Our basement apartment was so small that I could plug the vacuum into one outlet and vacuum the entire place without ever moving the plug.
This was during Jesse’s law school years — the “we couldn’t afford $3 fish food” days I shared about earlier this week!
We had a tiny galley kitchen, one car, and an even tinier budget. We learned to make do or do without and be content with what we had.
But we also found ways to creatively stretch what we had to make memories. Some of our favorite date nights included:
- Going to Barnes & Noble, browsing books, and getting a coffee to share using a gift card I’d earned by taking surveys online.
- Heading to the library to find books and movies to check out.
- Or, if we really wanted to splurge, dumping out our coin jar to see if we had enough for each of us to get something off the dollar menu at McDonald’s and rent a $0.50 movie at Family Video!
Those little date nights gave us something to look forward to while we worked toward something we cared deeply about: getting Jesse through law school without debt.
This was a commitment we had made early in our marriage. We knew that short-term sacrifices could lead to long-term benefits — and they absolutely have (we ended up being able to pay cash for our first house a few years after Jesse graduated from law school!)
Having that goal didn’t make our budget bigger. But it helped us decide how we wanted to use the money we did have.
Maybe you’re trying so hard to be careful with money, but you still second-guess even small purchases.
You want to enjoy dinner out with your family without wondering afterward whether you should have saved that money for something else.
You’re tired of asking:
- Can we afford this?
- Should I buy this for the kids, or do we need that money for something else?
- How much should we be setting aside for upcoming expenses?
- Will we be able to afford college? Will we actually be able to retire some day?
You want a plan that helps you answer those questions.
In my brand-new book, The 7 Habits of Financially Healthy Women (it comes out on Tuesday!!), I help you identify your priorities and walk you through building a realistic budget in under an hour.
I’ll teach you how to:
- Calculate the income you actually have available.
- Separate regular bills from expenses that change.
- Set realistic spending amounts based on your actual life.
- Plan ahead for expenses like Christmas and car maintenance.
- Choose a tracking method you’ll use.
And if you add everything up and realize your expenses are higher than your income? We work through that, too.
You don’t have to have extra money or have everything figured out before you begin.
I want you to be able to look at your plan and know what’s available, what needs to wait, and what you’re working toward.
When you’ve planned for an outing, you can enjoy it. When you pass on a purchase, you know what that decision is helping you accomplish.
That doesn’t mean every money decision will suddenly be easy. But you’ll have a plan to come back to instead of trying to figure it out all over again every time.
My heart is to help you start right where you are, figure out your next steps, and build simple habits that work in your real life. So you can stop feeling like you’re constantly starting over and begin seeing progress.
If you’re tired of second-guessing your spending and want help creating a plan that fits your actual life, I wrote this book for you.
Pre-order your copy + claim your FREE bonuses here!
And because I want to help you put what you’re learning into practice, I’ve put together $75+ in FREE bonuses when you pre-order! 🎉
Here’s what you’ll get:
✅ 5 Days to a Financially Healthier You Video Course — short lessons and printable worksheets to help you take action a few minutes at a time.
✅ Couples’ Guide to Healthy Money Conversations — practical prompts to help you understand each other and work toward shared goals.
✅ 5-Day Budget Makeover — one doable lesson a day, delivered to your inbox.
✅ Money Reset Toolkit — including a 10-Minute Money Reset and a roadmap to help you figure out what to do first.
We’ll be selling these bonuses as a bundle starting in January, but you can get them FREE when you pre-order before the offer ends Tuesday, October 27, at midnight.
The book releases October 27, so you only have a few days left to get the full bonus bundle!
Pre-order your book + see how to claim your $75+ FREE bonus bundle here!
P.S. If you can’t afford to buy a book right now, you can still qualify for the $75+ pre-order bonus bundle! Ask your library to carry the book, then email a screenshot of your request to [email protected]. I’d love for you to have these resources, too!
Source: moneysavingmom.com…