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A few weeks ago, a reader left a fantastic idea as a comment on one of my posts . The post discussed the importance of tracking spending, and mentioned how hard it was sometimes to remember how we've spent our money. The comment suggested instead of writing purchases down, to take a picture of everything...

"It's Sunday, and I'd like to have our budget discussion to make sure we're still on track," Vonnie said, as she emptied the dishwasher. "So, when you are ready to take a break, can we talk about it?" I just stared at my laptop, but inside I cringed. I knew we needed to, but I just didn't want to. We...

For those of you looking for some cheap fun, try a board game party. My husband and I get together once a month with a group of friends for a board game party. There are six couples and we take turns meeting at each other's homes. On board game night, the host couple decides which board game we will...

What do you do to make life on a budget more enjoyable, easier, and just plain better? How do you manage fun and your money at the same time? Enter our monthly Share the Wealth contest, and tell us your solution to some of life's challenges. Each month, we'll post a new question and look for your innovative...

I feel like I'm constantly getting bills of some sort in my mailbox (or my inbox), never mind the auto payments I have set up that I routinely forget about. I stopped using my credit cards a while ago, but those are both close to maxed out with debt, so they still have monthly bills. I grab the mail...

Controlling your money takes daily action. If you want to control your money you have to pay attention to what it's doing every day. Every. Single. Day. There are a lot of things we do everyday in order to maintain our normal lives. We take a shower, brush our teeth, eat food, do the dishes, change our...

Well, it's about that time again. Every January I sit down and figure out where I am financially, where I was, where I am supposed to be, and where I need to be. So, the process of budgeting for the year begins. However, this year I have to do a different kind of budgeting. I have to do the budget for...

There's a white elephant in the room; a dirty secret that most of us who track our expenses have faced...or run away from. It derails all budgets and makes setting achievable goals almost impossible. Why Track Expenses? Tracking your expenses is a key first step to budgeting, and a starting point from...

My husband is sick. It happened all of a sudden. He didn't feel good. We thought he had the flu. He had some shortness of breath. We thought it was altitude change from a recent vacation. He was sweating through the sheets at night. We thought it was because the fan in our room was broken. Then his feet...

What do you do to make life on a budget more enjoyable, easier, and just plain better? How do you manage fun and your money at the same time? Enter our monthly Share the Wealth contest, and tell us your solution to some of life's challenges. Each month, we'll post a new question and look for your innovative...

When I was in debt I was always looking to talk to people who had been in my shoes and knew what it was like to be on a tight budget, forgo luxuries and not be able to save. Looking for a little help on your journey to debt freedom? Over $15k in scholarship money is available to the Debt Movement community...

What do you do to make life on a budget more enjoyable, easier, and just plain better? How do you manage fun and your money at the same time? Enter our monthly Share the Wealth contest, and tell us your solution to some of life's challenges. Each month, we'll post a new question and look for your innovative...

With the fog of sleepiness slowly lifting on a lazy Saturday morning, I rolled over to find my wife staring at me, eyes wide open, head propped up on one hand as if she had been waiting for me to wake up. "We should get more organized," she said in a clear, matter-of-fact tone. I was then informed that...

Divorce is stressful for everyone and one of the leading causes of debt—especially when there are kids involved. If you know divorce is imminent or maybe one of you has already filed; it’s time to get your financial house in order, starting with a budget. Divorcing your spouse is a long process...

Sitting on a couch in my hotel room in Houston , my computer startled me by making the high-pitched chirp indicating my wife was summoning me via Skype. I answered the call with video to see her leaning towards the laptop camera rubbing her head. "We have a problem," she said. "We forgot to budget in...

When I first enrolled in my Debt Management Plan , I honestly did not have healthy financial habits. In fact, my habits were downright unreasonable. After I got everything running smoothly on my plan, I started thinking about what would happen after I became debt free from credit cards. At that time...

One of the difficulties that many families run into is that they reach the end of their money before they reach the end of the month. As a result, some of the items they most enjoy have to be put on hold, since there just isn't the money for it. In order to avoid this situation, the best option is to...

We are talking to financial experts about their experiences with debt. These experts have been in your shoes and are sharing their stories and how their personal experiences with debt have shaped their relationship with money and led them to what they are doing today, helping others. Today we are talking...

Awareness is key to being in charge of your finances; you can't curb spending habits if you don't know what you're spending your money on to begin with. You may recall from a previous post that tracking your expenses is the first real step to creating a realistic budget . We discussed the principle of...

Ahhhh, there are days that make me want to scream!!! Budget?? How on earth do you do that? Well, I will share what I do in two parts. The first part: My own budget plan, and the second part: My own reverse budget!!! I will explain more on that in my next blog later this month. Let's start with a simple...