As I mentioned recently, I’m working on stepping outside my comfort zone this year. So, with the help of the fabulous folks from LitFuse Publicity Group, I’m hosting my first-ever live webcast next Thursday, April 5, 2012 at 8 p.m. EST.
I’m excited about it–though a wee bit nervous since this is completely new territory for me. But I know it’s going to be fun and I’m especially excited at the opportunity to get to interact with you all in a more personal — and live! — format.
I’ll be sharing 7 simple things women can do to contribute to their family’s finances, I’ll be giving away a lot of fantastic prizes (things like Vitacost.com vouchers, Starbucks gift cards, iTunes gift cards, books, + more!), I’ll be doing a live Q&A chat with you all, and my husband’s going to be joining me for an pre-recorded Q&A session.
Enter to Win a Free iPad 2!
Would you like to win a free iPad 2? I’m giving one away during the webcast!
To enter to win, all you have to do is Enter the Sweepstakes here. That’s it!
Submit Your Questions For the Q&A With My Husband
Jesse and I are shooting our joint Q&A video tomorrow (he’s watching the children during the webcast, so we’re pre-recording it!) and instead of me coming up with questions to ask him, I thought it’d be fun for you all to submit questions you’d love for me to ask him in the video.
So, put on your thinking caps, and then leave your questions for Jesse in the comments on this post or submit them through the contact form here. If you could have them to me by 8 p.m. tonight, that’d be fabulous.
I’m looking forward to sharing/chatting with you next Thursday!
What recommendations would you have for a single mother with regards to setting up an emergency fund (how many months worth, etc.), retirement, etc.
Crystal, I work as an RN 2 (12 hr) days/week. I’m always thinking of how I would like to homeschool my children (5, & 2). I go back and forth because I feel like it would be so overwhelming. I would love to be a stay at home mom, but I carry the insurance for the family as my husband is self employed. Do you think that this is a feasable task to homeschool and work part time? Also, do you have any input about carrying insurance if you do not work for a company that offers it. It can be so expensive. Thanks in advance!! Love your blog! Karla
I love your posts. Can wait to go to the webinar:)
I do not have any questions. I wanted to let you know that I am so impressed by your growth. I have been reading your various blogs since 2007 and I admire you and your family. You truly walk the walk.
How do you step away from your “home business” when it is in your home?
In what kind of account would you suggest having your 3-6 month savings in?
We are saving up for a down payment on a bigger house, what is some advise/pointers you’d give us for staying on track for this very lengthy goal?
How would you recommend going about finding a place to keep your investment money in?
When does a couple set up a trust instead of a plain will?
Woot! April 5th is my 29th Bday. *does a lil dance*
Hi Crystal! This question is for you and Jesse. My husband and I are on a mission to pay cash for a house (or to put a very large deposit down on one). He is currently employed at Boeing and I am a server on the weekends. We are in love with the area in which we live. There are a few neighborhoods in this surrounding area, some of which are lower-to-middle working class and some are a bit nicer. In the “lower-to-middle” neighborhoods there are very small homes selling for as low as $35,000. These are homes that need cosmetic work and are small, they would have sold in the lower $100’s in in 2004. There are also homes in the area for around $65,000, these would have sold for $150,000+ in 2004. We are on a mission to work overtime, nights, weekends… you name it, until we are in a position to buy something. Part of me feels like we should buy a starter home in the $35,000 range and then continue to save every penny for a nicer home… My husband feels like the market won’t stay this way forever and that if the market looks like it may shift quickly for the better, that we should take the money and use it as a large deposit in order to snag an amazing house at a great price. I feel he and I both have very valid points. We’ve made some poor financial decisions in the past and have spent YEARS getting out of the mess. We both own our cars (5-7 year old vehicles) and live cash-only, under our means. 🙂 I would love a beautiful house, and I want a great deal, but I don’t want to waste money on mortgage interest when there are so many other things we could be catching up on (like saving for our children’s educations). Thanks!!!!
I am self-employed as a massage therapist, plus run a wellness center (ie offer workshops, do the marketing, advertising, etc.) Added to my weekly cleaning of a one bedroom apartment, I’m planning a Sept wedding and we are looking for a house. [The goal lists have been extremely helpful!]
I love to be organized and have suggested that my fiance and I read your book together. I really want to get things in order before the kids come down the road.
What is your suggestion for constructing a budget on a standard income (he is full time-salary) and an irregular? We thought about using his and then mine for savings, debt paying, vacation, extras?
