goals

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 →

treat yo self

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 →

happiness

Hi friends, Just wanted to let y’all know that Dames in Debt was recently featured on The Pursuit of Happiness! We were part of their 2017 Happiness Day Interview Series! You can read our post here, just look for the Q&A headline. <3 from the Dames For more information on the 2017 Happiness Day Interview Series: My name is Wes, creator of thePursuitofHappiness.me.  I won’t bore you with the full details of the inspiration for the site.  To share a little bit though; growing up in America, I had always been taught about this nation’s founding documents and I heard all the time about the Declaration of Independence andRead More →

money happy

***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

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 →

Canadian Budget Binder

Hi friends, Just wanted to let y’all know that Dames in Debt was recently featured on Canadian Budget Binder! We were part of the 2016 Making A Difference series! You can read our post here, just look for the Making a Difference headline. Thanks so much for helping us take our personal finance journey way further than we ever thought possible! And check out Canadian Budget Binder while you’re at it! <3 from the DamesRead More →

I spent money. I know, Jensen, I know. It wasn’t much but it was something I could have waited to buy and was not set forth in the law of my budget. But self-compassion and all that. I made a mistake, it happens. I had a moment of weakness and now I know I need to change my strategy. (And no, beating yourself up about things is not a good strategy.) New strategy: wait to buy. I got out of the habit of saving for purchases, and now it’s time to get back to it. If I see something I want (but don’t need) I willRead More →

I like to think that I’ve always been good at handling my money. I’ve been tracking my spending and using a budget since undergrad. I opened a Roth IRA while still in law school, and I’ve been trying to save whatever possible for an emergency fund. Despite doing all these things though, I never really made progress on any of my financial goals: I was spending more than I earned, my credit card debt increased, and I had approx. $25.44 in my emergency fund. This year, I set my goals for my financial life like I usually do, but then, I decided to do somethingRead More →

Hello there friends! Is it just me or does it seem like all the s#!t just hits the fan at once? Since 2016 started it seems like everyone around me has gone through at least one major life transition and/or struggle. Life is hard sometimes for sure.   But, today’s post isn’t about complaining about how hard things are. Today’s post is a reminder that you can and will get through whatever struggle you are presented with.  Read More →