Today I want to cover how to identify your income, track your income, and different ways that the “income” category fit into your budget. The focus will NOT be on how to make more money (I’ve already got a post on that), but on how to make do with the income you DO have. Too many people believe the answer to their financial problems is MORE MONEY! I call CRAP on that philosophy, and firmly believe that knowing what to do with the money you have is MUCH more beneficial in the short AND long term. So let’s get to it!

Category Description

Income is ANY money that you own during the month. This includes (but is not limited to) disability, insurance payments, investment dividends, job wages, allowance, inheritance, and any other monies that become your possession in a given month.

How Much You Should Budget?

There are a few ways to approach this. Each method will vary depending on your payment schedule, the type of work you do, and if it is a regular or a one-time payment. Let’s take a look at a few examples:

1. The Month Ahead Budget. Michelle and I have been one month ahead on our income since just after we got married. It’s a simple concept, but one that I credit as the most stress-reducing thing you could EVER do with your money. The income category in your budget would be one amount, paid on the 1st of the month. Think of it as living on a fixed income. You set your monthly income needed, transfer that amount over to your main checking account each month, and any extra goes to savings. Absolute best way to budget.
2. The Bi-Weekly Budget. Many people are on this budget for the sole reason that their employer pays out bi-weekly. Not sure who came up with this, but it seems to have stuck, and 90% of the jobs I’ve had use this pay structure. It does make it difficult to budget, as you get paid on different days each month, and you need to adjust accordingly. Your bills are usually due the SAME day each month, so you are always aiming at a moving target. For this type of budget, I usually set up two columns, one for paycheck #1 and the bills that fall under those dates, and one for paycheck #2 and the bills that fall under the second half. It gets difficult when you don’t have much margin, so again, I recommend doing everything in your power to save money and be one month ahead on your budget.
3. Irregular Income. This is common for those who are self-employed or working commission-based jobs. You may get paid a TON on the first week of the month, or get no cash money until week 4. The key to budgeting this type of income is ALWAYS having a buffer. Again (yep, here it comes) getting a month ahead will alleviate a LOT of headache if you’re in this situation, and, depending on the job, I recommend being two months ahead! For these situations, I recommend only budgeting on the bare minimum amount of income you expect to receive during the month. Anything on top of that is extra savings in your buffer, and will probably be used up the following month.
4. Other Income. When you have investment dividends, bonuses, insurance payouts, side job income, and any other source on income during the month, I try to NOT count that money as part of your regular monthly budget. You can add it in to track in and use it, but even if it’s a regular payment, don’t use it to set up your budget (I know some people HAVE to live off their “other” payments, but in that case, refer to the “Month Ahead” budget above). These payments should be used to Turbo-charge your goals, such as debt repayment, retirement savings, replacement vehicle, vacation, etc. That’s it. If you can live without this extra money, then act like it isn’t there when putting together your monthly budget

Common Ways People Blow This Category

Laziness. There, I said it. Most reading this blog do not fall into this category, but laziness can definitely kill your income, and leave you wondering why you “can’t ever get ahead”. Now, I’m not saying I’m the ideal example, but one thing I can tell you that I am not, is lazy. I work 2.5 jobs to provide for my family, along with yard, house and car maintenance, to ensure that we can keep and enjoy what we have been blessed with.

On the opposite end, there are those that won’t lift a finger to work more than 12 hours a week because they’ve been able to survive in their parent’s basement for the past 33 years, so why try? Or there are those who make “enough”, hang their hat at their mediocre job, and do just enough to get by. Work is work, we all get that. But to not try because you don’t care, that is what makes a bad employee, and is also what gets you passed up for promotion and management opportunities.

Best Ways To Increase Income

If you want your income to rock harder than AC/DC on top of Mt. Rushmore in a thunderstorm, then get yourself motivated, excel in your position, ask for more responsibility, and then ask for more money! It really is that simple (notice I said “simple”, not “easy”). I have seen several friends and family move their way up through good ole’ fashioned gumption and Git-R-Done-ness (totally a real word. Look it up). The one thing they all had in common was a drive to excel, and under that were some AWESOME goals like starting a family, getting a house, etc. Find out what motivates you, set some BIG, FAT goals, and then work like you actually want to hit those goals someday. If you’ve done everything you can and still don’t have enough income, you can find other ways to strike it rich! Or check out how we survived on very little income.

Whatever Else I Feel Like Writing

I’m going to go a little bit Mr. Money Mustache on everyone here. The American Dream is alive and well, but so is the “exploding volcano of wastefulness” that is the middle class life. You would think everyone in America would be hiring out a financial plumber the way their wallets are leaking, but the problem is that all most don’t notice the leak, so you never fix it. You have gotten used to the way things are, life is comfortable, and cutting your cable, selling your new car, and living frugally would be too intrusive to your cocoon of a lifestyle.

Why am I saying this? Because you don’t need as much money as you think! If you ask most people how much money they need, it’s always a little bit or a lotta bit more than they have now. But the truth is, what you have now is what you have, and I bet you can manage it better than you currently are. You can constantly optimize your spending, making better decisions each week, and stop blowing money on stuff you don’t really care about. So when looking at your income at the top of your budget each month, don’t sob uncontrollably like someone just broke your Justin Bieber CD. Instead, look at it with confidence, plan to use it wisely, and challenge yourself each month to kick even more booty than last month. You are effectively giving yourself a raise by getting on a budget, so don’t worry too much about increasing income, and start focusing on being a great money manager with you already have.

