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Showing posts from May, 2019

How To Teach Your Kids About Budgeting At The Farmer's Market

Aside from cooking, if there's one important lesson I learned from my parents it would have to be about budgeting. I grew up in a large family of 6, and we enjoyed delicious home cooked Vietnamese dishes, so I've had my fair share of trips to the Asian market to pick out the dinner ingredients. We couldn't always get the pre-packaged American snacks from the commercials, but now that I think about it, learning those lessons about budgeting for our family really came in handy for me now that I'm a parent - way more handy than any fun snacks or juice boxes would have been! With twin teens, a hungry husband, and now my parents in my household, budgeting is still important when it comes to food, except now it seems easier. My parents might have taught me how to balance a checkbook, but those days are long gone because now I've been using software to balance everything and track my spending. I love how my expenses are automatically categorized and I can even set go...

Compound Interest - Your Money's Best Friend

Compound interest sounds pretty fancy in the world of financial planning, we often talk about how earning interest on your money - either through a high-yield savings account or through investing -- can be a game changer as you try to grow your wealth. Even though compound interest might seem complicated, or unattainable, the truth is that it is a benefit that anyone can take advantage of if you start saving now. How Does Compound Interest Work? Compound interest is actually more straightforward than most people realize. That best analogy I've heard goes like this: Picture you're standing at the top of a hill, and you've just made a snowball. The snowball is pretty small at first. In fact, it might not even make an impact when you go to throw it at your husband (sorry, Brian!). But what would happen if you took that snowball, and started rolling it down the hill? With every revolution, the snowball would pick up more snow. The bigger the snowball gets, the more s...

Build A Budget

Budgeting Isn't Glamorous (But You Will Be) Let's face it. Budgeting does not sound very glamorous. But creating a budget will slow you to get your spending on track to reach your financial goals. We know you want to live your best life, and a budget can help get there. Set Your Priorities Everyone has different values when it comes to their finances. Your values will change throughout your life depending on experiences and personal circumstances. Now that you know what values drive your spending decisions, it's time to create your budget. First, make note of your after-tax income. This is how much money you have to work with when planning your monthly budget. Then, subtract your fixed expenses, such as your rent or mortgage, utility bill, cellphone bill, credit card bill, student loans - whatever is applicable. Next decide how much money you are willing to put towards your financial "wants," including money for food and entertainment. Consider putting ...