However, learning how to budget as a couple isn’t just a good thing for your financial health. If you can figure out how to budget effectively together, then you can also improve your chances of a long and happy relationship too!

To help you get started, here’s how you can take the stress out of budgeting as a couple.

1. Determine Your Mutual Needs Together

The first step is figuring out what you both need to dedicate money to each week or month. This means looking at the essential expenses like car payments, groceries, utility payments, and mortgage expenses. Crucially, even if only one of you drives, if you sometimes get places in that person’s car, you should be playing a part in maintaining it.

When you’re first dealing with your finances as a couple, you might need to adjust some of your expectations so you can ensure you’re on the same page. For instance, just because you want to save more doesn’t mean your spouse or partner will want to. You’ll need to find a way to meet in the middle. The initial aim is to prioritize your needs, then come back to your “wants” later.

2. Create Goals You Can Both Get Behind

When you know how much you have to spend each month, the next step is to figure out some long-term goals. These are the targets that will drive your saving decisions. Creating the right plan can help you to figure out when you can next buy a house, or when you can start a family if that’s what you want. It will also help you to plan for retirement or discuss your dream vacation.

It’s up to you what kind of goals you want to set for your family. The key to success is ensuring that you’re both passionate about your long-term target. Some good beginners goals include:

• Paying off your debts as quickly as possible
• Buying a new home or putting a deposit on a property
• Building an emergency savings stash

3. Think About your Individual Needs

When you’re living as a couple, the needs that apply to both of you need to come before individual expectations. However, once you’ve set a goal for the two of you, you can begin to talk about individual wants. For instance, your partner might want to maintain their gym relationship, while you’d like to spend more on clothing and haircuts.

Ultimately, you’ll need to be willing to compromise here. Both of you won’t be able to afford everything that you want each month in most cases. However, you should be able to find the cash for something important to each of you. Don’t give your spouse a hard time when they share what’s important to them. As long as your partner sticks to the amount that they’re allocated for their “wants,” there’s no need to argue about how their cash is spent.

4. Track Your Spending Via Budget Meetings

Budgets are rarely something a couple can set up and then simply forget about. You’ll both need to play a part in tracking the way that you spend cash. This could mean downloading a financial app that watches your cash for you. Alternatively, it could just mean coming together for weekly discussions about how you’re getting along when it comes to achieving your financial goals.

Remember, there’s a chance that you or your spouse may make a spending mistake on the road to success from time to time. Although you need to show your disappointment during these moments, don’t go over the top. We all make mistakes when changing our habits. Look for a way to recover from the issue as quickly as possible and get back on track.

5. Always Make Decisions as a Team

Finally, when you’re living together as a couple, make sure that every decision you make about your finances, is considered as a team. If someone needs to take out a loan, compare your interest rate options together. If your partner needs extra cash to pay for something important, discuss the impact that him or her taking that money is going to make.

Simply discussing your financial habits can go a long way towards improving them.

How to Take the Stress Out of Budgeting as a Couple is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.

If you’re in debt, you may find yourself trying to balance bills, debt repayment, and miscellaneous expenses. A great way to start paying off your debt is to create a bare bones budget. This budget will show you how to live on less, and get your financial life back in order.

Go Through Your Current Budget

The first step to creating your bare bones budget is to evaluate your current budget. If you don’t have a budget, it’s time to create one. Go through your income and expenses from the last few months, and write everything down in categories. Once your current budget has been assessed, it’s time to determine your wants vs. needs.

Wants vs. Needs

Looking at your current budget, are there ways that you can cut back? A bare bones budget is exactly what it’s called…bare. It involves your needs only, with very little room for wants.

Could you be spending less on food? Could you live in a smaller or cheaper place? What about current bills? If you are trying to pay off debt a little faster, it’s best to cut bills like cable and phones until you can really afford them. There are other ways to enjoy TV for free, and you could always get a to-go phone.

