Personal Finance

I think we can all agree that money management can be pretty overwhelming, and the learning curve seems pretty steep at times.

There was a time in my mid-twenties when I really felt like I had gotten my money shit together and my financial future didn’t seem all that scary.

And then I got divorced at 27. My ex-husband was the breadwinner in our marriage, so my lifestyle changed pretty drastically. And I was basically starting over financially.  

And suddenly I no longer felt like I had my money shit together.

Determined not to let my situation keep me down, I threw myself into learning all the personal finance tips I could. I read books and blogs. I listened to podcasts. I took online courses. I made it my mission to master my money. 

After going through all of that, it feels pretty freaking awesome to feel like I’ve got my financial shit together, finally. And I want all of the amazing readers of this blog to know that feeling too!

Keeping reading to check out the best and most popular personal finance and money advice shared on my blog, as well as my favorite personal finance resources!.

Start Here:

• 38 Personal Finance Tips to Help You Master Your Money
• How to Create a Monthly Budget
• 8 Important Habits of Financially Successful Women
• 35+ Legit Ways to Make Extra Money
• 25 Create Ways to Save Money

Personal Finance Books:

• You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero. Written by the author of You Are a Badass. She shares her personal money journey and about overcoming her bad money habits and her negative money mindset.
• Broke Millennial by Erin Lowry. Dives into real-life issues that millennials are facing when it comes to money such as student loans, moving back in with parents, and the topic of money in friendships and romantic relationships.
• The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. One of the most famous financial plans to follow, especially for those working to get out of debt. Covers everything from building an emergency fund and paying off debt to preparing for retirement.
• Your Money Or Your Life by Vicki Robin & Joe Dominguez. Rather than giving you a step by step plan for your finances, this book is about figuring out your relationship with money and creating financial goals based on your personal values.
• I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi. A big-picture book on saving money and budgeting. Very comprehensive and a great starting point for personal finance beginners.
• The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley and William Danko. Rather than telling you what you should be doing with your finances, the authors share the seven common traits they find across most (or all) millionaires.
• The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach. Focuses on an average, middle-class couple who are doing amazing financially because of the systems they have in place regarding their money. Argues that it’s not through budgeting that you become a millionaire, but through automatic saving and investing.

Budgeting Apps:

• You Need a Budget (YNAB): My personal favorite budgeting apps, and the best for hands-on budgeters. It is a paid subscription, but they have a generous free trial.
• Mint: The best and most robust free budgeting app. Easy to use, and allows you to track your budget with being too hands-on.
• Personal Capital: The best budgeting app for investors. This app has basic features to monitor spending, and more robust features when it comes to investment management.
• Honeydue: The best budgeting app for couples who don’t share a bank account. This app allows you to budget together, as well as divvy up expenses easily.
• Mvelopes: The best budgeting app for the envelope system. This app allows you to digitize that system so you aren’t actually carrying around envelopes of cash.
• QuickBooks: The best budgeting app for bloggers and small businesses. QuickBooks connects to my business bank and PayPal accounts so track all business income and expenses. It tracks my revenue and profit for the year and lets me know how much I need to pay in quarterly taxes. Snag it for 50% off through this link.

latest personal finance articles