Upon first glance at the term "fractional shares," you may think it has something to do with the universal sharing phase of children. You know, the phase when they will only share some of the time (or "fractionally").

While this is true in the world of moms, though, fractional shares actually have an entirely different meaning in the world of finance. Let's take a gander at this term.

According to Webster . . .

Here on MomVesting, you’ll find that along with investing our money, we often explore the topic of investing in self. Well, this Friday evening I spent half of my day punching holes in my magazines. I haven’t decided if this was a good investment of my time yet or not.

Emotional baggage seems to come with the territory of relationships. Many people define their newest life and love by their past, and this can often reach into the financial realm of budding romance. This was the case recently for one of my friends.

My Friend's Baggage

Recently, my friend invited my husband and me to dinner. We all sat around the table sharing laughs and generally having a blast. Then her boyfriend left the room, and things turned instantly sober.

We here at MomVesting continue our west-to-east overview of all fifty states' 529 plans. We last focused on the West Coast of this great nation, and this week's plan was to look at the entire Southwest. However, Arizona is a fabulous state with some fabulous (and lenghty) 529 perks, so we'll take a detour to look at Arizona on it's own today and continue our journey to the other states in a few weeks. So here's the lowdown on Arizona.

Arizona College Savings Plans

My husband and I were together for a long time before we got married. We dated, got engaged, moved in together, got married, moved cross-country (twice), bought a house (twice) and remodeled (twice). All of this was together…but with separate finances.

Whoa! Back up, you say? Why did we have separate finances through all of our major life changes? Honestly, we just didn’t put the time and effort into joining our finances. Our system worked, and it worked for a really long time.

Some time ago, we defined assets as any item of value that you own and can sell or access easily. We threw in terms like depreciation and liquidity to round out the meaning, and we all now understand that an asset is often better exemplified through a bank account than a shoe collection.

What do you do if you believe in real estate investments but don't want to purchase an entire house? You could buy a condo. Or purchase an investment home with your brother. Or you could invest even smaller into an REIT. Not familiar with this security? Well let's take a look.

A Real Estate Investment Solution

An REIT is a real estate investment trust. Instead of being invested in stocks and bonds, you invest in real estate, real estate mortgages and construction loans. Basically, you are investing in corporations and trusts in the real estate industry.

When I was in college, I lived so frugally that I became pseudo-vegetarian by necessity. Meat was often too expensive for my part-time, minimum wage existence, and I ate as simply as possible. Ramen noodles, beans, and cereal made up the bulk of my diet, but boy did I crave a hamburger sometimes!

As you know, I've been trying my hand at super-couponing, combining sales with coupons, in an effort to stretch my family's budget. I have made no secret of my attempts to be super-thrifty, and as a result, I have received many questions from friends and family regarding all aspects of my forays into the couponing world. Here I've put together my answers to some of the most frequently asked couponing questions.

Q: Why bother? There are no coupons for what I buy; I won't save any money by clipping coupons. Couponing would therefore only be a waste of my time.

Buying your first house with your spouse may seem like an extremely daunting task, and there’s a reason for that: it can be difficult. With so many options swimming through your heads, the house-buying process is often a little overwhelming. And agreeing on the price, location, amenities, style, etc. can be trying. So how can you and yours decide on the perfect home together? Let’s take a look at some ideas.

Decide on a Price Point