Michelle Singletary
Michelle Singletary
simple track fancy
You don't need to waste money on a fancy program or app to do a basic budget. I've been using a simple Excel spreadsheet since 2005 to track my monthly budget.
average milk three
I breast-fed all three of my children, because the milk is free. And I breast-fed them an average of two years.
college crucial good next paycheck penny poor save
Why are so many of us penny poor before our next paycheck comes? We're not good stewards of our money. ... It's crucial to save for what you say you value: a home, college and retirement.
bills card credit hide large money poor talk women
Too many women think it's impolite to talk money while dating. Or they have something to hide (such as large credit card bills or a poor credit history).
borrower servant watch
The borrower is servant to the lender, Watch out, or MasterCard will become your master.
roof-over-your-head financial ifs
You are NOT a financial failure if you rent. You are getting something for your money. A roof over your head.
hate school grandmother
The schools can't cover all the values that go along with how you handle your money. For example, a financial literacy class might not teach me to hate debt the way my grandmother, Big Mama did.
taken mean kids
Having kids doesn't mean they would have taken care o you.
kids blessing people
Kids can and are a blessing. But plenty of people without kids live and die just as happy.
retirement debt-free goal
You still need to save but being debt-free in retirement is and should be a goal.
names car firsts
I'm driving my old car until I'm on a first name basis with the low tow truck drivers!
couple years track
To get started, track your expenses for a couple of months. Then you should be able to start filling in your estimated debits and deposits for the next few months. Once you get it rolling for a while, you will be able to see your budget for the upcoming months reflected in the estimated totals. You can even notice year-to-year trends, like bonuses, tax bills, etc. that come up routinely and it will help you budget accordingly.
people fans needs
I'm not a fan of debt consolidation. In my experience, many people "clear" credit cards and other debt to get the one payment and never change what they need to change to prevent getting into debt again.
homework protect
We have to protect ourselves by doing our own homework.