Everyone has different philosophies about how to get out of debt and build savings. Here is the basic strategy we recommend you follow. You may already be doing these things, but I ve tried to order all of my strategies by importance, so ideally you ll do number one before number two, etc
Save Money
When I’m Rich
An idea that I think may be uniquely American is that almost everyone has a belief that they will be rich someday. Ask any kid in 7th grade to describe their future and more often than not it’s not “be a fireman” anymore but “when I’m rich I’ll…”. Even 40 year old adults I talk to still say “when I’m rich”… I think this attitude is what makes our country have so many entrepreneurs and innovators, but is the goal even worth it?
Should I Budget For Christmas?
Christmas is the season of giving, and that’s the perfect time to throw our budgets to the wind and make everyone we know happy right? You probably know what’s coming here, but no, December isn’t the time to ignore your budget, and this is often the most critical time of year for your finances.
RVs, Timeshares and Vacation Homes – A Good Idea?
Many people have a place they love to vacation to. Sometimes after one visit, sometimes after a yearly tradition they decide to make it a more frequent getaway location, by purchasing something to keep those hotel costs at bay. But is it actually a savings?
Budgeting Isn’t About Being Frugal (Necessarily)
A common misconception I hear is that budgeting is only for those that want to pinch every penny. “I don’t have time for a budget, I’m living life!”, or “I don’t want a budget to tell me not to have fun!”. I’d argue a budget does the exact opposite. Budgeting is about maximizing what’s important to you.
Disposable Income is Good, Disposable Items are Bad.
Open upon a time when a couple moved out of their parent’s house and into their own, they had to hope for heirlooms or gifts from others to have plates and silverware. Now, it’s as cheap and simple as going to Target and getting a 50-pack of disposable plates and spoons. But what seems cheap now is actually more expensive in the long run.
Losing Weight Goes Great With Saving Money
Do you have some extra pounds to shed? Do you also need to make cuts in your budget? Why not do both at once?
How do I Budget for the Unexpected?
A common question for people just getting started with budgeting is how to budget for the little things we can’t plan for, that unexpected car repair or hospital visit.
Buying in Bulk to Save Money, How Much is Too Much?
I was pondering the above question as I cleaned out a hall closet this weekend and found not one, not two, but 10 sticks of antiperspirant, or at my current pace of use, roughly an 8 year supply. I realized we had so much because a) we often buy in bulk, at Costco b) when there is a really good sale on something, we tend to stock up.
