Money and planning guides
Plain-English guides to budgeting, paying off debt, saving with sinking funds, planning a wedding and keeping rental records, with worked examples you can copy.
- Debt snowball vs. avalanche, with a worked exampleDebt snowball vs avalanche, compared on four real-looking debts: payoff order, months to debt-free and total interest, plus how to run your own numbers.
- Rental property expenses you can track for Schedule EA line-by-line list of Schedule E expenses for landlords, what records to keep for each, repairs vs. improvements, and a simple monthly tracking routine.
- Sinking funds: what they are and how to startSinking funds turn big yearly bills into small monthly amounts. Learn how to pick your funds, do the math per month or paycheck, and where to keep them.
- Wedding budget breakdown by category, with percentagesA simple wedding budget breakdown by percentage, with dollar amounts for $20,000 and $35,000, plus how to adjust it, keep a buffer and track deposits.
- How to make a wedding seating chart, step by stepHow to make a wedding seating chart: when to start, table shapes, family and kids, accessibility, escort cards, and what to send your venue and caterer.
- How to make a zero-based budget, step by stepHow to make a zero-based budget: give every dollar a job until income minus spending equals $0. Example month, biweekly and irregular pay, common mistakes.