Love these roman shades

 https://amzn.to/41Kyk6l

 AMAZON…..when you can’t find an item for the price you want to pay.  I checked a local store for these same Radiance cordless blinds in the color I wanted and they were $15 more!

We got them from Amazon and had them up quickly. We originally didn’t have a trim piece dividing up the two windows so we decided that would look better with a set of shades so my husband quickly added that the night before Amazon delivered the shades. 

I was hesitant for cordless to roll up smoothly or evenly but I love these. And no more morning sun glaring in your face but yet we maintained some of the natural wood look we love.  

Now, should we get rid of the curtains and rod or change the curtains and soften a bit??

#affiliate

Motor vehicle sales tax refund

 

In talking to my husbands coworker tonight I thought of something a lot of people don’t realize or may not know. For states like Missouri where you continuously pay sales tax on motor vehicles you can get a refund of sales tax if you buy first and sell later. Most people probably trade in.  But sometimes people have cash (as you should aspire to) to buy vehicles. And when you do you may find your new vehicle first and sell your other vehicle after. If you sell your other vehicle within 180 days of selling the other vehicle you are entitled to a refund of taxes paid on the other vehicle.  For example, if you paid $10k for your new car and sold your old one for $3k you would pay approximately $800 in areas of Missouri.  With the refund form you would get approximately $240 of that $800 back.   It’s a simple process and worth it.  

Bring the refund form plus the bill of sale that is attached to the title and you’re ready to go. 

https://dor.mo.gov/forms/426.pdf    

#vehicletaxrefund #keepyourmoney #moneysavingtips #motorvehicletaxes 

In the room where it happened/prom on a dime

 

 Random pics from the weekend of getting to see Hamilton that happened to be in the college town where my oldest daughter is. So of course we made a weekend of it staying in her dorm for free, eating in the dining hall for free the next morning (parents eat free) and prom dress shopping at a reduced price dress store while we were in town and able to include big sister in little sisters first prom moments. 

First off Hamilton was AWESOME!  So happy we planned for the tickets and bought them. But then I won two more so my son and his girlfriend got to go. She was super excited. He admitted it was good but generally doesn’t even watch tv. Great Korean dinner for oldest daughters Gotcha Day but that’s a splurge we do every year. 

Youngest daughter is learning the art of enjoying life with careful spending.  She spent (yes she did we don’t pay for prom) less than $130 for a beautiful dress, jewelry and shoes. We will do her hair and make up as always and she’s good to go. So proud!

You would never know we got off so cheap for the whole weekend but it’s one of the best weekends I’ve had in a long time. 

Budgeting For Free

Load Google sheets to your phone or use on your laptop or pc for free.  Watch the video for formulas and ideas on how to start your own personal budget. 

Hit me up for any questions and help. I am pretty good at making a dollar stretch 

This is a budget for beginners. Beginners without credit card debt.  If you have credit card debt you need to also factor that in and get it paid off as it’s a high interest payment.  There’s an order to getting credit cards paid off while also putting money into savings to stop the vicious cycle. 

If you’re good with credit cards and always pay off monthly,  I say keep using for the rewards. That’s what I do. That’s actually my vacation savings. If you’re not, don’t use them at all. Make everything come out of your bank account so you can’t get behind. 

I know I’m not in the majority but tithing, vacation savings, entertainment etc is not a necessary. Those are amounts you can tweak to still be able to pay for essential living expenses like home, food and utilities. 

Please use this or at least try something. Everyone should be able to save some money even if all you can put away is $10 into this worksheet line. Do what you can and if you start a side hustle or get a raise add to it. I’ve done that for years and while it would have been fun to just blow the money we put most of it away each time and always had money when we needed it most including to eventually buy cars without loans.   Tell yourself yes sometimes but tell yourself no more!

Don’t get frustrated. Be patient. If you stay the course you will see it pay off. Remember it’s a marathon not a sprint.  Endurance matters.  I will cheer you on. Leave a comment if you want to try this. If you want to get your finances in order. I want to see everyone grow financially even if that just means not having credit card debt , a tiny savings and paying your bills on time. I call that successful. I’ve been there. 

Fun, bougie, lighting

 

These easy, magnetic motion lights and motion switches are the bomb!  We’ve had these switches in our home for awhile and they keep handprints off my walls from the kids and make sure lights get turned off!!  

The magnetic lights are rechargeable or if you have an outlet nearby you can leave it plugged in. The one in our medicine cabinet has made my husband very happy.  Very easy to just find a Tylenol or a cough drop late at night when you’re tired.  And the light sticks perfectly to the metal brackets under our pantry shelves.  That one gets a lot of traffic so we have to charge it about once a week. The one in the cabinet is triggered at least twice daily and is still going strong a month later. 

Both are very convenient and relatively inexpensive for a fun. ….and in my daughters words….bougie home. 

Go to my Pinterest link 🔜➡️🔜➡️Enjoy!!

Or click below

Rechargeable Cabinet lighting

Lutron motion light switch

#affiliate

Budgeting 101 for Beginners

 Run the race and then go the extra mile.

If all of your commitment bills are $2,000/month and your household brings home $2,300 then allow yourself a little cash, maybe $50 to $100 for eating out or some entertainment and then make that extra $200 per month a bill. Have your bank transfer it automatically from your checking to your savings so you can’t fail to do so. 

Now, keep in mind this is after, hopefully, things like health insurance and retirement savings is already taken out of your check. If not, you need to save a little for retirement. Again start small but start. Compounding interest at a young age is a beautiful thing but if you never start, even if you’re older, you will never get to witness those benefits. 

Each raise you get add a little to retirement and a little to your emergency savings account. Eventually, you’ll be able to start a fun account. 

And don’t rule out side gigs. We did them for years.  Extra jobs doing anything we were capable or doing. It really helped to pay for those emergency things like a broke down car or appliance while we were trying to get our emergency savings started. 

Don’t forget to coupon clip. Even Amazon items have coupons. Try coupons.com.  Great for everyday items, in store.  Use Rakuten to get money back on things you need. Always Google for discount codes when buying online. 

Don’t set a goal so big it makes you feel like you’ll never get there and then you quit. DON’T QUIT!

I promise you all of this hard work, sacrifice and being careful with your money will pay off and then you’ll be in such a habit you’ll continue and really get ahead. 

Almost 30 years of marriage, 5 kids, multiple medical emergencies and we are finally starting to see these benefits. We started with  nothing and refused to give up. 

Follow me in Instagram and here for how to save on things in life, how to budget and share.  I promise I’ll cheer you on!

 #makesavingsapriority #moneysavingtips #payyourselffirst #gettoretire #savingisabill #saveeffortlessly #moveforward #startnow #retirementplanning #moneygoals

Great kitchen drawer organization

 These inexpensive freezer bins are actually perfect for storing hot pads and dish rags.  I took two drawers and got all of the items into one.  This gave me more uncluttered space in my kitchen making things easier, more efficient and me a happy girl. 

Check out my Pinterest saves  and other affiliate faves  or click on Fridge organizer bins