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 →

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 →

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 →

goals

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In: Debt Repayment, Money Challenges, Saving Money

Welcome to 2018 – the year everyone’s hoping won’t be so much of a dumpster fire like last year. Politics aside, now that I’ve paid off the big credit card, I get to have a little more fun with my goals this year. To recap, my 2017 financial goals were: Pay off the credit card! DONE DONE DONE Build an emergency fund again NOT EVEN KIND OF Go 12-for-12 on sticking to my budget I GOT 50% ON THIS ONE So funny story, it’s hard to rebuild an emergency fund when you keep having emergencies. Losing my job. rather unexpectedly, moving, and my driver’s side window suddenly notRead More →

payoff series

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In: Debt Repayment

Welcome to Part Six of a 6-part series (aka, the last post) 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, Part Three, Part Four, and Part Five! Well, I did it. I paid down $12,607.16 between May 16, 2016 and November 30, 2017. And you know what? It feels great. I didn’t quite get it paid off by my birthday (which is in July), but I still got it done 6 months earlier than planned. And while most financial advisors wouldn’t recommend personal loans for credit card debt, using Payoff’sRead More →

staying on track

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In: Budget Beauty & Living

***This is a Guest Post. <3 from the Dames*** Now that school is back in session, it’s time to put together a plan to make those college years the most successful they can be. Today’s guest post is just for our new and returning undergraduates as they work their way through a minefield of debt, expectations, studying, and maybe partying. Starting and staying on track is the key to success. Enjoy! There are several major changes in our lives and becoming a college student is definitely one of the biggest. We leave our parents’ houses, start managing our own time and money, all while adjusting to aRead More →

financial check-up

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In: Personal Finance 101

***This is a Guest Post. <3 from the Dames*** People often start the new year begins with a ton of financial resolutions…but old habits are tough to break, especially when it comes to finances. So, it’s a wise idea to review your finances periodically and check-up on whether you are on track to meet those goals or not. While the middle of the year might be over (so long summer weather!), this is actually the ideal time to check if you’re on the right financial track. Think of it as the adult version of going back to school. If you’re in trouble, there’s still timeRead More →

treat yo self

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In: Budget Beauty & Living

Hi friends, Ever feel like you’re just slowly walking towards your goals? It can be tough watching all of your money pay down debt day after day – especially if you have all your payments automated like us…and it’s going to take you 1.5 years to reach your goal. In order to keep ourselves motivated we’ve been investing in frugal rewards to keep us excited as we reach each milestone. It’s the same idea nutritionists often suggest for maintaining a healthy diet: everything in moderation. Anyways, here are some cheap(er) ideas to keep the gazelle-like intensity: Get that Starbucks grande iced coconut milk mocha macchiatoRead More →

financial emergency

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In: Debt Repayment

Welcome to Part Five 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, Part Three, and Part Four! If you follow our Twitter, then you know I recently spent several hours getting some unexpected, but necessary, car repairs (boo) AND then I moved in with my boyfriend this month (yay). While it’s obviously important to maintain my car and moving in together will eventually be cheaper for me, these were two big purchases that I hadn’t planned for at the moment. This is why youRead More →