Earn, Save, and Live Joyfully.
In July of last year, my husband and I debated the pros and cons of homeschooling our two children, ages 5 and 8. After weighing our options and considering all angles, we decided to homeschool them for the first time. As a personal finance enthusiast and all-around money nerd, I started the school year with a list of … Read more
Invest in yourself was my motto at the start of the new year. I planned to eat healthier, get fit, and gain new skills. The sky was the limit as I sat down at my computer with a long list of self-improvement goals. When you invest in yourself, you spend time and money, improving your skills, … Read more
If you’ve never experienced a major medical crisis, you’ve probably never thought or worried about your medical records. Before I got sick, I believed doctors quickly diagnosed patients, medical mistakes rarely happened, and medical professionals were the keepers of my medical history. Then I fell ill with a condition doctors couldn’t identify. The experience forever … Read more
The year 2020 is coming to a close and hoo-boy this year was a messy one. I planned to focus a lot more time on my blog, but homeschooling put a wrench into those plans. As a result this blogging recap is a bit shorter than last year’s. Last year I wrote sixty-eight posts. This … Read more
The calendar will soon flip from December to January. Although the pandemic won’t disappear overnight, the changing year signals a new hope that this will soon be over. How are you reflecting on this awful time? I’m trying to be optimistic. I’m searching for silver linings. The Need for Silver Linings The effects of COVID-19 … Read more
I hate to make mistakes. I mean undeniably and unequivocally hate it. Rather than moving past the errors, I flip them over and over in my mind. Of course, I don’t like to make mistakes, but financial ones are the absolute worst for me. When I make a financial mistake, I struggle to move past … Read more
The personal finance community is full of people claiming to provide the best advice. Many so-called experts shout from their soapboxes, “Here do this. Don’t do that. Listen to me. You are doing it all wrong!” It’s easy to dish out advice, but what if we tried to listen with understanding and empathy instead? What … Read more
A fair amount of financial advice hinges on the belief that we have the power to control our financial situation, but is that true? How much of our financial success is attributable to our decision making and how much is determined by our circumstances? Are we making smart decisions, or is our prosperity circumstantial or … Read more
Every year I dream of a simple, minimalist Christmas. One where we can skip out on exhausting holiday festivities, social gatherings, and mounds of gifts in favor of a quiet, relaxing celebration at home. It’s not that I hate those activities; it’s just that I yearn for a less stressful holiday season without a hefty … Read more
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no extra charge to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. I recently gathered the Christmas toy catalogs and presented them to my kids. My oldest son walked up to me a few minutes later with a … Read more