The key is learning to monitor your all important net worth. Net worth is the key factor that gives the best perspective on your overall financial wealth and I’ll show you a net worth app that will make you focus on your net worth like never before.

Step 1. Mindset

“When it comes to personal finance your net worth is one of the most important numbers to pay attention too. You can increase your income as much as you want but if your spending continues to be out of control your net worth will stay stagnate. After creating a budget and understanding your spending habits getting the big picture of your finances is next. Calculate your net worth (we use Mint & Personal Capital) and look for areas to improve (high-interest debt, car loans, low savings, etc). Financial freedom is the ultimate freedom. Take the steps today to take control of your life and set yourself up for a much better future”.

 

Step 2. Budgeting

“When you’re trying to grow your net worth the very first step is to work on your cash flow. If you have positive cash flow your net worth will grow. If you have negative cash flow (you spend more than you earn) your net worth will shrink.” www.ThePracticalPenny.com

“My hands down favorite tool that I recommend to everyone is the budgeting software You Need a Budget (YNAB). It’s made the biggest difference to me and my net worth! I’m a huge fan and while it’s got a bit of a learning curve, it’s so worth it.” Lynne Somerman www.TheWiserMiser.com

Lynne and I use the same app/ program called You Need A Budget or YNAB. It has totally changed budgeting for me and I LOVE.THIS.APP!

Once you have it set up, you can pull it out, look to see how much you have in clothing and see you have $45.98 left to spend in that category for the month. Yippie, now I can buy these adorable pair of heels guilt free. Your decision making begins to take place based on facts! It’s incredible powerful and liberating too.

The more you work with it, the less stressful life becomes. Many, many people have climbed out of debt and built their lives up because of using this app. Just read through the Facebook Group “YNAB (you need a budget) fans!”

I talk more more in depth about YNAB in this post.

Step 3 It’s Up to You

• Read more great books on personal finance.
• Listen to some great Podcasts like HerMoney with Jean Chatzky or Be Wealthy and Smart with Linda P. Jones
• Subscribe to personal finance blog, like this one!
• Follow the great bloggers who I’ve quoted through out this post. These personal finance bloggers all have unique perspectives and can add so much knowledge to your mindset.
• Thing about using a financial adviser as your net worth grows.

Step 4 Simplify

Use an App

Most companies have an app for there services because it simplifies life. Which I for one love! Finances are no different.

Like always, you’ll need to sign up first.

Once you are in the program you will want to connect all your accounts. Retirement accounts at work, debts, credit cards etc.

You will have a snap shot of your whole financial picture all in one place! That is pretty powerful right there.

This tool right here for retirement planning is really great. If you want to look at different “what if” situations then you are going to love looking at all the data! It may help you make some good decisions and see areas where you can improve, tweek and adjust.

The power in watching your Net Worth number is because it takes into consideration all aspects of your finances.

The goal is to eliminate personal debt {liabilities} and grow your assets.

As you work on growing your net worth it effects how you see purchases in your day to day life. Evaluating the necessity’s vs wants becomes much simpler. Plus, it might just become a new game that you’ll start playing with yourself too.

“Now, how much can I grow my net worth this month?”

So what is holding you back from growing your Net Worth in 2018? Let’s get started!!

The best part is Personal Capital is FREE to join and use.

Once you start using it comment below and let me know what you think about it!  Do you like the tools, the stats the best or what you learned by tracking your net worth. I love hearing from my amazing Savvy Saver Tribe!

Join the Mrs Savvy Saver Tribe!

The post How to Create Wealth Using a Net Worth App and Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck. appeared first on Mrs. Savvy Saver.

“My biggest struggle is being on the same page as my husband.  I’m a saver.  He’s a spender.  We sit down and make a budget together, including meal plans and grocery lists, but then they don’t get followed.  We even tried Dave Ramsey’s plan (on several occasions) and couldn’t stick with it.  My husband is an impulsive shopper.  He’ll buy something that I think (and say) we don’t need, but he always finds some reason to justify it.”

Can you identify?

Most relationships have a saver and a spender. But this really can create a big problem.

Couples who “disagree about finances once a week” are over 30 percent more likely to get divorced than couples that report “disagreeing about finances a few times a month.” according to Divorce Source 

Naturally, the response is, so how do we fix it?! Life is hard enough without fighting about money with the one you love the most! So be proactive and take some steps to making your future better!

Budgeting Tips for Couples

• Money Date Night

Never talk about the budget when you both are upset about it. My suggestion is to have a Money Date Night. Make it a fun night and finish with a nice sit down meal. The whole point of the evening is to talk about the budget.

So having a relaxed evening together to specifically talk about your over all goals is an important first step in getting on the same page with your spouse. Ask your spouse what their big goals are.

• Do you want to pay down debt?
• Save for a vacation?
• Buy a house?
• Travel to Italy?
• Take care of aging parent better?
• Build a tiny house?
• Etc.

The key is to realizing you are both on the same team and working toward a solution that is actually best for BOTH of you.

Talk over the way life has been and how setting some new goals will benefit you both in the future. What are your top 3 “TEAM Brown goals”? Or whatever your last name is, fill it in. You are a TEAM!

As you talk about your dreams, I hope this will get you both excited about what CAN be your reality. Have a budget that is completely void of future goals is just plain boring and uninspiring because it is reduced to looked backwards, at the money you have already spent. But a budget with goals is looking towards a new and bright future.

• Budget Check

Use your time together to look at your current monthly budget. We are going to look specifically for goal crushers. Those negative spending habits which are defeating the new goals.

According to my survey of women, 74% had a budget of some type. This is awesome! But we all know life is busy, busy, busy so take the time to look over your actual spending amounts and numbers. Discuss what you see and what needs to change.

Related Reading:

Financial Advice from Real Women

YNAB Categories with Free Printable

$1000 Challenge

• Emotional Triggers

Most of us spend money because of emotional reasons. Here are some examples of purchases and the actual emotional reason behind the purchase.

$200 on work clothes = I want to be respected for the job I do.

$500 of hunting gear = My hobby provides food for my family.

$300 on gifts for extended family = I feel like I’m showing them how much I love them with gifts.

$700 on car repairs = Keeping my family secure, no matter what the cost.

You can fill in the blank for your family by thinking through this as well. Start with the sore subject in your budget. What purchases do you fight about the most? THAT right there is what you need to talk about together and decide WHY you/your spouse spend so much in that category. No judging though. Just try to talk through it honestly.

• Create a Budget Category

By identifying why you/your spouse spend money in that category is key to changing a habit. Once you can identify the WHY it will be easier to talk about it and then I would suggest creating a category for that spending. Maybe it’s for hunting or gift shopping or whatever, just name it and put it in the budget. THEN you need to agree on a dollar amount for each month.

Most times the spending has come out of miscellaneous category or pulled from other places to cover the out of control area. By naming it and putting it in the budget it will become much easier to keep it in check.

• Spend Your Money Wisely

Ok, so you both have talked about everything and gained a good look at the big picture for your family budget, now the challenge is STICKING to your budget.

This is where the budget seems to come apart. Why?

Because we don’t look at the budget every.single.day.

Yes, it is so critical to look at your budget every day. Your bank keeps your accounts current by handling every transaction that happens that day. We need to take notes from them and do the same thing.

But how do I stay current? I’m SO glad you asked!! Let me introduce you to my favorite app.

It is called You Need A Budget. It is a desktop program and app, which they just updated too. {Aug. ’17} I have set up our budget using the YNAB program and then downloaded the app to my phone and my husband’s phone. I am the Savvy Saver in our home so I watch the budget, keep track of spending and enter our transactions into the app. But my husband will pull out his phone and look at the categories we have talked about and agreed upon.

This makes each spending decision a choice based on current, up to date information about what the budget looks like. This is so powerful! Now he knows that buying that really awesome and wonderful power tool that is on sale will overspend the house maintenance category by $150. So then the decision is, do I take money from another category or do I just wait until I save more money? No more fighting and nagging him about money, he can make decisions with relevant information that we have discussed. He also knows how it fits or doesn’t fit into our TEAM family goals.

I really love this app. It comes with a You Need A Budget which I took full advantage of. During your trial I suggest you watch as many off the Youtube videos as possible. It will help you get setup correctly and be using your app as soon as possible.YNAB

If you need some help setting up your budget then use the Worksheet I’ve created. I walk you through how to set up your budget with YNAB with my CRUSH IT Worksheet. Download your Worksheet by signing up today! Don’t wait!

No more fighting about money! This really become empowering because your TEAM effort turns into both of you working towards the 3 big goals that will change your future!

Join the Mrs Savvy Saver Tribe!

The post How to ROCK Your Budget as a Couple for 2018 appeared first on Mrs. Savvy Saver.

Your FICO score can be taking money way from you right now and you might not even realize it, but you can change your situation by learning these key points.

How is my money being taken away?

• By higher interest on your credit cards.
• With higher interest on your car loans.
• Through higher interest for your home mortgage.

Updated Jan 2018

Everyone who has credit cards, a car loan, store credit cards or borrowed money has a profile on them. This is collected by three large bureaus. It becomes your FICO score.

This is what they look at and how much weight is given to each category, just so you have an idea of what you might want to work on first to bring your score up.

Your Score Components

1. Amounts Owed. 30%
2. Payment History 35%
3. Credit Mix 10%
4. Length of History 15%
5. New Credit 10%

Your FICO score can range from 300-850. The higher the number the better you look to companies you want to do business with. The national average is 695. If your score is 740-799 you are above average and have a proven track record with handling your money well. 800+ is an exceptional rating and is well above the average.

I worked very hard to bring my score up to 804. Now, how did I do that you are probably asking. Well, let me tell you!

Looking at the way my FICO is figured 35% comes from my payment history. So I made it my goal to never be late on anything! I paid my car loan on time, our cellphone bill, our school loans and everything that I had to pay. It was paid ON TIME. Each payment is reported and I only wanted good reports to be found on my credit reports.

Related Reading:

My Story

Don’t Use a Budget!

2 Money Apps You Need to Use Today!

My amounts owed were the next biggest thing. This is where using our credit card wisely helped. We did have one because you can’t rent a car without one and purchasing online is much safer with a credit card. But they wanted to give me a $5000 limit at the time. Which was way more than I would ever use and so I lowered it. By having $17,000 is college loans at the time and $5000 limit on my credit card they looked at me as being able to be in $22000 of debt. I didn’t have that much debt but to them I could get into that much debt in one day. So I called them up and told them to lower that amount which also reflected on my FICO score.

Related Reading:

How To Budget as a Couple With these Budget Breakthrough Strategies

How I Only Spend $170 on Groceries and It’s Not All Ramen!

7 Ridiculously Easy Ways to Stockpile for Meal Planning 

Now my credit mix I didn’t worry about because I couldn’t change much of that.

As for my Credit Length, I closed out a bunch of cards that where store cards. You know the ones that you open to get 30% off your purchase that day if you open to make a large purchase. This lowered my perceived amounts owed. I didn’t have anything on them but I did own them. But I did keep my first credit card that I had opened when I was 18. This gave the longest running record of me paying off and handling a credit card responsibly. At the time it didn’t give any rewards or perks but that didn’t matter to me, the Credit Length was much more valuable to me. This also brought my FICO score up.

It was so rewarding the day I looked at my score and it was 804! It didn’t happen over night, this took about a year to work on for us but it was well worth it! When we went to purchase our home the bank was impressed with our score and our interest rate was REALLY low! That hard work is paying off now! It has saved us thousands of dollars in interest over the lifetime of our loan!

Do you know your FICO score?

I recommend that you find out so that you can begin putting money back into your pocket with lower interest rates. You can get your free score by contacting each of the three collecting bureaus. You will have to verify who you are so they can match the information they have with what is on file first so that your privacy is being respected and guarded.

TransUnion

P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92834

800-888-4213

Equifax

P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374

800-685-1111

Experian

P.O. Box 9530
Allen, TX 75013

888-397-3742

Take your next step to financial awareness! You will be so glad that you did. Knowing your FICO score is a big step to taking control of your money instead of letting it control you.

Does the word budget scare you like a spider on the wall? Would you like to be intentional with your money but don’t know where to start? Grab your FREE CRUSH IT – Budgeting Worksheets. I walk you through step by step and take the headache out of setting up the most important part of wealth building. Sign up below.

The post What Is My FICO Score and Why Does it Matter? appeared first on Mrs. Savvy Saver.

Are you tired of wishing for pay day, two days after payday?

Do you want to see your savings account grow this year?

Are you setting some financial goals for 2018 and need an easy to use, portable budgeting software?

Then you are in the right place! My YNAB review comes from my personal experience of using You Need a Budget last year, for most of year. I’m not being paid for this review and the only compensation I might receive is one month of YNAB free if you decide to use the program too. {You can receive the same too if you refer friends.} So, be reassured, all these opinions are my own. So grab a peppermint patty and keep reading.

