Being the most popularized gambling machine in the world, slots are loved for much more than their over-the-top design, bright lights, and loud sounds. Over the last few decades, slots have become synonymous with huge wins – turning dollars and cents into a lifetime’s paycheck. [Read more…]
Our ‘Skinny’ Christmas
As the end of the year approaches, we are doing a bit of reflection where our finances are concerned. 2019 definitely threw us for a loop in many ways. We didn’t get as much debt paid down as we’d like to because it seemed every time we turned our heads there was something else we needed to spend money on. All of this has led to us deciding we are going to have a “skinny” Christmas this year and focus on what’s next for us.
Our Christmas Plans
Initially, we’d planned on visiting our family for Christmas, as most people do. However, both of us were stressing about how exactly we were going to be able to afford to do that. A good rule of thumb is if you’re stressing financially about how to do anything that isn’t necessary, you probably shouldn’t be doing it.
Not only that, but my husband has gotten a new job that starts two days before Christmas! This job should be a game-changer for us in 2020, but asking for time off immediately is never a good look. So, no trip home for Christmas made the most sense for us.
Instead, we will be staying home and I’ll be cooking a small meal for us here Christmas Day. We won’t be doing any large Christmas exchange and will be saving our money for new furniture (which we need terribly) and, of course, paying off more debt.
Looking Forward to a More Prosperous Year
We know two awesome things going into the new year that are helping us look forward to a more prosperous and more successful new year.
- My hubby has a new job that will have guaranteed pay. Having a guaranteed weekly minimum paycheck will definitely help us with our budget and plot our road to debt freedom!
- We’ve completed paying our security deposit so our rent is going down! This will save us about $200 per month.
Once he’s gotten his first couple paychecks and we have our emergency fund back in order, we will be paying things off as fast as we can. We have three accounts all under $500 right now, which will be paid off soon (how exciting is that?!). For now, we are waiting out the holiday, looking forward to a quiet Christmas at home, and plotting our amazing journey for the new year.
Readers, have you started thinking about what you’d like to accomplish with your finances in the next 12 months? Let me know about your goals in the comments below!
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How to Beat the Holiday Pressure of Gift Giving
Christmas can get pretty overwhelming, from the traveling, cooking, and gift giving. With the excitement of the holiday season in full swing, we can easily go overboard especially in gift giving. No matter what your childhood upbringing was like we all can agree that [Read more…]
How Lauren Greutman, The Recovering Spender, Paid Off $40,000 of Debt
Lauren Greutman and her husband, Mark, hit rock bottom in their finances a few years ago when they found themselves underwater in their mortgage, $42,000 in debt, and running a $1,000 deficit in their budget each month.
Fast forward a few years, and Lauren and Mark are now debt-free and run her popular frugal living site that helps millions of people, LaurenGreutman.com, formerly IamTHATLady.com.
I am so honored to be joined by Lauren in today’s interview to have her share her story and introduce her brand new book, The Recovering Spender: How to Live a Happy, Fulfilled, Debt-Free Life
Lauren is a wife, mom of four and a recovering spender. If her name sounds familiar, you may have seen her on TV as a frequent guest on The TODAY Show, Good Morning America, Nightline, The Dr. Oz Show, Rachael Ray, and more.
In this interview, Lauren shares:
- How she and her husband, Mark, dug themselves out of $42,000 of debt in four years
- What she did to cut her family’s grocery spending from $1,000 per month to $200 (Say what?!)
- Her advice for those wanting to start a blog to bring in extra income and the great opportunities her’s has brought to her family.
- What her brand new book, The Recovering Spender, is all about and who will benefit from reading it
- What to do if you’re a Saver married to a Spender
I love this interview with Lauren! She has such an inspiring story of how she turned her life around from being a compulsive shopper to getting out of debt and now helping millions of others do the same.
Thanks again to Lauren for sharing her debt-free journey and her book with us!
Lauren’s book, The Recovering Spender: How to Live a Happy, Fulfilled, Debt-Free Life
You can learn more about Lauren at LaurenGreutman.com and find out more about her book at TheRecoveringSpender.com.
Now I’d love to hear about you!
What did you learn from Lauren’s story? Are you a Spender in need of recovery, or do you know someone who is? Please share in the comments below.
Keep moving forward toward your goals. You really can live the life you dream about!
Best Homemade Business Ideas to Keep You Debt Free
Making a little extra income to help keep you and your family debt free is the ideal thing to do. There are many ways you can do it, but one good way is to have your own little business from home making homemade things.
