article thumbnail

Why You Should Be Skeptical of Financial “Rules of Thumb”

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

If you are buying a home, start with the 30% rule, and then evaluate where that puts you in terms of finances. If you bring home $4,500 each month, are you truly comfortable with putting $1,350 of it toward a mortgage payment? And what happens when you add in property taxes, utility, home insurance, and maintenance?

article thumbnail

How We Paid off Six Figures of Debt

Family Balance Sheet

We had been renting for over 10 years and we were ready to find a property to move our business to and eventually build our net worth. Our business was doing very well, and we were excited about the opportunity to own a property outside of our home. After the first year, the new business debt weighed on me.

Debt 130
article thumbnail

How to Start a Budget (and be successful at it!)

Family Balance Sheet

I came up with strategies to help us pay for yearly bills, large expenses, and we were able to pay off debts. I discovered the term, Zero-Based Budget, when my husband and I took Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University home course many years ago. During that time, I started to budget for everything.

Budgeting 133