budgeting Archives - Page 2 of 5 - Empathic Finance

You need a budget, but do you need You Need A Budget?

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on February 15, 2021 | Featured | No Comments

I review You Need a Budget (YNAB) after having tried it for the very first time, and offer my thoughts on the service. “What money apps do you recommend I use?” is a question I get a fair amount. It’s … Read More … Read More

Tags: budget, budgeting, product review, review, ynab, You Need A Budget

You can’t pay off your debt until you do this first

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on February 1, 2021 | Featured | No Comments

If you’re trying to pay off debt without making sure that you’ve done all the necessary work first, you’ll never make any progress. Debt looms large in our financial thoughts. For example, in a list of 50 hashtags in the … Read More … Read More

Tags: budget, budgeting, debt, debt payoff, debt snowball

The ritual of the end-of-the-month budget freeze

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on December 2, 2019 | Featured | No Comments

When your budget has you run low on money at the end of the month, the upside is that it feels all the better when the new month begins. Wow, this last month was tight. I pretty much spent all … Read More … Read More

Tags: budget, budgeting, ritual

Real numbers: Budgeting for a weekend away

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on May 27, 2019 | Featured | No Comments

Repeat after me: track or you will fail. It doesn’t matter if it’s money, or fitness, or watering your plants, if there is something you want to accomplish and it takes more than a single step to get there, you … Read More … Read More

Tags: budgeting

If you won’t keep a budget, here are other things you can do

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on June 25, 2018 | Featured | No Comments

I believe that keeping a daily log of your purchases is the single most effective action you can take today to change your financial situation. Just knowing what it is that you are currently doing can help you be more … Read More … Read More

Tags: budgeting, tactics

Why I want you to live paycheck to paycheck

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on April 23, 2018 | Featured | No Comments

“I couldn’t make ends meet. I was living paycheck to paycheck.” “78 percent of U.S. workers live paycheck to paycheck.” “Stop living paycheck to paycheck and sign up for our credit counseling service.” The phrase “paycheck to paycheck” is a … Read More … Read More

Tags: budget, budgeting

Why is the budget monthly?

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on June 15, 2017 | Featured | No Comments

Our system of budgeting is pretty arbitrary. I recommend that everyone make a spending plan based on the calendar month. Twelve months a year: twelve plans a year. Could we do things another way? And are any of them better? … Read More

Tags: budgeting, Carl Sagan, months, time, time frame

The arbitrary nature of a month, or does it really matter when you spend?

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on June 12, 2017 | Featured | No Comments

Last month was a little challenging for me, money-wise. While every month I separate my allotted spending money into categories ($300 for Groceries, $60 for Transportation, etc.), it’s really just a best guess. The month had a number of expenses … Read More … Read More

Tags: budgeting, flexibility

What to do when your account balance is different than expected

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on April 20, 2017 | Featured | No Comments

Balancing your household budget might be difficult to do, but it’s not complex. You just make sure that the money you have going out is the same amount that is coming in. (In this way, Charles Dickens’ Micawber was only half-right, … Read More … Read More

Tags: balances, budgeting, float

A photo finish is a good thing when budgeting

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on July 14, 2016 | Featured | No Comments

If you’re like me, you may procrastinate, but you don’t like it. You don’t enjoy waiting until the last minute to get things done. And in general, it feels better to have some leeway, rather than cutting things close. However, … Read More … Read More

Tags: budgeting, expenses, The Price Is Right

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