So YNAB stands for You Need A Budget and it comes as an online program which you can use as a stand lone program if you wish. The companion app is available for both Android and Apple phones as well.

My criteria for a budgeting software.

When I began look for a budget program I wanted:

• A mobile app.
• A zero based budget system.
• A way to have a current budget every.single.day of the month.
• Support that helped me when I got stuck.

I’ve used a budget since I was 14. I’m not new to budgeting but my old excel spreadsheet wasn’t working anymore. I’d spend 2-3 hours every couple of weeks on it but I was really just keeping track of what had happened in the past.

I wanted something that had a forward looking approach. Looking around I found a several online programs but no app companion utilities. Then I looked at Mint but it just didn’t allow me to work with my money in the way I wanted to be able to. I like the freedom to move money around and it just didn’t work for me. I looked at Everydollar but the price tag wasn’t something didn’t wanted to pay each month.

A friend suggested YNAB to me and I watched a few videos on their site and it seemed to be everything that I was looking for in one program.

After I signed up for a 34 day trial I jumped right in and began playing with the program online, connecting all my accounts and using the app.

Pro tip. There is a learning curve to using YNAB. I really suggest that you watch this video when you setup your first budget because if you don’t it will create problems later on for you.

This video is a must watch when you add in your credit card. Credit cards are handled in a special way and need to be setup correctly. I may or may not have had to do this three times because I didn’t watch this video first.

Once everything was setup and I began using my app I was in LOVE! The power is in the fact that decision making now happens in the moment, based on facts of your actual budget! Do I have $35 to spend on this outfit? Zip, I can pull out my app, look at my clothing category and see yes, I have $50 to spend for the rest of the month so I’m good to go!

After the purchase I can immediately enter my receipt on my app and my budget is up to date!

Score!!!

Another big plus for YNAB is my husband and I both have the app on our phone. This gives us access to all the same information and we can work as a team on our goals. He can check the app when he needs to make a purchase and so can I.

Another big plus for YNAB is my husband and I both have the app on our phone.
Click To Tweet

Most relationships have a saver and a spender. The saver usually ends up being the one who enters the receipts consistently and keeps the pennies in order.

Related Reading:

How to Budget as a Couple

Comparison Shopping for Car Insurance

How I Saved Big Money with One Phone Call

Now in the first 34 days I recommend you do three things.

Binge watch Jesse on Youtube. When you begin understanding the systems behind the program, it will begin to click for you. Jesse is founder of the company and it’s so helpful listening to him explain the system.

Join YNABers! Yes, we are kind of a small cult, but when your bank account begins to grow, you will get excited too!! Facebook has a great group called “YNAB (you need a budget ) fans!”  Then Reddit also has a subreddit if you are a reddit fan. When you join, take the time to skim through and read some of the amazing success stories! I’ve read of people paying for $74,000 of debt in one year, paying of loans, paying for vacations and lives really being transformed! It’s exciting!

Sign up for several Workshops. These 20 webinars will teach you so much and you can ask specific questions. The topic are on almost everything you can think about so just jump in and watch a bunch. Netflix can wait

The Cost

To access this great program you need to sign up for 34 free days. Then you will give them your credit card after that to sign up. It’s $6.99 per month but it’s charged once for the up coming year. For me, paying less than a smoothie was totally worth my peace of mind it’s given to me!

If you are a student you can also receive 12 extra months free by emailing then with proof. [email protected]

The Worst Part.

Ok, so a review isn’t worth anything if it only tells you the good things right?

First off, the learning curve is a little steep.

You can not begin using the app and program all by yourself, without some training. I had to watch the Youtube videos and take the online classes YNAB offers in order to work on the kinks. Not because the program wasn’t working but because I had to wrap my head around the systems that were in place already. Once I figured that part out, it was very easy.

Also, some of the features that are on the online version aren’t available in the app. But this really isn’t a big deal because it’s small things.

That’s really it ladies! If you like what you’ve read please use my friend code and sign up! I hope you will fall in love with YNAB like I have and begin reaching your 2018 goals and beyond!

Join 1,876 other readers in the Savvy Saver Tribe and receive money saving info directly in your inbox!

The post YNAB Review 2018 – Master Your Money the Easy Way! appeared first on Mrs. Savvy Saver.

After she worked in a watch glass factory, she quit there to start her own business. At 22 years old she used her savings of $3000 to buy her own company, making watch lenses.

In 2001 they won the contract to make cellphone sceens for the Chinese giant TCL Corporations. Soon afterwards she started Lens Technology which now supplies screens for Apple, Motorola and other companies.

Due to never learning English there are only a handful of quotes I could find but these give an insight into this powerful, hardworking business women and here are her fabulous quotes.

“Twice I had to sell my house to pay my employees’ salary.”

“I got this call, and they said, ‘Just answer yes or no, and if the answer’s yes, we’ll help you set up the process, I said yes.”

Related reading:

11 Spectacular Abigail Johnson Quotes

The Worth of Net Worth

“I’m not qualified to be a high-profile person.”

“I think it’s important not to get carried away when you are successful — and not to let yourself feel gloomy when times are bad.”

“During the period of China’s rapid economic growth, there were plenty of opportunities for entrepreneurs, including women. It allowed me to develop my business.”

“In the village where I grew up, a lot of girls didn’t have a choice of whether to go to middle school. They would get engaged or married and spend their entire life in that village, I chose to be in business, and I don’t regret it.”

“My father had lost his eyesight, so if we placed something somewhere, it had to be in the right spot, exactly, or something could go wrong,” she said. “That’s the attention to detail I demand at the workplace.”

The post 7 Fabulous Quotes from Zhou Qunfei appeared first on Mrs. Savvy Saver.

It had grey interior with the shiftier on console . The two door, green Oldsmobile Achieva was my first car and I loved it. I found it myself, paid for it myself, insured it myself and was pretty proud of my purchase at 19 years old. She got me all over the place until I got married and had to move.

It was just a ride but she meant so much to me, my first big step of independence, my adult step into the world and the reality that fun toys also cost big money.

This post contains affiliate links.

Adult life also meant paying the insurance bill that was due every month. { As I’ve gotten more savvy I now know paying my bill in full or at least two installments, can save a good chunk too. }

Now, just a few short years later, haha, who am I kidding! Time flies ladies! That was 15 years ago for me now. I’ve had to insure several vehicles since then and guess what? I don’t enjoy the process.

As Mrs Savvy Saver I have a driving need to know I am getting the absolute best deal for my insurance!! {I want to shop sales like Black Friday deals everyday!}  So I have always compared companies in search of a good deal and let me tell you what, it pays to check!

It will pay to look around and see what options you have for auto insurance.
Click To Tweet

Gone are the days of being faithful to the same company. Each year most companies raises their rates, even if you have been a good customer and didn’t file a claim.

Yes, but it’s such a headache you say, guess what?

I have found the easiest way to do any comparison shopping is with Insurify.com  It’s so easy you can do it on your phone too. This step by step is from a laptop but you will get the idea.

Comparison Shopping for Car Insurance the Easy Way

Step 1. Zip Code of Your Garage.

Use Insurify.com.

Your first screen finds out what city and state you are in. THANK YOU. Finally, a company that doesn’t make me type in my whole city and state when all it takes is 5 digits to get the same info.

Step 2. Car Information

Next the boring car info but hey, even this is just the click of a button to select your make and model. Super easy on your phone too.

Each step gives you a little bit more info on the left hand side. You can see how much your estimated savings will be too. I told you it was like Black Friday sales!

Step 3. Your Information

Then of course you need to tell them about your personal info. This only takes a few minutes.

Step 4. Your Quote

This is the best part. Your quote. Here you can compare these rates against what you are paying now.

Be sure to get the best coverage by knowing these 4 points too. It really doesn’t get any easier than this for comparing your car insurance options. I’ve tried!

One piece of advice I read once was “Save money in the big spending categories.” Not just a few coupons here or there.

I also recommend that you compare your policies every three years. Rate change, your life changes, vehicles change and that all effects how much leaves your account so be sure to run the numbers every three years.

So, ladies, don’t be afraid to make some changes! Every single day your financial future is in your hands. Be wise, be frugal and save. Check out Insurify.com and compare.

If you found this helpful please share in with a friend. Just one click on the social share buttons will go along way to saving them money too.

Related Reading:

Don’t Use a Budget

Secrets to Saving Money on Insurance

2 Money Apps You Need to Use Today!

Do you hide when the credit card bill comes? Is Payday Friday a R E A L L Y   L O N G  W A Y

O F F?

Then grab the step by step  FREE CRUSH IT – Budgeting Worksheets. I’ve taken the headache out of budgeting and organizing the information. It’s your first step to Financial Success! Just sign up below for the FREE CRUSH IT – Budgeting Worksheet.

The post Comparison Shopping for Car Insurance in 2018 appeared first on Mrs. Savvy Saver.

We got to admit that women are taking the finance game further these days. That’s what the recent studies are saying and I can’t agree more!
My wife is concerned with every single penny she earns, while I, on the other hand, become a victim of unnecessary expenses at times. Say, for example, the Xbox One I got last month for me and my son!
This post will be providing tips to ensure that young moms can avoid bankruptcy and stay debt free.
Remember the only solution for this is proper budgeting and good money management. The tips for bankruptcy will come at the end of this post, but first I will talk all about money basics and budgeting!
I will be breaking this into two situations for a better grasp of the topic.
So buckle up moms, things are going to get a bit bumpy!

Situation-1: For couples (When both you and your spouse are breadwinners) :
Usually, things run financially smooth if both the husband and wife are earning members of the family. That’s so because you are having two pillars to support your financial freedom.
Guess you have already figured out the perks of having more than one income in a family if both you and your spouse are employed!
So, to make your financial life more chirpy, sit down with your spouse and do a few of these things!

1. Create a fund:
That’s what I and my lady did years ago after I filed for bankruptcy!
Oops! Yeah, I did file once! And that was the time my wife had to look for a job, as we got financially broke, and no company was ready to offer me a good job!
Now I really don’t want the same thing to happen to you, and want you to be ready to fight any financial setback.
So, create a fund, and assign a purpose that’s going to be useful in the future. Say, for example, your child’s college costs, or an emergency fund to tackle sudden medical expenses.
This is actually pretty easy if both of you bring home a good amount of dollars each month. You can start off by keeping 2% from your salary and another 2% from your spouse’s paycheck every month!
Just wait and watch for one year, and see how fast this savings grow!

2. Plan a budget:
Techniques used for budgeting by employed couples should be a little offbeat. Instead of any normal enveloping system or zero-based budgeting, you can try something way more cheesy!
You and your spouse can easily decide on what type of expenses each of you will bear.
Like, if your husband gets busy with the utility bills and clearing debts, then you can handle the savings part and use your salary for home renovation or insurances and so on.
Just be sure that both of you are consistent with a plan!
Usually, chances of filing a bankruptcy decreases if there are two breadwinners!
So utilize your income to the fullest for a secured future and plan an awesome budget!!

3. Fight debts together and don’t lose temper in the moment’s heat:
To be frank, debt has become family friends for us. They keep coming to our lives every now and then.
Just remember they are like that relative who is highly irritating and stays over with us for a few days only to be fed away!
So all you got to do is keep your children out of this mess and handle the whole thing tactfully.
Swiping debts ain’t that easy after all. You got to figure out what method you will use to be debt free.
Debt settlement will help you reduce your overall debt, but your credit scores will be hurt quite a bit!
While debt consolidation might help you increase your credit score but the process is time-consuming.
So be wise and grow some good habits to be debt free fast.

Situation-2: When the mom flies solo (Single parent):
This is where the whole thing gets tough!
Practically you need to play both the roles of father and mother at the same time. So things might get burdensome while balancing between family and work! The truth is there’s no one to help you out.
Again if you have debts on top of these, with chances of bankruptcy just spicing it up, then you will be in deep waters!
Hence, being a single mother, you got to consider these things first:
 You are the only breadwinner, so your family will be in serious danger if you ever suffer a job loss or file bankruptcy.
 You are the only one to take care of your child, and being a smart mom, I know you are always there for your child, both financially and emotionally. So, both yours and your child’s future depend on you!
 You are alone in the war with your debts; so, it is you who have to do all the debt cleaning yourself.
 You need to be a super mom, who can make all the necessary sacrifices to protect her little one both with love and financial stability!

So, let’s see how you can be financially successful and never bend down to monetary problems.

1. Change your lifestyle when needed:
If you think that you are exceeding your quota of expenses and are left with little or no savings each month, then you are seriously in the danger zone.
The first thing to do is start living a frugal lifestyle.
Now that means quite a few sacrifices. Your salon visits will get reduced, you can’t have frequent dine-outs, no costly stilettos, or luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Zara!
So, you can pretty well say that you have to practice living a monk’s life, only that you don’t have to live in a monastery!

