Budget Archives - Page 4 of 105 - Making Sense Of Cents

How And Why My Husband And I Keep Separate Finances

August 9, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 41 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.

Hey everyone! Today, I have a great guest post from Stephanie Schill. Stephanie is the creator of the personal finance blog WynningInLife.com. A lifetime saver and self-proclaimed shameless couponer, she is passionate about spending consciously and saving intentionally. When not writing she enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband Nick and their daughter Wynn. Below is her story of how her and her husband keep separate finances.

My husband, Nick, and I have been married for 7 years. We are successful in managing our finances happily and relatively stress-free by keeping them separate. In talking with our circle of friends and reading financial advice from experts, I get the feeling this may not be the norm.

But it works for us.

I want to share with you our experience of managing money independently, as a couple. You may be inspired to separate your finances if they are currently joined.

Or it may give you a perspective on how you can be in a relationship but keep your financials separate.

Other content you may be interested in:

[Read more…]

Home Buying Tips You Need To Know Before You Buy

July 29, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 18 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 are looking to buy a house, I have a bunch of home buying tips that will help you sort through all of your options, understand the real cost of a home (and help you save money), and make the right choice.

Buying a house is a huge purchase.

In fact, it is usually the largest purchase a person will ever make.

The median U.S. home value is $226,800 and the median price of homes currently listed is $291,900, according to Zillow. And, there are some areas that have much higher average home prices, like four to five times more.

Purchasing a house is a huge commitment, and it’s easy to get excited and forget to think about some very important things before plunking down a huge amount of money. There are just so many factors to think about, and not everyone will have the same concerns. [Read more…]

Are Excuses Causing You To Be Bad With Money?

July 22, 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.

If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not you will find an excuse.” ― Anonymous

As a financial writer, I hear a lot of reasons for why a person can't pay off debt, save more money, retire, travel more, and so on. While some of these are legitimate reasons and there are people who are stuck in a bad situation, I find that some people are just bad with money.

I honestly do know that some people have a much harder life than others.

But, I’m talking about people who keep justifying poor financial choices with excuses that prevent them from living the life they want.

These are things like why someone “needs” a brand new car or huge house. Choosing those things doesn’t make you bad with money, it’s when you let them be the reason you aren’t able to work towards more important financial goals.

If you want to be better with your money, you’re going to have to stop making excuses and start making better choices. [Read more…]

2 Strategies and 3 Habits That Helped Me Pay Off $93,000 of Debt in 3.5 Years

July 19, 2019 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.

Hello! Today, I have a great debt payoff story from Heather O’Donnell of HappyHumbleHome.com. Enjoy!

These days, I’m a frugal living blogger at Happy Humble Home and I provide money saving advice and encouragement to others.

But there was a point in my life, not that long ago, when I thought I would be in debt forever.

When my husband and I got married in August of 2015, we had $105,000 of debt. Since then, we have worked very hard towards our goal becoming debt free and we have crushed $95,000 of our debt.

Along the way, we’ve used 2 different debt payoff strategies and we’ve learned 3 essential habits that have helped us be successful along the way. In this post, I’m going to give you an inside look at how I overcame my giant mountain of debt because I know without a doubt that if I can do this, you absolutely can too. [Read more…]

Can You Really Make Money With Paid Online Surveys?

July 17, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 8 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.

Looking for paid online surveys for money? Yes, you can get paid to take surveys – I have! Here's how you can find paid surveys and make extra money.

Not too long ago, one of the top ways I made extra money to pay off my student loan debt was by doing paid online surveys.

No, I didn't get rich from them, but I was able to earn some side cash by taking online surveys in my spare time.

The way I made it work for me is that I signed up for as many online survey sites as I could. Due to that, I was able to complete at least a few surveys each week.

There were many times when I would receive an easy $100 check in the mail from completing surveys in a one-month period. The work is really easy. It can all be done from home, on your own schedule and timeline, so it's a win-win! [Read more…]

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…]

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