If you can budget on his income alone I would absolutely recommend. As a financial adviser since 2000 and a financial coach since I launched my pure counseling/coaching service. You have to prioritize.
Expenses you can not change-housing, utilities, car payment, insurance, debt payments, etc. get listed first. ….. No matter what.
Then prioritize. List every single other expense that is not set in stone and give it a number in terms of importance.
In our household, since 90% of our income is variable. We do our base bills. Then we do our ideal budget (including savings, short term and long term household goals) This includes our extra on our monthly mortgage, our money towards our new master bedroom fund, and our mortgage. ) Then anything over that amount goes in a very specified percentage area.
Example:
For us. Ever $1 over budget, goes to 25% extra kids college fund, 25% to rebuilding our car fund (that we just recently took money out of for car tires), 25% goes to putting away for 2 things that will need to be replaced for our household in the next year (new lawn mower and new vacuum) and 25% to our current goal of paying cash to build a new master bedroom.
You have to prioritize and focus on the big stuff as well so you will be motivated towards those goals but without a focus on what to do when you go over and above that money just tends to be lost and used, rather than focused and moving you forward.
Thanks 🙂
As Jesse is a lawyer, I’m wondering if he could touch on the necessary documents that one needs – wills, living trusts, medical, etc. It gets confusing to know what is truly needed. I would trust Jesse to have an honest perspective on these matters. Also, can any of these documents be done online, with a kit, or must they be done through a lawyer which makes it a bit more costly? Thank you.
I’m not a mom, but I am a young adult who loves to follow you through this fantastic website. What advice can you give young adults who are just starting out and looking to be financially savvy?
I know what it takes for one person to live is much different than what it takes for another person to live. I am still amazed when I hear people say that a million dollars is enough to retire on. Am I off-base when I think that two million, to two and a half million should be more the target for retirement? Some of us are 20 years away from retirement but need to have a goal in mind. From what I understand, that is like living on $50,000 a year, which is very average living, considering the likelihood of living longer, into our 90s, and higher medical bills, etc.
When you have too many demands on your savings, how do you prioritize?
My husband was diagnosed with a progressive terminal illness (ALS, better knows as Lou Gehrig’s disease). Since then we have spoken to many others with this same diagnosis, and face losing everything.Their savings accounts, retirements, homes and even life insurance can be attached to via Medicaid if the person needs to go into a nursing home until the end of life. How do you protect your assets so that your family can be taken care of in the event of an illness? In some cases, the only answer is a legal divorce, which is a very sad end result in the face of an already heartbreaking situation.
My question is along the lines as a few others have asked regarding a living trust. In Jesse’s opinion, is a last will and testament sufficient, or should parents have a revocable living trust as well (or instead of)? The reason I ask is that I think (Jesse can correct me if I’m wrong) that there is a considerable difference in how much these two things cost.
I know that ya’ll paid cash for your home, so…
In your opinion, is it ever better or worthwhile to go into debt for a home.
Isn’t the money spent on rent while saving to buy, money wasted?
What was your most memorable interview and why?
Something that seems to have been happening for Crystal a little more lately is traveling for business.
I have started a little of this too and while my husband does a great job caring for the children and our home (I never have to worry when I have to go) I feel like it stresses him out that I have to be gone. He will say it’s ok, but then he seems upset by it.
How do you feel when Crystal has to travel for business and you have to handle your work and the household on your own? What can I do to help him feel more comfortable with it?
I am curious how you and your husband come to an agreement on financial matters when you are initially in disagreement? Anything from the things you do to bring in income to a particular purchase? I really enjoy your site and I’ve always been curious about this, as alot of couples have financial disagreements.
(I think instead of RSVP you mean Enter Sweepstakes.)
What considerations for financial investments do you consider best? Especially from a frugal mindset who may not be open to too much risk. As far as Dave Ramsey’s snowball, we have no debt and are saving up 6 months of expenses. But we also rent our house and paying full cash for a house would be a big dream for us considering my husband’s income level and the high possibility of moving (currently he’s in a ministry position, not a pastor but desires that, and most pastors are at churches only 5 years or less though that is not our goal of course!).
Whoops! Thanks for catching my typo!
What advice do you have for a couple who doesn’t agree on how to budget money? How would you suggest they develop a budget when priorities are very different?
For a business such as writing, blogging, selling on etsy, etc. is it best to have a tax id number or is it just as good to use your social security number?
I know you have talked about the different ways to save for childrens collage. We are wanting to start doing something to save for our children to use for collage if they would like, but don’t want it to HAVE to be used for that. What do you recommend. Our children are 5 and 3
What are the advantages of a living trust? Should everyone have one or only those above a certain income bracket? If the latter, what amount of income/assets would warrant a living trust?
