You’ve started budgeting. Three cheers for you! This is a huge step—and the most important—in making those money goals a reality.

Maybe it’s going well. Maybe it’s hard. Maybe it’s somewhere in between. Wherever you are on the comfort-and-ease-of-budgeting scale, we’re always here for you. And we’ve got 12 solid tips at the ready to help the process run even smoother and the results get even better.  

Let’s play a game. You guess the percentage of Americans that go into debt for their vacations. Survey says—74%.(1) That’s a lot of people paying off bills for sumptuous spas and seahorse snorkeling months after the actual trip.

Well, we have two truth bombs to drop. One: You don’t have to travel someplace exotic to have a great vacation. Two: You can enjoy your time off without blowing off your finances. Boom and boom.

That’s right. You can go the budget-friendly staycation route—living the good life close to home while creating paid-for memories. The best kind.

We’re here to help with ideas aplenty. Others might give you a list of three or five. But not EveryDollar. We’ve got 12 staycation ideas that won’t bust your budget. Just for you, budgeter. Have at it.

As the great Russian author Leo Tolstoy once said, “Spring is the time of plans and projects.” It’s so true. The birds start singing, the buds start blooming, and the budgeters start looking for new ways to meet those money goals.

Something about the newness in nature this season gets us all in the mood to clear out the old. But spring-cleaning isn’t just for the house. You can spring-clean your budget as well. Give it a good once-over to see where you can save more money and stop bad habits.

This type of cleaning will get your budget working even better, making you a happier budgeter. Let’s get happy. Let’s get cleaning. 

“I have tried basically every budgeting app under the sun, and this is the one I've actually stuck with! Super easy to use, and it will make you a better, more conscious spender!" — EveryDollar user, @whaleface

We agree, @whaleface. Not only do you have a creative username, you also have excellent taste in budgeting apps.

And since we want you to get the fullest and best use out of EveryDollar, we aren’t going to sit on these features. We’re going to share them. So turn down the lights and raise the curtains: It’s time to show and tell EveryDollar’s latest and greatest feature updates.

Based on the breakdown you’ll see in our charts below, pets cost around $560–1,764 a year.

Wowzer. That’s a lot. Kind of makes you paws and think. (See what we did there?) So why do people have pets anyway?

Because you can’t put a price tag on love, some would say. Pets are more than animals. They’re pals. Still, you can put a price tag on them, if we’re being literal. (Litter-al?) It’s just that they’re worth every penny.

Maybe you’re thinking about taking the plunge into pet ownership. There’s a lot to think about, and the puggle is real. Or maybe you already have a pet and you’re trying to figure out how to get man’s best friend into the world’s best budget (our app, of course—EveryDollar). Either way, we’re here to help. We’ve got some stats and info to get your mind and budget pet-ready.

So are you ready? Purrfect. (Yeah. The pet puns aren’t going to stop any time soon.)