If you didn't save up for Christmas AND don't want to spend money you don't have on a credit card, try cash flowing Christmas! Here's how!

Cash Flowing Christmas

Christmas is fast approaching, and I’m already hearing people joke about putting Christmas on their credit card. In the past, I’ve written about saving up little by little over the course of a year for Christmas spending. If you’re reading this in December, it’s too late for that (for this year). …

Read more

How to Tell if You Have a Serious Spending Problem

People often feel like they don’t have enough money. Often, people think the solution to their financial problems is making more money… an “income problem,” if you will. While it’s possible that you do have an income problem, it’s also very possible that you have a spending problem or an expenses problem. So how …

Read more

Doing these 50 small things will save you $10,000 this year! One idea - skip gifts with your spouse for a whole year and save at least $500. Here are some alternatives to expensive gift-giving.

Skip Spouse Gifts for a Year

If you’re accustomed to exchanging extravagant gifts with your spouse, skipping gifts for a year may seem extreme. But, hey, when you really want to get out of debt, it has to be a little extreme. Plus, it’s just one year. I guarantee that in 5 or 10 or 20 years, …

Read more

How to stop impulsive spending: The one thing I did to change my spending habits completely!

How to Stop Impulsive Spending

I recently read “The Power of Habit,” by Charles Duhigg. Besides being full of fascinating insight about the habits of our brains, our corporations, and our society, it also gave me some key realizations about what some of my personal habits are, and how to truly change some of them. I hadn’t …

Read more

Budgeting 101 #5: How to Actually Stick to a Budget

This is the 5th post in an ongoing series called “Budgeting 101.” You can START THE ENTIRE SERIES WITH POST #1 HERE.   I wrote a post about making a budget, and I think it’s helpful if you’re new to budgeting. But especially around this time of year, I hear so many people …

Read more

cutting costs at Christmas: brown paper packages tied up with string

Cutting Costs at Christmas

I love this time of year. From right before Thanksgiving all the way through New Year’s. I love how simple Thanksgiving is, and I love preparing the food with loved ones. Then, I love getting out the Christmas tree the next day & watching our little ones throw all the …

Read more