Time for our first budget update of 2018! I debated whether I should keep sharing our real personal finance numbers with the world or not. I started being transparent with our income and expenses in the fall of 2013 when we decided to buckle down and tackle six figures of student loan debt. The accountability has been huge! Knowing that I'll have to share everything with you keeps me in line more than you know! In the middle of 2016 we finished paying off $144,000 of debt, but I have ... read more
Mid-Month Grocery Shopping– January
In January we spent $350 on groceries for six people. The first $200 was spent at the beginning of the month in our monthly shopping trip to Sam's Club and Winco. The other $150 was spent in a few mid-month trips, including a trip to a local orchard! As promised, I'm going to show you everything all of the groceries we bought this month. Sometimes a mid-month trip will involve Sam's Club or Winco if I am out that way, but most of my mid-month shopping is done at Grocery Outlet. If you're ... read more
Why I don’t freeze soup (and what I do instead)
Our winters here in Northern California are milder than anywhere I have ever lived. We don't get snow at our house, but we do enjoy a rainy season. I love having four seasons, even if they aren't as extreme as in many places. One of the best parts of cool weather is soup. Seriously! Soup warms you from the inside out. And what's even better is that soup is super easy and super frugal. And recipes are optional. Unlike many frugal folks out there, I don't ever freeze soup. I'll ... read more
Keep your Financial Goals on your Radar
How many times do we make a goal and then forget about it? Or maybe we don't forget about our goal, but the craziness of life takes over and crowds out the important habits we were developing to aid us in achieving our goal. A couple of years ago my kids had a "penny wars" fundraiser at school. The kids were encouraged to bring in pennies and spare change (and you better believe they accepted paper money and checks too). Students could add the money they brought to their class's jar or they ... read more
Our Monthly Grocery Shopping Trip Notes (+ Video)
Ever since I started sharing our family's real budget with you, I've gotten questions about what we actually eat on our low grocery budget. While we were getting out of debt our grocery budget for our (then) family of five was less than $300 per month. Now that we are debt-free we've increased our grocery budget a bit. I just calculated our average monthly grocery spending for 2017 to be $398. For the record, when I talk about our grocery spending, I'm just talking about food-- not ... read more
You Need a Budget– Book Review
If you've been around Six Figures Under for any length of time, you know that we budget with YNAB. We have for years! Learning the You Need a Budget methodology revolutionized the way we think of and handle our money. I know that sounds dramatic, but it's true. As someone who has used, loved, and written about YNAB for years, I was planning to get the new book You Need a Budget: The Proven System for Breaking the Paycheck-to-Paycheck Cycle, Getting Out of Debt, and Living the Life You ... read more
Family Budget Update– December 2017
Happy 2018, friends! I'm excited for the new year! I've been a little absent here lately because of 2017's adventures (new house... no internet, new baby... no sleep etc), but I have lots of plans for Six Figures Under in 2018! As I mention below under the grocery category, in the new year I'm planning to give you some more insight into what I buy and what I cook on a $300-$400 grocery budget. I want to do both videos and blog posts to show you how we manage to eat well without feeling ... read more
The Cash Back Hack I Learned Too Late
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of RetailMeNot. All opinions are 100% mine. Don't you hate it when you learn an awesome trick to save money right after you spent a bunch of money where you could have used that very trick? Well that just happened to us! As I explained in my November family budget update, we bought the components for a new computer as well as a TV and accessories and a trampoline over Thanksgiving weekend. Three major purchases for our family. Like ... read more
Family Budget Update– November 2017
After last month's good income you might expect that we made some headway on our big goals like bulking up our emergency fund. But we didn't. We managed to squeak out the $300 that we needed to get our emergency fund over the $10,000 mark that we fell short of last month. We had some unexpected espensive car repairs and dental work, but our spending went far beyond those not-so-fun things. In fact, you might be surprised where the money went, especially if you know me in real ... read more
How We Bought a House on Nickels and Dimes
I have another honorable mention from the My Secret to Saving Contest! Please welcome guest author, Hope. She is sharing some great advice and encouragement with us today! Nine years ago, while raising four sons on $40,000 a year, my husband and I paid cash for a new house! We like to tell folks that we did it... on nickels and dimes. Living under the national median income is difficult and sometimes saving for nearly any goal can seem like an exercise in futility. But, I am here to tell ... read more
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