I was catching up on Parks and Recreation the other day, and saw an episode where Tom and Donna have a “Treat Yo Self” day, where they can buy whatever they want guilt-free. At first, this made the budget conscious part of me cringe. The idea that you deserve certain things whether you can afford them or not is often how people get into debt. But the idea of “treating yourself” is crucial to staying on budget.
Education
Couponing – It’s Free Money.
If I said that you could make $100 this week by working only one hour, you’d probably take me up that gig right? And yet, every day most of us are simply too lazy to clip and use coupons, which can quite easily knock $100 or more off our grocery bill.
Sell It! Everything Has Some Value
After most people create a budget with BudgetSimple, they usually have one of two results; “I need to spend less!” or “I need to make more money!”. The former is usually doable by making cut backs, but the latter can be quite challenging. How can we make more money without a career change or finding a new job? The answer is all around you!
The Dangers of Thinking About Your Expenses in Monthly Terms
I hear it time and time again, “Oh, that car is $200 a month, I can afford that” or “Man, just picked up the new iPad, only $50 a month”. It may seem odd that someone who bases their entire budgeting philosophy around a monthly budget is criticizing the idea of thinking in things in monthly terms. But what my real problem is the idea of financing.
7 Tips to Kick Impulse Purchases to the Curb
You re standing in the checkout line at the grocery store browsing the magazine headlines, without even thinking about it you toss a pack of gum in your cart.
7 Simple Ways to Lower Your Heating Bill
We all like to stay warm and cozy in the winter, but cranking up the heat is costly and can consume our budgets in the coldest months of the year. It s much healthier to live in a warm house, so you know you ll spend on it no matter how high the costs go. But why let your heating bill control you when you can try some of these tip to bring it down?
4 Steps for Starting an Emergency Fund
Emergencies happen. We like to imagine they won t happen to us, but we know they do. And often we need a little extra cash to get through those tough times. But where do we find that cash? It s easy to turn to a credit card or borrow from a friend, but the most secure method, one that keeps you debt free and self-sufficient, is to have an Emergency Fund.
5 Ways to Save Money Without Really Trying
We all want to save more money, but we often don t feel like we can do it. It s easy to make excuses or to dip into our savings when something fun tempts us. But there are a few ways to save that are so simple you almost won t notice you ve started doing it. Try one or all of these five examples to pad your savings.
One Sure-fire Money Saving Tip
We ve all seen the lists of 10, 25, even 100 great ways to save money. But trying to implement more than one new habit at a time can be overwhelming and often leads to failure to make any change at all. What if you had one tip that s easy and guarantees some more cash flows into your savings account every month?
Healthy Winter Foods Can Save You Money
Eating seasonally is all the rage these days and when spring comes many will return to the farms markets for the first delicacies of the growing season like asparagus, baby lettuces, and ramps. Later in the summer we ll find inexpensive pints of blueberries and by August giant zucchinis for a dollar apiece because farmers can t get rid of them fast enough.
