Lifestyle blogger – cruises, organizing, managing money, and parenting.
Tomorrow is my second payday after Christmas. And tomorrow, I will write a check and poof! All my Christmas bills will be paid off. My holiday situation wasn’t always like this – like many people, I used to have Christmas bills from my holiday overspending that would take me months to pay off. But that […] Read more…
I did a post about saving money at the gym last year. I wanted to revisit it again as part of my New Year’s Motivation series. The first week of January is exactly the time of year when people start flooding to the gym again to try and get rid of a few extra […] Read more…
The Lesson I Learned about Homemade Laundry Soap I have seen SO many posts over the years about saving money by making your own homemade laundry soap. I think it’s a good idea – in theory. However, I learned a tough lesson about this more than 25 years ago. My mother-in-law found some laundry soap […] Read more…
America has a huge love affair with magazines. There are thousands of magazines created every month for everything from knitting to golf and every other hobby or interest imaginable. Most people have at least 5 to 7 magazine subscriptions every month. Makes me crazy because it’s such a waste. Probably millions of pages of print, […] Read more…
One thing I love about digital scrapbooking is that you aren’t necessarily married to a page size. I typically like to design my pages in 12 X 12, but I don’t necessarily like storing the 12 X 12 albums. They take up a LOT of space and are kind of awkward to store because they […] Read more…
I’m going to clue you in on the biggest mistake many women make in their financial lives. They depend on other people – typically their husbands or partners, but sometimes their parents also, to keep them financially safe. We can’t help it – we are trusting people, and we like the thought that someone else […] Read more…
A debt snowball is an incredibly powerful way to pay off debt quickly and easily. They are fairly easy to set up and use, and they are very powerful. They can literally save you thousands in interest over the life of a loan and help you get out of debt years earlier. I will even […] Read more…
I LOVE books. I mean, I really LOVE books. Before I discovered the interwebs and all the temptations therein, I used to read 3 or more books per week. These days, I don’t read as much, but I still squeeze it in as often as I can. Because I’m thrifty (or cheap – that […] Read more…
I don’t know about you, but I really STRUGGLE not to overspend when I go to Costco. Some of my friends just think it’s a joke – they call it the “Hundred Dollar Store”. But for me, it was a lot worse than that. My record was nearly $500 in ONE TRIP – one EPIC […] Read more…
I’m writing this on my bill paying day, so it got me thinking. Paying bills is an important part of our financial lives, maybe one of the most important parts, so I’m wondering what is your bill paying strategy? – Do you pay your bills right when they hit your mailbox? – Do you have […] Read more…
As the owner of four cats and a dog, I have paid out my share of vet bills. Maybe even more than my share. Last year, our St. Bernard – Joe got out of the yard, got hit by a car, and ended up with a broken leg that cost us about $800. It really […] Read more…
Here’s a clever idea that might help you manage an out of control spending habit. Use the built-in alerts that your bank offers to help you manage your overspending. It can be surprisingly motivating if you actually pay attention to them. Plus it helps you keep your bank balance in mind before you overdraw your […] Read more…
Every New Year’s Eve, what is the absolute number one resolution? Hands down, it is always to lose weight. It’s like the Holy Grail of resolutions! Because of that, the diet and exercise industry is one of the richest in the world. People spend thousands of dollars each year with hopes of losing weight – […] Read more…
Sometimes our adult kids don’t use good judgement. We love them so we sometime help them a little TOO much. Adulthood is a time for them to stand on their own two feet, but part of good parenting is to gently ease them out of the nest and allow them to take full responsibility for […] Read more…
We are quickly heading into the time of year when everyone is desperate to shed their holiday pounds. This can translate into big bucks for the local gyms and fitness clubs. I looked it up. The figure is about $21 MILLION dollars a year spent on gym memberships just here in the US. Sadly […] Read more…