Hi Reader! Summer is one of my favorite times of year. It’s a great time to get outside and have adventures. But summer can also be one of the sneakiest seasons for your budget. Camps, cookouts, road trips, and activities have a way of adding up fast, often before you realize you've overspent. The good news? Having fun this summer doesn't have to mean blowing your budget. A little planning goes a long way. Our state might be small, but it's packed with incredible free and low-cost adventures...
15 days ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader! We know that tracking spending and budgeting is the key to getting ahead, but budgeting everything you spend can feel like an endless task - expenses never seem to end! It's hard to stay motivated when every data point feels like a loss. What if you could reverse it? What if you tracked how much you didn't spend? Seeing the money you chose to keep, the amount you could have spent but didn't, or the number of times you skipped a purchase you usually make, creates a positive trend...
29 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader! Last week, I talked about the advantages of naming your savings to help achieve your dreams. While building savings buckets for dream trips and big goals are fun, you can use that same power of naming your savings for the everyday, predictable-yet-unpredictable expenses that life keeps throwing at us. Long-term, irregular expenses can quietly derail even the best budgets. So we save for them. But how much do we save? When should we take money from savings, and for what? Subdividing...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader! Happy June! Today, I want to share a little about my life (and my budget) to show you the power of putting names to our goals. By the time this reaches you, I will be off adventuring in Italy. 😄 My husband and I have been dreaming of this trip since our wedding. It was supposed to be our honeymoon, but world events and a pandemic had other plans. Even though we had a lovely honeymoon, the Italy trip still called to us. We (mostly my wonderful husband) had put together an awesome...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader! Have you ever had a surprise party? Walking into a room filled with streamers, balloons, and all your friends there just for you — that’s a good surprise. But what about the other kind of surprise? Car repairs. Medical bills. A dead furnace on New Year’s Eve. (That one actually happened to me, and I can tell you, it’s definitely not as fun as birthday cake.) Life happens, and sometimes that means an unexpected hit to your wallet. Here’s how to handle those moments without panic or...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader! Do you put most of your purchases on your credit card and pay them off at the end of the month? While that’s a great money habit, you may be carrying more risk than you realize. Here's a question: Do you charge purchases today knowing you'll pay them off with your next paycheck? It feels harmless enough, right? That's called credit card float. And while it can feel as breezy as a lazy river ride, it may be hiding some murky waters beneath the surface. When you pay for something...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader! Zero-Based Budgeting. 50/30/20 Rule. 70/20/10 Rule. Cash Stuffing. Pay-Yourself-First. Anti-Budget. No-Spend Challenge. Mindful Spending. There are so many buzzwords and trendy opinions around how to manage your money. But how do you choose? Which one is actually right for you? Finding the right system can feel a little like Goldilocks trying to find the right bed. Not every approach fits just right. It takes time to get comfortable and start seeing results. But once you find a...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader! Are you getting a tax refund this year? Refunds can feel like a gift from above (pennies from heaven!), and they generate a lot of excitement. But without a little planning, that excitement can work against you. A windfall, whether it is a refund, a bonus, or a gift, has a way of sparking big dreams. We start mentally spending it the moment we hear it's coming: pay down debt, build up savings, finally make that purchase we've been putting off, book that vacation. And honestly? That...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader! Do you have an Easter egg hunt? Colorful eggs, little kids with baskets, fun prizes inside - it brings a joyfulness to Spring. But what if there was missing money to be found? Do you know where to look? You may have missing money that couldn't find its way to you. Maybe a company didn’t know where to send the refund after you moved. Maybe there was an old forgotten or inactive account somewhere. This left behind money gets gathered up by the government in a process called...
4 months ago • 1 min read