About
Home Budget Help.com

Hi! My name is Cate Brizzell, and I'm the editor/designer of Home Budget Help. I live in upstate New York with my husband and three kids, a son and two daughters.

Here I am in my kitchen "office"

I spend just about every waking hour homeschooling, taking the kids to baseball and dance, or working on my websites.

I also work part-time at my daughters' dance studio. It's a busy life!

So...what qualifies me to create a website offering home budget help?

Well, if you want to get all "official" about it, I have a bachelor's degree in Business Management, with a concentration in Accounting. I also worked as an auditor for the Department of the Navy, a financial analyst and then finance manager for a mid-sized not-for-profit HMO.

I guess you could say I know my way around debits and credits. I definitely have a passion for numbers, as well as organizing. That's part of what personal budgeting is all about--organizing your numbers!

I'd learned how to make a budget early in life, since I had to pay for my own college education. I needed to combine scholarships, financial aid, college income as a resident assistant and summer earnings in order to pay those tuition bills. Careful budgeting was required in order to make it all happen! I couldn't afford a car, fancy clothes, spring break trips or other college "necessities", but I was never late with a tuition payment, and in the end, I earned that all-important degree.

After I was married back in 1994, I created a home budget that allowed my husband and I to pay off over $14,000 in college and wedding debt. (Our debt elimination plan came from a friend I've known since kindergarten, Leo Quinn. You can learn more about his "Own Your Paycheck Again" program here).

Things were going ok, and our budgeting system was smooth sailing. The majority of it was automated, so that our fixed expenses were always paid. We knew how much we could spend on "fun" items, and we had a plan in place to continue paying down debt while building up our retirement accounts. Both our careers were going well.

Home Budget Help.com's central office

Kids came along, and we bought a cute house in a historic town.

We bought nice used cars and paid them off quickly. We took a modest family vacation every year, usually to North Myrtle Beach, our favorite destination. We paid for every Christmas in cash, and when our oldest started kindergarten, we were able to pay his tuition up-front. None of our bills were ever paid late.

Apparently, we didn't need a whole lot of "home budget help".

Then, disaster struck in 2002, shortly after I quit my full-time job to pursue entrepreneurship and mommyhood. My husband was laid off from his high-tech job.

Suddenly, our home budget didn't work any more, because our expenses far outweighed our income. We cut back as much as we could, and hung on, working hard to make sure we never missed a bill payment.

When my husband landed a new job 18 months later, it came with a much lower salary. Times were still tough.

Home Budget Help Family - 2009

During those lean years, I was asked to offer some "home budget help" to fellow church members. I really enjoyed teaching others how to make a budget--even more so when my own situation was pretty dire. There's just something about helping others that makes you forget all about your own problems!

Now, a few years later, we're back on track. My husband has a great career with great benefits, and I'm still successfully working from home as a website designer and virtual assistant.

The point of all this is to let you know that I'm just like you. I don't have any fancy certifications or financial advisor credentials. All I can tell you is what works, and what doesn't, because we've tried just about everything, including not living on a budget at all.

(I don't recommend it.)

Why Home Budget Help.com?

I've worked for myself part-time ever since 1999, doing accounting work and medical transcription and virtual assistant duties. But I've had the most fun creating content websites (using SiteBuildIt!). My websites provide useful information, as well as a steady stream of income for my family. It's definitely a win-win situation!

While chatting with my husband about possible topics for a new content website, he suggested I create a site teaching people how to make a budget. We knew there are probably plenty of people out there who need home budget help!

So, I began to create home-budget-help.com, in order to share my budgeting process with you and other visitors.

How Can We Help?

There you have it. That's my story. As you browse the site, I hope you find even more useful information than you expected!

Don't hesitate to get in touch by visiting our contact page.

You can also subscribe to our newsletter, "Budgeting 101", by going here.

And pay it forward by submitting your best tips on budgeting, or frugal living tips.

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