Archive for the ‘Budgeting’ Category

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Start Saving Now


08 Nov

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Posted in Budgeting, Finances | 2 Comments »

Since I stopped doing Your Money Fridays, and started my personal finance blog (now titled The Dog Ate My Wallet), I haven’t written much here about personal finance. But I thought this was interesting:

It’s estimated that Gen Y will need around $2 million in savings in order to retire comfortably. And this is assuming they don’t retire until 70.

In slightly less general terms, it’s estimated that Gen Yers will need 18.7 times their final salary saved up and Gen Xers will need 16.1.

Pensions are almost non-existent and government assistance is declining. Guess it’s time to start saving.

Most Valuable Lesson from the Women in Red


26 Aug

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Posted in Budgeting, Debt Reduction, Finances | Comments Off

I’ve learned a lot on the money message boards, both when they were at MSN and now at ProBoards. I haven’t used everything I’ve learned, but that doesn’t make the information less valuable. It gives me more options and options are good.

But the most valuable thing I’ve learned from Women in Red or Your Money? That you’re not alone, that a support group, even a virtual one, can be indispensible when it comes to reaching your goals.

I can be fairly certain that we wouldn’t be at the place we’re at without the support I’ve received from these boards.

I Almost had a New Phone


31 Jul

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Posted in Budgeting, Finances, Technology | Comments Off

A little over a week ago, I dropped my phone in a puddle. Water damage is irreparable. New pone for me. Because I’m not even a year in to my contract, I wasn’t about to pay full price for a new phone. I bought a used on off of eBay- replacement phone for under $30 instead of $300.

Except, Sprint won’t allow me to have a BlackBerry without having a BlackBerry data plan- at $30/month. I didn’t pay that much for the phone, so… No.

So back on eBay. Another $20 for a non-smart phone.

Anyone want a used BlackBerry?

Weddings & Money


29 Jul

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Posted in Budgeting, Finances | Comments Off

It is wedding season. Not just in real life, but over at Your Money as well, where a number of posters are engaged, getting married this year, or just going to weddings.

Active threads this week have included What is considered expensive for a wedding venue? (self explanatory), Wedding Debt? (a discussion about whether people would go in to debt for their wedding), Wedding UGHH (talk about how much to spend on wedding gifts), Our Wedding Gifts Breakdown (again, fairly self explanatory), and a Spin off of wedding gifts thread (about useless gifts, whether received at the wedding or otherwise).

Become Debt Free with the Women in Red


22 Jul

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Posted in Budgeting, Debt Reduction, Finances | Comments Off

I’ve mentioned the Women in Red message board here before, but I’m going to plug it again, as we’re trying to grow our membership. We used to have members directed to us via MSN and MP Dunleavy, but since we’ve had to move to a new site we don’t get a lot of new traffic.

Do you want to be debt free? Do you need motivation, maybe some help figuring out your personal strategy to achieve that goal? Head on over to the Women in Red (you don’t even have to be a woman) and put yourself on the path.

No More Cable


19 Jul

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Posted in Budgeting, Finances, Television | 1 Comment »

We’re considering giving up cable television. I should rephrase- we’ve decided to give up cable television (once I get through the shows saved on our DVR) and not replacing it with anything, except, perhaps, Hulu Plus.

Between Hulu’s paid service, Netflix streaming, and the cable websites themselves, we think we might not miss out on anything. Well, with one exception- I have yet to find full episodes of the current Mythbusters season online. And that’s honestly a pretty big deal for us.

But our Comcast bill is $150/month. That could drop to $20-30 with just internet. Wouldn’t that be nice.

Don’t quit your job without a plan


17 Jun

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Posted in Budgeting, Finances, Work | Comments Off

This is an older thread that I wanted to link back to because I think it contains some very good information.

The gist: even if you’re unhappy and not working to your potential, it’s not a good idea to quit you job if you don’t have another job lined up or savings in place to cover your bills.

Also, people lose a lot of sympathy for you when you play the I’m too special, you don’t agree with me so I’m going to take my ball and go home card. Everyone is unique- the corporate world doesn’t care; grow up.

Basic Money Rules


27 May

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Posted in Budgeting, Debt Reduction, Finances | Comments Off

Spend less than you make.

Pay yourself first.

Have a plan.

Even if you don’t respond well to rules, as the original poster says she doesn’t, sometimes it still helps to know what they are. As my writing teacher used to say, follow a rule until you can explain why you’re breaking it.

Sometimes it’s good to get back to basics, ideas that apply to everyone, whether they’re struggling paycheck to paycheck or putting millions in the bank for retirement.

Not everyone is the same, but this Back to Basics thread still has information that just about everyone can use.

Budget Review


06 May

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Posted in Budgeting, Finances | Comments Off

It’s apparently the time of year that people review their budgets, maybe in advance of summer vacation and needing to pay for camps or day care for the kids, or maybe it’s contagious, like yawning.

At YM, we’ve had 6 threads in the last couple of weeks asking for budget advice. They’ve all been from regular posters, so it’s not like they’re people who haven’t heard all the standard advice. They just need a second (or 50th) set of eyes to look and see if they’re missing something, to have questions asked they might not have thought to ask themselves.

Update the Budget


22 Apr

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Posted in Budgeting, Finances | Comments Off

Every one will tell you that having a budget is one of the major early (though not the first) steps in getting your personal finances under control. But how do you know you’re budget is working for you? How do you account for the inflation in gas and grocery prices?

A budget is not a Ron Popeil gadget. You can’t “set it and forget it”. You have to pay attention. And sometimes, you have to update it.

This week’s featured thread is from the Smart Spending forum, and it is about when and how people decide to update their budgets.

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