You can choose to do anything you want, you just need the idea and the knowledge to make it happen. Here are a few ideas for things you can do from home to get you started.
Cake Making
Making cakes is something many people do at home, however, if you are good at making cakes and icing them, then you could have something people will want to buy.
There are lots of videos and books on how to decorate cakes if you need a little background knowledge, but once you have learned the basics, you can use your own ideas.
To build up your business, why not offer a gift certificate with your cakes so that they can get another free? There are easy free gift certificate maker applications like Adobe Spark that can help you make them.
Baby and Toddler Clothes
There are a lot of mothers out there with young children, and they are looking for that nice outfit that is unique and well made. If you are good with sewing or using a sewing machine, then it won’t take long at all to start making your own clothes.
You can get easy to understand patterns from the internet that you can follow. If you make them for babies and toddlers, it won’t take long to make, and it will use less material.
Bath Bombs and Soaps
Every now and then, people like to feel pampered, and one way they can do that is by having a luxurious bath. Bath bombs and soaps made with natural ingredients are highly popular, and you can get many recipes online.
Once you get the hang of making them, you can start to experiment with your own ingredients to make them more individual. You may even find that you have a lot of fun making them, and your family can help.
Candle Making
Candle making has been a traditional industry for hundreds of years, and it still captures people’s imagination. Nice scented candles are popular, and they are relatively easy to make.
There are many guides out there, and you can use any scented oils you want to create your own versions. The other good part is that you can make them in many different shapes from long, tall ones to smaller round ones.
Having your own little business at home is a great way to make a little extra money and keep yourself debt free. The good thing with these ideas is that you won’t need to buy a lot of materials or equipment up front. It is also a good way to involve the family and make them part of your project. People will soon be asking for your products and generating you a little income.
Financial Lessons I Learned From My Grandfather
If you’ve followed the blog for several years, you know I’ve spoken about my grandfather. The end of June marks his birthday and it is a time I always wind up reflecting on his life, the things he taught me, and the imprint he left on so many people’s lives. He was someone who was smart with money and level-headed about, well, everything. Anyone looking for solid, non-biased advice could always look to my Pawpaw. Where finances were concerned, people could stand to take notes. Here are a few lessons he taught me.
Take Time to Think
One of the biggest things my Pawpaw taught me was that you need to take time to think about big decisions. While spontaneity is good (and he had plenty of that), he would take a moment to think about any life-altering decision that needed to be made. Case in point: when he and my Nana decided to adopt my mom, he took a few days to consider all of the factors and make an educated choice. He looked at their finances, learned a little more about adoption, and that had a baby girl in their arms later that year.
Leave It to the Pros
There are some things better left to the professionals. My Pawpaw hired people to help with the things he wasn’t good at because, chances are, if he tried doing them it would just cost more money. For instance, he hired landscapers to come and do the yard. He also hired an advisor to handle some of his investing. When it came to tax time, he was the professional everyone came to. This is just a good reminder that just because you can DIY doesn’t mean you should.
Find a Supportive Partner
Another thing my Pawpaw taught me is that you need to have a supportive spouse/partner in your corner. When he approached my Meemaw, his second wife, about wanting to retire early she went out and bought him a retirement mug. “Go for it,” was her response. They were such a great team and understood each other well.
Secure the Life You Want to Live
My grandfather knew that he wanted to retire to Florida and he did just that. It took hard work and planning, but he made it happen. Around the time I was five years old, they moved from North Carolina to Florida. He and Meemaw purchased a beautiful new home in a 65+ community. They lived out some of their best years together there and it is where she still resides.
Have a Plan
Securing the life you want to live isn’t possible without a plan. Every step of the way, he knew what the end goal was. He wanted to be able to have financial freedom and enjoy his life on his terms. We would always joke around that Sinatra’s “My Way” was really about him.
His planning didn’t stop with his life either. Pawpaw had a plan up to the very minute he died. He didn’t leave anybody holding the bag after he passed away. Instead, everything was already handled. The will had been written, money where it needed to be, and everyone was able to process their grief.
Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
Last, but certainly not least, something my Pawpaw always said to us was this: “Don’t sweat the small stuff, and it is all small.”
That is the truth! There isn’t anything in the world you can’t come back from. In the grand scheme of things, it is all small stuff. When he lost a sizable amount of money in 2008, he kept moving forward. It sucked, but he recovered from it. At the end of the day, even the market crash was small stuff. If you keep that mentality, you can overcome anxiety and reach your goals.
