All posts filed under: Budgeting

Living at Home in Your 20s

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I have a confession to make: I’m nearly 24 years old and I live with my parents. I live in the same flat and the same room as I’ve lived in since I was five years old. Twenty years ago that would’ve been embarrassing. As far as I can tell (obviously I was a toddler at the time) most people moved out by their early 20s. People would live with friends or with their partners. By the time they were ready to marry and have kids they had already been independent for several years. If they did live at home a lot of the time they also lived with a partner/spouse and they were simply saving up money before they could get their own place.  The idea of someone, let alone thousands of people, living with their parents into their 20s and even 30s would have been weird. People would’ve wondered what was wrong with them. But now it is relatively normal. I can’t speak for the rest of the world (although recent analysis shows …

Maldives on the Cheap: Budget Luxury Guide

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Originally posted on thewander-lust.com:
The Maldives is one of those countries I never imagined I would be able to visit. It was only a dream Paradise Travel Destination of mine for ages. If you asked me 8 years ago if I would like to go to Maldives, I would probably just laugh not because there’s something wrong with the idea of being there, in fact, it’s my dream but because I knew it would never ever going to happen.There are only three things which I know about the Maldives. First, it’s an Archipelagic Nation in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Second, it has lots of Private Luxury Resorts that I could never afford. Third, it’s damn expensive to go and stay there. But I guess, the Universe has a way of surprising me. Before I knew it, I found myself on a wooden platform at the balcony of an over-the-water bungalow while starring at the horizon and enjoying the scenic view of the brilliant turquoise blue ocean. Maldives was no longer a dream for me, but when I was there, It felt…

4 Vital Points for a Cheaper Japan Travel

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Originally posted on thewander-lust.com:
Japan has an image of being one of the most expensive countries in the world, and if you’re staying in hotels, eating out, and traveling around a lot, then it can really cost you a bomb. It is never going to be as cheap as other destinations and while it may be an expensive country to visit, there are plenty of ways to make this country affordable. To me, budget travel is value travel. So, I have listed 4 vital points on how you can cut down the costs and make this country affordable: 1.) TRANSPORTATIONTransportation is one of the most expensive aspects of travel in Japan and this will surely eat up your pennies. The bullet train, while awesome, comfortable, and fast, is not cheap at all. Individual rail journey can cost hundreds of dollars when added altogether. So in order to reduce your train costs, get a Japan Rail (JR) pass.I repeat, do get a JAPAN RAIL PASS and here’s my BIG NOTE: You only can buy this pass outside of Japan and only people on…

How We Eat [Healthy] For $75 A Week

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Originally posted on Fit Gypsy Life:
Happy Monday, people! Are you heading to work for the week? Starting out with a meal prep Monday so you can crush your nutrition goals? This post is a teensy bit long but it’s something I get asked about a LOT so I promise it is packed full of helpful info 🙂 I have written before about? Our Dave Ramsey Adventure? and how it changed our lives. If it weren’t for budgeting and planning, we would not have had the beautiful wedding we did, and we would probably have struggled a lot more in our marriage. We started our budget using this worksheet. And quickly learned that according to the suggested percentages we were WAY overspending on food. Based on our goals and initial income, we decided $300 was a good monthly rate for groceries. I shop weekly, so we budgeted that as $75/ week. Just for reference, I was spending probably $100-$120 by myself prior to moving in with Keaton, so this was huge adjustment. However, I have…

Why We Have HSAs and You Should Too!

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Originally posted on Millennials making cents of money:
Health Savings Accounts (HSA) are one of the most misunderstood parts of employee benefits today. HSAs are individually owned bank accounts that work in conjunction with your health plan – your health plan does have to be HSA compatible, traditionally referred to as high deductible health plans (HDHP). Don’t be afraid of ‘high deductible’ – yes, we understand that you could pay more out of pocket. But hopefully, as a healthy young person, you don’t have high out of pocket health care costs.  And if you do, simply save your receipts and pay yourself back at any time. We covered a lot of the basic HSA info in an earlier post, check it out here. Sp why do we think it’s a good financial move for millennials to have an HSA? You get tax-deferred treatment! Be aware of the annual limits, but any money you contribute (through employee payroll deductions or direct deposits) are eligible deductions. Your HSA stays with you when you change jobs, so you…

How to Deal with Debt Without Ruining Your Relationship

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Originally posted on Millennials making cents of money:
Relationships can be hard enough, add money to the mix and it can be disastrous. Today, many millennials have student debt, credit card debt, auto loans, etc.  For the few that don’t, the odds are against you for finding a partner who doesn’t have any debt.  That doesn’t mean it’s impossible or that you shouldn’t date someone with debt. It just means you need to figure out how to talk about/manage debt before it becomes a problem to the relationship. Toni Coleman, a psychotherapist and relationship coach in McLean, Virginia, says she frequently sees couples dealing with problems such as hiding debt from each other, blaming each other for their dual debt and “an attitude of ‘yours’ and ‘mine,’ which keeps the couple from working together on a solution.” As a couple, you must work through the debt together. Here are steps to help you with this process: Be honest. Some people feel they need to be ashamed of this debt, but let’s be real, college costs a…