Budgeting Tips

Save money and transform your space.

These mistakes may be standing between you and a decluttered home.

Thank you, Google Sheets.

According to designers!

Here's what an accountant wants you to know.

Participating in Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales may appear to be a productive solution when money is tight, but jumping on every deal that comes your way can get out of hand quickly.

Experts weigh in on how to make the conversations easier.

She gave us her honest answers.

Heartfelt doesn't need to mean full-price.

Nearly half of Americans do.

So you found the perfect apartment—everything seems to check out, from the desirable neighborhood to the amazing rent. But is it really as wonderful as it seems? Before you start shifting those extra dollars from your rent fund to your coffee budget, double check your new home to make sure none of these hidden expenses are going to end up emptying your wallet.

The countdown to buying your first home is innately defined by one thing: the balance in your savings account. Unlike car loans and the too-expensive shoes you put on your charge card, you can’t exactly buy a home with zero money down, so most people who have their sights set on homeownership begin by saving for a (sizeable) down payment.

As one of the most intensely-used areas of our homes, bathrooms are popular candidates for remodeling. Though they can recoup a good portion of the costs at resale (usually 56-70%), bathroom renovations tend to be pricey. That’s why it’s important for homeowners to plan their budgets well. Given that more than two-thirds of renovation projects go over-budget, many homeowners could benefit from more thorough, accurate planning. Just how much does it cost to remodel a bathroom?

When you’re planning a renovation, there’s always push and pull over what you want versus what you can afford. Do you pull the trigger and spend more than intended on some expensive tile you fell in love with, or do you stick to your guns, and your budget? Turns out that this one decision affects your overall happiness with the finished project.

Bullet journals basically do it all—they’re a totally customizable place to keep track of just about everything in your life, and they’re beautiful enough to be Instagram content (seriously, every time I look at a bullet journal I’m reminded that I need to up my penmanship game!). There’s also so much bullet journaling content out there that, if you’re new to the whole concept, it can be a little overwhelming. Where do you start?

I’m a firm believer that it’s important to be open and honest about money. In the past, talking about things like how much you make or the debt you’re dealing with may have been taboo, but being transparent and able to discuss these things is actually really important.

The Great Recession might be over but make no mistake about it: Americans are still in financial turmoil. According to a recent study released by GoBankingRates, 49 percent of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck. This means nearly half of the country is barely scraping by with their income —struggling to cover monthly expenses, let alone contribute to a savings fund. You don’t have to accept this financially precarious state as inevitable.

Debt-slaying and money-saving posts are rife with suggestions for how to shave a little here, trim a little there, not spend, not spend, not spend. But you can’t say you’re saving money just because you’re packing your own lunch and drinking the coffee you brewed at home.

My very first inklings of how money worked came from my mom’s teachings—I learned the basics about jobs and credit cards from her (and then, you know, school and then living on my own and needing to figure everything out took over and taught me the rest). The point is, many of us wouldn’t know how to budget without the help of our parents. So, we posed a question to our moms: What’s your best advice for not blowing your money? And the major takeaways?

When you’re living paycheck to paycheck and paying down debts, the conventional advice for saving money only gets you so far. Sometimes, more extreme measures need to be taken. Just as choosing paper over plastic at the grocery store is better for the environment, choosing cash over credit cards is a safer bet when you go out—especially anywhere you’re likely to impulse buy.

There’s never a bad time to go over your budget with a fine-tooth comb and find everything that’s draining your resources for little in return. Of course, it’s not always an easy task to pinpoint the places where you could be saving — and that’s where we come in. Here are 101 of the many, many ways to minimize your excess spending, maximize your budget and move your life a little bit closer to stress-free.

Are you familiar with the 50/20/30 rule?

Credit can be a great tool, if used wisely—and that means avoiding sticking yourself with debt that will take decades to pay off. Follow these guidelines for what to charge and you can make your credit cards work for you, not against you. Certain purchases can be to your advantage to put on your credit card. Here are seven of them: You should always consider buying big ticket items, like your refrigerator or your laptop, with your credit card.

How many times have you heard people talk about their budgets (or even seen their meticulous bullet journals and spreadsheets) and thought about how maybe you should have one of those, but like, ugh, math and all that effort? Same. If a comprehensive household budget feels more like a mythical creature than an achievable goal, you’re not alone. But here’s something important to remember though: It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

How much money would you feel comfortable spending on something for your home…without consulting your partner first? After all, when you live together, you work together to decorate the space and manage the finances. We asked a handful of real couples to share any money limits they have when it comes to splurging on decor. See how you and your mate’s spending style stacks up, or get advice on how to set limits in your own partnership.

I don’t have to tell you this, but money matters. Even if you consider yourself a card-carrying minimalist who thinks “materialism” is a dirty word, you need money to exchange for goods and services, like rent and food and the shirt on your back.

Have big dreams to buy a home next year, but don’t know where to begin? Just because you don’t think you’ll have your down payment together for 2018 doesn’t mean you have to wait to get a jump start on the process. Here are some steps you can take to help you figure out what you’re looking for in a home, what you can afford, and how to get yourself psyched up to find your dream home while you wait.

Everyone makes mistakes with spending and saving, especially if you’re starting a new job (or your first job). But even those of us who’ve earned (and spent) a few hundred paychecks in our lives might need a refresher course on the basics of smart budgeting (or at least a kick in the pants to stop with the bad habits already!). The best way to get back on track with good spending habits is to start right at the source—your paycheck.

