Budgeting Tips

To be financially sound for me means that if I lose my job, I have enough available cash to cover my expenses until I find another job. For me, that is more than 12 months of cash in my emergency fund.  This can be extended when supplemented by unemployment by reducing the amount I must […]

We were once Empty-Nesters until my youngest ran into financial trouble and had to return home.  He had lost his job, used the last of his income and savings to pay rent.  He also acquired more than $20,000 in credit card and student loan debt. After 3 years he has paid off his debt and

We are spending less on Christmas this year because we want to save more, spend less, and work on paying off the house. It all comes down to what means more to us.  Spending aimlessly for one-day buying stuff we don’t really need.  Just to try to figure this all out once the bills arrive

Credit has become the staple of our country since the first credit card was introduced in 1950 by Diner’s Club, Inc.   Upon graduating college, I knew I needed to establish credit if I was going to be able to get ahead in life.  I found out very early that maintaining a good credit score meant

As a Boomer bringing up the rear, I have had the advantage of watching and reading about all my older Boomers.  Per the media Boomers are so wealthy, Boomers have so little saved, and my all-time favorite Boomers have ruined the world.  Baby Boomers are defined as those born between 1946 to 1964.  I almost

There has been so much said about the Millennials and Debt but I must add my thoughts as well; as I have raised two Millennials.  At an early age, we taught both of our sons the value of saving. We opened savings accounts for both of them when they were in grade school.  We had

When I started working, I always felt it was important to save. I called it my Rainy-Day Fund.  I would withdraw from it whenever I ran a little short from overspending.  It prevented me from ever having to borrow money from others.  I never understood the point of borrowing because you would eventually have to

For Budgets And Spending Plans To Be Implemented Properly, You Will Need Both Checking And Savings Accounts. The Checking and Savings accounts are the engines that will drive the train to financial security.  They both have their specific roles to help you become debt-free and on the road to financial freedom. In this blog I

Why I Needed To Create A Spending Plan. Now that you have created your budget, it is time to create a spending plan. If you haven’t read my last two blogs on creating budgets called Budget: Love and Selflessness  and Setting up a Budget for Beginners  take a few moments to catch up. You will need a budget to

It Has Been Said Whoever Controls The Marbles Controls The Game, however, I believe this is not true when budgeting for a household.  I believe a budget should be made up of love and Selflessness. During my first marriage, my ex-husband controlled the budget which also included my paycheck. Therefore, the things I wanted to

As I Sat On The Beach Reflecting On The Journey, we took to arrive at our dream vacation in Hawaii, I realized the road previously had a lot of twists and turns. We were drowning in debt, house poor, and just trying to stay above water before getting serious about our debt.  Now we are sitting on

The Key To Creating And Living Your budget Is Your Mind Over Money. You must keep your mind on what you plan to do with your money to create a mind over money budget.  When spending money, we should always be mindful of our budget. Begin thinking frugally. First, start allocating funds to savings. Always pay

After Years Of Budgeting To Eliminate Credit Card Debt, student loans, our car notes and building up wealth. It was time to seriously consider getting completely debt free.  Our last financial goal is to pay off the mortgage.  Once again, I had to review our budget to determine how we can achieve this goal within

I Got My First Credit Card After Finishing College Debt Free. The more I spent and paid only the minimum payment the more the bank increased my line of credit. All seemed fine for a while the minimum payments were affordable. I was becoming a little concerned about the debt escalation but not enough to

I began setting up a budget from the day I began working. I remember my mom at the kitchen table with a piece of paper and a pen working on hers using her weekly paycheck. Mine is a little more sophisticated, my budget planning consists of using spreadsheet after spreadsheet, year over year.  I create