I get so inspired reading all of your accomplishments each month! Thank you for sharing them with me and letting me share them with the rest of our community! If your month didn't shape up to what you had hoped, don't give up! I like what Linda shared on her report. She said, "Do NOT let less progress than expected hurt your momentum. As my daughter reassured me, 'Some months are just more expensive than other months.'” Everyone's journey is different. We all have different struggles ... read more
Real Family Budget Update– April 2019
April's numbers are in, which include a tax refund! For the past two years we've had to pay at tax time, but this year we overpaid. By a lot! Between new tax laws, our businesses not growing like they have in past years, and that one time we accidentally paid $2000 instead of $200 for a quarterly estimated payment to the state of California (oops!) we had our largest tax refund ever. Our combined refund (federal and state) was over $7,000. Before you start jumping out of your socks saying ... read more
Debt Smash-athon MARCH Progress Report
We made some healthy financial progress this month! And by "we" I mean all of you! Our family's progress was pretty minimal this month, but it's so encouraging to see that as a group we are making huge progress! I loved reading your reports. I read every single one. I'm smiling from ear to ear as I read of you doing great things to rock your financial future. I love hearing your sacrifices and successes. I'm cheering you on. My heart aches for those of you who were hit with ... read more
Why we started giving our kids allowance that’s NOT tied to chores
I have always been against the idea of giving an allowance to kids. I mean the kind of allowance that kids just get, whether they've been helpful or awful, completed all their chores or none of them. I wanted my kids to earn money rather than give it to them. I wanted them to learn that money comes from doing productive work, not just from existing. In search of the perfect system for helping kids learn the value of work, we've tried a few different things. They always involved the kids ... read more
Real Family Budget Update– March 2019
If you saw our budget update in February you know that March was a tight month for us. One of the things I really love about living on last month's income is that we have some time to plan how to handle a month of lower income. As you'll see in the spending details below, we didn't fund our sinking funds at all in March. We also didn't put anything extra toward our mortgage. Well, we did put a teeny tiny bit extra toward the mortgage on accident. I'll explain that in a minute. Even though ... read more
6 Hacks for Storing Food in Small Spaces
Whenever we talk about our food storage (or even just monthly grocery shopping), we always have readers who say they can't keep food storage or shop for a month at a time because they just don't have the space. I definitely understand small spaces. When we were first married we lived in the tiniest little in-law suite where our kitchen sink was right at the foot of our full bed! That was the beginning of our small space hacks. Storing food for our family is important, so we've always ... read more
Cost of Setting Up Our Airbnb Rental
We already share exactly what we earn and spend in every category of our family budget. Now we're also sharing details for our Airbnb rental. You only see the net income from Airbnb in our monthly budget updates, and if you're thinking about hosting with Airbnb (or have no plans to ever host, but are just curious), that's not the whole story. Today we're sharing exact costs for setting up our Airbnb. If you're thinking of renting out your place as a short-term rental you'll want to think ... read more
Debt Smash-athon FEBRUARY Progress Report
January was fabulous, but February was EVEN better! As a group we are making some serious progress on getting out of debt and improving our finances! I am so impressed! Big numbers are great, but what's so much MORE impressive to me is the sacrifice and hard work that those numbers represent. THAT is what we're really celebrating here. Whether your numbers were big or small doesn't tell the whole story. Only YOU know what those numbers really represent. For those who are new here, in ... read more
$300 Monthly Grocery Shopping After a No-Spend Month– March 2019
After having a no-spend month with a pantry challenge in February, we were eager to do our March grocery shopping, so eager that I even went on a Saturday. We went to Winco, Sam’s Club, and Sprouts and spent nearly $300. We will grab a few things later in the month (I just got 6 jars of jam at Walmart today), but this is basically it. Well, all this and what we have in the pantry, freezer, and food storage. After filming my grocery haul, I promptly lost my Winco receipt. After delaying ... read more
Real Family Budget Update– February 2019
If you've seen my last couple of posts, you know that February's no-spend challenge didn't go exactly as planned, but we made it to the other side. I shared the story last week (here and here) and now I'll go into all of the numbers. But first, here's your reminder to quickly fill out your own Debt Smash-athon Report for February. Our January report was awesome! I can't wait to see how it all adds up for February. Remembr, we're counting debt paid, contributing toward your retirement, or ... read more
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