money Archives - I Heart Frugal

Best Money Quotes to Build Your Wealth Series – 4

“Too many people spend money they haven’t earned…to buy things they don’t want…to impress people they don’t like.” – Will Rogers

Have you heard this one before? Will Rogers definitely hit the nail on the head in terms of budgeting. I mean, where do we draw the line between what we want and what we need? When budgeting, we should ask ourselves if we really want something or if we are buying it to impress someone else. If that is the case, it is better left on the shelf.

It doesn’t help that 8 out of 10 of Americans are in debt (source CNBC.com). Money management has been left behind as we view commercials showcasing the “cool” guy in the car with a bunch of hot girls, the best hair, best clothes, and the best life! He is living “the good life” we all want, right? It is because of advertisements such as these that most people feel what they have is never enough and going into debt for “the good life” is as easy as a stroll in the park.

Yes, my friends…Advertising is at an all-time high. You may not realize you want that new lamp until you see a perfectly placed store display at Target and the lamp starts calling your name. After watching one cartoon, my kids now want three different toys they didn’t even know existed until the said cartoon was complete.

It seems the latest and greatest has replaced any concern for sticking to a budget. Credit cards are the norm and people spend on a whim without realizing the full consequences. These consequences of spending without a budget include the following:

- Huge debt
- Paying interest
- Paying more for items because of interest
- Losing your car
- Losing your house
- Unneeded stress and anxiety
- Bankruptcy
- Debt collectors

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November 27, 2017 by Sarah | 11 Comments

Budgeting

Best Money Quotes to Build Your Wealth Series – 1

Best Money Quotes Series – #1

Please enjoy my new series: Money quotes! These inspirational quotes will help kick-start your financial goals into overdrive and motivate you to save! My first quote in this series is by financial guru Suze Orman, whom I have followed for years.

For those of you that don’t know Suze Orman, she is a financial guru, New York Times best seller, motivational speaker, magazine colunmist and Emmy award winning television host. She is known for her “Can I afford it” series, where she allows her viewers to call in and learn if they should spend their money on a wanted item or trip. Nonetheless, she teaches people to get their affairs in order including budgeting, investing, retirement, life-insurance, and living wills.

My husband and I used to watch her show together on Saturday nights before we had kids (I know, what a fun date!). Her advice was astounding and really helped us to have some great money conversations and set financial goals as a couple.

Suggested Reading: No Money to Pay My Bills, Help!

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September 13, 2017 by Sarah | 2 Comments

Budgeting

Learn How to Create a Simple Budget Roundup

Simple Budget Roundup

How badly do you need a budget? Budgeting is hard work and it is best to gain all the knowledge and information you can before attempting to create your own. In this way, you will create a budget that will work well for you and your family. Yet, scavenging around the pool of information we call the Internet is especially time-consuming and it is hard to weed out the good seeds from the bad. So I have done the work for you!

This week on I Heart Frugal, I have compiled a list of budget posts to help you get started on your budgeting journey. My fellow personal finance bloggers have a wealth of information to share that will get you back on track to an amazing debt-free life.

Each picture will feature a link to the post and the blog title below. Check out my post on budgeting here and use these other posts to really dive into starting your budget and making your money work for you.

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July 19, 2017 by Sarah | Comments Off

Budgeting

Why You Can’t Get Out of Debt

Take a good look at your finances. Are you living beyond your means? There is help. — Why You Can’t Get Out of Debt

What a long winter! Thank goodness spring is here! I’m looking forward to fresh air, birds chirping, and flowers blooming. As these signs of spring arrive, many of us start to plan our spring cleaning schedule and this got me thinking…We clean up our houses in the spring; yet, many of us don’t think to clean up our finances. The winter was harsh and we survived, but can we survive taking a good, hard look at our debt?

According to CNBC.com, eight out of ten Americans are in debt. Unfortunately, many of us have developed poor spending habits. We think nothing of spending more than we earn and our debt storm grows. Suddenly our bills are stacked up like a bunch of pancakes at IHOP. As the bills pile high, we continue to swipe away, thinking it will ease the pain.

In order to get out of debt and stop spending, it is important to look at the reasons why we overspend. Often, many of us were never taught how to budget or some spend to fill a void. Others spend to keep up with the neighbors or maintain an image. Whatever the case, discovering the meaning behind the spending will help us make a change.

However, this is harder than it sounds. I mean, how many times have we gone over our budgets while simply buying groceries? It is so easy to continue putting items in the cart and packing our homes and lives full of stuff. The next thing you know, we are cringing every time that bill shows up. It is like one big storm that keeps burying us. So once and for all, let’s dig our way out and get to the bottom of our destructive spending.

How To Create a $40 Meal Plan Your Family Will Love

Plan your meals for two weeks for under $40! Your family and budget will thank you! — $40 Meal Plan Your Family Will Love

This is my third round of bi-weekly dinner meal planning! However, this time it comes with a twist! Why? A fellow frugal friend needed help. She had to find a way to feed herself and her husband for two weeks, but the kicker was she only had $35 for food. Realizing the need for low-cost meal planning, my “$40 Meal Planning Your Family Will Love” was born.

Inspired by her situation, I wondered how many others out there could use low-cost meal planning. So my challenge for this round is to keep your grocery bill around $40. Hopefully, you have some items on hand and you will spend even less, but if you do not, you will come out right around $41.

This list is a dinner meal plan so let’s see how well we can do. Be sure to read until the end and click the printable grocery list to save you time and money! My shopping for this meal plan was mostly done at Kroger.

Keep in mind, if you are saving money on your groceries, you will be able to put money away for other important areas of your budget such as an emergency fund, savings account, or retirement fund.

Cutting your food costs is one of the easiest ways to put extra money in your pocket. Not to mention, my $40 meal plan will save your sanity because you will not be rushing around your kitchen, like a crazy person, trying to throw something together when your kids are hungry. This is not a fun situation for anyone!

money

Best Money Quotes Series – #1

Simple Budget Roundup

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