Budgeting
How to Make a Budget in Excel (Step by Step)
Build a budget in Excel from a blank sheet in about 20 minutes, with the exact formulas that add it up for you. Or skip ahead and grab our free template.
Co-Founder & Copy Chief
Nate Stavseth
Nate Stavseth is a financial copywriter who has spent nearly a decade turning complex money topics into clear, compelling writing that people actually read. Holding a dual degree in Marketing and International Business & Economics, he’s worked in the financial space since 2016, helping grow multiple trading and investing newsletters and digital products. His copy has driven over $100 million in revenue, the result of pairing marketing instinct with real economic grounding, writing about money in a way that’s practical, straightforward, and focused on what readers need to make confident decisions.
- Dual degree in Marketing and International Business & Economics
- In financial publishing since 2016
- Copy has driven $100M+ in revenue
Latest from Nate
Budgeting
How to Make a Budget in Google Sheets (Free, Step by Step)
Build a free, auto-saving budget in Google Sheets you can edit from your phone, with the exact formulas and a template you can copy in seconds.
Budgeting
What Is Zero-Based Budgeting? A Simple Guide
Zero-based budgeting gives every dollar a job until nothing is left unassigned. Here is how it works, who it suits, and how to start your own.
Budgeting
How to Budget With an Irregular Income (A Simple System)
A simple system for budgeting when your pay changes every month: set a baseline off your lean months, pay yourself a steady paycheck, and put the good months to work.
Budgeting
Sinking Funds Explained (Plus 20 Categories to Start)
A sinking fund saves up for a known expense a little at a time, so the bill never blows up your month. Here is the simple math, 20 categories, and how to start.
Budgeting
Cash Stuffing: How the Cash Envelope Method Works
Cash stuffing splits your spending money into labeled envelopes so when one is empty, you stop. Here is how to do it, which categories to use, and the honest downsides.
Budgeting
50/30/20 vs Zero-Based vs Envelope: Which Budget Is Right for You?
The three most popular budgeting methods, compared side by side. See how 50/30/20, zero-based, and envelope budgeting differ, and which one fits how your brain works.
Budgeting
How to Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck (7 Realistic Steps)
A realistic plan to break the cycle: why a missing buffer keeps you stuck, and the seven steps that get you a month ahead of your bills for good.
Budgeting
Pay Yourself First: How Reverse Budgeting Works
Pay yourself first flips the math: save before you spend, not with whatever is left. Here is how reverse budgeting works, how much to save, and how to automate it.
Budgeting
How to Track Your Spending (and Actually Stick With It)
The trick to tracking spending is not the app, it is friction. Pick the easiest method you will keep, run a 30-day audit, then go light-touch. Here is how.
Budgeting
How to Budget as a Couple (Joint, Separate, or Hybrid)
There is no single right way to budget as a couple. Here are the three common setups, how to split expenses fairly, and the one habit that matters more than the method.
Save Money
Emergency Fund: How Much You Need and How to Build One
An emergency fund keeps a surprise from becoming debt. Here is how much you actually need, how to build it without straining your budget, and where to keep it.
Save Money
High-Yield Savings Accounts: What They Are and How They Work
A high-yield savings account can pay 10x a regular savings account, with the same FDIC safety. Here is how they work, whether they are safe, and when one is worth it.
Save Money
How Much Should You Have Saved by Age? (Benchmarks and Reality)
The common benchmarks say 1x your salary by 30 and 3x by 40. Here is what those mean, what people actually have saved, and why your own trajectory matters more.
Save Money
How to Save Money on Groceries (Without Eating Worse)
You can cut your grocery bill without clipping a single coupon. Here are the tactics that actually move the number, from meal planning to store brands to wasting less.
Save Money
Money-Saving Challenges That Actually Work (No-Spend, 52-Week, and More)
A good savings challenge turns saving into a game with a finish line. Here is how the no-spend, 52-week, and 100-envelope challenges work and how to pick the right one.
Save Money
How to Lower Your Monthly Bills (Negotiate and Cut Fixed Costs)
Your fixed monthly bills are where the biggest, easiest savings hide. Here is which bills you can negotiate, the script that works, and how one phone call pays off.
