Family Balance Sheet

FEBRUARY 22, 2011

What got us through.our emergency fund. Had it not been for the money in our emergency savings, we would most likely have used credit cards to survive. We reduced our spending where we could, but the money to pay any shortfall each month came from our emergency fund. What is considered an emergency?

Emergency Fund 127

Emergency Fund 2007 Personal Finance Debt 127

Family Balance Sheet

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

Welcome to Debt Free Stories. She and her husband paid off $147,000 in debt–including their home. After paying off the debt, she was able to quit her job to pursue her passion. She blogs at The Debt Myth. Quitting my job is one of the things being debt free has enabled us to do. How much debt did you pay off?

Debt 236

Debt Debt Free Pay Off Debt Financial Goals 236

Family Balance Sheet

MARCH 19, 2014

Prior to FPU, we thought we were doing well financially and never considered that we had too much debt. We didn’t have credit card debt, we paid off our car notes early, and the interest rate on the student loan was at a low 2.75%, so we thought we were doing okay. But Dave Ramsey’s view of debt is very different.

Debt 100

Debt Money Emergency Fund Goals 100

Family Balance Sheet

APRIL 11, 2020

Pre-coronavirus, I considered having 3 months of expenses saved in cash to be sufficient. Every night my first prayer is that this virus starts to mitigate, the curve flattens to a manageable level for our health care system, and lives are saved. I have written often about the importance of an emergency fund.

Budget 246

Budget Budgeting Family Debt 246

Penny Pinchin' Mom

DECEMBER 17, 2023

Create an Emergency Fund Let’s talk personal finances— $8,883 —that’s how much American households have in terms of emergency funds on average. The ideal scenario is that your emergency fund should look to cover at least six months of all your monthly household expenses should you suddenly lose your income.

Finance Tips 52

Finance Tips Finance Emergency Fund Life Insurance 52

Family Balance Sheet

JANUARY 21, 2015

Today’s debt free story is from Aja. How much debt did you pay off? What kind of debt was it? We paid off about $110K worth of debt. We paid down mostly student loans, vehicles and business credit card debt ( we already own a home outright ). What inspired you to get debt free? Where are you from?

Debt 100

Debt Debt Free Las Vegas Finance 100

Family Balance Sheet

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

I watched her and her husband’s debt free scream on The Dave Ramsey Show. You can find Angela at her You Tube channel, Our Life…on a Budget , where she vlogs about getting out of debt and staying there! Angela & Jeff’s Debt Free Story. How much debt did you pay off? What kind of debt was it?

Debt 100

Debt Debt Free Budgeting Budget 100

Family Balance Sheet

AUGUST 11, 2016

And in adulthood, they are stashing their incomes and living hyper-frugally to save for early retirement, instead of waiting to 65 to fulfill their dreams. This leaves not much left to save for retirement. ” Recently Go Banking Rates conducted two studies on savings rates with startling results. It’s all too much.

Emergency Fund 100

Emergency Fund Money Finance Debt 100

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

SEPTEMBER 16, 2013

Too much of any of these following behaviours will kill anybody’s finances, and, not only that but may lead to poor behaviours in other areas as well. This can breed short sightedness as you struggle to deal with your debt. Laziness limits our earning potential, our saving potential and our ability to meet important goals.

Personal Finance 222

Personal Finance Finance Consumerism Debt 222

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

JANUARY 1, 2013

Lack of An Emergency Fund . One of the most common disastrous finance mistakes is not having any sort of financial back-up for emergencies. Experts recommend an emergency fund of at least six month’s salary as essential, especially if you are struggling to make ends meet. Making weekly payments will save interest.

Emergency Fund 272

Emergency Fund Credit Cards Personal Finance Finance 272

Penny Pinchin' Mom

JANUARY 16, 2024

However, if you have been following me, you know that I am quite serious about finding ways to not only get out of debt but also how to create a budget (and stick to it) as well as how to save money without necessarily depriving your family of the quality of life they deserve. I send in $50 every month to each of their accounts.

Personal Finance 52

Personal Finance Finance Tips Finance Mom 52

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

JANUARY 16, 2014

Traditional investment advice says that you shouldn’t invest in the market until you are financially stable, have an emergency fund and have taken care of other basics, such as insurance of all kinds, debt removal and etc. If you don’t have any stock market investments, how can you get in on the action?

Emergency Fund 184

Emergency Fund Debt Money Father 184

Family Balance Sheet

JANUARY 26, 2016

As God is my witness, it WILL be the year that we pay off the last of our non-mortgage debt. That was the month I didn’t know if we had enough funds to cover our expenses. At the time, we had 4 business loans and 1 student loan that were weighing on us, so we created our Debt Freedom Plan. Apply any Found Money to Debt.

