Gather Little by Little

People who speak often or write a lot in the public arena sometimes make mistakes and leave themselves open to criticism. That has happened to me a couple of times on this blog and it will probably happen again. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article responding to a question about college loan payoffs. If you read down to the comments, you will see where a regular reader who goes by the moniker, “Damsel” shared how her husband’s military service has been good for their family finances.

My response, a hastily typed comment via my Blackberry, came across as rather flip:

Click to continue reading...

Some time ago, I received a question from a reader with a general question regarding college student loan payoffs. I recently paid off my own loan, but we are still working on Mrs. Stew’s subsidized student loan balance. Just in case you were wondering – she is worth every penny!

That said, I have a fair amount of experience in dealing with student loans. Here is the question:

I graduated May 01, 2010 and would like to know if you have any information on the best plan for paying off student loan or is their ways to get a portion of the loan forgiven.

Click to continue reading...

From time to time, a reader will ask a question by way of this contact form. I usually respond with a private message most of the time, but today, I would like to take the opportunity to address a question with a public post.

Here is the question:

Click to continue reading...

It is good to be back. I took a little bit of time off before and after the Fourth of July. We were doing a lot of traveling and sometimes our internet access was not the greatest and besides it is a little rude to visit family and then be off typing on the computer for an hour or so. I must also admit that I spent a lot of time watching the World Cup and now that the tournament is over, I can get back to life as usual.  I hope that all of you, the Gather Little by Little readers, are having a great summer.

Click to continue reading...

We passed a fairly significant (at least for me) anniversary last week. April 7th marked the date of the first post that I wrote for Gather Little by Little, entitled, How to stand out at the workplace and hold on to your job in a recession. A few days later, I posted an Introduction to Stew (by Stew). For the rest of the spring and most of the summer, I wrote two articles a week until glblguy, the original author and site owner sold the blog in order to pursue other ventures. At that time, I began writing three posts a week and continued that until the present.

Click to continue reading...

I don’t know about you, but I think Daylight Savings is dumb. Why not just let the amount of sunlight wax and wane naturally? I miss driving home when the sun is still up at 5 pm . . . not a big deal, but I would love to get rid of it. Here are some articles that I found interesting this week:

Ron from the Wisdom Journal posted the top 10 consumer credit card events of 2009 – a good read. I am not sure that our current credit paradigm is going to last much longer. We’ll see . . .

Click to continue reading...

This is Stew and I am going on six months of posting here at Gather Little by Little. I am thankful to Glblguy for originally giving me the opportunity to write for a blog of this size and also greatful to Mike for allowing me to continue in this role.

Click to continue reading...

Since completing my introduction post, I have received several questions about personal finance. This one is coming from Cindy who is asking when should you file for bankruptcy? This is a very important question as the consequences of bankruptcy will follow you for several years. Therfore, you might want to think twice before choosing this path.

First, understanding what filing for bankruptcy means

Click to continue reading...

As previously announced by Larry, aka GLBL guy, he recently sold his blog to a guy called The Financial Blogger. Well that guy is me, Mike, and The Financial Blogger is the name of my first blog. Selling a blog is a though decision to make for both the buyer and the seller. While Larry has to “leave a part of his life”, I am taking a risk that you won’t enjoy my articles as much as Larry’s. This is why I thought of introducing myself as my first article.

Click to continue reading...

Each week I give the readers of Gather Little by Little a chance to ask me anything. The only real rule is that I can decline to answer. I’ll do my best to answer as many questions as I can though. Have a question you would like answered? Just drop me a line or leave a comment!

Alisa writes and asks:

I wanted to know of additional ways to supplement my current income, which isn’t
very much. Thank you.

Click to continue reading...