I just read Barbara Stanny's "Secrets of Six-Figure Women." I was happy to find that I share similar traits to the 150 women she interviewed. But there was a section that stood out to me, mostly because I didn't expect it to stand out to me.

We previously reviewed Stanny's book "Overcoming Underearing." Guest reviewer Jeremy M. wrote:

"[Stanny] learned that the big difference between highly successful women and less successful women was how they valued themselves and what they were willing to do to get what they wanted."

How much should you spend on a wedding? Well, that depends on who you're asking, I suppose. As I'm sure most of you are aware, the personal finance blogosphere tends to be divided into two main camps: those that are focused on investments and entrepreneurship and those that are focused on frugality.

In my experience, however, the entrepreneurship camp is pretty live-and-let-live. The whole “cut everything you don't care about so you can spend whatever you'd like on the things you do care about” school of thought. When you think about it, this makes sense for a few reasons.

• We all have different skill sets to be utilized in our respective side hustles.
• Different skills mean different pricing schemes.
• We all have different work and family situations that we're fitting said side hustles in around.
• We all care about spending our money on different things, and those things cost different amounts and reflect our tastes and values.

Long story short, what this means is that sometimes it's difficult to talk about investment and entrepreneurial issues in a way that applies to everyone.

Note: Although I try to keep GRS a politics-free zone, today's topic is inherently political. I've stayed as neutral as possible in the article, but I know that there'll be some political discussion in the comments. Please keep conversation civil, as always.

Recently at The Simple Dollar, Trent posed the question, "How much do taxes matter to you?" As might be expected, his readers responded with passionate comments from both sides of the political spectrum. The discussion frustrated me, though. There's just too much misinformation, and people offer their opinions as if they were facts.

I'm as guilty as anyone else.

In the past nine months I've found $12.89 in singles and specie. The cash has shown up in a number of places, but most of it is from coins I picked up.

As usual, I'll squirrel away the found funds until Thanksgiving, at which time I'll write a check to a food bank. I've been doing this for a couple of decades, including a span of several years during which I had neither a vessel into which to urinate nor a casement through which to dispose of it.

This was a painless way to help others at a time when I worried nonstop about my own ability to stay afloat. Giving to others got me out of my own head, reminding me that plenty of people lived with considerably fewer resources (financial, emotional, practical) than I had.

As more of my friends enter middle age, they're talking less about how to care for their kids and more about how to care for their parents. Our mothers and fathers are nearing (and, in some cases, surpassing) seventy years of age, and not all of them are financially prepared.

A GRS reader named Shauna recently wrote with a typical scenario:

My husband and I are in our early thirties and finally getting our finances in order after years of piling up debt. We both have parents who were never particularly good with money, and they've entered their early retirement years with no savings or assets to speak of — no houses, no savings, no emergency fund. We're looking down the road, and realizing that we will probably be financially responsible for all of them at some point in the not too distant future. Do you have any advice for us? Continue reading...

More about...Retirement, Planning

It's hard to believe, but Kris and I graduated from Willamette University nearly twenty years ago. We enjoyed our time in college, and remain close to many of our classmates. It's always fun when we get a chance to drive to Salem to re-visit the campus. We did just that tonight.

The university hosted a "You're Doing What With Your Major?" alumni career panel to connect current students with former Bearcats who are now working professionals. Kris — who is a chemist — took part in the science panel, and I sat in on the marketing and communications group.