-
Cost Cutting: 22 Easy, Medium, and Hardcore Tips
If you’re anything like me, you’re constantly watching for ways to save a dollar. Also if you’re anything like me, you’re hoping this article is full of easy ways to magically save money with little to no effort. Hopefully by reading this you’ll save money by osmosis. That’s my goal when I click on articles like this one. Truly, I hope you find some osmosis-like savings here. Even more truly, I hope you find some fantastic ways to cut costs that make your life simpler. We have done most, if not all, of these things. In fact, we do most of these things on the regular, and it doesn’t even…
-
The Art of Re-Gifting
Remember that scene from The Blind Side when the Leigh Anne Tuoy is about to hire Miss Sue as a tutor for Michael Oher? Miss Sue says, “there’s something you should know about me…I’m a democrat.” Well, before you go on, there’s something you should know about me. I’m a regifter. At our house, we have a designated re-gifting area. Let that sink in a minute. We literally have a tote of things we’ve received and for whatever reason aren’t using and can’t return. When the moment is right, we shop the box for potential re-gifting opportunities. Now, if you’re reading this and you’re thinking man, I put so…
-
5 Tips for Smarter Not Harder Cooking
A couple of years ago I was at my friend Amanda’s house helping make Friendsgiving dinner. (In this scenario, “helping” means standing near her and drinking Malbec.) We’re chatting while she’s dicing veggies, shredding cheese, stuffing mushrooms, and browning elk sausage. And it dawns on me- she’s not running to the trash can every 30 seconds to toss scraps as she cooks, yet there are no piles. Where is everything going? I know I saw her crack some eggs. Answer: the scrap bowl. Amanda tosses butter wrappers, empty cans, veggie ends and eggshells into a bowl as she cooks, greatly reducing the number of steps she has to take per meal…
-
Living that Debt-Free Life
Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler. Proverbs 6:5 I’ve told you this before, but when Mason and I got married, we had negative dollars to our names. Student loans and credit cards- ya’ll know this song. We made our payments, trudged along, hoping to pay off Wells Fargo sometime in our 40s. And then our friends bullied us into taking Financial Peace University (thank you, friends; readers- consider yourselves bullied) and decided to get Gazelle Intense about living that debt-free life. We made a lot of sacrifices, worked a few jobs we hated, said no to some fun things…
-
Christmas in July
Hobby Lobby has their Christmas products out. It’s full on summer and there are nutcrackers in the center aisle. Crafters may love this, but the rest of us sure as heck don’t. This summer I’ve also noticed several Christmas in July sales at furniture stores, clothing boutiques, and Bath and Body Works. (candles, anyone?) That Elf graphic crossed my news feed yesterday…22 weeks til Christmas! Ya’ll (I’m borrowing authority from southern mamas using this word) it’s July. Settle down. At 11:37 pm when my body was tired and my brain was loud, it struck me- I’m also preparing for Christmas this July. The difference is that I’m doing it financially, not…
-
Leftovers: 10 Ways to Make Them Awesome
Leftovers- boring, bland, beige, reheated. Roast beef for three days because that’s what you made in the Crockpot on Wednesday. For years, I slopped them on a plate like a 90s sitcom lunch lady, nuked them, and spiced them up by adding Ranch. Bleh. Now I make a plan for leftovers. Fun fact: they don’t have to suck. Not only do they not have to suck, but you can plan for them to be awesome.
-
Bible Study: Lace up your tennies
Guys, I hate exercise. Everything about it is terrible. Racerback tanks, sports bras, sweat, cramps, burpees. Bleh. I’d honestly rather clean the bathroom than lace up my tennies. My entire life I got away with this attitude and could still zip my jeans and rock a sleeveless dress. Then I had a baby. (She’s worth it, but she rearranged some things on her way.) Arm jiggle and muffin top forced me into a new chapter of habitual exercise. And you know what? It’s not the worst. I’m no longer feeling weak and ineffective. In fact, I’ve never felt stronger or more physically capable. Anticipating doing something difficult was the biggest…
-
Budget 301: Maintain Me
If this were Netflix you could skip the recap (which was a fantastic idea by the way), but since this isn’t Netflix let’s just do a quick review: in Part One of this three-part series we defined what the Budget is and why it matters. Part Two helps you analyze your financial situation and actually create a first budget. See, wasn’t that so fast? In the final piece of this budget trilogy, you’re going to establish that budget habit and get into maintenance mode. It’s amazing how quickly you can make financial progress when executing a solid plan. You’ve got this.
-
Budget 201: Get in Gear
Quick recap: In Part One of this three-part series we did an overview of why The Budget is so important (answer: stewardship), dispelled The Budget’s nasty reputation, and identified what The Budget actually is. We also laid out a few action steps. I’d love to know if any of you decided to track your spending and expenses, took a hard look at any debt, or defined some goals! Assuming that you did one or more of those things, now is the time to put your newfound information to good use. This month is the first month of the rest of your financial life! This month you’re going to bring a…
-
Meal Planning: Taking the Angst Out of Dinner
You stare hopelessly into the refrigerator’s abyss. Mustard, pizza from last week, milk of questionable character. Close the door. Look around. Open the door again- nothing’s changed. No miraculous discovery to answer tonight’s question: What’s for dinner? Fifteen minutes of rummaging through cupboards and the freezer…and the winner is…takeout. Again. Sound familiar?