The first thing to do is start living a frugal lifestyle.
Click To Tweet

2. Figure out a budget:
With only one source of income, your family needs proper budgeting strategy to ease out financial stress.
This is also the only key to avoid debts and bankruptcy.
I would suggest you merge backward budgeting and zero-based budgeting together.
So, what you can do is set aside an amount for savings each month on your payday.
Say, you can stash away 20% of your income straightaway to savings. Now with whatever is left, assign every single dollar a suitable purpose.
For example, some for bills, some for loans, some for credit card debts, and so on.
Even after this if you are left with some extra cash, then you can put that towards savings, use it for luxury expenses, or can make extra payments to clear out your debts. I mean whatever suits you the best!
Your budget should have ample space to build emergency savings for future use.
Other methods to minimize overspending could be cutting down credit card usage and sorting out needs and wants before making an expensive decision!
Always try to pay with cash for any purchase you make. This way, you can avoid hefty interest rates on credit cards and also keep a track of your spending.

Always try to pay with cash for any purchase you make.
Click To Tweet

3. Always give your child’s upbringing the first priority.
You know everything can wait, but your child’s growing up just can’t.
This means admission to a good school, tuition fees, sports classes, and so on.
You just can’t deny that these are cheap.
A single wrong step in this part can actually ruin your child’s future! So, take all the necessary steps to help your child have a bright and successful life!
Plus if you can manage your student loan quite well in the future, it will be considered as a good debt! Nothing can beat a good education, isn’t it?
So, do all the necessary sacrifices to give your child the best he/she deserves!

With this, we have come to the end of this post.
As I said earlier:

Here are some useful tips to avoid bankruptcy and be debt free (This is for both single mother and couples):

Here are some useful tips to avoid bankruptcy and be debt free
Click To Tweet

1. Never let your debts accumulate over time. Always be current on your debt payments and don’t underestimate small credit card balances.
2. Don’t miss out on opportunities to modify your loan (mortgage, auto, etc.) or refinance your loan for decreased interest rates whenever possible.
3. Don’t buy too much of insurance policies and get your money blocked. Only buy policies that you think are most important.
4. As I explained earlier, if you do backward budgeting, and you have quite a number of debts to clear, then make your first priority to pay off debts. Set aside a good amount from your income each month for debt payments.
5. For multiple debt payments, you can use the debt snowball method or the avalanche method. In the snowball method, you make the highest payment for the smallest debt and once the debt is clear, you just add this amount for paying the next debt in your list
While in the avalanche method, you clear out the debt with the highest interest rate first!
6. Never file for bankruptcy just like that. First, have a brief talk with a financial counselor and see your options to safely clear out your debts. Always remember, there’s no turning back with bankruptcy. You have to start your life from square one, all over again!

Thank you Andy.

Andy is a contributor at Oak View Law Group and contributes specifically on personal finance topics. You can also find him fielding queries based on money management topics on various online communities and social media platforms. Twitter

The post Tips for Avoiding Bankruptcy appeared first on Mrs. Savvy Saver.

At the head of Fidelity Investments is a very kind, gracious and hardworking woman, Abigail Johnson. With a networth of $14.4 she is a good role model for women seeking to grow their networth. With 51% of the company being held by the employees themselves, their mission to really help their clients isn’t just words but good leadership from the top down. Here are some spectacular leadership and life quotes by Abigail Johnson.

“I knew that I wanted to have a family but I knew that I wanted a career. I wanted it to be exciting, fast paced and challenging and something that would last for decades.”

“Investment management is an excellent career for women because it is based on your intellectual capability, your ability to do analyses, your results are very quantifiable and nobody can take those results away from you. They are yours.”

“Independent thinking is one of the things most valued in an investment professional.”

Independent thinking is one of the things most valued in an investment professional. Abigail Johnson Quotes
Click To Tweet

{My father instilled in me }” a relentless focus on continuing to try to improve everything you do.”

“The answer and the right answer for you and your organization might not be something that has been done before.”

On career and family – “Trust your instincts.”

On career and family – Trust your instincts. Abigail Johnson quotes
Click To Tweet

{Advice to myself 20 years ago} “Don’t doubt yourself. Keep at it. Stay looking ahead, stay committed and stay true to yourself.”

“Even a small reduction in errors and rework can have a significant impact.” Abigail Johnson

Related reading:

How to Budget as a Couple

LeBron James and I…

Comparison Shopping for Car Insurance

Spending Your Million Dollars

“I demand pretty aggressive goal setting and a commitment to measured progress towards those goals because I don’t like surprises. I don’t even like good surprises.”

“We set up a small bitcoin and ethereum mining operation… that miraculously now is actually making a lot of money.”

“I am in a traditional financial services business – but we at Fidelity can see that the evolution of technology is setting our industry up for disruption. What if this technology could do for the transfer of value what the Internet did for the transfer of information?”

Pin now so you can reference these powerful quotes later. 

The post 11 Spectacular Abigail Johnson Quotes for 2018 appeared first on Mrs. Savvy Saver.

Have you dreamed of being a Stay at Home Mom with your precious newborn baby? Or do your kiddos really need more Mommy time instead of daycare time? Does your heart hurt to say goodbye to them each day? Do you want to be there for every morning hug and bedtime kiss?

Have you thought about coming home but doubts swirl through your mind each time you consider your budget? Being financially prepared is critical to coming home. But don’t let this hold you back! Grab your calculator sister, because we are going to crunch some numbers, look at options and see that your dream actually might be reality! Even if you are a single parent!

Have you thought about coming home but doubts swirl through your mind each time you consider your budget? @MrsSavvySaver
Click To Tweet

I Wrote a Guide Just for You.

I write this from experience and I want you to be able to come home too, if that is your dream. I’ve watched friends make the change and I personally have made the switch too. It can be done! You do have many options and I hope to shed some light on how you can make the changes.

Buy the Guide now. Use the code TENOFF to save $10.00 on November 8th, 2017.

Steps to Financially Prepare to be a Stay at Home Mom.

When I quite my well paying job we still had some school loan debt to pay and we lived on $20,000. We were young, we didn’t have 6 months of living expenses saved up, a full retirement plan or some other things that you “should” have in place but we knew the time was right for us, we had prayed over the decision and we did have a plan in place.

After 8 years of waiting for kids, my son was born and when they placed his little body in my arms, I knew I could never spend my weeks apart from him.

Being a SAHM has so many wonderful benefits that I desired to have. I recognize, this may not be everyone’s goal which is fine, but I’m not writing this guide for that Mom.

I absolutely love being the first one to see their happy little faces in the mornings, I enjoy playing games with my older son, I enjoy the routine of life we share together. Yes, some days are harder than others and we have our discipline issues that aren’t fun but I’m the best person to mold their character because I love them the most.

Seeing them grow and reach milestones thrills my heart and I wouldn’t take money over actually being there, in the moment, to see them achieve higher levels of maturity. It’s a gift to be their Mom.

No influence is so powerful as that of the mother.  —Sarah Josepha Hale

Thinking Right.

But first, being a stay at home Mom {SAHM} does not mean you don’t work anymore. Let’s dismiss that notion right now. As a SAHM my life is very full and busy being the CEO of our house. I have a planner for my home and my day is divided up into 15 minute segments. I watch the clock like a hawk because time is a commodity I can never regain. My aim is to use my 24 hours wisely and productively.

Secondly, money is required to live and you may not have the option to live just on a spouse’s income. We will tackle that too.

So Mom’s, if you long to be a SAHM here are some ideas to think about. This may require some creative thinking and an opened mind but my goal is to help you look at the many possibilities because let’s face it, not everyone thinks you should leave a steady paycheck and come home. But armed with some fact, you can confidently make a wise move home.

Related Reading:

Stay at Home Single Mom

Beginners Guide to Couponing

How to Budget as a Couple

The very first step in knowing whether you can come home is to know your budget inside and out.

This requires more than knowing about what you spend or just having a rough idea based on your bank account totals.

You must know:

What your expenses are for the year?

What your weekly income and expenses are?

What your extra spending is for each year?

What your insurance needs are for the whole family?

What your retirement goals need?

What your vacation spending looks like each year?

Secondly, what expenses might you be able to cut by being a SAHM?

Cutting Back.

Here are some expenses that you would eliminate from your budget.

Gas for work. $1500 a year.

Higher insurance. $100 a year due to less driving.

Clothes for work. $500 or more a year.

Eating out for lunch. $2500 a year.

Hair styling $900

Daycare for one child. $7200

Extra for work trips your job may require.

This would be a savings of $12,700 a year.

For our example, let’s say you make the national average of $30,240. By saving $12,700 as a SAHM you now need $17,540 to make up the difference of income.

This is only $350.80 a week, for 50 weeks that you need to supply.

On the other hand, being at home also gives you more time to handle matters thoroughly.

I’ve been able to save our family at least $3,600 in groceries a year because of my meal planning and food preparation at home. I’ve saved us over $600 in the insurance category and $1200 in the cell phone slot as well. I also have more time to focus on our retirement needs and strategies to build our retirement. All of these areas really do add up.

Thirdly, making money at home.

You most certainly can make money from home or out of your home but this does require a can do attitude.

Having a job that you go to each day offers a paycheck that is the same each week. It is a set amount which you can count on.But consider the true fact that having your own business allows you to make as much as you are willing to work for. There is no cap on your income!

You can make the same amount as before and often times, much more by working for yourself. So how can you make up that difference of $346 a week or $69.20 a day.

You may not be interested in creating a business for yourself and that is fine too. A steady paycheck may just fit your needs and personality better, so don’t worry. I have you covered there too.

I’ve created a “Trade Your 9-5 for Stay-at-Home Mom” which includes:

The Mommy Mindset

The Spouse Talk

Budget Breakthrough

Preparation Pathway

Insurance Options

Ways to Make Money

Debt Dilemma

Mommy Manager Binder

Mommy Support Groups

Purchase your copy today! Plus, today is our Launch day! That means you can use code TENOFF and receive $10 off your purchase. This will expire at 11:59pm November 9, 2017.

Pin this to Pinterest

The post How to Financially Prepare to be a Stay at Home Mom appeared first on Mrs. Savvy Saver.

This list of popular Christmas gift ideas for Mom or any lady on your list really, might help you starting thinking about Christmas early. Because it’s no fun trying to find “the perfect gift” 3 days before Christmas! 

Those in our Savvy Saver Tribe know a few ways to save money and one way is to purchase gifts through out the year and not wait until the last minute. We all know how easy it is to spend money when we are rushed to finish the Christmas checklist!

Below you will find 11 of the most popular gifts that are trending right now for Christmas according to Pinterest research. I was pleasantly surprised to see how unique they are this year. I think you will be too.

I’ve paired each popular gift with a meaningful way to say I love you too. Enjoy!

Pin this image to save for later. {I know, lunch breaks are never long enough! } Or download the list right now.  

11 very popular Christmas gifts for her this year!

Gold Car Key Holder $13.59

Tweet: 11 Popular #Christmas Gift Ideas for Mom. https://ctt.ec/mAOgX+

Mom will never need to search for her car keys again with this stylish key holder.

Loving touch idea. You can include a card with 5 Key ways Mom has influenced you or taught you key lessons in life.

Wall Hanging Jewelry Organizer $49.95

This beautiful white wall hanging jewelry organizer holds 4 of her favorite images on the front and inside is velvet lined for her beautiful jewelry.

Loving touch idea.  Include 4 new family pictures that she hasn’t seen yet as a surprise when she opens her gift.

Calendar Holder $39.55

Personalized family calendars are extremely popular every year so coupling it with a beautiful holder just makes a wonderful gift combination.

Loving touch idea. Add a family calendar and mark all the family birthday’s and anniversaries on the calendar for her.

Single Cupcake Holder $5.99 

For the Queen in your life who loves cupcakes this whimsical cupcake holder is sure to bring her delight.

Loving touch idea. Write out one reason why she is the Queen in your life.

Other Budgeting Topics to Read:

2 Money Apps You Need to Use Today

6 Questions to Ask Before Budgeting

My $1140 Decision {Hint, you can do it too.}

Car Purse Hooks $7.78

Every lady needs these handy car hooks to keep her purse handy and off the floor of the car. Finally, a real place to put that purse.

Loving touch idea. Include some car freshener’s and a car wash gift certificate to complete the car care package.

Hanging Succulents $21.90

This fresh decor will add a touch of beautiful to any corner of the home.

Loving touch idea. Give Mom a certificate for 3 free house cleaning days. You can make your own homemade certificate or hire a professional company. Either way, she will love the gift.

11 Thoughtful Gifts for Mom, that she doesn't already own.
Click To Tweet

If yours loved ones have been really good this year and have landed on the NICE list here are some extra special gifts that really are TRENDING this season.

High-end Headphones $229

For the gym, home or relaxing, these statement headphones really are in style.

Loving touch idea. Include a subscription to Audible so she can listen to any books that are interesting to her.

Monogrammed Mugs $99.95

These monogrammed copper mugs come as a set of 4. Each holds 18 oz.

