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1.  The article must be original and not previously posted on another blog or website.  90 days after being posted on Independent Beginnings the post may be republished elsewhere.

2.  The article must be written on a topic that would be beneficial to the readers of Independent Beginnings.  Generally, this means that it must fall within the realm of personal finance, frugality, or independent living.  Check the categories for more detailed subtopics.

3.  I will not accept product reviews or any sort of commercial advertisements as guest posts.  This includes advertisements of the author’s blog.  No affiliate links should be included in the post.

4.  The author may choose to include a one or two sentence by-line with a maximum of two links to the author’s blogs/websites.  Again, no affiliate links will be allowed here.

5.  Guest posts should be proofread and free of grammatical errors before being submitted.  They should also be appropriate for a family audience.  The author agrees to allow Independent Beginnings to edit the article in any way deemed necessary.

6.  Guest posts should be around 500 words, although there is room for flexibility here.  The length should be appropriate for the article’s topic.

7.  Independent Beginnings has the right to accept or refuse any guest post for any reason.

If you have any questions about the guest posting policy, please feel free to comment here are contact me using the contact form.Similar Posts:

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Now, I would like to apologize for the recent inactivity.  A lot has been going on and I feel like I owe you an explanation.  First of all, I have returned to school for my final year of college!  While this is a very exciting time it is also very stressful.  When I first returned, I went on a two-week geology field trip.  During this time, I did not have any access to a computer.  When I returned from the field trip, my husband and I were busy moving in to our new apartment, which also did not have internet.  A few days later, classes began and I was busy as can be.  Well, we finally have internet, we are completely moved in, and I am finally settling in to my classes.  Whew!

I really am excited to get back to work on this blog.  I want you to know that I have every intention of keeping this blog going throughout this school year and beyond.  Keep a look out for new posts!

Thanks again for your dedication!  I can’t wait to interact with all of you!Similar Posts:

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Image: claudiogennari

With the start of school just around the corner, the Back to School: Better Together Giveaway is underway. One of the blogs participating in this giveaway is Student Bloggers. To enter the giveaway on this blog, you must write a blog post describing your best back to school story. I have decided to participate in this giveaway, so that means that I have a story to tell you. I call this story, “The Tale of the Flirtatious Fowl”.

The first few days of my third year of college seemed just the same as my first two years of school.  I had just moved in to a new apartment with five roommates I had never met before.  My classes were going well, I was making friends, and things seemed to be going as I hoped they would.  Then, one day I met a guy named Bret and my school year went from normal to extra special.

I liked Bret from the very beginning.  My roommates hung out with his roommates and him a few different times.  After a couple weeks, it became clear that there was an interest growing between the two of us.  So, one day he invites me to go bowling with him and a couple of his roommates.  I bring my friend along and we have a blast bowling.  After bowling, we went to a local Malt Shoppe and Bret paid for my shake.  I was incredibly excited as the evening transformed itself from a fun night with friends into a date with Bret.  After the Malt Shoppe, we went to Bret’s apartment and watched a movie.  The whole evening was a lot of fun.

After the movie, I return to my apartment in a wonderful mood.  However, when I saw my roommates, the first question they asked me was, “Do you have your key to the apartment?”  Confused, I answered “Of course I do”.  However, when I checked my purse for my key, it was nowhere to be found.  My roommates explained to me that they had pranked Bret’s apartment earlier in the week and that he and his roommates were now looking for revenge.  I ran back to his apartment, but it was too late; he and his roommates had left.

My roommates and I stayed up late that night hoping to ward off any revenge ideas attempted by the boys.  After a long while, though, we decided to go to sleep.  Then, in the middle of the night, my roommate got up to use the restroom.  A few seconds after she had left the room, I heard a scream coming from the hallway.  We all got up and ran out to see what was going on.  To our surprise, there was a goose sitting in our apartment!  Luckily for us, the goose seemed to be quite calm considering it was surrounded by screaming girls.  We were able to get it out of our apartment without much trouble.

The next day, we confronted Bret and his roommates.  Bret admitted that he had stolen my key out of my purse while I went over to the jukebox at the Malt Shoppe.  The nerve!  Luckily for him, I got over the incident very quickly and went on to date and marry Bret.  We still joke about that goose today!Similar Posts:

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Image: kevindooley

Recently, the school district for my area has been considering the possibility of switching to a four-day school week. Students would go to school a little bit longer Monday through Thursday and would then have Friday off. College students have been doing this for years (if they can work their schedule out to do so), but this would be for k-12. Although the students are probably thrilled with this idea, is it really the best option? I still have not decided. Let’s take a look at the effects it would have.

First of all, let me tell you a little about this district. This is a VERY small school district in rural Southwest Kansas. The graduating class usually has around thirty people in it total. Many of the students come from farming families. These families could really use the help of their high school students around the farms. A four-day school week would be perfect for these families.

On the other hand, other families who live in the town do not farm and work outside of the home Monday through Friday. Switching to a four-day weekend could cause a problem finding reliable daycare at an affordable price. With the students not in school on Fridays, somebody is going to have to watch them.

Additionally, what will this mean for the students’ education. The school board president told me that in districts where this has already been implemented, test scores did not fall at all. However, you have to wonder if their education really isn’t being affected. What about classes, such as language classes, that need consistent practice on a daily level? What about classes that are too difficult for parents to help their children with? Won’t these types of classes suffer because of this?

As a future teacher who could possibly work in this district someday, I would love having a four-day workweek. It would give me more time with my family and time to get things done around the house. However, I am concerned for the education of the students and for the parents who would have to make arrangements for daycare. Also, would this send a negative message about the value of education to the students?

I am very curious to see what you think about this idea. Do you think it would be the best thing for this rural community or would it negatively affect the children’s education? Please leave your comments.Similar Posts:

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My article Where to Put Your Emergency Fund? was included in this week’s edition of the Carnival of Twenty Something Finances.

My article Up-Front Spending Can Work Against You was included in this week’s edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance.

Finally, my article Saving Just a Little Can Go a Long Way was included in this week’s edition of the Money Hacks Carnival.

I’d like to thank all of my readers for their participation this week. I would also like to thank those who hosted these carnivals. Thanks for reading!Similar Posts:

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