How sources are used
A guide cites a source only for the specific claim that source supports. Each source below was opened and read on the date shown. Many of the site’s suggestions — waiting periods, weekly check-ins, inventories — are practical suggestions, not proven interventions, and the guides label them that way.
The full source register is at the end of this page.
How the tools count
- Dates are local calendar dates in your device’s time zone, stored as year-month-day. They are never converted through UTC, so a day cannot shift, and calendar arithmetic handles months of 28–31 days, leap years and daylight-saving changes.
- Plan lengths: 1 day; 7 days; rolling 30 days from the start date; a calendar month from the start date to the last day of that month; 90 days; a calendar year from the start date to December 31. Joining a calendar month or year part-way covers only the remaining days.
- Statuses: followed, allowed purchase, off-plan, paused, not logged. “Followed” and “allowed purchase” both count as following the plan.
- Counts: elapsed days are plan days up to today; assessed days are followed + allowed + off-plan; plan-following days are followed + allowed. Any percentage is plan-following ÷ assessed, and when nothing is assessed the tools say so instead of showing a number.
- Not counted as failures: unlogged days, future days and paused days.
- No money totals: the tools never multiply prices or estimate savings.
Research behind the topic list
The list of topics was planned with keyword research (Google Keyword Planner ranges and Google Trends comparisons) to understand what people look for. That research shapes which questions the site answers; it is not presented as evidence that any approach works, and it is not used in guide content.
Source register
Budgeting: How to create a budget and stick with it — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (archived blog post, 2019). Checked . Archived by the CFPB; still published.
- Logging spending, even one week at a time, gives a realistic picture of where money goes.
- A daily log helps capture small purchases.
- If you know you are prone to impulse spending, make a doable plan to limit it.
- Update a budget when employment or spending habits change.
- A support system of trusted people can help.
Your Money, Your Goals toolkit — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Checked .
- The CFPB publishes free tools including a spending tracker, a bill calendar, a prioritizing-bills tool and a cash-flow budget.
Shelf Life and Expiration Dating of Cosmetics — U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Checked .
- A cosmetic’s shelf life varies with the product type, how it is used and how it is stored.
- Eye-area cosmetics tend to have shorter shelf lives; manufacturers usually recommend discarding mascara two to four months after purchase.
- U.S. law does not require cosmetics to carry expiration dates; drugs (including SPF makeup) must.
- Marking the date you open a product helps track its age; do not share makeup; store products away from heat.
- With an eye infection, stop using eye-area cosmetics, discard the ones in use and talk with a health care provider.
211 — Essential community services — United Way 211 (United States). Checked .
- In the United States, calling 211 connects people to local help, including housing and utility bill assistance.