The Wanderlusting Penny Pincher

As I was thinking about what to write for this post, I started reflecting on my own journey with money and why I'm so passionate about personal finance in general. It's because I truly believe that giving hearts coupled with healthy money habits is the recipe for making the world a better place. There would be less people who are poor and hungry, happier marriages and just happier, less stressed out people in general. Now don't get me wrong, money itself does not equal happiness, but the side effects of a poor money mindset contribute greatly to unhappiness. Money is a powerful tool and an important resource, and it's ok to want more of it when it's obtained, managed and dispersed responsibly. I recently became a Dave Ramsey certified financial coach, and it's my mission to help as many willing people as possible, so please contact me if you would like help with budgeting, debt elimination and breaking the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck! As Dave Ramsey s

A couple days ago, I came across a few spam emails in my inbox that I actually had to read twice to make sure I was seeing clearly! The first one was advertising "personal loans for unplanned expenses." The second one was offering "personal loans to help you reach your financial goals." The third said, "financial help - loans to pay off debt." WHAT?! The idea of going into debt to get ahead financially is so preposterous, I thought it had to be a joke! Well, it is a joke, but the sad truth is that these offers were serious. Seriously misguided. Let's unpack this further, shall we? I want to let everybody in on a little secret. "Unplanned expenses" are no longer unplanned if you...wait for it...plan for them. Of course nobody plans on the inconveniences of life happening, such as car or home repairs, trips to the ER, travel expenses due to the sudden death of a loved one etc. We know somewhere in the back of our minds that these

Are you struggling to make ends meet? Are you having a hard time writing and/or sticking to a monthly budget? Do you feel like you have shaved your budget down to needs only but things still aren't adding up? Let's explore some of the most common, yet overlooked budget busters. 1. Housing.  This is an obvious need in your budget, but what percentage of your monthly take home pay are you spending on housing? Anything over 30% is not a need, that's just extravagant. Keeping it closer to 25% (or lower if possible) is ideal, especially if you're paying off debt. This may not be possible if your income is very low, in which case you may need to sell some things, get a second job, get a roommate to share expenses and/or visit your local food pantry to at least ease the burden of food costs. Anything you can do to spend less and make more money. 2. Car Payments.  A car is also a need, but is your monthly car payment $200? $300? $400? $500? $600+? The average payment is a

After reading the title of this post, some of you may have had the knee jerk is-that-even-a-question-? reaction. I get it. Where I grew up, in the very affluent Johnson County, Kansas, it was the norm/expectation that you went to college right after high school. Before I say anything else, let me be clear that I highly value education, knowledge and higher learning. I have two degrees (a B.A. in music and a B.A. in psychology) that I am very proud of, but I know people without degrees who make just as much if not more money than I do and never had any debt to boot!  I do not recommend college at all (especially not right after high school) unless the following is true:  1. You have a focused/specific career plan (doctor, lawyer, teacher, engineer etc.) Do NOT get a generic degree in something like philosophy, history, communications, etc. that will cause you to be $60,000 in debt but only make $30,000 a year! I know this because while I am proud of my degrees, they are gene

Hello to all of my wonderful readers! I would like to connect you to some information and tools that are financially beneficial: 1. There are many great books out there about money. I have recommended a few in some of my previous posts, but if you can only stand to read one, let it be Your New Money Mindset  by Brad Hewitt, the CEO of Thrivent Financial (the awesome company that helps me on my wise with money journey), and James Moline, a licensed psychologist. Here is a quote from the book that sums up it's message and my heart's cry: "Before you can remake your habits, you need to remake your heart." That deserves an Amen! I would also like to encourage you to take the free online assessment tool from the book. It will give you insight into your current money mindset and how you can grow. It's brief and fun!  Click here to take the assessment. 2. Switching gears, my next helpful tidbit is an exciting new offer! In a previous post, I recommended keeping your

Right off the bat, allow me to answer the titular question; credit cards are not your friend!  We hear about the growing epidemic of credit card debt all the time. I recently read a statistic that said around 75% of American adults have at least one credit card. That means that 75% of American adults are in the habit of buying what they cannot afford outright.  Yes, many people claim that they only use their credit cards for the essentials they already plan to buy in order to accumulate airline miles, points or cash back "rewards" and that they pay off the balance every month. That sounds sensible at first, but let's explore it further.  Many credit cards have done away with annual fees...aaaand many haven't. The fees often negate any "rewards."  Here's a public service announcement: Cash back rewards are designed to make you spend more and to increase their bottom line.  How many times have you been shopping with every intention of on