Maintaining a budget is one of those things everyone knows they have to do, but not everyone actually understands how to do it (or rather, how to do it in a way that benefits their specific, individual needs). If you need help figuring out your own finances, these bloggers have simple-but-totally-smart budgeting systems that are sure to inspire you, no matter what your financial goals are: Ali at Anything You Want is all about using spreadsheets to track her budget.

When it comes to our finances, most of the big picture comes from an accumulation of tiny decisions. This goes both ways: money leaking out through inconsequential expenditures or money being squirreled away in small increments and multiplying for big dividends over the long run. Here are some ways to focus purposefully on not spending money unnecessarily, spending it wisely when it’s time to make purchases, and saving it wherever possible.

With all the added expenses that come with the holiday season and the time to set your 2017 goals just around the corner, now is the perfect time to get serious about your finances. Here are five money books that are chock-full of wisdom that will help you take your finances to the next level. Whether you want to mend your relationship with money, develop a wealth mindset, or start investing some of your hard-earned cash, there’s a book here for you.

Even if you absolutely love everything about the holidays, there’s one thing you can’t deny—they can get stressful, and expensive. No amount of twinkle lights and mulled cider can change the fact that budgeting for the holidays is a challenge—especially when time just sort of sneaks up on you when you’re not quite ready.

Ah, your 20s! That golden decade of finding yourself personally, professionally, and, well… if you’re smart—financially. Sure, figuring out your money situation might not be the most enjoyable part of being in your 20s, but arguably, it might be the most important.

Budgeting for your life and home can feel like an impossible task, but if you break it down into simple actions, it’s actually not that bad. You have to be willing to self-reflect, keep receipts and bills, and do a little math—and some research on budget trackers—but you can make it work. Ready to build a better budget? (You know… one you’ll actually use?) Take it step by step: The first step to creating a budget? Knowing how much money you actually have.

The words “bullet journaling” usually elicit one of three reactions from people: One: “What’s that?,” Two: “How does anyone have time for that?,” or Three: whatever the dialogue version of the heart-eyes emoji is. A bullet journal, if you’re unfamiliar, is an organizational system that combines your diary, sketchbook, to-do list and more all into one.

There are several reasons you could need to stretch $100 through an entire week. Maybe you’re saving hard for a vacation or maybe you had some unexpected emergency expenses and are low in your checking account until your next paycheck. Whatever your personal reasons for embarking on an extra-frugal week, here are some budgeting tips to help make $100 last all seven days. If you know you only have $100 and a week, you need to be extremely deliberate about where that money is going.

Last year, Americans spent an average of $830 on Christmas—not exactly chump change. With about ten weeks left until the big day, the good news is that there’s still plenty of time to plan ahead. Here’s how to budget ahead of time so you can pay for everything up front and give yourself the greatest gift of all—not having debt hanging over your head as you head into the new year.

This month we’ll be sharing solutions that are so simple and easy—and at times, automated—that they feel like magic. Hocus Pocus celebrates all the small ways you can trick yourself into living a better life. Between bills and expenses, it can feel like your money is just disappearing each month, making saving anything feel totally impossible.

Sitting down to create a budget is rarely at the top of my weekend agenda. But that doesn’t make it any less important. No matter your financial situation, you are ultimately the expert in managing the day-to-day (and year-to-year) of your own money matters. And if creating a budget is part of your plan, there are some questions for a little budgeting introspection that just may help you sort through those spreadsheets with a little more ease.

There’s nothing quite like coming home to a happy dog or curling up on the couch with a purring kitten. The kind of unconditional love that comes with having pets is priceless, but that doesn’t mean it comes without a cost. It’s totally worth it, but having a new furry—or fishy, or feathery—friend around can be more expensive than you know, and it’s something you need to prepare for.

Paying off your student loans is no easy feat. It takes years to knock out student debt, and with high minimum payments and interest rates that go through the roof, it can feel near impossible. Unfortunately, unless you suddenly get a huge raise (or win the lottery!) it still won’t be easy—but with these simple tips and tricks, you might just be able to pay off your student loans a little quicker, reducing how much interest you pay overall.

You’ve done it again. You go to pull something out of your purse and change goes flying—and you don’t want to crawl around on the ground to find it. Now that you think about it, you found some change in the bottom of the dryer this morning, too. And you might have seen some gleaming on the floorboard of your car earlier. Frankly, change is a nuisance and often goes to waste. So why not take that change, and a few extra bucks, and throw it in a piggy bank?

In the course of a relationship, there are many milestones. Some are for celebrating, some for deliberating, and there are others that you cross just in order to stay in step on your path to domestic bliss. Deciding to go Dutch on the third date is one of the latter. So is the (much bigger, tougher) decision to start a joint bank account. But somewhere in between splitting dinner and combining paychecks, you should make it a point to hit another milestone with your partner: Getting naked.

Looking ahead to your first apartment is a majorly exciting time. It’s so close you can almost see it in your head: You, thriving on your own, cooking a delicious dinner in your impeccable kitchen before settling down in your well-styled living room for a Hulu Plus binge on your brand new TV. But before you get carried away with the fantasies of your first place, let me get real with you: Who’s paying for all of it? Answer: You are.

Congratulations, new grads! I see you out there, venturing out into the adult world with your diploma in your hand, wishing with every step that you’d spent a little less time studying calculus and a little more time learning exactly how to balance a monthly budget. So here’s some personal finance for the my-parents-still-pay-some-of-my-bills set.