Last February, I showed you our monthly household budget and our cash-flow budget. Our cash flow budget is updated monthly, and sometimes more than once a month, but we haven’t updated our spending breakdown since February. Given the drastic changes in our debt load, and rising costs for gas and food, I decided to see how …
So, this weekend I called my sister to tell her that I’d found my mom’s Christmas present. I haven’t bought it yet, but I know what it is unless Mom drops some hints that she’d like something else. To be fair, it was something I almost got her last year and then opted for something …
I’m about halfway through my pregnancy, so it’s time to turn my thoughts to baby gear. I still haven’t come to terms with the idea that I will actually have a baby in five months, but I can at least be prepared. We started with a budget. I will be having baby showers and getting …
Yesterday, LearnVest (a cool financial blog for women) offered a post about the true cost of a child to age 18, and offered some tips for preparing for a baby. The post includes a cool info-graphic that outlines the USDA’s tally. Learnvest says: “Take a deep breath: According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a baby born …
Even if you’re not giving food gifts, you probably still have a lot of holiday baking to do. Between contributions to various parties and holiday meals, this is the season when nearly every family bakes. Fortunately, the grocery stores have noticed this trend and offer stupendous deals on baking supplies in the weeks leading up to …
According to news reports, 29% consumers plan to cut their holiday spending this year. It seems like every year, shoppers insist they won’t overspend this Christmas. They promise that they’re slashing their budgets. They promise they know how to control Christmas spending. Then the holiday spirit takes hold. Rather than questioning a purchase, shoppers just …
Christmas Spending: How Much to Budget This Holiday Read More »
I last posted a budget update in September and our budget has drastically changed ever since then. Not only have we finished paying off a lot of debt, but we’re now managing to put aside around $2500 a month. Sadly, most of that will go towards taxes for last year, but it’s still a nice accomplishment. We …
As I’ve posted numerous times, I am anti-Valentine’s Day. Yes, I’ll cook a nice dinner and spring for a card, but I’m opposed to the price inflation that accompanies the gifts and dinners out on this occasion that really doesn’t mean anything. Still, I know a lot of people feel compelled to do something for …
Now that we’ve moved into our house, it’s time to update the budget yet again. I’m excluding our new home purchases because those come out of a separate fund from our other household expenses. We cut back our spending for the first half of the year, partly because we spent all of our time looking …
Mrs. Micah sent out a general tag for the top 5 budget busters meme and I’m taking up the challenge. I can actually boil them down to two things: food and my husband. Sometimes the two are combined. We don’t have a formal budget, but we have an idea of what we should be spending. Unfortunately, we often …
