Who else spent $0 on fuel in April? It was definitely a month unlike any other! I can't think of any time we have not spent anything on gas! We didn't spend from most of our sinking funds either. But we added a new sinking fund. Since we are not going to the grocery store and are focusing on eating from our long-term food storage, our food spending is super low. Our Airbnb income took a major hit in April, and we expect that will continue for a while. We did get a huge stimulus ... read more
Quarantine Food Storage- FAQ and Update 4
I'm back with another update on our Quarantine Food Storage Challenge. Today I'm also answering lots of your questions about our experience with this food storage challenge. We've been staying home for 7 weeks now. Our last monthly grocery haul was on March 9th, so almost 8 weeks ago. On March 25th we decided to start doing a Food Storage Challenge where we don't go to the store at all. Since we have long term food storage (that we have stored for years and years), we figure that now is ... read more
The Best Whole Wheat Sourdough Waffles
You are in luck today friends! I'm sharing with you a taste of family history. This is a fantastic sourdough waffle recipe from Mike's Grandma Maxine. It has been a tradition for generations. Our generation loves them and our kids do too! First of all, don't be intimidated by the "sourdough" part. Some people think that sourdough is hard or intimidating, but this is super simple and impossible to ruin. You'll get delicious waffles every time! We keep our sourdough starter in the ... read more
Quarantine Food Storage Challenge- Update 3
Are you ready for another Quarantine Food Storage Challenge update?! Our family is challenging ourselves to stay out of the grocery store for as long as possible, which means we're eating from our pantry and long-term food storage. Not only will this keep us and others safe, but it will give us a chance to test our long-term storage and figure out what things we want to add to our food storage inventory. In this update, I'll share what we ate this week, including trying something totally ... read more
Quarantine Food Storage Challenge– Update 2
It's time for another Quarantine Food Storage Challenge update! For those who are new here, we are doing a food storage challenge during this time of sheltering in place. We are challenging ourselves to not go to the grocery store until the pandemic passes, or as long as we possibly can. Not only will this keep us and others safe, but it will give us a chance to “try out” our food storage to see how it goes and learn what things we need to add to our long-term storage inventory. Last ... read more
Debt Smash-athon MARCH 2020 Progress Report
Well, March wins for the craziest month ever! In March's report, I asked our Debt Smashers how the current world conditions (I'm looking at you covid-19) were affecting (or likely would be affecting) their debt payoffs and financial goals. Many of you are putting financial goals like debt payoff on hold in favor of bulking up emergency funds. Like us, some of you are setting aside additional debt payments to hopefully put toward debt after this is all over, but that you want to keep ... read more
Quarantine Food Storage Challenge– Update 1
For those who missed it, our family is doing a 100% food storage challenge. We are challenging ourselves to not go to the grocery store until the pandemic passes. This will not only keep us and other safe, but it will give us a chance to "try out" our food storage to see how it goes and learn what things we need to add to our long-term storage inventory. At this point the kids have been out of school for 4 weeks. Mike has been working from home for 4 weeks. The last time I went grocery ... read more
Real Family Budget Update– March 2020
I'm sure it goes without saying that March was a crazy month. Since March 16th our whole family-- all eight of us-- have been home all day every day. Mike is working from home. The kids are schooling from home. Pretty much everything on our calendar for the next three months has been erased. Fortunately we are healthy and well. We're actually enjoying the slow down and the time together, but our hearts break for all who are experiencing huge losses and devastation right now. We are ... read more
How We Saved $7,000 in 4 Hours: A No-Cost Mortgage Re-Fi That Makes Sense
Sometimes we focus on saving in small ways and forget to question the really big expenses. With refinance rates at crazy low numbers, this might be the time for you to reduce one of your biggest expenses--your mortgage payment. At the end of last year we refinanced our mortgage from a rate of 3.625% to 2.875%. It cost exactly $254 and took four hours. Our total savings is $7,000 in interest. And that number is much lower than it could be. We earned just $1,750 per hour for our four hours ... read more
How We’re Living Off Our Food Storage– No More Grocery Shopping For Us
It's official. No more shopping for us! Well, at least until life is back to normal. Maybe that's just a month or maybe it's through the summer. I'll explain why we're doing this, then show you what our food situation is at the outset of this crazy challenge. I'll update you with new posts and videos throughout however long it ends up being, showing what we're eating (and describing what we wish we were eating) including recipes we're making to keep our food storage staples ... read more
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