1). We know that in many, many ways living frugally has been a blessing for your family, but you earn enough money that it’s no longer something your family needs to do. Do you ever get tired of watching every dollar, re-thinking every purchase? Do you ever just buy what you feel like without comparing prices or worrying how it will impact the budget? If so, does it cause problems in your relationship, and if not, does resenting being frugal ever come up between you two?
2). What have you wished you did purchase that you didn’t, and what purchases do you wish you hadn’t made?
I’ll miss the live webcast due to Holy Week services — will there be a way to watch it even if it isn’t live? Even though I won’t be able to win prizes, I would still like to read your advice to readers. Thanks!
We’re currently in the market to buy our first home. If deciding between a FHA loan with 3.5% down and a conventional loan with 5% down, all things considered, which is the better long-term option.
I am in the same boat. I won’t be able to view the webcast on Thursday, but would really like to see it if at all possible.
Sorry! That was meant to go under the next comment! I am a bit new to the whole blogging thing!
I would love to know what some of the goals are that Jesse is working on. We always get to see your goals posted and I would love to see what some of his look like. Looking forward to the webcast!
When couples save for the future should there be just one joint account or should there be an account for his retirement and one for her retirement. Should a stay at home wife get equal amounts placed in her retirement account.
Is it legal for one spouse to just run off with all money in every account when they suddenly decide they do not wish to have a marriage (mainly because they see it as too much work)
I started working again recently, part-time. My husband is extremely supportive, but I think it’s hard for him to let me know how the new contraints on my time impact him and the kids. Crystal has shared with us how your family has made changes (hiring help, saying no to things, etc.) How do you bring these things up with her and still make her feel your support? We’re working on this at our house, but I’d love to hear from a couple who has been working on it longer!
Random, but can Jesse briefly explain a living trust? His opinions about whether this is a good estate plan move, or which populations would benefit from having a living trust.
Jesse, What is the best bank trustee for a HSA account in his opinion?? Or the top few. i.e. least fees, easy access, brokerage account, good support, etc
We just called around to our local banks for their HSA account info. I found many of the bank employees knew almost nothing about it! Good luck. 🙂
Our local bank offered interest so we went with that one.
We’re having the same problem (local bank workers don’t know anything about their HSA accounts), or they’ll “have someone call us” that does those accounts and no call yet or, they say that you can only open one online (Bank of America said that) but their list of fees, minimums for no fees, etc are to be delivered when you open an account. Ugh! lol.
Wish I could “come” to the webcast…but that’s Maundy Thursday, so definitely not. Church is priority that evening!
Would be nice to see another webcast offered 🙂
I would love to know what Jesse’s splurges are! (Us long time readers already know yours!)
Can’t wait for the webcast…putting it on my calendar now.
That’s a great question, I’d like to know that, too!!
Me too!!
It’s nearing the end of my first year of homeschooling and I’m beginning to make plans for next year. To help with my preparation, could you tell me what are some of the ways your family saves money on homeschooling? (i.e. field trips, curriculum, art supplies, etc.)
I don’t have a question, but I just wanted to commend you, Crystal, for continuing to step outside your comfort zone in order to grow as a person. I’ll be watching unless I’m in the hospital – April 5 is my due date!
I second that Krysten… and congratulations! Hope you have a smooth delivery. 🙂
How can you help reaffirm your wife’s worth if she is a stay at home mom and is not able to bring in any income?
Such a great question Jeanette!
How do you decide on your splurge items within your budget? For example, if your husband wants to splurge on a gym membership but you want to splurge on getting your hair done monthly, do you each get the exact same amount of money each month for your splurge item?
What if spouses don’t agree on the priorties in their finances!?!?! We struggle with this.
I’d love to see this addressed as well. My question specifically is what is the best way to balance different priorities on the level of aggression in paying off loans/saving. My fiance and I are both committed to no debt and paying off my student loans as quickly as possible, but I’m willing to be a lot more aggressive/frugal to pay them off quicker and build up some savings.
I would love some advice on that also. It is a stress for me every day, and I just don’t know how to talk to him about it when we are at such opposite ends.
How did you best support Crystal in starting her home business? What advice would you have for husbands who want to support their wives having a home business?
How fun! Thanks for doing this.
How hard is it to track your expenses if you run your own business? What all goes into setting up a business?
How do you work together (you and your husband) to keep things running smoothly with all the projects you are involved with? Thanks! 🙂