And how I’m building the life I want — This is a story about time and money. Yes, money can sometimes give us time. That is, it can free us to pursue opportunities — some of those even bring us joy. I’ve written before about my own struggle to balance the need for some basic level of money and…

And how I learned to let go and live a happier life — Order. Predictability. Pattern, routine, habit. All of those can be comforting, calm, even restorative. But if we’re trying to control — if we are seeking to create our own order from a world that seems chaotic — we can be in for some unpleasant experiences. In short: We can only…

You can do it yourself — without a credit repair company — In the wake of news that most medical debt will be removed from consumer credit reports this summer, you may be wondering how to be sure your credit report is accurate going forward. 70% of Medical Debt to be Removed from Credit Reports Credit reporting agencies announce relief for consumers facing medical debtadvocateandy.medium.com An accurate credit report matters because your credit score is used for things like getting a mortgage…

A man, a job, and a secret — James found himself sitting alone in his car at around 8:30 each night, wet from a mixture of his own sweat and the sprinklers on the fresh rack — the place in the tiny store where the vegetables were displayed. He’d light up a White Owl Sweet and roll down…

Michigan college seeks to profit from Tennessee taxpayers — A fiscal analysis released today from Public School Partners (a group I support and am a member of) reveals that if approved, Hillsdale College’s scheme to create charter schools in five Tennessee school districts (Madison, Maury, Montgomery, Robertson, Rutherford) would cost local taxpayers some $35 million when fully implemented. Here’s…

Aggressive advance of charter schools, expansion of vouchers on tap this legislative session — Efforts to privatize Tennessee’s public schools were deferred today in a key House Committee. The privatization push includes potential expansion of school vouchers into Knoxville and the other would open the doors for charter schools to operate in districts without first being subject to local review. More from The Education…

Many junk fees are “optional” and some can be disputed or ignored — The concept of “junk fees” was elevated to one of national significance when President Biden mentioned them in his State of the Union. Junk Fees Get Elevated to State of the Union Biden calls on Congress to pass key consumer protection legislationadvocateandy.medium.com But what IS a junk fee and how can you fight them? U.S. PIRG has a great blog on the topic — explaining what junk fees are…

State has $2 billion surplus, is 45th in school funding — As I read through Tennessee’s latest revenue update, I can’t help but think that state leaders are acting like a “broke dad” when all the evidence points to the opposite. So far this year, Tennessee has taken in $1.2 billion MORE than was estimated. On the low end, it seems…

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