Learning from my debt, one paycheck at a time.
I'm going to stop investing for one year. WHAT!? You say? Let me explain... For the last couple years, I have been taking the approach of investing, saving, AND paying down my student loan. I was paying a lot more toward my student loan (1100/month) than I was toward investing for retirement (600/month) or saving … Continue reading To Invest or Pay my Student Loan?
In this post, I will talk about some of the reasons you should decide to feel good about the fact that you might suck at budgeting (for now). That’s right: You’re supposed to suck at budgeting when you first start out, and you will keep on sucking at it for a while, and that’s okay. … Continue reading 6 Reasons Why SUCKING at Budgeting is the Key to Success
Hi there, This is just a quick update to share with you that I have been interviewed about my financial journey and the best ways to get out of debt by the folks over at Mespo! In case you aren't familiar, Mespo provides a platform to reduce your monthly costs, manage your money across all … Continue reading Debt Dummy Update: July 31, 2017
So yesterday I decided to look at my historical spending trends in YNAB (my budgeting software) in order to see where I am doing well and where I could do better, and what I came away with was this: I am spending way too much on groceries. I think this has been sort of a … Continue reading Overspending on Groceries (Whole Foods is my Kryptonite)
In this post, I will talk about the addictive nature of shopping, and how to manage impulses to shop. This post is a follow-up to my recent post: The YNAB Glitch: What Happened When the Budget Went Down (a.k.a. Self-Control or Lack Thereof) . I wanted to follow-up on some more after-shocks I experienced from my spending … Continue reading 5 Ways I am Kicking the Urge to Shop (Shopping Addictions and Motivational Enhancement)
Hi there! So in this post I will share an update, and talk about the second-hand economy. Firstly, I want to share an update: I am going to be featured in Canadian Budget Binder's Making a Difference series as part of their Saturday Weekend Review, on July 22! This will share a little bit about who I am … Continue reading Second Hand Economy & a Debt Dummy Update
This post is about what happened when a glitch in my budgeting software rendered my budget meaningless, and what I did in the 48 hours that followed. So last weekend, I signed into my YNAB account to do my regular budgeting activities. In case you are not familiar with YNAB, let me introduce you. YNAB … Continue reading The YNAB Glitch: What Happened When the Budget Went Down (a.k.a Self-Control or Lack Thereof)
So this post is about 2 struggles I encountered this week: How do you know when to choose life, and when to choose your financial goals? How do you manage the reactions and expectations of your friends, who may not have similar financial priorities? So this weekend I made a somewhat difficult decision about money … Continue reading Choices
I grew up in a home that was filled with paradoxes about money. My parents both earned very high incomes, but they spent to match it. Lots of money was made, lots was spent, and it seemed to be a constant source of stress. Yet I didn't learn to fear or even respect money right … Continue reading At the base of the mountain…