Friends Don’t Make Friends Overspend: Wedding Edition
February 10, 2010 by Shawanda Greene
Filed under advice, debt, family
I don’t wanna sound blasphemous, but I hate weddings. They’re such an elaborate waste of money, I just can’t stand them. According to CNNMoney.com, the average wedding cost $21,814 in 2008 down from $27,490 in 2007. You got $22,000 burning a hole in your bank account, then buy me a high quality diamond. Something I [...]
Budgets Aren’t Suppose to Work. You Are.
January 1, 2010 by Shawanda Greene
Filed under budgeting, financial planning, money management, savings
Ramit Sethi, a personal finance blogger I greatly admire and respect, recently bashed budgets again in a post entitled 7 Lies We Tell Ourselves About Money. In lie number 3, “I’m going to start keeping a budget,” Ramit correctly identifies why people don’t track their spending: It’s hard, It makes you uncomfortable, and It’s easier to [...]
A Pain in My Budget: December 2009
November 30, 2009 by Shawanda Greene
Filed under budgeting
Preparing December’s budget hurt a little bit. But not for reasons that pain most people this time of year. I only exceeded my Black Friday/Cyber Monday budget by about $10. From my findings, it should be pretty clear I made no arrangements to holiday shop for anyone other than Shawanda Greene (that’s me). Every year [...]
Back to the Basics of Budgeting: November 2009
November 2, 2009 by Shawanda Greene
Filed under budgeting
Unlike a distant retirement, world travel is actually something to get excited about. If I want to begin the realization of this dream in the near future, I’d better get a bit more serious. Lately, I’ve viewed my budget more as a way to track past expenses than as a tool to plan future spending. [...]
Eats for the Week: 11/1/2009
November 1, 2009 by Shawanda Greene
Filed under budgeting, diy, food, menu planning, money tip, saving
For a while, I thought menu planning was something only women with children did. Why would a young, sexy, and single urbanite like myself even consider such a thing? (I’m joking; twenty-eight isn’t that young.) As it turns out, menu planning is a great way to save money. The weight loss that usually results is [...]
6 Simple Ways to Outsmart the Credit Card Companies
May 23, 2009 by Shawanda Greene
Filed under Credit Risk, credit cards
During my never ending quest for knowledge, I stumbled upon an audio book at my local library by Kevin Trudeau titled Debt Cures “They” Don’t Want You to Know About. The “they” Mr. Trudeau refers to is the consumer lending industry. I’m all for Americans gaining their financial independence and getting out of all kinds [...]
