This is a guest post from Leo Babauta, the author of the great site Zen Habits. If you have not already done so, please visit his insightful blog.
Ever since I got out of debt, I haven’t written much about personal finances, simply because it’s not one of the main focuses in my life. Still, I’ve written a lot about finances in the past — frugality, debt reduction, budgeting, and more — and I think there are a lot of useful articles that newer readers might have missed.
I’ve learned a lot about personal finances in recent years, and I hope my lessons will prove valuable to you, or at least stir up some thoughts that help you in your journey.
I’m not a financial expert, of course, and all of this is simply from my personal experience, with my odd personal take on finances — don’t get into debt, be frugal, eschew credit cards. Please, please don’t start the old credit card arguments again — we’ve gone over them many times on this blog.
So here it is — a list of the best money articles on Zen Habits, as a resource for anyone trying to live more frugally, get out of debt, save money, or simply create a better financial system in their lives. Bookmark it for future reference if you like. Enjoy!
My Favorites
- 20 Money Hacks: Tips and Tricks to Improve Your Finances
- Financial Zen: How to Get Financial Peace of Mind
- How to Make Your Finances Automagical
- 10 Habits to Develop for Financial Stability and Success
Frugality
- The Cheapskate Guide: 50 Tips for Frugal Living
- 50 Tips for Grocery Shopping
- Top 25 Life-Improving Christmas Gifts for Under $10
- 30 Frugal Gift Ideas to Show You Appreciate Someone
- The Cheapskate’s Bible: The Complete Tightwad Gazette
- Monitor Your Impulse Spending Urges
- Cheap but great dates
- Simple Way to Save $3,000 a Year: Brown Bag It
- 50 Ways to Be Romantic on the Cheap
- Enjoy Life Now, AND Save for Later; or, Why Delayed Gratification is a False Dichotomy
- 106 Money-Saving Tips for a Frugal Lifestyle
Debt Reduction
- The 10 Key Actions That Finally Got Me Out of Debt; or, Why Living Frugally is Only Part of the Solution
- 73 Great Debt Elimination Tips
- The 12-Step Get-Out-of-Debt Program
- Fiscal Fitness: Eliminate Debt with 10 Successful Diet Principles
- 10 Ideas for Living a Life Without Credit or Debt
- How I Ended My Love Affair With the Credit Card (and Why I Use Cash)
- Eliminate Debt with the Snowball
- How to get your credit score up, and how not to care
Budgets and Such
- Simple Finances: How and Why to Build Up a Cushion in the Bank
- How to Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck
- 10 Ways to Simplify Your Budget
- 21 Strategies for Creating an Emergency Fund, and Why It’s Critical
And More
- The Six Key Steps to Healthy Finances in Your Relationship
- 10 Ways To Improve Your Financial Situation In Just 15 Minutes
- 10 Lessons to Teach Your Kids About Money
- 7 Things You Can Do Today to Prepare for Retirement
- 6 Great Free Alternatives to Quicken & MS Money
- Automate Your Income to Simplify Your Life
1 comments:
The concept of "saving money" is easier said than done for most people. I understand that it is 'easy and logical' for some people, but I also understand it can be a difficult habit to break for others.
If you're looking to save money or change your lifestyle, my advice is to take it in "baby-steps" because it won't happen overnight. Here are some tips that helped me out.
1. Always pay more than the minimum on any credit card payments – if you don't believe me you can calculate it for yourself (http://www.csgnetwork.com/creditcardmincalc.html)
2. Use coupons when grocery shopping
3. Try online shopping – it’s saves on gas & they have bigger markdowns (http://www.shoptivity.com)
4. Read a book – it’s cheaper than going to a movie (http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/)
5. Know your budget! (https://www.dl.ed.gov/borrower/BudgetCalculator.do)
Good luck and happy savings!
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