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| Dedication and Acknowledgments | ix | |
| Introduction | xi | |
| Chapter 1 | What Is Budgeting--And Why Do I Need to Do It? | 1 |
| Realizing What a Budget Is | 2 | |
| Recognizing What a Budget Isn't | 2 | |
| Understanding the Financial Goals | 3 | |
| Determining Whether You Need a Budget | 4 | |
| Looking at a Sample Budget | 4 | |
| Thinking About Your Long-Term Goals | 9 | |
| Chapter 2 | Prioritizing Your Spending | 15 |
| Understanding Why Not Spending Is the Key to Budgeting | 16 | |
| Totaling Your Daily Expenses | 16 | |
| Categorizing and Prioritizing Your Daily Expenses | 20 | |
| Assessing Your Monthly Expenses | 21 | |
| Categorizing and Prioritizing Your Monthly Expenses | 34 | |
| Prioritizing Which Items You Want to Spend Money On | 34 | |
| Chapter 3 | Assessing Your Current Financial Situation | 35 |
| Understanding Why Your Financial Situation Is Important | 36 | |
| Determining Your Income and Other Assets | 36 | |
| Calculating Your Financial Obligations: Debts and Living Expenses | 39 | |
| Putting Income and Financial Obligations Together | 44 | |
| Identifying Potential Cash Flow Problems | 46 | |
| Taking a Break if You Need It | 47 | |
| Chapter 4 | Creating a Livable Budget | 49 |
| Making Your Financial Goals a Reality | 50 | |
| Spending Less than You Make | 51 | |
| Spending Money Only on Budgeted Items | 52 | |
| Saving for Unexpected Expenses | 53 | |
| Revisiting Your Goals and Priorities | 55 | |
| Generating a Budget You Can Stick To | 57 | |
| Chapter 5 | Freezing Your Spending for the Short Term | 65 |
| What Freezing Really Means | 66 | |
| Reducing Temptation During a Freeze | 66 | |
| Establishing What's Really a Need | 67 | |
| Putting Away Your Credit Cards | 70 | |
| Tucking Away Your Debit Card | 70 | |
| Creating a Wish List | 70 | |
| Chapter 6 | Saving Money on Groceries and Incidentals | 75 |
| Preparing Your Own Food | 76 | |
| Not Letting Perishables Go Bad | 78 | |
| Brown-Bagging It | 78 | |
| Using Coupons | 79 | |
| Getting the Lowest Food Prices | 81 | |
| Avoiding Extended Warranties | 82 | |
| Buying Reliable, High-Quality Products | 84 | |
| Not Buying Trendy Items | 85 | |
| Shopping Tag Sales and Resale Shops | 85 | |
| Chapter 7 | Cutting Your Expenses at Home | 87 |
| Turning the Thermostat Down (or Up) | 88 | |
| Reducing Your Long-Distance Phone Bill | 88 | |
| Getting Rid of Cable, Phone Extras, and Cellular | 91 | |
| Shopping Around for Car Insurance and Reducing Your Deductibles | 94 | |
| Growing a Garden, Even a Small One | 97 | |
| Reducing Gift Expenditures | 98 | |
| Avoiding Dry Cleaning | 98 | |
| Getting Your Books and Videos from the Library | 99 | |
| Chapter 8 | Cutting Your Biggest Expenses | 101 |
| Moving to a Smaller House | 102 | |
| Buying a House Instead of Renting | 104 | |
| Renting Instead of Buying | 106 | |
| Selling Your Car | 106 | |
| Changing Jobs | 108 | |
| Taking Cheaper Vacations | 112 | |
| Chapter 9 | Restructuring a Heavy Debt Burden | 115 |
| Understanding How Debt Is Restructured | 116 | |
| Getting Credit Counseling | 116 | |
| Consolidating Your Debt | 118 | |
| Selling Some Assets | 120 | |
| Using Your House to Pay Off Your Debts | 124 | |
| Declaring Bankruptcy | 124 | |
| Chapter 10 | Refinancing Your Home and Tapping Your Equity | 125 |
| Finding Money in Your Home | 126 | |
| Refinancing Your House | 126 | |
| Understanding Equity | 127 | |
| Refinancing Your Home and Taking Out Equity | 128 | |
| Qualifying for Refinancing | 130 | |
| Understanding Home Equity Lines of Credit | 133 | |
| Chapter 11 | Adding Income | 137 |
| Recognizing What Additional Work Can Mean for You | 138 | |
| Changing Jobs | 142 | |
| Getting a Second Job | 143 | |