Financial Goals 100

Financial Goals Goals 2016 Debt 100

Family Balance Sheet

FEBRUARY 2, 2017

They pay off mountains of debt and scream about debt freedom, or maybe they save gobs of money in a record amount of time, or they have considerable success with their new small business. Meet The Achievers: Deacon and his wife paid off $52,000 in debt in 18 months. Her 2017 goal is to save $20,000 in cash.

Financial Goals 100

Financial Goals Goals Debt Budgeting 100

Family Balance Sheet

JANUARY 20, 2017

I love her passion for helping others along their debt free journey. Krystal & Josh’s Debt Free Story. How much debt did you pay off? What kind of debt was it? It took us four years, but we paid off over $80,000 of debt! We are debt. debts one by one. What inspired you to become debt free?

Debt 100

Debt Debt Free Friends And Family Sale Budgeting 100

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

JULY 10, 2014

Would you feel a weight lifted if you could pay off your high-rate consumer debt? I acknowledge that these things make my life worth living as well. Money is automatically deposited into the retirement and emergency fund accounts, as well as to my son’s 529. Am I saving up for a trip later?

Budget 218

Budget Budgeting Work Making 218

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

MAY 25, 2014

Me from 15 years ago would get an earful about what not to do, and advice on budgeting and saving and staying out of debt. While my parents talked about saving money and only spending what you have, the lessons were more abstract than practical. Why Aren’t You Doing THIS? Me from 10 to 6 years ago was a different animal.

Money 209

Money Giving Las Vegas Credit Card Rewards 209

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

MAY 26, 2016

It has served me well over the years, eventually leading to my current position of financial freedom. Helping the parents teach my grandchildren to save is an ongoing project of mine. Trepidation about having the grand-kids open a savings account. Both are now old enough to open a bank savings account. Six measly cents.

Money 124

Money Saving Money Lowes Grandchildren 124

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

JULY 4, 2011

Philip from Deliver Away Debt shares his story: How I Delivered Away My Debt. Control Your Cash from Control Your Cash boldly says Your Smart Car Isn’t Saving the World. mbhunter from Mighty Bargain Hunter asks Are you contributing to this debt clock? How about you? What do you think? He’s right.

Personal Finance 240

Personal Finance Finance Family Debt 240

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

SEPTEMBER 4, 2011

Everyone has the opportunity and capacity to save. It could be due to the lack of discipline in handling money or savings just getting depleted easily. If you really want to, one can come up with dozens of reasons why it is so hard to save. Imagine what your resources will be for tomorrow if you don’t start saving now.

Family 196

Family Financial Goals Debt Goals 196

Family Balance Sheet

JANUARY 3, 2012

Increase our Monthly Debt Payment. We have set a goal date of July 2015 to pay off all of our debt. Increase Family Emergency Fund to Six Months Salary. Currently, we have about 3 months salary saved, but we are self-employed and should have a six month security net. Start a Car Replacement Savings Account.

Financial Goals 127

Financial Goals Goals 2012 Emergency Fund 127

Family Balance Sheet

JUNE 22, 2020

It was so big that I cried for two days straight– we paid off six figures in non-mortgage debts. How we got to six figures of non-mortgage debt: In the summer of 2012, we found an opportunity to purchase an office building for our small business. After the first year, the new business debt weighed on me.

Debt 130

Debt Health Insurance Insurance Budgeting 130

Family Balance Sheet

JULY 20, 2011

I don't want to drain the emergency fund, which could easily happen when the AC needs replaced. We certainly don't want to go into debt either. A warranty saved us a lot of money when our fairly new hot water heater unexpectedly broke last fall. 4 - Start a replacement fund. My main concern is that AC unit.

Appliances 138

Appliances Washer and Dryer Emergency Fund Warranties 138

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 21, 2012

Well, this time I have done it again and put together some good laughs for you to enjoy on your Monday morning. Editors Picks: Big Cajun Man from THE Canadian Personal Finance Site shares 10 Phrases I have Used to Save Money. I know I have used the “I want to cancel my service” a few times and I have ended up saving a ton.

Personal Finance 219

Personal Finance Finance Debt Money 219

Saving With Shellie

JULY 12, 2011

I get asked frequently why I write about saving money. I believe that saving money is important. It’s an idea that stretches far beyond a monthly budget or vacation fund. Saving money and living within or below your means is lifestyle change that impacts your whole life. Use it to pay down debt?

