I'm doing the same (mostly just to buy a house) and I've been using YNAB to budget money:
https://www.youneedabudget.com/
It's really good, knowing where you're money is going ahead of time removes so much guilt and anxiety.
https://www.youneedabudget.com/
It's really good, knowing where you're money is going ahead of time removes so much guilt and anxiety.
Something's got to give. Thankfully we're starting to see some actual government investment in US industry for the first time in forever, but it'll take years for any results to bring down prices.
YNAB is much nicer than Mint IMO. Mint feels more like a toy.
With YNAB you do something called "envelope budgeting" (just a digital version) https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-envelope-budgeting-129368...
I've found being obsessive with tracking expenses is a good way to lose motivation (like going to the gym) so it's good to have a simple pattern to get used to.
Anybody who doesn't demand a raise in this environment is a fool.
anyway sorry for the vent/rant, but what we need to do is stop loose monetary and fiscal policy that transfers wealth to people who got assets like real estate and stock (boomers, the rich) from people who don't (young people, the poor). but nobody wants to do that...