I got to spend the weekend with my son in Washington D.C. We went with a church group, so we were able to both go for very little cost (thanks to fundraising).
What an amazing trip!
We got to see so much, including going up to the top of the Washington Monument.
That wasn’t open when our family vacationed there back in the summer of ’18, so we really enjoyed those views.
And spending so much one on one time with my sixteen year old was wonderful, too.
Why hello there!
I think it’s high time the 5 ways series makes a comeback to Medium Sized Family. Don’t you?
I know this is one of your favorite things to read on the blog. And I have always loved writing them.
It’s great for keeping me going on tough weeks. And I always need a reminder of what’s going right.
(Don’t we all??)
Last year was a rough one. And when things finally settled down, I decided to tackle a big blogging project that I’ve always dreamed of doing.
But…since I’ve never done it before, there was a steep learning curve. And the whole thing took a lot longer than I ever thought it would. (Big announcement coming soon!)
Then we started the 30 Day #Brightsaver Challenge (which, by the way, you can totally still join and not worry about being “behind” or anything). And that took some figuring out, too.
But NOW…here we are. Back at the 5 ways posts.
Are you ready for this?
Learning how to save $100 a month has never been easier.
The money saving chart I created a couple of years ago made it easier than ever for people to save $1,000 in a year.
You can see that 52 week challenge here.
It’s fun, because you can use it with the flow of your life. You save smaller amounts at harder times, and larger amounts when life is giving you extra cash.
Well, why not create a smaller version to help you save $100 a month?
Maybe you’re a beginner, and the idea of saving money has never really stuck before.
Or your situation has you so strapped for cash that saving money feels impossible.
Well I think this chart is going to be pretty eye opening for you!
I don’t know about you, but in our house, 2019 was a doozy. This year we had a lot of problems that we could never have anticipated.
It’s all made me very thankful that we’ve made our savings account a priority this year. Without that, our worried would have been 10 fold.
Reflecting on where your money going is a good habit to have. We’ve found that focusing on the ways we managed to save money every Friday has been helpful in keeping us motivated.
And at the end of the year, it’s only natural that we would think about the biggest money savers we used for the year.
(more…)This easy to use free grocery list template is just what you need to simplify grocery shopping. Get your life back, but still save money.
I stood at the pantry door and sighed in frustration.
Who wants to come home from a tedious two hours of dragging a cart through a grocery store (the size of two football fields) only to find that they forgot a pretty important ingredient for tomorrow night’s meal?
Not me.
And not you.
So how do we avoid this want-to-throw-something feeling next time?
The fix is a grocery list template. Here’s how it works.
(more…)This stack of movies caught my eye as I headed to check out at the library on Wednesday.
My boys are big Star Wars fans, so I picked up one or two of those movies. And there was the live action Cinderella video that I knew my daughter would love, too.
Then I noticed that all of the movies were Disney movies…and that’s when I realized what my library had done.
They were showcasing what was basically a free version of Disney+!
I had to laugh.
It’s so smart! And hopefully people will take advantage of this and save on one more monthly bill.
I'm Jamie, and I want to help you afford a beautiful life with your family. Learn more. 
