer. We have friends with joint accounts and some with separate ones. We want to start off right. What do you […]
Dear Chuck, My parents, in their late 60s, are both still working full-time. I blame it in part on a sibling who failed in business. Rather than allowing him to learn from his mistakes and even though they did not have much themselves, they rescued him and drained their retirement accounts to pay his debts. […]
Dear Chuck, My wife and I are committed to financially helping our children get college degrees. We’ve graduated two and have three to go. We are not sure a four-year college will work for one of our children and are considering directing him towards a trade. What are your thoughts? Skilled Labor Dear Skilled, […]
Dear Chuck, We just spent the weekend with college friends who revealed they are part of the FIRE Movement and plan to retire in 12 years. My husband and I were shocked – we’re still paying off college loans from med school. There are days retirement sounds wonderful but how realistic, and more importantly, how […]
Dear Chuck, I see that mortgage rates are dropping. Several years ago, my husband and I bought more house than we really need. Is this the time to sell so we can purchase something more affordable? Our current home eats up 40% of our budget preventing us from saving and giving at a level we […]
