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 →

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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 →

We Tried It

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In: Budget Beauty & Living

Us Dames work hard for our money, as I’m sure you do too. So when we come across an opportunity to bring in a little extra cash, we figure why not give it a try? Today’s money making opportunity? Sweepstakes. I first thought about giving sweepstakes a try when I saw one of those TV specials on TLC called Sweepers or some such. It was pretty much a neighbor of the extreme couponers show. In it they followed three people who made their livings by winning sweepstakes. They each had their own strategies but basically spent about 6-9ish hours a day sweeping. Then they wouldRead More →

asking

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In: Personal Finance 101

We talk a lot on Dames in Debt about ways to save money or smart spending, but let’s not also forget another very important piece of the no-debt puzzle: increasing your income. You can scrimp and save all you want, but at some point, you just can’t save any more. It’s unfortunate in this day and age that many of us technically considered “middle class” full-time employees can’t earn enough to live off of our 40 hour a week earnings. The answer? You need to make more money. Today’s post is about the quickest, easiest way to increase your earnings: asking your boss for aRead More →

We Tried It

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In: Budget Beauty & Living

Stress can be a great motivator, but it can also be terrible for your health. I find there’s a very fine line for me between productive stress to get my finances under control, and hurtful stress that depresses my mood and health. Your health is very important, and during this stressful time in your life, we need to make sure we don’t neglect it. So this week’s post is a 7 day yoga mini-challenge. Boo-ya! #getexcitedRead More →

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In: Money Challenges

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 →

We Tried It

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In: Budget Beauty & Living, Saving Money

***This post contains an affiliate link. <3 from the Dames*** Laundry, o laundry, I hate you. Clothes! Beautiful clothes! I love you. But you get dirty. Why hasn’t someone invented clothes that don’t have to be washed yet? How is this not a thing? Unluckily, we have no washer/dryer in the apartment 🙁 I’m ‘lucky’ enough to have a laundry room in the building, one of which always seems to be broken. There are three machines, for over 45 apartments…Somehow the math just doesn’t seem to add up. So, just to be clear, let me break that down for you: mountains of laundry > 3 machinesRead More →

Take Stock

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In: Budget Beauty & Living, Personal Finance 101

 ***This post contains an affiliate link. <3 from the Dames*** In order to make a plan to get out of debt, we need to know where to start. So we’ve already discussed taking a good hard look at my finances and determining what to focus on, now it’s time to get organized. This week I’m going to take stock of my assets.    No, no, it’s not like that – promise! I just finished reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, and that really served as the source of inspiration for this purge. I need a space that helps me maintain focus,Read More →

budget travel

How to Travel Comfortably on a Budget

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In: Budget Beauty & Living

  Hello fellow humans! I’m writing this today from 35,000 feet up as I speed over your heads around 500 miles per hour. Fun! Or is it? In general I’m of the camp that flying sucks. It’s freaking expensive, and everyone is crammed into a confined space for 5+ hours with 2 toilets and 18 crying babies on board. Eww, right? But there are a few things you can do to make air travel a little more budget friendly and definitely up your comfort level. Tickets and hotels are usually the most expensive part of the trip. To save some cash book tickets more thanRead More →

We Tried It

We Tried It: Coconut Oil

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In: Budget Beauty & Living

***This post contains an affiliate link. <3 from the Dames*** We Dames have been a little heavy lately, so today’s post topic is a little lighter and fun and introduces a new series we will be working on: budget beauty and house tips! Today we tackle the magic that is coconut oil. Let’s get started! From my Taking Stock series, Part One and Part Two, you know that I went through all of my possessions Marie Kondo style. When I hit the bathroom I was surprised at how many items I had in there. Now I’m not that into makeup or hair appliances or nailRead More →