Evolving Personal Finance » Archive

Poll: Budgets Are a Tool, After All – How Do You Use Yours?

December 2nd, 2011 | 8 Comments

  I would say our budget is a combination of a spending outline and category maximums.  Many of our categories are fixed or very stable month-to-month so that’s more spending outline.  Our discretionary categories are for the most part maximums.  I’ve never been much good at denying myself in the grocery store so I don’t really follow through on strict directives with lower limits – we try to set our budget limit well higher than our … Read entire article »

Filed under: budgeting, participation

One Small Thing Challenge December 2011

December 1st, 2011 | 1 Comment

My goal is to do one small thing each month that will have a positive impact on our financial situation.  I invite you join me in this challenge. Your goal could be small or large in terms of the money involved, but it should be simple and/or straightforward to accomplish.  It could be a component of a larger goal.  There are so many suggestions of how to better our finances available but I’m usually not motivated … Read entire article »

Filed under: one small thing, participation

Vestigial Bank Accounts

November 30th, 2011 | 6 Comments

I’m sure if you’ve been managing your own money for long enough you’ve come to this point: your banking structure makes no sense.  You can’t justify with any current logical reasoning why you still have certain accounts.  You know why you opened those accounts, but you probably wouldn’t again given what you know now or how the situation has changed.  Inertia has played a big role in their continued ties to your name.   Kyle and I … Read entire article »

Filed under: checking, marriage, savings, transitions

Five-Year Sketch

November 28th, 2011 | 3 Comments

I know it’s incredible hubris to not only make plans but also write them down.  But I do want you to know what I’m thinking about when I talk about our anticipated financial transitions/upheaval.  I realize that our lives may not progress as this plan outlines.  I haven’t included dates or put a lot of stock in the listed order.  But these are the goals that we’re working toward within the next five-ish years. Directly financial … Read entire article »

Filed under: personal, transitions

The Dollar Challenge

November 25th, 2011 | 7 Comments

Corey at 20’s Finances proposed that PF bloggers fit a typical month’s budget into a general set of eight categories so that he could compile the data and compare across groups.  He asked us to normalize our spending to a single dollar to obscure income levels.  If you want to participate you can find his divided dollar and links to other people’s on his post.  It was very interesting to me even to see the … Read entire article »

Filed under: budgeting, participation

What is Lifestyle Creep?

November 23rd, 2011 | 6 Comments

… It’s the big enemy I’m watching out for! Investopedia gives us a succinct answer.  Lifesyle creep is A situation where people’s lifestyle or standard of living improves as their discretionary income rises either through an increase in income or decrease in costs. As lifestyle creep occurs, and more money is spent on lifestyle, former luxuries are now considered necessities. My husband and I have remarked to one another many times that we are happy with our current standard of living.  … Read entire article »

Filed under: lifestyle creep

What It’s All About

November 21st, 2011 | 5 Comments

This blog is borne out of two desires: the desire for documentation and thinking-through and the desire for community.  The subject of this blog is personal finance – that is, personal finance, my family’s and yours, and not necessarily education on money-management.   I started learning about personal finance about 4.5 years ago, right after graduating from college and getting my first full-time, year-round job.  It seems incredible, looking back, how little I knew about the subject, … Read entire article »

Filed under: personal

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