Comments: Are you satisfied with your income? If not, what are you doing to increase it? Also, how do you budget your income before the month begins? Are you a month ahead, or still living paycheck to paycheck? This is the first of a very LONG series, so I would LOVE to hear some feedback on what you think, and how I can help more with this series. Thanks for reading!

The following is a guest post for my UK readers. if you’d like to submit a guest post, please contact me.

Saving for the future is something that’s on many people’s minds, regardless of their situation. Regardless of whether you’ve worked in the same job for years or are just starting out on the corporate ladder, setting a little money aside is essential for first homes, new cars, retirement, or life’s little emergencies.

The cost of saving

Long-term savings for something big, like retirement or a new car, can take a lot of time to amass. Putting extra money into a savings account is often the best option, given that they aren’t difficult to set up and depending on the account, you can have access to your savings whenever you want them.

However, if you have a significant level of money in your savings account, you’re likely to get taxed on it. In fact, typically you can expect to be taxed at 20% (40% for higher-rate taxpayers). This can be a big chunk from your savings, which of course you would prefer to keep for yourself.

This is why cash ISAs are a good choice when it comes to long-term savings, as they offer up a tax-efficient way of saving.

What is an ISA?

The main difference between cash ISAs and standard ISAs is that cash ISAs can be accessed online, which is much better for any emergency situations.

For long-term savings, such as for something big, it’s probably best to consider a cash ISA.

“YBS Cash ISAs are designed for money that you may wish to access in the short or medium term to suit different needs”, said a spokesperson from Yorkshire Building Society.

“Once you’ve invested up to your maximum allowance for the tax year, we have other savings options for your short and longer-term savings goals. With us you can transfer your old ISAs with just two simple steps and we’ll do all the paperwork for you.

“Switching could really make a huge difference to the amount of interest you’re earning and, using our Savings Rate Checker, we can tell you quickly and easily what rate your current ISA provider is giving you.

“That way, you can make sure that you’re getting a good deal and if not, you can switch to us. a mutual building society you can trust owned by and run solely for the benefit of our customers, who are our members.”

Unlike other savings options, Individual savings accounts and cash ISAs are both predominantly tax-free, with £5,760 a year maximum tax allowance. There’s also an annual allowance of £11,520.

ISAs are available to anyone over the age of 16, and you only need £10 in the account to open it. Interest rates vary from account to account, but you don’t get a loss of interest if you should need to withdraw the money at any point.

Also, it’s worth bearing in mind the limits involved. Should you want to deposit more than £5,760 into your ISA over the course of a tax year, the interest gained from the amount over the tax-free threshold will be levied.

iHB Thoughts: ISA’s seem like a sweet deal to me. You get the tax advantages of a retirement account, but can access it anytime. LUCKY! And you know I’m all for creating savings goals, and putting the money away tax-free is the BEST option if you have it available. So all you Aston martin driving Brits out there, def. take advantage of these accounts!

Here’s your weekly chance to subscribe to iHeartBudgets by email. You can also subscribe via RSS, follow me on Twitter, or “like” me on Facebook! SO MANY WAYS TO STALK ME! I’ll make sure to keep the content fresh, informative, educational, and entertaining!

Giveaways

If you didn’t know, we’re giving away a SWEET 50″ LED Samsung TV to one lucky reader. I know, I know, it’s a pretty sweet gift. If you want to win, go check it out here (after reading this post, of course )

What Am I doing?

Friday started off with a BANG! Or more specifically, and leaky heater hose in our new vehicle. We got a great deal on the truck and put some work into it, but when we arrived to pick up a gift for Nolan, I notice some steam coming out from under the hood. “Of crap!” I thought, and saw the temp gauge rising. I shut it down and popped the hood. There was coolant dripping down the back of the motor. Luckily, it’s just a $20 hose, and we’ll be good to go. But it was a rough start to date night :\

At least the tow truck guy was not creepy…

Yard work this week was a bit more of the same. Put in some times manicuring the yard a bit, and on Saturday got down to business! We’re transplanting some boxwood bushes (you know, the ones you can shape into ANYTHING!) over to out patio area to really finish it out and give it a great edge. We dug 11 of them out on Saturday, and re-planted them in place (with the help of Nolan, of course!). It was a bit of back-breaking work, but totally worth it. Once they fill in, we’ll trim them into a nice square shape and stare at their AMAZINGNESS for hours on end. Or maybe we’ll just ignore them and have fun around the fire pit.

We hired out some cheap labor for this

We also picked up a sweet “Learning Tower” for our little man (thanks Grammie!), because he wants to be more involved in what we’re doing in the kitchen. He’s always looking up, want to stir the pot, or flip the bacon (ALWAYS BACON!), and now we can bring him up to counter height with us. And the other spoiling grandparents got him his first tricycle! Having never ridden on ever, he literally walked up to it, stuck his leg over and started moving forward on it. Smart kid

How was YOUR week?

Mentions

There are other, very cool blogs who have been generous enough to mention iHeartBudgets on their sites.  Anyone else who loves me as much as these people do, feel free to mention me as well to join the elite list below!

Eyes on the Dollar and Canadian Budget Binder

Woohoo! Thanks for sharing my junk!

What’ I’ve Been Reading

Every week, I do some reading on the web. I come across articles that are entertaining, educational, or just plain awesome. I think the readers of iHeartBudgets will enjoy these articles as well.

Club Thrifty – The 5 Financial Habits that Changed My Life – They seem so simple, but yet, they are profound. Great post by Holly.

Debt Roundup – Why I Shut Down My Profitable Online Business – Awesome story of Grayson’s online electronic sales business, and why he shut it down after having over a Million Dollars in sales the previous year. GREAT READ!

