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Blog: family money in plain language
Short, practical guides on family budgeting, spending and saving.
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How to make a monthly family budget: a 6-step guide with an example in lei
A practical guide to making a family budget in 6 steps: the 50/30/20 rule, an emergency fund and a worked example in lei. No complicated spreadsheets.
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Forgotten subscriptions: how to find them in 30 minutes and what to keep
A step-by-step subscription check: where to look for recurring payments, what they cost per year, and a simple rule for deciding what to keep, pause or cancel.
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How couples can split expenses: 3 methods, with the maths in lei
Compare three ways for couples to split expenses: 50/50, proportional to income, and a joint account with personal money. One worked example in lei.
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An emergency fund in 12 months: a staged plan with amounts in lei
How to build an emergency fund in 12 months: the target in lei, a three-stage plan, where to keep it, what counts as an emergency and how to rebuild it after using it.
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Back to school without the financial shock: the list, the budget and the calendar
How to plan school costs: a three-column list, an example budget for one child in lei, and a shopping calendar running from July to October.
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How to cut grocery spending without eating worse: 7 habits
Seven habits that lower the grocery bill: a weekly menu, a shopping list, comparing prices per kilo, cooking ahead and throwing away less food.
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Winter utility bills: keeping them under control with an annual average
Why utility bills jump in winter and how to smooth them out: the annual average calculated in lei, meter-reading records and low-cost ways to use less.
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Pocket money for kids: teaching decisions, by age
How to introduce pocket money: from what age, how much and how, the three-jar method, a table by age and the mistakes that spoil the lesson.
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Budgeting when income is not fixed: seasonal work, commissions and money from abroad
How to budget when income varies: the baseline month, a buffer account and a fixed “salary”, the order of payments, and how to count money sent by relatives abroad.
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What your car really costs per month: working out the cost per kilometre
How to calculate the real cost of a car: monthly and yearly expenses, an example in lei, the cost per kilometre and how to compare it with other ways of getting around.
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How to get out of debt: the snowball or the avalanche method?
Two ways to pay off debts, the snowball and the avalanche: how they work, what the order looks like in a worked example in lei, and how to pick the right one.
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A vacation budget without debt: how to plan it and save ahead
How to build a vacation budget: which costs to include, an example for a family of four, a monthly saving plan and how to track spending while you travel.
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What the first year with a baby costs: what to budget before the birth
Which costs appear in a child’s first year: monthly and one-off, an example in lei, how to prepare the budget during pregnancy and how to keep track after the birth.
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Holidays without debt: how to budget for gifts and the festive meal
How to build a holiday budget: the gift list, the meal, decorations and travel, an example in lei and a saving plan that starts four months ahead.
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Money sent from abroad: how to put it in the family budget the right way
How to track money sent from another country: which currency to record it in, how fees and the exchange rate count, an example in lei and euros, and how to budget when income comes in two currencies.
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Mortgage: the costs you do not see in the monthly payment
Which costs come on top of the mortgage payment: the deposit, one-off fees, insurance, upkeep and furnishing. An example in lei and a simple stress test for your budget.
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Renovating without budget overruns: how to plan and stick to the plan
How to budget a renovation: materials, labour, a 15% reserve, how to compare quotes and how to track spending so you do not exceed the amount you set.
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The monthly money meeting in 20 minutes: an agenda that works
How to hold a monthly money conversation as a family without arguments: a four-step agenda, the rules that make it effective and the data to bring.
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The 24-hour rule: how to stop impulse buying
How to avoid purchases you regret: the 24-hour rule, cost in hours of work, a wish list and how to cut temptation from apps and emails.
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Yearly expenses without panic: sinking funds, month by month
How to cope with large costs that come once a year: listing them, dividing by 12, an example in lei and the difference between a sinking fund and an emergency fund.
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Saving for your child’s education: how much, and from when
How to save for a child’s education: estimating the amount, an example in lei over 15 years, where to keep the money, how to involve the family and what to avoid.