Budgeting

Greetings! Well, June is upon us. We have survived tax season (minus a few hairs) and it’s time to look forward to the rest of the year. Summer tends to be a slower time of the year, where most people focus on family and vacations. So, we aren’t going to hit you with a topic too heavy this month and instead will focus on one of those everyday kind of things that really pays dividends if paid attention to: budgeting. People fall into two camps on budgeting: either you do it or you don’t. If you already love a good budget, we hope we will provide you with some more resources. If you are not budgeting, we hope you’ll find something here of interest that may inspire you to take action.  

• Listen: Do a Google search for budgeting podcasts and you’ll come up with more than you can handle. What to start with? What ones are good? That’s where we come in. We have listened to a ton of these and here are a few of our favorites. You Need A Budget. Yes, our darling software has its own podcast as well. If you aren’t using YNAB, why not? Another podcast we really love is The Budget Couple. It’s really down to earth, relatable, and the episodes are around 20 minutes each (so it doesn’t eat up too much of your day). No matter how much money you make or where you are on your financial journey, you’ll find something to take away from this one. Lastly, we have the Clark Howard podcast. This is another podcast that delivers great content across a range of subjects that affect everyday life.
• Watch: So, you’ve tried everything, right? Budgeting is just not for you, right? Maybe yes and maybe no. Maybe you just haven’t found the right style of budgeting yet. This video outlines 6 style of budgeting. It’s got a bunch of great information in it and a cool animation style, so it is worth your investment of 15 minutes. 
• Read: This month, we might have been better off changing ‘read’ to ‘do’, because what good is a bunch of knowledge if you don’t act on it? It’s easy to listen to a couple of podcasts and watch a YouTube video or two and feel like you’ve done something good for yourself. It’s a lot harder (aka better) to actually take some steps and enact some changes in your life. Practical Money Skills is a website chock full of resources with a section all on budgeting. There are quizzes, articles, and calculators to help you get this piece of your finances in place. Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention another resource that many people love, Mint.com. It’s been around forever and speaks for itself. If you are looking for an app and like the price tag (free!) then Mint might be for you. Just don’t tell YNAB you heard about it from us. 😉

We hope your summer is full of fun and some relaxation. As always, feel free to share this newsletter with your friends and family and reach out if you have any questions. Is there a topic you would like us to delve into in a future newsletter? Please let us know and we will be happy to consider including it.

P.S. Ben, Deb, and their two girls are heading on an epic road-trip adventure covering the western states – you can follow their adventures here!

Make it an amazing month!
The Bona Fide Family