Loving touch idea. Couple this gift with beautiful coasters from Pier 1. Maybe some spring colors for one set, summer themed for those warm outdoor parties, fall colors for that apple cider and white for Christmas time.

Turntables $286.99

This is sure to turn back the memories with this sleek cherry Turntable.

Loving touch idea. Look online, at some thrift stores or pawnshops for some amazing finds on some oldie but goodie records from the year your Mom graduated. The trip down memory lane will be fun for the whole family and she might even show you her dance moves!

11 Christmas Gift Ideas Mom will LOVE but doesn't already own.
Click To Tweet

Trapeze Earrings $29.99

What list would be complete without jewelry right?

Loving touch idea. Write your Mom a letter about one memory you have of her wearing a piece of jewelry she use to wear that you loved as a child.

Tom Ford Nail Polish $62.48

The one and only Tom Ford luxury nail polish is very popular and for good reason.

Loving touch idea. Include a certificate to a concert or show at the theater where she can enjoy dressing up for the night and wearing her new nail polish.

And that is a wrap. Well, on the gift ideas anyway.

Download the list now and purchase later. 

But wait, I have more ideas for you on how to save money during the holidays too.

If you are new here, my whole focus on the blog is helping women be savvy savers and financially successful so here are some more awesome ideas for reducing the financial stress that many experience at Christmas time.

• Have a budget. Write a list of everyone you need to buy gifts for and then total up how much you will spend on everyone.

• Write a list of the food items and extra’s you will need to buy for company, parties, etc. See what you can buy ahead of time.

• Buy your turkey and ham now, it’s much cheaper now! Throw it in the freezer until then.

• Begin shopping now for Christmas gifts. Buy a couple gifts each week to help simplify the whole process.

• Use up old gift cards that are laying around or hiding in the bottom of your purse, keeping old receipts company.

• If you have built up reward money on your Credit Card, cash them in and use it only on Christmas gifts.

• Use the app for the store you are shopping in and check for any % off coupons to add to your order.

• If you plan to do some handmade gifts, begin now to make them.

• Setup an appointment for family pictures now to avoid the rush fees and late fees.

• Use the Amazon app to price compare by scanning the bar code. You’ll see which stores are close in price or if you are better off purchasing it through them.

Christmas time is a wonderful season that I love and it’s so much easier to really focus on family and friends when my shopping is completely out of the way and fully paid for before Christmas Day rolls around.

We always say, “Time flies” and for many of us who live far from family,this is never more true. It is a very meaningful time of year to be with the ones we love. Our gifts are an extension of that love but the gifts should not over burden us. So think back over your life time and remind yourself of the gifts that have meant the most to you. Usually, they aren’t the extravagant ones but the gifts that represent the most thought behind them.

What gifts can you give that show your heartfelt love this year?

Download the Gift List in two easy clicks. 

The post Trending Christmas Gift Ideas appeared first on Mrs. Savvy Saver.

Meal time can be really frustrating. I don’t really love to cook, but I do want to take care of my family. Over time I realized that trying to plan a meal, at the last second, just wasn’t working.

I took one Friday evening and sat down and began to meal plan. {Yes, I’ll get to the stockpile non perishable foods part in a minute.} It took me about 2 hours looking through recipes, well, lets just say Pinterest is a little distracting, but I finally found and printed off all the recipes I wanted to use for the next month.

This is my foundation. One month’s worth of meals.

Now, starting a grocery stockpile is really, really easy. I’m going to walk you through my method of stockpiling and how it allows me to feed my family for .62 a person/per meal!

Let me just say that if you stockpile this does not mean you need to build an extra addition onto your house and fill it to the ceiling with toilet paper and beans so that you can out live the end of the world. I’m not talking extreme prepping here.

This is about planning and stockpiling a couple of month’s worth of food so that meal planning is easy and simple. Sounds good, right?

The average family of 4 spends $400-$600 a month on groceries which is a $4,800 – $7,200 a year! Ouch. That is a big amount!

But, it doesn’t have to stay that way. Not now. Not, when you begin a stockpile.

You don’t need to spend more money to stockpile but your may change some of your habits and how you shop, which I can assure you will actually save you money! Are you ready?

1. How to begin your stockpile.

The greatest breakthrough in meal planning came to me when I realized I didn’t need to create a new meal every day. {Light bulb moment!} Don’t ask me why this never occurred to me before, but it hadn’t.

I use my meal plan for a whole month, using my easy worksheet, which you can download too.

I look through my recipe books, my Pinterest recipe board and bookmarked sites and find all the recipes that I want to make for the month. Next, I print off every single recipe. This saves me time during the week. No more hunting and getting frustrated.{I know that recipe is in here somewhere!!}

Then I slip them into my handy binder pages. Bam! Super Mom!! Now every recipe and meal is planned out for the next month. I will then reuse this month of meals for the next 3 months.

As the seasons change, chili and cornbread just doesn’t work for the summer time. Or grilled burgers don’t work so well in the dead of winter. Anyway, I think you see what I mean.

I will then sit down and make a new plan for the next three months.

So in reality I spend about 8 hours a year planning out all the meals we will eat for 365 days. This is so, so much simpler than standing in front of the cupboard waiting for an inspiration to hit me!

By knowing what your meals are for the month, you will gain a clear picture of exactly what items you want to stockpile. Then you’ll be able to watch for these things to go on sale.

Do you know rock bottom prices for stockpiling? Grab your Free download!
Click To Tweet

The Grocery List.

This is easy to make now. I simple go through all the recipes for the next month and write down the ingredients that I don’t have on hand. This becomes my shopping list.

It’s so nice to walk into the store knowing exactly what I need, not just buying things that look good, or happen to jump into my cart.

The Stockpile.

To start your stockpile of non-perishable foods, simple look through your recipe list at items that are canned or have a long shelf life. Corn, kidney beans, rice, etc.

Circle those items on your grocery list and when you arrive at the store, grab the sales flier. Compare the two. Whatever is on sale that week is what you can begin stocking up on.

You only need to buy enough of that sale item to last you 3-6 months. So if you will use 4 cans of kidney beans for the month, just buy 12 cans on sale and then you have enough for 3 months of that meal.

Meal also cuts down on waste! Look at these statics!

2. What to stockpile.

When you begin a stockpile the first place to start is canned foods. They are easy to keep and don’t require any extra work.

Canned beans

Canned meat

Canned soup

Canned fruit

Jam

Meat is easy to freeze. By finding out where the discount meat section is you’ll be able to save quite a bit. Don’t forget to look around the deli section. Our Walmart has an area of already bagged meats that are marked down. We just grab those deals, rather than paying full price.

Frozen vegetables.

Fresh food on sale can be frozen too.

Bananas can be frozen and used for smoothies.

Onions freeze well and can be used in casseroles and soups. Just chopped them first.

Peppers. Just chop and freeze.

Berries can be tossed in the freezer and work in muffins and smoothies.

Corn on the cob, just leave the husk on and put it in an airtight bag.

Herbs. Just chop them up, put them in an ice cube tray with water and when you are ready to use them in a soup or other dish, just pop out 1 cube.

Nuts.

Avocados. Just puree them. 3 Avocados to 1 TBLS of lime juice, bag them and you will have avocado for your burritos.

Shredded cheese can be frozen.

Butter freezes.

Cooked rice freezes great.

Paper products are good to stock up on, although these are often cheaper by buying them online through Amazon or Walmart.

As you work off of your meal plan for the month you may have leftovers when supper is finished. Instead of putting them in the fridge and forgetting about them, put them in the freezer. Write what the meal is, on the outside and then stockpile that meal for a rainy day or better yet, a crazy busy, mom-doesn’t-want-to-cook day. You will save more food from being thrown and the cooking will already be done!

Download the complete list of items that you can stockpile is here.

 3. Store Cycles.

The stores know human nature well. We all like to buy an item when it’s on sale. So every week they roll out a list of items on sale.

The rule is generally, every six weeks that same item will come back on sale.

Now, the trick is to only buy your grocery items when they are on sale. That is the lowest price. If you have 3-6 months of supply, you won’t need to run out and buy it at top dollar.

By shopping this way and watching prices you will learn the bottom dollar price. In the Stockpile List I’ve given you the best prices that I’ve learned.* This will give you an idea of what really is a good deal and what is not.

* This does vary a little, depending on where you live. But generally, these hold true. We have lived in several different states and some places I just wasn’t able to get the same item for the best price because it just wasn’t on sale that low. But I just want to help give you a rough idea. This whole list is based on what I actually buy and use on a regular basic and the prices that I want to buy at, every time.

 4. Stores to Shop.

Where you shop is going to help but don’t feel like you can only stockpile by using one of the stores that I mention. You can do this simply by comparing the stores near you and see what you have available. Prices really do vary by store and if you do a little exploring you’ll be able to find what one works the best for you.

The nice thing is, by shopping for a month at a time you can afford to select a store that might be further away from you but has the best prices.

Now, you may need to shop at some different stores than you have been. This was hard for me at first, breaking that habit of going to my same old familiar store but in the end it really paid off.

Another way is to pull up the sales flier online for the week at all the stores in your area. Then compare them, while you are at home, see which one is the best deal and shop there that week. But only shop the deals.

This step of comparing stores is not something I do every single week. It really is something that I do once, when I move to a new location or if a new store is built. Because stores aren’t going to dramatically change prices, they will be consistent within that store. My job is to find out which has the best over all prices and sales. Then I just stick to shopping at that store.

Related Reading:

How to Financially Prepare to be a Stay-at-Home Mom

How I spend $170 a Month for Groceries

One Way You Aren’t Saving Money, And How to Change

In the beginning of your stockpiling adventure, this will take a little time but don’t worry, it’s not a long term step.

By far my favorite place to shop is Aldi. With over 1725 stores in the US, I hope you have one near you.

Kroger is a good one too. They have really good 10 for $10 deals. The sales they run are great, just be careful to stick to your sale prices.

Depending on your area maybe Walmart but not always, so be sure to compare.

Also, the Dollar Store. I know, not exactly what you think of first when thinking about groceries but it’s true. $1 for bread, who can beat that?!

The best place to buy bread for $1.00 that you never thought of!
Click To Tweet

 5. Where to store items.

Ok, so, you have gone to the store, kids in tow. That adventure is over. Whew! Now, excitedly, you have brought home your shiny new cans to stockpile and realize, where do I store 15 cans of kidney beans?!?

When we were first married our apartment was 900 square feet with very few cupboards. I use the space underneath our bed for the cans. Creativity works ladies! Here are some ideas.

Hall closets

Storage rack in the garage

Laundry closet

Under beds

Under the stove

In your hutch

If you have an extra bedroom or dedicated pantry, be sure to count your blessings. But by starting small, you’ll find room, don’t worry.

Congratulations!! You are well on your way to building a stockpile for easy meal prep! Be sure to download the stockpile checklist for your next shopping trip and know you are getting the best price for your meals!

When you are done I would love to see a picture of your stock pile! Just send me an email.

6. Download the Stockpile Checklist.

Use this Pin for later!

The post The Best Non Perishable Food for Stockpiling appeared first on Mrs. Savvy Saver.

As our last post in this Stay-at-Home Mom series I’m excited to introduce you to Ashely! She has been so kind to share the steps that she took to make her transition work for her and the tips are very helpful.

We have met some amazing Mom’s in this series who have made the transition from working to coming home. I love their determination to do what is best for their family and see how they accomplished the task.

Hopefully you have been blessed too! And now, here is Ashley’s story!!

How to Transition Home.

Related Reading:

Groceries for $170 a Month

Budgeting Breakthrough’s for Couples

Trade Your 9-5 for Stay-at-Home Mom

Related Reading:

7 Secrets to Slashing Your Grocery Bill

2 Apps For Budgeting That Make Life Easier

FREE Download 3 Ways to Save BIG on Your Groceries {It’s the secret I use to spend .62 a person  on meals.}

7 Secrets for Slashing Your Grocery Bill

Ashley Dicarlo is a Florida mom with a long distance husband. When she isn’t freelance writing and editing, she’s blogging over at Millennialist Mom and polishing off a pot of coffee. It’s her goal to help working moms and aspiring work-at-home moms with the frequent and infrequent challenges we face in the world of modern motherhood.

Thank You Ashely! Be sure to drop by her site and say hello!

Use this pin to save this for later.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for stopping by! I’m Holly aka, Mrs Savvy Saver.

If you aren’t a regular member of our Savvy Saver Tribe you might be wondering what the blog is all about. 

We talk about all topics relating to personal finances for busy Moms. Life is crazy, I get it! Between diapers, late nights, school, work, hungry mouths to feed and a Pinterest binge now and then { } you are busy!

And all of that takes money, so we talk about awesome ways to save, make money and in general, be savvy with our hard earned dollars.

The post How Ashley Quit the Cube and Still Makes Money. appeared first on Mrs. Savvy Saver.

