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How to KonMari Your Spending
I love Marie Kondo's book "The Life Changing Method of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing." I'll be honest, my home is still a little cluttered but I do periodically go through and try to pare down my belongings. I just went through my old work clothes this week. Wow. There were a lot of items I felt I "needed" to hold on to "just in case" that in reality, I never wear anyways! Did you know that you can use the same KonMari method to "declutter" your spending? We all spend money on things, food, and experiences that really don't bring us lasting joy. In fact,…
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Eating Healthy on a Budget: Pro-tips from a Pro-Athlete
Guest Post! I'm very excited to bring you a guest post on eating healthy, real food while on a budget from Brandon Hudgins an elite middle distance runner with Sketchers Performance. Brandon is also connected with AthleteBiz a non-profit 501(c)3 organization that connects world-class track and field athletes with fans. Check out the bottom of the post for more information on Brandon and AthleteBiz!Are you trying to eat healthier food? Are you worried that eating healthy food might stretch your budget? If you are just now making the switch to healthy eating, you might be scared of spending more money, or scared that you can never eat things you enjoy…
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Maximize Your Salary: How to handle the question every job seeker hates!
There's one question all job seekers hate- "what is your current salary?" If you are interviewing for a new job I have some good news - in some areas of the U.S. this question is illegal. Unfortunately, a lot of job seekers are still going to have to deal with this tricky question. This question really bothers me and as a Certified Financial Planner Professional I want to help my clients not only grow the money they have already saved but maximize what may be their largest asset - their earning power! With that in mind, I spoke with two of my friends who are truly HR rockstars having built…
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5 Ways to Save More Money!
I get it, having kids is not exactly conducive to saving money. In fact, if you aren’t careful, you can spend an unlimited amount on your kid’s 2nd birthday party thanks to Pinterest. Forget saving for college! Today I’m going to share with you 5 ways I save money, despite having kids. You can start using these ideas today to get a handle on your money. Tip #1 to Save More Money: One card to rule them all We use just one of our credit cards and we put as much of our spending as possible on it. Then we pay it off every month. Generally, there are only a…
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A budget you can stick with: the Anti-Budget
Look, we all know that budgeting does not evoke happy feelings in most people. For most people the word “budget” is a cue to stop listening. But what if I told you that budgeting could be pretty easy? That you don’t need to count every penny? Today we are going to talk about the “anti-budget”, what it is, and how to do it. The Anti-Budget: Budgeting Made Easy OK, here’s a little secret. I don’t count every penny every month. Frankly, that sounds stressful. I don’t freak out if I have extra money in my gas budget but run low on my food budget. You don’t have to know your…
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Giving Your Kid An Allowance (is it time?)
Should I give my kid an allowance? When? How much? Parenting seems like a never ending decision tree that starts during pregnancy and ends...never. Most parents I talk to have the same basic goals for their kids. Many parents want to raise kids who are “good with money.” One tool parents can use to teach kids how to handle money is allowance. Today we are going to talk about giving an allowance (or not), earning it, spending it and saving it. There is a lot more emotion tied up in how we handle money than first meets the eye. Parents can begin by identifying what values they want to pass…
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A Simple Plan To Avoid A Holiday Spending Hangover
Are you ready to spend almost $1,000 on Christmas this year? According to some pollsters Americans will be spending (on average) $900 this holiday season. That’s just what they PLAN to spend- there’s no way to predict how much they might overspend. Although, Kate Ashford’s recent article for Forbes “8 Ways To Keep A Leash On Holiday Spending” references a TD Bank survey that suggests 78% of people will go over their budgets. Not only that but they estimate they will run over budget by $200 on average! I contributed some ideas to Kate’s article (see "Don't be afraid of the Returns Desk"). Which got me thinking about what actions…
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Change your mind about budgeting, change your life
That may seem like a bold statement, but I truly believe it. Everyone squirms when talking about budgeting. People tend to talk about budgets as if they were all about depriving yourself of fun. Really though, budgets are not the carb-free diet you are imagining. While budgeting does typically mean spending less money in a few areas, it also means using that money on things that really matter. That’s why I like to refer to budgets as spending plans. Find out how changing your spending plan to reflect your values can reduce conflict in your relationships over money, help you to ignore your lizard-brain telling you to spend now, and…
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How to Easily Create a Spending Plan
Image by FirmBee Did you know that money is a leading cause of stress in Americans 1? Even if you didn’t, I’ll bet you aren’t too surprised. One of the basic building blocks to success with money is knowing what we spend. The word budget tends to invoke some negative thoughts in people, such as, a fear of failure. As in, I don’t want to create a budget because I don’t want to “fail” by accidentally spending too much. That’s why I like the term “spending plan.” A plan is flexible. A plan can be customized and changed on the go if necessary. Having a plan is powerful. Want to create a…
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8 Ways to Stay on Budget
photo by thatsphotography (pixabay)Budgeting is hard, because life is unpredictable. These tips won’t help you perfectly predict how much money you’ll spend each month, but they will give you easy, repeatable behaviors that will put you in control of your spending! The best part is, you can start using these ideas today to help you stay on budget.Use Cash- When you first start budgeting using cash is the easiest way to stay on track. No mental accounting. Use your budget as your guide and only carry the cash you plan on using that day. As you get better about budgeting, use one account for all of your expenses so you can…