Kayla Buell – Ambassador

How exciting!! I’ve never hosted a garage sale but my parents did a few weeks ago and made about $400. It might not seem like a ton of money, but it’s $400 more than they had earlier that week and they were able to get rid of so much clutter. If you’re going to throw that stuff away anyway, definitely worth an attempt at a garage sale. Hope yours…[Read more]

When my hubby and I moved into our new house a year and a half ago, we bough 3 barstools, a new sectional sofa for the family room, a dining room table + chairs, a tv/entertainment piece, a desk, and bedroom furniture and we spent about $6,000. Good thing here was that we were able to finance the expense at 0% interest for 3 years. We finally paid…[Read more]

You go, lady! That’s awesome! I definitely hope to be able to retire early, although I still have a way to go. But given that I’m 26 and already saving a ton of money, I’m sure I”ll be in a much better position than most of my peers will be at that age. Just the thought of that makes me happy 🙂

Thanks so much, Stacey! I’ve never heard of a 529 account, so I’ll definitely have to look into that. We want to start as soon as possible, just trying to figure out the best place to do it 🙂

I think having a specific goal at the front of your mind at all times helps. Like, if I’m trying to save for a vacation, I’ll think “okay…do I go out to eat today, or do I put that money towards Disney?” That makes it a lot less easier to splurge on the non-essentials.

What a great concept! I think it’s wonderful that you meet once a year to go over your finances, plans, and goals. A lot can happen in a year, and I think a lot of people forget that. A once a year checkup is definitely healthy. Best of luck!

Wow, what a great post, Kelby! I had never really stopped to think about that! It’s true – sometimes you’re trying to save a buck and it ends up costing you more than simply saying no to it in the first place. Thanks for the reminder! Needed it.

Two years ago, I bought a brand new car, the car that I have now, but if I could do things over again, I would have bought a USED car. Not all used cars are terrible and falling apart. You can get a 2 or 3 year old car in very good condition with a decent amount of miles on it for a great price. I used to lease all my cars, but after a while, I…[Read more]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone!

Thanks, Stacey! I love the idea of having an emergency food stash! So smart!

I’m with you on that one! I took a $15,000 pay cut last year to switch industries and although I know I made the right move for my sanity, like you said, I do need to find ways to bring in some extra cash. Having a side hustle definitely helps. Freelance writing and blogging has allowed me to make an extra few hundred dollars every month which has…[Read more]

Having these conversations are so helpful! My hubby and I are expecting our first child this coming December, so we’re starting to take a closer look at our finances. Over the past few weeks, we’ve talked about where we’d like to be 5 and 10 years from now financially, and how we plan on saving for our future as a family. It’s so motivating to…[Read more]

Hey Stacey!

Great that you were able to reach a happy medium here. Compromising on financial purchases is NOT always easy, but whenever my husband and I have issues like this, we make a huge effort to communicate our positions in an honest and open fashion. I’m the saver in the family and he’s the spender, but I’m slowly learning how to give him…[Read more]

I do the $5 game! I have a jar in my kitchen to visually remind me to take out the bills, but I’ve found it’s so helpful and easy and really kick starts my savings! The only reason why my fund is still tiny is because I hardly ever carry cash, but I’m starting to ask for cash back whenever I go to the grocery store so I have a few bills to save…[Read more]