Update

Marley + puppy class = Check- she graduated at the beginning of the month... She's finally calming down a bit, but still gets hyper when 'new' people are around. She's really good when it's just me and Jesse though.

House + us = Check- we ended up renting a cheaper basement apartment that is pretty big and functional. The kitchen is awesome except for the lack of dishwasher.

I admit it- I shop at the dreaded Walmart. Jesse dislikes it and I never feel good about doing it but I'm a poor grad student and Walmart is as close as the expensive Albertson's in our neighborhood. My continued patronage has always evoked a question of morals and ethics and just a nasty feeling in the pit of my stomach. Which is why something like this article really bothers me. It's not so much that I don't believe lower income families should have access to debit cards or credit, it's that Walmart is charging them ridiculously high fees to do so.

The prepaid card will initially cost $8.95, and comes with a $4.95 monthly maintenance fee. Cash can be loaded on the card free by cashing a payroll or government check at Wal-Mart or having the money directly deposited; otherwise, cardholders must pay $4.64 to reload it.

No, no, no. The fees for a bank would not be anywhere near this, not even with bill pay. Walmart is charging you to use or reload your card; why is it so much harder to take that next step towards a bank account that will not charge you to use your money? It's ridiculous- and Wallyworld is bastardly for penalizing lower income homes for not having access to checking accounts.