| Working Overtime | 144 | |
| Freelancing for Your Own Company | 145 | |
| Starting a Small Business | 145 | |
| Chapter 12 | Surviving Unemployment | 151 |
| Sorting Out Severance Packages and Unemployment Insurance | 152 | |
| Locking in Your COBRA-Defined Coverage | 153 | |
| Seeing to Your Other Insurance Needs | 154 | |
| Paring Your Expenses Down to the Bone | 156 | |
| Looking for a Job As Soon As Possible | 157 | |
| Starting a Consulting Firm or Small Business | 160 | |
| Holding Down a Couple of Part-Time Jobs | 161 | |
| Considering Another Geographic Location | 162 | |
| Chapter 13 | Sticking to Your Budget in an Emergency | 165 |
| If Your Car Breaks Down | 166 | |
| If You Incur Extensive Household Expenses | 168 | |
| If Family Medical Bills Overwhelm You | 171 | |
| If You Become Sick or Disabled--Even Temporarily | 173 | |
| If You Lose Your Job | 173 | |
| If a Friend or Family Member Has a Special Need | 174 | |
| Chapter 14 | Getting Government Help--There Actually Is a Free Lunch! | 175 |
| Using Government Food Programs | 176 | |
| Locating Housing Opportunities | 178 | |
| Applying for Insurance | 179 | |
| Getting on Welfare | 181 | |
| Applying for Government Loans and Grants | 182 | |
| Requesting Bankruptcy Protection | 182 | |
| Chapter 15 | Changing Your Budget for a New Baby | 187 |
| Making Time to Think About Your Future | 188 | |
| Estimating Expenses for Your New Baby | 188 | |
| Creating a Nine-Month Savings Budget | 194 | |
| Choosing a Daytime Care Provider | 194 | |
| Living on One Income | 199 | |
| Creating a Budget for Your New Family | 200 | |
| Chapter 16 | Changing Your Budget to Include a New House | 203 |
| Figuring Out the Financing Details | 204 | |
| Choosing Your Mortgage Length | 204 | |
| Deciding on a Down Payment | 207 | |
| Reviewing Your Interest Rate Options | 208 | |
| Shopping for Your New Home | 209 | |
| Selling Your Existing Home | 211 | |
| Understanding Closing Expenses | 213 | |
| Managing Unexpected Household Expenses | 215 | |
| Creating a Budget That Includes Your New Home | 216 | |
| Chapter 17 | Saving Money for College | 219 |
| Understanding College Costs | 220 | |
| Determining How Much You Can (or Want to) Help Out | 221 | |
| Seeing How Much You Can Save | 222 | |
| Taking Advantage of Government-Sponsored Savings Plans | 223 | |
| Finding Other Ways to Pay for College | 226 | |
| Creating a Budget That Includes College Expenses | 229 | |
| Chapter 18 | Changing Your Budget After Age Fifty | 233 |
| Determining How Much You Want to Assist Your Grown Children | 234 | |
| Taking Care of Your Aging Parents | 238 | |
| Helping Your Grandchildren Financially | 240 | |
| Doing More for Yourself | 241 | |
| Assessing Your Retirement Income and Expenses | 243 | |
| Creating a Fifty-Plus Budget | 245 | |
| Chapter 19 | Saving for Retirement | 249 |
| Figuring Out How Much You'll Need | 250 | |
| Finding Ways to Set Money Aside Now | 251 | |
| Looking at Tax-Deferred Ways to Save | 253 | |
| Letting Your Employer Help You | 256 | |
| Investing on Your Own | 258 | |
| Starting Young | 259 | |
| Making Up for Lost Time | 259 | |
| Chapter 20 | Staying Motivated | 261 |
| Sticking with Your Budget Through Thick and Thin | 262 | |
| Making Motivational Signs | 262 | |
| Getting Back on Track When You Blow Your Budget | 263 | |
| Finding Sneaky Ways to Spend Money | 264 | |
| Building a Support Network | 267 | |
| Reviewing Your Budget Periodically | 268 | |
| Appendix 1 | Debt-Restructuring Resources | 271 |
| Appendix 2 | Budgeting Web Sites and Online Tools | 275 |
| Index | 279 |
Overview
Do you reach the bottom of your checking account before you reach the end of the week? Are you looking to have "more" with less cash? Budgeting doesn’t have to be drudgery. These days, ...