Being able to earn an income while being a stay at home Mom is so much easier now than it was even 20 years ago. This series of stories of amazing women has been an inspiration to me and I hope to you as well! If you haven’t read Tiffany’s story, Taquila’s story or Ashley’s story be sure you do today.

Today’s guest post from Lisa is a story of sheer determination and grit! She is a stay at home Mom of 8 kids and has her own freelance writing business! Wow! You know she is one very busy lady!! My hat is off to you Lisa! I love her freelancer writer testimonial and hope you will see that it is possible to be a full time stay at home Mom using some of her practical advice.

Freelance Writer Testimonial and Stay at Home Mom – Lisa’s Story

When I left teaching in 2012, my family lost two-thirds of our income. Me not going to work each day definitely impacted the budget!

Cutting our income this low seemed crazy to many people, but it was the right move for our family. Through the grace of God, careful planning, and a do-what-it-takes attitude, I’ve now been at home for five years. In that time we’ve added three children to the family (for a total of 8). It hasn’t always been easy, but I’m so thankful to be home.

Here’s a peek at how we overcame the obstacles, and made me staying at home a reality.  

Get Real with Your Finances

It’s nearly impossible to guess what you need to live each month. So, sit down and get real with your financial situation. Figure out what you need by looking at your past expenses and current debts.

Once we wrote down everything, we started playing with the numbers. We took my husband’s income, and started subtracting things out of it. At first, it seemed impossible. There just wasn’t enough money to make it through all the bills. We had too much debt.

So, we made a decision. I know this goes against what most financial gurus say, but I opted to cash out my retirement fund. It wasn’t a huge amount after only seven years in the classroom, but it was enough to pay off all our debt except my massive student loans.

Once we had those smaller debts out of the equation, the math on a single income started working. It gave us the wiggle room we needed.

Cut Back the Spending

After buying the essentials and paying the bills each month, there wasn’t much left. So, we cut our expenses drastically. We called companies to negotiate better rates, cut the entertainment and eating out budgets, and reduced our spending on groceries, clothing, household supplies, and more.

Contentment

It’s not easy not going out to eat. Or not being able to buy something I wanted. I had to learn to be content.

I knew the alternative was me going back to work. And I didn’t want that. Since my attitude always got reflected back to me from all the kids, I had to change. I found ways to be happy where we were, with what we had. We started building memories with the kids, enjoying being at home, together.

We play games together. We snuggle on the couch and watch movies together. When the weather’s nice, we head outside and explore the ranch. I’ve learned I don’t have to go anywhere or spend money to have fun. Contentment plays a key role in my ability to stay home.

Contentment plays a key role in my ability to stay home.
Click To Tweet

Cut Living Expenses

Some lifestyles won’t work on a single income. We had to get creative to ensure ours would. Our living expenses were already low, because we were living in my Grandmother’s house, on the family ranch.

We started raising more of our own food. I got my first milk cow the summer I stopped teaching. Even though it costs money to raise animals, it gave us better quality for less. When you butcher a cow, you get steaks, roasts, and more for the same price per pound of ground beef.

Along with the cows, we’ve now got a farm full of other critters for food. To keep costs low, I’ve learned to butcher the smaller animals with the help of my family. It’s not my favorite task, but it beats paying for someone else to do it.

DIY Attitude

This DIY attitude, and willingness to learn new things has also been crucial to making it on a single income. When something breaks, the money to fix it isn’t always there. So my husband and I started watching YouTube videos.

We worked together to fix our washing machine and other appliances, and complete many of our own car repairs. You can’t be afraid to get your hands dirty and try something new when you’re trying to save money.

Not everything we try works out. But, we’ve learned to be pretty good judges on what we can and can’t try on our own. Every home completed repair saves money!

Every home completed repair saves money!
Click To Tweet

Reuse

My grandparents lived through the depression. They rarely threw anything away! Everything was kept, just in case. And you know what?

The same is true today. When you’re out of money, you really look at what you can do with what you have. For instance, one-month money was really tight. One of the kids had a birthday coming up, and we weren’t sure what we could afford. So, we took a walk around the ranch to see what we could find.

We used an old board, a piece of rope, and a tire to make a teeter-totter. It was a hit, and it’s still being used all these years later!

Necessity drives innovation, so take what you have and make what you need. A little bit of creativity never hurt!

Necessity drives innovation, so take what you have and make what you need.
Click To Tweet

Increase the Income

After three years on a single income, we were well below the poverty line. You can only cut expenses so far, so at some point the other end of the equation needs to change. Back then, my husband was working over an hour away from home. He had a long commute on top of a long work day. He went to work before the kids woke up, and got home after they were in bed.

I knew we needed more time together. But, I wasn’t quite sure how to make it happen. So, I started researching ways to earn money from home. I stumbled upon freelance writing, and launched my business in July of 2015.

Since then, my husband has been able to take a lower paying, but local job. My income has replaced the gap, and given us a little extra occasionally. It’s helped us not feel so broke, even though we’re still a low-income family. I’m planning to keep growing my business, and finally paying off our final remaining debt!

Rewards of Being Home

I love being home for my family! Homeschooling has been a great fit for us, and I enjoy being the one to see all of our kids’ firsts.

Additionally, our oldest son has Angelman Syndrome, and a host of medical needs. I have the flexibility to take him to appointments, and don’t have to worry about taking a day off of work when he has a bad day or night.

I’m very thankful to be home, and find it’s definitely worth the sacrifices to make it happen.

Wow! Isn’t she amazing! Be sure to visit her website and social hangouts and if you need a freelance writer just send her a message.

Use this image to pin to Pinterest. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you for stopping by! I’m Holly aka, Mrs Savvy Saver.

If you aren’t a regular member of our Savvy Saver Tribe you might be wondering what the blog is all about. 

We talk about all topics relating to personal finances for busy Moms. Life is crazy, I get it! Between diapers, late nights, school, work, hungry mouths to feed and a Pinterest binge now and then { } you are busy!

And all of that takes money, so we talk about awesome ways to save, make money and in general, be savvy with our hard earned dollars.

Grab your FREE copy of “3 Ways to Save Big on Your Grocery Bill” as my way of saying THANK YOU for stopping by the blog.

The post 1 Amazing Freelancer Writers Story appeared first on Mrs. Savvy Saver.

First, I have to thank Holly for asking me to guest post and offer some words of encouragement to other entrepreneurial moms out there! Ironically, the day she contacted me was the EXACT day, one year ago, I began my very first business.

I currently own and operate 3 different handmade jewelry businesses and have grossed almost $20,000 in one year (without subtracting overhead, advertising, promotions, development, shipping, or any other costs related to the business). 

 

This was going to be my last baby and nursing relationship, so during nap times and after my babies were tucked into bed, I would research the properties of human milk. After doing well in biochemistry in college, I was determined to figure out how to make myself a keepsake from breastfeeding.

After several months of testing methods and chemicals, I finally had some jewelry pieces that were holding their milky white color. Once satisfied with it, I proudly displayed it on my personal social media page, expecting just a few “likes” or confused emojis.

The response was ridiculous!

I had over a dozen requests for orders in a few hours, and was so excited, that sleep was fleeting. I stayed up most of that night building my website, drawing up new designs, ordering new metals, creating new molds, sculpting, and building my business Facebook page. 

After 3 weeks, I hadn’t had a single order. The discouragement began to set in, and I decided that if the first month of my website subscription expired, without a purchase, I’d shut it down. 

In one last attempt to attract an order, a 20% off coupon code was posted to the business Facebook page, and an order cleared that afternoon.

The “cha-ching” was addictive!

$60 dropped into my PayPal account. I had already invested about $100 in the website and materials to make my own pendant, plus new supplies for my next phase of designs. Needless to say, that $60 went right back into the business. 

A few $15 and $20 Facebook ads landed me a few more purchases and many more page likes. Soon, there were doulas and birthing centers asking to display my flyers in their offices, and more trial-and-error marketing strategies (found in this blog post) helped drive my traffic steadily week after week.

By February, I had a steady stream of $500-$700 gross per month (not subtracting overhead or new investment). The primary goal of this side-hustle was to give me a creative outlet, and maybe a little extra cash. Hubby was a teacher at the time, so any little bit helped our budget. Mostly, this business was just for me.

With two babies under two, it saved me from drowning in motherhood.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for stopping by! I’m Holly aka, Mrs Savvy Saver.

If you aren’t a regular member of our Savvy Saver Tribe you might be wondering what the blog is all about. 

We talk about all topics relating to personal finances for busy Moms. Life is crazy, I get it! Between diapers, late nights, school, work, hungry mouths to feed and a Pinterest binge now and then { } you are busy!

And all of that takes money, so we talk about awesome ways to save, make money and in general, be savvy with our hard earned dollars.

Grab your FREE copy of “3 Ways to Save Big on Your Grocery Bill” as my way of saying THANK YOU for stopping by the blog.

The post Unique Jewelry Gifts for New Moms appeared first on Mrs. Savvy Saver.

I’m excited to have with us on here on the blog, Tiffany from TheCrazyShoppingCart.com

She has a great story of how she even got into couponing and how it helped her be able to be a stay-at-home mom.

If you find yourself thinking is it worth my time, I’m too busy or how do I keep track of everything then this should help you! Read Tiffany’s story and be sure to grab the free guide she has created!

When you hear the word “couponing,” what do you think of?

For me, I remember my mother sitting every Sunday evening at the kitchen table, intently pouring over the weekly ads and clipping the newspaper coupons.  She spent hours each week preparing and executing each shopping trip, only to save a few dollars.  (Although, a couple of dollars was quite a lot of money back in…..well, let’s just say that when I was kid, it was quite a few years ago!)

This image is what came to my mind two years ago when, at a church activity focused on emergency preparedness, a woman in our church raised her hand and stated she used couponing to help build an emergency supply of food to have on hand in her home.  I started to tune her out until she said, “I haven’t paid more than $.50 for a box of Cheerios in years, and I always get my toothpaste and shampoo for free.”

After that meeting, several of us surrounded her and begged her to teach us her ways.  At the time, I had been deciding to go from being a full-time math teacher to staying at home with our first child.  This decision was being forced on me a bit.  I had always planned to be a SAHM when I started having children, but this was definitely a surprise pregnancy.  It was our first year of marriage, my husband was in his last year of undergrad, and I was going to be the breadwinner!  All of our plans were falling apart: in addition to a difficult pregnancy, I had spent the year before in and out of the hospital with severe health problems.  Instead being excited to stay home with my daughter, I was feeling nervous.  We were going from two incomes to one, and we now had expensive medical bills to pay off.

I was looking for ways to shrink our budget, by any means necessary.  I braced myself for hours of work, repeating that it would be worth it.  Imagine my surprise when our first meeting with her took less than 30 minutes, and I ended up saving over 50% on my groceries that week!

I was looking for ways to shrink our budget, by any means necessary.
Click To Tweet

What makes the difference between my mother’s way of couponing and my own?  Two words: the internet!

Now, instead of having to find each deal on your own when the Sunday paper comes out, someone else has most likely already had an early edition of the ad and upcoming coupons, done a matchup, and posted it on the internet to share!  What used to take hours of work to clip and catalog coupons, read ads, and prepare shopping lists is now already completed several days before the sales actually begin!

Related reading:

How to be a Stay at Home Mom on One Income

2 Money Apps for Busy Moms

How I Spend $170 on Groceries Each Month

In fact, there are now so many different websites, blogs, Instagram accounts, etc. that focus on couponing, it’s a bit overwhelming!  When I first began couponing, I felt adrift in a sea of acronyms and phrases that were more like a foreign language than English.  Thankfully, my friend from church walked me through it all until I was confident enough to go on my own.

And now, just a few years later, I even blog about it!

About a year ago, shortly after our second child was born, finances were tight again.  Even though my husband had been graduated and worked a great job, we still had expensive medical bills, and I was stuck at home with two kids.  I’d always been a proactive, type-A personality, and that is difficult to do when you’re managing pint-size stubborn dictators who have zero ability to reason!  I also had a new infant, so I could no longer tire out my oldest by spending hours at the park, zoo, or library.  Cabin fever hit me, and it hit me hard.  I longed for something concrete that I could do in addition to being a SAHM.  I love setting goals and making checklists (and you really can’t write down, “Only yell at my kids twice today” and then check it off!)

One day, I came home from a particularly amazing couponing trip where I’d saved 80% off my groceries.  Of course, I did what every 21^st century mother does: I took a picture and bragged about it on social media.  Several friends instantly asked how I did it, and that’s when inspiration struck!  I could start blogging about something I was already doing!  So I did!  I started my blog, The Crazy Shopping Cart, and began to teach people how to coupon and save.  It was hard, and it took a lot of time, but eventually I started making some money from it!