Modest Money - My Take on Tags, Categories and Meta Keywords – getting to the good details on how to grow your blog!

Making Sense of Cents – St. Thomas and $3,038 in Extra Income – Killing it on the online income, and a sweet vacation. If you want to make money online, follow Michelle here.

Mr. Money Mustache – The Principle of Constant Optimization – I have been reading through this blog A LOT, and this post reminded me of how I make decisions. Awesome read here.

Money, Life and More – Slowly Killing the Student Loans – May 2013 – Lance’s debt update. These are great to see the progress in real time, something I’m thinking about doing here to help get my butt in gear!

Budget and the Beach – Do I buy a new car? – Super bummer car situation got Tonya thinking about this question. I wrote an 8 paragraph comment response. Bet you can’t guess what I said…??

Eyes on the Dollar – Your Credit Cards Are Paid Off, Now How Do You Stay Out of Debt? – Timley post for anyone in credit card debt, or for those trying to stay out. Kim paid off over $30k in Credit Card debt, she knows a thing or two about this.

Canadian Budget Binder – Mr.CBB’s Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Banana Bread – If you are trying to lose weight, do not click this link!

And that’s it. Have a wondering week!

The following is an excerpt from one of the chapters I wrote in the book, “The A-Z of Saving Money“. We’ve reduced the price to ONLY $4.99, down from $15. Definitely worth the read, and stocked full of insanely practical tips for saving money now! Check it out, and let me know what you think

When you hear the word “frugal”, what images come to mind? Is it a cheapskate arguing over the coupon code at the grocery store register? Is it the couple who goes to Olive Garden and eats unlimited breadsticks and water for a free meal? Or maybe it’s your parents who told you “no” about 3,678,000 times when you asked if they could buy you something?

Whatever images come to mind, the word “frugal” always seems like a party killer. I mean, no one RSVPs to the “most epic frugal party of all time!” It just doesn’t conjure up any excitement. Let’s talk about what frugal living actually is, and if you read through to the very end, you might find yourself getting a little bit more excited about this whole “frugal living” idea.

Frugal Living is a Mindset

Frugal, by definition, is being thrifty and characterized by avoidance of waste. It starts with a realization that our resources are finite, including our money, so we should manage them in the most effective ways possible. That, and most people feel that they don’t have enough money as it is, so we might as well figure out a way to get the most out of every dollar. That’s where frugal living comes in.

When you’re living frugally, you see the world through a different lens. Every monetary decision that is made also comes with a premise of “how can I save more money on this?” You view shopping trips, vacations, cars, decorating, and anything you spend money on as a potential deal. When you are living frugally, you ask yourself these questions:

Is this a need or a want?

There are two kinds of purchases in this world; buying something you need, and buying something you want. If you break all of your purchases down to this most simple level, you can learn a LOT about your spending habits. You can see how much money you spend on your needs vs. your wants, and you can see where your current priorities actually lie.

An example of this would be when you are out shopping, you should have a list of what you need before you enter the store. My wife (the shopping expert in our family) writes down a list for several stores before even leaving the house, knowing that she will spend less money and less time at each location with a plan for the purchases. That list is usually full of needs, sprinkled with a few wants, but ALL within budget. All stores place banners and ads and shiny new labels on the products that they want you to buy. Some of them look very attractive, and heck, we’re always down to try something new. But the “frugal living” part of her brain kicks in and says, “yo, whatchu lookin’ at? Do you really need a brand new can-opener with a built in TV and radio? Yeah, I thought so. Let’s keep it movin’ and get to the good stuff!” She’s already got a list of what she needs at the store, so those impulsive wants don’t tempt her anymore.

Another example is when you’re shopping at the mall. Now, I have a rule of thumb: everything down the center aisle of ANY mall is a want. Always. But how many of us have walked away with a ridiculous new bedazzled cell phone cover or a tiny flying helicopter that breaks within 2 minutes of bringing it home?

The mall is designed to rope you into impulsive buys and plays every trick in the book to have you forget your budget and toss out your hard-earned cash at buy 5 get 1 free puppy calendars. But when you head there with a list of your needs (sprinkled with a few wants) and your budget, you can successfully avoid all the traps and snares of America’s favorite addiction.

Can something else do the job of this thing I am about to purchase?

When your mind is set on frugal living, you start to see your “stuff” a bit differently. You start looking at every item in your house and ask “what else can you do?” My awesome wife prefers not to buy single-purpose household items. That means almost anything we bring into the house can serve AT LEAST two functions. I think it’s a great guide to have in place, and not only does it reduce clutter, but it saves us tons of money in the long run. That, and she also happens to be awesome at making everything look good as well!

When you’re out and about, shopping for an item to fill a need, first ask yourself if you have anything that you already own that can perform the function you’re looking for. When a need arises, your first thought should not be “what can I buy to solve my problem”, but instead, “what do I have that can take care of this for me?” You’d be surprised to find out how many times you already own something that can take care of your need, save you cash and save a trip to the store.

I recommend taking a mental inventory of your household items and asking yourself what else you can do with your things. Here are some great examples:

1. You need some organization for your ornaments. Instead of buying something new, you can use eggs cartons or Dixie cups glued to cardboard for ornament storage.

2. You need transportation to work. Instead of buying a new car, you can ride a bike, or carpool with a nearby co-worker, or ride the bus.

3. Use old glass jars from peanut butter, pickles, etc. for food storage instead of going out and buying a new Tupperware set. Heck, old jars are good for pretty much everything, décor and non-food storage too! Spray paint the lids to all match and you have a cohesive storage solution for practically free.

