Zero-Budget Christmas: The Almost Entirely True Story of Our Quest to Do Our Christmas Shopping Without Spending Any Money by Jason Anderson has been a real fun and easy read. To me, it read like an extended well-written blog post about different methods to keep your budget in check during the holiday season. It rehashes a…
I figured after a month sorting out our budgets, it’s worth pointing out that we’re going into the worst time of year for trying to keep them – with tons of holiday spending looming, I’ve been scouring the web and nearby stores for inexpensive (but NOT cheap) gift ideas. I’m a little crafty, but…
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…
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…
Something that folks of the Depression era seemed to have a much better grasp on than the Generation X and Yers is the concept of needs versus wants. Clearly defining these and coming up with an approach to pay for them is likely to change your outlook on spending. Here, in its most basic form,…
The other day we talked about money psychology because it’s so important to get a firm grasp on your money hang ups as you start to delve into sorting out your financial state. Once you start to see why you have the issues you do, you can begin to resolve them (honestly, you can begin…
This month we’re going to look at how to set up and stick to a budget. From the mentality you’ll need to develop to actual worksheets to nifty tools to make tracking your budget easier, by the end of the month you should have a clear vision of what your finances look like, how long…
I am awful at budgeting. Seriously awful. Mostly because I’ve been pretty lucky to not have to worry too much about money most of my life, I sort of just have an idea of what’s happening in my checking account and try to keep my expenditures under that. Once in a while I fail and…