One day, I came home from a particularly amazing couponing trip where I'd saved 80% off my groceries.
Click To Tweet

Couponing has blessed my life in several ways.  It helped me tighten my budget so I could afford to be a SAHM, as well as earn some money to help our family grow and allow me to keep staying at home.  (It also helps me keep my sanity with something tangible to accomplish!)  In all honesty, though, being with my kids every day, watching them grow, has been the most amazing, incredible experiences of my life.  I wouldn’t trade my time with my kids for anything.

If using coupons is something you’d like to do to help with your finances so you can become a SAHM, but you’re still feeling nervous or overwhelmed about couponing, then you’re in good company!  I can’t count the number of times I received emails or Facebook messages from people who just feel lost with couponing.  To help them (and you!) get a firmer understanding, I’ve put together a free ebook:  it’s called “The Beginner’s Guide to Couponing,” and it walks you through all of the different steps I mentioned above.

You'll learn all about where to get coupons, how to organize them, what the coupon rules are, coupon lingo, and so much more!
Click To Tweet

Thank you Tiffany! 

When thinking about learning something new and different, often times the hardest part is just getting started! So, like I always tell my son, when he has a large challenge in front of him, “Eat the frog first.” Then the rest of the project will be easy because you have done the hardest part first and gotten it done.

With couponing the hardest part is learning how to do it but after that it almost becomes a game to see how much you can save! I hope you will start today by visiting Tiffany’s site and grabbing her great guide! TheCrazyShoppingCart.com

Pin me for later using this pin.

Grab your FREE Download and learn how I feed our family for .63 a person!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for stopping by! I’m Holly aka, Mrs Savvy Saver.

If you aren’t a regular member of our Savvy Saver Tribe you might be wondering what the blog is all about. 

We talk about all topics relating to personal finances for busy Moms. Life is crazy, I get it! Between diapers, late nights, school, work, hungry mouths to feed and a Pinterest binge now and then { } you are busy!

And all of that takes money, so we talk about awesome ways to save, make money and in general, be savvy with our hard earned dollars.

I hope you will join our tribe and subscribe for great tips that will help you. I know you are busy so I only send out 1 email a week, usually on Thursdays.

The post Beginners Guide for Couponing – Tiffany’s Story appeared first on Mrs. Savvy Saver.

Her story is so amazing and inspiring because she has been in your shoes. As a single Mom with her back against the wall, she turned to the Lord and He showed her a path that now allows her to raise her own children, be at home with them full time and provide the finances needed to live. She was kind enough to write a guest post for us and I hope you will find encouragement in her story, that you can be a Stay at Home Mom too.

How I Became a Work From Home Single Mom of Three.

What do you do when you’re working but can’t afford daycare with three children? This has been my story for the past two years. I remember it like it was yesterday, receiving a job offer to work for one of the big three automotive companies. I was excited and thought to myself “this is the perfect job to help me raise my children.” I shared the good news with my family and friends and my mother offered to watch her grandchildren for me while I went to work. Everything seem to be going good for me and the new job until the second week when I received a text message from my mother late at night saying she wasn’t babysitting anymore. I was scheduled to work in the morning at 7:00am, so how was I going to find a babysitter at the last minute? God, what am I going to do?

I picked up the phone and begin to call some family members to see if any of them could help with watching my kids while I went to work but they all said no or gave me some excuse as to why they couldn’t babysit. With my back up against the wall and not wanting to call off of work the next day because I was new and didn’t have my 90 days in yet, I turned to care.com to find a babysitter. As I searched through the profiles, there was one lady who caught my attention. She had recorded a video sharing information about herself and her nanny services. I sent her a message via her inbox stating my interest in her service and to my surprise she responded back.

If you hate saying goodbye to your children and wish you could stay home with them then I'd love to introduce you to Taquila Coleman.
Click To Tweet

We exchanged several messages with one another and I asked her if she could start the next day at 6:00am and she said yes so I hired her on the spot. The next morning the nanny arrived and met my children and they loved her. This put me at ease because I was worried hoping that she wasn’t some crazy woman I was leaving my children with. I prayed before I left and gave her instructions on what I needed her to do with my children and was off to work. I literally took everything one day at a time. Even though my children and I loved the nanny, I couldn’t afford her services for longer than a week. In a week time frame, I’ve paid the nanny close to $1000 and was only able to afford her because of my refund check, so I had to let her go.

Related articles:

How to Spend $170 for Groceries Each Month

Starting a Side Hustle 

7 Secrets for Slashing Your Grocery Bill

I searched around for daycares around town hoping to find a daycare that stayed open 24 hours, 7 days a week because they were putting us on 7 days straight until we met our production goal and plus my shift was changing to afternoons. I found an in home daycare across town that was 30-45 minutes away from where I lived and I enrolled my children into the daycare. The first day, my children seemed to like being at the daycare with the other kids and so I was happy and thought everything was going to be ok until…three days later while arriving to pick my children up from the daycare, the owner advised me that this would be their last week in her daycare because of my son’s constant crying that’s disturbing the other children. I felt like crying right in her kitchen because this was the last place that I found that stayed open 24 hours. If it ain’t one thing it’s another! I gathered my kids together, thanked the lady for everything, and left feeling hopeless.

I ended up calling off of work the next day because I didn’t have a baby sitter. All of these thoughts raced through my mind, should I quit? But this is a good job, I can’t just let it go like that? Why won’t my family help me? God, what am I supposed to do?

I kept feeling in my spirit that I should quit my job and stay home but what about money? Would I be able to pay my bills each month on the income I already had coming in?

I kept feeling in my spirit that I should quit my job and stay home but what about money?
Click To Tweet

Later that evening while cleaning up I stumbled upon Joyce Meyer’s book “Knowing God Intimately” and as I begin reading the book there were a session where Joyce shared her story of getting fired from a job that she was having a hard time quitting because she felt God wanted her to quit the job so that she can be at home with her children and prepare her for ministry. This spoke directly to my heart and at that I made the decision to let the job go and stay home with my children.

Staying at home with my children forced me to learn how to live on a budget. I found creative ways on how to save extra money every month by signing up to Meijer Mperks programs and using the rewards earned for that month to purchase diapers and wipes for my daughter. I used Speedway points to help with putting gas in my car for the month. With the coupons Kroger sent me in the mail, I only used the coupons for the items that I actually bought. The months where I found myself overspending, to make up the cost I found items around the house such as old purses, baby items, or shoes to sell on eBay to help with bringing extra money into the home. What I didn’t sell on eBay I took to the resale consignment shop and sold them there.

How 1 Single Mom of three because a Stay at Home Mom!
Click To Tweet

Since being home, God has shown me how to use my skills, gifts, and abilities to create a new door that will open for me. I have started and formed my own single moms support group in Michigan, became an author, written two books, and created my own online courses and products to sell. This is how you create your own opportunities for you and your family. Making the decision to stay home with my children was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life.

Thank you so much for sharing your amazing story with us Taquila! If you want to know more about Taquila please visit her at http://taquilacoleman.com/

Pin her inspirational story!

Taquila Coleman

Motivational Speaker, Personal Life Coach, and Author Taquila Coleman is on a mission to support women healing from the pains of divorce, abuse, or tragedy. Her mission to help ease burdens through a support and education network, inspired her to build a community of like-minded women. That premise was the foundation for The Confident Woman Network, her flagship business.

Her simple, no-nonsense style invites women from all walks of life to take back their power, embrace their strengths, and to finally live authentically. In addition to mentoring, conferences, and faith-based lessons, Ms. Coleman’s books The Confident Sista HandBook and From Depression to Deliverance aim to teach single moms to overcome the challenges of raising a family on their own. For more information about Ms. Coleman and her services, visit her website here: http://taquilacoleman.com/

Thank you so much for stopping by! Please grab your free copy of “3 Ways to Save BIG on your Grocery Bill” as my thank you to you for stopping by the blog. {It says “checkout” after you click the button, but don’t worry. It’s still free!}

The post How to be a Stay at Home Mom on One Income appeared first on Mrs. Savvy Saver.

The school of hard knocks is a good teacher but wouldn’t you rather let someone else take the knocks and you just learn the lesson? Especially when it comes to your money?! Well, then keep reading! I created a survey which covered a wide range of financial questions and these answers all come from real women with real stories. Hopefully you will gain some golden nuggets of financial wisdom.

I asked them the question “What financial advice do wish you had been give at age 20?” Here are there answers.

If you have a credit card, pay it off every month. Get as few student loans as possible! Start retirement savings NOW. http://www.aliteraryfeast.com

Expensive food, drinks and taxis just aren’t worth it. Save for travel instead!

Don’t use c.c. only spend what you can and put at least $5 a week in a savings account

Time value of money and the phrase “Do today what others won’t, so you can live tomorrow the ways others can’t.”

Don’t take on College Debt and start investing NOW!

Start investing early and seek a financial advisor. Www.vietmomkitchen.com

Live within your means, always save something from each paycheck even if it’s only $10 a week, and think before you spend. www.hopeinthechaos.com

Pay more attention to your savings account and don’t touch it! Save what you can, and a little bit will go a long way. www.mylittlegold.com

start separate accounts if married. open a savings account that is harder to access. invest in mutual funds asap

Pay student loans down before you graduate or work harder to have a smaller amount of loans

Quit that minimum wage job and start earning some real money. Do what makes you happy not what earns you lots of money. www.ruthmini.com

20 years Ago i did not know about the Stock market. Wished somebody would have taught me about it, i would have been retired by now.

As I scolded my sister all the time, start putting money into your retirement when you first start working. Even if you can’t afford much, because in the long run, it can really grow.

I would tell myself to save! At that age I thought I had plenty of time to save for the future. I met the man who is now my husband at 20 and we both worked full time up until we had a child together when I was 26. We didn’t take saving seriously when we had the chance and now we have a child and I only work part time so there isn’t much left over at the end of the month to save. I would tell myself that it is never too soon to save for the future! www.makesbakesanddecor.com

Wow, that is alot of advice packed into one spot!! Do you have a nugget of wisdom you have been given over the years? Comment below and let me know!!

The post Financial Advice Lessons You Need To Know NOW! appeared first on Mrs. Savvy Saver.

Like Thena, she asked me to share on her blog Hodge Podge Hippie, the way we paid off $33000 worth of debt.

You can read all about it on her wonderful site!

The post The Blogging World Is Amazing! appeared first on Mrs. Savvy Saver.

A tale as old as time: Debt. These days, student loan debt  is one of the most common forms of debt, only behind that of mortgages. The silver medal in the debt Olympics is nothing to brag about! Despite being common, carrying the burden of student loan debt does not necessarily make this bitter pill any easier to swallow. It is estimated that students graduating in in 2016 left with not only a diploma, but also approximately $37 K in debt. 

I believe that every person has a story, so in that light every “debtor” has a story. When it comes to student loan debt, I myself am truly average. I left undergrad in 2011 with about $30,000(ish) in debt and promptly packed my bags to move from the harsh winters of Boston down south to Charlotte, North Carolina. I faithfully made my student loan payments in my first 2 years out of undergrad working as a Registered Nurse. Honestly, I didn’t think much about it. I attribute this mostly to being new to the workforce, where any paycheck was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. I also had a few ‘side-hustles’, nothing exotic but mostly babysitting and one temp. job working health fairs.

But, and of course there is a BUT to this boring student loan story, I deferred all but one of my loans in 2013 when I moved to Miami to start graduate school. Not for one, not for two, but for 3 and a HALF years (have to add in the half for dramatic effect). Miami is a magical place, it truly is. However, it is also a city where you can pick up some nasty $$ habits. See, all the beauty in Miami, both the scenery and the people, can make you just want to spend, spend, spend…money that you do not have! Clothing, beaches, drinks, dinners, you name it, all SO easy to let the $ go out of your wallet and down the drain. To add insult to injury, living in the “Magic City” also means your long-distance social circle thinks you are on permanent vacation. And who wants to make their loved ones “stay in” when they visit?! Not me! Now I didn’t go super crazy here—I was always able to pay all my bills, avoid credit card debt, etc. However, looking back could I have fit in my student loan payments?… YUP! If I could afford Keratin hair treatments, then I could have afforded my Stafford loan.

Related Reading:

2 Money Apps You Need to Use Today!

7 Secrets for Slashing Your Grocery Bill

The Worth of Net Worth

My light bulb moment began when I came out of my “deferment” dream as I inched closer to the dawn of 2017. At this point, I had finished graduate school and started a position at a nonprofit, which coincided with a move to a new city, Tampa. I felt privileged to avoid an employment gap between school and work, but a shock in realizing how little my take home pay would be once I factored in my student loans + other monthly payments. My student loans alone accounted for close to $400 a month. Ouch, it hurt. It hurt a little more after knowing how wonderful my life was without them for 3 ½ years! After pondering how the heck I pulled this off straight out of undergrad, I jumped into action.

