Paying for College -- Scholarships, Grants, Loans -- where to find what's available

Planning for college should begin the day your child is born.  Starting that college fund so there is money to pay for college, can be an enormous challenge.  There are ways to qualify for scholarships and grants, and there are always loans that can be taken out to pay for college. Avoiding the burden of a large debt after graduation is very important. With the constantly escalating cost of a college education it isn't surprising that parents just don't know what to do.

If you have available a college saving program within your state that will guarantee to cover the cost of tuition to an instate school, participate in it.  Grandparents and family can help by making contributions to special funds set up, specifically targeted for the child's college education.

Below you will find reading material on how to tackle the issues it takes to get a college degree.

Choosing the Right College

10 Step Guide to Win College Scholarships
How to Tackle the FAFSA  Financial Process
Get Scholarship and Grant Money to Pay for College  
Be Better Prepared to Handle Paying for College

Vacation Planning -- the challenges to plan a cost effective, terrific vacation

Now is the season when people start to look at planning their vacation. Whether you have two weeks or two months, you want to get the most out of what you do and what you spend on it.

The pressure of day to day life, makes it important to go on vacations.  Spending quality time with family, will help with all the stress that you deal with the rest of the year.

It is important to get away from home to recharge your batteries, not just 'take your vacation time' and stay at home. The change of scenery will do you a world of good, yet you may not have a large budget to work with.  Regardless of what you have  to spend on your vacation you want to 'stretch it as far as you can'.

Identify what you want to do.

There are simple tips for How to Plan your Perfect Vacation.


Here is a resource to plan your trip to DisneyWorld without paying Disney World prices to do it.

Entrepreneurial Madness

With the downsizing of corporate America, people have looked to being in their own business.  The entrepreneurial spirit is alive for sure. Sometimes it is a part-time venture, sometimes a full-time venture. They may have decided to take the skills they used in corporate America and start a business, providing the sames services, just as an 'entrepreneur'. Other people take their hobby, and try to turn it into a 'revenue producing operation'.  If it succeeds, they will never again feel like they are 'going to work' -- yet they will be.

What you will find here are things to help you in your journey to be the success you want to be. 

Did you know, that more women start businesses each year than men? More than 51% of businesses will be started by women; some statistics say that more than 80% many will fail in the first few years.  It isn't because of they lacked the desire to succeed -- they did not plan to fail, but too many do.

Get the professional help you need from an attorney and accountant. 


Start with a good strategic plan, learn how to build it.
From Day 1 -- Use Contact Management Software -- make sure every person you meet in put into your contact management database, so you don't have to worry about losing their information. 
Learn how to effectively manage and control your expenses.  Quickbooks is a great tool, use a Quickbooks tutorial to use it properly. 


Keep coming back for more.

Are you a 'hobbyist'? -- what to do in your spare time?

Everyone says you need to balance your work life with things you enjoy doing. After work, it is family time and taking care of them. In the hours left for you how do you make the most of your personal 'leisure time'?

Have you thought of doing something you never had time to do before, and want to do now -- some ideas you can do.

Learn to Play the Guitar
Easy Way to learn to play the piano
Learn to Dance, its great for exercising and special time with your partner

Eating Healthier --- it shouldn't have to be so hard

Each day there are choices to be made....everything from what to eat, how to exercise (simply getting motivated to exercise is a start).  Where do you start?  Just a few suggestions to help make your choices simplier. 

Have you wondered how to find healthy snacks, because you can't keep eating rice cakes?
100 Healthy Snacks and Treats to prevent boredom to Eat Smart

You have made the choice to become a vegetarian, but want easy recipes to tay a vegetarian.  Look at 'easy to make vegetarian meals'. 

Why do all your delicious desserts have to be filled with items that aren't what you should be eating? 
Try, some "Guilt-Free Desserts" -- that you can make yourself.


Now you are on your way to making better choices.