Common Cents: A Budget Planner

by Meleah Bowles, Elise Williams

MAKE THE DAUNTING TASK OF MANAGING YOUR PERSONAL FINANCES APPROACHABLE WITH COMMON CENTS!

Money makes the world go ‘round, but it doesn’t have to make your head spin! This budgeting workbook is packed with easy-to-use worksheets, money-saving tips, advice from financial experts, and prompts to help you set (and achieve) realistic financial goals.

Customizable monthly budgets let you record and manage your expenses by category, as well as see the big-picture impact of day-to-day decisions.  But setting up a good budget isn’t just about tracking daily spending; it’s about long-term financial health—so Common Cents will also help you start saving, building up an emergency fund, paying off your debts, and learning how to invest in your future.  This financial workbook includes:  
• Non-boring breakdowns of financial basics  
• Budgeting, purchase-planning, and goal-setting worksheets  
• Step-by-step guides to getting out of debt and building your savings  
• Tips that will help keep you right on track  

Common Cents is designed to help organize your financial life—you’ll learn how to make money work for you.

188 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

Meleah Bowles is Co-Founder of Earn Spend Live. Using her feminine wiles and maybe a touch of black magic, she tricked her partner into moving one block away from her mother with their two dogs and even a ferret for a little while. She and Elise have known each other for years, but only recently discovered their undying love for each other. She has a BA in technical writing from The University of Central Arkansas.

Reviews

[Kirsty ❤️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm coming into this one from a slightly different angle than the intended reader. It's aimed at young women just starting out in life while I am older, already have debt and a debt repayment plan. I have 14 months left and the goal to try and reduce that by 1-2 months so it's all paid off by Xmas 2019 rather than Feb 2020. 

That being said this book is full of good advice on working on a budget (mine needed a rethink so useful to read), savings and debt repayments. No matter what your age (or sex actually) there is plenty of information to help you have a healthier bank and savings balance. I had previously picked up a few tips for next year from some websites aimed at UK readers (which I am - this book is American) and it was nice to see those tips included here. These tips are solid no matter what country you are in. 

Lots and lots of worksheets included in the book to get you started and more importantly thinking about your spending habits including the hard questions around whether you really need that item. 

Overall really enjoyable, very useful and everyone should have a copy

[Andreea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was sent a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Usually I am not a big fan of workbooks and I do not understand why they are on NetGalley. But all this changes when I read this one because it finds the perfect balance between a short and on point self-help book and a workbook!

Another great workbook from these two authors. This book is great and full of advice for beginners to budgeting, but even if you already budget you can definitely find something to improve using this book. Packing great information on paying debt, managing savings and investing, it also offers you a lot of spreadsheets to use in order to track your budget but to also keep up with your money goals!

[Leanetta Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice budgeting workbook. I know we all or most of us had saving money as a resolution this year. Well this book right here will help you teach that goal. There are a lot of tips for how to spend and save wisely. There is so much to help you plan for that trip, paying off debt, or whatever your goal is. This book will help you reach it.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Common Cents is a practical book geared towards helping young women enjoy financial security by showing them how to create a budget, build a savings and emergency fund and so on. The book includes worksheets where you can record your expenses, bills, and set financial goals.

Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group - Rock Point and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Kirsten Lost 2022 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good workbook... I have lots of work to do :(

[Ren · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's the time of year that people are planning their New Year's resolutions. If you don't already work off a budget each month, now is the perfect time to start! It doesn't matter how much money you make, you need a budget. Think you're too broke to budget? Then you REALLY need a budget.

There are already some great books on the market meant to help the reader get their financial sh*t together. How does this one differ? It's targeting a young, mostly female audience. Being outside of the targeted age range, I wasn't familiar with the authors prior to reading this book. Most of the advice is sound, though suggesting people use credit cards to build credit can be a slippery slope and it felt a little too supportive of using credit rather than exercising patience and saving up. Near the end, they say to try not to put more on your credit card than you can pay off at the end of the month. If you're following a budget, you will be able to pay it off. But even better? Pay cash. Then you know it's paid for. There's a lot of good advice here though - everyone needs an emergency fund. Everyone. Question your spending before you buy - do you really need it? Is it made to last?

Because this is a workbook with lots of worksheets, this is a very quick read. The reader will get the basics of budgeting and debt repayment and I do think this will appeal to a younger audience. If you're familiar with Dave Ramsey, you'll recognize a lot of the advice here though Dave tows a harder line on acquiring any debt. If you can't afford to pay for it, you can't afford it. Get creative and figure it out.

I was vacillating on the star rating. While there's nothing really ground-breaking here (as the title suggests, this is mostly common sense), I do think it might help a certain demographic. And then I came upon the piece of advice from one of the authors to move back in with your parents if you can. No. Just no. You are an adult and need to take responsibility for your own life and finances. Get roommates if you need to cut your expenses. Do not revert to being a teenager. Unless your parents happen to have an apartment where you will be responsible for cooking and cleaning for yourself and will pay rent to them (and they will hold you to that), don't do it. Even then, I'd say go get an apartment with roommates. The lessons you'll learn taking care of yourself will be worth far more than the cash you'll save living off your parents.

Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group - Rock Point and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Meghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was received as an ARC from Quarto Publishing Group - Rock Point in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book should be on everyone's shelves. Whether you are in high school and got your first job, a newlywed looking to make some big investments or even parents/grandparents that are looking to pay some bills and get out of debt, this book is for you. I loved how they presented this book to make it colorful on a not so colorful topic such as budgeting and managing money. I also love the fact that it is a workbook and they give you quite a few pages to apply what you learn and try their techniques for yourself so you can see what works and what doesn't work.

We will consider adding this title to our Non-Fiction collection at the library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

[Ann T]

Thank You RockPoint Publishing and Netgalley for an ARC of this workbook.

Although aimed at those in their 20’s this is a useful, quick book to read and easy to understand. It is full of worksheets aimed at being used for a year of budgeting.

The layout is nice, with watercolours making it appealing.

[Tesha Ham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am someone who sometimes struggles to make a budget or keep to it, but honestly this workbook is a life-saver. There are tons of helpful tips and the worksheets range from setting goals for financial futures to seeing where your money goes and how much you get in. The explanations of how to budget, and how to stick to that budget, are thorough and easy to follow. It is super helpful and something I think everyone could benefit from.

I voluntarily read and received a free ARC copy of this title through NetGalley in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really loved looking at this book digitally, really thinking of getting a hard copy. A more simple way to help with budgeting, may not be for some but could work for others. Not moth/year specific so you can start it whenever you want.

[Poongothai · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book on budgeting targeting young people who are starting out. It has simple ideas and the layout makes it easily understandable on budgeting, paying debts, investing, etc. There are lots of worksheets for the budget planning for a year.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the eARC

[Audrey Stars in Her Eye · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never thought i would be taking advice from twenty somethings. But I am okay with this because the authors reminded me that you can budget at any age and kept an upbeat attitude the entire workbooks. Using wording that anyone can understand, Common Cents sets you with knowledge and budget sheets to help you learn to budget, stick to a budget and start saving. I am really excited to take what I learned and apply it to 2019.

[Mary Dickerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Common Cents is full of great tips and actionable advice regarding creating your budget, and sticking to it!


This book starts with some advice and introduction to budgeting, Why we all need a budget, what happens when you don't have one, and more. 


Then worksheets start to appear throughout the book, intersected by sections of more information and more advice.


The pages are beyond beautiful! 

And although a beautiful budget is not needed, is still such a nice touch to have pretty pages to make this task more enjoyable.


Before you find any work page you will find information on how to proceed to fill it out. All you need to know and more is included in this book. 


Some of the topics you will find include:


Budgeting 101
Debt
Setting up an emergency fund
Smart spending
Putting it all together
And extras

Even after you fill up all the worksheets, is still worth to keep this book. To be able to revisit the information and advice if necessary. As we all have reverted back to old habits one time or two.

[Allyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review first appeared on the blog Ally's Appraisals: https://wp.me/p37L0Q-1ar

Common Cents is a brilliantly simple budget book aimed towards the young adult and ‘new’ adult market. What separates Common Cents from other personal finance and budgeting books is the language and forgiving nature of the content. As someone who has read widely within the personal finance genre, Common Cents is a welcome breath of fresh air.

While predominately a workbook filled with prompts and space for budgeting, debt management, and goal setting, Common Cents also offers up advice on handling your money. At no point are you made to feel bad about your previous spending habits or current finance situation – the book instead openly encourages you to be honest and take steps towards helping yourself. The personal anecdotes offered by the two authors, Meleah Bowles and Elise Williams, really ground the book and make it a realistic and positive resource for people wanting to take control of their financial lives.

The workbook offers a number of places to help strengthen your financial situation. The book starts off with a section dedicated to working out a budget, the point is stressed that everyone’s budget will look different and that it’s your life, your money, and ultimately your budget.

The rest of the book tackles debt, starting an emergency fund, making smart purchases, and setting financial goals. Ideally the book is intended to be used over a period of time, with the final section of the book being a place where you can reflect on your financial journey and look back on how you have managed your money. From personal experience, nothing is more satisfying than seeing this progress and I loved that the book provided this space.

Common Cents is a fantastic resource for people who want to take control of their money. The language used is very welcoming, concepts are explained simply, and the authors provide honest personal examples of their own habits.

If you are looking for a starting point at managing your personal finances, then Common Cents really is the place to start. Not only is it well written and approachable, but it is physically very pretty – which not going to lie, really does help ❤

Please note: I received a copy of Common Cents from NetGalley.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the design, the way this is written, the useful information and the fact it's a workbook - ace for twenty-somethings that need a little hand!