Today we got talking about Dave Ramsey at the swimming pool (wait–isn’t that what you talk about the swimming pool?) and we started discussing budgets. Brad and I have never had a “budget” in the traditional sense, but we do know how much money we make each month and what it is going to pay. […]
Archive for the ‘Finances’ Category
Our Financial Goals: Paying Off Debt (July 2012)
July 23rd, 2012 
Jessica I wish every financial update were as exciting as our May update! Our Debt Snowball has reached its slowest point yet. We are down to our two largest debts: our largest student loan and our mortgage. Currently we owe: $26,142.59 to Sallie Mae (4.5 Interest Rate) $106,659.66 to Wells Fargo Home Mortgage (6.25 Interest Rate) […]
June 15-July 15: Six Goals
July 5th, 2012 Jessica Some people like to set goals on the first of the year, or the first of the month. Since I am cautious and thoughtful (or am I just an indecisive procrastinator?) my newest goal-setting experiment began on June 15. I chose six goals, believing that these were areas in my life that were “important, but […]
Refinancing? (Part 2)
May 22nd, 2012 Jessica Click here to read “Refinancing? (Part 1).” When Brad and I were married in 2005, we bought a house in Maryland, thinking that we would live there for many years to come. As you know, life doesn’t always turn out the way you plan. 19 months after we moved in, we were moving out. We […]
Our Financial Goals: Paying Off Debt (May 2012)
May 18th, 2012 Jessica This week we have much to celebrate! If you look at the numbers below, you will notice one large number is absent. Brad and I paid off the second mortgage on our “Rental Property” in Maryland! Our tax refunds arrived, and we promptly paid off our debt to Citimortgage. Now we only have one student […]
Guest Post: Making Grocery Shopping More Affordable
April 14th, 2012 Jessica You can cut out a lot of different items when you’re trying to reign in your spending habits. One thing that can never get thrown out though? Grocery shopping. You and your family will always need to eat and while grocery shopping is expensive it sure beats eating out at restaurants every night. However that […]
Book Review: Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America
March 31st, 2012 Jessica A year and a half ago, my husband Brad was laid off from his job in Minnesota. We had only lived in Minnesota for a year, so we had no other job prospects in the area or history of family, friends, and church to support us. So we reluctantly packed up our apartment and storage […]
Posted in Reading, Unemployment 
Comments Off on Book Review: Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In AmericaGetting to the Wedding (Or How We’re Trying to Raise $1200 in 5 Months)
March 24th, 2012 Jessica If you know a little about me, then you know that I am the oldest of six children. Four girls and two boys, to be exact. My sister Kristy is the fourth child in our family, and the third to get married. Below is a photograph of Kristy, and her fiancee Zach (taken by my […]
The CVS Drugstore Game: 3 items for $3.13!
March 16th, 2012 Jessica Oliver was sick earlier in the week, so on Tuesday night I had to make a late night run to CVS for medicine. Thankfully I had noticed that CVS had a great deal this week! While I was there I picked up the ever-popular Zyrtec, and some toothpaste which we also needed. I didn’t have […]
Swagbucks Special Offer: How I Made $20 By Signing Up for eMusic
March 14th, 2012 Jessica Last week I was studying my Swag Bucks home page in hopes of finding a way to earn a few more Swag Bucks. I spotted a Swag Bucks special offer with a reward of 450 Swagbucks just for signing up for a 7-day Free Trial to eMusic. This sounded like a great deal to me […]
