Let’s start off with a joke: what do you get when you combine a pregnant woman suffering from all-day “morning sickness,” three kids aged six, three and one, a small dog who is almost blind and a husband who works full time and is in a season of busy travel for work? Give up? You get the perfect time to do kitchen renovations, that’s what you get!
[Read more…]Lessons Learned Selling on Online Yard Sale Sites
Here’s the deal – unless you have some superhuman powers I’m not aware of, you probably have a bunch of junk laying around your house. You may not classify it as junk, but if you don’t absolutely love it and it isn’t useful to you today or in the near and known future – it might as well be classified to you as junk. The “I might need it one day” syndrome is rampant in American culture…and I could be the poster child for that syndrome! I get it – I grew up in a home where we had plenty of “I might need it one day” items or “that was too good of a deal to pass up” stuff.
With our latest motivation to declutter and embrace the KonMari approach to get rid of a bunch of stuff we didn’t need, Stacy took on her natural role of organizer and went at the decluttering with a vengeance. Each day we’d chat off and on about what to do with the things we decided we didn’t love and were ready to part with. Everything basically fell into three categories: donate, sell, and trash. [Read more…]
Four Reasons we Didn’t Pay Cash Up Front for Braces
Stacy has long been bothered by her smile, feeling self-conscious about it and trying to hide her teeth. I personally have never been concerned by this and yet “fixing her smile” has been on Stacy’s wish list for a very long while. A couple of years ago she went to the orthodontist and got a price quote on braces. Sticker shock caused her to put it off then. For those who have missing teeth, you may consider getting Dentures to restore your full smile.
Fast forward to a few months ago and we finally agreed that if she was ever going to get braces or perhaps other dental services like All On 4, she just needed to go for it. We had some savings and so we fully expected to pay cash for the entire thing, but after discussing and considering it, we decided to not pay cash up front. Why? Here are the four big reasons we didn’t pay cash for braces. [Read more…]
A Decluttering Guide for Pack Rats
Stacy and I have been working hard to organize, declutter, and generally tidy our home. It has been a fun journey that really started when Stacy began reading about The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. We have had lots of fun purging, sorting and generally finding out what we own that we truly love. The problem is, I don’t like to get rid of stuff. And you know what, I bet you (or someone you know well) doesn’t like to get rid of stuff either. How do you declutter and organize your home if you have pack rat or even hoarder tendencies? Read on. [Read more…]
How We Pay Cash for Our Cars (…and trucks and vans…and everything else)
We bought a van last week. I know for families with more than your average number of kids that is a rite of passage, so I guess we’re “in the club” now…the I-drive-a-minivan-and-like-it club. Although it doesn’t have flames painted down the side, a hemi under the hood or a stereo that will let everyone hear you from 3.4 miles away, I’ll have to say that I’m happy to have bought it. More importantly, it is paid for. We don’t do payments around here. If we can’t pay for it, we aren’t buying it. So how can we pay cash for all our cars? [Read more…]
Job Interviewing 101:
Let’s talk job interviews! Call me weird, but I’ve always enjoyed the interviewing and hiring process including the background check for employment. I’ve done a lot of it, too. I’ve probably been in a few hundred job interviews at this point…on both sides of the table such like for careers in healthcare. I’ve also done some various interviewing classes for high school students and others for front-line hiring managers. So when someone contacted me recently and asked if I could offer some pointers, I thought it may be of use to all of us to go through some interviewing basics…an Interviewing 101, if you will.
Mental Preparation
First and most importantly, remember that every job interview matters. Whether you are voluntarily looking for a temp employment, interviewing for a promotion, or desperate for a j-o-b to make ends meet, every interview gives you the chance at a fresh start to convince a captive audience that you are awesome. With that in mind, be awesome! [Read more…]
How Your Husband (or Wife) Can Make You Rich
If you’ve read much of what I’ve written previously about relationships and money, you’ll find I regularly state that your finances won’t work if you and your spouse can’t agree on money. I’ve even given you my top five things I believe all spouses must agree on to win with money. What I’ve not told you is that there is serious research that shows your spouse has the power to make you filthy, stinkin’ rich. Okay, maybe not too stinkin’ because a good spouse will make you bathe so you’re agreeable to sleep next to…but I digress.
The Cost of Being a Stay at Home Mom
Stacy has stayed at home since before we had children. We made the choice that her time and energy would be best spent taking care of our home and family. We have made sacrifices to do this, but it has been totally worth it.
I don’t make an exorbitant salary; we’re not trust fund babies. We don’t live up to our eyeballs in debt; we don’t live in squalor. We are a relatively normal-looking American family that decided we would be willing to live on a single income so Stacy could stay at home with our children. [Read more…]
Why We Stopped Funding our Kids’ College Savings
We’re huge Dave Ramsey fans used most of his principles to become completely debt free (including our home) a few years ago. One of his baby steps (baby step 5) is to handle college funding for children. When our first child was born, we started her college fund in a 529. With small, but consistent contributions, that fund is up to roughly $5,000 (she’s 5 now). When our next was born, we started him a college fund, too. He’s 2 now, and he has almost $2,000 in his fund. Along comes baby #3 and what do we do? Well…you’d think we’d just keep the 529 thing rolling, but we haven’t. Why did we stop funding our kids’ college savings? Read on. [Read more…]
A Letter to My Eventual Daughter in Law
If you missed last week, when I shared a letter to my eventual son in law, you may want to go back and have a look at that letter to give you an idea of why I’m bothering to write these letters in the first place. To sum it up: I have hopes and dreams for my kids and I want the person each of them ends up marrying to know a little about what my expectations are. Even though I only have about 11 years of marriage under my belt and a little less than five as a parent, I want to capture my thoughts now and share the wisdom I can offer today because I know at least a few of you reading this right now are about to “give away” your son or daughter and could sure use some input.
You’ll probably notice a lot of similarity in the two letters – that is intentional. I want my kids to know my expectations are high for both of them and similar for both of them. The letter to my eventual son-in-law was tough. I’d bet you this one won’t be any easier. Here we go…
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