It’s that time of year when people decide to give budgeting another try! A fresh start at improving your finances is a popular plan for the new year. And I wholly approve! Of all the goals you could make at the new year, budgeting is one of the best! So many people are suffering financial stress […]
Frugal Feats, Flops, and Funnies- Christmas Card Edition
There’s no shame in being frugal! I actually really love being frugal! As a big family with big financial goals, we focus on saving money on the things that don’t matter to us so that we can spend on the things that do matter to us. Of course our financial priorities are going to be […]
Earning and Spending in November– Family of 8 in California
I enjoy budgeting because I love the peace that it brings. Knowing that our needs are covered and that we are working toward our goals greatly reduces my overall stress. While no one likes expensive budget curve balls, they’re so much less stressful to manage when you’re on top of the day-to-day money management. We […]
Budgeting for a Trip to Cuba (and Why We’re Going)
After planning the surprise Florida trip for our anniversary, I was eager to dig into planning another trip for the two of us. I wanted to take advantage of my Southwest Companion Pass, so I looked through all of the destinations with Mike. I told him that in addition, to all of the US destinations, […]
Our Family’s Transparent Finances for October 2025
Years ago, before we started budgeting, I was always stressed out about money. Every transaction had me on edge. While we didn’t carry any credit card debt, we used credit cards. I felt like my mind was always bogged down with thinking about how much the credit card bill would be so that I could […]
Create a Christmas Book Countdown that Your Kids Will Love Every Year
One of the most anticipated Christmas activities at our house is our Christmas book countdown. All of our kids, currently ranging from 6 to 17, enjoy this nightly tradition to count down the days in December until Christmas. Even though most of the books are the same every year, there is an element of surprise […]
Complete Cost of Demolishing a Double-Wide Mobile Home on Our Own
Some of you might think we are crazy after I shared our new financial adventure. We were making great progress on paying off our home extra fast when my husband had the idea to invest in another property. It wasn’t a turn-key property either. We knew it was going to take some work to get […]
September 2025 Family Budget Update
I went a few months without sharing a budget update, but I’m back at it. We were still managing our money with YNAB as we always do, I just didn’t write a blog post to share all of our details for the past few months. Why do I share my budget online anyway? Well, most […]
Why you should identify your financial non-priorities
It’s commonly said that you can afford anything but you can’t afford everything. That might not be entirely true. There are certainly some things that I (and probably you) couldn’t buy even if we used every dollar we had. But the sentiment is so true. We all make choices daily about what to spend our […]
We Bought an Investment Property
I alluded to some budget surprises in our June 2025 Family Budget Update, but I wasn’t quite ready to talk about how our finances would be changing yet. I was still alternating between shock, fear, excitement, and dread. Frankly, I wasn’t sure how to tell you all that we chose to take on new debt. […]
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