Once you have your needs written down, if you are still struggling to make ends meet, it’s time to do some haggling. Find ways to slash your utility bills, drive your car less if possible, and negotiate with the companies you have to deal with. For items like health and life insurance, there are ways to cut down costs for most people, and you can do the same for bills like car insurance, electric bills, and more.

Don’t Forget Savings in a Bare Bones Budget

At this point, your bare bones budget is almost complete. If you have the room, add a spot just for savings. It doesn’t have to be a large amount of money every month, but choose a number that you would be comfortable with.

Even with a bare bones budget, it is important to save. If an emergency were to happen, instead of putting yourself in more debt, you could fall back on your emergency fund.

A great starting point is $20 a paycheck, but again, choose what works best for you. You can always adjust this amount later on.

Schedule Your Debt Payments

If you’re reading this, chances are that you want to have a bare bones budget so you can pay off your debt. Once your bare bones budget is complete, it’s time to schedule your debt payments.

You should know how much money you owe and what you’re paying for every month, so now it’s up to you on how you want to pay off your debt. There are many strategies for paying off debt faster, and with a bare bones budget, you will know what you can afford and pay.

At the very least, automatically schedule your debt payments. Not only will this give you some time back in your day, but you won’t have to worry about making sure all of your debts are paid every month.

Whenever you make more money from a side hustle or your job, add that money to your debt and continue to live from your bare bones budget. This will help you get out of debt faster, so you can enjoy your money later.

Allow For Small Indulgences (When You Can)

Having a bare bones budget can make you a little stir crazy if you are working so hard with no play. However, you can still allow for small indulgences while on your budget journey.

Try finding free hobbies that make you happy, or go out for a small treat (like ice cream) when you hit another debt payoff milestone. These activities will help keep you focused and make you feel less stuck.

The most important thing to remember when creating and implement your bare bones budget is that this won’t last forever. Eventually, all of your debt will be paid off, and you’ll be able to enjoy your life much more. A bare bones budget is a starting point, but it’s up to you to stick with it and get rid of your debt.

Creating A Bare Bones Budget When You’re in Debt is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.

The holidays are here, giving everyone a chance to be overwhelmed by the potential spending landmines that Christmas offers the average consumer. But not everything has to cost money. Some frugal and free fun can be found around Christmas.

Here are six things you can do to for free fun and enjoy your holiday for less:

1. Go to a parade

Most cities host a parade during the holiday season. Denver has a long-standing event called the Parade of Lights. It’s a fun event that almost always ends up happening on one of the coldest weekends of the year — but people still attend it!

2. Christmas lights tour

Find out where there are great holiday light displays for some free fun. Places to start: City zoos, downtown displays, or neighborhoods that are know for elaborate holiday light displays.

If you’re fortunate enough to live near homes with a super light display make sure to check those out too! Be aware that there are usually long waits and a lot of traffic for the mega-displays.

3. Go to the mall

Most shopping malls have huge interactive holiday displays that also include Santa. You can go with your kids or on your own but there is some free fun for the whole family during the holidays.

4. Volunteer

There are numerous opportunities to help others during the holidays. For people who haven’t volunteered before you will find that it can be amazingly fun. Giving to others just feels great.

5. Participate in a giving drive

Organize a giving drive. Partner with a homeless shelter and give unopened toiletries and clothes in good condition. Find a school that needs supplies and do a supply drive.

Get your friends and family involved as well. You will be amazed at how much you have to give.

6. Throw a potluck

Food, drink, and your closest friends are a wonderful combination for free fun. You can go with an anything goes theme or get super creative go from the traditional Christmas theme, to a Roaring 40’s theme. Provide a space to allow people to come together during the holidays and connect with one another.

Free fun saves everyone money

Don’t feel pressured to spend money you might not have or don’t feel like spending to create long lasting holiday memories. There are a number of ways to creatively and inexpensively experience the holiday season with free fun.

Take some time to brainstorm about what how you would like to experience the holidays, with whom, and how much you would like to spend.

Be clear with your friends and family about your budget related goals and objectives. Let them feel good about saving money as well and get them in on the action. If everyone in your circle is on the same financial page it will be much easier to manage expectations and meet the budget related goals that you’ve set for yourself.

