Many think that making a budget is a restriction, but it’s actually the opposite: an allowance to spend money. I remember when I was a kid, I got an allowance from my parents. I loved it. Who wouldn’t love an … Read More … Read More
spending
How to Start: A beginner’s guide to managing your money
Why you could benefit from a spending reset
It’s easy to spend based on emotions or with a lack of intention, so a spending reset can help you reconnect with what’s important to you. I’ve done some fun experiments with money over the years. I’m thinking most specifically … Read More … Read More
How to determine if a purchase is worth deliberating over
If you cut down on time spent making decisions on things that don’t matter, you will have more energy for the decisions that do. As you make more money, the way a certain amount of money will feel will change. … Read More … Read More
How to break the belief that it’s only okay to spend on your needs
What happens when you don’t track your spending on vacation
I love traveling. I love seeing new places, or even old places with a new eye. And vacations, those limited periods of time when we uproot our normal routines, are most often when we experience travel. While vacations are salutary, … Read More … Read More
Here are the times when I use a credit card
Once of the very first posts on this site was called “How credit cards are like alcohol“. In it, I stated that I didn’t believe that there was anything inherently bad about credit cards, but only that some people can … Read More … Read More
How to put barriers in place for your spending
Numerous services exist to make spending easier. Contactless cards allow you to pay without even taking the time to swipe or insert. Apple Pay, Google Pay, Amazon Pay, Facebook Pay, Netflix Pay (okay not all of these are real, but … Read More … Read More
Woman tracks spending, finds out she spends more than she thought. Film at 11.
I know that things that are obvious to some aren’t obvious to others. The phrase “it’s easy once you know how to do it” is both banal, profound, and very relevant. That said, when someone writes an article about something … Read More … Read More
Why not just track all of your spending as a single category?
I believe that everyone can optimize their spending habits, and without much in the way of sacrifice. I didn’t say “zero sacrifice”. We can’t all jet off to Hawaii whenever we want it. (Not without consequence, anyway.) But I also … Read More … Read More