• dames in debt

wedding

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If you’ve seen our Insta, then you know ECD got engaged in December 2018. So what better way to celebrate her marriage and our love of personal finance then with a nitty-gritty, detail-oriented series featuring all things nuptial? The Official Wedding Series will be an 8-part series featuring all things wedding planning, like: Paying for the wedding Planning the wedding Wedding dress shopping Getting fit & pretty for the wedding Handling planning/in-law stress Planning the pre-wedding parties All things honeymoon Review of what went well & what didn’t Look out for Part 1, featuring the most fun of topics – wedding budgets – to launchRead More →

dog ownership

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In: Budget Beauty & Living
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It’s almost been a year since my little pup came into my life, and while it’s been one of the best years ever, it hasn’t necessarily been cheap. If you’ve ever been curious exactly how much it costs to buy and take care of a dog, then keep on reading! Initial Costs Due to severe allergies, some size/breed restrictions due to living in a 3rd-floor apartment, and some ridiculous requirements from rescues, the boyfriend and I decided to purchase a pure-bred miniature schnauzer from a local breeder. After thoroughly researching our breeder (and her doing the same to us), we filled out an application, putRead More →

tax season

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In: Personal Finance 101

Hey there friends! It’s January! And you know what that means: TAXES. So fun. So tedious. So…wait? I have to pay for this? No. You definitely do not have to pay to file your taxes. Many people do for the convenience of using a service like TurboTax. But I’m here to tell you, you do not need to waste money on this. Firstly, I’ve used TurboTax before. It’s so simple and walks you through everything. But this year when I logged in, they wanted to charge me $40 plus the state filing just so I could use a student loan interest deduction form. Well, screwRead More →

2019

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Welcome to 2019, a fresh new year that’s just waiting for us to crush our goals and achieve our dreams. Also, I’m getting married this year, so that’s pretty exciting. Before we start chatting about everything #newyear, let’s recap my 2018 goals shall we: Pay off my final credit card – no more consumer debt for me! (Goal is to have it paid off by my birthday.) DONE!!!!! Build up a semi-full emergency fund of $5000 (Goal completion date is December) Not even kind of done 🙁 Learn German to nearly triple my salary at work No – but big things happening here 😀 Okay, soRead More →

holiday budget

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In: Personal Finance 101

***This is a Guest Post. <3 from the Dames*** The holidays are filled with fun, food, friends, and family–as well as extra expenses. Even if you love this time of year, spending more money than your used to can be stressful. Having a side hustle or second job can be a great way to replenish your bank account while also avoiding the headache that comes when the bills do. Here are five suggestions to get you started: Get A Part-time Job Just like yourself, retail stores, restaurants, and bars are all busier at this time of year. Higher foot traffic, family members in town, andRead More →

yolo

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In: Debt Repayment

***This is a Guest Post. <3 from the Dames*** The YOLO (You Only Live Once) mindset greatly affects almost every millennial’s spending habits. One look at all social media platforms and you will see how much premium this generation has put into living YOLO that sadly, many are willing to go into debt just to pay for those “once in a lifetime” experiences. This is why YOLO is being tagged as one of the top reasons why thousands of millennials are now caught under the crushing weight of debt. YOLO may have earned a bad reputation as the perennial excuse for impulsive behavior towards money,Read More →

save money wedding planning

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In: Budget Beauty & Living

***This is a guest post. <3 from the Dames*** If someone handed you 30 grand right now, what would you do with it? Pay off some debt? Spend a little and save the rest? Surely you wouldn’t blow it all on one thing…unless you are planning for a wedding. According to The Knot, the national average cost of a wedding in 2017 was $33,391. Think of all the things you could do with that much money! If you’re planning a wedding, don’t let this number scare you. You can have the magical day you’ve always dreamed of without going broke. Here are five ways to planRead More →

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In: Budget Beauty & Living

We’ve talked about spending fasts on the blog before, but I want to talk today about another method of spending less – having less! Specifically clothes. Today’s post is all about my experiment with using a capsule wardrobe. I have done a few purges since reading Marie Kondo’s the Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up (this is a great book by the way – see my review HERE), but I still found myself staring at my closet in the morning confused about what to wear. Then, I would pick something only to not feel great in it. And then I would end up buying things that IRead More →

college

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In: Debt Repayment, Personal Finance 101

***This is a Guest Post. <3 from the Dames*** It’s that time of year again…FAFSA time. If you’re still in undergrad or getting ready to pick a college, then this article’s for you. We already told you how to stay on track during college, but what about paying for it? Go forth and make college affordable again! As you probably already know, going to college is one of the biggest changes people go through in life. For many of us, that was the first time we left home and had to find our feet in a completely different setting. On the one hand, there’s the prideRead More →

finlit

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In: Personal Finance 101

***Disclosure: Dames in Debt received a free copy of this book. This post contains affiliate links. <3 from the Dames*** Hi friends, it’s time for another installment of #finlit! You know, that thing I do where I meet my annual GoodReads reading goal via consuming every personal finance book know to man (& several Nancy Drew Mystery Stories). Anyways, today’s book happens to be You Need a Budget by Jesse Mecham. Before we get started, I want to just reiterate one more time that each of us Dames got a free copy of this book to review it. That’s it. No strings attached to the review,Read More →