No matter how much money you make, the first step to saving more money is to create a budget. Budgets are easy to make- all you do is list out your expenses for the month- rent/mortgage, utility bills, insurance, car payment,gas, food- all the essentials- as well as things that you like to spend a little extra on- clothes, makeup, entertainment, video games, etc. It’s important to have fun built into your budget, so you don’t go crazy and splurge without planning! Then, you examine your expenses against your income. Any you have left over will go into your savings. (If you don’t have any left over, you need to go over your expenses and see where you can cut.)
Now, this is all good in theory. However, while I think I’m good at making budgets, I’m definitely not good at sticking to them. I’ll follow it for a month, or maybe two, and then just go back into my old ways of overspending. That’s why I was interested to read this article by Caroline at CarolineVencil.com. She has a lot of great tips on actually staying under your budget! If you have the same problem as me, check it out:
-Cutting down without actually changing your spending patterns will never work.
-Keep your budget high, but try to spend less than you need to.
-For example, if your grocery budget is $500/month for your family of five, but you only end up spending $350, that’s $150 more that can go into your savings…which adds up to $1,800 extra a year!
-Any time you stay UNDER budget on a certain expense, divert the extra to your savings!
If you and your spouse are buying a home together, it makes sense that you will both be on the mortgage as owners. Your combined income will mean you can be approved for more, and both parties are protected in case of divorce. However, there are certain instances where only one partner should apply.
The fact is, there are many Americans with no savings and no retirement plans. It’s not ideal, but it’s reality. There are millions of people just living paycheck to paycheck and working to get by. But what happens when a bill is unexpectedly high? What if you have a medical or car issue and can’t get to work? What happens when all the work is just simply not enough? What happens if you can’t pay your bills? Check out this post by
Building good, healthy habits is important in all areas of life. Physically healthy people eat the right foods, get regular exercise, and drink lots of water. Mentally healthy people read books, solve puzzles, and find ways to challenge their brain. Emotionally healthy people spend time with friends and loved ones, talk about their problems, and know how to laugh.
When I was little, my favorite board game was LIFE. I loved playing it and trying to get what I perceived as the ideal life: college track, large salary, fun job (like entertainer or artist), marriage, two kids, and the Victorian house. When you’re a kid, the goal of LIFE is to finish the game with the most money (what kind of message is that? Hahaha). So, as kids, we’d never spend money that we didn’t ~have~ to spend. Especially on home or car insurance. And most of the time, it was fine. We never got in car accidents, and never landed on the “House flood/fire” spaces.
When you’re pre-qualified or pre-approved for a certain amount on a mortgage, that doesn’t mean that you should spend that full amount on the actual home price. It’s best to scale down your budget by a few thousand (ask your Realtor how much) to allow some wiggle room. The home cost is not just the value of the home. You’ll need to have money for closing costs, repairs, moving expenses, mortgage insurance, and property taxes, to say the least. Check out this post by 
Getting in to investing can be challenging at first, especially if you do have a little extra money, but not enough to hire a stock broker or a financial advisor. Many people will tell you that you DO need to have tens of thousands of extra dollars sitting around to start, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, it’s actually better to start small as you are learning. That way, if you truly make a mistake, the loss is small. It can be hard knowing where to start, and many websites just make it more confusing. That’s why I love this simple guide by 
Most of us in this age have never haggled once in our lives. I’ve only done it once at a yard sale, and one other time at a flea market. Prices these days just simply aren’t negotiable. You go to the store, buy your items, and pay the cashier; if you tried to haggle with her, she’d look at you like you were crazy. However, there are still plenty of costs these days that ARE negotiable- people just don’t know about them. For a list of things to never pay full price for, read this article by 
My best friend is getting married this October, and I’m her Maid of Honor. We’ve been planning and budgeting for the last six months, and found a (relatively) cheap venue for both the wedding and reception. For the entire weekend, it was about $1800, including tables, chairs, and decorations. Her entire wedding will cost her less than $5,000. In any other situation, $5,000 is a LOT of money– that’s a few months of a mortgage, an entire used car, an amazing vacation, or a small down payment on a home. But, in wedding terms, it’s not actually that much. The average cost of an American wedding is about $20,000. $20,000! That’s more than some people make in an entire year!