Credit Card Balances Are Funding Groceries Again—What That Means for Your 2027 Budget Credit cards are increasingly covering grocery bills, and that changes what a household budget really needs to accomplish in 2027. The concern is not simply that people use plastic at the checkout. The bigger issue appears when grocery purchases remain on the card after the due date and become part of a revolving balance. A July 2026 Urban Institute analysis found that […]

A retirement budget needs more than savings alone, because long-lasting debt payments can reduce the income available for everyday expenses and unexpected costs – Shutterstock Debt becomes a retirement problem when monthly payments start affecting more than this month’s cash flow. The warning signs often appear years before retirement, through decisions that quietly reduce savings, limit flexibility, or force future income to cover yesterday’s purchases. The shift can happen without a dramatic financial crisis. A […]

Saving money often means being smart and disciplined: cutting out luxuries, sticking to budgets, and maybe brewing your own coffee instead of grabbing a $6 latte every morning. Some frugal tips are pretty common knowledge, such as buying generic brands, shopping for things on sale, and eating at home instead of dining out. However, there are a lot of others out there that relatively few have heard about. A few of them sound a little silly when you say them out loud. Buying extra lip balm? Paying a fee to have groceries delivered? Wearing your hood indoors? They look wasteful, or just plain odd, until you see what they do for your budget. Here are nine habits that earn their spot. You don’t have to try them all. Pick the ones that fit your life, and let the rest make you smile. Buy More Than One Lip Balm This might sound wasteful, but there’s good sense behind it. How many times have you forgotten where your lip balm is and had to buy a new one? Some people get one for work, one for the car, one for the bathroom counter, and so on. The same idea works for other small things that constantly go missing, like nail clippers, phone chargers, or reading glasses. A cheap backup in the spot where you need it costs less than replacing the original over and over, and it saves you the annoyance of a last-minute store run. And if you manage to get the extras for ridiculously cheap while couponing, then all the better! Pay the Fee for Grocery Delivery Grocery delivery usually comes with an extra charge, so it might not sound very frugal. However, ordering remotely will cut down on impulsive buying and make you more likely to order just what you need, and the savings will exceed the surcharge. Think about the last time you walked into a store for milk and left with a full cart. When you shop from your phone, there are no end-cap displays, no free-sample tables, and no snacks calling your name while you’re hungry. A written list plus a delivery order is one of the easiest ways to keep your grocery total in check. Keep a Bin of “Someday” Odds and Ends Use a separate bin or cabinet for storing and organizing little things left over from previous usage that you might need in the future. An example would be a hex tool that came with a bookshelf you put together. It’s the extra cabinet knobs, the spare screws, the leftover furniture bolts, and the tiny wrench from that dresser. Most of us toss these things and then buy replacements a year later. Keeping them in one labeled spot means the next small repair costs you nothing. Add Water to Your Dish Soap and Laundry Detergent A liquid dish and laundry detergent can last a lot longer if you add water to it. It’ll still do its job most of

Rep. Ro Khanna is putting universal childcare at the center of a nearly $1 trillion, 10-year proposal as he develops a broader economic agenda and considers a potential 2028 presidential campaign. The California Democrat’s proposal comes as other prominent Democrats, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders, have also pushed plans to make childcare more affordable or universally available. Read the rest

Everyone wants killer investment advice that will make them millions of dollars. The buy low, sell high strategy claims to do just that.  But does … Read more

By Jim Dahle, WCI Founder

This composite case is built from patterns I see repeatedly in practice. Names and numbers are fictional. I show every calculation so you can check it and reuse the method. This is Part 2 of a four-part case study. Read Part 1 here: Retirement Planning Case Study Part 1. About the author: Ajay Pruthi is a… The post 2 Crores in FDs, Single, 42, Wants to Retire at 50 – Retirement Planning Case Study Part 2 […]

Giving teens their own clothing budget changes the question from “Can I have it?” to “Is it worth spending my money on?”  gonghuimin468/Pixabay   Back in February I started a radical experiment…. I started giving my 14-year old twin girls a budget of $100/month each. They have to use that money to buy all of their clothes, shoes, accessories, make-up, skincare, and fancy toiletries (I buy the basics). I gave a one-month update back in March. But now that we’ve been doing this for much longer, I wanted to give an update and share how its going. There have been a few surprises! We never did a big “back to school” shopping haul.  This one surprised me! My girls are shoppers. It’s fascinating to me, because I loathe shopping. I’m a get-in, get-out type of girl. I don’t like window shopping or trying on clothes. I don’t care about name brands (though I do care about quality). In fact, I buy lots of clothing on Amazon! Ha!  During the first few months of our budget though, it was money in, money out. The girls shopped every month and always had plenty of items on their wish lists. By the time back-to-school season rolled around, both girls felt like they already had a nice, new, up-to-date wardrobe from the pieces they’d been picking up consistently throughout the spring and summer. They didn’t need anything specific for the start of school, so we skipped the traditional back-to-school shopping entirely. Both girls have started saving! This surprised me too! There was definitely a learning curve during which they spent nearly everything they received. Eventually though, their immediate wants were met. I also think the “fun” of spending someone else’s money has worn off now that it’s their money. They often say they’re “broke,” and I have to remind them that they have hundreds of dollars sitting in savings specifically for clothes, makeup, and similar purchases. They’re beginning to save for winter items like fashionable boots, sweaters, and hoodies. (As an aside, we live in Arizona, so our winters are extremely mild and no specialized snow gear is needed. I know that stuff can get pricey!) Sometimes I have to remind them to spend their money. This is still shocking to me, but the girls talk as if they have no money at all. I have had to remind them to buy new socks and underwear, for example. Having to use their own money makes them stop and think: Do I really want this enough to pay for it myself? Sometimes the answer is yes. But often, they decide they don’t want it quite that badly after all. They’re learning to save for larger purchases. Both girls have started thinking about new shoes. They like name brand shoes, and the styles they want routinely cost between $100-150. That’s more than an entire month’s budget, so buying a pair requires some planning. They have to decide whether they want to use money they’ve already saved, set