How To Set Savings Priorities On A Budget

changed-priorities

Setting aside enough money to fulfill all of the ideal requirements on a budget is tough, especially in these times. However, it isn’t impossible if you set achievable goals. Financial advisors claim that there are 3 areas you shouldn’t negotiate savings for; maximum contributions to your employee matched retirement plan, eliminating high interest debt and [...]

Five Surprisingly Affordable Vacation Destinations

Las Vegas

Whether you are planning a family vacation or just a weekend get-away for yourself, we’re all looking for an affordable vacation. Depending on what you consider affordable you may be prepared to spend a little more or less on your vacation. To our way of thinking, a cheap vacation is one that gives you a [...]

The Ultimate Collection of Free Budget Worksheets, Spreadsheets and Forms

budget-form

In the course of developing our own free sample budget form, I ran across several free printable budget spreadsheets on the web that were pretty useful and ended up helping me develop my budget spreadsheet into what I needed.  And you can’t beat free! Almost all of theses are in Excel format so most everyone [...]

A Sample Budget for Family of Four

Sample Budget Family of Four

Creating a family budget is not always the easiest thing in the world to do, however if you are going to get out of debt or save for your first home it is necessary.  If you are anything like our family was your expenditures might severely outpace your income and if so, the first thing [...]

Free Expense Tracking Worksheet for Budget Planning

free-expense-tracking-worksheet

When you attempt to layout your first budget, the absolute first thing you need to do is understand your own spending habits.  This is especially true when you have a family with more than one person spending the money (wife buys household stuff, husband buys gadgets or vice-versa!). Tracking your expenses is critical to planning [...]

Free Sample Budget Spreadsheet

freebudgetspreadsheet

When I first started realized that I needed a budget, I started to look around for a simple way to budget with Excel, since I was familiar with it already.  I found a bunch of free excel budget forms, but I decided to create a household budget form of my own that ended up being [...]

3 Steps To A Better Budget

three-steps-opt

Budgets have played an important role in helping families manage their personal finances for generations. The way people create and use a budget today might be very different than years ago, but the end result is the same: knowing how much money is coming in and how much is going out. Budgets can range from [...]

How to Budget for a Family Vacation

Budget for a family vacation

Even when trying to stick to a budget, it can be so easy to end up spending big bucks for a family vacation. You think you are doing everything right, from choosing an inexpensive hotel to researching budget priced restaurants. Even so, those seemingly little expenses, from tips to transportation, can add up to a [...]

How to Make a Budget

cow piggy bank

Making a budget is something that many families and independent adults balk at. However, it is one of the most crucial steps for creating a healthy and viable financial foundation for future growth and stability.  Here’s a few tips on how to create your first budget: Know Your Numbers The very first step that goes [...]

5 Practical Ways To Cut Expenses

discount-coupons-cut expenses

In these tough economic times everyone is looking for ways to make that dollar stretch just a little further. It certainly isn’t easy to make ends meet these days with wages still low, jobs still scarce and prices climbing. Most of us are looking for ways to cut expenses and save a little money here [...]