Save Money
How to Save Money on a Low Income (When It Feels Impossible)
Saving on a low income is not about willpower, it is about tiny, automatic habits and honesty about the limits. Here is how to start, even when it feels impossible.
Debt
Debt Snowball vs Debt Avalanche: Which Payoff Method Wins?
The snowball pays your smallest balance first for momentum. The avalanche pays your highest rate first to save the most money. Here is how each works and which to pick.
Debt
How to Pay Off Credit Card Debt (Fast and For Good)
Credit card debt is the most expensive kind, and minimum payments are designed to keep you in it. Here is how to actually pay it off, and keep it gone.
Debt
Good Debt vs Bad Debt: How to Tell the Difference
Not all debt is created equal. Some builds your future, some just drains it. Here is how to tell good debt from bad, plus the honest truth that context matters more than the label.
Debt
Balance Transfer Cards: How They Work (and the Catch)
A 0% balance transfer can save you real money on credit card debt, or trap you deeper if you use it wrong. Here is exactly how they work and the catch to watch for.
Debt
Debt Consolidation: When It Helps and When It Hurts
Debt consolidation rolls several debts into one payment, ideally at a lower rate. It can genuinely help, or quietly make things worse. Here is how to tell the difference.
Debt
How to Pay Off Student Loans (A Practical Plan)
Student loans are usually low-rate, which changes the strategy. Here is how to pay them off smartly, why crushing them fast is not always the right move, and the one rule that is.
Debt
How to Pay Off Debt on a Low Income (Without Losing Hope)
Paying off debt on a tight income is slow, not impossible. Here is a realistic plan: protect your minimums, free up small amounts, attack one debt, and get real help.
Debt
Should You Save or Pay Off Debt First?
Save or pay off debt first? The answer is a little of both, in order. Here is the sequence that keeps a surprise from undoing your debt progress.
Side Hustles
How to Start Freelancing (With No Experience)
You do not need a portfolio or permission to start freelancing. You need one skill and one paying client. Here is exactly how to get both, from someone whose freelance gig became a career.
Side Hustles
How to Become a Freelance Writer (From a 10-Year Copywriter)
Freelance writing can pay a little or a lot, and the difference is what you write and who you write it for. Here is how to become a writer who actually gets paid well, from a decade in the trade.
Side Hustles
Service Side Hustles That Pay Cash (No Skills-Gatekeeping)
The most reliable side hustles are not online. They are the local, hands-on ones people always need done. Here are the service hustles that pay cash, and how I used one to fund my real dream.
Side Hustles
Freelance Digital Marketing: Getting Paid to Run Ads and Content
Businesses will pay well for someone who can bring them customers. Here is how to turn ad and content skills into a freelance income, from someone who has managed spend across every major platform.
Side Hustles
Side Hustle Taxes: How Much to Set Aside (1099 Reality)
The part every side-hustle guide skips: nobody withholds taxes from your gig income, and the bill is bigger than you think. Here is exactly how much to set aside so tax season is not a disaster.
Side Hustles
The Best Side Hustles to Make Extra Money (Ranked Honestly)
Most "best side hustle" lists are padded with junk nobody actually makes money on. Here is an honest ranking by effort, pay, and startup cost, from real experience, plus the ones to skip.
Side Hustles
Passive Income: What Is Real and What Is a Myth
Almost all "passive income" is neither passive nor income, at least not at first. Here is the honest breakdown of what actually works, what is a scam, and why I can spot the difference.
Side Hustles
How Much Can a Side Hustle Actually Make? (Real Numbers)
Forget the "$10k a month in your sleep" screenshots. Here are honest, realistic numbers for what different side hustles actually pay, and what separates a $200 month from a $2,000 one.
Side Hustles
How to Turn a Side Hustle Into a Full-Time Income
Some side hustles are meant to stay small. Others quietly become your career. Here is how to know the difference and make the leap safely, from someone whose side gig became his job.
Side Hustles
Side Hustle Statistics 2026: How Many Americans Have One and What They Earn
The latest national data on side hustles: how many Americans have one, what they really earn (the average is misleading), why they do it, and how earnings break down by generation.
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