At this point, you probably know you need some kind of budget. You may even have tried and failed to set one up. If you’re still earning less than you spend and can’t find places to cut, or can’t stop spending no matter how hard you try, it’s time to go extreme: the envelope budget system. …
Extreme Budgeting: The Cash Envelope Budget System Read More »
Macayle had an additional recommendation after reading my 10-10-10 rule post:”I use the 10 day rule so you can add this to you 10-10-10 rule, if you like. For more major purchases, and even some minor ones: If I want it I make myself wait for 10 days. Then if I still need (or want) it I …
Each year, American Express compiles a yearly spending summary and then sends me a link to it. It totals my spending by category and subcategory. I use it to see if any area of my spending is out of whack. Since we make most of our day-to-day purchases on the card, I can easily get …
A few months ago, I saw this at Failblog: book rental service? was just thinking. my sister does -alot- of reading, and spends like $1000 a year on just books alone. most of them she reads once then never looks at again. is there any kind of like…video rental store but for books? would make things …
Some online banks let you create what they call sub accounts in your master savings account. Essentially, these allow you to make one deposit and then divide the money between several uses for easier tracking. If your online bank allows this, then simply label the subaccounts things like vacation, property tax, homeowner’s insurance, etc. Figure …
This month, the Money Blog Network’s group project is budgets. I’m not in the MBN, but I’ve decided to post a blog about my method in creating a cash flow budgeting system. It’s far more effective for my husband and me than a traditional category-based budget. MBN lists several other budget posts on their site, if …
Apparently the third Monday in January is the saddest day of the year. Researchers determined this because this is the day you’ll receive holiday credit card bills and this is the day most people realize those resolutions have failed. Here are some tips for renewing that resolution to get in shape without busting your budget. …
In addition to lists, I like financial software. I started using Quicken back in 1997 and have used it ever since. When I was in charge of paying the bills, I also had a system to remind me to pay the bills so I never missed a payment and always had the money ready to …
As I mentioned last year, Good Morning America recommended that your holiday budget be three times your daily income. Divide your annual salary by 52, then by 5, then multiply by 3. If you make $52,000 a year, you can spend $600 this holiday season. Is Three Times Your Daily Salary Too Much? However, with cutbacks and …
Thanks to JD at Get Rich Slowly for including me in this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance. Check out the carnival on his blog for more tips on saving money for the holidays! When I was a kid, my family still exchanged gifts with everyone else in the family. That meant my sister and I had …
