From Zero to Not Broke
How much rent can I afford? Start with your budget
Work out how much rent fits your take-home pay after utilities, living costs, debt and savings. Includes worked…
From Zero to Not Broke
The beginner series: budget, emergency fund, debt, banking, insurance, investing.
12 articles
What an article here has to bring
- at least three concrete ways out
- the note that this is not investment advice
From Zero to Not Broke
First apartment budget: move-in cash and monthly costs
Plan a first apartment with separate lists for move-in cash and monthly spending. Includes a cost checklist, a tighter-month example and rent calculator.
From Zero to Not Broke
Rental costs beyond rent: build the full monthly total
Check utilities, internet, renters insurance and recurring fees before comparing apartments. Includes a housing…
From Zero to Not Broke
Annual expenses: build them into your budget
Budget for annual expenses, insurance and yearly subscriptions. Work out the monthly reserve, avoid counting…
From Zero to Not Broke
Fixed expenses list: what belongs in your budget?
Build a fixed expenses list with examples for rent, insurance and recurring bills. Convert billing cycles to…
From Zero to Not Broke
Monthly budget: plan what is really left
Build a monthly budget with income, fixed bills, everyday spending, annual expenses, debt payments and savings.…
From Zero to Not Broke
Reduce recurring bills: a practical contract review
Review recurring bills by actual use, equivalent service, switching costs and renewal prices. Includes a contract…
From Zero to Not Broke
Pay it down or put it away? The arithmetic is clearer than the argument
What a balance carried alongside savings actually costs, why paying down is the only return that is fixed in…
$736 per year
From Zero to Not Broke
Twenty minutes of bank statements beats a year of budgeting
Why reviewing three months of statements works where budgeting apps fail, the three passes to make, and the…
From Zero to Not Broke
Your credit score, as arithmetic instead of folklore
What the five FICO categories actually weigh, what a score is worth in dollars on a real loan, and why nobody can…
$2,917 per year
From Zero to Not Broke
Your first 1,000 dollars: the order that actually matters
A sequence for the first thousand dollars you keep: a small buffer, an employer match, high-rate debt, then a…
From Zero to Not Broke
Emergency fund: how much you actually need and where it belongs
Why an emergency fund is measured against fixed costs rather than income, and the three properties the account…
Calculators for this section
Check rent affordability
Rent, extra costs and what is left.
7 fieldsList fixed expenses
Monthly bills and reserves.
list, up to 24 rowsPlan your budget
What is left after your expenses.
6 fieldsPlan debt payments
Payoff time and interest costs.
4 fieldsPlan an emergency fund
Your cushion and time to build it.
4 fieldsThe Five-Dollar Slap
Once a week: one money trap, one way out. No fluff, no sharing your address.
Double opt-in, your address is never shared, one click to unsubscribe – and that deletes your address rather than just switching it off.