Tips Not Tricks for Living Thrifty
November 29, 2009 by Jennifer Chait
Filed under finances
You know there are a million (it seems like) thrifty living blog, books about budgeting, and live speakers holding conferences about saving money. The funny thing is, that while resources are awesome learning tools, it’s really, REALLY not that tricky to live thrifty.
It can be hard at times to make smart money decisions but the rules you should follow are basic, not crazy weird or tricky. If you follow some bare basics you’ll be able to live thrifty, save money, and not build up a bunch of debt. For example…
Buy less stuff – I guarantee that most people in America …read more
Time for a budget reality check?
September 29, 2009 by Jennifer Chait
Filed under budget
Nothing is more frustrating to me than a person or family who says they can’t trim their budget any further. Well, ok, maybe people not going green – both frustrate me, however, the money issue is more important it seems to more people, yet still I hear excuses. I have a feeling that there are people and families out there who have cut EVERY possible extra from the budget, but honestly, I think it’s rarer than people and families who have not. In every case where a pal has asked me to help them with a budget, I see the …read more
Yearly tracking tips for your finances
May 19, 2009 by Jennifer Chait
Filed under finances, financial matters
Annually there are some specific tasks you should be doing when it comes to your finances. You can break your basic financial tasks down into easy monthly chunks.
Monthly: (Note – I actually do many of these tasks on a daily or weekly basis, depending on the task, however, at the very least do the following once a month).
You should balance your checkbook at least once.
Check your bank statements for errors.
Sort bills and pay them. Then decide which bills to keep (see below).
Sort your bills to keep into a folder, file cabinet, or other sort of safe-keeping system.
Every 3-6 months: …read more
