budgeting
Popular posts in budgeting
Posted 7 weeks 1 day ago by Philip Brewer
Budgeting
There are a lot of budget templates out there. Any will serve the purpose, and if you've got one that's working for you, that's a good enough reason to stick with it. If you don't have a budget, though, or if you're going to be changing your budget categories around for some other reason, I've got some thoughts on what makes a good category.
full story
Posted 7 weeks 2 days ago by Jason White
Personal Finance, Shopping, Budgeting
Growing up, I stayed with my grandparents during the day on summer breaks from school. Our mid-mornings were usually spent casually watching The Price is Right. Maybe those Showcase Showdowns ingrained something in my frugal memory bank, because my family now enjoys a grocery budgeting game with similar rules.
full story
Posted 8 weeks 2 days ago by Philip Brewer
Budgeting, Cars and Transportation
I don't know if energy costs will keep rising. Nobody does. Even with recent growth in China, India, and elsewhere, the US still consumes 25% of the oil produced world-wide, so a severe recession in the US could easily cut total demand enough to bring the price down. Recession or not, I think the medium-term trend in energy costs is up. Just in case I'm right, you ought to have plan for that.
full story
Posted 10 weeks 4 days ago by Philip Brewer
Personal Finance, General Tips, Budgeting
My very first experience running a household was in 1980, just as the last big inflation was spiking up over 10%. My carefully constructed budget was completely destroyed by prices that were rising by 1% every month. Since then, I've given considerable thought to how to deal with just that situation. Since history seems dangerously close to repeating itself, it's a timely topic.
full story
Posted 18 weeks 4 hours ago by Myscha Theriault
Budgeting
Is heavy handed product use driving your budget into the financial ditch? Blowing through shampoo, salad dressing, ketchup and shower gel faster than you clip coupons to compensate? Maybe you just want an easier way to mix drinks at the bar. Whatever your reasons, I’ve compiled a list of suggestions and resources for using the power of pump dispensers to redirect your lost dollars back into your bank account. Read on for more details.
full story
Posted 18 weeks 6 days ago by Xin Lu
Personal Finance, Frugal Living, Announcements
This week is officially America Saves Week 2008. This is a campaign started in 2007 by many government agencies and private entities to encourage Americans to save because the personal savings rate of Americans is nearly zero. This year the focus is on automatic savings. Read on to see what the campaign is all about!
full story
Posted 19 weeks 3 days ago by Xin Lu
Personal Finance, Frugal Living, Lifestyle, Real Estate and Housing, Investment
My goal has always been to work for ten years and then have enough financial freedom to do whatever I want to do. Whenever I tell people this they seem to be rather incredulous and sometimes say things like, "sure, you could try." Even though I am quite young, I have met enough people to see what keeps them from quitting their jobs and living a life of financial independence. Read on for a few of my observations.
full story
Posted 19 weeks 6 days ago by David DeFranza
Budgeting
To save money for your vacation you crafted a detailed budget and stuck to it. Now, with your bags packed and ticket in hand, you are ready to put all the of preparation and planning into action and enjoy your travels. When you leave the airplane, it is easy to forget the months of work that made this experience possible. This is a good thing. But, if you are a budget traveler, you cannot forget to pack the budget.
full story
Posted 22 weeks 3 days ago by Philip Brewer
Budgeting
The only easy way to create a budget is to start with what you spent last month (and last year) and copy the numbers forward. If you don't do that, you're going to miss some important expenses. However, you don't want to just uncritically accept those numbers, or even those categories.
full story
Posted 22 weeks 3 days ago by Kate Luther
Budgeting
Feel like you're just living payday-to-payday? Having trouble figuring out where all your money goes? Then a zero-based budget just might be for you.
full story
Posted 23 weeks 4 days ago by Philip Brewer
Frugal Living, Life Hacks
Are you tired of reading the same frugality suggestions? I'm talking about the repeated exhortations to eat out less, turn off your cable, and stop buying expensive coffee drinks. Tired as they are, these suggestions keep showing up for a reason: they're examples of the key insight that the best way to raise your standard of living is to focus your spending on the things that give you the most pleasure.
full story
Posted 24 weeks 5 days ago by Philip Brewer
Personal Finance, General Tips, Budgeting
One of the BlogHer featured posts talked about a mis-match between pay dates and credit card due dates. It reminded me of just how much I used to agonize over this issue, back before I had my finances under control.
full story
Posted 33 weeks 2 days ago by Carrie Kirby
Budgeting
You're trying to delight everyone on your Christmas list, and then the guilt sets in. What about those in more need than your family? Here are 10 ways to find money for a donation in a tight budget.
full story
Posted 36 weeks 2 days ago by Julie Rains
Personal Finance, Budgeting
Want to have the wealth you need to follow your dreams? Brett Wilder, Certified Financial Planner and author of The Quiet Millionaire suggests that there are 7 major obstacles to financial success. Find what's in your way to accumulating and keeping wealth.
full story
Posted 36 weeks 2 days ago by Nora Dunn
Personal Finance, Frugal Living
When you put together a frugal budget, you are usually careful to make sure you're not spending money where you don't need to. But are you getting railroaded by expenses you are bearing which you don't even realize you can avoid?
full story
Posted 40 weeks 3 days ago by Nora Dunn
Personal Finance, Budgeting
My introduction to David Bach was when I saw him speak at a financial conference a few years ago. He told an interesting story about a couple who came in for a consultation with him when he first worked in personal finance. They were in their mid 50s, had two children who were fully put through college, had two properties fully paid off, and were ready to retire with over $1 million in savings. The impressive factor was that they had managed to build and sustain this comfortable financial position with a relatively small family income.
full story
Posted 43 weeks 3 days ago by Linsey Knerl
Budgeting
My family lives a fairly simple lifestyle. We live in a rural area, drive older cars, and rarely go out for dinner. But we also like to enjoy life. Given that we know approximately how much we need to live on, and how much we will have coming in each month, we are able to budget to accommodate for some things that help make life richer.
full story
Posted 45 weeks 5 days ago by Philip Brewer
Personal Finance, Budgeting
Over and over again, in budgeting articles and even books on personal finance, I see sample budgets that include debt repayment as if it were an expense. This shows a fundamental misunderstanding of what debt is. Your debt repayment is not an expense, it's an internal transfer. The only part that's an expense is the interest. The rest of the money was spent some time in the past, when you incurred the debt.
full story

When I was first introduced to budgeting, the model used was the envelope method. Every payday you'd take your cash and divide it up among envelopes labeled "Rent," "Groceries," "Electric Bill," etc. Then, when it was time to shop for groceries or pay a bill, you'd take the money out of that envelope.
Just to be clear, even I'm not old enough that anyone I knew ever used actual envelopes. We'd keep the money in a money market fund or savings account (nowadays probably an internet savings account), and use a spreadsheet (or paper) to keep track of the categories. But the model was envelopes.
Continue reading "Your budget: envelopes or a plan?"
Permalink | 7 comments

I tend to divide spending up into four categories. From best to worst they are: investments, items of enduring value, ephemeral items, and recurring monthly expenses.
Investments include not only stocks and bonds and such, but also anything that can help you earn money. Tools are an investment, as are a classes. I just bought two books that I'm reading before a possible job interview--they're an investment. Some investments may not pay off, but even unsuccessful investments are still investments.
Continue reading "Start with recurring monthly expenses"
Permalink | 3 comments
All comments