4. I strongly recommend getting a Pinterest.com account for inspiration, as there are thousands of DIY projects featured that use common household items.

Can I get this cheaper somewhere else?

Once you’ve decided that you need to purchase something, you usually check the budget first, and then head out the door to go get it. Before you buy that item, I would ask yourself “can I find this cheaper somewhere else?” This question is a great way to stop you from needlessly overspending. There are some great places you can go to find sweet deals, and I would always check those places first.

……….

To read more amazing money-saving tips from me and others, check out the book HERE

How Will It Work?

Since there are at least 30 budget categories that I will be going through, I wanted to set up some common criteria for analysis and commentary so that each post has a bit of structure to it. I mean, yes, I could rant for pages and pages on how to buy a used car, but that wouldn’t do anyone any good. So here’s how I’m going to break it down:

Category Description. Most categories are pretty self-explanatory, but I want to break it down into a simple description so we know what we ARE talking about, and what we’re NOT talking about.

How Much You Should Budget? There are tons of “percentage” budgets out there that have you plug in your income and it automatically splits it out into each category based on a pre-defined percentage. I get the idea and all, but I’m more of a hard numbers guy. Just like I’m no so much into theory on how a person might save money, I like to spell out how to save money with real numbers! I’m going to tell you how much you should budget for each category, based on a married couple with two kids. You can add and subtract based on life circumstance.

Common Ways People Blow This Category. There are common hang-ups in every budget category. Whether it’s listening to too much advertising, being lazy, or just not knowing any better, I would venture to say that 99% of the budgets I come across are wasting hundreds of dollars per month. I’m going to show you the most common ways that you could be losing money in each category.

Best Ways To Save Money. Now that I’ve gotten you all depressed exposing all the holes in your budget, let’s bust out the mud and paint and PATCH THOSE BAD BOYS! You can check out my How To Save Money section for a few tips, but each category is going to have its own list of awesome ways to ROCK THE BUDGET! There are tons and tons of ways to save cash, enough so, that thousands of people write about them on blogs just like this one in hopes to help a few people out. I’ll write down the most practical and valuable ways for each category here.

Whatever Else I Feel Like Writing. Maybe I’ll write something more, maybe I won’t! I’m going to leave this section for any extras that spill out of my brain.

When Can We Expect Updates?

Whenever I feel like it, gosh! (said in my best Napoleon Dynamite voice). No, but seriously, it may not be on a regular schedule. I hope to post once a week, but it may be more or less. It will be a regular series here, and who knows, it may never end!

How Can The Readers Help?

I’m going to put together the initial master list of categories, and if there’s something you think should be in there, LET ME KNOW! I want to stick to common categories, and not stuff like “my pencil shaving collection”. But if I’ve missed something, definitely give me a shout out.

Comments: What do you think? Are you “OMG JUSTIN BIEBER IS AT THE SAME SAFEWAY AS ME!!!” excited for this?! I know I am. I hope you stick around and enjoy the budgeting goodness that is about to happen!

A picture of my bloody finder, because, why not? The radiator may have won the battle…but I won the war and ripped it out of the car. I also berated it and told it that it looks fat in those jeans…

Join The Fun

Here’s your weekly chance to subscribe to iHeartBudgets by email. You can also subscribe via RSS, follow me on Twitter, or “like” me on Facebook! SO MANY WAYS TO STALK ME! I’ll make sure to keep the content fresh, informative, educational, and entertaining!

Giveaways

If you didn’t know, we’re giving away a SWEET 50″ LED Samsung TV to one lucky reader. I know, I know, it’s a pretty sweet gift. If you want to win, go check it out here (after reading this post, of course )

What Am I doing?

This week have been a little nuts. SO. MUCH. YARDWORK! But seriously, trying to get our yard looking AWESOME before the 4th of July, because that’s about when the sun comes out. We’ve check off a few projects on our HUGE 38-project TO-DO list. We knocked out some of the smaller projects, and some bigger ones. My dad’s also coming over on Monday to help finish the fence, which is probably the BIGGEST project we have on the list. THANKS DAD!

This post is going up on Mother’s day, and I wanted to give a shout out to all the mom’s out there. Thank you for everything, truly. Thanks for birthing us, sustaining us, raising us, and putting up with all the hell we put you through as teenage kids. Seriously, being Mom is a thankless job, and you deserve WAY more than just one day a year to be recognized. I say we shoot for once a month! Sounds good??

We’ll be helping Michelle’s mom with some house projects tomorrow, and just spending some quality family time together. My mom has to work (BOO!), but we’ll be paying her a special visit to wish her a very hapy mother’s day.

How was YOUR week? And what are YOU doing for your mother today?!

Mentions

There are other, very cool blogs who have been generous enough to mention iHeartBudgets on their sites.  Anyone else who loves me as much as these people do, feel free to mention me as well to join the elite list below!

Canadian Budget Binder, Club Thrifty, My Money Design, Wise Dollar, Money Life and More and Consumerism Commentary

Woohoo! Thanks for sharing my junk!

What’ I’ve Been Reading

Every week, I do some reading on the web. I come across articles that are entertaining, educational, or just plain awesome. I think the readers of iHeartBudgets will enjoy these articles as well.

Consumerism Commentary - Mint.com Tracks Two Million Users to Create Spending Index – Apparently Mint.com has been up to some big things. Very interesting data here.

Club Thrifty – How Much it Really Costs to Throw a Traditional Wedding – Some costs in reality instead of the magazine advertised weddings.

