real-life journeys, realistic life tips, and random rants
Simply hearing the word budget, or budgeting, can put a bad taste in your mouth. If it does, you are not alone. Having to face the circumstances of your situation can be daunting; it doesn’t matter if you don’t have…
You did your budget calendar, made your budget for your paycheck, and made it through the pay period (possibly kicking and screaming but hopefully not). Now what? Before you do your next paycheck budget (yes, you should do one for…
You’ve gathered your bills together and have a general idea of the amount of money you need each month. You’ve made your budget calendar so you can visually see what is due every month. Now what? Now it’s time to…
Let’s talk about budget calendars. Are they helpful? For many people, yes. If you’re a visual person, definitely. Is it necessary? No. What is a budget calendar? A budget calendar is a way to keep track of your bills, automatic…
I am being very diligent about tracking my expenses and spending less. Until my lifestyle stabilizes a bit, I am not going to really see an improvement in my overall debt total, but it is important to establish some good…
Change is hard. Establishing new habits is hard. I said this blog would detail those ins and outs, and I’d fallen off a bit because I was feeling a bit uninspired. A friend reminded me that continuing to share may…
Zero-based budgeting is a budgeting method where every penny is accounted for, so that your income minus your expenses equals zero. For Johnny, who gets paid weekly, a projected budget for him may look something like this: At the end…
Do you take advantage of savings when you can, or do you just let the savings fall by the wayside because you can’t be bothered? I’m not talking about extreme couponing, or even driving to three different grocery stores to…