Simplify & enjoy life at home with littles.
Today I’m sharing my easy Crockpot Chicken Fajitas recipe over at Jessica Wood’s blog. They’re perfect for “bake one and freeze one” freezer method where you just double whatever you’re making and throw one batch in the freezer. That’s my favorite way to get some freezer meals for nights when I …
In September, I wrote about choosing contentment in our home. Several people said it really resonated with them. And I totally understand why. We are inundated with information and ads and messages from every direction at every minute of every day. You need this. You need it now. Buy it. …
There are entire sites dedicated to tons of crazy ways to make money in addition to your day job, etc… I’ve read a lot of those sites. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but it’s crunch time. If you’re wanting to scrape together a few hundred bucks in …
Perfectly thoughtful gifts for 15 people = $750 Homemade cookies for neighbors & coworkers = $50 a new nativity because my old one is so 2013 = $25 ugly sweaters for the whole family, because that’s a thing now = $50 Christmas cards = $200 Different cute dresses for all …
The following is a guest post from Jessica. Her foodie blog is amazing. [Warning: if you read it when you’re hungry, you might cry.] Read this recipe, then make these mouth-watering apple pie crescent rolls that somehow count as breakfast and/or dessert, then go swoon over her beautiful food pictures on …
This is the cake I made for my one year old daughter’s birthday. It was from a box. I frosted it and put sprinkles from valentines day on it. Go ahead, I’ll wait for you to pin it. You can call your pin “epic boxed cake with canned frosting, valentine’s sprinkles, …
Our first month of intense debt pay off was January, 2015. It took us a few months after Ben was employed to play catch up – pay my parents back for a beater car we bought with borrowed money, get a mini $1000 emergency fund saved, etc… We sat down at a Starbucks, …
I’ve written about how the momentum of debt payoff (or any financial goal) picks up once you get going, and makes you a little crazy. I’ve also already shared 5 things we’re not buying while we’re getting out of debt and 3 semi-hippie things we’re doing to save money. Today I wanted …
A couple things you should know about us before you read my book recommendations: I took a class on children’s books in college. Based on my tuition costs per semester, that class cost approximately $3,000. That’s how much I like kids’ books. I currently spend a decent amount of my waking …
Understanding sinking funds is essential to accurate budgeting (unless your income is such that you choose to cash flow big ticket items). A sinking fund is a category in your budget that adds up from month to month and only occasionally gets spent out of. Sinking Fund Example #1: Car Insurance Most …
So far in this Budgeting 101 Series, we’ve learned how to start a budget and how to track spending. You’ve made your budget, tracked your spending and the inevitable has happened you went over budget in a category or 2. Or all of them. And you feel like this. Lots …
I often suggest to people to try using all cash if you’re new to budgeting. We used to do cash for everything. Then, I cut back and only used cash for only groceries and my “blow money” spending. After a while, we gave up cash and used debit cards with …
A stay at home mom day can be very exciting. Between the laughter, tears, and poop, you never know what might happen. When Ben gets home and asks what we did, I often just stare blankly: huh? I don’t know. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about all that intentional mothering stuff. Raising …
We have committed to basically spending no money on home improvements in our rental house. The landlords take care of necessary stuff (plumbing, new window screens, etc.) and we aren’t spending money on the optional stuff (paint, new furniture, etc.) Because the ultimate goals are to be debt-free and hopefully own a …
Sometimes I’ll jokingly say to my Ben, “when we get out of debt, I would like to buy .” Then we both say, “womp womp,” because it’s not really a joke. There are a lot of fun, …
When we first looked into cloth diapering, I was SO OVERWHELMED by all the information out there. There are entire blogs dedicated to cloth diapering that have reviewed every.single.cloth.diaper. Ever. Which is helpful for some people. But, it was way too much information for me, and it made cloth diapering sound …
So maybe you’ve heard (or perhaps you’re tired of hearing) … we’re getting out of debt. Not just kinda sorta getting out of debt. Oh no, we are all-in trying to be completely debt free. To that end, I have picked up a few borderline hippie habits to save money, …
I am torn between a million thoughts and speechlessness. Between not wanting to talk about it and wanting people to know. I feel both simultaneously. It’s weird. Clearly I’m opting for the latter… For better or worse, I tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve, and it’d be hard for …
Ben was planning to attend a trip to New York City for a conference. It turned out we had enough Southwest points for me to tag along with a free flight. His company would be paying for the hotel anyway (for the duration of the conference), and we could pay …
So, Addie (our 2 1/2 year old) has become more and more conversational. We can really have basically regular conversations with her at the dinner. Though her information isn’t always accurate. Dad: What’d you do today, Addie? Addie: ummmmm I went to Home Depot and the zoo and played puzzles. …