Last Friday we were getting ready for a family night (pizza, snack, and a kids’ movie) when I realized I hadn’t heard from my two older kids in a little while. If you have kids, then you know that sometimes silence means trouble! I walked around the house looking for Naomi and Oliver, and found […]
Archive for the ‘Finances’ Category
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Castile Soap
July 3rd, 2013 
Jessica I’ve been reading Simple Mom lately, and experimenting with some of the natural methods she recommends for facial cleanser, shampoo, and conditioner. I noticed that she recommends Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Soap, but I was surprised by the cost. So I went to our local WinCo grocery store to see if I could find something cheaper. […]
List of 100 Dreams
June 26th, 2013 Jessica I’ve been enjoying the book “168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think” by Laura Vanderkam. One of Laura’s suggestions in Chapter 2, is to create a list of 100 dreams. I enjoyed the exercise, and thought you might enjoy a sneak-peek at some of the items on my list: Write and Publish a […]
Life Without A Second Car
June 22nd, 2013 Jessica When Brad was hired to work in California in September of 2011, we had two paid-off vehicles. Brad drove his 2002 Toyota Tacoma, and I drove my 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser. As we made plans to move across the country, I again began to contemplate the wisdom of keeping my car. It needed repairs regularly, […]
Pay Bills On-Line (No Stamps!)
June 20th, 2013 Jessica As our family’s primary bill-payer, one of the ways that I have saved our family money is by paying our bills on-line. We can pay our utilities, tithe, student loans, mortgage, cell phone, Internet, medical bills, and more with just the click of a button. We also manage our checking, savings, and credit card accounts […]
Life Without A Dryer
June 19th, 2013 Jessica There are many ways to save money when you are trying to pay off your debts. One way that we have saved money is by going without a dryer. When Brad and I bought our first home in 2005, it came with a washer and dryer included. We never considered living without a dryer. However, […]
Mvelopes: Online Envelope Budgeting
June 15th, 2013 Jessica If you’ve been following The Abundant Wife for any length of time, you know that we have made great strides toward becoming debt-free. Despite all our progress, I tend to get over-anxious and depressed about our finances. When Brad told me our December 31 paycheck would be 75% and subsequent paychecks would be lower if […]
Keeping Cool When It’s 110 F Outside
June 8th, 2013 Jessica Our house doesn’t have central air conditioning, so when its 110 degrees Fahrenheit outside, we get creative! We open the windows during the cool part of the day, and close them when it gets hot. We turn on our air conditioning window unit and our three ceiling fans. We turn on our two box fans. […]
Cloth Diapering 101: Part 2
June 6th, 2013 Jessica Yesterday I shared our cloth diapering story. Click here to read Cloth Diapering 101: Part 1. Here are 17 tips for cloth diapering success! Getting Started: Cloth diapering is a team effort. I do not recommend using cloth diapers if your spouse is not on board. I can’t say that I would still be cloth […]
Cloth Diapering 101: Part 1
June 5th, 2013 Jessica When Brad and I found out we were pregnant with our first child in 2008, one of our first concerns was how we would afford to diaper her. Somewhere along the line, I heard about cloth diapering. So I sent out a Facebook status update, asking for information about cloth diapering. When a few friends […]
