Free From Broke

A Personal Finance Blog for Regular Folks

Budget

Could Changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) Benefit You?

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In 2009, the government rolled out the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). The program is meant to help those who are underwater on their mortgages refinance into a more affordable monthly payment.

Unfortunately, some of the requirements for participation in the program limited its effectiveness.

In order to expand the program so that it reaches more homeowners, some changes have recently been made to HARP.

Main Changes to HARP

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Try a No Spend Month: Your Wallet Will Thank You

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Do you find your expenses creeping up month after month? Do you use cash but don’t know where all of the money goes at the end of the week?  Do you feel you have gotten a bit lax with personal finance?  If so, you may want to try to have a no spend month.

During a no spend month, you limit yourself to only a certain amount you can spend on variable expenses.  My family has had two no spend months, and each time we allowed ourselves to spend no more than $500 on variable expenses including groceries, dining out, gas, entertainment, and miscellaneous.  Both no spend months made us more aware of our spending weaknesses and taught us some valuable lessons. [Read more…] about Try a No Spend Month: Your Wallet Will Thank You

Ditch That Spending Plan?!?

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Have you drawn up a detailed budget and are struggling to keep to it? According to an article in the NYT*, it would be best to just give it up.  Well, not exactly.  But it does say that keeping to a strict budget might not be the best way to go about spending less or saving your money.  The money and pyschology experts they interview say that a budget can be like a diet — it doesn’t often last long and may just end up with you standing at the freezer late at night devouring a quart of ice cream right out of the container.

It’s human nature, they say.  We generally have trouble following through with our “best-laid plans.”  And after a long period of focusing on restrictions — we binge.  Compounding the problem is the abstract nature of credit cards and such.  Watching cold, hard cash dwindle is far more painful and thus more effective in reigning in our spending.
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Do You Have What It Takes To Manage Your Money?

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Do you have goals, dreams, and ambitions? Chances are you do, which brings me to my next question.  Do you have a budget?  If you don’t have a budget then the chances of you reaching those goals, dreams, and ambitions are smaller than if you had a financial road map to follow.  Unfortunately, too many people attach negative connotations and misconceptions to what budgeting actually means for you.
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Eating Healthy on a Budget

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Eating is a basic human need, yet for many it is often surrounded by mystery, mystique and confusion – differentiating healthy from non-healthy is often a difficult task.  This, coupled with the challenge of eating healthy while on a budget, intensifies the issue to epidemic proportions.  Searching out the proper way to eat, while also saving on costs, can be an overwhelming task.  Below, I outline the best ways to eat well on a budget, and I hope this will aid in your mission!
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