My husband and I took a nontraditional route as newlyweds and didn’t buy a house for five years. We wanted to, especially when our children came on the scene, but our focus was paying off debt and saving up a down payment. The catalytic moment for our house fund was the day we discovered the 52-week money saving challenge. If you’ve ever owned a house,
Does a Monthly Cash Flow Plan Make Sense for Your Family?
Do you use a monthly cash flow plan? Most people call it a budget, but that often leaves a bad taste in people’s mouths (mine included). Terminology aside, do you think it helps or hinders your money? Here’s why this matters so much to me. I spent the first half of my twenties avoiding a monthly cash flow plan, feeling it went against my freely
Unbudgeting: Personal Finance for Lazy People
You’ve tried your hand at budgeting. Creating detailed spreadsheets, tracking what you’re spending for a few days, whipping out envelopes and filling them with cash, but nothing ever stuck. After about a week of full throttle budgeting you gave up. Your spending went back to normal and you decided your personal finances will be doomed forever. Does that sound like you? If so, don’t feel
How to Live Off One Income
Are you a mom dreaming of the day when you can quit working and start staying home with your kids? Maybe either you or your spouse lost a job. Or, you could be like me, a single parent, with no choice but to live on one income. The circumstances don’t really matter. That fact is that it’s completely possible to support a family on one
Bare Bones Budgets: What They Are and Why You Need One
Unless you’re into extreme frugality, Mr. Money Mustache style, then you probably aren’t living on a bare bones budget and have no desire to. Still, it’s important to know what yours is. In the event of an illness, job loss, or other life altering event where you lose your income you should know how much money you’re going to need to survive. What is a