When I first started teaching, I had one class where I was the only white face in the room. Our curriculum spanned everything from Edgar Allen Poe and Jack London to Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. There were times when I was the expert and other times when I couldn’t muster a single … [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…]
I tend to prioritize saving over earning more money. It’s worth noting *why* I do this. Obviously, if you have a big mountain of debt to move, the best way to move the needle is to make more money. However, we don’t have an income problem so much as a spending problem. Or at least, … [Read more…]
The email hit my inbox around 2 am. If you know anything about Target and their designer collaborations, this is not all that unusual. In fact, it’s pretty standard. What was different about this designer launch is that I…slept through it. In years past, I would sit up and watch the minutes click by. Would … [Read more…]
Remember how in my last money diary I joked about $19 in 48 hours making kids expensive? Hahahahahahahaha. Here’s live footage of me trying to salvage our budget at the end of July. via GIPHY There’s just something about summertime that means spending in my life. Though if social media is any indication, it’s pretty … [Read more…]
There’s nothing sweeter than summertime, so I thought it was only fitting that we do some celebrating. Specifically, I wanted to put together a roundup of other people’s money wins in the personal finance community. Why? Because I am spending all of my dollars this summer, so we better ask other people for help here. … [Read more…]
My default setting is programmed to shop. It’s truly an instinct and impulse. I spend a lot of time guarding against it, but I want to acknowledge something very important. Critical even. I. Buy. Things. It doesn’t get said enough. Not like that anyway. No, I don’t mean the excessive line spacing, either. Whenever people … [Read more…]
“But what’s the point of not really buying anything all the time if we don’t do this?” A comment my husband made while we were mapping out our summer plans stopped me in my tracks. Once again, I forgot the why of frugality. We were knee deep in the middle of ideas–literally. Our dining room … [Read more…]
I hate my mortgage. How’s that for today’s installment of Truths That Surprise No One? No amount of rationalizations have ever made my mortgage seem palatable. I know our interest rate is low. I know we bought at a great time. I know that my money could be working harder for me in the market. … [Read more…]
Kids are really expensive. But what if you can get cheap toys? Cheap toys when they’re babies, toddlers, and kids. OK, never mind cheap. What if you learn how to get free toys? Kids are expensive anyway. But that doesn’t mean that learning how to score toys for less isn’t important. It is. In fact, it’s become … [Read more…]