Andre and Phil talk about how to pay down your debt.
Preparing Financially for a Natural Disaster
Hurricane Sandy caught a lot of people by surprise. The New York area isn’t exactly known for getting massive hurricanes, so most residents were not as prepared for such a disaster. While there are lots of things you can do to be physically prepared for natural disaster (Bottled water, generators, etc ), something that is not often mentioned is how you can be financially prepared.
We Make Money Easy Episode 1 – Budgeting
Andre and Phil talk about how to get started with a budget.
Buying Used – Gaining an Appreciation for Broken-in Items
Buying everything new is something relatively new to this world. Thanks to globalization, we can buy a brand new shirt from Target for $5. Now that we don’t have to sew it by hand, this has gotten us used to buying new as the default.
Expenses to Avoid at All Costs
If you’re in debt right now, it’s nothing to be embarrassed of.
Over half of all Americans have some revolving credit debt (i.e. not counting mortgages and student loans), and 10% have 10k or more in credit card debt. Unfortunately, it’s actually much more expensive to be a low income member of our society then a high income one. Ironically, people with lots of money get free checking, refunded ATM fees, better interest rates. If you are working class individual, all of these things cost considerably more, which makes it very hard to get ahead of the eight ball. That said, there are some things that will really compound the problem and should be avoided at all costs.
Managing Your Electric Bill
Some parts of our budget we can choose to do without, like new clothes, or eating out. Others, we have to pay but can’t change the amount, like rent or a car payment. But there is a third type of expense that we can get better control over to balance our budgets, our electric bill.
This Is Why You Shouldn’t Have Nice Things
One of the biggest traps people get into when they start making a little money is buying into the idea of luxury. “Hey, I work hard for my money, I deserve nice things.” We’re surrounded by advertising, co-workers, entertainment, etc.. that tells us we should aspire to own luxury goods. Here’s the problem, luxury goods have a snowball effect.
Be Ready! Planning Menus in Advance
Does this scenario sound familiar to you?
I just got home from work, ugh, need to make dinner, let’s see what’s in the fridge…hmm just some milk and ketchup. Guess I’ll order Chinese food.
Treat Yo Self (Within a Budget)
I was catching up on Parks and Recreation the other day, and saw an episode where Tom and Donna have a “Treat Yo Self” day, where they can buy whatever they want guilt-free. At first, this made the budget conscious part of me cringe. The idea that you deserve certain things whether you can afford them or not is often how people get into debt. But the idea of “treating yourself” is crucial to staying on budget.
A Tour of Our New iPhone App
One of the things that makes budgeting difficult is remembering to update our actual spending on a regular basis. Making a budget plan is a great start, but if we’re not consistently recording our expenses, it’s not much use.
