Bill Gates is often quoted as saying Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years . This is true of the impact technology has in our lives. Think about it, what a difference 10 years has made to our financial lives!
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The Scary Stats on Student Debt
The latest news and statistics on student debt is pretty grim, and whilst the US leads the way due to having the most expensive education fees, students around the world continue to graduate with both a degree and an increasing amount of debt. In the US alone the aggregate student loan balance is 170% higher now than it was just 10 years ago, an amazing $1.4USD trillion of debt, second only to mortgage debt. These enormous numbers are hard to fathom but here at Budget Simple we hear what they mean for everyday people.
Spending Fast!
There are lot of tips and tricks to tackling your personal finances, I thought I’d heard them all until I recently came across ‘Spending Fast’. Now I know what you’re thinking, that doesn’t make sense! Getting your finances in control is about spending less, right? Being smart with you money is about delayed gratification, it’s about saving now so you can spend later when you don’t have work or are retired. So how can spending fast help? Well its not that kind of ‘fast’…
Budgeting for Life’s Emergencies
It happens to the all of us. We go from month to month diligently planning our spending, category by category, tracking where the money goes, not over doing it, debt is being paid off, savings are on target and then… WHAM!! Out of left field we get hit by an expense that we never saw coming. If you’re not prepared it can set you back in you savings or worse it can drag you down into debt. Ouch! So what’s a conscientious budgeter to do?
The Minimalists
Whilst catching up on my couch time recently, a documentary on NetFlix called Minimalism: A Documentary caught my eye. I started to watch and surprisingly I made it all the way to the end, which is pretty good for me. Its a thought provoking film that challenges some fundamental values in our very consumerist modern society.
2018 Budget… Start Slow.
I read a comment from someone recently that they had calculated they’d spent $367 in 2017 just on buying soft drinks from their one company vending machine. It highlighted that a dollar or two a day really does add up over a year!
Collecting – Not Great For Your Budget
If there’s one thing I’ve noticed, it’s that people love to collect things. Books, stamps, Precious Moments, you name it, someone is out there collecting it. I’m no different, I used to be quite proud of my DVD collection. But as I boxed it all up to sell to a local Buy/Sell/Trade store, I realized, there must be over $1,000 of money spent on these items that are now almost completely worthless (I got $10 for about 20 of the DVDs, and the rest they didn’t want at all).
Budgeting and Your Finances – What’s The Takeaway?
This will be my last post for BudgetSimple! It’s been a little over two years since I started sharing my budgeting and money-saving tips with you, and I’m incredibly grateful for the experience.
Beach Baby On A Budget
It’s been a long time, but we’re hitting the road again this summer! One of our favorite things to do is travel, and we’ve always made room for trips, both big and small, in our budget.
The Secrets of Saving
When it comes to balancing your budget, paying off your debt and building your savings are two of the most important things to think about. Let’s talk about saving today!
