Budget Couple Podcast

Nate's sister just bought a house and was offered two different mortgage options. One has a lower interest rate with a higher closing cost and the other has a higher interest rate with a lower closing cost. Danielle and Nate walk through how they would make a decision on which mortgage to go with.

Nate and Danielle discuss their bathroom remodel along with the choices they made to fit their budget. They also discuss how they almost lost track of their spending and potentially put the project in jeopardy.

Nate talks about the ins and outs of solar panel ownership. He discusses the costs, benefits, payback periods, and things that you should look out for when considering purchasing solar panels. He explains his viewpoint as someone who has purchased, paid off, and owns solar panels.

Nate and Danielle talk about their new home equity loan and how it fits into their budget. The reasons why the loan was taken out along with a discussion on how to determine if you can afford a loan are discussed. They also look at the benefits of low-interest rates and how putting extra money on your loans can dramatically lower their payoff period.

Nate and Danielle discuss a listener question about the idea of combining 11 different student loans into one. They look at the pros and cons and offer their advice. They also take a look at the questions you should be asking yourself if you are faced with this type of situation.

Nate and Danielle discuss what they are doing with their credit cards in order to help their cards better work for them. Credit cards are treated like cash and as such, should only be used if you have money in the bank to pay for a purchase that you are making in full.

Nate and Danielle discuss the various ways to finance a home remodel and the pluses and minuses of each.

Nate and Danielle answer a listener question on how to afford a home with a pile of debt but a new income.

We answer a listener question about budgeting in college, the decision to open a credit card or not, and putting money away for retirement while in college.

Nate and Danielle discuss how to determine expenses and how to begin the process of budgeting. They look at needed, unneeded, and other expenses and give examples of how finding your expense patterns can be used to setup a long-term budget. Our Twitter: @AskBudgetCouple Our YouTube: View here

50/30/20 50% of income on essentials 30% of income on wants 20% of income on savings How this works for us: 39% of income on essentials 13% of income on wants 47% of income on savings Housing 30% of gross (before taxes) income - came from Brooke Amendment, capped rent for public housing at 25%, Reagan bumped it to 30% Many articles, sites now say it is outdated - doesn’t take into account student loans and retirement expectations of younger generations Not very flexible considering the cost of living in some places, other debt you may have, the fact that you probably don’t need to increase your house cost to maintain 30% as your income increases (we’re paying nowhere near 30%) Dave Ramsey - 25% of take-home pay, 15-year fixed rate One option is to consider what emergency fund you’re able to maintain - could it sustain you with your housing budget for 3-6 months? Car 20/4/10 rule - 20% down, 4 =year loan, 10% of gross income (include insurance) 20% of gross income on all car related expense (6% for us) Pri

Nate talks about the Budget Couple's non-sexy plans for their tax return and what to do when the stock market is jumpy.

Listener questions are answered in relation to inconsistent income and how to best budget for it and what to do with a large inheritance. The Budget Couple offers their advice on how they would go about solving these problems. 

In this episode, we answer listener questions about our budget. We look at our bank accounts, budgeting categories, how we pay for expenses, and planning for non-monthly bills.

Danielle accepted a new job over our hiatus. The job comes with a new salary, benefits, and much more, but how do we plan for it. In this episode we talk about our process for updating our budget with a different income and discuss how we decide to allot money to different areas of our budget.

Sorry for the delay but we will be back with all new episodes next week. We have lots of exciting plans and news to share with you. Please keep the questions coming and we will see you next week.

Nate and Danielle discuss one of Nate's new gadget purchase ideas. They explore how to agree to large purchases, how it impacts their budget, and the thought process behind spending as a team. They also discuss holiday budgeting.

Nate and Danielle answer listener questions about credit card usage. They also discuss how they use debit cards, cash, and other payment methods. Finally a quick review of the budgeting app Every Dollar is given.

Nate and Danielle answer listener questions about debt, buying vs renting, setting a budget, and the biggest change to their budget over time.

In this episode Nate and Danielle answer listener questions. In particular, they explore a question from a couple on how to set budgeting categories. They discuss what they would do and the reasons behind it