Thanks for visiting Ultimate Money Blog! If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Even though I’m a believer in you shouldn’t keep it even if you have the space, I also seem to have a few areas of my house that I just can’t seem to pare down.  It’s really hard for me to get rid of these things for one reason or another.  I know that I’ve been pretty good about getting rid of things, but there’s always excess somewhere. Here are the things I can’t seem to be able to declutter: 1. Towels.  We have probably over 20 towels for two adults (plus two labs).  I have towels from when we first moved in together, my husband has his bachelor towels, we have towels from my mother, and we even have wedding present towels!  I feel like towels are just something that you can always use.  You can’t have too many towels, right? 2. Pillows, blankets, and sheet sets.  Again, same thing with the towels.  Not only is it nice to have [...]

It seems like the majority of people are realizing that less is more, and a minimalist lifestyle is rapidly gaining popularity.  I definitely lean more towards minimalism, and I’m always decluttering and trying to make more space in my house.  I feel better when I don’t have a bunch of stuff laying around and taking up space. One day I was listening to my mother tell one of her friends that I don’t even like my attic cluttered.  Maybe I’m a little OCD; maybe I just don’t like stuff.  It’s probably a little bit of both.  After I thought about her statement for awhile, I started to sway to keeping more things.  I’ve got the space, so why not keep it? I think having more Stuff in your house can cost you time and money.  When you’ve got more stuff in your house, you have to keep it in good condition, clean around it, put it away, and maintain it.  It’s much easier to clean when you don’t have a ton of knick knacks cluttering your shelves. On the other [...]

Sometimes I sit and think about how much money I’m going to need for the future, and it freaks me out. I think about how much it’s going to cost to have kids, replace one of our vehicles, and even how much money we’ll need for retirement. I feel like I’ll never be able to save enough money!  I can save and save and save, but who knows how much is enough?  What if I don’t plan for ___?  I realized that I can’t prepare for everything, so I really need to calm down and think of constructive ways to ensure we are as financially fit as we can be. photo credit: robmercier 6 Month Emergency Fund I think it’s so important to have some type of emergency fund, even if it’s $100.  That’s still better than nothing.  I’d like to have a years’ worth of expenses saved up, in the event that we decided that we are actually going to move or one of us loses our job. Be able to live on less I think this is one [...]