It is a big decision. Moving in together, making meals together, paying bills together. Moving in with your significant other might be the best decision you have ever made... or it might break you up. The single most difficult decision to make when moving in together? How do we split the bills? Rent, phone bill, cable, groceries and on and on and on. You need new furniture, appliances and a bigger bed. The expenses add up, which is tension enough, but you need a solid plan (before you make this decision) about your finances. There are a few methods to consider: 1. Combine your funds in one account and pay from there. Let me be the first to say that I do not recommend this option unless

Part of gearing up for elections is knowing what to expect – and when. Here is a quick overview of important dates and details leading up to the Sacramento City Council elections in June. Who’s running? For 2012, the races are for council districts 2, 4, 6 and 8 and mayor. All people interested in running for office in districts 6 and 8 have until Thursday Friday to turn in their candidacy forms to the city clerk’s office. The city clerk's business hours are Monday-Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and closed Fridays. Candidates for districts 2 and 4 have until March 14 to turn in their forms because the incumbents for those districts – Sandy Sheedy for District 2 and Rob Fong for Distr

Q: I am a struggling college student with more bills than income. Christmas is always a struggle for me because I don't have the funds I want to dedicate to present-buying. My family completely understands this, and we often choose names to limit the number of people you must buy a present for. However, my boyfriend’s family (we have been together several years) does not do that, and they are known for their extravagant gift-giving. The past few years that I have participated in their family Christmas, I typically end up over-extending myself on the gifts and putting more than I want to on my credit card. This year I don't want to do that, but it is embarrassing to show up with cheap gif

Q. I am the Judgment Creditor in a small claims case. My judgment was by default. In lieu of a debtor’s examination I am planning to use interrogatories. Is my debtor entitled to a witness fee? Also, is a judgment debtor entitled to witness fees for coming to a debtor’s exam? Thank you, Grant A. Good news! You will not need to pay the debtor any witness fees. After plaintiffs win a judgment, they are on their own trying collect it from the defendants (now called the "debtors"). In order to find out what assets the debtor has, and where they are located, plaintiffs are entitled to do post-judgment discovery, including interrogatories and an in-person debtor's examination. The law author

On Sunday, members of the Kiwanis Family House and the International Chili Society brought their best bowls of chili to the Kiwanis Chili Cook-off at The West Sacramento Moose Family Center on Jefferson Blvd. While the judges were inside the center tasting various kinds of salsas and Chile Verde, the participating cooks began chopping up onions, and adding meat to their pots of chili. Both the Kiwanis and ICS members were given one hour of prep time and three hours to cook their chili before the judging began at 3 p.m. The chili cook-off consisted of two challenges: the Kiwanis Chili Challenge and the International Chili Society Regional Chili Cook-off. The ICS regional chili cook-off

The deadline for paying the second installment of your 2010-2011 Sacramento County property taxes is coming up! Payments are due no later than April 10; however, because April 10 falls on a Sunday this year, taxpayers have until the next business day, Monday April 11, 2011, to pay the second installment without penalty. Late payments will incur a 10 percent penalty plus $15.00 cost for each tax bill. Partial payments cannot be accepted. If you recently purchased the property for a lesser value or you are disputing the assessed value with the Assessor’s Office or the Assessment Appeals Board, the annual tax bill must still be paid by the delinquent date to avoid the addition of penalties.

More than $100 million in rare coins and banknotes will be joining the biggest gold nugget still in existence  ever discovered in California next week as the National Money Show comes to Sacramento. “You’ll never see this much money in one place at any other time,” said Jay Beeton, marketing and education director of the American Numismatic Association, organizers of the National Money Show. Numismatists collect coins, banknotes and precious metals. “You don’t have to be a coin collector to enjoy the show,” he added. “If you have an appreciation of history and you want to spend a day doing something different, this is an opportunity to make this a family day.” In addition to the nearly

City Treasurer Russ Fehr sounded an alert about the city’s cash situation Thursday, writing in a report that the cash flow is out of whack and the city needs to stop using unsustainable fixes to balance its budget. Fehr expects that the city will need to borrow cash in Fiscal Year 2011 – 2012. “The general fund now has to borrow for cash flow needs,” Fehr wrote in his report. The city will have to pay interest costs on the amounts it borrows, he said in an interview just after the report was posted. At this point, he said he does not know how much the city will borrow in the next fiscal year. However, his report noted that the city has been experiencing cash flow troubles since Fiscal Y

A new hyperlocal site aims to bring the various voices of Midtown together, sharing local news, events and discussions of the central city. Sacmidtown.com will celebrate all things Midtown and officially launches Monday. “Our goal is to provide a forum for those who live and for those who work in, or come to enjoy Midtown,” said Jimmy Spencer, founding editor of Sacmidtown.com. Spencer was the founding editor of PublicCEO.com and has written for nbcsports.com and sacbee.com.The contributing writers are people who live and breathe in Sacramento. The site will be updated daily, Monday through Friday, Spencer said. Sacmidtown will cover topics such as crime, trends, dating, hard news, mone

A flood of money from interest groups is being used to support City Council candidate Angelique Ashby. A committee that is separate from Ashby’s campaign contributed about $36,000 for mailers that advocate for her candidacy, according to election statements. That amount legally surpasses the contribution totals that citizens and most groups can make to candidate’s campaigns, according to Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno. The sum comes from a group with a lengthy name: Independent Expenditure Committee for Jobs and Prosperity / Sponsored by Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee. Ashby is running for the District 1 City Council seat against incumbent

Almost daily I drive within a visible range of the Sacramento River Cats playing field, also known as Raley Field. Although I have yet to attend an event there, I am hoping to make it to one this year. I recently began thinking back around the time when plans for this new stadium was still on the drawing boards and I recall that there was a big push and much hoopla to have the new stadium named after Thomas P. Raley, the founder of the Raley's supermarket chain. But the stadium was not named Thomas P. Raley Field like the proposals and all the news media stories reported, and it was not even named Raley's Field, but it was named Raley Field. Maybe I missed something, is this short for Thom