A recent Bankrate survey shows that Americans’ are less focused on saving and more focused on staying current on bills and paying debt down. If you can’t keep up with your bills here are some things to try. Living within Your Means Often Means Making Tough Choices While there’s certainly a majority of people who’ve whittled away their expenses and made tough decisions, this is
The Simplest Ways to Pay Off Debt
Living a debt free life is a message that seems to be spreading and really resonating with America. The problem though, is that with an already tight budget it can be hard to throw extra money toward debt freedom. If you want to start your journey toward a debt free life but are wondering where to get the extra money from, here are some of
More Than Money: Create Positive Improvements In Your Whole Life
I’ve noticed a recurring pattern over the last few years of my life. When I’m happy I do well in almost every area of my life – I’m a better parent, better companion, more passionate about working, and also much better with money. When I’m stressed or feeling depressed it all flies out the window. I think this is one big piece of the picture
Managing Money as a Single Vs a Couple: Which is Better?
I have a confession. I found managing money to be much easier when I single. Even though I was working with a smaller amount I had full control of over where my money went. Being a saver and a bit of a perfectionist, this worked well in my favor. Now that I’m managing my money with another person there’s a different set of pros and
The Best Ways to Teach Kids About Money
I think, depending on the child, at around age 4-5 kids start to understand that money doesn’t grow on trees and has to be earned. That makes this age a fantastic time to start teaching your children simple money lessons. Here are the best ways to teach your kids about money. Teaching Through Example I honestly feel that there is NOTHING more important than leading
The Art of Intentional Lifestyle Inflation
Over the past several years I’ve made a ton of short term sacrifices so I that I could create the life I wanted to be living. I was recently thinking about how the line items in my budget are way different now than what they are three years ago. And I realized – my sacrifices are starting to pay off! I am all for practicing
The Four Most Basic Things You Should Know About Money
I firmly believe that post people know that “how’s” or personal finance and just don’t have a strong enough “why.” However, with so much information available people can also get bogged down in the “how’s” looking to take too many paths. If you’re someone who is just starting from scratch these are the most basic things you should know about money. Once you learn these
3 Types of Family Budgets to Consider
There are plenty of different ways to budget and the method that your family chooses shouldn’t be set in stone. Getting on a budget is one of the single most important things you can do to make sure your family is reaching financial goals. If you have no idea how to get started here are three types of family budgets to consider. The Zero Based
One Thing You Should Expect When Buying a House
I wrote a little bit about our home buying process a while ago and unfortunately, that process is still happening. I knew buying a house was going to be stressful but I imagined that the majority of the stress was going to be from the drawn out inspection process that we had and also, negotiating. Nope, turns out I was wrong. The stress continues from
How to Improve a Bad Credit Score
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