Did you know that there are exactly 104 days until Thanksgiving, 105 until Black Friday, and 138 days until Christmas? To be honest, I didn’t know the exact day count until I googled it, but in my defense, I also know these holidays just don’t pop up. If I recall correctly, generally, these holidays have happened around the same time, on the same day, every year for, I don’t know, at least before you or I was born. So why do these holidays, that happen every single year, tend to sneak up on everyone like the guy in the mask from the movie SCREAM? [Read more…]
Paying off Debt vs Saving for Retirement
When I first started my Toshbuloq debt free journey, I struggled with an all too common dilemma that many debt-free journeyers face, slay debt before saving money or do both at the same time? Initially, I wasn’t really sure what my plan of attack should be, so I did what most people do—NOTHING. But this obviously didn’t work out well for me! So eventually, without any sound reason whatsoever, I decided to do both. I just knew that having some money saved and paying down debt felt like the “right” thing to do at the time.
At the beginning of my journey, my savings account was my safety net. It was something that kept me anchored to the shore (my comfort zone and something I treated like a piggy bank) in the event that I drift too far out in the debt-free sea of dreams. Then one day, I came across a podcast with businessman and author, Dave Ramsey, and basically, he said that if you want to start getting out of debt and have money saved, throw all of it except $1,000 (this acts as a tiny emergency fund) towards your debt. [Read more…]
To Buy Used, New or To Lease? – That is the Question.
In the market for a new car? Maybe you’ve grown tired of the one you already own and have decided that it’s time for an upgrade. Last week I received this question from one of my followers and thought it was a solid topic to dissect. Once and for all I’m going to lay this whole “should I buy, used, new or lease argument” to rest. At least, from my point of view.
I actually haven’t can you buy Neurontin over counter made a car payment in over two years and it’s been awesome, so I’ve been pretty far removed from “shiny, new toy syndrome” for a while now. Since I haven’t been in the market for a new car in quiet some time, I had no idea how much cars are costing folks these days, so I did a little digging. Originally, I figured that the average cost of a new car these days had to be right around $27,000, but apparently, I was way off. [Read more…]
Debt Free Journey – Social Media Roundup
Since starting my blog in 2016, I have made some pretty awesome online friends that not only inspire and motivate me but are also people that I can admire from afar since we’ve never met in person. I’ve been wanting to introduce new people to my reads so I figured, what better way to disseminate the information/wealth of knowledge they bring to the table than to just create an awesome mashup post about it! So I rounded up the troops and wanted to focus on one specific theme- Debt Free Journeys.
This post is not only intended to introduce you guys to different folks and money styles but to also show you that you are not alone. No matter where you are at in your money journey, a majority of us have more in common than we think. Whether it be struggling with FOMO, patience, budgeting etc., just know that 99% of the time you aren’t flying solo. What I love most about this post is the fact that all of the stories/lessons, while all circumstances are very different in nature, have some pretty similar themes. There are a ton of online communities you can make your home, from the financial independence movement to the #debtfreecommunity on Instagram, there is something for everyone. [Read more…]
My Budget Categories
Earlier this week I did a quick YouTube video on my budget and my budget categories AKA the stuff I spend my money on. I created this video for two reasons:
1. To dispel the rumor that budgets are boring and are super restrictive/suffocating.
2. To give you an idea of the things I spend my money on and my reasoning why. [Read more…]
Blog Income Report May 2018
Hey and welcome to this past month’s blog income report. For many of you that follow me on social media, you know that May was a CRAZY busy month for me. I spent a majority of the month finalizing the details of my wedding, putting together decorations and also attending another wedding. Even though the blog didn’t get all of my undivided attention, it still generated income. If you’re new here, this is my third income report for the blog. I published my first report in March and plan on creating these reports as long as income is coming through the door. [Read more…]
F.I.R.E.
When I first started blogging, I had no idea how vast the personal finance space was let alone the number of people blogging about their money journey and experiences. There’s a whole sub-culture/online community of people that blog, vlog, and podcast about all things money. My debt free journey started back in January of 2016 when I stumbled upon personal finance personality Dave Ramsey. After I got serious about paying my debt off and gaining control of my money, the universe seemed to start opening up to me. I began to stumble across more stories about tackling debt and saving money than I had ever seen before.
Then one day, roughly four months into my journey, I came across a blog called Mr. Money Mustache, and through his blog, I was introduced to the concept of “early retirement.” I had NEVER heard of anyone retiring before 55 let alone at the age of 30! I guess that’s why they say never say never because apparently, early retirement is a thing, like a huge thing. [Read more…]
Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps
Back in 2016, I began looking for ways to finally get my finances under control and get out of debt. I started reading everything I could about personal finance and spent most of my days listening to podcasts about money. One day while I was listening to Jim Cramer from Mad Money, another personal finance guy, I came across a guy named Dave Ramsey by happenstance. Similar to the Jim Cramers, Clark Howards, and Suze Ormans of the world, Dave Ramsey is another fiery personal finance personality that teaches people about money. [Read more…]
Blog Income Report April 2018
Hey and welcome to this past month’s income report. I can’t stop cheesin’! April was a great month for the blog and I can only hope to keep the momentum going. If you’re new here, this is my second income report for the blog. I published my first report last month and plan on creating these reports for as long as I continue to pull in income.
If you’re new here, I decided to start publishing these reports for a few reasons:
- To be as transparent as possible with my blog’s growth and my sources of income;
- To allow me to track my blog’s progress; and
- To show ya’ll that it’s possible to make money blogging.
How She Paid Off $36,266 In 12.5 Months
If you’re new around here, welcome to Make Real Cents! To give you a quick overview, I started this blog as a way to document my debt free journey and to teach others all about the do’s and don’ts of personal finance. And even though I’m still working on paying down my own debt, there are plenty of other people that have successfully accomplished what I’m trying to do which is to be debt free. I, for one, think there’s a lot to be learned from people that have been where you are and have done what you are trying to do. So without further ado, I hope you enjoy the first ever, debt-free interview for the blog. [Read more…]
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