Budgeting

I wanted to share some money advice for recent grads that I hope will help and actually impact them for the better. 

I don’t know about you, but I am on the hunt to find ways to make my life EASIER! So today I wanted to share a few things I’ve been doing to simplify my life (and save a little cash!). So today I am sharing nine simple and frugal ways to make life easier and save some money.

How do I budget? I don’t know where to start when it comes to budget? I am so overwhelmed by budgets.

I hear these on a mostly daily basis. And I get it! SO today I wanted to break down how to budget when you have NO clue.

Tax refunds are rolling in. With Americans getting on average more than $3,000 back this year. (Source.)

I personally am not a fan of big returns. I want to keep my money from my paycheck each month. Not give the government an interest-free loan. (Because they would charge YOU 4-7 % interest on a federal student loan!)

But if you are getting money back, why not be smart about where it goes. 

Last week I wrote a blog post called "7 Things You Probably Forgot to Budget." I laid out, well, seven things you probably forgot to budget (hence the title). 

Little did I know when I wrote that post I was being a big 'ole hypocrite. Let me fill you in...

Are you looking for ways to slash your budget and start saving cash? Here's a list of 45 PRACTICAL ways you can start saving money. We're not reinventing the wheel here, but I hope to inspire you to take control of your spending. 

Has this ever happened to you? You sit down and make your budget. It's perfect. It's gleaming. Every penny is accounted for and then your kid gets sick, you realize you need to change your oil and your third-grader got invited to two birthday parties. Yup. Been there. (Only my child is five.)

Today I wanted to talk about 7 things you probably forgot to budget. Because we all do this at some point. 

Do you struggle to stick with a budget? Today I am going to share a few common mistakes and solutions for new budgeters.

Are you getting sticker shock at the grocery store? I know. I feel the stress of constant rising prices and the stress of wondering when will it all calm down.

Today I wanted to share with you my number one tip when it comes to buying groceries for my family of 6.

Setting financial goals is just a fancy way of saying “Let’s daydream about what we would do if we had some money.”

It’s really important to cultivate good financial goals. Let’s talk about how to do that, and I’ve provided a free template to help you.

Grab a free meal planning template

This is a conversation that we need to be having more of because pretending like we're perfect little money angels doesn't help anyone.

Like it or not credit scores are a way of life now. But you don’t have to have a credit card to have a decent score. And you can build up your score without taking on MORE debt than you are already paying off.

It's been nine months since we closed on our house (woo!). It's been an incredible nine months living in a home that we own, that we wanted and that we worked hard for. 

Since today is Money Monday, the day where I answer real money questions from real people on my YouTube channel I thought i would share a question from a viewer. 

"Can you talk about saving up for a house on one income?" 

Sweet and to the point, right? Here are a few things that we did and that worked for us. Remember, I am not a financial expert, just a woman who likes to save money. 

While making more cost-effective choices will lead to BIG savings, there are also little things you can start doing today that will yield big savings results without big sacrifices. (Although I think we can argue that giving up a satellite dish probably isn't that big of a sacrifice, right?)

Today I wanted to share a few things you can to THIS WEEK to start saving money.

It is no secret that I am not an organized person. Sigh. This is something I am working on, but it is difficult for me. But I have other good qualities...

But, one way I have gotten myself more organized is to plan my family's weekly menu. At our house we have my husband, me and our two sons who eat smaller portions of the same foods we do. Some days they eat way more than other days. 

I know as a nation our belts are as tight as they can get. Many of you have eliminated luxuries like cable, cell phone plan extras, date nights and movie rentals. If you budget down to the penny and the last penny gets stretched till Abe starts screaming, you're not alone. 

So, I wanted to talk about menu planning when you're on a  tight, tight, tight budget. Trust me this will save you tons of time and TONS of money.