Mormon Bloggers

There is a hardly a topic as fraught with controversy as “money.”  Yet every day, the vast majority of God’s children (or their spouses) labor all day long for the money necessary to support themselves and their families.  In truth, most bread winners will spend more of their life at work than with family or attending to spiritual matters.  As working “by the sweat of our brow” to obtain a living is part of the common experience of man, it is one of the purposes for our life here on earth. In modern day revelation, we learn that God’s “commandments are spiritual … not natural, nor temporal” (D&C 29:35), and that “all things … are spiritual” (D&C 29:34).  Thus, while money may seem to be exclusively a “temporal” concern, issues such as money, work, spending, investing, and giving to the poor are all governed by spiritual laws. Put God First in Our Life An oft-quoted biblical verse teaches that the “the love of money is the root of all evil” (1... Read the rest of this entry »

I had a gourmet breakfast this morning: A fast food breakfast burrito.  (I know, I know) The service was quick, the person working the microphone spoke passable English, and I even remembered to ask for salsa. (Because what crazy person would expect salsa to accompany a breakfast burrito.) Everything went swimmingly until I got my change back. The tiny window attendant stood on her tip-toes to reach out the window to hand me my change. She had it all stacked up in the following order: Bills on the bottom, then the receipt, and all the loose change on top. Now I’m sitting in my serial-killer truck (link) with my arm extended, holding a tower of change. I slowly bend my elbow to get my arm in the window, and all the change slides off the receipt and falls on the ground. And no, I do not have motor skill issues. The cashier pretends she didn’t see, and quickly shuts the window. I try to open my door, but I am too close to the window. Just then a car pulls up behind me.  Grrr!... Read the rest of this entry »

As I explained here, Gramsie put money and candy in our Easter eggs. I’m pretty sure I’m super rich. It took me forever to put all of the money in my piggy bank! Ka-Ching! The piggy’s feeling some change coming it’s way It’s hard to swallow a lot of change when it comes your way. I, personally, don’t do too well when things happen too fast. I guess that’s why they put the slit on her back. Makes for easier digestion.  Read More →

I have been meaning to write this post all week!  But every time I sat down to do it, the kid’s started fighting or needed something, or the baby woke up crying to be feed.  So here I am late Friday night, finally getting it done. I want to thank my new advertisers for their patience with me on getting this introduction written. If you scroll down a bit and look on my right sidebar, you will notice that I have a new advertiser, DebtConsolidation.com.   I am really excited to have their link on my blog for the next few months.  It’s nice to have something other than the regular stuff advertised on blogs for a change. And who doesn’t have some kind of debt these days?  If it isn’t a mortgage or credit card, it’s hospital bills or student loans.  Not to mention that sometimes we have so many bills we lose track of when to pay what and how much.  It can be stressful and depressing. But it isn’t the end of the world.  There... Read the rest of this entry »

Edward Stern is a guest blogger for My Dog Ate My Blog and a writer on earning your bachelors degree online for the Guide to Online Schools. Marriage is a union between two people who are in love and want to share the rest of their lives together, but boy does money enter into the equation in a big way. Money issues are the #1 reason for divorce in the United States, mostly because people don’t have enough of it. Money is a big deal for a married couple, especially ones with children and other family members to support. Especially in today’s tough economy, it’s more important than ever to be thrifty and do what you can to save money. Saving money doesn’t mean drastic life changes or eating 10-cent ramen noodles with every meal; instead, just making a few easy cuts here and there can help you save big over the course of a year. Here are six money tips for married couples to help make some easy choices when it comes to money that will help you save, both on bills and... Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve all made purchases we ended up regretting. Here are a few tips to help you improve your spending habits and avoid buyer’s remorse: Don’t rush it. This is especially important to remember when you are looking to buy a home, vehicle, or other big ticket item.  If you are moving to a new area, you would be wise to rent for 6 months or so as you learn more about the area and its neighborhoods.  Great deals will come and go; don’t make a quick decision if you aren’t given the chance to be sure it is the right home for your family.  For a car purchase, be sure to allow enough time to do your homework and inspections on the car before you spring to make the purchase.  The same advice goes for smaller purchases – don’t buy a $100 pair of pants that you only “sorta” love just because you are in a hurry to get home from the mall.   Also, you can find reviews of most products, such as home electronics, online to help you choose... Read the rest of this entry »

