Wednesday, March 2, 2011
My New Favorite Frugal Tips Blog
Let's face it: Everybody and they mama is blogging on how to do something cheap, whether it be cooking, crafting, living frugally, etc. During one of my late night was-supposed-to-be-doing-homework-but-somehow-ended-up-on-Facebook escapades, I came across The Frugal Girls page. From nowhere, the harps started playing, angels started singing, and a halo appeared before my eyes. This is the mother of all frugal living blogs (in MY opinion); on here you will find links to freebies, discounts, deals, and everything else under the sun that will help you enjoy embracing the frugal life. This site has LITERALLY changed my life! My eyes have been opened to all of the awesome things out there wanting to come home with me or wanting me to partake of it without coming out of my pockets or not as much. You really do not have to spend lots of money to enjoy life and have nice things, and this site has helped confirm that for me. I highly recommend that you check it out!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Fun Money
My first run-in with the concept was while reading the "Smart Cookies' Guide to Making More Dough." They suggested including "Fun Money" in your budget to provide flexibility with your money. The idea is to allocate a certain amount of money for the week to be used at your discretion for whatever you want. I have already implemented this into my spending plan and so far I absolutely love it!
In my opinion, you get the best of both worlds: you get to stick to your budget and monetary goals while still being able to "splurge" or indulge in a want without getting your finances off track. The idea is to only use the cash that you pull from the ATM once a week that you place in an envelope or your wallet. Once that money is gone, you are not allowed to get any more until the following week. If there is money left over from the week, you can choose to roll it over and add to your next week's Fun Money. Some people even save up their Fun Money to save up for major purchases that they don't want to include into their spending plan.
For the spending plan to work for me, this concept is imperative! I'm used to being able to spend money without much accountability (not good!) and to go from that to not spending any money at all is going to cause me to fall off the bandwagon once again. Using this method I get to still spend money on the things I want while still being a responsible financial adult!
What are your thoughts on Fun Money? Do you or would you include this into your budget or spending plan? If you do already incorporate this, what do you use this money for?
In my opinion, you get the best of both worlds: you get to stick to your budget and monetary goals while still being able to "splurge" or indulge in a want without getting your finances off track. The idea is to only use the cash that you pull from the ATM once a week that you place in an envelope or your wallet. Once that money is gone, you are not allowed to get any more until the following week. If there is money left over from the week, you can choose to roll it over and add to your next week's Fun Money. Some people even save up their Fun Money to save up for major purchases that they don't want to include into their spending plan.
For the spending plan to work for me, this concept is imperative! I'm used to being able to spend money without much accountability (not good!) and to go from that to not spending any money at all is going to cause me to fall off the bandwagon once again. Using this method I get to still spend money on the things I want while still being a responsible financial adult!
What are your thoughts on Fun Money? Do you or would you include this into your budget or spending plan? If you do already incorporate this, what do you use this money for?
Budget vs. Spending Plan
Here is one of my dilemmas: I know that in order to be financially responsible, one of the first steps is to create a budget, whether it be either weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Just hearing the "b" word makes me cringe and the first word that comes to mind is DEPRIVATION. I hate, hate, hate living on a budget. I know and understand that any person serious about their finances have these. But why can't there be a better, more flexible way?!
There is! The strategy that works best for me is a spending plan. I consider it a budget with flexibility and staying power in MY life! A budget suggests certain percentages of your income to be allocated to certain budgetary line items, whereas a spending plan allows you to customize how much you want to spend in the different areas. You can also "tweak it" to best fit your lifestyle. I love this! In order for this to work for me, I need structure and flexibility.
Which method works best for you?
There is! The strategy that works best for me is a spending plan. I consider it a budget with flexibility and staying power in MY life! A budget suggests certain percentages of your income to be allocated to certain budgetary line items, whereas a spending plan allows you to customize how much you want to spend in the different areas. You can also "tweak it" to best fit your lifestyle. I love this! In order for this to work for me, I need structure and flexibility.
Which method works best for you?
Can you have a fun, fabulous and frugal life?
I am on a quest to discover the answer to this question! This blog is my journey to discover how I can still enjoy some of the pleasures I enjoy in my life while spending my money more wisely. Admittedly, I have tried this several times before: making a monthly budget, cutting down expenses, and saving money where I could. This always ended up in an EPIC FAIL!
I feel that I am finally ready to do this thing FOR REAL and see my financial situation improve while being currently unemployed and a graduate student!
Join me on my journey as I embrace this new lifestyle!
I feel that I am finally ready to do this thing FOR REAL and see my financial situation improve while being currently unemployed and a graduate student!
Join me on my journey as I embrace this new lifestyle!
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