Modest Money - Want to Save Money? Haggle Like This… – Cool guest post about how to save some cash playing the “haggle” game.

My Money Design – Ask the Readers – Would You Support the Privatization of Social Security Accounts? – Awesome question that is oh-so-relevant today for the younger crowd (under 40) What do YOU think?.

Making Sense of Cents – Costs of Buying a Home – A great simple breakdown of the costs involved in buying a home.

Money, Life and More – Contributing to a 401(k) Isn’t Always Smart – Most people will tell you the first place to invest is your 401k. And I would tend to agree. But Lance breaks down some reasons why putting money in your 401k might NOT be a smart idea.

Eyes on the Dollar – I Hired a Maid! – I put together a budget for Kim a while back, and she definitely can afford a maid because she’s frugal awesome and rocks as a business owner….though the one she hired might be a bit expensive…

Canadian Budget Binder – Three Hands And An Action Plan~I’m A Mom On The Go! – A reader guest post about being a busy mom. Great tips in here!

Wise Dollar – Are You Ready for An Internet Sales Tax? The Marketplace Fairness Act – Jose breaks down the implications of a state imposed internet sales tax.

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff – Become a Product Tester for Free Swag – Everyone likes free stuff, right? Why not become a product tester. Check it out!

Budget Blonde – How Much Money Would It Take For You To Go To Mars? - I don’t think I would do this, because death. And , I could not leave my boy, knowing I probably wouldn’t come back. Would YOU do this?

And that’s it. Have a wondering week.

Well, I finally made it happen (minus the Porsche), but I DIDN’T PAY A DIME!

Enter: Credit Card Churning

To my regular readers, this is nothing new. You’ve already read through the biggest post ever on this blog, my credit card churning plan for 2013. Well, we finally took our first trip using some of our easy-earned credit card points. Since I blew through most of my vacation earlier in the year on a sweet cruise, we decided to take a fun weekend trip down to Portland to enjoy some fine dining and Willamette Valley’s selection of Pinot.

Being moderate “winos”, we are very familiar with the area, Michelle went to school just outside of Portland for 4 years. We enjoyed bouncing around to the free wine tastings back when we were living on only $14 an hour, but now that our palates have matured (lol, makes me sound rich when I talk like this), we wanted to taste the finest that Oregon had to offer. Michelle reached out to a winemaker friend from the area and got some suggestions for the best wineries around. We mapped out 5 wineries, some with tasting fees up to $15 per person, and bottles starting at $40, and even had to make reservations at a few of them. FANCY PANTS!

Now it was time to book the hotel.

Fancy Hotel Booking

Before even thinking about this trip, we had picked up the Amex Starwood Preferred Guest card (you can find the card here) to take advantage of the amazing redemption values and higher end hotels around the country. We had just reached 30,000 points (25,000 bonus + 5,000 spend on the card in 6 months), so we were eager to enjoy vacation on the credit card companies for once! One day, my wife was talking to me about her favorite hotel in Oregon, The Nines, in Portland. As usual, I was chatting to her about points and our plans to take over the world a sweet vacation, and she asked if her fav. hotel was a Starwood property. Good question! I open up my Google machine, searched out the hotel, and low and behold, the friendly little Starwood icon in the lower left corner of the screen. W00t W00t!! Winner winner chicken dinner! (with asparagus, pilaf and an ’07 Pinot Noir).

I quickly logged on to my SPG account, looked up the hotel and was shocked that I could book a room for only 10,000 points a night! Normally hotels in this price range (about $450 a night after taxes/fees) go for 16,000, so this was a SWEET FRICKIN DEAL! I called the SPG concierge (yes, we’re getting REAL FANCY now) and the kind lady helped find me a city-facing room for 2 nights for Michelle’s birthday weekend. I was really hoping for an upgrade to a corner room, but nothing was available. Sensing that I was a little bummed, the kind lady on the phone searched a bit more and offered me an upgrade to the “Club Level” for a measly 1,500 points per night. What benefits come with club level? I’M GLAD YOU ASKED! Free breakfast in the lounge, free WiFi, free beer and wine all day, free cocktails in the evening, snacks all day, hors d’oeuvres in the evening and dessert until closing after that. HOLY SNAPPLESAUSE YES PLEASE!

We booked that faster than Taylor Swift’s boyfriends get dumped, and were getting pretty excited for our FREE vacation! But, being the KING OF FREEBIES, I decided to go one step further. I found a traveler’s forum, and found a thread for The Nines hotel. I reached out to others on their successes/failures in getting a room upgrade to a corner room. Soon after, the Assistant GM of the hotel contacted me directly, and wanted me to give him a call. WIN! I gave him a jingle, and expressed to him my desire for a corner room in the hotel. He was unable book the corner room for me, but assured me that we would get the BIGGEST ROOM AVAILABLE on the floor. Done and done. Even better, when we arrived, they had a nice little platter of chocolates signed “Happy Birthday” in chocolate syrup for Michelle. Check out the pics!

Baller room on the 12th floor!

Wine & Fine Dining For Free

We drove down to Oregon and arrived around 4pm on Friday, just in time to check in. After checking in, we headed over to the lounge for a free glass of wine and some hors d’oeuvres before meeting some friends for a fancy dinner. Michelle had booked an exclusive dinner at a place where only people who listen to bands that you’ve never heard of go to (The Gilt Club). We felt young again (wait…we’re in our mid-twenties), ordered up some fun drinks, and enjoyed catching up with friends. The menu was unique and fun. We ordered asparagus with elderflower vinegar, Nettle gnudi and grilled hangar steak with friend oysters, and topped it off with an amazing butterscotch brule’ with honeycomb and vanilla ice cream! We ate until we were near food-coma levels and slapped down over $100 for the AMAZING meal and experience. Totally worth it.

