Nothing earth-shaking here, just a few common sense notes.

Few young newlyweds, when out on their own-together, can afford the frivolities they enjoyed when single, living at their parents’ homes. 

Decent transportation, A ‘$0’ credit card balance, and affordable housing should be their baseline economic goals. 

Christmas giving should accomodate newlyweds' realities. When my kids ask me what I want for Christmas, I tell them a $10 gas card. 

Christmas shouldn’t be pressurized by expectations from family members. 

Some, again some, men with working wives under-perform at work and do not reach their full earning potential. Throughout the years, I have been able to tell that certain 30+ year-old male coworkers had working wives or lived with their parents, by their casual attitude toward their jobs. 

Few parents can afford to own a home and still buy their children everything they want. Priorities have to be agreed on and adhered to. 

Don’t try to buy your children’s love; you can’t afford it, for there are a lot of tinkery-things in America for a child to want. 

Learn how to check the fluid levels in your car and do it regularly. 

The two best ways to increase the life of your car is to change the oil on schedule and ignore your cell phone while driving.

It is poor economy to replace something before it is worn out, unless the item is given to someone who has less. 

While fashion may be a consideration at the time of a purchase, it should not be a consiideration for disposing of an item. 

It is poor economy to have multiples of the same items just for fashion. I own two pairs of shoes.One pair for work/dress, and one pair of sneakers.

Look at your gutters while it is raining hard. Overflow from the gutters can cause damage far beyond the cost of intelligent home maintenance.

Other than boy-wear, rain and sun do 90% of the damage to a well-built home.

Education in a viable occupation is a good thing and worth pursuing, even as an adult. But it is a balancing act with the job and family. I spent 22 years, off and on, getting my degree, and though I haven’t been able to use my degree to the degree that I wanted to, I don't regret the effort.  

Other than infidelity, few things can destroy a marriage like the misuse of money. 

And financial misuse includes a man's refusal to exert himself in properly earning a wage. 

So can misusing limited funds. 

Spouses need to use the income to build their marriage, not to express their individualism. 

The selfish squandering of money weakens the foundation of marriage. 

If we have someone who loves us, we shouldn't need or seek the approval of every other person we meet, which in America, requires money.

Eric J. Rose