Almost upon accident, podcasts came into my life. Not just any podcast, but a personal finance podcast called Her Money  hosted by Jean Chatzky This I can say was truly the beginning. What I love about Her Money is that it is targeted for women and by women. It sounds cliché, but the podcast really made me feel empowered to take control of my finances. Through Her Money I have branched off in many directions to other podcasts like So Money  with Farnoosh Torabi and Bad with Money with Gaby Dunn . Feeling like part of a community, a debt community nonetheless, has really normalized my experience, and just made me feel like, “I can do this! I can pay off my debt.”

And so with a little podcast motivation, I started attacking my debt. First, I used nearly my entire 2016 tax return to pay off one entire loan. Then a month later, I paid off another loan. This was followed a few months later by paying off a third loan. To date, I have paid off $8569.89 this year in addition to my normal monthly loan payments. I have also shrunk my monthly payments down from $376.91 to $268.32. The fact that this number is a below $300 is enough to make me cheer and whoop. My debt pay off goal for the remainder of 2017 is in the ballpark of $7-8 K. A combination of budgeting and “valued based” spending has got me this far, but it is about time I seek out an additional side-hustle to speed up my payments. With about $18K to go, I am on target to complete my debt payoff at the end of 2018, but hopefully sooner.

In this process, I have decided to broadcast my debt experience in the form of a blog. This isn’t because my experience is anything unique or even exciting. On the contrary, it is so So so common, which is why I feel it is necessary to kick it to the curb once and for all. I’ve changed my original goal from simply paying off my debt, to learning from my debt. What will I learn from this experience? What will I take with me as I move forward to new $$ goals and challenges? And perhaps most important, what can I learn from others who have completed paying off debt OR are in the midst of doing so? Sure, the day that I pay off my loans in full will be joyous, complete with a celebration involving alcohol and pizza (because why NOT?). Debt free is a journey, not a destination. And yes, I realize how corny that sounds and I don’t care because it is true. If I don’t play my cards right, the end of my student loan debt will inevitably lead to other debt. Thus, the more I can strategize now, the better my family and I will be in the long run.

For other millennials out there dealing with student loan debt, credit card debt, mortgage debt, car debt, medical debt, or otherwise, I acknowledge your pain and struggle. Note, that empathy does not equate to having it worse or better than one another. I am the first to admit there are student loan debt stories far more tragic and difficult than my own. But, in the end I will stick to the belief that no matter where we start, we can rise above and come out on the other side of our debt brighter and wiser!

Dina blogs at www.wisedebther.com

You can also find her on Twitter

Thank you Dina for sharing your journey with us!

The post Dina’s Debt Story – Guest Post appeared first on Mrs. Savvy Saver.

Budgeting with the You Need A Budget (YNAB) has a learning curve but this will help you get started sooner.

Ok, so let me tell you a secret. I have wasted a TON of time doing my budget the hard way.

For years I used an excel spreadsheet for our budget. It calculated the figures for me very easy but I still had to add every receipt by hand. Sometimes it took me two hours to enter everything! Yes, crazy I know.

The worst part was it only helped me at that time! The next day when we spent money, I didn’t have a way of knowing exactly where our budget stood.

Related Reading:

CRUSH IT Budget Workbook

2 Money Apps You Need to Use Today!

6 Questions You Should Ask Before Budgeting

The Worth of Net Worth 

Using YNAB APP

Then the day came when a friend was talking about this app YNAB. **Que my happy dance** I really got excited after I went on their site and began to understand the scope of their product!!

Now I could

• Update my budget on the go with the YNAB app
• Update my budget from my computer too
• See exactly what money I had left for the month
• Look at each category and see where my purchase would come from
• Make knowledgeable decisions EVERY time
• Take control of my debts
• Master my money

Oh, friend, this really changed everything for me. I want you to see the difference too. In my post here I do a step by step walk through on how to begin using your YNAB app and it has pictures! Because I’m a visual person.

But before you can start you need to select categories into which you put your money each month. That is where this FREE printable comes in!

Download it right here

Free – YNAB Categories Checkout Added to cart

Be sure to save it so if you want to make adjustments you can. I love writing things out. My journal’s can attest to that! But really, it is helpful to get it thought out on paper and then you just enter them into your app.

Every budget starts with one step. Ready to take your’s?

The post YNAB Categories with Free Printable appeared first on Mrs. Savvy Saver.

You know, it’s really hard to live within a budget when I have no idea how much money I have to spend! Well, checking my bank balance helps some but I don’t want to spend it all, even though I might be tempted when I see some amazing 3 inch heels on sale at Macy’s. So how do I keep track of my money on the go, with my busy life? With these 2 money apps.

This post contains affiliate links.

Let me tell you, these have changed my views on budgeting and net worth! They are amazing.

We all know how apps have simplified tasks and this is no exception. Being able to look at my app and see where I stand in every budget category while I’m out shopping makes decisions a simple yes or no. There is no guessing or guilt about my purchases any more.

So, how does it work? I’m glad you asked. I’m going to walk you through it all, with pictures too. I’m a visual person and learning something new is hard for me unless I see it demonstrated, so here we go.

Drum roll here for…

Money App #1 – YNAB

You Need A Budget is a website and an app. I recommend signing up on your computer though because connecting it is just easier than doing it on a smartphone, that is just my option but you can do it how ever you want. Once you have it finished, then download it and log in via your app.

You connect the account to your bank account and it brings in your income and expenses which you then slide into a specific category. As you spend money you just tell it what category that money is coming out of and it does the math for you. No calculator needed, no spreadsheets and best of all, no hassle! I love it!  It’s a money app that saves you time and money, win-win in my book!

Step 1. Sign up

Once you go to www.YouNeedABudget.com just click on a Try YNAB tab. The sight has alot of information on it so once you have finished reading and watching the how to videos you can get started.

It is free to try, which I recommend. It lets you get your account setup and begin using it for free and because it’s 34 days and not just a 30 day trial, you will see how it works with a whole month of expenses and income.

Step 2. The Dashboard

Once you have completed the sign up information you will come to the dashboard which looks like this. At the top you will see “Set a Goal” and the Blue tab. That area will help guide you through the process of setting up your information and get you started on everything.

Step 3. Connecting to Your Checking Account

Now to connect it you will just type in the name of your bank and click on it. Woohoo! we are almost done!

Once it connects you will see the dollar amount pop up in the big green tab on the top of the page. This is where the fun part begins. It’s so cool to add money to the category’s. You’ll see soon enough!

Related Reading:

Unique and Fun Date Night Ideas

6 Questions You Should Ask Before Budgeting

Spending Your Million Dollars

Step 4. Adding Categories

Now, they have set up the account with a set of regular expenses. But you may find you want to add some categories or your own. I recommend that you do that first. Just click on the + tab on any of the blue bars

Step 5. Deleting Categories

I didn’t think to do this when I was starting to set my budget up but I wished that I had deleted the ones I wouldn’t use. It would have just made my list easier to read. But, now that you know, you wont make my mistake, right?!

Simply click on the writing of the category and this box will open up. You can change the name of it right there or delete it all together. Simple as that.

Step 6 Enter Your Budget

Now that your categories are all listed, go through and put down how much should be in each one. As you do, it will begin subtracting it from your green tab at the top. Otherwise know as your income. Once it is down to $0 you have set up your whole budget for the month or 2 week period, how ever you get paid!

Sweet! You have done it! That was the hard part.

You have completely set up your budget. Now every transaction will be available for you when it hits your bank account. You can keep up with it on a daily basis which it critical for you if you are working to get out of debt or save.

Now, app #2. Personal Capital.

Net worth. For years I had heard this term but never thought it mattered because net worth always was used in context of millionaires! Forbes talks about it alot but I’m not a millionaire so why should I care right?

Well, I didn’t until I began using Personal Capital. 

Again, I recommend setting your account up on a desktop computer and then downloading the app. Once that is complete you will gain a clearer picture of just how much your debts are effecting you. For more on that be sure to read “The Worth of Net Worth”

So that you have it! 2 Money apps you need to have today.

For encouragement to become a more savvy saver be sure to join our tribe! So many ladies are learning to save money, budget and become knowledgeable decision makers! Don’t miss out!

Join the Savvy Saver Tribe Today!

Read the Next Post

 Pin me now and read later.

The post 2 Money Apps You Need to Use Today! appeared first on Mrs. Savvy Saver.

LeBron James and I have a few things in common. Yes, really we do.

We both grew up watching amazing dunks, nothin’-but-net-shots from the three point line and #23 smiling as he worked his magic for another Chicago Bulls victory. Michael Jordan was a superstar in the eyes of both of us.

We both love to read. I love seeing LeBron stoll into a game with a book in hand or sitting in the locker room immersed a great read.

We both understand the value of hard work. Nothing worth having comes without a lot of sweat and tears.

We both understand life doesn’t always give you what you dreamed about for a long time. I’m sorry for the NBA Final’s loss, LeBron. I know that was tough!

I’ve never met LeBron James in person, but what we can learn from him is a much longer list. He is business savvy off the court with a net worth of over $340 million dollars. Impressive to say the least!

Take for example, his salary this year is $30 million dollars, joining the league of highest payed player along side Michael Jordan and Bryant. Yet, his investments, business ventures and endorsements are estimated to be over $55 million dollars. Almost double his salary!

It’s easy to chalk such huge numbers up to “some people have all the luck” but I want to say, it’s more than that. And this is were I think we can learn some things that we can apply to our own place in life.

Money Mindset

“The first time I stepped on an NBA court I became a businessman.” LeBron James

In order to make money you need to be serious about your job, side hustle or idea. It doesn’t just fall into your lap over night. It takes focus, origination and systems.

Having a healthy money mindset means learning, reading great books and learning the mistakes from other people’s experiences. That way you save your bank account from being your teacher.

Eyes on the Top.

“I was a Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan fan growing up.” LeBron James

Over the years of watching the best man in basketball LeBron learned many things about the sport of basketball.

Who is the best in your industry, job or profession? Are you learning from them, reading their books and applying what years of experience has taught them?

None of us are “self made” in this sense. We all have teachers and when we strive to learn from the best, we will become better too.

Failing

“You can’t be afraid to fail. It’s the only way you succeed – you’re not gonna succeed all the time, and I know that.” LeBron James

Learning from our mistakes is actually an acquired skill I believe. More often than not we beat ourselves up over a failure or we ignore it and act like it never happen. But the best thing to do is to honestly spend some quite time reflecting on that failure. By asking yourself some questions you might see the areas where you must improve and that just could be your quantum leap forward. Some good questions to ask yourself might be these.

Could I have avoided this?

How so?

Did I communicate enough with the people involved?

Do I need to change my system?

Should I put a system in place so I can avoid this problem again?

If I had purchased advice from a more knowledgeable person, would I saved myself this headache? (I’m thinking in the form of books, seminars etc.)

I have even created a Failure Journal and written down past failures. Then I followed the problem up with lessons that I had learned and what I was going to do moving forward to ensure it wasn’t repeated. EVER.

Related Reading

Starting a Side Hustle

The Worth of Net Worth

My $1140 Decision

Growing

“I like criticism. It makes you strong.” LeBron James

Most of us HATE to be criticized yet embracing it can propel you forward. A second pair of eyes on any situation will always result in a fresh perspective.

Focus

“I laugh and joke, but I don’t get distracted very easily.” LeBron James

Knowing what your “big hairy audacious goal” is, as Kevin Kruse likes to say makes a difference. Goals take time to set but once you set them, working backwards makes it much easier to accomplish them. But along the way you must stay focused in order to turn them into your reality.

Make

“I’m going to use all my tools, my God-given ability, and make the best life I can with it.” LeBron James

We do create our own life in many, many ways with the choices we make each and every day. God has granted us each gifts and talents. We can learn tools to make us better in what we do but it’s our job to make it happen. We have to hustle, hustle, hustle to create something new. Being mediocre doesn’t take effort but being great does!

Adversity

“My father wasn’t around when I was a kid, and I used to always say, ‘Why me? Why don’t I have a father? Why isn’t he around? Why did he leave my mother?’ But as I got older I looked deeper and thought, ‘I don’t know what my father was going through, but if he was around all the time, would I be who I am today?'” LeBron James

Every adversity in our life molds us and impresses deeply into our souls. Maybe it was cutting words that still ring inside your head. Or the lack of comfort growing up. You might have suffered an injury physically that held you back.

But what have you done with it? Have you allowed it to hold you captive, to side line you from greatness? Friend, don’t allow it the privilege anymore.

Today, imagine a box. Take those stinging words you were told, your uncomfortable past, your injury or whatever it might be and mentally stick it in the box. Label that box in your mind Turning Point. Now from this point forward I want you to see that box as a turning point in your life, see it as something that you have overcome, that you are bigger than but don’t let it define who you are!

What are you going to apply today from LeBron?

Keep on learning and keep growing! Be sure to join our Savvy Saver Tribe and have money saving tools delivered right to your inbox every Saturday.

The post LeBron James and I… appeared first on Mrs. Savvy Saver.

