Lisa Zahn

Just a quick list of ideas I compiled from the Financial Peace University forum, ways to save up that $1000 emergency fund in a hurry: 1. Cut the cable and get an antenna with an HDTV box (or no tv) 2. Increase insurance deductibles 3. Cancel gym memberships 4. Get rid of the land line phone, or cell phone, keeping only one 5. Get rid of the smartphone and its expensive monthly plan 6. Have a yard sale 7. Sell stuff on Craigslist or eBay. As Dave says: "Sell so much stuff, the kids think they're next!" 8. Get a part-time job for a few months and put all your income toward the emergency fund 9. Use coupons as much as you can 10. Don't use coupons, buy store brands instead, or buy in bulk at your local food co-op 11. Turn off and unplug electronics not in use; use a power strip to make this easy 12. Hang all clothing to dry; dryers are very expensive to run (50 cents to a dollar a load!) 13. Cook from scratch, make your own mixes, even make cleaning suppl...

Before I write more about budgeting, or the Allocated Spending Plan, I feel it's important to write about how money affects marriage and family life, and our marriage in particular. The other day when I was telling a group of my friends about the class George and I are taking, Financial Peace University , one of the first reactions was this disbelief that we would do this together. Disbelief, or maybe, envy. It would be so nice if my husband and I were on the same page with money, someone said. It would be so nice if we could communicate about money in a healthy way, in other words. And that is one great thing about Financial Peace University , and probably the biggest reason we finally took the class rather than trying to work the program on our own (or, in our case, on my own since I'm the one who had the strong interest and deals with our finances the most). I love my husband. Another question that came up with this same group of friends, on the same night, was "Are ...

A friend asked me this weekend: "Isn't budgeting like dieting?" I thought a minute about that and understood exactly what she meant. When I put myself on a "diet", I think about food constantly. I especially crave what I can't have, and hear those forbidden foods calling my name all day long. Then, I cave and eat more than I might have otherwise. Budgeting could feel like that for some people. It could feel like limits. You might think "I can't spend any money so my life is miserable." And then hear a new pair of shoes or that flat-screen TV calling your name so you go spend some money and feel ashamed of yourself. You've busted your budget, just like wrecking your diet. Something I've learned is not to put myself on a diet. But for some reason, budgeting my money doesn't feel at all like dieting to me. I actually feel like I have more money to work with since we've started making a zero-based budget . Since the beginn...