Every year my partner and I usually get a big tax refund. In total, we received about $4,500 this year, which is around $1,000 more than the average tax refund. Many personal finance experts say you should adjust your withholding if you receive large tax refunds to avoid giving the government an interest-free loan. However, getting a large tax refund has some underrated financial benefits.
How To Adjust Your Budget To Account For Inflation
Inflation reached a 40-year high in May of 8.6%. The price of food is up 10.8% and gas costs an average of $4.88 a gallon. These drastic price increases have caused many Americans to feel financially strained. I’ve been finding it hard to stick to the budget I created two years ago. If you’re frequently going over your budget too, it may be time to
6 Things I Won’t Cut Back On To Save Money
In order to save money, you have to exercise financial discipline and eliminate some luxuries. It probably isn’t possible to meet aggressive financial goals while ordering takeout every night and shopping on Amazon all the time. I’m willing to live a simple, modest lifestyle to have financial security. But there are some things I won’t do to save money because they’re too much of a
Why I’m Doing My First No-Spend Challenge
A few months ago I wrote a blog post about why I don’t do no-spend challenges. To me they seemed like the personal finance equivalent of crash diets. Instead of outright banning unnecessary spending for a month or more, I believed in taking a more moderate approach. I gave myself a small monthly fun money budget so I could still treat myself occasionally without going
Should You Have Multiple Savings Accounts?
Financial experts often recommend that you open multiple savings accounts, one for each financial goal you’re trying to achieve. I’ve followed this advice for years with pretty good results. But recently I’ve been rethinking whether or not this style of money management is right for me. My freelance writing business has gotten busier over the past few months. I don’t have as much time to
Why Financial Discipline Sometimes Isn’t Enough
Recently I heard a financial saying that was new to me online: you can’t out-earn bad spending habits. This is such a true statement. No matter how high your income is, if you don’t have financial discipline and try to live frugally, you can easily inflate your lifestyle to the point where you’re living paycheck to paycheck. After all, many lottery winners end up in
How to Give Financial Advice to Friends and Family
Speaking from experience, it’s hard to watch friends and family members make financial mistakes. Most of my immediate family, including my parents and older sister, aren’t very financially literate. My parents ended up deep in consumer debt due to their lavish spending habits. Although they’re doing better now and are almost debt-free, they still spend too much on extravagances. My mom wastes $400 per month
Take These Steps To Stop Spending Money on Fast Food
If fast food is a big line item in your budget, you’re not alone. The average American household spends $250 per month on eating out. Investing that money instead can help you achieve your financial goals and build wealth. But how do you break the habit of hopping in the car and going to Wendy’s whenever you’re too tired to cook? Here are some tips
5 Ways to Handle Finances When Dealing With Depression
Thinking about money can be stressful even in the best of times. So how do you handle finances when dealing with depression? Although your first instinct is probably to ignore your finances, doing so could make you even more stressed out. Watching debt and unpaid bills pile up will exacerbate your symptoms and make it harder to focus on healing. Although it’s tough to budget
How Much Should You Spend on Decorating Your Home?
Because of the pandemic, we’ve all been spending more time at home, which has shifted our financial priorities. Instead of investing money in travel and experiences, Americans are spending more on home improvement projects than ever before. In 2020 alone, consumers spent a combined $420 billion on renovations to turn their houses into their dream homes. Before quarantine I didn’t understand the importance of home