The windows were rolled down, the beautiful Florida night air filled our truck as we cruised along the highway enjoying the red and pink sunset. We were together. Talking, laughing and catching up. It was date night and a night out was what we both needed.

We were young and in love and determined to stay that way. Now, 13 years later we still love each other yet life has gotten, lets say, CRAZY! Two kids, two jobs, pastoring, and life keeps us both going most of the time. Yet we made it a priority years ago to have a “Date Day”. As a pastor, my husband has always tried to keep Monday’s reserved for us. It doesn’t always happen but we try and our marriage has been much better off because of the time we spend together.

When friends get married we are often asked for “one piece of advice”. Hands down we always recommend to continue dating one another.

Continue Date Nights!

Making your date nights a priority no matter what else is going on in your life. Setting your marriage up for success takes work and this is a wonderful way to care for each other and build your marriage.

It does get a little bit harder when kids come along to make time for dates but it is even more critical to carve out that time because of the kids.

Here are some recommendations for date night when your kids are with you because, hey, we all know getting a babysitter every time just isn’t going to happen! If we can keep our two littles happy for 20 minutes it’s amazing how much of a conversation we can have when we aren’t interrupted.

But first, the rule. No cellphone time. In order to focus on us, our marriage and our conversation we can’t be talking to someone else. So we put our phones away and focus on each other. It’s really refreshing. Ok, now onto the list.

1. Bounce House
2. Chick fil A Playplace
3. Park
4. Bottle of Bubbles
5. Hiking Trail
6. Skating rink
7. A Large Box – Cut out a large window in the box so they can have a puppet theater. Give them markers to color the outside of the box and brown paper bags for the puppets. Let their imaginations run.

We have some friends who we swap babysitting nights with so we save big bucks, for both of us. Over the course of a year, this really adds up! I highly recommend finding an couple who will do this with you. You’ll both be glad you invested in your marriage.

Studies have shown that when we are experiencing something new more of our 5 senses are engaged. The experience will stay with us longer because we are processing it eagerly. When you do something new it is exciting and creates a strong bond with the person who experiences it with you. This is why getting out of our rut is important to keep that “spark” alive in your marriage. Because Netflix nights can only take you so far! Heehee, you know…

These unique date night ideas can help you get started.

1. No GPS. – Take a drive but only take right hand turns until you want to turn back, then take left hand turns. Stop and take pictures along the way of interesting things.
2. Letter L – Go on a photo adventure and take selfies with 10 things that start with the letter L. You can do this on a walk, hike or driving trip. Be sure to print your pictures afterwards, you’ll enjoy the memories longer.
3. A Night in a TePee – Yes, you really can! Airbnb is an awesome site for discounted stays around the world. You can even find Tepee’s and Tree houses to stay in, how cool is that?! Just search for a “house” in your state. Then scroll through the images and I’m sure you will come a crossed an amazing and unique place for a date night. {Use this link and you’ll get $40 FREE for your first trip! }

1. Favorite Song – Do a music video of the two of you singing your favorite love song or one you call “your” song. This might be a throw back to your dating days. Maybe even add some props and costumes to make it authentic.
2. Progressive Dinner – Select three locations that you both enjoyed while you were dating. One for the entree, one for dessert and one for coffee.
3. Our Story – Write out your amazing love story and get it printed. Yes, for real, with LoveBook.com
4. Then ‘n Now – Recreate a picture from when you were dating. Try to be as close to the original picture as possible.
5. Give – Find a busy little coffee place and grab some drinks. Then give the cashier $30 to pay for the next few customers in line. Ask her to keep your secret and then watch the expression on the following customers. You will enjoy their reactions.
6. Yelp It – Ever had the “where do you want to eat” conversation? This can turn into the same old, same old thing. So pull up the Yelp app and select a restaurant you have never been too. Maybe you will find a new favorite.
7. Bucket List – Have you written your bucket list down? If not, take the time to do so and then hit up Barnes and Noble or similar bookstore. Next, find books about things or places on your bucket list. You might be surprised about what you find!

What you do on your date should be fun and engaging but sometimes you might find the conversation lacking. So here are some conversation starters, questions and ideas to encourage you both to grow closer together.

Click the image below to download your 16 Date Night Questions.

Enjoy and Share via the social tabs if you want your friends to have these great Date Night tips.

The post DateNight Printable appeared first on Mrs. Savvy Saver.

Saving Money on Your Grocery Bill with 7 Ideas

This post contains affiliate links. 

Intention. Eat more healthy lunches.
Reality. Wake up late, rush out the door, grab lunch at a fast food place for $7.00. If you then do this X 8 times this month = $56 gone in one month. Do that every month and you have just downed $672 you will never get back.

But if you want to be saving money in your budget for other things try these ideas. They have worked well for me and I highly recommend them to you because they are some of the ways I use to eat healthy and also use all the food that I actually buy so that it doesn’t go to waste.

1. Buy in bulk.
If you are like me, some foods are a staple in your house because you like it and look forward to eating it often. So, stock up and save.
I have found that you need to compare prices based on the ounce when you shop though. This helps you compare apples for apples. Sometimes the “buy in bulk” stores are actually charging you more for products than saw Walmart or Kroger do for the same thing. But because you are getting double the amounts it seems like a good deal.

We eat oatmeal for breakfast. I know we will eat it and so it doesn’t make cents to buy it in small containers. Bulk works well for oatmeal. 
Moral of the story, know your ounce price!

2. Shop once.
I do one large shopping trip at the beginning of the month. This helps to fill my cupboards and by using my meal plan I know I have food for the whole month. By knowing all the ingredients are in my house it doesn’t  take much planning to select a meal and have it ready for supper. I even wrote a whole post about my meal planning and how I do it each month for about $170!

3. Reduce.
When I purchase meat, I divide it up into smaller bags that fit our family. I freeze them, then when I’m ready to use some, I only take out what I need and nothing goes to waste. Again, buy the bags in bulk.

4. Containers.
I love these containers.

They take up very little room in my cupboards because the lids are the same size. When you fill them with leftovers they just slip right into your fridge and stack right on top of one another.
My fridge stays neat and clean and with the clear sides it doesn’t take me but a second to see what the contents are next time I look through my fridge.

Now for a healthy salad I will cut up my salad fixings with this plastic knife. When I get groceries I will put fresh salad food in several of these. At any time I can make a salad up in 3 minutes instead of 10 minutes. It’s so simple and easy! Plus, it takes the hassle out of eating healthy too!

Related Reading:

6 Questions You Should Ask Before Budgeting

Save on Your Cellphone Bill

5 Hacks for Saving on Your Vacation

5. Water on the go.
Water is so good for our system. We all know it yet somehow we just don’t make the time to fill up our water bottle before we need to walk out the door. Which means we buy it while we are out or just go without.
Solution. Make your own to go water bottles! These hold 17oz. and stay cold for a long time. Just fill 5 or 6 at a time, place them in your fridge door and grab one when you need it. You will get your daily water intake in with no hassle!

6. Baby food.
If you have a baby in the house, this can save you money and give your growing little one a healthy start with this handy tool. Baby food takes work but life doesn’t slow down when you add another member to the family. With this squeeze station you just make up the food ahead of time and it puts them in the EASY squeeze pouches. Then you grab and go with healthy food for your little one. No store bought, overly processed nasty food!

7. Chest Freezer.
If you stock up when meat and other items are on sale you will want to own a chest freezer!! Knowing you have plenty of freezer space will allow you to take advantage of good deals when they pop up. I love my chest freezer and don’t know how people get by without one.

This one is 7 cubic feet. It comes up to about my hips so it’s not to tall. But you do have to bend over to get things when they are in the bottom. They make freezers that are 19 cubic feet and those are really nice! Growing up on the farm allowed us to have one full beef done up every year. That is ALOT of meat so we needed the large freezer to hold it all. But because of that we never went to the store and bought it. So when I got married and had to buy my own I about had a heart attack! What?!?! Meat cost this much!!!! Haha, yes it was a big surprise.

I hope this list helps you begin thinking of ways you can cut down on your grocery bill. What will you start with first?

Please save and share this post via the social buttons. In 2 seconds you would help me and my new blog out a lot. Thank you!!!

The post 7 Secrets for Slashing Your Grocery Bill appeared first on Mrs. Savvy Saver.

These 6 Questions to ask before budgeting will save you money in the long run!

Have you ever thought about WHY you spend your money? Not just WHAT you spend it on? Being able to answer the why question is a powerful step in gaining power over your money.

Sometimes the motives for why lay very deep in our heart. Our habits with money often stemmed from watching parents and grandparents use their money. But were they good habits?

Now as adults lets take a closer look at what motives us to spend our hard earned cash and what we spend it on. I was able to survey 100s of people and here are some of their answers.

My question was “When you spend money, what motivates you?” I’ve also included ideas on how to keep these spending habits in check with some Budget Booster tips.

Hobbies

We all need something to refresh our mind and give us something to enjoy other than work, work, work. So I’m not going to say, ditch your hobbies to save some money, but think through your home. Do you have former hobbies that you no longer have a passion for?

For me it was a jewelry making phase. I had all the wires, cutters, beads, clasps and jewels you could imagine. But after a while, I just put it up and it sat on my shelf, in perfectly good shape being completely useful.

Budget Booster: Sell it. Gather all those hobby items together and sell them to someone else who might really appreciate and love your gently used and formerly loved, hobby. LetGo is an awesome app and it’s really quick and easy to use. You can just snap a picture and post it. Then anyone can message you right in the app, no email hassle at all.

Experiences

Creating family memories is a very valuable gift we give to ourselves. I think we often undervalue doing things together and being with one another. In the busyness of life TIME is precious. Creating wonderful experiences takes some planning and also money. But being a savvy saver means you can often find deals.

Budget Booster

Museum’s – Check their calendar. Some days are free or discounted on because of special holidays. Write those days down on your calendar so you wont forget.

Concerts – Look for discount tickets on Craigslist. You never know who might be unable to go, last minute.

Restaurant – Lunch is always less expensive so plan an afternoon together instead of an evening out.

Books 

This is a big one for me and for my husband! We LOVE to read and even though we have move almost 40 boxes of books around the country with us on our moves and we say, this is enough, we always find ourselves back at the bookstore again.

Budget Booster: Again my go to app Letgo is great for selling some of your books if you know you wont be reading them again. And we all know that we bookworms will continue to buy books until we die there are a few ways we can save in the process.

First off, get to know your library! It’s free!

Secondly, use www.AddAll.com It searches over 40 different sites and compares the cheapest price including the shipping! This way you save time and money knowing you received the best price possible for your books!

Gifts

Gifts are a way of showing people that we care. This can really lift someone up when it’s unexpected too. I’ve written a whole post on gift giving ideas too.

Personal Happiness

Taking care of ourselves is important. As women we give, give, give yet sometimes we do need to take care of us, pamper ourselves and enjoy fun things. But not overly so, that can lead to some budget disasters too.

Budget Booster: I’ve found that you can get some great deals on pedicures, hair cuts, hair styling and massages at Technical colleges and training schools. The students need to learn their trade but they also need a real human to practice on and you receive a great rate too. Win-win.

Kids

Every Mom reading this can say this is true, whether they are little or grown. This is often a gift we give to our children to show them that we love them because how we feel towards are kids is so great, it’s almost as if we can’t do enough to show them how we feel.

Boredom

“I’m bored.” Coming from the mouth of my 4 year old it made me laugh. I told him when I was growing up on the dairy farm in NY I NEVER dared say those words. It would have landed me a long list of more chores I could be doing. Even if I thought those words they never came out of my mouth! So I told him, he could do some work if he was bored. He happily agreed and was soon scrubbing the bathtub for me. He called out a few minutes into the job, “I love working, I’m not going to play anymore.” Haha, well, that didn’t last very long.

Sometimes boredom can be filled by planning out activities for ourselves or our kids. Card making, play dates with others, library time, starting a side hustle, or visiting a nursing home to cheer others up. It just takes a little planning and planning is FREE.

Everything listed can be part of your budget and to be a savvy saver the best thing to do is evaluate your spending and see first WHAT you are spending your money on and then evaluate WHY.

1. Is it love for someone?
2. Is it to make yourself feel better?
3. Is it because your parents always did it just that way?
4. Is it tradition?
5. Is it to compensate for something you feel is lacking? Status, popularity, keeping up with the Jones etc?
6. Is it because your sense of worth?

These are all important question which you need to ask and answer. Your financial future depends upon what you say.

Having a budget is CRITICAL to knowing your day to day spending flow but beyond that you also need to know your net worth if you plan on retiring well. Net worth is your assets after debt. You might make $70,000 but be in $30,000 worth of debt leaving you with negative net worth. But asking yourself why you spend that money and what motivated you to spend that money is a great first step at changing!

Be sure to sign up for the Savvy Saver Tribe newsletter and stay motivated to save money! You wont regret it.

The post 6 Questions You Should Ask Before Budgeting appeared first on Mrs. Savvy Saver.