A Financial Literacy Blog for All
Even in normal circumstances, the holidays can be stressful. With the concerns about travel and the impact on many people’s income from COVID-19, the 2020 holidays are likely to be even more challenging. In this post, I’ll provide ideas that might help alleviate some of …
The world is going through a very difficult phase. Everywhere we are hearing that we need to get adjusted to the ‘new normal’. Nothing is normal as it used to be. Children are not able to go to schools. Most people are working from home. …
I wrote a guest post for The Smart Investor about deciding if you need a budget. Here is the start of it, to read the entire post, click here. Budgeting is critical to your financial health, especially when you are just getting started handling your …
You may have thought you were done when you created and balanced your budget. However, there is one very important step left in the budgeting process – making sure you are living within the guidelines set by your budget, i.e., monitoring your budget. That is, …
Very few people have a balanced budget on the first try. This week, I’ll talk about how to refine your preliminary budget if it isn’t in balance. I have been very fortunate in that it has been a long time since I found it challenging …
You made it! This week your only task will be to create a first draft of your budget. Budgeting can be challenging as you try to balance your long-term goals with your short-term needs and wants. As such, I suggest creating it in two …
You’re almost there! Only one more week until I describe how to create your budget. Before you can do that, you’ll want to make sure that the income and expenses you’ve entered don’t have too many mistakes. In this post, I’ll talk hot to review the …
Your budget includes your income in addition to money you spend. In my previous posts on the budgeting process, I talked about setting your goals and tracking and recording your expenses. This week, I’ll focus on your paycheck and other sources of income. Before getting …
Your budget won’t be complete unless you include all your expenses, including those that you don’t pay every month. In the past three weeks, I talked about creating systems for tracking and recording your expenses and setting your goals. This week, I’ll focus on expenses you pay …
Setting one to three realistic financial goals is critical to financial success. In Steps 1 and 2 of this series, I talked about creating systems for tracking and recording your expenses. This week, I’ll finally focus on the first step I take in budgeting (as …