Category Archive

Budget

Let’s talk about budgeting, saving, banking… how can you keep it all together, and advance toward your offbeat goals?

How to shop your own closet and maximize your wardrobe

How to shop your own closet and maximize your wardrobe

When you’re trying to save a buck here and there with clothes, learning to work with what you already own is key. This applies doubly for when you’re traveling. Re-styling an outfit = fewer items you’ll need to pack overall. Here’s how you can shop your own closet to save money and maximize your wardrobe…

How I gently eased into a joint bank account with my partner

How I gently eased into sharing expenses with my partner

I moved in with my partner of two years about seven months ago. It’s my first time living with someone, at the not-so-tender age of in-my-thirties. When we started to share rent and utilities responsibilities, we had to figure out a way to make things equitable, while also easing into the whole finance sharing idea in general. Here’s how we do it…

A year without buying new clothes

How I’m going a year without buying new clothes for myself OR my kid

I started an experiment to see if I could go completely without buying any new clothes for myself, or for my little girl. And it’s been surprisingly easy.

I’m 6 months in, and here’s how I’m doing it…

I run credit reports every day: Here are the 6 most common mistakes I see

I work for a landlord and part of my job is screening tenants. That means I run credit reports every day; and decide whether or not an applicant is approved. Most of the time, when someone is rejected it is because many people don’t understand the basics of how credit reporting works.

making a budget

The 411 on creating an effective budget

Most people find creating a budget a daunting thought, but in reality it doesn’t have to be. Once you understand how to go about it, you’ll find that creating a budget is actually a set of logical steps that are quite easy to follow. Here are the basics on efficient budget creation…

Why is it still socially un-acceptable to discuss your personal financial security as a married woman?

I’ve had two conversations in the past couple months that have set off a bit of a lightbulb in my brain when I realized that it still isn’t socially acceptable to discuss your personal financial security as a married woman. I will tell you why that’s not cool. (Beware of gendered language ahead…)

Extreme couponing: how to get your grocery store to pay you to shop

My coworkers kept talking about “extreme couponing,” and how they were getting full carts of groceries for only a few dollars. I felt like everybody was in on this huge secret, until my coworkers directed me to a few websites.

Money envelopes have taken over my life in the most overwhelmingly wonderful way

About a year ago, my partner and I — while broke and realizing that our Christmas money budget was about negative fifty dollars — had an idea. We grabbed a few envelopes, and on each one, wrote the name of a bill, the amount it typically cost, and when the bill was due. We put the envelopes in a stack in our room, and with every paycheck, we’d take a bit out to put in the envelopes. But guys, these envelopes, they are taking over my life!