Earlier in the month, I thought it would be fun to celebrate summertime money wins. I reached out to the community, and I was floored by the number of people who had money wins to share.
Then, a reader reached out to me to let me know that the money wins post was actually linked in a newsletter for The Globe and Mail.
Needless to say, that is probably the biggest money win of my (non-monetized) money blog all summer. What a neat feeling to be included!
As far as my personal money wins go, summer is still the season of spending. There’s some household maintenance looming on the horizon and a whole bunch of tooth upkeep about to happen in my husband’s mouth. Plus, I keep giving into the temptation to fritter away a few dollars here and there.
That’s actually probably what is most frustrating to me. Leaky toilets need fixing, as do cracked teeth. I, however, could most certainly survive by eating (and drinking) out a little lot less. It’s like I’ve learned nothing about ignoring the latte factor!
Despite shoveling money out of our bank accounts, we do have one huge financial win. In fact, I already wrote about it last week: Christmas is paid for and it’s only July. The most amazing part is that a lot of it comes from phone apps.
Now, who knows how many receipts I need to scan to balance out the cost of two crowns? Never mind. Let’s not dwell on that.
To keep things feeling celebratory, here are money wins from Educator FI, Financial Pilgramage, Alberto, and Hailey! They’re slashing costs, traveling, and living their best lives. Seriously, if you read to the end and aren’t at least a little bit inspired, I did this post wrong. Take it away, friends!
Educator FI
What is your money win?
We cut our housing costs in HALF by downsizing.
Why are you pumped?
Did you read the “in half” part?! Okay, really we’re pumped because we’ve managed to reduce our expenses while keeping everything we loved about our former large house. We took out some equity, have the predictable costs of renting (for now), and are able to save/invest more each month. If anything, we feel like our quality of life has improved with the change. It’s amazing!
What can others learn from it?
Housing is one of the largest costs we all have. We’d let lifestyle inflation get us. But, by being clear about what our real needs and wants were (don’t make yourself miserable just to save!) we were able to balance cost and housing. Also – selling a home is an awful experience, but that’s a different story.
Financial Pilgrimage
What is your money win?
Our money win for the summer was planning a trip to Los Angeles with the entire family and spending less than $2,000 on the trip. We were able do get flights and hotels for free (through points for the flights and a family connection for the hotel), found discounted tickets to Universal Studios, and minimized food cost by using the hotel’s continental breakfast.
Why are you pumped?
We created great memories for our family without blowing our budget. This has been a rough summer money-wise in other areas so being able to take a trip at a reasonable price was exciting.
What can others learn from it?
If you are responsible with credit cards you can earn enough points to travel around the country. Know yourself though as any interest or fees will offset the benefits of the points.
Alberto in Panama
What is your money win?
Being able to pay down my mortgage by +$3.5k this month.
Why are you pumped?
Because it brings me closer to really being a homeowner and providing financial independence to my family.
What can others learn from it?
The best time to start is today. Start small, it builds up!
Hailey W
What is your money win?
I took the time to get our home re-appraised so that we could drop PMI based on the updated home value.
Why are you pumped?
We were just “throwing away” $300 a month in PMI…now we can use that money to build up a bigger emergency fund!
What can others learn from it?
Never assume something you are paying is set in stone. I had no idea we could get rid of PMI early until I did a little digging. Also, I highly recommend saving the full 20% for a down payment to avoid PMI altogether!
Final Thoughts on Money Wins
When I read through the list of all the things these friends have accomplished, I don’t know what to do first.
I want to travel. I want to pay extra toward our mortgage (again). Plus, I love Hailey’s point about not making assumptions. While I don’t think we’re moving anytime soon, Educator FI offers a great reminder that there’s real value in living with less. I might not be able to downsize my house, but this definitely inspired me to continue to downsize my closet.
That’s the best thing about money wins, though, right?
The more you realize all of the other amazing and perfectly possible things that real people are doing, the more it makes me want to get better with my own money.
That’s a win right there.
If you’d like to join the money win party, fill out this survey. Whether you are a blogger or a reader or both, you are welcome to party here!
Also, don’t miss any of our past money wins:
- Volume 1 – Kate, Revanche, Melody
- Volume 2 – Jody, Aitza, Little Miss Fire
- Volume 3 – Sarah, Kathy, Tara
- Volume 4 – Zero, Kat, Mystery Money Man
- Volume 5 – Anna, Debra, Claudia
- Volume 6 – Kate, Are We Adults Yet, Money Saved is Money Earned
- Volume 7 – Leigh, $76K Project, Josh
- Volume 8 – Jill, Verokina, Mr. Green
- Volume 9 – Budget Epicurean, Felicity, Erin
- Volume 10 – Kris, Revanche, Aaron
- Volume 11 – My Plutus Nod & Jo-Anne
- Volume 12 – Amanda, Kudy, Laura
- Volume 13 – Kate, Rich, Emily
- Volume 14 – Cait, Margot, Mr. Flexcents
- Volume 15 – Kate, Salty Old Lady, Dave
- Volume 16 – Saving4XtraRice, Perpetual Money Machine, Zandile
- Volume 17 – Rachel, Cashflow Cop, Kris
- Volume 18 – Gigi, One Frugal Girl, Barnaby King
So Tell Me…How are you winning with money lately?
Awesome wins! I love this series. I can’t wait to be part of it… One day. My current “wins” are small–slow and steady is good. 🙂
Any and all wins are welcome! Usually I’m over the moon excited about finding spare change, but I figure I can only write about that so much!
I’ve always enjoyed this series because they are quick inspiring reminders of all the different steps we can take. So great to be featured!
There are so many different ways that people can be good with money. I love that about this series, too! You don’t have to wait to cross the finish line to celebrate.
Also, thanks for making me want to sell my house 😉
Just here to say how happy (and jealous) I am of EducatorFI! He is rocking it with that house move. I’m learning so much from his posts! And Financial Pilgrimage going to LA for less than $2000 is kind of blowing my mind. Alberto and Hailey W. are nice to learn about too. There are so many money saving tricks to learn from this community.
As someone about to dump a ton of money into our roof over the next week, I’m kind of feeling like a home-owning sucker…. no money wins lately. Maybe someday soon – ha.
Congrats on being in The Globe and Mail btw. That’s awesome!
Me too! It was so inspiring to read his updates on Twitter, and I loved the way he summarized it here!
Love these! $300 cut off from PMI is HUGE!
Isn’t that awesome!? It made me wonder what I could achieve with a little digging!
Congrats on getting Christmas paid for in July: I wish we planned ahead like that!
Good on Ecuador FI for downsizing & cutting their housing costs in half, for Financial Pilgrimage getting a pretty affordable trip with the family, for Alberto paying down that mortgage, and for Hailey knocking out that PMI.
Lots of housing wins!
Thanks! It feels good to have one thing checked off our list!