Hey everyone! Welcome back to another episode of Budget Friday. This is seriously my favorite part about personal finance, the chance to help others get on a budget, get out of debt and reach their financial goals. I love showing the power of a well-thought out budget plan, and the long term results they can have. Today’s budget is an anonymous submission. We’ll call her Darlene. Background: Darlene did not divulge her age (a lady never tells), but she’s probably not a day over 30 (based on her Roth/401k balance). She has been reading through the Budget Friday series and slashing through her credit card debt (recently paid off 3 cards). She also recently increased her investment contributions to 10% of her pre-tax income. I like where her head is at for planning, so let’s help her get on track to kill the rest of this debt with the quickness! … Continue reading →

  This past Friday I did something unique for the Budget Friday series. I asked the readers of this blog to help out Tom, an aspiring law student, with his budget for living cheap in New York City while going through law school. A few of your stepped up and gave some awesome suggestions. Thank you for that! For those that entered, I am putting it to a vote to elect the best grad. school budget for Tom to use, and the winner receives a $25 Amazon gift card! Below are the budgets submitted: Mom of Two Prescious Girls’ Budget Entry No work in the 1st year of law school is normal protocol. The first year is INTENSE. I don’t have complete solutions, bc I am out of touch with NY prices, but some ways I can see saving money are: Rent: Go to school administration or any orientation events … Continue reading →