On today’s episode of The Personal Finance Hour, I’ll join Jim from Bargaineering to discuss personal budgets. What works and what doesn’t? And why are so many people scared of them? (Personal finance writers especially seem afraid to talk about budgets.)
This show will air live at 3pm Pacific (6pm Eastern). It’s much more entertaining for everyone when you call in to participate. If you have some thoughts on budgets — are they good or are they evil? — then join us on the show. (When the show is over, I’ll update this page to give a brief run-down of what we talked about.)
The Personal Finance Hour
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A couple of months ago, I posted a list of 16 alternatives to Microsoft Money. GRS readers left nearly 200 responses evaluating the various personal finance programs available on the web and for the desktop.
One feature that many users crave is the ability to project their future cash flow. While it’s important to track where your money’s gone, some folks find it valuable to predict where money will go in the weeks or months ahead.
Why would you want to track your cash flow? The power of positive cash flow cannot be overstated. Back when I was living paycheck-to-paycheck, I was spending as much as I earned. Or, more often, more than I earned. It was only when I was able to create — and maintain — positive cash flow that I could repay my debt and begin to save. Positive cash flow is how we build wealth.

Last week, I received a press release from an [...]

It’s a big day at Get Rich Slowly HQ. Later this morning, I’ll speak with my book editor for the first time. This project is about to devour large chunks of my life. Fortunately, the new Staff Writers will pick up the slack. (Actually, to be fair, I think they’ll more than pull their own weight.) Here, then, is the first contribution from Adam Baker, Get Rich Slowly’s first-ever Staff Writer!
Receiving a “mini-windfall” of unexpected income is an awesome feeling! However, I have a confession to make. Courtney and I are terrible at handling how we spend these pleasant surprises. More times than not, we find it insanely easy to justify squandering this unexpected money on impulse purchases, even when the rest of our budget is working well.
For the most part, we’ve slain the “justification” monster in our budgeting life. We’ve desperately attempted to eliminate the “I deserve this…” mentality. However, when it comes to “mini-windfalls”, somehow we seem [...]

This is a guest post from Baker, who writes about personal finance at Man vs. Debt. Baker is a potential Staff Writer for Get Rich Slowly. His first post described the many advantages of couchsurfing. Along with his wife and 15-month-old daughter, Baker has recently moved overseas to New Zealand, where his young family is passionately continuing their own personal “war” on debt.
“Do I have enough money for this?”
It’s a very simple question, but one that has had tremendous implications in my financial turn-around. There was a time, not too long ago, when that combination of words didn’t exist in my life.
Lately, I’ve stepped the phrase up a notch with some mental emphasis, “Do I really have enough money for this?” With the new emphasis included, my impulse purchases don’t stand a chance. Well, at least most of them don’t…
You see, our brains are incredible machines. They are bombarded by over a billion tiny bits [...]

I’ve been a full-time professional blogger for more than a year now. It’s been a fantastic experience, a sort of dream come true. But blogging for dollars is not without its drawbacks. As I’ve shared before, I feel socially isolated. I spend most of my time in this office, writing about money.
Also, the income can be irregular. For some bloggers, it’s very irregular. One month you might have record earnings — and the next you might experience your own personal financial crisis. Bloggers aren’t the only folks who struggle with the fluctuating incomes, of course. Many self-employed people face the same issue, as do those whose pay is tied to commission.
Creating a budget when your income fluctuates can be a frustrating experience. I’m sure that each of us finds our own ways to cope. Today, I want to share the method that I’ve developed.
Projecting income
Most articles I’ve read on this subject suggest basing your [...]

The July/August issue of Countryside (one of my favorite magazines) contains an article from Tracy Rimmer about how she saves money on food. In the article, Rimmer mentions her website, New Century Homestead, where she describes her family’s quest for self-reliance in southwestern Manitoba. Her philosophy:
Homesteading is an attitude, an approach, not necessarily a lifestyle. We believe that one can start small, and still make a difference. Indeed, that starting small must be the way for most people to begin. Every effort that is made toward personal self-sufficiency, toward reducing our levels of consumption, toward making better choices for ourselves, our families, and our environment, must be a good thing. If we can accomplish these things economically, all the better.
At her site, Rimmer offers a free 22-page e-book entitled More Month Than Money: Tightening Your Food Budget While Feeding Your Family Well [356k PDF]. This document describes here approach to feeding her family healthy food [...]