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Getting Started on a Budget – Our Family’s Budget Basics

When it comes to getting started on a budget that you will actually stick with, there are a few budget basics that need to be established. It’s super simple and you can probably get this done in just a few minutes! I’ll show ya how!

Our family has had to learn the hard way with getting our personal finances on track, but that doesn’t mean you have to!

Learn from our mistakes and our wins and skip the hard part! I am sharing our real numbers today in hopes of painting a clearer picture to help you as you are getting started on a budget.

What you need to do is put yourself in the same shoes and ask yourself the same questions. These budget tips for beginners will help you set the basic groundwork for creating a hugely successful family budget that will not fail!

7 essential basic tips of budgeting for beginners. Get a crystal clear example of getting started on a budget by looking at the real life family finances of a middle class family living in one of the most expensive cities in the US. These budgeting tips for beginners will help you start a budget with motivation and the tools necessary to stay on budget. Continue Reading →

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Best Grocery Rebate App + 5 Tips to Max Your Cash Back!

Meal planning is one of the two lifestyle changes our family made that has helped us get out of $20,000 in debt and has also helped us avoid overdraft fees and actually stick to a budget! One way we maximize our savings with meal planning is by stacking the savings at the grocery store. So let me tell you about my very favorite, and in my opinion, the very best grocery rebate app. 

I use it all the time and talk about it in my monthly grocery hauls and get tons of questions. My very favorite way to get free gift cards using my very favorite rebate app, Ibotta!

The very best rebate app tutorial and in this Ibotta tutorial I am giving you my 5 pro tips on how to get the maximum amount of cash back into your wallet! Make sure to watch all my Ibotta hacks to find out how to get your $10 cash back instantly using my Ibotta reward code! Continue Reading →

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$2 Thrift Store Bulletin Board Makeover

 

Check out this fun 15 minute bulletin board transformation, what a great way to decorate your home office and help keep you organized! This DIY cork board is a great way to salvage an old cork board you may have lying around!

 

Completely blank sits a white wall in my kitchen, just begging for a bulletin board.

I first thought, “Cool, I’ll just go buy a piece of cork board and put fabric over it, call it good.” Well, turns out cork board is not that cheap.

Plan B, keep my eyes open for an old bulletin board to refinish. Turns out, it didn’t take me long to find one at a local thrift store.

Best part, I bought it for only $2! After purchasing the board, fabric, and tacks, I spent total about $8. Not bad at all for a completely custom bulletin board!

 

Learn how to makeover an old bulletin board in less than 20 minutes and for just a couple bucks! This is the perfect DIY makeover for an old thrift store bulletin board find. Step-by-step directions with tips on where to get the cheapest supplies! Continue Reading →

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8 Secret Strategies to Saving Big at Target

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There is ALWAYS a way to save at Target. Doesn’t matter what department you are in, you can always save some moo-la!

Doesn’t that just make you completely have a Jerry Maguire type crush on Target… “You complete me!” or “You had me at hello!” That is exactly how I feel every time I walk into this blessed store!

With the holidays here and all the shopping you are going to be doing, it’s even more important to save. THOUGH, all of these tips will help max out your savings at Target ALL YEAR long!

Secret tips exposed on how to take advantage of the NEWEST ways to majorly save on your next trip to Target! You are spending way more than you need if you aren’t using these tips on how to save money at Target! Continue Reading →

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Meal Planning on a Budget – FREE Printable Toolkit

When you are really good friends with someone, you want to do nice things for them. Which is why… ta-da! I have put together this meal planning on a budget toolkit for you, my Pearls! 

This is the exact method our family uses for meal planning on a budget that has saved us over $6,000 this last year! That is based off of an already frugal lifestyle. If your family is in the beginning stages of cutting your expenses, I am sure you will be able to save even more money then we have!

Stay on budget and organized with this FREE PRINTABLE Meal Planning on a Budget Toolkit. Easily save over $500 this month by using this step-by-step guide on how to meal plan on a budget. This is the exact system our family of five uses to save thousands of dollars each year, simply through meal planning!
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Beginners Guide to the Cash Envelope System

Dang it! We did it again! Oh no, another $30 overdraft fee! Why are we always over spending?

This scenario was recurring way too often in our bank account. We would think we were staying on budget but the reality was, we really had no idea where all our money was going.

Every month, three days before the next pay day, I would send a frantic text to my husband, “Don’t spend another penny! We only have $18 left!” Then some months, it was too little too late.

Pending purchases would push us over the edge and we would end up paying overdraft fees. Getting us ever further behind on the next pay periods spending! Ugh!

I am so sorry if this dramatic reenactment sounds all too familiar for you.

The good news is that we eventually figured it out! In fact, we are actually an entire month ahead of our bills now! We haven’t had overdrafted our bank account in over a year!

Can you imagine how wonderful that feels? How completely freeing it is to have your spending under control! Looking at our budget no longer provokes tense conversations or anxiety driven swipes of our debit card.

Who wants a taste of this financial freedom!?Start a budget today fast and easy without complicated paperwork. Use this simple guide to the cash envelope system and find your financial freedom today! Continue Reading →

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How to Save Money Today – 5 Frugal Habits

Let’s see… save for our first house, get some new clothes, save for an amazing vacation, or maybe go out on a really fun date night!

What would you do if you could drastically cut your spending?

Get planning because today you can start saving $500 a month with these 5 frugal habits.

Are you ready to stop making excuses and start learning how to save money today? Not tomorrow, not next year, but actually how to save money to-day!

I’m sure there is a long list of reasons as to why these five frugal habits shouldn’t work for our family. But guess what, instead of trying to justify my laziness, I put my head down, do a little extra work, and magically our family has figured out how to save money, even when there isn’t a lot of money coming in!

Save $500/mo with these 5 Quick Tips. I love her budget tips especially the one on how to use YouTube to save money. It all adds up really quickly to help you cut spending and save more money!
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