Budgeting

The number one secret to a successful grocery trip without breaking your budget and to give you a full week of food is planning. When you go into the store planning to wing it, you’ll likely spend a lot more money than you planned, buy items you don’t need, and might not end up with enough food for full meals for the entire week.

Read moreGrocery trip planning

Have you started working on your budget and realized that cable is one of your top monthly expenses? Have you considered trying to cut cable, but decided against it? Are you often frustrated about how much you pay for cable only to realize that the competitor’s prices are just as expensive? Unless cable is the most important item you value in your budget, you need to cut it. And if cable is the most important item in your budget, ask yourself why and if there are really not any less expensive options that could fulfill your needs.

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Can you believe it’s football season already? You should love hosting the best football party. Not only is it a great way to have fun with your friends. It is also a great way to save money. These three tips will make it so easy for you to host the best football party ever.

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Everyone knows them. The people that seem to be always living large. They have all the new cars, the newest toys, the most extravagant vacation, and the beautiful house. How do they do it? How are they killing it at life while you’re counting pennies and hoping that you can pay all of your bills? The truth is, how do you know if they’re killing it? Sure, it might look like they have everything under control, but you don’t know the truth about their situation. Maybe they are killing it, but maybe they have a boatload of debt and are just hoping the credit collectors don’t find them. How do you avoid comparing yourself to them and how do you stop yourself from becoming them?

Read moreDon’t compete with the Joneses

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You get the text from your friend, the dreaded text, (ok, or call, but I’m a millennial so for me it’s a text) and they ask you and your partner to come to an expensive meal with them and their partner at this really fancy restaurant. We’re talking a restaurant where dinner for two and a glass of wine each will cost more than your weekly food budget. What do you do? Of course you want to go. You want to see your friends, you’ve heard this restaurant is amazing, and you’ve been doing so well with your budget, don’t you just deserve a nice night out? STOP. Right there, stop. If you have to try to justify that it’s ok to yourself, you know it isn’t ok. You know that as much as you want to go to this expensive meal out, it will move you away from your big picture money goals instead of towards them. You know you’ll have to sacrifice to dig yourself out from under this bill, much less get ahead with your money. So what do you do?

Read moreDecline the Expensive Meal Out

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When you think of a date, what immediately comes to mind? Is it fancy restaurants and a show at the theater? Maybe dinner and a movie? If you’re on a budget it may seem like a date for you and your partner is just not a good idea. That’s where you’re wrong. Have you and your partner read The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman to see what your love language is? Well for my husband and I both, quality time is our primary love language. Even if quality time isn’t your main love language, it’s still very important to make time for your partner without distractions (whether the distractions are kids, pets, or work). Carving out some time for the two of you alone is a great way to connect and catch up. And what’s even better is that a date doesn’t have to break the budget.

Read moreBudget Date Ideas

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Are you thinking about getting a dog, but trying to figure out how much it will really cost? Trust me, dog ownership always costs more than you expect. I have two fur babies who I love with all my heart, but they can definitely be expensive and you need to be prepared.

Part of the challenge with pets are that people tend to expect you to buy them a ton of toys, treats, and even outfits. When it comes to spending on your pets, you have to consider what is right for you, not what everyone else is doing. Just as you shouldn’t compare your overall spending habits to someone else’s, you shouldn’t compare your pet spending habits either. As a general rule, I don’t often buy treats for my dogs. I tend to reward them with praise and petting or even with ice cubes and pieces of their own food (they seem to always think this is a prize even though they eat it daily).

Read moreDog ownership costs

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Christmas in July is upon us. And ok, here in the US we don’t celebrate Christmas in July, but I think it’s a really important budgeting holiday to acknowledge. Christmas comes once per year and usually is very expensive. Somehow, every year, people are not financially prepared. Stores boast zero percent credit cards and putting items on layaway, but in the end you will end up spending more money by not having enough in savings to cover your Christmas expenses. So here’s July. Time to start planning for Christmas and setting money aside for gifts.

Read moreBudget for Christmas in July