It’s almost been a week now that I’ve been on this baseball tour and I’m currently in Chicago at a friend’s place. So far I’ve been to Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and now Chicago. Today we actually saw Barry Bonds hit 2 home runs at Wrigley Field which brings him within 2 of tying the all-time record. Tomorrow we’re going up to Milwaukee where the Brewers are also playing San Francisco. It’s possible that we could see Bonds hit the tying home run, number 755.

So far the trip has been a good time, yet sometimes exhausting. I’ve also now eaten a real Philly Cheese steak, New York style pizza, and a Pierogie in Pittsburgh. I’ve also eaten Chicago deep dish pizza, but I had had that once before as well.

Along the way, we’ve been able to stay at friends houses and they’ve also been kind enough to feed us along the way which has helped quite a bit as far as the trip expenses are concerned. The downside has been all the toll roads that we’ve had to be on. The northeast is full of them.

Tomorrow is the last game that we’re going to and then I’ll be back in St Louis, so I should be resuming the normal posting frequency pretty soon. Until then, make sure you’ve read what’s in the archives.

HB Businessmag.com is a relatively new website that is aimed at helping you get a Home Based Business off the ground. They offer a free monthly e-magazine which appears to be on the second issue so far. There are also sections for home based business ideas and marketing strategies.

If you’re interested in starting a business from home, this could be an informative site to help you get started and continue to provide useful tips along the way. I would recommend that the site’s layout could be cleaned up and organized a little, but the information is there. If you’re interested in a business from home, you should check them out.

This is a sponsored post.

I was actually kind of surprised when my husband asked me to write a couple of posts while he’s away. Before we got married, my personal finances consisted of buying whatever I felt like and hoping whatever was left covered rent and my other basic needs. When we got engaged, limeade started laying down the rules, which was good. I was open to changes in my finances because I knew that I hadn’t been managing them very well. I wasn’t even keeping my checkbook balanced! The last year has been quite an adjustment for me as far as my spending habits are concerned. I’ve made some major changes in the way I view and spend my money.

My parents didn’t really teach me too much about personal finance, which is why I was in such shape when we got married. They are pretty well off and our family has never really been in want, fortunately. They tried to show me how to save money, but they weren’t very strict enforcers. They taught me credit cards are bad, so I didn’t have one until half way through college. I knew nothing about my credit score, how to build credit, or why in the world I would even need it in the future. And when I spent too much and couldn’t cover my rent, they bailed me out and just added the amount to my quickly increasing tab. When my husband and I got engaged, I owed my parents a couple thousand dollars and I had a few too many credit cards carrying balances.

Now, I’m not complaining – heaven knows I wouldn’t be where I am now without my parents and their financial assistance – but I just wish they would have educated me better early on. Everything I know about personal finance I’ve learned from my husband. Needless to say, he takes care of the finances now. I have gotten much better, though. I no longer buy things on a whim and I have learned the value and importance of saving.

We don’t have children yet, but when we do, you can be sure that they will know what I didn’t and so much more. If you have kids, or if you have friends with kids, or if you have nieces and nephews, make an effort to see that they are taught the basic principles of personal finance early. It will make a huge difference in their lives if they are taught the practices that will help them become wealthy and successful.

I’ll be leaving early tomorrow morning to go on a baseball tour. We’re going to be visiting 7 different baseball parks in 7 days. Probably the greatest benefit is not having to be at work for the next week, which will be interesting since I’ve never actually taken a “vacation” doing something other than visiting family.

As I have been getting ready for this trip, I noticed that there are a lot of miscellaneous expenses that crop up. I also had to buy those little travel size bottles of shampoo and the like. They aren’t all that expensive really, but overpriced none the less, considering the size.

Anyway, my wife probably be guest writing, or if you’d like to write an original post that you think the other readers here will enjoy, send it in an email to fiscalmusings@gmail.com, and you’ll get yourself a link.

I was “tagged” by Mercedes Lopez and Baz to write a post of 8 random things about me. Here it is:

1. I really love music. Up to this point I’ve played the viola, trombone, baritone (euphonium), guitar, and bass guitar. I really dig the bass though and still dabble with it from time to time.

2. I’ve never been east of Chicago (unless you count Germany), but that’s all going to change next week as I’m going on a baseball trip starting in Boston.

3. I’ve been married for just barely over a year now, and she’s still awesome.

4. I grew up in Texas, just outside of Dallas. I would like to move back there and at least retire there. There’s just something about it.

5. I am absolutely amazing at Minesweeper. My best time on expert is 133 seconds, simply astonishing.

6. I work to live and don’t live to work. This will probably never change until I begin working for myself, which brings me to…

7. I want to start my own company. I don’t know exactly what I want to do, but I know I want to start something.

8. Lastly, I really love to cook. I’d love to try some of the things they do on the Food Network, but I don’t really allow myself that kind of food budget.

I’m not going to “tag” anyone else with this, but if you’d like to pick it up and run with it, consider yourself tagged.

Obtaining a loan or any other type of credit is a major issue in personal finances. Credit comes in many different forms ranging from payday lenders and credit cards to home mortgages and student loans. Before obtaining a form of credit, or otherwise getting yourself mixed up in all of it, it’s important to get informed and learn as much as you can.

Credit Loan is a website designed to help you learn about the many different forms of credit and lending practices. They have articles on topics including auto loans, bad credit repair, debt consolidation, small business loans and construction loans.

I’m definitely not one to advocate the accumulation of debt, but I do believe that there are wise uses for different credit products. I’ve used auto loans and mortgage loans. I’ve used student loans, and I have multiple credit cards. The key is to be informed as to the pros and cons of each.

(On a technical note, this website needs to change it’s layout to allow the main content to actually appear in the middle of the page where it should be instead of at the very bottom after the sidebars.)

This is a sponsored post.

There’s a term used in economics called the opportunity cost. As Wikipedia defines it is:

the cost of something in terms of an opportunity forgone, or the most valuable forgone alternative, i.e. the second best alternative

This concept stems from the economic premise of scarcity of resources. Because of limited resources, choices must be made of how to employ these resources, and whenever a choice is made, there is an opportunity cost.

Although this concept can be uselessly taken to the extreme, it can provide valuable insights into some of the decisions we face and choices we make. Two of the most prevalent areas where this concept can be applied is with our money and our time. Both of these meet the criteria of being limited resources.

Your Time

What you do with your time, more importantly your “free time”, largely determines your level of success. Whatever activities you choose to engage in, you do so at the exclusion of some other alternative. For example, by sitting down and watching the latest installment of your favorite television show, you’re giving up the time in which you could have been accomplishing something else. Perhaps you could have been brainstorming ideas for a business you’d like to start. You could be researching investment opportunities. You could also have been reading one of the great classics of literature that you’ve always wanted to read. It’s not inherently bad to participate in recreational activities, or any activity for that matter; just remember that there is an opportunity cost associated with that choice.

Your Money

The choices you make with your money now will greatly influence your financial future. There is always talk of how much something costs or what it’s going to set you back. There isn’t, however, much discussion of what the true, or opportunity, cost is. Say you decide to purchase the new iPhone. It’ll cost you about $500. Now take a step back and think of other alternatives that you could have used that money for. Perhaps it would have helped you out with the next mortgage payment, or you could have started an emergency fund with it. You could have also invested that $500 and tap into the miracle of compounding. Some of these other opportunities should be a part of your thought process and decision making. The true cost of the new gadget may actually be far more than the listed price.