There’s absolutely no judgement here if you brought in the new year with a bang. Unless you’re my neighbors who scared my five-year-old awake four different times starting at approximately 9:27 pm. I love watching other people ring in the new year with glitz and glam, champagne and change. But that never feels quite right … [Read more…]
I used my emergency fund, and I liked it. More precisely, we found an issue with our two-story foyer window. When we replaced our front door (for the second time!), we had the bottom of the foyer window resealed with an epoxy thanks to an excellent observation from a new contractor. While that surely saved … [Read more…]
I am pretty good at tuning things out. I’ve marched to the beat of my own drum on this blog for more than half a decade, disregarding traditional blogging advice in favor of doing what feels right. And what I can fit into my day. The same is pretty much true for the rest of … [Read more…]
Somehow, I’ve been a blogger for six years. In so many ways, it feels like I blinked and got here. But in other ways, if I look back, it seems like an actual lifetime is laid out on these virtual posts and pages. To celebrate, I thought I’d pull back the curtain a bit to … [Read more…]
I’d like to say that since I started this blog, we’ve been on a mission to pay off our debt. But the truth is that I started blogging under the impression we were mostly debt free because our cars were almost paid off…and I didn’t realize a mortgage was debt. I know. I know. Once … [Read more…]
“You write about what?” “But of all the things to talk about! Money?!” “You, uh, know money stuff?” Five years ago, I decided to start this blog. I wasn’t writing as an expert or as anyone with anything particularly interesting to say. Instead, I wanted to chronicle my journey of trying to spend more cents … [Read more…]
When things first started to go sideways, I realized I needed small tasks that could give me a sense of accomplishment and a renewed sense of security. Then, I wanted to extend my consideration to the community. There are plenty of ways to support our communities during the COVID-19 pandemic that don’t cost a dime. … [Read more…]
I’m going to stop singing (OK, fine, I am just making up words like everyone else) Auld Lang Syne long enough to round up 19 highlights from 2019. Creating this list did exactly what I hoped it would. It reminded me that there were so many more highlights than I had space for on my … [Read more…]
After spending an actual lifetime in the classroom, you would think that I would know a thing or two about the best teacher gifts. But this is a hard post to write. Not because I can’t pick a favorite gift (I really can’t!), but because there is so much noise surrounding teacher gifts right now. … [Read more…]
Thanksgiving is almost upon us. While the average American gets ready to spend just under $187 on Thanksgiving this year, I knew the personal finance community would have something to say about that. Namely, there are all sorts of ways to make your own Thanksgiving money wins. Maybe you’re hosting, maybe you’re traveling, or maybe … [Read more…]