Sarah Graves

Writer Sarah Graves shares four “smart” money moves she’s foregone to give her son a childhood filled with meaningful memories

I thought I'd had lots of kids and be a younger mom. I had my only child at age 38 and even though I love it, I wish his grandparents were around.

As a professor, I know college isn't for everyone. It's costly, and some careers don't require a degree. I'm fine if my son chooses a different path.

What did you use to do during recess? I have several memories of spending recess, especially indoor recess, with my pencil and notebook. I’d rather write stories than do almost anything else. (And that’s still true today!) I have one distinct memory…

I’m pretty sure being creative is hardwired into my DNA. My mom was a painter, and she also lived and breathed arts and crafts. And that meant my childhood was filled with making — from cardmaking to dollmaking to sewing to turning any available…

Image by rawpixel.com on Freepik We recently returned from a family vacation. We experienced a lot. I learned a lot. We had fun. And then we came home, and I needed a vacation from my vacation. In fact, I got sick on the last day, so I spent most of…

Life rarely turns out the way we plan it. When I was little, I wanted two things when I grew up: to be a writer and to be a mom. (Well, maybe three if you count being Princess Leia.) I succeeded at both, but neither the way I’d planned. I’d always…

Adoption is a life-changing journey. Whether the choice to adopt comes after years of expensive infertility treatments or is a route you’ve always wanted to take, the choice to welcome a new family member is rarely a financial one, but rather a…

When our doctor told us we needed fertility treatments to achieve our dream of having a second child, I didn’t know how we would afford it. As is often the case, our health insurance didn’t provide much coverage for fertility treatments. And we…

Even if dining out used to fit comfortably in your budget, that flies out the window once you have kids. One of the realities of parenthood is that almost everything, from housing to grocery shopping to keeping your gas tank full, suddenly costs…

There are two general schools of thought on allowance. Some people believe children should earn money in exchange for doing chores. Others don’t think you should pay them for contributions every family member should make. There are pros and cons to…

We all know dressing up for Halloween, whether for trick-or-treating or parties, can get pricey fast. A quick scan of the costume aisle at any retail store reveals average prices of $25 to $40 per outfit. And if you’re buying for a whole family of…

The only way to move on from the life I imagined is to embrace the life I’m living. Photo by on Unsplash Life rarely turns out the way we plan it. When I was little, I wanted two things when I grew up: to be a writer and to be a mom. (Well, maybe…

Teens are a tricky group to buy for. They’re the first to latch onto the latest trends. And thanks to the rapidly shifting influence of social media, their tastes change faster than you can make a shopping list. It’s enough to make even the savviest…

When we think about the holiday season, buying and giving gifts often come to mind. We put a lot of time into finding the perfect gift for everyone on our list and a lot of focus on saving and budgeting for them. But activities often get left out of…

This academic year is shaping up to be like no other thanks to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Many recent high school graduates have opted to take a gap year. Others are learning from home with online classes, and still others are attending…

Shopping for grandparents is unquestionably tough. They’ve sat through our boring school recitals, endured our sticky fingers on their furniture, and rarely ever said no to buying us an extra toy. They deserve something special. But they generally…

Of everyone on our lists, kids are the most fun to buy holiday gifts for. Sharing their delight and wonder reinvigorates our joy for the holiday. So it’s no wonder a 2018 survey by ipostparcels, a British division of the shipping service DHL, showed…

Dads are some of the most challenging people to shop for. According to a study commissioned by ipostparcels, a British division of the package delivery service DHL, people spend more time agonizing over finding the perfect gift for their mom or dad…

Tweens are children between the ages of 10 and 12. Short for “between,” tweens are no longer kids but not yet teenagers. They vacillate between the two in their tastes and interests. That can make it tough to figure out what kinds of gifts to get…