We were really curious to see how our 2017 taxes were going to turn out. Our tax situation was different than it had ever been so we weren't quite sure what to expect. Last year we bought a house (after not having owned one for five years), ran two profitable businesses (my blog and my husband's law firm), rented our above-garage apartment (as first-time landlords), and added another kiddo to the four that were already at home. Another happy change is that we faithfully put aside money each ... read more
Refinancing Our Mortgage (from 30-year to 15-year)– Everything you want to know
Do you get more done when you have a deadline? Us too. The adage that "work expands to fill the time available for its completion" can be true in business, in school, and in financial goals. So as we mentioned in our last two budget updates, we decided to limit the time we spend paying off our house! In March we re-financed our mortgage from a 30-year to a 15-year loan. I asked my husband to write a blog post to give you all the mortgage re-fi details (actually I think he ... read more
What I Wish I’d Known About Money in College (Because #FinHealthMatters)
I haven't always been the debt-smashing budget boss I am today. Nope! Far from it! I wasn't a financial disaster in college, BUT I was a complete newbie to managing money. I got my first checking account and my first apartment in the same week (after moving two thousand miles away from my family). There I was all on my own and no one had ever taught me to budget! If I could go back and have a chat with my college self I would share some financial wisdom that I've picked up over ... read more
How to Increase Your Income to Pay Off Debt
I get lots of emails from many of you who are just starting on your journey to pay off debt. Your stories and situations are often similar to ours. You are excited to find another family who started with big debt. You are encouraged that we were able to pay off our debt while I stayed home with our kids. If you've followed our story from the beginning, then you know that we have come a long way! Looking at our income now, our goal to pay off our debt quickly may not seem as daunting a ... read more
$250 Monthly Grocery Shopping for April (with video)
This is our fourth month giving the behind-the-scenes look at how we grocery shop for our family of seven! (The little guy is just barely starting on solids, so I often say family of six when I talk about groceries.) I don't have any deep dark grocery secrets (at least I don't think I do), but people are always asking, both here and in real life, how I keep my grocery budget so low. That's why I started sharing the full list and prices of all the food that we buy in the month. If you would ... read more
Transparent Family Budget Update– March 2018
I know it's been quiet around here for the past couple of weeks. Between sickness going through our family and taking a family road trip for Spring Break (which unfortunately overlapped with the sickness), I've been away from my computer. Sickness or not, you know I'll get back on track to share our monthly budget update! From the beginning these posts have been some of my favorites. I love going through each of our budget categories to share our wins and fails. I also love hearing from ... read more
How Jen Paid Off $77,000 of Student Loan Debt
When we were working our way out of six figures of student loan debt I loved hearing stories of people who had made it to the other side of the daunting debt hurdle. I still love hearing debt payoff stories! Today Jen from Frugal Millennial is sharing her story! When I finished grad school, I found myself underemployed and buried in $75,000 of student loan debt. I had always known that I would have debt, but I thought I would be a making a lot of money. I was in for a rude awakening. My ... read more
{Healthy} $330 Monthly Grocery Shopping Trip– March 2018– Price List + Video
When we were working hard to pay off debt, we were pretty good at sticking to one big monthly grocery shopping trip. Now that we live much closer to actual stores, we end up going more often, which can be dangerous. Our monthly shopping trip started to be not-so all-inclusive since we could easily get to the store (not an option when we lived in my in-laws' basement in the boonies while we paid off debt). I think I did a pretty good job of making our monthly shopping trip big enough to last ... read more
Transparent Family Budget Update– February 2018
I love getting to sit down and chat with you at the end of each month! It's a great chance for us to review our finances a little more thoroughly than we probably otherwise would. If this coversation feels a little one-sided, feel free to chime in down in the comments and share how you're doing on your own financial goals. I really do love hearing how you're doing! We have some biggish changes with our budget in the coming months. Here's a little preview: Food budget We are making ... read more
The Best Chocolate No-Bake Cookies– A fast and frugal favorite
One of the very first recipes I learned to make as a child was Chocolate No-Bake Cookies. I found it in a children's cookbook that my grandma had given me. It quickly became a family favorite. We simply called them no-bakes. To this day when my mom comes over (which is only once in a blue moon since she's two thousand miles away) and we're inevitably working on a sewing project into the wee hours of the night, she'll say, " Why don't you whip up a batch of no-bakes?!" At one point I ... read more
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