Emergency Fund 67

Emergency Fund Goals Saving Saving Money 67

Family Balance Sheet

JANUARY 1, 2015

Most of them are related to our small business, my husband’s chiropractic office, but last January I got a bee in my bonnet about debt…thank you, Dave Ramsey. I tricked …nudged my husband into following along and together we wrote out our Debt Freedom Plan. Debt Free Stories. How We Saved. How We Live.

2015 100

2015 Money Debt Home and Garden 100

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

FEBRUARY 4, 2014

My husband and I were graduate students with loans and credit card debt, and we were certain that a higher income would solve all of our problems. We knew we wanted to save for retirement, and that we wanted to keep giving to charity. So we put those in the list of priorities as well. However, this isn’t always the case.

San Francisco 248

San Francisco Emergency Fund Money Utah 248

Savings Corner

APRIL 4, 2024

It’s also why low-risk plays make for better short-term investments or a stash for your emergency fund. High-yield savings accounts While not technically an investment, savings accounts offer a modest return on your money. Risk: If you remove funds from a CD early, you’ll typically lose some of the interest you earned.

April 52

April Lowes CD Bank 52

Finally Frugal

JANUARY 17, 2011

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned my 15 (almost 16) year old 'beater' car, which I'm trying to keep running until I'm debt-free. Well, now I have no choice! or whether to use the money from my extra jobs, thereby NOT sending that money to my debt. My emergency fund earns 1.10% interest. Bad, bad, bad.

Emergency Fund 45

Emergency Fund Debt Cars Car 45

Family Balance Sheet

FEBRUARY 10, 2017

As I reflect back to January 2016, I started that year pretty determined to pay off the balance of our non-mortgage debts. Unfortunately, we did not hit that goal and in part, have made some major changes to our Debt Freedom Plan. Our Debt Freedom Plan Started in 2013: The year 2012 was quite exciting for me and my husband.

Debt 100

Debt 2017 Student 2016 100

Saving With Shellie

JULY 22, 2011

Last week I told you about the Savings.com Savings Pledge where I teamed up with Savings.com and the other Deal Pros to help America save $1 Billion. In case you missed the scoop on the $1 Billion Savings Pledge , you can read all about it and get pledging yourself. I pledged to save $100 per week or more. Happy Saving!

Goals 49

Goals Emergency Fund Financial Goals Debt 49

Family Balance Sheet

JANUARY 17, 2018

2 – Save $10k in a savings account, specifically earmarked for medical expenses. We blew through our health savings account, and now need to save another $10k so we’re not caught off guard if another emergency were to happen. Save for a camper upgrade. If not, we’ll start saving in 2019.

Financial Goals 113

Financial Goals Goals 2018 Debt 113

Family Balance Sheet

FEBRUARY 3, 2016

Today’s Debt Free Story is from Charissa. She helps readers gain control of their finances and live well on a budget at her blog Cook with a Shoe . How much debt did you pay off? What kind of debt was it? We started paying it off when we got married and became debt free just shy of our second anniversary.

Debt 100

Debt Debt Free College Finds 100

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

AUGUST 19, 2012

Start an Emergency Fund One of the biggest things you can do to help avoid disasters is to create an emergency fund. It’s not for paying bills, going on holidays or paying college fees; no matter how urgent these might be, they are not emergencies. Let’s look at some of these strategies now.

Emergency Fund 222

Emergency Fund Insurance Debt Credit Cards 222

The Frugal Girl

JANUARY 29, 2024

How did you get interested in saving money? What’s the “why” behind your money-saving efforts? Staying out of debt was/is very important to me & miraculously I have succeeded this far, praise God. This means funds are tight. What single action or decision has saved you the most money over your life?

Arkansas 182

Arkansas Frugal College Kids and Family 182

Family Balance Sheet

MAY 27, 2015

Today’s Debt Free Story is from Olivia. We are both planners and despise wasting money on debt/interest, which is what led us to pay off our mortgage as soon as we could! How much debt did you pay off? What kind of debt was it? We paid off a total of $118,000 debt. What inspired you to get debt free?

Debt 100

Debt Debt Free Pay Off Debt Finds 100

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

JANUARY 10, 2012

I want to use up all my holidays from work, as well as going on some random weekend road trips. If I had a nickel for every person who went on an exotic holiday and financed it, I’d have enough to fund the sequel to Dude Where’s My Car. I don’t have any debt, (except student loans/mortgages) so I can afford to go.

Travel 226

Travel Debt Finance Emergency Fund 226