Budget Archives - Page 2 of 102 - Making Sense Of Cents

6 Credit Card Myths You Need To Know The Truth About

July 15, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 5 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.

As someone who works in the financial space, I have heard tons of bad advice regarding personal finance. People just love giving others advice (sometimes it is good). And, some of the worst advice I’ve heard has been credit card myths.

I know that most people are only trying to help, but sometimes the advice is so bad that you wonder if that person is purposely trying to spread bad information!

Money is a funny subject like that, though.

Until we start having more open conversations about it and spend as much time learning about finances as some of us do reading the latest gossip, watching sports, or something else, then we still have a long way to go.

Talking about money, such as credit card tips and how to save money, can help everyone improve their financial life. After all, if no one talks about it, then you would never even know what mistakes you’ve made in the past. It would also be very hard to correct those mistakes. [Read more…]

How To Become Rich – It’s More Than Millions In The Bank

July 8, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 17 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 become rich? Now, this post isn’t about having millions and millions of dollars. When I say “rich” I mean having some kind of financial freedom or success.

So, learning how to become rich could mean being debt free, retiring early, paying off your house, not living paycheck to paycheck, or just having a positive net worth. What you want might be completely different than what someone else wants, and that’s okay.

When I was younger I thought that I wanted a huge house, a really fancy car, and to be able to buy whatever trendy clothes I wanted.

To me, that was being rich.

Now, I realize that, to me, being wealthy means being comfortable – no debt, money in the bank, having a wonderful family, and spending time doing what I love. [Read more…]

Summer Money Saving Tips: 18 Ways To Save

July 1, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 15 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.

I love the warm summer weather, but it can mean extra spending on traveling, entertainment, and energy costs. To help your budget, I have some great summer money saving tips.

The summer has always been one of my favorite times of the year. The sun is out, there is more to do outside, and I loved being home from school when I was a kid (of course).

As an adult, I realize that the summer months can be expensive.

With school being out for your children and the weather getting warmer, the summer might be one of the most expensive times of the year for you. Between paying for extra summer activities, daycare, vacations, higher electricity bills, and more, the summer means you may be spending more money than usual. [Read more…]

How We’ve Turned A Free Chair Into $103,000

June 28, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 12 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! Today, I have a great article from Melissa. You may remember her from How Melissa Made $40,000 In One Year Flipping Items. I recently heard about her fun challenge and asked her to share her story with you all. Enjoy!

How We've Turned A Free Chair Into $103,000 #makeextramoney #flipper #fleamarketflip

(This is not the chair that was flipped. You can see the image of it below.)

Have you ever taken something that was old and worn out and turned it into something desirable again?

Do you love finding things that other people no longer value (and have maybe even thrown away!) and finding a new home where that piece will be wanted again?

I do! And my husband and I get to do this every day.

Hello! My name is Melissa Stephenson and my husband Rob and I flip items full-time.

Rob has been flipping items for 22 years now (I married into it 12 years ago). It’s always been our part-time gig, but three years ago we made the jump to full-time with our three young kids.

So what exactly is flipping?

Flipping items (also known as reselling) is finding undervalued items in one market and bringing them to a new market where they are desired and valued for more. [Read more…]

Is Couponing Worth It? Are You Wasting Money When You’re Trying To Save?

June 24, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 19 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.

If you’ve ever watched the show Extreme Couponers, it is amazing to see how much money people save by couponing. But, with all of the time it takes to find deals and the extra things you may buy, you may be wondering – is couponing worth it?

At one point in my life, I tested my couponing skills. I would get a ton of household goods for nearly free, and that was the main thing that I couponed for. I would clip coupons out of newspapers, I read coupon blogs, and more. There were many times when I would walk out of the store with $100 worth of items, having maybe spent only around $10 on all of it.

I wasn't the like the people on the TV show, but I definitely loved getting stuff for super cheap and sometimes even free.

I was using so much of my time before I realized what was actually happening. [Read more…]

How To Earn Over 20x The National Savings Rate

June 12, 2019 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.

High yield savings accounts are a great way to grow your savings, but most people have their money in accounts with low rates. Unfortunately, that means many of you are losing out on some easy cash!

If you’re like most people, you probably don’t even know what interest rate you’re getting on your checking and savings accounts. You were probably told that when you opened your account, but that could have been years ago.

Savings accounts at brick and mortar banks are known for having really low interest rates. For example, here are some of the lowest savings rates I’ve seen:

Bank of America’s standard savings rate is 0.03%
Wells Fargo Platinum Savings has an APY of 0.05%
U.S. Bank has a standard savings rate of 0.01%

Those rates are crazy low, which means your money just isn’t growing as quickly as it could. [Read more…]

10 Easy and Delicious Camping Meal Recipes

June 10, 2019 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.

Camping is a great frugal activity to do with your family or friends. And with these 10 easy camping recipes, you’ll have a bunch of delicious and budget-friendly meal options.

I absolutely love camping, and making delicious meals while being outdoors.

These easy camping recipes are simple and have quick clean up and prep. And, this list has a ton of delicious and easy camping meals, from desserts to nachos.

What I love the most about these easy camping recipes is that you will end up with meals that are more interesting than what you may normally have. And, because you can prep some of these meals in advance, you can spend more time having fun while you’re camping. [Read more…]

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