It’s the 21st century. But the little financial education I got in high school didn’t get that memo. For instance, I learned how to write a check and balance a checkbook. Then they set us on our way to college with a system that was soon to be archaic. Not to mention a system that looks …
How to Manage Your Money When There’s No Checkbook to Balance Read More »
Creating a budget can seem like a huge undertaking, especially if you’ve failed at getting control of your spending in the past. Ideally, a budget will be there to help save money and give you a feeling of control over where your hard earnings end up. But to make your efforts successful, there are a few …
I have huge news. Jesse Mecham, creator of my favorite budgeting application, You Need a Budget (YNAB), wrote a book. I’ve discussed many times on Mama Fish how YNAB is the budgeting software I have been using personally since college. But my love for Jesse’s software has far more to do with his budgeting philosophy …
There is nothing worse when you are working on keeping a budget than an unexpected expense. You think you’re being responsible, you’re even meal planning (ugh!), and then the car needs new brakes and out comes the dreaded credit card. Back in debt when you thought you were being financially smart! And next, the spiral. For most …
Budget Busters: How to Plan for Unexpected Expenses Read More »
Budgeting isn’t rocket science, but it does require changing long-established habits which sometimes feels just as hard. People make lots of mistakes that throw them off track. If you have budgeted before, you may know the feeling of immense struggle after you set the budget up exactly as the gurus said and it STILL doesn’t …
Welcome back to the Roadmap to Financial Health! If you are new to the Roadmap, we recommend starting at Step 0. You’ve developed your goals and logged into your new budget tracking tool, you’ve linked your accounts, and now you’re really ready to begin. You need to build a budget that accurately reflects your spending …
Welcome back to the Roadmap to Financial Health! If you are new to the Roadmap, we recommend starting at Step 0. Hopefully, you have your financial goals spelled out and you’re ready to make a plan. As you certainly already know, a financial plan is called a budget. Budgets have gotten a bad rap in …