Awesome eats! Photo Credit: Mikaela Ovenell

The next day, we scooped up our free breakfast, met up with our friends, and headed out on our winery tour. As the DD, I just shared my tastings with Michelle, and we hit up one of the wineries we had visited before, Rex Hill. Mostly, because their reserve wine is taken from “Jacob’s Vineyard”, and well, that’s just cool. After that, it was lunch time, so we stopped by a coffee shop near Michelle’s old school. They make AMAZING sandwiches, so we sat down for a fun meal with friends, ate our fill, and were out. Only $30 for the pleasure, and the nostalgia was priceless! Then it was off to more wineries.

Drinking “Jacob’s” finest with friends!

We dropped by Hip Chicks Do Wine in Newberg, because it was within walking distance of the coffee shop. We grabbed a bottle of white, and headed out to the fanciest place of the day, Bergstrom Winery. The tasting fee was $15 per person, the place was a bit snooty, and us hoodlum kids had no place in a fine establishment such as this. PALEASE!!! We drank our wine and headed out to Arbor Brook Winery. This place was awesome, and had some cheese and fruit samples out. We dug in, and planted ourselves outside as the sunshine finally came out to greet us. We tasted through their flight, was impressed with their service and delicious and affordable wines, and walked out with 3 bottles (I finally got my bottle of Pinot Noir!) and a $70 bill. The last place we hit was a small winery called Aramenta Cellars. The place was owned by a fun old man whom everyone wished was their grandpa. After tasting through the flight, we picked up a bottle of Pinot Gris, and were on our way back to get ready for dinner. Only out about $150 for a day of wine tasting and 5 bottles of wine. Not bad at all!

Awesome view from smug-pants winery.

5 bottles of wine (and a bottle of non-alcoholic, carbonated Pinot)

We got back to the hotel, and got ready for the fanciest dinner of all, on the rooftop restaurant in our hotel. The place was called “Departure”, and featured fine Asian cuisine. It was a la carte’ style, and our group just kept ordering and ordering because the food was so amazing! We started with steak and pork belly sushi, which really set the meal off right. We all ordered some AMAZING drinks, and they brought on a round of…well, I honestly can’t even remember, but I DO remember that ALL the food was marvelous. We were able to really enjoy the meal here, tipped generously, and spent more here than any of the previous locations.

Our absolutely gorgeous guests! Especially the one on the right

The next morning, we grabbed our usual breakfast, and walked the town a bit before heading back north. We actually sat down at one point in a restaurant, but being in downtown Portland during lunch hour, all I could think about was the food trucks. We left the restaurant and walked across the street to pick up some yummy! I got the Yakisoba, while Michelle opted for the Gyro. We were a bit cold, so we ended up eating our meal in the car before shipping off back home. Only another $25, but the memories made were worth every penny!

I love Portland food SO MUCH!

But Wait, I Thought You Said Free?

I did say that, didn’t I? Well, in comes the magic of the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card. The other card we brought along with us was this fancy little blue card, and we had previous put $3k on this card in the past 3 months to get our 40,000 bonus points. By the time we reached Portland, we had about 45,000 points, which equaled a $450 statement credit. Which is funny, because that’s about EXACTLY what we paid for our food and wine for the duration of our stay. So, yes, we partied it up FOR FREE, feeling like a celebrity fresh outta rehab (wait, no…that’s a really bad metaphor…ummm…you know what I mean…right?). We were able to enjoy a great weekend with friends, good food, good wine, and great accommodations for the price of exactly $0*.

For a weekend that could have cost us upwards of $1,300, it was definitely much more enjoyable for free. No worries about penny pinching or overspending. We had a set budget (you knew I’d bring it back to this, right?) for our variable expenditures and were able to book a sweet hotel on credit card points. This isn’t something only a super smart genius can figure out, it’s actually pretty simple. You plan a trip, get some rewards credit cards, get the bonuses, book your stuff, and enjoy yourself knowing that it’s all comp’d by the “evil credit card companies.”

We’ve got big plans for a trip in the next year, and I’ll be filling you all in on the details soon. For now, start stacking those points and go hit a beach on behalf of the “generous” credit card companies and their bonuses

*We did spend money on gas and a gift for our son, but the food, wine and hotel were completely free. Also, as a disclaimer, enjoying a vacation isn’t all about spending thousands of dollars. We have had just as much fun spending VERY little money on a road trip to Newberg to stay with friends, or camping for $25 a night. I just wanted to try something different using our points, and this was the perfect opportunity for it. As always, NEVER spend money you don’t have to buy crap you don’t need. And don’t blow money on pointless stuff, let the credit card companies do it for you. If you have ANY credit card debt, do not use this strategy, and if you can’t pay your card of every month, you should not being worrying about rewards.

Comments: Anyone use their credit card rewards for some fancy traveling? Doesn’t it feel great to have someone else pay for your vacation? If anyone wants some advice on a trip or needs some help putting together a list of cards and rewards for their traveling goals, feel free to contact me

The following is a guest post. To learn more about guest posting on iHeartBudgets, please contact me.

In this economy, many people are trying to save money. Cutting costs can be easy, especially if you are willing to spend some time researching. The Internet has provided many options for saving money on almost anything. Being a savvy shopper will easily help your dollars stretch further. Although shopping online has its risks, namely credit card fraud, there are a lot of safe and secure Internet sites. The easiest way to ensure your safety while shopping online is to stick with websites and companies of which you have heard and trust.

