Hey, I really struggle with knowing what to post about next. So many ideas! After much inner struggle, I decided to post about budgeting, or really expense tracking. Scroll to the end for the gist of it all. Some people don't like to budget, and for others, it's the only thing that keeps them on track, but the one thing I know about most successful savers is they understand what is happening with their money, whether they use a budget or something else. There are many different ways to keep a budget. Some people use apps, some a simple spreadsheet, and others simply use pen and paper. Many times, people only budget when they are saving for something specific. Going on a trip? Create a Budget. Buying a car? Make a budget. Going back to school? Budget. But too often that is the extent of budgeting. If we aren't saving for something in the near future, we aren't thinking about where our money goes, and a lot of times, this can lead to not having any savings or eve
Hey! So it's been about 30 seconds since my first post, but that was more of an intro, so that doesn't count, right? Anyway, the reason I even started this today was to share (what I see as) my first milestone! Today, November 2nd, 2019, I have reached my first $10,000 in my retirement account. And I am pumped! I made it happen faster than it would have, normally, but I couldn't help it, it was too close to resist. In September of 2018, I started a Roth IRA (Individual Retirement Account) to begin my retirement savings. I decided to use a Roth IRA because the designed tax advantage is better suited for my current income and tax burden. I started late in the year and was fortunate to receive a generous gift from my grandparents to help kick off and make my 2018 match without completely depleting my emergency savings. But since 2019, I have been on track to max out this year as well. Every month I deposit $500 to my account straight into the index fund I am currently i