budget

Monthly Budget Review: May

by Christina Brown June 1, 2009

May is our most awful month when it comes to expenses.  It’s when property taxes, life insurance policies, car insurance, newspaper subscription renewals, and two birthdays arrive. On top of a high expense month, we did some travel (gas money and food and entertainment costs), and shelled out more than $500 at the vet to [...]

Budgeting 101: Boosting Income

by Christina Brown May 21, 2009

Increasing your income is often more challenging than cutting expenses, but even in this crummy economy, it doesn’t mean it can’t be done. There are obvious ways to increase your income:  get a promotion, get a different/better job, or get a second job. But there are also some not-so-obvious ways to increase your cash flow. [...]

Budgeting 101: Cutting Expenses

by Christina Brown May 20, 2009

It may not sound like much fun, but learning to cut expenses can actually be far more beneficial to your finances than trying to take on a second income or find a better paying job. Take a look at your spending habits and find the guts to change. What things on that list are needs? [...]

Budgeting 101: The Guts to Change

by Christina Brown May 19, 2009

After you’ve been tracking your expenses for at least a month, you should take a hard look at your income, too. This is the part that takes courage.  Many people will find out that their expenses exceed their income or that they are truly living paycheck to paycheck.  Don’t fret!  This is why you’re starting [...]

April Budget Review and Frugal Reads

by Christina Brown May 3, 2009

My April budgeting was surprisingly on track in some areas and horribly off track in others.  There were a lot of factors for this – some health issues, some home maintenance issues, etc., but the real story is that we just didn’t have our heads in the game as much as we usually do.  We [...]

Another Month, Another Budget Review

by Christina Brown April 3, 2009

Every month I diligently track my expenses.  It helps us figure out where our biggest money leaks are and keeps us focused on our financial goals.  And each time I do my monthly budget review post, all this tracking humbles me.  I hope this little exercise makes you think about how you spend your money, [...]

Month in Review: February

by Christina Brown March 2, 2009

Wow, is it just me, or did February just breeze by? This month was good for us in terms of spending, and not just because it was a short month… It was a good month compared to February 2008, too. I did not make my goal of saving 40 percent on groceries… but I did [...]

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