For the first time, one of this year’s most popular New Year’s Resolutions is to improve financial health – an excellent choice, due to the impact your finances have on your family, your future, and your own well-being. I challenge you to improve your financial health this year by improving your budget. It seems that most people always have room for improvement in their budget, and making a few changes can lead to great improvements in your overall financial health. And if you think you don’t need a budget, you are wrong – every family needs a budget, regardless of your income or spending habits. If you aren’t already living on a budget, take a look at these budget-writing steps. Now, looking back on the last year, What spending did you regret? Can you eliminate it this year? In what cases did you feel that your money was well-spent? Was your spending activity in line with your family’s goals? Did you reach or come closer to any of those... Read the rest of this entry »

I just came across this beautiful nugget showing McScrooge teaching his nephews about the evils of inflations. I recently posted about the changing attitudes of our children’s cartoons on money:  Read More →

Times have certainly changed. I remember watching Duck Tales growing up and loved watching Scrooge McDuck swimming around in his silo of gold coins and precious stones: However, kids these days have no clue what a gold coin is, or what it’s worth. It’s all about “the Benjamins” and Mr. Krab’s paper fetish: He even gets excited about worthless “copper” pennies. I think every cartoon that displays money uses the green variety. This is unfortunate. May we all teach our kids sound economics and the proper form of money!  Read More →

Everything at Disneyland is expensive.  They don’t make their money from the admission price.  They make their money on the food and the souvenirs.  I should know.  I bought some food there, and way too many souvenirs.  Including glass ornaments for the Christmas tree so we remember our trip.  They were so cute! When we went on our trip to Disneyland, we were introduced to the PhotoPass card.  There are photographers everywhere and when they take your picture, they scan the bar code on your PhotoPass card.  We were trying to pass on letting them take our pictures, and we told them it’s because the pictures are so expensive.  He told us that you can buy a CD with all the pictures on it for $60.  Honestly, I thought that was a pretty good deal because I knew they charged around $15 for an 8×10.  So we just let them take whatever pictures they wanted. When we got home, one of the first things I did was get on the internet and... Read the rest of this entry »

I hold a 500 billion dinara banknote, worth $6 when first issued Millions of U.S. citizens are concerned about deficit spending and the possibility of high inflation and even hyperinflation. To illustrate how easily fiat money can become hyperinflated, I have been highlighting the top four countries that have had hyperinflation. They are: Hungary, 207% daily inflation rate in July 1946 Zimbabwe, 98% daily inflation rate in November 2008 Yugoslavia, 65% daily inflation rate in January 1994 Germany, 21% daily inflation rate in October 1923 Note that the inflation rates cited are daily. O my, I am glad I didn’t have to live through hyperinflation. Also observe that these countries are not confined to Europe. China is not listed but if they were they would come in at number 6. Any where fiat currencies are used (that’s basically everywhere) the danger of hyperinflation is forever present. To complete the gang of four, today I am discussing Yugoslavia. The 500 billion dinar... Read the rest of this entry »

Weimar Republic 100 million mark banknote The 100 million mark banknote I am holding was mere pocket change compared to the value of the banknotes yet to be issued in 1923. In early 1921 German currency was trading at 60 marks to the U.S. dollar. By November 1921 there were 330 marks to the dollar. A year later a dollar bought 8,000 marks. In December 1923 the exchange rate was 4,200,000,000,000 marks to the U.S. dollar. The Wiemar Republic did not have the worst hyperinflation in history — Hungary holds that “honor”. Zimbabwe was the second worst offender, followed by Yugoslavia, and then Germany. Greece and China round up the top six hyperinflators of all time. The highest denomination in Germany was a 100,000,000,000,000 mark banknote issued in 1923. Workers were paid three times a day and wives would meet them to rush to the store to pay 200 billion marks for a loaf of bread. The hyperinflation was caused by the government issuing massive amounts of new money. This... Read the rest of this entry »