By Leo Babauta
Ever since I got out of debt, I haven’t written much about personal finances, simply because it’s not one of the main focuses in my life. Still, I’ve written a lot about finances in the past — frugality, debt reduction, budgeting, and more — and I think there are a lot of useful articles that newer readers might have missed.
I’ve learned a lot about personal finances in recent years, and I hope my lessons will prove valuable to you, or at least stir up some thoughts that help you in your journey.
I’m not a financial expert, of course, and all of this is simply from my personal experience, with my odd personal take on finances — don’t get into debt, be frugal, eschew credit cards. Please, please don’t start the old credit card arguments again — we’ve gone over them many times on this blog.
So here it is — a list of the best money articles on Zen Habits, as a resource for anyone trying to live more frugally, get out of debt, save money, or simply create a better financial system in their lives. Bookmark it for future reference if you like. Enjoy!
My Favorites
- 20 Money Hacks: Tips and Tricks to Improve Your Finances
- Financial Zen: How to Get Financial Peace of Mind
- How to Make Your Finances Automagical
- 10 Habits to Develop for Financial Stability and Success
Frugality
- The Cheapskate Guide: 50 Tips for Frugal Living
- 50 Tips for Grocery Shopping
- Top 25 Life-Improving Christmas Gifts for Under $10
- 30 Frugal Gift Ideas to Show You Appreciate Someone
- The Cheapskate’s Bible: The Complete Tightwad Gazette
- Monitor Your Impulse Spending Urges
- Cheap but great dates
- Simple Way to Save $3,000 a Year: Brown Bag It
- 50 Ways to Be Romantic on the Cheap
- Enjoy Life Now, AND Save for Later; or, Why Delayed Gratification is a False Dichotomy
- 106 Money-Saving Tips for a Frugal Lifestyle
Debt Reduction
- The 10 Key Actions That Finally Got Me Out of Debt; or, Why Living Frugally is Only Part of the Solution
- 73 Great Debt Elimination Tips
- The 12-Step Get-Out-of-Debt Program
- Fiscal Fitness: Eliminate Debt with 10 Successful Diet Principles
- 10 Ideas for Living a Life Without Credit or Debt
- How I Ended My Love Affair With the Credit Card (and Why I Use Cash)
- Eliminate Debt with the Snowball
- How to get your credit score up, and how not to care
Budgets and Such
- Simple Finances: How and Why to Build Up a Cushion in the Bank
- How to Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck
- 10 Ways to Simplify Your Budget
- 21 Strategies for Creating an Emergency Fund, and Why It’s Critical
And More
- The Six Key Steps to Healthy Finances in Your Relationship
- 10 Ways To Improve Your Financial Situation In Just 15 Minutes
- 10 Lessons to Teach Your Kids About Money
- 7 Things You Can Do Today to Prepare for Retirement
- 6 Great Free Alternatives to Quicken & MS Money
- Automate Your Income to Simplify Your Life