#finlit

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In: Personal Finance 101

***This post contains affiliate links. <3 from the Dames*** As you guys know, I’ve been reading money books (#finlit) throughout my personal finance journey. I’ve found that reading personal finance books keeps my motivation up, plus there’s always more to learn. Recently, I finished Suze Orman’s The Money Book for the Young Fabulous and Broke – her book devoted to helping millenials/me. I haven’t read any of Ms. Orman’s other books, but this was definitely a good personal finance primer. It covers everything from how to get a job that will pay your bills to buying your first house. It also has whole sections devotedRead More →

groceries

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In: Saving Money

Major grocery confession: I don’t do coupons. I don’t look for them, I don’t cut them out, and I certainly don’t remember to take them to the store. I also don’t buy in bulk but that’s mainly for storage reasons. I use coupons if and only if they are attached to the item I’m purchasing. Sad, I know – especially given my food budget woes. To make up for my lack of couponing & help stick to my 2017 financial goals, I’ve decided to start using two grocery apps, Ibotta and Checkout 51. Ibotta The first of the rebate apps, which covers all kinds of products,Read More →

slow cooking

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In: Money Challenges, Saving Money

As I mentioned in my 2017 financial goals post, I am planning to stay within budget for the whole year, which includes my notorious food budget. To help myself out on this fairly ambitious goal of mine, I’m going back to an old, money-saving favorite of mine: the slow cooker. As a mini-goal, I plan to make at least one slow cooking meal per week…for the whole year. -that’ll be 52 recipes for those of you playing at home. Before we get to the recipes, I wanted to share my machine of choice. In case anyone is in the market for a nice, decent, money-saving simpleton, thisRead More →

start your own blog

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In: Personal Finance 101

(Disclosure: We are a BlueHost affiliate and get paid if someone clicks our links below & starts a website with BlueHost. <3 from the Dames) When my sister and I started blogging for Dames in Debt, we had no idea where it would take us. As it turns out, it took us straight to being uber-focused on our financial goals, and hey – that is definitely not a bad thing! We also gained a new hobby out of it, and it’s been especially fun learning about the more technical website aspect of Dames in Debt. One of the biggest perks to starting Dames in Debt is allRead More →

payoff series

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In: Debt Repayment

Welcome to Part Four of a 6-part series I’m doing on personal loans, credit card debt, and refinancing – the Payoff Series. If you’re new here, go back and check out Part One, Part Two, and Part Three! 23% of Americans — and 36% of Millennials — experience a debilitating degree of stress surrounding their finances. According to Payoff, this financial stress affects people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors – and don’t I know it. Stress over how to pay my credit card bill is actually what drew me to Payoff in the first place. Refinancing my loan helped me a ton, but there are additional ways toRead More →

money happy

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In: Debt Repayment, Personal Finance 101, Saving Money

***This is a Guest Post. <3 from the Dames*** Four steps to starting the new year with a positive outlook on your finances If you’re starting the new year in debt or with a little less than you like after Christmas, then you may feel that your prospects for financial happiness are gloomy. However, you can be totally money happy in 2017 by trying out a few of the suggestions below. Being money happy doesn’t mean being mega rich, but more about being happy with your situation and using the money that you do have to live a comfortable, happy life. So read on toRead More →

2017 goals

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In: Debt Repayment, Money Challenges, Saving Money

So it’s 2017, and I’ve got resolutions just like everyone else. Except I’ve got a plan in place to actually turn my resolutions into reality by year’s end. But let’s start with a recap from last year. My 2016 financial goals were the following: Pay down my credit card (goal is to have it paid off by July 2017) Build an emergency fund (goal is to have $2500 saved up by the end of the year) Save for retirement (no real goal here for the moment…just contribute something each month to my Roth IRA) I did pretty well on them. I saved for retirement each monthRead More →

100 days challenge

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In: Money Challenges

Remember those resolutions you formed around January 1st? How’re you doing on them? I, for one, have failed hard at multiple of mine, and that’s what today’s post is all about. Today (September 22nd) marks 100 days until 2017! Crazy, right? This means you’ve still got 100 days to get yourself back on track with saving money, not spending money, eating better, and working out…or for me, all of the above. Here’s how it works: Consistency transforms behaviors into habits. Adopting good daily habits can only happen if you consistently engage in those habits every day. For the next 100 days, focus on engaging in oneRead More →

payoff series

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In: Debt Repayment

Welcome to Part Three of a 6-part series I’m doing on personal loans, credit card debt, and refinancing – the Payoff Series. If you’re new here, go back and check out Part One and Part Two!   Debt consolidation allows borrowers to roll multiple old debts into a single new one. Ideally, that new debt has a lower interest rate that makes payments more manageable or lets borrowers pay off the total more quickly. Many people try debt consolidation, but not all emerge better off. Some borrowers wind up in worse shape, either because they run up their credit cards again or because their debt remainsRead More →