There is no reason to go broke this holiday season. Use creativity, some planning, and a sense of fun to create a memorable, inexpensive and enjoyable time without breaking your bank account.

This post was written by Michelle Jackson, a personal finance and lifestyle blogger sharing her story at The Shop My Closet Project. Her goal is to help people cultivate their best life. When she’s not blogging or podcasting for Girl Gone Frugal you can find her riding her bike, going for coffee, or hiking in the mountains.

6 Ways for Free Fun During the Holidays is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.

Many people resist the urge to go half way (or all the way) around the planet to visit China out of worry that the trip might break their back, or they think to themselves “Why would I travel around the world just to be poor?” – and it doesn’t get any more naïve than that.

I’m not going to preach on the values of travel, or the philosophical definition of what rich really is — or should be. Instead I’m just going to lay down some of the best cheap China tours 2016 travel tips I know of for those who get it. After all, the more people who think traveling on a budget is a bad idea, the shorter the lines for my bone soup.

1. Eat street food. Why is it that so many people go to another country to experience the culture and then hide out in expensive Western palaces and eat Western foods? When you eat at McDonalds, it sure had better be about nostalgia!

2. Spend less time in crowded cities. Yes, you must go and see the main attractions. That means spending time in Beijing, Xi’an, and Shanghai. However, you’ll get more bang for your buck (and a more authentic Chinese travel experience) if you take your chance on rural areas. “Rural” is definitely something different in Asia from what it is back home.

3. Don’t fly. Flights are great if you’re in a hurry to get someplace but if you’re on a vacation or just backpacking around, may I suggest a train? Taking a railway through China can deliver some of the most rewarding scenery you’ve ever laid eyes on. Throw in a handful of epic sunsets and sunrises, and you’ll be glad you bought a train ticket over a flight, any day. To save additional money you can also travel overnight and you’ll just even more out of your travel expenses (and you save on lodging for the night).

4. Water bottle refilling stations. If you find a reverse-osmosis water bottle refilling station, stock up and save around a dollar per bottle of water.

5. Rent a motorbike. If you find you take a lot of taxis and you’re feeling brave or you’ve been around the block, so to speak, then rent a bike and save money by not taking taxi’s around town.

6. Wear colored clothing. It’s hot out and you’re probably terrible with chopsticks. Enough said. Wear darker clothing to hide your food faux pas and other misdeeds. You’ll feel less like a slob, and no one will be the wiser.

7. Air Asia ASEAN pass. Air Asia has a prepaid ticket option called the “ASEAN Pass.” Travelling with one of these can shave a few hundos off your travel budget.

8. Haggle. After nicely asking the price on an object, come back with a reasonable counter offer. You’d be surprised how many go for it after some eye contact and sizing one another up. Keep it playful, but not too playful. Turn the gaze serious at the right time and you’ll be surprized you ever paid full price for anything you’ve ever purchased before.

9. Live like a local. Staying a little longer? Trade the hotel for a guest house or a hostel, eat at places with no English on the menu, and take apartments that aren’t the Ritz. It’s liberating, and doesn’t suck. Trust me.

10. Geo-arbitrage. Make money in your home country online, travel forever. Pure and simple! A lot of travel bloggers will make it seem harder than it really is, but the truth is, it’s never been easier. All you need is an escape plan!

Budget Travel Tips for China is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.

Each Spring we take the time to clean our homes, garages, cars, and possibly even our offices. But for some reason, most of us forget to Spring clean our finances. Luckily Spring is also the end of tax filing season, which is when most people have the best handle on their financial position all year. Take advantage of it this year by Spring cleaning your finances and getting them whipped into shape right alongside everything else in your life.

Your Budget

It’s smart to re-evaluate your budget at least once a year if not more. A budget requires a lot of work at first as you figure out how much to allocate for each category, like grocery spending, gasoline for your car, etc. but after a few months with no big changes, we all tend to operate on auto-pilot.

