GUEST BLOGGER: EMMA PARKHURST, CHES, USU EXTENSION ASSISTANT PROFESSOR

I consider myself to be a frugal consumer, although this hasn’t always been the case. When I was younger, I thought I was frugal...but the honest truth? I was obsessed with making cheap purchases. I would try to make the least expensive purchase no matter what the item was, which typically meant purchasing lower quality items. As a result, I would have to replace these cheaper products more often, which meant spending more money in the long-run. Yikes! I finally had enough of the cycle when I realized I would spend less over time by purchasing a more expensive and higher quality item that would last longer. Who else can relate? If this experience sounds familiar to you, here are some tips to get out of this cheap-purchase cycle that helped me make smarter purchases:

Now that we're a few weeks into the year, is your New Year's budget sticking? Here's an awesome tip that may help you keep that goal rolling through the whole year! Having a personal allowance helps you have the freedom to spend money on yourself but the control to not over do it. Have you established a personal allowed? If so, how has having a personal allowance helped you? 

GUEST BLOGGER: ELIZABETH VANCE

​I don’t imagine many couples get excited to talk about finances. In fact, we’ve all heard that financial disagreements are often a large contributing factor to conflicts in marriage. Whether it’s easy for you or not, financial conversations are a must in healthy relationships! Hopefully these few tips can make the process less daunting and more rewarding!

We did it! We made it out of January! Now that we are finally done with what feels like the longest month of the year, I don't think I'm the only one with my thoughts turning to sunny days and summer adventures! Maybe you don't have a big vacation planned this summer and that's okay! But even our long 3 day weekends or our quick getaways to Grandma's end up costing a little more than we anticipated, and there's a way we can get a jump start on that even now, to be ready with a little extra cushion come summer time. Check out this video for tips on how to start saving now so you can do all the fun things this summer without breaking the bank!