This week is the first week of school for many kids, including my own, so I’ve been a little spent these past few days attending various orientations (my kids attend two different schools) and getting adjusted to our new schedule. We’re starting out my older child at a new school (private) because there have been changes to our public school system, which now has to accommodate larger class sizes with fewer teachers due to California’s budget problems. With a lot of variables involved, we weren’t sure just how my child would be served by the school this year — the previous year was tough enough as it is, with his class having to survive the tutelage of an inexperienced substitute teacher for an entire quarter before the school convinced a couple of the regular teachers to share the job of taking on their class.
There’s no question that public school in California is in dire straits at this time — not only are they bursting at the seams with a larger student population, they’re also running out of funds to pay their teachers and service providers. Lots of families (like ourselves) have fled to the private school sector temporarily until we see the dust settling (hopefully for the better) at our local school districts. Unfortunately, our kids’ education is just something we can’t afford to put on the line.
In between school commutes, I’ve managed to squeeze in some time to review these interesting reads this week:
Personal Finance Reads
Dividend Tree offers his monthly progress update (August 2009) for his dividend portfolio, which provides him a dividend cash flow of $1,612 for the year. His year end goal is to hit $3,000 in total dividends, but he wonders whether he’ll fulfill this goal.
One Mint discusses the aftermath of the Japanese elections. We already know of course, that the ruling party was defeated by the opposition after 50 years of being in power. Could this lead to positive change for this country? It remains to be seen, but it sure seems like a positive development for Japan, given its history. But as they say, change is good.
Gather Little By Little: Speaking of change, Stew reflects upon the costs and requirements that come with making lifestyle changes. I have made many huge adjustments in my life and I have found that more often than not, these have always been for the better and things eventually work out very well in the end.
For more great articles, please check the financial carnivals below:
Change is tough, but needed! Thanks for the link.
thanks for the mention!