Shopping online does not mean you have to give up on quality or make any compromises on what you want. The benefit of the Internet is that you can find the same exact items you found in the store online for less money. Even when you include shipping, which a lot of sites throw in for free, you can often save money.

Discounts

Most of the time, stores on the Internet are less expensive than retail stores. However, even shopping the online store of your favorite shop can save you money. If you sign up for their emails, you will often get coupon codes you can use. These will save you money, and you are still buying directly from your favorite store. There are also email services that will send you discounts to a variety of stores.

Comparison Shopping

One way that makes the Internet a great place for deals is how easy it is to comparison shop. Instead of driving all around town, you can easily and quickly look at how much the same item costs in several different online stores. Search engines will sometimes even have a shopping tab, meaning they search all the stores and compile the prices for you in one, easy to view place.

Outlet Deals

Outlet stores have been popular shopping areas for a long time. However, the best place to get outlet deals is now online. There are several online stores that get excess or last year’s stock from several popular stores and brands and sell them at a discounted price. Some of these stores are general stores that have everything. There are others that are more specialized, selling just sporting goods or technology. Many brands also have online outlet stores where they put their last year’s stock on clearance. These stores are easy ways to save money on new, quality goods from the stores and brands you love.

Used Goods

Another way to save money is to purchase gently used goods. Although there are plenty of places you can visit in person for used goods, by going online, you have access to far greater inventories. There are many websites where people can sell their old, unwanted items. There are even sites where you can buy and sell designer clothing. Although buying used is always more of a gamble then used, many of these sites have guarantees and other built in devices to ensure that you get what you paid for.

No, this week can be even better than that by doing one simple thing:

TRACK WHERE ALL YOUR MONEY GOES THIS WEEK! WRITE IT ALL DOWN AND LOOK AT IT!

Yup. That’s it. Write down where you spend EVERY PENNY this week, and next Monday, you can sit down and stare at it for a few minutes while you are waiting for a text. Trust me, you will be SHOCKED and RELIEVED at the same time. Shocked to see how much money is spent on food, and relieved that you now know where your cash is going. And come back here and let me know how it goes. This is going to be the starting of something VERY GOOD  :)

Budget Friday: Submission 10

Hey everyone! Welcome back to another episode of Budget Friday. This is seriously my favorite part about personal finance, the chance to help others get on a budget, get out of debt and reach their financial goals. I love showing the power of a well-thought out budget plan, and the long term results they can have.

Today’s budget is an anonymous submission. We’ll call her Darlene.

Background: Darlene did not divulge her age (a lady never tells), but she’s probably not a day over 30 (based on her Roth/401k balance). She has been reading through the Budget Friday series and slashing through her credit card debt (recently paid off 3 cards). She also recently increased her investment contributions to 10% of her pre-tax income. I like where her head is at for planning, so let’s help her get on track to kill the rest of this debt with the quickness! Let’s check out some numbers:

Assets:

• Home – (information not included)
• Retirement Fund Savings (401k and Roth IRA) – $21,246
• Emergency Fund Savings – $501

Debts (Balances)

1. Mortgage – $150,680 at 4.25%
2. Personal loan – $3,537
3. Auto loan – $7,894
4. 401K Loan – $3,273 (payments auto-deducted from check)
5. Credit Card – $1,946 (0% rate until June)
6. Student Loan #1 – $10,321. at 4.25%
7. Student Loan #2 – $13,166 at 3.75%
8. Student Loan #3 – $42,799 at 6.25%
9. Student Loan #4 – $3,896 at 4.25%

Total Debt: $86,832

Goals:

1. Build a small emergency fund
2. Pay Off debt
3. Build up general savings fund

Priorities:

• DEBT KILLER!

Here is her budget:

	JAN	FEB
Starting Balance
Total Income	$  3,916.00	$   3,916.00
Total Expenses	$  3,642.00	$   3,916.00
Projected Ending Balance	$     274.00	$                -
Income
Monthly Income	$  3,236.00	$   3,236.00
Cell Reimburse	$     110.00	$       110.00
Utility Reimburse	$     450.00	$       450.00
Mileage Reimburse	$     120.00	$       120.00
Total Income	$  3,916.00	$   3,916.00
Bills
Mortgage	$  1,079.00	$   1,079.00
Electric	$     100.00	$       100.00	I didn’t lower this, but I’d look around at some of the fun ways to lower your electric bill. CFL bulbs, turning off lights when leaving rooms, etc. can save you a bit, and over the years it really adds up.
Natural Gas	$     125.00	$       125.00	Same here. Trying find ways to reduce this just by searching “how to reduce heating bill”
Cell Phone	$     161.00	$       161.00	You get re-imbursed for your sister’s usage ($80), so your $80 phone bill is not too bad.
Cable/Phone/Internet	$     167.00	$         45.00	CUT THE CABLE! Seriously, this will save you over $100 a month! With Hulu and free streaming of shows/movies online, there is no need for the cable. If you NEED sports, go to a friend’s house
Association Dues	$     100.00	$       100.00
Car Insurance	$     167.00	$       100.00	With selling the car, you can remove “Comprehensive” auto insurance, and you should be able to lower your policy quite a bit. As an FYI, we pay $80 per month for liability plus fire/theft/towing for my wife and I on our two vehicles.
Water/Sewer	$        41.00	$         41.00
Health Insurance	$     151.00	$       151.00	Is this cheaper than your employer-provided plan?
Credit Card		$       533.00	Your snowball starts here!
Student Loan #1	$        50.00	$         50.00
Student Loan #2	$        96.00	$         96.00
Student Loan #3	$     290.00	$       290.00
Student Loan #4	$        31.00	$         31.00
Auto/Personal Loan	$     434.00	$       434.00
Total Bills	$  2,992.00	$   3,336.00
Necessities
Food	$     200.00	$       200.00
Gasoline	$     450.00	$       300.00	$450 is CRAZY HIGH for gasoline. I suggest looking for carpool/bus routes, rideshare, or whatever other options your city offers to offset this cost. There are many more options for getting around besides dropping a ton of cash on gas.
Entertainment		$         50.00	You WILL spend money on going out, might as well budget for it. This is a small amount, but with the amount of debt you are in, I don’t suggest going out a ton.
Spending Cash		$         30.00	This is for spending on whatever the heck you want. When paying off MASSIVE amounts of debt, having a spending cash budget each month helps alleviate the pain from seeing all your money going toward paying off others. Treat yourself a little
Total Necessities	$     650.00	$       580.00
Total Expenses	$  3,642.00	$   3,916.00

