Income, Budgeting, & Debt Archives - Its Not That Hard to Homeschool

Smart Strategies to Save Money on Groceries = More Money for Homeschooling

Homeschooling is an incredibly rewarding endeavor, but it can also be financially challenging. One area where you can free up some funds for homeschooling materials is by optimizing your grocery spending. With a few smart strategies and a bit of planning, you can save money on groceries without sacrificing the quality of your meals. Let’s …

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Episode 78: How to Graduate College Debt Free

It IS possible to graduate debt-free from college — our guest podcaster, Kara Walker, has done it! If you want to know how to graduate college debt-free, this episode will give you the nitty gritty from the perspective of a homeschooled student. Kara is on a quest to help other students graduate debt-free with her …

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A New (and better) Personal Finance Curriculum for High School – a review of Personal Finance Illustrated®

Overview: When you want a personal finance curriculum for high school that isn’t the same outdated information you’ve heard before, check this one out! Note: This post sponsored by Personal Finance Illustrated® but all opinions are my own. Trying to follow a one-size-fits-all financial ideology doesn’t always work. Because one size hardly ever fits all. …

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How Your Teen Can Pay for College – an elective course option

Overview: When you’re wondering how to pay for college, this SAT/ACT prep course is one of the best and easiest ways to get some help. It’s reasonably priced and effective, a win-win! Note: this post is sponsored by College Prep Genius, but all opinions are my own. Referral links are present. College is looming and …

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Are you in a season when money is tight? This article is about a radical money-handling technique that can get you through the rough times. One of the most helpful tips out there for when your budget doesn't meet your spending. I've never seen it explained this way before. Check it out!

How to Budget When Money is Tight

When money is tight, sometimes we have to take radical measures. Sometimes the usual cost-cutting techniques are not enough. The Man and I have dealt with money shortages several times during our marriage — no comment as to whether or not we are in one now, lol — and early on we developed a system …

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This is a saving money tip you have probably never read about before -- but it works! One of the most effective ideas out there, so you can put aside what you need for a house, or college, or the budget -- fast! Several examples so you can see how to do it yourself.

How to Squirrel Away Money When One of You is a Spender

Overview:This is a saving money tip you have probably never read about before — but it works! There are several examples so you can see how to do it yourself. Listen. Do you want to know a secret? Do you promise not to tell? (And if you’re a Beatles fan, you’re chiming in with a …

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Do you find yourself blowing the family budget every month? Setting up sinking funds can help! You can get control of your finances TODAY!

One Key Tip to Avoid Blowing the Family Budget

If you don’t know what a sinking fund is, you are in the right place. If you know what one is but are not using them, you are also in the right place. Sinking funds are a KEY defense against the typical family budget busters. Sinking funds are a relatively new (within the last year …

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Are you frustrated trying to make the cash envelope system work? Try some or all of these solutions to get your spending under control and make a difference in your budget right away!

7 Problems With the Cash Envelope System and How to Solve Them

Have you tried using the cash envelope system and given up because it was not successful for you? I feel ya; we personally have started and stopped MANY times. But I keep coming back to it as the best way to maintain control of our budget, in spite of its flaws. No system will ever be …

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Is money tight for you RIGHT NOW? One of the fastest ways to save money is also one of the easiest! I was surprised by how much I could save!

Need Money FAST?? Try this!

Is money tight for you RIGHT NOW?? Do you need to get some cash together quickly to pay a looming bill, or are you trying to gather funds to make a large purchase and are tired of the nickel-and-dime approach? One of the fastest ways to save money involves a relatively small lifestyle change but …

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Doing a no spend month is a great way to get control of your money in a hurry. Read these tips for how to survive all the way to the end!

Tips for Surviving a No Spend Month All the Way to the End

Usually the saying is that it’s the first thing of whatever you’re attempting to do that is the hardest. The first step is the hardest, or the first million dollars (tell me about it), or even your first love. Well, I’m here to say that when you’re doing a no spend month, the first week …

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Living with less income IS possible, and it's easiest if you can prepare ahead of time. These tips really help ease the transition!! Especially #2!!

7 Ways to Prepare for Living with Less Income

We would all like to increase our income as time goes on, wouldn’t we? But sometimes that doesn’t happen; in fact, sometimes the process goes in reverse, and we actually need to start living with LESS. It might be a job loss or change, or recent medical procedures that must be paid for, or some …

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Are your family finances prepared for the teen years? Here is a list of costs to expect and some advice for how to plan ahead.

Family Finances: Guess What? Teens Cost More.

As the Christmas season approaches, and I begin to make my lists and check them twice, I am reminded anew of a truth universally acknowledged: kids get more expensive as they get older. The family finances thus look a lot different when there are teens in the house than when all the children are small. …

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The first step to breaking out of the debt cycle is to know WHY it's happening. Several of these you may not even realize you are doing. You can change your habits today!

6 Reasons You are Still in the Debt Cycle

Overview: The first step to breaking out of the debt cycle is to know WHY it’s happening. Here are 6 possible reasons. You can change your habits today! I am NOT a debt success story — YET. Don’t you sometimes get discouraged reading all the stories of people who paid off a gazillion dollars in …

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Coping with anxiety about money can be difficult and lonely. Here are my tips to help ease your mind and get a handle on your fears.

5 Tips for Coping with Anxiety about Money

Deep breaths, y’all. It’s gonna be okay. If you are reading this, chances are you’re coping with anxiety about your finances and are looking for some relief from those emotions. Well, I’m definitely one who has been there! I probably have more panic attacks about money than about any other subject. Since I am the …

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Home Staging Before and After

A few weeks ago we had an appointment with our realtor. Because in the six weeks we’d had the house on the market up to that point, there had been only one showing. That’s not exactly rush hour, y’all. We came away from the appointment having decided to make two changes: 1) We dropped the …

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