Budget Archives - Page 2 of 93 - Making Sense Of Cents

Is A Credit Card Emergency Fund A Smart Idea?

August 20, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 36 Comments

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Having an emergency fund is something that I believe in A LOT. Some people decide to have a credit card emergency fund. What are the positives and negatives of that? There's a growing number of people who are looking to their credit card as their emergency fund. Some are doing it by choice, and others are forced to use their credit card when an emergency comes up because they do not have enough money saved.

This is something that scares me because, while credit cards may work for some, I believe that an emergency savings fund is a better solution for the average person. In my mind, whatever emergency fund amount you decide on, it's better than having nothing set aside at all.

As I stated in the article Everything You Need To Know About Emergency Funds, 26% of Americans have no emergency fund whatsoever.

Also, only 40% of families have enough in savings to cover three months of expenses, with an even lower percentage having the often recommended six months worth of savings.

According to a study by The Pew Charitable Trusts, around 49% of households plan on relying on their credit cards to pay for an emergency. For more about this, just look at the graph below: [Read more…]

When was the last time you did something that scared you?

August 13, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 35 Comments

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Scaring yourself is a good thing – it means that you're pushing yourself to do something new and outside of your comfort zone. This can help you grow as a person and continue to improve. #scareyourself #motivation #dreamlife #lifetips I'd be lying to you if I said that our new sailing adventure didn't scare me.

We are currently around three months into our new boat life. We are very happy with our purchase and the huge life change that we have made.

We are excited for our future, all of the amazing places we will visit, and all of the learning experiences that we will get to have.

However, making this huge lifestyle change has been a little scary for me.

The first month of boat ownership was an interesting one. Before we bought our boat, we were constantly told that there are two best days in a boat owner’s life:

The day you buy you boat.
The day you sell it.

And, for a moment there, I thought that was right, haha! [Read more…]

11 Real Ways To Make Money Before The Holidays

August 8, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 15 Comments

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Are you looking to find ways to make extra money for Christmas and the many other wonderful holidays of the season? Find ways to make holiday cash for Christmas here. #holidaycash #waystomakemoney #waystomakeextramoneyforchristmas #holidays After reading the title of this, I know what you’re thinking – but, it's August! But, now is a great time to start preparing for the holidays, instead of waiting until November and December.

The fall and winter holidays can be so expensive. Between Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the many other holidays, the average person tends to spend around $1,000 just on gifts. This amount doesn't even account for other holiday spending, such as travel costs, food, get togethers, decorations, and more.

A lot of you were wanting to know about the different ways to make extra income during the holidays, such as ways to make extra money for Christmas, for many different reasons: to increase your monthly income, to save more money, to help pay for holiday expenses, to have more holiday cash, and so on.

This led to today’s post about making extra income during the holidays! After reading this, you'll learn about the many different ways to make extra money for Christmas and any other holidays that you may celebrate.

If you would like to save $1,000 for the holidays, that's just $250 a month for the next four months. If you find ways to make extra money this early in the year, then saving for the holidays is very doable! [Read more…]

Would you risk your relationship and finances to cosign for a friend?

August 6, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 16 Comments

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Cosigning a mortgage or other type of loan can be a horrible idea. In fact, it turns out bad for a lot of people every year. Before you cosign, read this! One of the worst financial mistakes a person can make is cosigning for another person.

Okay, before you think I'm a heartless person, just hear me out.

No matter how well you think you know someone, mixing money and relationships can completely change things. What you may have thought was a wonderful friendship or family relationship may turn into a horror story.

It may seem very innocent – you’re just helping a good friend or relative get a loan. Really, if it was that simple, I’d tell everyone to do it. But, being a cosigner is making a major financial decision that you need to seriously think about before agreeing to.

A cosigner may be needed for different things such as a:

Mortgage
Rental home
Car loan
Recreational vehicle

And more. [Read more…]

Ditch Your Car And Walk More

August 1, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 16 Comments

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4 Reasons To Ditch Your Car And Walk More As I recently said in Welcome To Paradise – We’re Living On A Sailboat!, we no longer have our Jeep. Since we are preparing to cruise and will be leaving the marina soon, we no longer have a need for full-time use of a land vehicle.

Now, technically we still own our Jeep, but it’s currently being stored at Wes’ parent’s house. We love it and put a lot of time and money converting it into an overland vehicle that is great for exploring the country without worrying about needing a place to stay. But, for now, as it’s being stored far away, we are completely carless.

Due to ditching our car, we will be commuting by dinghy, folding bikes, and walking.

Some of you may feel bad for us, but we're actually really excited! Perhaps this novelty will wear off eventually, but for now, we're excited to make this change. [Read more…]

To Pay Off Debt Or Invest- Which One Is Best For You?

July 30, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 23 Comments

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Should you pay off debt or invest? This is a common question I receive, and it is a difficult one to answer because every situation is different.

You may have students loans, a mortgage, car loans, credit card debt, furniture debt, medical loans, or something else. Whatever your debt may be, I’m sure you are, hopefully, thinking about your debt payoff plan.

Paying off your debt is a great thing to think about. However, where does investing come in to your overall financial plan? Paying off debt may take what feels like forever, so you may not want to completely ignore saving for retirement and investing while you pay off your debt.

And, this becomes the really tough decision to figure out – should you pay off debt or invest? Should you do both at the same time? Maybe one slightly more than the other? [Read more…]

8 Steps I Took To Save $200,000 By Age 27

July 27, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 6 Comments

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Today, I want to introduce you to Sean. He is a financial analyst by day and money blogger by night. He saved over $200,000 by age 27 and plans to retire in less than 10 years. Enjoy!

No, that headline never gets any less surreal the more I read it.

And no, I wasn't a lucky lottery winner or a privileged trust fund beneficiary. (Unfortunately)

Instead, I got my money building start at the oh-so-glamorous position of digging ditches in the scorching Texas summers. When I eventually saved up a whopping $500, I opened my first savings account. From there, I took a few years working up the courage to invest in the stock market, and then I held my breath in terror, hoping I didn't lose everything during the recession. [Read more…]

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