Now, I know you are wondering how I slashed so many of the car expenses, and honestly, you may not like it. But to really turbo charge the debt payoff here, we had to do something drastic.

Debt Snowball

Sell the car! Yes, I said! I know it seems extreme, but this is going to take a HUGE chunk out of the MASSIVE debt you have piled up. With an $8,000 balance on the car, I’m assuming it’s still new enough to sell for at least that amount to wipe out your auto loan completely. You cannot afford to keep paying interest on a depreciating asset that is only going to set you back a few more years if you hang on to it. I know cars are VERY hard to part with, especially if they fill a certain need (fits all the kids, weather issues, etc.), but this will be the single most impactful thing you can do to get yourself out of debt in under 10 years.

Now, you will want to make sure you can find a replacement vehicle right away, and I suggest checking out this post that I wrote on how to look for a used car. Essentially, you want to shoot for something around $4,000, find a vehicle that fits all your needs, and ensure it is reliable by searching “Common Issues with (type of car)”. I have personally not paid over $3,000 for a vehicle in 10 years, and we have saved THOUSANDS over the years. I recommend most anything by Honda or Toyota, as they seem to last longer than anything else on the road, and safe vehicles, and get great mileage. So, once you sell the car, use $4,000 from the sale to buy a used car, and throw the rest at the loan. Assuming you get at least $8,000 from the sale, that’s knocks your auto loan in half right there!

With that done, let’s get to the rest of the debt snowball. The current snowball is $533:

1. Credit Card – $1,946 (paid off in month 6)
2. 401K Loan – $3,273 (paid off in month 12) [snowball now $601]
3. Personal loan – $3,537 (paid off in month 18) [snowball now $601]
4. Auto loan – $3,894 (paid off in month 24) [snowball now $1,035]
5. Student Loan #4 – $3,896 at 4.25% (paid off in month 28) [snowball now $1,066]
6. Student Loan #1 – $10,321. at 4.25% (paid off in month 38) [snowball now $1,116]
7. Student Loan #2 – $13,166 at 3.75% (paid off in month 50) [snowball now $1,212]
8. Student Loan #3 – $42,799 at 6.25% (paid off in month 85) [snowball now $1,502]

As you can see, there is a LOT of debt to move through here, and it could take a little while. Do not get discouraged, because I bet it won’t take NEARLY this long to get yourself out of debt. The above assumes the balances don’t change from month to month on the debts that you are NOT focusing on (which is not true, but I didn’t want to run a calculation on each debt for each month including interest rates and all). It also assumes you don’t get any raises for 7 years, which (hopefully) won’t happen either.

Goals

Build a small emergency fund
I suggest having at least $2,000 on hand in case of emergencies. This should cover most things that pop up without stalling your budget any. You can do this in 3 months with your starting $533 a month snowball. 

Pay off debt
See the debt snowball above! 

Build up general saving fund
After  5 – 7 years of aggressive debt payoff, I suggest rewarding yourself with a sweet vacation. Seriously! And with $1,500 a month to work with now that you’re debt free, you can save up for something AMAZING in a month or two. Go ahead, reward yourself! You deserve it! After that, I suggest saving up 3 to 6 months of expenses, or about $8k – $16k. No biggie, though, because it’ll only take you 5 – 10 months to make it happen

Final Thoughts

You’ve got a big mountain of debt to tackle, but I would just take it one at a time. That’s the power of the debt snowball. You can take the smallest debt, knock it out quick, celebrate and then it’s on to the next. You will gain momentum each time you knock out a debt, especially starting at the 401k loan, because your debt snow ball will get bigger and bigger each time. I would say to keep checking back here for encouragement of others who are in the same dilemma, paying off debt and changing their lives for the better. Also, go over to Dave Ramsey’s website and check out the Success Stories. Those are great for helping motivate to keep up the fight and keep paying down your debt.

YOU WILL BE DEBT FREE! It will happen. I have no doubt that you can make this happen with some big changes up front, and a resolve to never borrow again! If you follow this budget, I bet you pay it all off a few years faster than I have laid out here. I see it all the time. People decide to change their financial future, and making great choices seems to compound in their lives, and things can happen faster and better than they ever imagined. You, too, can make this a reality.

Comments: So, what do you think? Is there anything you would have changed about my proposed budget? I’d love to get some reader feedback on what you would do. Darlene has a big mountain in front of her, but tackling it one debt at a time, I see her being a HUGE success!