Hope you’re enjoying your Saturday night. In an effort to satisfy your cravings on 4/20, I thought it may be fun to showcase this video and remind you of what you may want to go get after having some fun this evening! I remember back in college, going out for late night food runs, after [...]
Set Financial Rules, and Live Within Them
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Last week on the FrugalPortland channel, we talked about how saving isn’t very sexy. And I’m back this week to tell you what I’ve discovered. It may not be sexy, but discovering what you can do with money that you save is as close as I can get! I realized over the weekend (post forthcoming [...]
College Budgeting Tips
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If you’re in college, right now is the probably the most difficult time of the year for your budget. I know it was my most difficult budget time, because I’d already spent the little money my parents gave me, I was working less because I needed to study and take quizzes, and I had already [...]
Forget Mint for Money Management, Check Out Personal Capital
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I’m announcing it once and for all right now – my love affair with Mint is now over. It’s still a great free money management tool, but I’ve always had a negative view about how Mint handled investments. It just didn’t do enough for my investments to really help me in my personal finances. And [...]
Building Momentum in Personal Finance
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Improving your personal finances is all about building momentum. Whether you’ve thought about it or not, momentum is what drives financial success. Just like like anything in life, taking the first steps are the hardest – whether it is paying off debt, building an emergency fund, or even starting to save for retirement. You start, [...]
The Zen of Budgeting
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Dealing with money and budgeting can be extremely stressful, irritating, depressing, and can be a task we don’t enjoy. However, it isn’t making a budget that is depressing – it is the action around money that we wish was different. It’s the holding onto a vision in our minds that isn’t happening in reality. As [...]
The Depressing Cycle of Budgeting
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I’m an avid reader of iHeartBudgets, and Jacob really does love his budgets. The tagline of his site is “Just because you make money, doesn’t mean you know what to do with it.” I’d even take that one step further and say, just because you’re a financial planner/blogger/investor/money guy/etc. doesn’t mean you know how to [...]
I’m Okay with Spending
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Last month, I had the most expensive shopping trip ever at Costco – I managed to spend close to $800 on random stuff for the house. But you know what, I’m actually very happy with my spending. I’m a believer in the no budget philosophy, and I’m okay with spending when it’s worth it. In [...]
Why a Budget is NOT Important
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Hi, I’m Kathleen, and I’m new here. My usual corner of the internet is frugalportland.com. Today, I want to talk to you about why having a budget may not be the most important thing on earth, and how it’s entirely possible to achieve your financial goals without one. What is a Budget? Simply put, [...]
Want a Method for Clearing Debt that Really Works? Make it a Game!
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Almost five years ago, I had a net worth of negative $23K, $200 in savings, and ample amounts of credit card debt. Fast-forward to now and you’ll find a far different financial picture: A net worth of over $130K, $87K in savings, and $0 in credit card debt. Plus, I own my first home, and [...]
How Safe Are Your Finances From Your Kids?
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Having kids can be a a huge joy in life, but it is also a huge financial obligation. There are so many different costs involved in raising a child, from the added basics like food, to the costs of education, and more. The USDA has calculated the costs of raising a child for both single [...]
5 Steps Towards Post-College Financial Bliss
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Over my past few posts, I’ve highlighted key transitions that have financial ramifications in any college graduate’s life: The job search and managing life in your first apartment. Today, I will round out this series with some tips on how you can help solidify a strong financial foundation for years to come. Even if you [...]
College Budget Woes
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Oh the memories of college. Long nights, increased responsibilities, extra anxiety, new experiences, college frat parties, but the memory that sticks out in my mind the most is being “financially strained”. Most college students are trying to focus completely on school so they are either working part-time, or not at all. Students are always trying [...]
Ask the Reader: Do You Budget For Your Vacations?
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I was talking to a friend yesterday about saving up money for a vacation. He was remarking how he had been saving $100 per month for an entire year to save up for his Vegas Vacation. I was realizing how my wife and I never purposely saved anything for our trips, but if we had [...]
