Photo Credit: Steve Keys

It’s great to have out of town guests. A dear friend is visiting us this weekend and we’re having fun. Having him over has motivated us to got to the natural history museum downtown and enjoy the exhibits. Even though the ‘regular museum’ is relatively free (donations always welcomed), the exhibit we wanted to see had a ticket price. 

I have to say it was well worth it and besides the good company we had, I also learned a lot about archeology and a different culture. My husband and I had wanted to go to see the exhibit for some time but didn’t. Our guest gave us the ‘umph’ to go ahead and I’m glad we did. I’d recommend going to your local museum for a fun and educational time. 

One thing that is a bit of trouble for me is the gift ship right after the exhibits. On one hand, I’d like a nice keepsake for the occasion, but the prices are ridiculous. I was happy to find some great gifts at $3 a piece. I got one for ourselves, my mom, and my mother in law. 

On different topic, I wanted to draw your attention to a link on the homepage under ‘resources’. This link will take you to FiLife which is a pretty neat site. The site has reviews of checking & savings accounts, credit cards, and CDs. My favorite part of this site is the stacker tool. It allows you to compare how you are doing with others. I use it for my credit score, as I’m working to raise it for when we decide to purchase a home. I like having a ballpark idea of where we stand. 

It also offers some basic tips on improving your savings with the household income stacker tool, like: 

• Make Your Money Work Harder 
  
• Keep What You Have
  
• Make Sure It Stays in the Family
  
• Ask for More Money

Carnivals I Participated in

• 83rd Carnival of Money Stories – Election Day Edition!
• Carnival of Financial Planning
• Carnival of Debt Reduction #164

Top Personal Finance Posts This Week

• 5 Easy Ways For College Students To Make Extra Money 
• Blaming parents for our own problems
• The Myth of Self Discipline
• Favorite Dates for Under $15
• That’s our list and we’re sticking to it
• Rethinking Investing
• Invest As Much As You Can Now, So You Will Have Options Later 
• Student Loans: The Fundamentals
• CD Ladder Explained
• Bogle says enough

As always, subscribing to the site is the easiest way to be updated. I’m just trying to make it easier for everyone to follow the site.

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