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
Monthly Grocery Shopping Trip Notes and Video– February
As I've surveyed friends and readers about their grocery budgets (those who actually have them), I've found that the numbers are all over the board. Family size doesn't seem to be the determining factor in how much a family spends. Do you ever wonder what people actually spend their grocery budget on? I've been making all of our personal finances public here for four and a half years. I've shared our low grocery numbers for years, but this year I'm committed to showing you what we ... read more
How to Use a Credit Card Like a Debit Card– Keep Benefits, Lose Debt
One of the things I love, love, love about the way we manage our budget is how we handle credit cards. Though we've always paid our credit cards off in full each month, I used to stress over the timing of credit card payments. I'm going to show you how you can stop stressing over timing your credit card payments and start using your credit card like a debit card. Once we started living on last month's income and embraced the YNAB credit card process, we've never had to wonder or stress or ... read more
Transparent Family Budget Update– January 2018
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
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