Operating on auto-pilot is completely natural and it can be a good way to save you some time. But sometimes auto-pilot isn’t the best way to handle your finances, especially if you are working toward a big goal like getting out of debt or saving up for a down payment on a new house.

Take a few minutes this spring to review your budget and make sure everything still makes sense. For instance, if you no longer use you gym membership as much as you used to, now is the time to cut it from your budget.

Your Bills

While you are examining your budget, it’s also a good idea to take a closer look at your bills. Sometimes they have a habit of creeping up over time and it might be hard to notice at first if you are still operating on auto-pilot like we discussed above.

This month I noticed that my cell phone bill went up about $.50 per month. That may not sound like a lot, and it really isn’t, but since I first signed up for my service my bill has creeped up about $3 per month. Usually it’s $.50 here and $1 there, which makes it harder to notice. But since I haven’t changed anything about my service since I signed up in November 2013, I’m going to call and ask about my bill tomorrow.

Your Investments

Since I’m in my early 20’s, I have a bit of a “set it and forget it” method of investing for retirement right now. I contribute to my employer-sponsored 401(k) with every paycheck and it goes into the funds I designated, but other than that I don’t think about my investments very often.

A “set it and forget it” method of investing isn’t all bad, it keeps you from micro-managing away potential profits, but on the other hand it’s a good idea to check in on your investments once in a while. Spring is when I usually go over my 401(k) investment plan with the HR department and I also set up an appointment with my advisor to look over my IRA too.

There are lots of other things you can do to spring clean your finances too, but these are the big three I usually try to tackle in April or May.

What do you do to spring clean your finances?

3 Ways to Spring Clean Your Finances is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.

It’s so close, yet I am in complete and utter denial about how much there is still left to do. Instead of finding music on iTunes for the reception, or making tags for the wedding favours, I’m obsessing over my budget and our savings amounts.

I wanted to have a quiet, simple, small-but-big wedding, but since our engagement, we’ve been spending hundreds of dollars per month on the thing. If it’s not the marriage license ($100), it’s paper plates, forks, and napkins from the dollar store ($10) and gifts for the wedding party from Etsy ($200) and outfit alterations ($300) and flowers ($700).

It all adds up to an exorbitant amount.

Math doesn’t lie, and neither do credit card bills; so far, all in (including parking for events, thank you cards, a parking ticket that I got when I ran into a store to get wedding items), we are at $2,992.34. This sounds like a not-so-bad number, for a wedding including the gown and everything, but we haven’t paid the balance on the photography ($850) or the caterer ($1950), nor have we tipped the vendors or bought all of the gifts.

That number also does not take into account that my fiancé’s parents contributed $1000, my dad contributed $550, and my mom and her husband are paying for the venue and event rentals.

Now that is one expensive wedding! When it’s all said and done, we’ll have spent collectively about $11,000 on the wedding.

Now, I would be lying to myself and to you if I blamed all of my budgetary problems on the wedding. The truth is, I’ve been spending what I want, when I want, and it’s been really hurting my savings rate.

Over the past half of a year, I’ve spent money on entertaining, clothing, travel, my businesses, and eating out like it’s going out of style. It needs to stop.

Hosting a BBQ with 15 people and declining every time somebody asks what they can bring costs more than a week’s worth of groceries. Buying clothing items just because I like them when I am still in the process of losing weight has cost a pretty penny. Paying for parking 3x my normal amount has added up, as well.

I am not the queen of England, and I don’t need to be spending like this.

I need to go on a major budget detox.

Eating out needs to stop; when we entertain, we need to be taking people up on their offers to bring things. I don’t need any new clothes until I no longer fit in to 90% of my wardrobe. I don’t need makeup and beauty products from the drug store just because they catch my eye.

Starting now (except for the wedding stuff we still have to pay for), it’s budgetary detox time. No more coffees out, no more shopping, and no more restaurants.

I start my new job in two weeks, and we’ll have to see at that point what our commuting costs will be, and how much my take-home pay is. After that we’ll do a budgetary overhaul.

Post Wedding Budget Detox is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.