Nancy Stancill (e-mail nstancill@charlotteobserver.com) is the Observer's personal finance editor. She has worked at the Observer for 15 years in a variety of roles, including government editor, assistant features editor and investigative projects reporter. Before coming to Charlotte, she worked at the Houston Chronicle and at newspapers in California and Virginia. She is a journalism graduate of UNC Chapel Hill. She is married, has a grown son and two black cats.
The news wasn't good. Jello, our 9-year-old black cat, likely had a tumor behind her eye. Her Charlotte vet, Glenn Graves, would sedate her and try to determine what was wrong.
Kate Turuk and her co-workers at the Brew-Thru are stockpiling Bud Light Lime and Landshark for the thirsty tourists they hope will descend on the Outer Banks for the Fourth of July weekend.
My first investment was my worst investment. My husband and I bought our first home in 1979 for $62,000. We sold it in 1994 for $57,000.
Do you splurge on high-priced designer sandals and stash them where your husband won't see them?
At 25, Mary Quinn realized her spending was out of control. She had grown up with parents who “weren't good with money.”
Caring for her frail 86-year-old mother convinced Linda Miller she should buy long-term care insurance for herself.
Will the wave of baby boomers headed toward retirement bankrupt Social Security?
When I wrote a column a few weeks ago about a Charlotte couple's decision to tear down their 1928 bungalow, e-mails came flying.
Does your family need a mission statement?
Two years ago, sculptor Julia Burr created a 9-foot-tall figure from hollow steel tubes. She painted it red and filled it with her best friend's cremated remains.
Growing up in Charlotte, Ashley Shaw spent every holiday at his grandparents' house in Crescent Heights near uptown.
Charlotte, you've got powerful money memories. Catherine Robbins recalls the quarter tips she got helping relatives sell home brew during Prohibition.
Ann Alexander puts her heart as well as her money into mutual funds. Socially responsible investing is her passion. The Chapel Hill woman's mission is convincing everyone to invest in ways that reflect their core values.
When Jim McGehee went straight from college to graduate school in 1991, his parents said they would loan -- but not give him -- the money. His folks feared he was hiding from the real world.
