Budgeting • Family Finance Mom

How to Keep Money Problems Out of Your Marriage

Money problems and marriage don’t have to go hand in hand. Learn how this simple solution can keep money problems out of your marriage for good. How many of you struggle with money problems in your marriage? I have a secret for you… you are not alone. Very few marriages are free of money problems.…

10 Different Ways 2020 Hurt the Average Family Budget

One of the most popular posts here on Family Finance Mom is the example of a family budget, based on the 2018 Consumer Expenditure data released annually by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This month, the BLS released the data for 2020, giving us a detailed look at just how 2020 – with the pandemic,…

How to Calculate How Much House I Can Actually Afford

First time homebuyers, and even experienced homebuyers who may be buying in a new area or buying into a higher price point, often ask me how much house they can really afford or how much of their income their mortgage should be. The key to answering these questions is understanding that the total cost of…

Your Top 10 Income Tax Questions and Answers

This time of year, most families’ biggest financial concern is filing income taxes. In 2018, a brand new tax bill took effect and brought in sweeping changes to many family’s personal income taxes and lots of questions with it. A year later, I’m still getting lots of inquiries about it, so this week, I’ve put…

Your Average Family Budget Breakdown FAQs

When I first published the example of a family budget based on the Consumer Expenditure Survey data, I knew there would be questions, requests to dig into various parts of the data more, and the need for clarifications. Here are the questions I’ve been asked most often about the average family budget breakdown, and the…

What Does the Average Family Budget Look Like?

When it comes to an example of a family budget, there is no one size fits all answer. I frequently get asked “What are the average monthly expenses for a family of 4?” or “What does the average family spend on groceries every month?” And that is the data I went searching to find and…

Budgeting for Disney World: 4 Sample Packages

Our trip to Disney World in October wasn’t just my kids’ first trip… it was mine too! And to be completely honest, before I started planning our trip, I honestly had NO IDEA what it would cost to even begin thinking about budgeting for Disney World. Two awesome things I learned from my Disney Vacation…

3 Key Tips for Going to Disney World on a Budget

We just returned from our family’s first Disney World vacation. It was magical, exhausting, expensive, and the kids are already clamoring for when we are going again. We had been looking at it for years… but every time I would start, I would become totally overwhelmed by the cost, all the choices, and lost on…

3 Simple Tips to Big Holiday Savings

I received complimentary product from Burt’s Bees Baby to facilitate my review. All opinions presented are 100% my own. #BurtsBeesBaby #Holiday Holiday savings sounds like an oxymoron, right? But the holidays don’t have to be a budget-breaking extravaganza. Today’s holiday post is the first in a multi-week series featuring holiday savings tips to celebrate the season…

8 Things All Moms Need to Know About the New Tax Bill

While many of us were busy preparing for the holidays, Congress was busy passing a new tax bill (you can read the full text here). No matter your political persuasion (or personal opinion on the new tax bill, congress or our sitting President), it has officially become the new law of the land and goes…