Work hard…sometimes means work more

 There’s the saying of work smarter not harder and that is VERY true.  You can do thinks that make your money work for you. For instance, if I have my money locked up in a CD making 4% and we need a new car and the loan is .9% (true story) then why would I cash out money from making 4% when I can just borrow .9% and then pay off when the CD comes due or it financially makes more sense?  That’s an example of making my money work for me. 

But sometimes you have to work harder too. Sometimes, especially in the beginning, you don’t have money to work for you yet. You have to get there. The marathon has just begun. 

@rachelcruze has a great reel explaining working extra jobs  and putting in the budging effort. Young adults need to do this even if not in debt. We weren’t in debt when we got married by much. A home loan and one car loan but I was always afraid of the next appliance breaking down or car repair bill so we always tried to stay ahead of the game. My husband also got paid every two weeks which meant two months in the year he got one extra paycheck. That always was earmarked for savings.  Most of our vacations were inexpensively planned and we’re using rebates, cashback from credit cards etc but never did we carry credit card debt or medical debt. I have another reel on the medical debt scenario and will eventually make a better video explaining that.  But yes. Work your butt off. The peace of mind I’m having a savings is amazing. 

Check out and follow @rachelcruze and my Instagram @mindful_frugalista for more financial ideas.

#peacefulsavings #moneysavingtips #workextra #sidegigs #putintheeffort

Cash back links fixed!

 I fixed the credit card referral links and Upside gas cashback links.  These are apps/credit cards we live by (of course all credit cards are paid off monthly).  They really do incentivize. My husband alone can bring in $50 from Upside for gas!  We have to buy it anyways and it’s at plenty of convenient locations and super easy to do. Check them out!

Get Upside app

Almost done!

 Middle school track is done for J.  He missed a couple of the last meets between walking pneumonia and then a strained hamstring from the triple jump. He got back just in time for conference but the first event was the triple jump and he found out his muscle was not better as he’d hoped and had to scratch from the 4x100 and his 2 jumps. But he PRd in the one he got in so maybe that made the pain a little better. It was a rough night of decisions for him.

Now, he has to fight through the pain and try to recover as he gears up for football so we’ve armed him with a little massage gun and inexpensive stretching strap from Amazon.  All for $30. When you’re weightlifting in the morning and running in the afternoon you really have to stretch those muscles that are compacting in weights. He learned it the hard way. I sadly have no pics of him running. It was finally warning up enough to chase him with a camera and then he got hurt. 

Stretch by yourself with this stretching strap

Massage all your sore muscles away with this massage gun

High school track is almost over. Hopefully it’s all the way to state again. We shall see.  As any parent in track knows, a lot can happen to prevent a team or individual from making it to state. She’s doing well, just needs to find a little more push now. 

Her boyfriend is always at a corner to encourage her if he’s not busy throwing. 

Best fire for me outdoor tables!

 

We bought both items from @target.  The table was around $130 and the table top fire pit was $70.  My husband cut out some of the aluminum table top so we could insert the attachment to secure the table top fire pit to it.  We bought some fire glass and replaced the rock it came with for some pretty color.  It works perfect and is the perfect height to put your feet up and enjoy being outside.  

#targetfinds #outdoordecor #outdoordecoronabudget  #readyforsummer

The perfect candle ambience for any room!

 

These candles are what I was looking for. Ambience that’s safe, rechargeable and on a timer with other settings.  The remote let’s you set various timers. Once you select 2, 4 hours etc they come back on at the same time every day.  They do have a red glow when in charging mode but as soon as they’re charged that fades. The candles look so realistic. The flames are amazing. And they’re a nice warm glow. I previously had other candles but I like them in every evening and they ate through batteries. These are the solution!

Get the perfect candle set here

 #rechargeablecandles #electriccandles #candlelightambience #tvcandlelight

Conflicted…. We feel this so often don’t we moms?

 No pictures or recs tonight. Just alone with my thoughts since hubby went to sleep early to get one more morning of hunting in before season closes. 

This year has been such a harsh commitment to the feelings we, moms, get as we parent our kids through life.  The conflicted feelings because we’re proud of a kid for something and because they’re kids they make a mistake and maybe get in trouble at school or something and so we’re disappointed all at the same time. Or maybe it’s one kid seems to be in a healthy relationship while another just ended one and they’re broken hearted?  When these times come, and there seems to be many times this year, I feel so confused.  Not literally. I mean I know what’s going on and with who but I think it’s hard for my nervous system to gauge my feelings and regulate me. Almost like you feel frozen because you don’t know exactly what to do or where to go next.  Not even sure that makes sense but it’s the best I can describe.  

I know as they all grow into adults I’m going to have so many more times like this. I’m going to have to find a better way to deal so I don’t have the emotional drain of the fear and pain I feel for them.  I mean who doesn’t. When your child has another one break their heart it’s like it’s yours.  They are my heart.  I can feel their sadness through my heart and my whole being and I’m having to learn to separate myself from it so they can encounter and experience life and get through the same that we did but what you want is to reach out and hug them. But what I’ve found, especially with boys, is that they don’t really want you to. 

So I’ll do the one thing I know a mom can do. I’ll pray!

The best healthy fat

 

We have really embraced the avocado in this house. We love them on almost any sandwich we eat among other things. They’re so creamy you can, at the very least, minimize how much mayo you use. We also eat them on sushi bake and fish tacos etc. So so good and so healthy.  We also are starting to add flax seed (more than we were), chia seeds and turmeric to more dishes. Watching what we eat so we can keep at healthy weights and cholesterol.  Getting my numbers down is a like a game for me. I’m trying to NOT have to go on meds one day, if at all possible. 

#rocktheavacado #healthybudget #eatrich