No one gets married thinking about divorce, but we know it happens to so many couples. If we could figure out what causes it, would we try to avoid it? OF COURSE WE WOULD. We’re not dumb. There it is in black and white, on every list of the most common causes of divorce: money and financial issues. Here’s the thing – it isn’t a lack of money that makes the list. It’s the issues that come from not being on the same page financially with your spouse – not seeing eye to eye about money. Maybe one spouse is a spender while the other is a saver, or one insists on controlling every aspect of the finances without letting the other have a say. What is comes down to is that if you aren’t on the same page, with the same vision of your financial future as your spouse, there will be issues. So, how do you get on the same page?
Category: financial freedom
Five Ways to Start a Mini Emergency Fund {Fabulously Frugal}
There was a time when I thought I would never be able to save $1000 for a mini emergency fund. Now I can’t imagine life without it, as well as our big emergency fund (6 months worth of expenses). If you want to set aside for emergencies, but the idea of saving $1000 is intimidating or seems impossible I’m here to help. Emergencies will come, and you don’t want to be in a panic when they arrive. Having an amount set aside that you only touch for emergencies can really give you peac of mind. Before you start to pay off debt or invest, you need to have money set aside for emergencies.
Why We Don’t Use Credit Cards… EVER
We don’t have a single credit card, and don’t plan to every have one again. Why? So many reasons. We cut up our cards over five years ago and haven’t looked back. Today I’m sharing my story with credit cards, how I got in to BIG trouble, got out of it, got in to even BIGGER trouble, got out of it again, and found freedom from the plastic cards that were ruining my life.
Frugal Family Travel Tips: How to Take a BIG Trip on a Little Budget
We recently returned from a 26 day road trip through the southeastern United States. We visited 11 states, drove over 3000 miles, and had an amazing time. We live on a tight budget on my husband’s teacher salary (plus the part time income from this blog and my part time job with Young Life). We live debt free and don’t use credit cards at all (thanks to Dave Ramsey‘s Total Money Makeover). So, how did we take such a big trip on a little budget? We got creative, kept it simple, and made a plan we could stick to. Read on to find out tips for taking big trips when your income is small.
Frugal Friday: 4 {Very} Basic Meal Planning Tips ~ A Beginner’s Guide
We have been living on one income for a little over one year, and it has been a challenge. Last week I shared tips on how to set your monthly grocery budget. You can read more about our budget here and our journey to financial freedom here. One of the most difficult areas for us is our grocery budget. There are three of us eating actual food right now, as the Pearl Girl is strictly on the mama milk.
Our monthly food budget is $350. We take out that much in cash at the beginning of each month and try our best to stay under that amount. In order to make this happen, we have to meal plan like champs. Why is meal planning so important when you are on a tight budget? Having a plan helps me prepare in advance and not end up trying to scramble to throw a dinner together at 5:30. It helps me to choose budget friendly meals and not end up running for take out because we forgot dinner comes at the same time every day.
I tried using a paid meal planning service (that I won’t name) for free for a blog review, but it wasn’t a good fit for us. I decided not to write the review because the reason it wasn’t a good fit wasn’t their fault. The recipes were great, but I am married to a pretty picky eater and mother to a toddler who has very specific preferences. Let’s just say a meal plan for normal people didn’t work out. Meal planning isn’t rocket science, but it does take intentional decision making and the willingness to plan ahead. If this Queen of Procrastination can do it, you can, too. Here are my very basic meal planning tips to help you on your way.
1) Set Your Grocery Budget – Read more about how to do it in this post.
2) Grab a calendar and start filling in dinners. Start with your family’s favorites. Use a month long calendar and fill in as many slots as you can with meals you know how to prepare.
3) Fill in the rest of your meals. Call your mom and ask for the recipe for a childhood favorite. Look on Pinterest, Tasty Kitchen, and other recipe sites, but don’t get bogged down and overwhelmed. Text your friend for her favorite recipes. Once you have enough filled in for one week you’re off to a great start. You don’t have to cook like Julia Child every night, but it is fun to mix it up by adding in new things once a week or so. Add in a vegetarian meal once a week to save money on meat and reduce your environmental impact.
4) Start your list, one week at a time. Go through each dinner and check to see if you have what you need, then add any missing items to your grocery list. Next, add in basics for breakfast and lunch. We keep these items on hand every week: homemade oatmeal, frozen whole grain waffles, English muffins, cream cheese, fresh fruit, Greek yogurt, cereal, eggs, bacon, peanut butter, fruit preserves, honey, cheese, deli meat, and baked chips.
