Posted 7 weeks 1 day ago by Philip Brewer
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.
Posted 7 weeks 2 days ago by Jason White
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.
Posted 8 weeks 2 days ago by Philip Brewer
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.
Posted 10 weeks 4 days ago by Philip Brewer
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.
Posted 18 weeks 4 hours ago by Myscha Theriault
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.
Posted 18 weeks 6 days ago by Xin Lu
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!
Posted 19 weeks 3 days ago by Xin Lu
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.
Posted 19 weeks 6 days ago by David DeFranza
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.
Posted 22 weeks 3 days ago by Philip Brewer
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.
Posted 22 weeks 3 days ago by Kate Luther
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.
Posted 23 weeks 4 days ago by Philip Brewer
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.
Posted 24 weeks 5 days ago by Philip Brewer
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.
Posted 33 weeks 2 days ago by Carrie Kirby
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.
Posted 36 weeks 2 days ago by Julie Rains
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.
Posted 36 weeks 2 days ago by Nora Dunn
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?
Posted 40 weeks 3 days ago by Nora Dunn
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.
Posted 43 weeks 3 days ago by Linsey Knerl
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.
Posted 45 weeks 5 days ago by Philip Brewer
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.
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| Posts | Cmts | |
|---|---|---|
| Fred Lee | 3 | 19 |
| Julie Rains | 5 | 21 |
| Linsey Knerl | 12 | 31 |
| Margaret Garcia-Couoh | 2 | 6 |
| Myscha Theriault | 6 | 50 |
| Paul Michael | 6 | 15 |
| Philip Brewer | 11 | 31 |
| Xin Lu | 8 | 21 |
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