If you are finding it a regular struggle to balance your monthly finances and would like a bit of general guidance on how to work out which areas of your spending need trimming, there is an old rule that still has plenty of relevance in a modern money environment. The 50-20-30 rule can be an…
It’s been a while since something has completely effed up my mindset, but this past week has done it. I got some bad news from home about my mother’s health – the sort that makes you reevaluate everything about life and what matters. And while we’re hoping it all works out in the end, a…
I am the world’s laziest runner. I kind of hate it. Sometimes it’s my legs that hate it. Sometimes it’s my lungs. Most of the time though, it’s my mind. My mind really hates running. My mind wants to be at home binge watching Pretty Little Liars and eating chocolate chip cookies. But running has…
Facebook’s got my number. It’s probably got yours too. Every once in a while, it pops up a completely intriguing ad for something I’ve never heard of that looks exactly like something I can’t live without. This is how Sightbox wound up on my radar. I’m not sure if Facebook creepily scans my pictures and…
Sometimes it’s ok to embrace your latte factor. A lot of budgeting info is written to squeeze every last penny out of your income. There may be times in life when you need that – and knowing that if you cut out the lattes for good, you’ll save a couple hundred dollars a year –…
Last summer I wrote a post about going into budget lockdown for the first time since paying off my debt. Sad to say, I’m back in the same situation again. I was riding pretty high when I calculated my net worth in April, but I have several large expenses (already saved up for) coming up…
Every once in a while, I find a song that really sticks with me for whatever reason – it either relates to where I am in life or it really makes me feels something. Yesterday on Pandora, Spend Your $$$ by Walk the Moon (a great group that I found thanks to Lisa from Lisa…
Buying a car can be a real time of excitement, particularly for younger people as it can offer up that first real sense of freedom and independence. With all the anticipation involved it can be easy for the heart to rule the head, and countless people have ended up with a dud because they ‘fell…
It’s a really weird feeling preparing to go into a budget lock down. I mean, I know that next week is my last paycheck, but since I’m still working right now, it doesn’t feel like it. This month though I’ve been trying to ask myself responsible budgeting questions, like: Should I still contribute as much…
Mother’s Day is coming up soon, but if you are trying to shop on a budget, you might be having a hard time finding the right way to show Mom you care. Fortunately, most moms love nothing more than spending time with their kids and feeling appreciated by them. So when you are thinking Mother’s…
I guess it’s not that surprising that I’ve spent the last few days thinking about the past year and what has changed in my life. From the sort of posts I’ve seen popping up on other personal finance blogs, I’m not the only one – and there’s one change that actually makes me really happy.…
If you’re swimming in a sea of financial confusion, the first step you have to do is evaluate where exactly you are. You need to know if you’re actually just a little too far out to sea, the shoreline is right there beyond the horizon, or if you’ve fallen off a boat in the middle…
This post is a guest post from Jennifer Riner of Zillow, a terrific website that can help you find homes and rentals. Zillow also has a very cool home value estimate tool that you can play around with. If you’re looking for some expert rental information, you’ve come to the right place today! It happens…
And now a break from our regularly scheduled program. Otherwise known as the day I decided not to talk about FAFSAs, but instead about sofas. How does this relate to personal finance? Well, if you recall from my guest post about my New Year’s Resolutions over at Fit is the New Poor, Resolution #1 was…
To get rid of debt, you need a budget that actually puts you in the black each month, so that you can contribute that extra money to paying down your debt. Sometimes it looks completely hopeless, but if you’re ready to buckle down and get rid of that debt, here’s a list of several areas…
Struggling with debt? Here are a few methods to help get your Pete under control and on his way to the curb. 1.) Snowballer – this is Dave Ramsey’s extremely popular method of ranking all of your debts from highest to lowest, start with the lowest one and direct all the extra cash you can find…
I really like some aspects of psychology, especially why we do the things we do. I’ve been fascinated with personality typing and stuff like Briggs-Meyers tests since I first learned what they were (yeah, I even do those silly Facebook tests – I am a Snape). While each of these “types” are broad generalizations, the…
It’s the end of another month here at brokeGIRLrich and the end of another series. Since our theme this month was getting out budgets in order, the giveaway of the month has been The Budget Kit by Judy Lawrence (and you still have 4 days left to win it!) Author Judy Lawrence is a…
Besides this awesome series about how to create and stick with a budget, there are some other great resources at your local books store and library and even totally free advice on the internet. Some of those that I feel totally ok about recommending are: Actual books (those things with pages and the happy paper…
Making a budget and diving into piles and piles of papers (or websites) with numbers that may make you want to curl up in a little ball and dry can be daunting. For some of us (meaning me), I need to dangle a carrot in front of my face to remind me of why…
Keeping track of your budget is definitely a pain in the butt – I get it – but with all the free tools online to help you, it doesn’t have to be. 30 minutes of effort can get you set up with any of these sites. Keep in mind, if you’re going to use an…
Whether you have a mountain of debt or not, a budget is a necessary tool. If you’ve managed to avoid debt all together, good for you! A budget will still help you keep track of your cash flow and allow you to maximize it’s potential. If you do have debt, like the vast majority of…
Now that you’ve mastered your monthly budget (right?), we’re going to look at making a yearly budget. The good news about this budget is that some studies show that people who make a yearly budget have an even better grasp on their finances, since random payments that spring up…
Now that we have a snapshot of our current financial picture and a grasp on our financial goals, it’s time to get down to the nitty gritty of financial organization – the monthly budget. To start your monthly budget, enter in your current checking account balance at the top of the month, your income, your…
Up until now we’ve talked about some of the money mindset hook-ups that people have, developed a net worth statement and distinguished between needs and wants. Lots of those things aren’t fun at all, and can actually be quite depressing, but today is the day to start dreaming. Studies show that most people have never…