Coupons, Freebies, and Tips to Save Money Every Day
For me, January is a time to clean house, literally and figuratively. One way I’ve been trying to clean house this year is to have a comprehensive family budget. After we moved, I’ve been staying home with the kiddo, so we have a new house (and all the stuff that comes with it) to keep up on just one salary. We need to be diligent
If you are part of the 54 percent of Americans who are making financial resolutions in 2014, you are in good company. We start off with good intentions but before we know it, it’s April Fool’s Day, you just blew $20 on saran wrap for “the most epic prank ever” and your goals are long forgotten. Not this year, my people. We here at Bargain
Awhile back my husband and I redid our monthly budget, updating it with his salary raise, our new life insurance policy, and the money we’re putting into our various savings and retirement accounts. We discovered we were saving 26% of our take home income! Are we saving too much?
We’ve all experienced the overwhelming stress of unexpected expenses. It’s never fun, and if you’re like most Americans who are living paycheck to paycheck it can be down-right scary. But it doesn’t have to be! A budget that accounts for those surprises will bring peace of mind and the freedom to really enjoy this beautiful new year! Welcome to this new monthly “Budget Busters” blog
I’m scared to think about how much we spent on Christmas this year. I’ve avoided looking at our credit card bill, which we’ve been capping at $2,000 each month, because I knew we were going to go over. Way over. I tried to save money on Christmas gifts this year – but with a new baby in tow, and a lot of family coming to
What New Year’s resolutions did you set last year? Did you reach them? Statistics say that 40% of us are estimated to set New Year’s resolutions and only 8% of of us achieve our goals. I like to take time over Christmas break to reflect on the past year and set goals. For the first time in a long time, I’m one of the 8%.
I didn’t take my first airplane ride until I was a sophomore in high school, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t travel. During the summer or holiday season, we’d pack up the minivan with games, snacks and books and hit the road – these trips are some of my greatest memories. According to the US Travel Association, about 80 percent of Americans journey by car,
A few weeks ago, MSN had an interesting article on how to cut the cost of raising kids in half. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the cost of raising a child in 2013 is $241,080, not including the cost of pregnancy or college. That number is staggering, but it doesn’t have to be that way. We’ve rehashed the best tips from the article,
I recently came across “The 10 ‘Never-Break’ Rules of Good Credit” in the Kane County Chronicle, which listed how to maintain good credit, derived from the formula that credit bureaus and lenders use to calculate your lending score. Some of the tips are not new, but I found it a great reminder worth sharing, plus some “In My Opinion” reactions. The 10 rules of good
There are many periods in my life where I have been self-employed. While that may sound carefree and glamorous to some, there are disadvantages, including being responsible for your own health care premiums. Buying health insurance if you’re self-employed can seem complicated and expensive, but not to worry – Bargain Babe’s got you covered. Here are 6 ways to find health insurance if you are
When your kids leave the nest, will you have taught them important money lessons, like how to make sound financial decisions and keep their credit score clean? Whether or not you’ve taught your middle schooler basic money lessons, high schoolers can handle increasingly complex financial ideas and practice making more substantial financial decisions for themselves. So before they move out, here are 8 money lessons
TV shows often depict wealthy families, but not always. Even TV families with money face financial dilemmas. Writer Ruser Saldana shares three money lessons he picked up from popular TV shows. Ruser is auditioning for a staff writer position on BargainBabe.com! Missed the audition announcement? Here it is. This is the last audition post. Look for a wrap up tomorrow! Did this post help you
If a child repeatedly makes the same mistake, should you make them pay for it with their own money? That’s what writer Heather Stephens is contemplating. Heather is auditioning for a staff writer position on BargainBabe.com! Missed the audition announcement? Here it is. We are running the best audition posts this week and next. Did this post help you save money? While I will make
A friend of mine lives under the shadow of a huge amount of debt. Six figures, I’m talking. All from graduate school. She makes a decent living now, but her monthly payments on her multiple loans suck nearly all her paycheck. Here are 11 things she does to live with debt – and survive.
By the time your kids are old enough to throw a penny in a wishing well, they’ve already started to learn about money and its importance in the world. Even having to decide how many M&Ms to trade my brother to let me pick the music we listened to in the car was a financial lesson. When kids are little, they pick up on the
