There’s a lot of talk, especially with the debt free movements (which are great, btw), about credit scores. Some people will tell you that credit scores are only important if you plan on taking out debt. Other people, like me, know that they are used for so much more. In fact, beyond getting a good interest rate on a loan your credit score is used
The Complete Guide to Selling on Facebook Garage Sales
My love for Facebook Yard Sales began a couple years ago. After trying my hand selling on Craigslist many times I was fed up with receiving tons of texts, phone calls, and emails from people who weren’t really interested in what I was selling in the first place. It was frustrating. So when Facebook Yard Sales and Garage Sales started popping up I decided to
The Five Best Personal Finance Books
I was the kid who always had my nose in a book. During my (early) teenage years I was more worried about getting the highest grade on a test than I was going to the movies or shopping for clothes. My nerdiness and love for books has always been a part of me. So it’s no surprise that when I took an interest in personal
7 Ways to Improve Your Finances Today
Sometimes it’s the quick wins that can motivate you when you feel like you’re not doing very well with your money. In your head you might think you’ll never get ahead or that the small things you do don’t matter. Those thoughts, however, couldn’t be farther from the truth. Like Mr. Money Mustache says, “Millionaires are made ten bucks at a time.” Kill those self-defeating
4 Reasons You’re Bad with Money
For most people smart money management comes in the form of a slap to the face only after some heavy financial damage is done. Which is always better late than never. You see, nobody comes into life knowing exactly how to manage money. We all make mistakes and, hopefully, learn from them as we go. If you feel like you’ve been trying to get your
3 Ways to Save Money on Babysitting
Babysitting can easily be one of the biggest expenses of any parent’s budget. In fact, when I read other people’s budget reports I often see babysitting costing more than mortgage or rent. That’s an insane amount of money! While I would personally NEVER put a price on the well-being of my child I’ve managed to keep my babysitting costs reasonably low and couldn’t have asked
How to Use Multiple Savings Accounts to Reach Your Financial Goals
I first started using ING Direct (now Capital One 360) years ago and was smitten with the fact that I had the ability to easily create and name multiple savings account. Five years later I’m still dividing up my savings account to help me stay on track with my financial goals. If you’re new to the idea of using multiple savings account here are the
How to Spring Clean Your Finances
Has anyone else caught the Spring cleaning bug yet? While I’ve been walking around whipping my house into shape, one place I haven’t wanted to touch is the enormous stacks of papers lying in my office drawers. But, if I don’t get it dealt with now I can only imagine what I’m going to have to deal with in just a few months’ time. In
3 Benefits of Frugal Living (Plus 2 Drawbacks!)
We talk about frugal living often on ELYM. But frugal living without a purpose is pretty pointless. So today I wanted to go over three benefits of frugal living and the ways it’s helped to improve my life (plus two drawbacks). You’ll Have Less Stress When you make the conscious choice to live frugally and spend less than you earn you’ll naturally have less stress.
The Top Three Budget Killers
If you’re at the point in your life where you’re living paycheck to paycheck or just want to save and invest at a faster speed there are certain expenses you can lower or eliminate that will have a huge impact. Sure, skipping your morning coffee will save you a few bucks but if you really want to improve your financial health fast here are the









