I don’t know if you really need a budget, but I do know that a budget can be an extremely helpful tool for most people. Most people never set one up or have any clue what they spend money on. They may think that they do, but they have no idea where their money is really going. It’s so easy to spend without thinking or to tell yourself that “it’s just this one time” or it’s “just a little more than I wanted to spend”. But those “one-time things” and “just-a-little-mores” can add up quickly when they become a habit.
Budget
Reflect & Start Fresh
4 minute read
You didn’t really need a new year to have a fresh start but you’ve got it, so you might as well take advantage of it. The beginning of a new year is the time when many people vow to be better than the previous year and to start being more intentional about reaching their goals. Maybe you spent more than you planned on over the holidays. Maybe you didn’t quite reach your financial goals in 2018. Maybe you reached all your 2018 financial goals and you’re hungry to push a little further this year. Since the new year is time when people focus on setting goals and making changes, we can do the same in regard to our financial goals.
A Smarter Way To Give
3 minute read
As Christmas rapidly nears, I hear people continuing to talk about last minute shopping. Maybe they just hate shopping, maybe they’re terrible at coming up with gift ideas, or maybe they’re worried about how much it’s going to cost. I wonder how many people actually sat down and thought about how much they would (or could afford to) spend before the holiday season was upon us. It’s probably a little too late to setup a budget for 2018 holiday gifts, but it’s definitely not too late to make sure that you’ll be in a position to give all of the gifts that you’d like to in 2019.
Getting Back on Track
3 minute read
I’m going to go ahead and take a wild guess that you may have gone off the deep end over Thanksgiving. Let’s be real, Thanksgiving food is the best food and it’s so hard to resist, even when you feel like you can’t eat another bite. And, if you’re like me, then you went off the deep end multiple times at multiple Thanksgiving dinners. When things like this happen, we sometimes just feel like giving up on our diets completely. We feel like we’ve already blown it so we might as well just keep eating like crap, right? But that only makes the situation worse. What we actually need to do is realize that eating more than we should have over Thanksgiving is just a short-term mistake that likely doesn’t have a significant impact when we view our diets in the long term.
Binge Spending
3 minute read
A quick Google search tells me that I either may have just made that term up, or I have no idea what I’m talking about. Either way, I’m sticking with it. I’m not talking about Compulsive Buying Disorder (CBD), which is a mental health issue that can wreak havoc on your financial situation and that I’m not qualified to discuss. I’m talking about something that I’ve witnessed which is (hopefully) less impactful on your financial situation than CBD but could still have a negative effect.
Spending Money Is Hard
2 minute read
This may sound like a stupid statement to some, but I’m sure there are plenty who emphasize as well. Sometimes I get so caught up in saving and working towards my financial goals that I feel guilty when I spend money, even when I’ve budgeted for it. This is hypocritical since I try to teach people to budget for things and then use that money to pay for them.
Increase Your Net Worth By 7,307% In One Year? It Can Happen.
< 1 minute read
Today, I’m going to take the opportunity to brag on Amanda’s financial progress. From July 31, 2017 to July 31, 2018, she was able to increase her net worth by 7,307%. I think that’s pretty incredible.
Do You Know Where Your Money Goes?
2 minute read
I challenged myself in June to limit myself on unnecessary spending. This included things such as eating out, buying stuff that I don’t really need, and limiting entertainment expenses by utilizing things that I already have available to me. But, I wasn’t too strict on myself and I feel like I could have definitely done better.
Want to Travel the World for 10 Months? Live Below Your Means
2 minute read
I love hearing stories from people who have been able to fulfill their dreams by being financially wise and living below their means. Last week, I spoke to a gentleman at the gym who told me a story about something that he and his wife did that I thought was amazing. The reason that they were able to accomplish such an awesome goal is simple – they live below their means.
Apparently young people don’t want to hear about saving for retirement
3 minute read
Last week, Alessandra Malito published an article for MarketWatch titled Money Milestones: This is how your finances should look in your 30s which caused an uproar among millennials on Twitter.
