My first full month of apartment bills, line by line
June was my first month paying for everything myself. Every bill, what it cost and how close I came to my budg…
My first apartment budget: $1,295 rent on a $1,332 paycheck
Rent is about 45% of my take-home pay. The full monthly plan I built before moving and the lines I had to shri…
I got a 7% raise. Here's where every new dollar goes
My salary went from $46,500 to $49,800. What that meant per paycheck after taxes, and the split I made before …
A pothole, a bent rim and a $230 February
One deep pothole on Sheridan Road and a flat tire in the cold. How I paid for it and why I now keep a small ca…
My 2025 money year in numbers
A credit card gone, $9,980 off my student loans and a $6,000 emergency fund. The full year, including the mont…
A $350 Christmas budget for nine people
Nine names on my list, from my grandma to a coworker Secret Santa. What I bought, what I made and the $40 I we…
Brakes and rotors for $465: my first big car bill of 2025
My Corolla started grinding on Green Bay Road. Two quotes, what the shop replaced and how I paid without touch…
What I made pet sitting for neighbors this summer
Dog walks, cat visits and two long weekends with a nervous beagle. My $1,420 summer, what I charged and where …
Tracking every dollar for a month: my June 2025 totals
Thirty days, one notes app and every coffee written down. Where my $2,908 in June went, and the two categories…
Paying my parents $300 a month: what it covers
My parents didn't ask for rent. I insisted. What the $300 covers, what it doesn't and how we settled on the nu…
My $1,342 paycheck, split into seven buckets
Every other Friday the same amount lands in my checking account. How I divide it between loans, savings, my pa…