How do you stay balanced?

We have busted our budget big time this summer.  Need to get back on track before the credit cards get really out of hand.  We've heard get out of debt programs, but don't know if that is the way to go.

I saw on the news a study about how a lot of calcium can increase your chance for heart disease by 30%!  Something else to worry about.  Build your bones or die of a heart attack??

I travel for work a lot and can't find enough time to spend with my family.  We have started video chatting every night so I can be around and don't miss out on the 2 or 3 days a week I am out of town.  What other ideas are there to stay close?

I heard on WILK the other day that spanking has been found to be bad for kids.  I was spanked as a kid and I turned out to be a pretty solid person.  I don't think it was a bad form of punishment.  I don't believe in BEATING a child, but I think kids get away with WAY too much nowdays.  If your kids doesn't respond to weak discipline, what do you do?  I watch a lot of Supernanny and my kids respond well to the time out technique that she uses and we haven't spanked since they were really young and then we only did it when they were putting themselves in danger, but I'm interested to hear where other parents are in this discussion especailly when I see so many out of control kids everywhere. 

How can I help my brother and dad have a better relationship?  My brother told my family last summer that he was gay.  I am fine with it, my mother and little brother have supported him, but my father is really unsure and hasn't really spoken to him and I'm worried, espeically since the two of them ARE IN BUSINESS TOGETHER.  How can I help mend the fence between them.  There are no fights, just silence.  My dad talks to me and says he just doesn't really BELIEVE it.  What can I do to help him understand?

I think the biggest gift I can give my son is to teach him by example: how to agree to disagree when my husband and I are in conflict.  That was something neither of US ever learned from our families, but oh don't we wish we had!

Everyone needs more and varied ways to relax and de-stress after the hectic days that we live in.  What ways do you get that moment of relaxation at the end of a long day?  Post yours and maybe that will inspire someone else to get a little extra "me time" into their routine!

I am Christian and my husband is Jewish.  Until we had kids, everything was fine, but now that our kids are 6 and 4, we are starting to have issues with which way to go with religion.  I just assumed that we would raise them in a neutral houshold, becuase we never really followed any faith while we dated or the 4 years we were married.  NOW, it's becomming an issue . . . but I am not comfortable with the Jewish faith . . and he is not comfortable with the Christian one.  I need some help!  We SHOULD have talked about it before, but it's obviously too late for that. ..

My partner won't be part of the budget process.  She insists that she wants no part of it and I feel very alone when I have to make all the money decisions in the relationship.  I feel our entire financial future rests in my hands.  She might think she is trusting me but I feel she is burdening me.  Does anyone else have this problem and how can I get her to at least be part of this process since she brings in about 40% of our income?

Having kids can be a stress on work sometimes.  Kids should never come second to the job, but you have to have the job to support the kids.  How do you deal with the boss who doesn't understand when the kids get sick or you need to have time off to take them somewhere?  What discussions can you have to make your boss understand that your work won't suffer just becuase you have kids, too.