With the right mix of breath and negligence, all those little budget campfires can blow into a forest fire. I want to say that extra paycheck was earmarked for financial growth and moving the needle more on our mortgage debt, but maybe the best I can say is we didn’t have to dip into savings to pay the bills this month. And some months, just putting out all those little fires is the best you can do. How’d we do this month? Three Paychecks! So, due to the way I’m…
Tag: Budget
Net Worth & Debt Update May 2018 – One Pump, Two Pumps
I’m here for an oil and air filter change, and could you check to see why the car’s overheating so fast? 24 hours later, we’re $1,031.30 poorer with a new water pump and timing belt. Maybe I’ll revisit those sinking funds to adjust what we’re putting into our Maintenance and Repairs budget. Ugh. It was only May 2!! Did we not just buy brand new tires two weeks ago?! No, Daddy, put the blue water back in it. ~ Augustus The pool has taken on an extra-bright green lagoon…
Net Worth & Debt Update: A Month of Freezer/Pantry Meals
Dinners from our Pantry & Freezers (And April’s $100 grocery budget) (& Our Net Worth & Debt Update): Fair Warning to Foodies: This ain’t no gourmet food blog so don’t disappoint yourself looking for dinspiration here. (see what I did there?) We’re cleaning out the freezers and pantry this month. If you’re looking for the net worth and debt update, scroll on down to the bottom. April 1 – We were all so full of Easter lunch and candy that dinner was a tub of cottage cheese. Getting creative with…
Net Worth & Debt Update: March 31, 2018 – Wait, What?
Hoowee, boy! Where have we been? I’ve had a lot of guilt over not writing for nearly four months, so here are my excuses: Our oldest started Pre-K, so now the boys go to two different schools, which has required a little extra coordination. Also, it costs just as much with tuition, after school care, and all that fundraising to have him in pre-K as it did in daycare–no cost savings this year. Then I had emergency surgery in September to yank out my gall bladder, appendix, and an ovary with…
How to Re-Purpose Your Junk into a Custom Trellis
ERMAGERD! These vines are out of control! Don’t worry! I am ready to hook you up with some spectacular ideas on getting those vines up off the ground. Now, of course, you can always go out and buy traditional tomato cages for a modest charge, or you can pay premium prices for the trellis hand-forged in steel by some blacksmith in a remote country. Or, maybe we could get creative and make our own from stuff we already own (or can pick from someone’s trash on the curb). If you’re…
Where to Get Free or Cheap Seeds for Your Garden
Welcome back to Misfit Gardening and Owning Burton Farm’s Series on Frugal Gardening! We’re going to discuss where to get your seeds for super cheap (or even free!) in this post. FOR FREE. Ok, so you’ve got all your seed starting containers piling up and now you need seeds to go in them. But don’t just go out and order a bunch of seeds. I’m going to let you in on some great secrets for finding seeds for your garden for little to no money at all. FREE SEEDS Do you already…
How to Pay for Christmas with Pre-Tax Money
Say what?! Yes, you can pay for Christmas gifts with Pre-Tax Money. I know, I know. It’s in the semantics, but if other strategies haven’t worked for you, this one might. Have you filed for your Flexible/Health Spending Account reimbursement yet for the year, by the way? Have you earmarked that money yet? Let me explain. Open Season is generally around November, so be sure to sign up for this awesome tool to save money and you could have Christmas money saved up for next year with little effort. If…
How to Build a Budget in 7 Easy Steps
Want to take a sweet trip to Venice to ride a gondola guided by a singing gondolier in traditional Italian garb in five years? Maybe you want to retire a millionaire long before you hit minimum retirement age? Want to adopt a child in four years, but $20,000 is a lot of money and you don’t know where you are going to come up with it? Have you visualized yourself at the exact moment you are out of debt? What does it feel like? What does it smell like? All of…
Debt Ruining Your Life? Why High School’s Responsible
We demand that school teaches our children about sex and driving and argue how to explain the beginning of the universe. Why don’t we have a class in high school that teaches basic personal finance? I’m not talking about economics. Even if it’s an elective, I believe we need a class at least available to students who want to learn how to manage money in a responsible way. We need to teach them how to avoid the consequences that result from bad money management. This course could change the courses…