Budget Archives - Making Sense Of Cents

Why You Need An Emergency Fund and How To Start One Today

April 6, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 7 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Do you want to learn how to build an emergency fund?

I recently asked you, my readers, what you want to read about right now. The majority of you told me that you’d like to learn more about emergency funds.

In today’s blog post, I answer questions such as:

What is an emergency fund?
Should you have an emergency fund if you are in debt?
How much should be in an emergency fund?
Where should you keep your emergency fund?
Should I keep my emergency fund in a separate account?
Can’t I just use my credit card as my emergency fund?
How can I save enough money for my emergency fund?

Thinking about how you would handle certain life situations is exactly why today’s post about emergency funds is so important.

See, an emergency fund is something I believe everyone should have. However, many people skip this important part of managing their finances.

Without an emergency fund, you can take on debt, add to your debt, not be able to afford basic living expenses, and more. It can be very scary to live without some emergency savings.

So, why are emergency funds important overall?

There are many reasons for why you should have a fully-funded emergency fund:

An emergency fund can help you if you lose your job. No matter how stable you think your job is, there is always a chance that something could happen where you may need money. What would you do if you lost your job and didn’t have an emergency fund?
An emergency fund is wise if you do not have great health insurance. You may have a medical emergency come up, and you can easily spend hundreds or thousands of dollars out of pocket.
An emergency fund is a good idea if you have a car. You just never know if it may need a repair.
An emergency fund is a need if you own a home. One of the lucky things that homeowners often get to deal with is an unexpected home repair. Having an emergency fund can help you if your basement floods, if a hole in your roof forms, and more.

An emergency fund can protect you in many other areas as well. This can include if you have an unexpected medical expense for your pet, if you have to take time off work for something, you need to go somewhere far to visit someone who is sick, and so on. The list of reasons for why you might need an emergency fund can be a long one. [Read more…]

15 Of The Best Money Books For Young Adults – Learn How To Live The Life You Want

March 30, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 11 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Are you looking for the best money books for young adults?

Today, I want to talk about the best money and life books for new high school graduates, college graduates, and other young adults. These would be great for graduation gifts, or just for yourself!

I wasn’t always good with money when I was younger. I bought more clothes than I needed, financed a new car, spent a lot going out to eat, and spent a lot of money on things I didn’t need. It took me several years to realize how my spending habits were affecting the rest of my life.

I think this is fairly common when you’re younger, and there are lots of great financial books for young adults that can help you understand how money works and how to prepare for the future.

The best money books for young adults explain personal finance topics like saving, investing, making more money, and more. And, reading them when you’re young can help you get on the right track with your money from a young age. [Read more…]

10 Slow Cooker Recipes That Will Make Dinner Time Easy

March 25, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 2 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Are you looking for some new and delicious slow cooker recipes so you can have tasty and stress-free dinners this week?

I love making meals in a slow cooker. Dinners are so much easier when you start everything in advance! I’m less stressed, can focus on things I’d rather do, all while knowing that I have a delicious meal cooking.

So, if you’re looking for some of the best slow cooker recipes, I have 10 new recipes for you to try – that’s almost two full weeks of meal ideas!

I think you’re going to like all of these slow cooker recipes, but here are my favorites:

Easy Slow Cooker Cauliflower Soup – Cauliflower, cashews, and a smoky chickpea topping. This soup is packed full of protein, and it’s vegan. This soup is creamy, rich, and the chickpea topping is roasted, which gives it a nice crunch.
Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken Soup – Chicken, black beans, fire roasted corn, lime juice, and more. You can top this hearty soup with cheese, avocado, sour cream (I like to use plain Greek yogurt), and more.
Mozzarella Stuffed Crockpot Meatloaf – Garlic, onions, mozzarella cheese, Italian seasoning, and more. This meatloaf even has a delicious sweet and spicy glaze on top. I honestly had no idea that you could even make meatloaf in the slow cooker until I found this recipe.

Many of these slow cooker recipes take 15 minutes or less of prep time, which means you can easily make them before you go to work in the morning. They also make great leftovers for lunch the next day. [Read more…]

15 Of My Best Working From Home Tips So You Can Succeed

March 23, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 7 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Do you need some working from home tips to make it easier to transition to remote work?

More and more people are starting to work from home or are becoming location independent and traveling while they work, such as those who backpack, RV, or sail full-time.

If you’re new to working from home, you quickly realize that it’s not as easy as it may seem. In the beginning when you’re new it may seem like a great thing, but it can easily turn sour if you are not careful with how you use your time.

Just because you are working from home doesn’t mean that you all of a sudden have 8-10 hours a day of free time – you will still be expected to WORK!

The only thing that has changed is WHERE you are working.

I have been working from home and while traveling since 2013 – so for around 7 years now! [Read more…]

Here Are 8 Of My Best Tax Return Tips For 2020

March 9, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 9 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Are you looking for tax return tips for 2020?

Tax time is a stressful time for many people, and it’s right around the corner — tax returns for 2020 have been extended to Wednesday, July 15, 2020!

Because I run a business, my taxes are much more complicated than they used to be. But, I still remember how stressful it was to prepare for and file my taxes each year when I wasn’t running my own business. I remember gathering W-2s, school documents, etc. Mine were fairly simple compared to some people’s taxes, but it was still stressful.

The way I felt was not uncommon, as the average person can become very overwhelmed during tax season. So today, I have several helpful tax return tips so you can take the necessary steps in order to prepare for tax season.

And, if you’re brand new to filing your tax return, then you may be even more confused. Filing tax returns comes annually, but it’s still something that pretty much everyone dreads, even if they are getting money back. [Read more…]

Are Wedding Loans A Crazy Idea? 10 Things To Think About For Your Big Day

March 2, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 13 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of talk about wedding loans. And as a personal finance blogger, this worries me a bit.

Getting married is very exciting, and in the beginning, you’re probably thinking about what your wedding will be like. All of your favorite family and friends, good food, dancing, and whatever else your heart desires.

But then, reality hits – how will you pay for it all?

Shockingly, many couples take out wedding loans to finance their big day.

It seems like more and more people around me are getting wedding loans in order to afford their wedding, and there’s a big industry growing that is trying to normalize marriage loans as well. I’ve even seen advertisements for wedding loans for bad credit!

I’ve also noticed more people putting their weddings on credit cards, which is very dangerous when you consider that the average credit card interest rate is now over 21%. [Read more…]

I taught English in China to pay off my student loans

February 28, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 2 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Hello! Here’s a guest post from a reader, Nick. Nick was feeling stuck a few years ago and wasn’t making progress on his student loans. He ended up researching a lot about salaries and the cost of living for English teachers in China and realized that he would be able to save far more money in China than back home. Even without teaching experience, and still living very comfortably, including taking vacations, it has been easy for him to save $20,000 in a year. For him, it had a huge impact on his life and financial freedom. Enjoy his story on how to teach English in China below!

It must have been about 4.5 years ago. I remember walking out of an interview in Chicago feeling completely dejected.

The interviewer mentioned the salary, and along with it, how most new hires take on a second job during the weekend.

I wasn’t expecting to find an amazing job, but this was just too much. None of my past decisions looked particularly good on a resume. I had just returned from a 3.5-year stint traveling around Latin America while earning a very modest living playing online poker.

But, I was burnt out, making no progress on my student loans, and realizing it was time to get a normal job. I was actually really excited to do so but job hunting was incredibly frustrating and when I realized how little money I’d be earning, I began looking for alternative options. [Read more…]

Subscribe Via Email