The weather hasn’t exactly been cooperative. Normally by this time, we’ve seen several snowfalls. This year? We’ve had one dusting that lasted maybe an hour before snowfall turned to rain and snow turned to slush. Layer on the pandemic and COVID restrictions, and it’s easy to see why any family would feel like they have … [Read more…]
The warm weather faded dramatically fast in typical Midwestern fall fashion. Overnight temperatures are already flirting with freezing, and the days aren’t nearly as warm as they were even a week ago. While there are many things I adore about the change in seasons, there’s no doubt that it’s easier to have free & frugal … [Read more…]
We’ve crested a lot of milestones in 2020. Not only do we have enough money set aside in savings to pay off our mortgage when we’re ready, we can also afford for my husband to take a short-term leave of absence from a work situation that no longer works for our family. Oh. And the … [Read more…]
Kids can be expensive, and clothes can certainly drive up the cost. When you’re prone to both impulse spending and emotional spending, you have to keep up your guard. (That’s my PSA to me from me.) Of course, clothing isn’t the number one reason kids are costly. But if we can cut costs, be eco-friendly, … [Read more…]
When it comes to getting ahead financially, you can spend less or earn more. You can also do both. Early on in our careers, we spent time scaling back. I got really good at saving–maybe a little too good. Over time, we’ve both climbed across our salary schedules and started other income streams. When we … [Read more…]
To say that this hasn’t been the spring we imagined is an understatement. Our usual free and frugal fun adventures are comprised of library visits, playground adventures, and children’s museum explorations. So when the pandemic and subsequent lockdown more or less shook the Etch-a-Sketch of options clean, we had to rethink what free and frugal … [Read more…]
When the pandemic hit, we stopped vacation planning, but we already had our air travel booked for this summer. That meant that I was going to try to do the unthinkable: get my money back from an airline. I honestly never expected that it would happen. But this past week, we got our moolah back! … [Read more…]
I haven’t done one of these saved and earned recaps in a while. Why? Because I somehow seem to be one of the only people in the universe whose spending isn’t dramatically less during COVID. Why is staying home so expensive? OK. It could have something to do with the fact that just this morning … [Read more…]
I believe most people are good. And I also believe that most people want to do good in the world. However, it can be really hard to know how to get started. In this particular moment in history, many families are already feeling a huge financial pinch. While I certainly hope that we’ve put ourselves … [Read more…]
This has been another week for the history books. And not in a good way. It’s more a “Oh, my gosh, Penny, why did you already eat all the ice cream? It’s only Wednesday” kind of way. Mr. P and I have both tried to stay calm in front of HP. But his schedule is … [Read more…]