Believe it or not, the answer to getting out of debt, saving for the future and any other financial goal is the application of the same formula. Live on less than you earn The most basic rule of personal finance is to live on less than you earn. For some it's intuitive, for others it needs to be taught. If you spend nearly everything you earn, you'll be living paycheck-to-paycheck. If you don't live on less than you earn, you'll find yourself in debt. If you live on less than you ... read more
No-Spend Month Menu
I've had some inquiries as to what our menu this month looks like. The funny thing is, our no-spend month menu doesn't look too different from our menu in a regular month. We regularly feed our family of five on less than $300 each month. Much of our food budget is used to stock up. When there is a good price on peanut butter, I might buy enough so that we don't have to buy it again for 6 months. We also buy fresh produce and other staples with our food budget. If we ever eat out (which ... read more
Mock Lasagna– Frugal Dinner Recipe
Mock lasagna is a dinner our whole family gets excited about. Mock lasagna is delicious like lasagna, but is much simpler to make and is easy to make in large quantities. My mother-in-law came up with the recipe years ago when her six children were young. Now it's a tradition that her grandchildren are enjoying. The secret is making the tomato sauce from scratch, but you can use store-bought sauce if you like. Mock Lasagna 16 oz Macaroni Elbows 32 oz Pasta Sauce-- OR-- make your own ... read more
Can’t or Won’t
Over the last few weeks, my kids have started claiming "I can't" as an reason for not doing something they don't want to do. They know that an outright refusal won't go over well, so they give the ever-lame excuse "I can't." I called them out on their laziness and told them they can do it, they just don't want to do it, which is different. They persisted, "No, we want to. We just can't." Having had this conversation with them several times recently I tried something different. "Where ... read more
No-Spend Month Update
We're one week into our no-spend month and things are going fine. When I announced that in April we would be having a no-spend month, I was excited that some of you wanted to join in or follow along. I am eager to hear how you are doing! Honestly, I wasn't sure what documenting my progress throughout the month would look like. I didn't think there would be much to say. I wasn't going to spend anything. End of story. The more I thought about it, the more I thought that it would be good ... read more
March 2014– Debt Repayment Progress Report
Debt Repayment Now that we are using YNAB and living on last month's income, it's so much easier to make sure every dollar has a job. At the beginning of the month we took all the money we had earned in February and assigned it to our budget categories. We put $1,200 toward our debt on the 1st of the month. As the month went on the amount budget to our categories changed around some, which is completely normal (who spends exactly the budgeted amount anyway?). At the end of the month we ... read more
Green Smoothies WITHOUT an Expensive Blender
When I went to a class all about making green smoothies last year, I was inundated with ideas for getting my family (myself included) to eat more veggies. Suddenly there were all sorts of possibilities for using leafy greens and other vegetables we had never used before. We sampled many different combinations and each one was different and delicious. It's amazing how a handful of berries can transform a blender-ful of kale and chard (which I never would have touched before)into something ... read more
Is it Safe to Use Balance Transfers in Debt Payoff?
Are you ready to learn the good, bad and the ugly about using credit card balance transfers in your debt payoff? Is using a 0% APR Balance Transfer worth it? Let's talk about what a balance transfer is and how some people leverage balance transfers in their debt payoff. Then we'll look at what the catch is and figure out if it is a good idea for you. What is a Balance Transfer? You've probably received balance transfer offers in the mail. You may have wondered why a credit card company sent ... read more
Planning a No-Spend Month
Just the other day, I was thinking that it's high time we have another "no-spend" month. It's been about ten months since we've had one. Our first one, which we didn't plan or prepare for, went really well and was a great way to begin getting serious about paying off all this law school debt. We hadn't set our official big, fat debt-free goal yet, but we had decided to stop saving for a house and pay off over $130,000 of law school loans as quickly as possible. Our First "No-Spend" Month-- ... read more
How to get Cloth Diapers Free or Cheap– 10 Money-Saving Strategies
What's holding you back from using cloth diapers? If it's money, then let me show you some ways that you can get cloth diapers without spending a fortune. In fact, I got all of my diapers very cheap and even free! When we started cloth diapering with our third child, I spent $100 to get everything I needed. How long would $100 last for your normal diaper budget? You'll be saving money in no time at all! 1- Buy used When washed and sanitized there's nothing gross about buying used cloth ... read more
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