I have been searching for small ways to cut back on our spending since money will be very tight until we sell our house. Switching phone calling plans or insurance companies may only save ten dollars each month, but if you can find five different areas to save ten dollars, that's fifty dollars per month saved. Eating all meals at home can save a tremendous amount of money as well. Even when we were "cutting back" on dining out, we still spent at least $50 per month on restaurant food. No more. We will make a concentrated effort to only eat food at home.
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I think the way the American corporate system is set up is fundamentally wrong. We spend the most productive and healthy years of our lives slaving away at jobs we don't enjoy, in the hopes of retiring one day. When we reach retirement age, many people are having health problems or just don't feel up to doing all the things they planned on doing when they retired.
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As of yesterday morning, we are now proud owners of 4.6 beautiful wooded acres in the Ozark mountains. We searched for a long time to find our perfect piece of land, so we could build a low-impact tiny house. We are hoping to accomplish all this without taking out a loan, so that we will be completely debt-free.
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Sometimes I think of how lucky I am to be able to be a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom), but then I realize that luck doesn't have anything to do with it. My husband and I worked like crazy for years to pay off all our debt, with the exception of our mortgage, so that our monthly obligations would decrease enough for me to stay home with our children.» continue reading

I have been keeping a very specific list of our monthly expenses as described in Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence for almost five years now. It is interesting to look back at previous months and see how much our financial profile has changed over the years depending where we lived and what our spending habits were.
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Upon reviewing the archive posts of this blog, you will see that I often write about personal finances, loans, debt, etc. I would like this post to be an overview with tips you can incorporate to help get out of debt and save money. » continue reading

I am happy to report that my family remains debt-free as we have been for over five years now. It is a great feeling and a huge burden lifted when you make that final student loan or credit card payment. I only wish we could say the same for our mortgage. The ultimate goal is to be free from all debt, and that includes the mortgage. I just think of all that interest money we will pay over the life of the loan and it just about makes me sick. » continue reading

I know I spend more with credit cards, but I just can't seem to completely break the cycle. When I only have cash, I can't stray from my grocery list or make impulse purchases, but I don't get enough money on my trip to the ATM to cover the week's expenses and end up charging some on the card. I do think everyone should have one card and with all the great features and benefits available today, there is no reason you can't make your credit card work for you. You can use the credit card companies competition with one another to your advantage by getting 0% credit cards or pay off your high interest cards by getting a card with 0% balance transfers. I don't carry balances or pay interest, so that's good, but I would like to get to the point where the only credit card purchases I make are the necessary ones, like hotels, car rentals, and online purchases. You can compare credit cards online to get one with the features that are most important to you. There are many cards with benefits, and we get hotel stay points with every purchase on one credit card. » continue reading