Another thing to consider for college-bound kiddos..........

If we are talking money, it makes almost zero sense to send your child out-of-state to go to college.  I found this great article from Best Colleges which highlights the lowest out-of-state tuition fees but if these are the lowest, I do not want to know the highest.

For example, Northwestern Oklahoma State University is $11,764 if you are an out-of-state college-goer.  If you are a resident of Oklahoma, this number drops down to $5,642.

Heading to Arkansas?  The University of Central Arkansas is around $7,595 if you are an Arkansas resident, if not, open up your wallet because you will get to pay $13,340.

Thinking of going further down south to Georgia, home of The Walking Dead?  Georgia Tech (a phenomenal school) is $7,718 but if you are not a Georgia resident you will be paying for it!  Wait for it........................you are likely to pay $27,022 (fainting with you).

Here is another great link to find out about the differences between in-state and out-of-state tuition fees and the reasoning why some colleges can cost you upwards of $26,000 more if you are not a state resident, University of Virginia, what is up with that?

So true

I spend every penny I have trying to provide for my girls and all of their basic needs.  It is all about them as it should be.  Material items and bribes do not send a good message to kids that understand hard financial times, watching their mother work all the time and still barely getting by while others just throw money away on things that are irrelevant.  How does your family spend its money?

Banks and finance charges

Banks are really smart about getting money from people with their finance charges.  You really can get suckered in if you are not sure how to do basic math.

Here is an example:  You want to purchase something, I don't know lets say a 4-wheeler.  The 4-wheeler cost is only $4,500 but you do not have enough cash but you really want it so you go to the bank and they are all too happy to give you the money as long as you pay a finance charge so they can make money too, that is what their main objective is anyway, it is certainly not about helping you.

Okay so the $4,500 is approved at a rate of lets just say 15.49% and lets just say the bank is very generous and gives you 5 years to pay them back, how generous of them indeed.  Here is the part you need to understand math for.  This amount with this interest for 5 years calls for a monthly payment of $454.00 (((A MONTH!!))).  So basically when you add all of this together you get a $4,500 4-wheeler for $27,240.00.

Don't believe it, lets do the math together.
15.49%+total finance charges of $8360.96 which makes the total amount financed $18,879.04 which leaves you with a total of $27,240.00.

If that version is too difficult for you to understand just do it the easy way multiple $454.00 times 12 (12 months in a year) which gives you $5,448.00 for each year so now multiple $5,448.00 times 5 (you financed for 5 years) and you get the grand total of  $27,240.00.

That is unbelievable!!!!  Look at all that wasted money.  I cannot see how anyone in their "Right" mind could do such a thing but it happens every day when people are desperate to get something so beware of banks and their finance changes.  My car  was $6,000 cheaper than this made up 4-wheeler. It seems criminal to me that a bank could get away with that but make sure not to miss the payments because then you might have to go and do even more crazy things, like???? borrow against your house to pay off the debt for the made up 4-wheeler which is even dumber than buying a $27,240.00 4-wheeler in the first place.  Anyway, buyer beware!