When I think of Spring, I think airy, bright, warm, and fresh. It's the perfect time to give your home a little sprucing up. But if you're not careful, Spring sprucing and cleaning can quickly become expensive.

It's that time of year again; W2s are rolling in, tax professionals are gearing up, and your mind is already swirling with ways to spend your tax refund check. Before getting too excited and seeing dollar signs, check out this BALANCE blog post for common tax blunders you should try to avoid. 

The freshness of spring motivates a lot of people to throw open the windows and doors, and do a thorough spring cleaning. It’s a great way to take stock of what you have, organize it so everything’s more accessible, and ditch the clutter that’s keeping you from enjoying your space. While you’re at it, why not dive into a bit of spring cleaning for your finances, too?

It's that time of year again; W2s are rolling in, tax professionals are gearing up, and your mind is already swirling with ways to spend your tax refund check. Before getting too excited and seeing dollar signs, check out this BALANCE blog post.

Every year in March, we celebrate Women's History Month, a time to acknowledge all the brave hard-working women who came before us and paved the way for women's equality. And as great as it is to underline historical women who have made strides for women's independence and equality, it's even more important to use this month as a way to motivate and empower present-day women to rise up and take advantage of the opportunities that are available to help them achieve independence, stability, and success.

February is here, and love is in the air. It's actually pretty hard to hide from love this time of year, especially when the shelves of every store are lined with hearts and other cheesy romantic things.

Although Valentine's Day can be a bit commercial, I love having a special day dedicated to showing my friends, family, and significant other how much I love them.

Whether you love Valentine's Day or hate it, this time of year is a perfect reminder to give yourself a little self-love.

Self-Love can sound like a cheesy thing. My first thought always goes to giving myself a big hug or something silly. However, self-love really boils down to the stuff you're doing every day to show yourself some love. Are you investing time and energy into yourself? Are you lifting yourself up? Are you as kind and giving to yourself as you are to the people you love? If not, Valentine's Day is a great time to start.

I'm not saying you have to buy yourself a card and box of chocolates. However, if it makes you feel good, then you definitely should.

If you need a few ideas for practicing self-love this Valentine's Day season, check out my suggestions below:

As a child, I always loved Valentine's Day. My favorite part of celebrating was going to the store and picking out a box of Valentine's Day cards to give the other kids in my class. It always took me forever to address my cards because I wanted each card's phrase to match its recipient perfectly. And let's face it, it's a tough decision to decide who gets "Be Mine" when you're in the fourth grade. Honestly, that card probably got tossed in the trash.

I'm not sure that finding the right card for my loved ones has gotten any easier as an adult. Although there are isles and isles of cards with both funny and mushy sayings, nothing ever really seems to perfectly suit my friends and family, which is why I've resorted to making my own.

While I sat down to make my own cards, I began thinking of all those who could use a little extra love this Valentine's Day, so I researched a list of places that I could send additional cards.