You'll never be rich as a teacher...

Growing up, there were four kids in my family. We always had food, electricity, clothes, amazing inexpensive outings (ie. camping, nature walks, etc), music lessons... I don't know how my parents didn't sell me to the gypsies after one look at my food bill, but I guess I should be grateful - I hear gypsies aren't the best chefs. Anyway, I definitely have a bit to learn from them about stretching a dollar.

"You'll never be rich as a teacher, but you'll never be poor." This was advice from my dad, also a teacher, about going into the profession of teaching. I started teaching as a new york city teaching fellow in 2002. I'm finishing up my fifth year in the New York City Department of ed. Due to corporate restructuring, I'm soon up for a change of scenery. More about that at a later date.

I am always looking for a chance to buy a home, but it comes as no great shock that two city teachers aren't going to drop 1.7 million on a two bedroom in our neighborhood. Maybe with the next contract, fingers crossed. Existing one-bedrooms in our neighborhood start at around 350k for a basic shoebox. Two bedrooms... well, let's say they're a bit more. Maybe 550+? I never see them even on the most pie-in-the-sky searches, so if I have to ask the price... well, you know the rest.

So I've been following a few finance 101 blogs these past few months, and thought I'd share them with anyone in the same boat.
They've already helped me to get my mind around money and savings, and hopefully you'll get something out of them too.

www.thesimpledollar.com - "Financial talk for the rest of us"
This guy must not sleep. He's always got great links and articles to share, and writes roughly 22 hours per day. All great stuff, and comments are usually filled with intelligent conversation.

www.wisebread.com - "Living large on a small budget"
Like the last one, the titles really sucked me in. I haven't been following this as long, but it's also great stuff. Not updated as often -- about a post or two a day.

www.babycheapskate.com - "Saving big bucks on baby stuff"
While we're not expecting, it didn't seem to hurt to get learned a little early. When everyone tells you that it's too expensive to raise a child in your hometown, you tend to get a little proactive in proving them wrong.