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The 5 Categories Missing From Your Budget
Are you struggling to make your budget work but keep coming up short?
If your budget isn’t working, you might think that you’re just not trying hard enough to stick to it. But I don’t think that’s always the case.
Recovering From Crisis: What You Should Avoid
In November of last year I was faced with moving into a hotel until I could pay off some debt and get approved for an apartment. It was a struggle and one of the lowest times of my life. I lived there for six months! While I was there, I was able to pay off some debt and finally save for the moving expenses to get myself into an apartment, which I’m now able to call home. Though things are certainly better than they were, I’ve found that recovering from crisis can be just as difficult as the crisis itself.
Recovering From Crisis
You would think that the time after crisis would be the best part but you’re getting used to living in life… without crisis. You’ll need to adjust different parts of your life to make sure that you are still on the right track, financially and mentally. If you don’t, you run the risk of landing yourself back in a mess. So, what should you avoid when recovering from crisis?
- Don’t spend too much! Seriously. It is so easy to go out and buy all new stuff for your new place, start going out with friends or even buying yourself new clothing after you’ve climbed out of a financial crisis. Don’t! Of course, allow yourself some leeway but be vigilant about saving money and insuring that your crisis never happens again.
- Don’t buy anything you can’t afford. For me, this was difficult. I was moving out of a hotel room into a 2-bedroom apartment and virtually had nothing. It would have been easy to take everything out on credit and rack up debt but instead I opted for used furniture and gifts, which saved a ton. If you’re coming out of a crisis the last thing you want to do is send yourself back into one by being irresponsible with your money.
- Don’t confuse needs and wants. Do you need that 65” television? Probably not. Confusing needs with wants can send you down a rather scary financial path. If you are constantly buying things that you don’t need but want, you’ll wind up either really needing something or in debt getting the things you need.
- Which reminds me, don’t take on new debt. If you’ve just recovered from some sort of financial crisis don’t come out of it and open a new credit card account. Take a while, pay off some debt and establish a new financial routine. After you’ve gotten comfortable with your finances, then apply for credit.
- But also, don’t forget to have fun. While recovering from crisis is usually very serious, you need to make time for yourself. Don’t forget to spend a little money doing things that you enjoy, like going out with friends or seeing a movie every once in a while.
Personally, recovering from crisis has been trying for me at times. However, being able to build yourself back up will be the best feeling in the world! So, don’t give up and remember that there is a lesson to be learned through everything.
Have you recovered from a crisis (financial or otherwise)? How did you handle it?
You may also enjoy:
How We Made $2,148.25 in EASY Money!
You and I both know that getting out of debt and reaching our financial goals is WAY MORE than just scrimping pennies and slashing our spending as much as we can.
Right?
From Credit Card Debt to Loving Her Money with Sarah Li Cain
A few years ago, Sarah Li Cain found herself jobless, broke, and in $9,000 credit card debt after a breakup with her boyfriend.
Today, Sarah is debt-free, married, and living a happy life with her husband and spirited toddler.
Sarah is a freelance writer and illustrator. She believes in the power of storytelling and wants people to share their money stories to remove the stigma around money. An avid traveler, she believes that the way to a happy and productive life is to love your money and be compassionate when it comes to your finances.
I am so excited to share Sarah’s story and introduce her brand new book, Cha Ching! A Money Coloring Book.
In the interview, Sarah shares:
- The lessons she learned from racking up more than $9,000 in credit card debt from an unhealthy relationship
- How she paid off the credit card in less than a year
- Her advice to anyone currently in a similar situation
- How she’s using her experience to teach others to love their money
- And the message behind her brand new coloring book
Thanks again to Sarah for sharing her debt-free journey and her new coloring book with us! [bctt tweet=”How @sarahlicain went from credit card debt to loving her money.” username=”MonicaRLouie”]
Sarah’s brand new coloring book, “Cha Ching! A Money Coloring Book” is available by clicking here.
You can find out more about Sarah at HighFivingDollars.com.
Now I’d love to hear about you!
What did you learn from Sarah’s story? Have you been in a relationship that put you into debt? If so, how did you handle it? Please share in the comments below.
Have you joined our free community yet?
Join me in our private Facebook group called Your Debt Freedom Family, where we’ve got an awesome community of people who are kicking debt to the curb so they can break free and live life on their terms.
I’d love to see you there!
Keep moving forward toward your goals. You really can live the life you dream about!
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