That’s it! You have a meal plan. I like to plan ahead for the whole month but only shop one week at a time. I call it a victory when I only have to grocery shop once per week. Be on the lookout for more meal planning posts coming soon. Thanks for reading!
Frugal Friday: How to Set Your Monthly Grocery Budget {And Stick to It}
Frugal Friday: Four Ways to Stick to Your Dining Out Budget
I get questions all the time about the specifics of our budget. “How much do we spend on groceries?” “How much do we set aside for clothes?” By far the most common question is, “How much do you spend on restaurants?” The answer is, “Not much.” Our monthly dining out budget on one income is $70. That’s it. Would we love for it to be more? Of course. Click on some of my ads and affiliate links and maybe we’ll get to increase it. Just kidding (but seriously…). How do we stick to spending only $70 per month on dining out?
1) We don’t go to fancy restaurants. I have a growing list of great local places and a few chains where we can get a great meal for under $20. It is possible and a lot easier than you might think. We would rather have 3-4 meals out a month than one expensive one.
2) We don’t buy kids’ meals. The Bear is still a toddler with a varying appetite, and every time we’ve ever bought him a restaurant meal we regret it because he leaves most of it on the plate. Instead we bring in a sandwich, veggies, fruit, and a sippie cup every time we go out to eat, and offer him some of our meals. Yes, this takes a little planning on our part. No, we won’t be able to get away with it forever. We’ve never had a waiter even ask a question about it, and several have even commented on what a great idea it is.
3) We don’t buy drinks. Soft drinks and alcohol in restaurants are a total rip off, in my opinion. Why would we pay $2.99 each for a diet coke? Crazy town. Sometimes we break this rule, and when we do Jed and I split a soft drink rather than both getting one. We get free refills and french kiss each other on the regular, so what’s the big deal?
4) We meal plan. Before we started budgeting, we spent an outrageous amount of money on restaurants because we were both busy and dinner time would roll around without us having a plan. We’ve learned that dinner is not an emergency, it comes at about the same time every day. If we plan out our meals one week in advance we end up spending far less on groceries, making fewer grocery store trips, and eat out far less. This way we can plan our meals out and make them count rather than have them be a last minute rush decision.
Do you have a budget for dining out each month? How do you stick to it?
Best of Bare Feet on the Dashboard: Frugal Living Edition
Frugal Friday: Mad Money $$
When folks find out that we are on a strict budget, they often ask questions like, “How do you buy things that just YOU want?” or “Do y’all get frustrated with each other if the other spends too much money?” Before we went on the budget I had so many questions like those. We would try to be frugal and something would come along we just had to have, we’d buy it, and then feel guilty. One of my favorite things about the budget we have now is the concept of mad money. Every month we budget in a certain amount for both Jed and I to get mad money. This money is ours individually and we can do with it whatever we want. WHATEVER WE WANT. If I want to buy a ridiculous pair of shoes, I can do it. If Jed wants to buy an expensive flashlight (happens often), he can do it. We are not allowed to get upset about the other one’s mad money purchases. Our current mad money amount is not that much ($50 each), but it is plenty to get something we want or save up. We also get $25 each per month for clothing, that we save up.
One difficult thing about mad money is that we are always trying to convince the other that our intended mad money purchase should really come out of the house fund or the car fund or some other fund. Sometimes this is true, and we work that out. Sometimes it isn’t. Our house does not need yet another flashlight. Sorry darlin’. The other downside of mad money is that if you make a mistake, your mad money has to pay for it. For instance, Jed got a speeding ticket the other day, and his mad money fund took a big hit. Bummer.
Mad money is one of the main reasons we are able to stick to our budget. I love that I have the freedom to buy whatever I want as long as I have enough mad money. For a born shopper like me, this is HUGE. I’ve told y’all before that doing Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover and sticking to a budget has been the best thing ever for our marriage. With the budget and our mad money funds, we never fight over money. Ever. You can read more about our financial story here.
Do you have a mad money fund or something similar in your house?
Frugal Friday: Making the Most of the Library
As a voracious reader, one of the first things I do when I move to a new place is get my library card. I’ve always loved the library, but in my new role as a full time mama I’m realizing just how awesome it really is. This week The Bear checked out his first books. This kid LOVES to read, especially books about trucks. The book in the picture above had to be returned after a couple of days because the plastic cover proved too much temptation for little toddler hands. We’re sticking with board books for now. How do I love the library? Let me count the ways.