It's no huge secret that most Americans live at the edge of their income. Then they need bigger salaries to bail them out of debt. A word to the wise: the problem isn't your salary, it's your lifestyle. You're living beyond your means—we, as country, have been living beyond our means for a while. What better time to change the way we approach things than 2012, the year of transformative change? … [Read more...]
OK - I fully admit it, I've slacked way too long in posting here on FPT, and have just been taking in some guest posts, though I've been quite selective about it. Time for my penance and to start writing again. Too many projects going on, and I have a ton of excuses, so I'll spare you the drama! Onward to managing money stress. So, let's talk about financial stress in general. I came from a … [Read more...]
OK - maybe it's just me. Maybe it's because when I was 14 years old I had a summer job doing landscaping on a corporations beautiful grounds - where we were required to open a savings account and save 10% of our money. This bank account we could not withdraw from until 3 years later. It was communist. And it was good. I'm very glad I've learned how to save the bills through that summer … [Read more...]
When most people hear the word 'budgeting', they immediately cringe and think of living like a miser, scrimping and saving every penny. The truth is frugality is not about missing any of the fun things you enjoy. Budgeting is all about knowing how much you have to spend and how much you're expected to pay out and matching the two together. Frugality is simply about learning to spend the … [Read more...]
The very thought of a budget is actually quite simple. However, once we look further into it we begin to realize that it isn't as easy as we first believed. Having a spending or budget plan helps us manage our finances enormously. Money problems within families can be the root of all manner of conflicts. Dealing with monetary issues is very stressful indeed. Therefore, it's very important for … [Read more...]
