So many individuals and families find this a daunting task and just can’t seem to keep a budget intact for very long. It feels like a cage you built for yourself. The keys to not feeling trapped and managing a successful, healthy budget are to consider it a ‘spending plan’ and acknowledge that it is [...]

Dave Ramsey teaches in The Total Money Makeover that the first baby step to getting out of debt is to establish your emergency fund. Your emergency fund must be a minimum of $500 or ideally $1000 cash that is strictly reserved for life’s unexpected scenarios. It’s imperative that all members of your family or your [...]

Dave Ramsey and I teach that if your combined household income is $40,000 per year, you should have a $1,000 emergency fund. If you earn $20,000 a year, then you should have a $500 basic emergency fund set aside. If you make $80,000, you should save $2,000 for emergencies. This basic emergency fund is your [...]

Many people were never taught how money works and have dug themselves into a deep financial hole without realizing it. We all have our own money story. Some are about how we got into debt. Some are about why we can’t make more money. Some are about how we can’t talk about money with our [...]

Now that you’ve written down your monthly expenses, I’m sure you have started to see spending areas in which you can cut back. Remember, when you are getting out of debt, it is imperative to make short-term, temporary sacrifices now so that you can win financially long-term. Everyone’s situation is different, and everyone has different [...]

By now, you are fully aware that when you are in debt and struggling to make minimum payments, sacrifices are inevitable. You MUST do what you can to earn more money, cut your expenses, and aggressively pay off your debt. Get a second or third job, sell some items, or ask your manager for that [...]

Many individuals and families find setting a budget to be a daunting task and can’t seem to keep a budget intact for very long. The key to not feeling trapped and bossed around by a spreadsheet is to consider it a ‘spending plan’. YOU get to determine where your money goes! Spend your money by [...]

Today’s blog is a reflective exercise to acknowledge what is going well and not so well with your finances. If you’re not in a place where you can write your answers now, please consider your answers to these questions until you can complete the exercise fully.To get started on your debt-free journey, it’s really important [...]

In order to get where we want to go, we need to get really specific about our desired outcome. Getting out of debt is just like losing weight – you need a plan, and you must follow it. No matter how fancy or scientific your weight loss plan is, losing weight the healthy way comes [...]