Today is the final day of high school for my baby daughter, Morgan.  Actually, she has not been to class in over a week, but tonight she walks across the stage to get the paper she has worked hard for.

Looking at some pictures over the weekend has reminded me how fast she has grown.  Time waits on none of us for sure.  I trust that her mother and I have taught her, and she has learned well, how to live her life.

From a financial point, I think she is getting it.  Since she has started working, she has learned to better manage her money.  Some who read this, including her, will remember that I used to call her a “future client”.  Last week, I forwarded a text of a restaurant who had a special that night.  Her reply to me was, “no cash”!

Tonight begins a new phase of her life.  This fall she will be entering college to build on the music talent she already has.

Congratulations Morgan on your big day.

Living in the Atlanta area, I have listened to Bryant Wright for years. His daily, minute long “Right From the Heart” clips have been an encouragement to me and thousands daily. When I had the opportunity to review a book written by him – I jumped on it. A book dealing with the Biblical roots of the issues in the Middle East sounded interest.

Bryant has taken the conflict there, using Biblical passages and historical information to layout the beginnings of the Mideast conflict up to where we are today. Christians will find this a reassuring book, but to non-Christians this book is an easy read to layout why things are like they are today.

Just watching the news today may scare and intimidate those who have no Biblical understanding. Bryant Wright opens the past and shares, with everyone the who, what, where, when, and how.

Just the sound of the content may scare readers away thinking that the detail will be too much for them to get in tune with, be able to understand, and be able to keep up with.  That is not the case with this book.  I highly encourage everyone to read this writing.

Two weeks ago, my oldest daughter graduated from college. We are so proud her is so many ways – completing, obtaining Summa Cum Laude, finishing in four years, and NO DEBT. College was paid for and there is no lingering debt to be dealt with. Thankfully, this is the same situation for her fiance, although I am not sure of the Summa Cum Laude thing!

Graduation season is here and it brought a very interesting story this week in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Here in Georgia we have what is known as the Hope Scholarship. It was the way to pay for many education needs across the state. One of those was the ability of students to attend college and have a sizable chunk of their tuition paid for – all by those who are mismanaging their money by playing the lottery. Sorry, that is another blog post.

The article shared this:

3.0 GPA is required by graduating seniors to get the Hope Scholarship
60% of seniors qualify
30% keep the scholarship all four years
50% lose the scholarship in the first year
Very few regain the Hope once it was lost

2004 – 24,496 qualified, 10,439 lost the scholarship, and only 972 recovered the scholarship

What is required? Maintaining a 3.0 GPA, simply a B average. Wow! With a 3.0 GPA almost all of a students in-state tuition and non-living expense costs would be covered.

The AJC went on to say that the students who kept the Hope Scholarship “purposely put academics first”.

Do you or your child have a vested interest in his or her education? Who is paying for it?

Do you know how much you are paying each month to communicate? Do you know everything that you are paying for and are you using each one of those items? Most people have no idea what all is in there phone bill(s). Are you one of those?

Almost everyone today has a cell phone. Smart or dumb, most are not going anywhere without their phone. You are most likely right there. In addition, everyone in the family “has” to have a phone. Regardless of age, the thought is that no one should be without a phone.

Have you ever stopped to think about what those phones are truly costing you? Have you ever visited with your provider to see how you can cutback? Do you have a bigger plan that what is needed or, in contrast, one that is too small? What about the bells and whistles you have, their cost, and if they are needed.

Here is another big one – your home phone. Do you use your home phone regularly? Most of you, when you think about it, will realize that most of your home phone calls are solicitations or bill collectors. Why keep a home phone? Make sure you have a true need to keep it, if not cancel your service.

You can control your communications costs!

About seven years ago, I reluctantly spent the $14.95 to obtain our credit score. At the time, with a mortgage still remaining on my list of debt obligations, we found our score to e in the low 800’s. Pretty amazing after we had paid off tons of debt in the years prior to that time.

Since then, I have not paid for a score. While I have no idea what the score would truly be, my guess is it would be significantly lower than the score in the spring of 2007.

Everyone today tells you that you MUST have a good, not necessarily GREAT, just a good credit score. Why? Because they want to keep you in debt!! The best way to keep you in debt to for you to have at least a good score. How do you keep that? Stay in debt.

Your credit score is no more that a quick assessment on your credit history and current status. So, you have to be in debt to have that good and even GREAT score.

When you finally realize that you are done with debt, you will begin to notice the credit score has a smaller grip on your life.

For most people, you are concerned about a mortgage. A potential refinance or new house purchase has you concerned about your score and your ability to borrow for that mortgage. Have you ever considered a manual underwriting mortgage company?