by Jamie Jeffers | Jul 19, 2019 | Ways We Saved This Week
This week I’m reading an amazing book that I think every mother should get her hands on. It’s called Cleaning House: A Mom’s 12 Month Experiment to Rid Her Home of Youth Entitlement.
There are so many good points to this book (especially the fact that giving kids meaningful work is the best gift you can give them).
But it made me aware of the fact that I might not be teaching my own kids enough about money.
Not just how to be responsible with it…but how to use it.
How to swipe the card at the gas station.
Comparing prices at the grocery store.
Having the courage to actually speak to a cashier while they make a purchase.
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by Jamie Jeffers | Jun 28, 2019 | Ways We Saved This Week
While driving home from a far away baseball game earlier this week, the dashboard of our 2005 Tahoe lit up like a Christmas tree.
This is one of those moments when you wonder if the savings of buying an older vehicle is worth it.
Our whole family was in the car, and all Google could tell me was that it could be as simple as a sensor…or as awful as the steering and brakes not working while you’re flying down the highway.
Lovely.
We made it home safely and now we’re waiting on word of how much this repair is going to cost us.
And I’ve decided to try to keep track of the amount of money in repairs (as well as the time we are without a vehicle) so we can see if driving an older car is truly worth the savings.
What do you think about driving older cars?
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by Jamie Jeffers | Jun 25, 2019 | Debt, Saving Money
A sinking fund is the only thing standing between you and freedom from paycheck to paycheck living. Here’s how to get started.
Watching the balance on our biggest credit card shrink over the past year has been…how should I put this?
Ah-maz-ing!
Our main goal in our #yearofno has been to knock out debt every chance we get.
Read all how we’re getting out of debt here (yes, even while raising 5 kids on one income!).
But there is one thing that I wish we had done differently.
Something that could have made a bigger difference in our debt payments.
It’s called a sinking fund. It’s a genius (but uncomplicated) idea that prepares you for those nagging expenses that add to debt.
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by Jamie Jeffers | Jun 21, 2019 | Ways We Saved This Week
Ugh, setbacks.
This week we found out that we can’t install the cistern for rainwater that we were hoping for. So we’ll be looking for a different solution to bring water to our old home.
We still want to save money for whatever solution we come up with, so the big summer savings goal will definitely continue!
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by Jamie Jeffers | Jun 14, 2019 | Ways We Saved This Week
Well, we’re one week into our big savings challenge for this summer!
I hope you’ve decided to set a goal for yourself, too. We’ll do check ins each Friday to see how things are going and share ideas with each other.
And if you aren’t in a season of life that gives you enough breathing room for a challenge right now, no problem. Just check out what we’re doing so you can try it when life calms down a little!
(Believe me, I totally get it. That’s been our life all year… until school let out!)
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by Jamie Jeffers | Jun 7, 2019 | Saving Money
A few years ago now, my husband and I had one of those “a-ha” moments that lead to us paying off a boat load of debt…while we raised 5 kids on one income.
It was tough, but our #yearofno was so worth it! (Even when it stretched to over two long years full of “no”s.
But no sooner had we paid off the last debt than we learned that I was expected baby #6!
And then we found out that our little 5 year old had a rare condition that would mean spine surgery.
Our family had already been going through a lot of changes, and these things added to the stress. (We love babies, but boy am I bad at being pregnant!)
Well, after a year of chaos, it’s time for our family to adopt another big goal. This time, we’re aiming to save money in an account to cover the cost of water.
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I'm Jamie, and I believe that you can build your savings, even when life is frustrating. 
