The True Cost of Being a Bridesmaid

By Elizabeth Condra Being asked to be a bridesmaid is often one of the highlights of your adult life. It can also come with a...

Good-bye to the Dog Days of Summer: Prepping for the New School Year

By Elizabeth Webb As a teacher on summer break, I usually don’t even know what the date is half the time, but there’s always one...

Financial Awareness Day is August 14th

By SWSM Staff Financial Awareness Day is August 14, and typically, personal finance experts take this opportunity to encourage audiences to make smart financial decisions:...

5 Back-to-School Shopping Tips

By SWSM Staff It’s late July, which can mean only one thing: across America, millions of kids are getting ready to go back to school.  Parents,...

The Treasures of Thrifting 

By Shane Svorec Before thrift stores, there were “salvage brigades.” From the basement of a men’s shelter, The Salvation Army launched a program in which...

America 250: Family, Church, and Local Community

By Maggie Murphy In the late 1800s, my great-grandmother, Dessa Hagee Roche, the daughter of one of General Sherman’s “Boys in Blue,” traveled from Texas...

Fraud by Design? One Auditor’s Fight Against the Spending Machine

By Jordan Jantz Fraud—that’s the word emblazoned in headlines across America today. For years, Americans have suspected that their tax dollars were being not only...

When Duty Calls and Loved Ones Stand By – What Service Means

By Shane Svorec “Thank you for your service.” It’s a common phrase we use and hear, but exactly what that service entails isn't always well...

Five Recipes to Take to a Fourth of July BBQ

By Elizabeth Webb My family loves to celebrate Independence Day! It’s one of our favorite holidays because of the four F’s: Faith, Family, Freedom, and Food.  As our great nation...