Budgeting
The Whys and Hows of Budgeting
In this article I will answer these important cash flow planning questions: Why don’t people budget? Why should people want to budget? What will happen if they do? How to get started easily?
Why don’t people budget? It is because you (don’t fear, we have tips below to help you overcome your [...]
March Money Madness, Who Wins?
And you thought March Madness was only about basketball! March is a mad month for money, particularly this March, because the month is full of extra money but also of extra challenges–more than most months. Jon White tweeted last week about #2 below and it got me thinking. Thank you, Jon, [...]
Costco Cost Savings and Warnings
Big Box retailers like Sam’s Club and Costco can sometimes save you a lot of money, but if you aren’t careful you can end up spending more money than you planned to. I suspect most people do go over budget at these places.
We are avid coupon clippers and deal shoppers, and often our receipt from [...]
Budgeting For Extra Charitable Donations
Here is a cool idea, consider adding a new category to your monthly budget for ‘special giving.’ While doing some budget planning with the program we use; YNAB, or You Need a Budget, I noticed for some months throughout the year, we gave to various causes. This was in addition to our regular [...]
Austerity- Rarely Used, but Great Word
Merriam-Webster named Austerity as the word of the year in 2010, but these days it isn’t a word we use often. Dictionary.com defines it as 1. austere quality; severity of manner, life, etc.; sternness. 2. Usually, austerities. ascetic practices: austerities of monastery life. 3. strict economy. I [...]
4 Free Online Budgeting Tools
Shelley Elmblad reviewed 5 Free online budgeting tools on her column at the Examiner.com. This is great reading if you are considering starting and following a budget for 2012.
Christmas Micro Budgets
Shopping for Christmas gifts can surely be a budget buster. If you go shopping and do not have a list or calculated in advance how much you are going to spend on particular individuals, your emotions may get the best of you, and you will wake up with a massive debt hangover after the holidays. [...]
Feeling versus Spending
A good friend of mine suggested that I read or recommend the book “When Spending Takes the Place of Feeling,” by Karen O’Connor, she updated it “A Woman’s Place is in the Mall . . . And Other Lies” from Harvest House Publishers. For various reasons this friend of mine had a lot of emotional issues [...]
Savings an Investment?
An article that was recently sent to me Saving, Spending Wisely are Investments from the Washington Post has some excellent information. However to add to that, many people think “I’m not going to save into a savings account, that earns nothing, I’m going to live my life and when I have a lot of [...]
Grocery Shopping and Menu Planning Made Easy
At a recent Dave Ramsey class I led, one of the members, Brandy, introduced us to a new web service that she has been using: e-mealz. This is a really cool service that costs only $15 bucks per 3 months. It plans your meals for an entire week and provides a shopping list of items matched to a [...]
Budgeting for the Weekend
Weekends are the hardest on our family’s budgets. We are really good throughout the work week at not going over our entertainment budget. We take lunches, stay away from stores and other places of temptation. When we go online, it’s more for work than play. Come the weekend, sometimes the [...]
