It IS possible to graduate debt-free from college — our guest podcaster, Kara Walker, has done it! If you want to know how to graduate college debt-free, this episode will give you the nitty gritty from the perspective of a homeschooled student. Kara is on a quest to help other students graduate debt-free with her …
Overview: When you want a personal finance curriculum for high school that isn’t the same outdated information you’ve heard before, check this one out! Note: This post sponsored by Personal Finance Illustrated® but all opinions are my own. Trying to follow a one-size-fits-all financial ideology doesn’t always work. Because one size hardly ever fits all. …
Overview: When you’re wondering how to pay for college, this SAT/ACT prep course is one of the best and easiest ways to get some help. It’s reasonably priced and effective, a win-win! Note: this post is sponsored by College Prep Genius, but all opinions are my own. Referral links are present. College is looming and …
How Your Teen Can Pay for College – an elective course option Read More »
When money is tight, sometimes we have to take radical measures. Sometimes the usual cost-cutting techniques are not enough. The Man and I have dealt with money shortages several times during our marriage — no comment as to whether or not we are in one now, lol — and early on we developed a system …
Overview:This is a saving money tip you have probably never read about before — but it works! There are several examples so you can see how to do it yourself. Listen. Do you want to know a secret? Do you promise not to tell? (And if you’re a Beatles fan, you’re chiming in with a …
How to Squirrel Away Money When One of You is a Spender Read More »
If you don’t know what a sinking fund is, you are in the right place. If you know what one is but are not using them, you are also in the right place. Sinking funds are a KEY defense against the typical family budget busters. Sinking funds are a relatively new (within the last year …
Have you tried using the cash envelope system and given up because it was not successful for you? I feel ya; we personally have started and stopped MANY times. But I keep coming back to it as the best way to maintain control of our budget, in spite of its flaws. No system will ever be …
7 Problems With the Cash Envelope System and How to Solve Them Read More »
Is money tight for you RIGHT NOW?? Do you need to get some cash together quickly to pay a looming bill, or are you trying to gather funds to make a large purchase and are tired of the nickel-and-dime approach? One of the fastest ways to save money involves a relatively small lifestyle change but …
Usually the saying is that it’s the first thing of whatever you’re attempting to do that is the hardest. The first step is the hardest, or the first million dollars (tell me about it), or even your first love. Well, I’m here to say that when you’re doing a no spend month, the first week …
Tips for Surviving a No Spend Month All the Way to the End Read More »
We would all like to increase our income as time goes on, wouldn’t we? But sometimes that doesn’t happen; in fact, sometimes the process goes in reverse, and we actually need to start living with LESS. It might be a job loss or change, or recent medical procedures that must be paid for, or some …
As the Christmas season approaches, and I begin to make my lists and check them twice, I am reminded anew of a truth universally acknowledged: kids get more expensive as they get older. The family finances thus look a lot different when there are teens in the house than when all the children are small. …
Overview: The first step to breaking out of the debt cycle is to know WHY it’s happening. Here are 6 possible reasons. You can change your habits today! I am NOT a debt success story — YET. Don’t you sometimes get discouraged reading all the stories of people who paid off a gazillion dollars in …
Deep breaths, y’all. It’s gonna be okay. If you are reading this, chances are you’re coping with anxiety about your finances and are looking for some relief from those emotions. Well, I’m definitely one who has been there! I probably have more panic attacks about money than about any other subject. Since I am the …
A few weeks ago we had an appointment with our realtor. Because in the six weeks we’d had the house on the market up to that point, there had been only one showing. That’s not exactly rush hour, y’all. We came away from the appointment having decided to make two changes: 1) We dropped the …
