It’s time for an audit. No need to panic. I don’t mean an IRS audit — believe me, those are a big pain. I know. I’ve been there. In this case I’d like a mock independent audit of our fixed...
Because my husband and I created our family’s budget based on Dave Ramsey’s teachings, I have wondered what life was like for his children. In Smart Money Smart Kids, the book that Ramsey says was 20 years in the making,...
I felt guilty as I handed my debit card to the waiter, and guiltier still when I signed the slip to pay for a drink and some fancy roasted vegetables at a party in the back room of a bar...
I’ve been so focused on (and some might say stressed out by) my family’s new budget that I only just started to realize how it’s affecting us in a way I never expected. Little by little, our budget is making...
A conversation with my 6-year-old on our walk to school, as a gorgeous car drives by: Son: Can we get a Tesla? Me: We don’t have the money for a Tesla. Son: We don’t have money?! Me: We DO have money, but...
Getting our family’s finances to fit within a set monthly budget was no easy task. In fact, we don’t always come in under budget, and we are still holding onto a little bit of hope that over the course of...
Before my husband and I started following a monthly budget, we had already built up our emergency fund of six months’ worth of expenses. While the size of an emergency fund s from person to person, we decided on that...
My husband and I were told that it takes about 3 months to get a new budget right. We should expect to make mistakes in the beginning, but working together, we would surely adjust. Don’t be too hard on ourselves,...
I’ve been telling our family budget story from my point of view. After all, I’m the one in charge of how we spend our money. I am Captain of the Spreadsheets, Keeper of the Cash, and Hoarder of the Receipts....
My husband and I switched from using our debit card all the time to paying for most things with cash. Our goal is to use paper money and completely cut out plastic. Since our society is so credit-card-centric, we have...