8 Ways to Save Money On Groceries Without Couponing

Grocery shopping is not my most favorite pass time, and it’s probably not yours either. There’s a lot of work that goes into with planning, budgeting, shopping, loading and unloading, and all of that before you even get to cook, enjoy, and clean up. But it is an essential part of life and a very important part of the budget, so it’s good topic to focus on and look for ways to improve. The way groceries affect the budget directly affects your ability to pay off debt, save for retirement, or spend money on what’s most important to you.

FOOD, FRUGAL LIVING, SPENDINGJess TingleOctober 24, 2019MEAL PLANNING, FRUGAL LIVING, SPENDINGComment

12 Meal Planning Tools That Will Keep it Simple

There have been so many tools that I’ve grown to love, and some that I can’t live without when it comes to meal planning. Some of them I use all the time and others I rotate or have changed during different seasons of our life. I’m sharing all of these tools with you in hopes that you will find them helpful and useful in finding a meal planning routine that works for you.

FOOD, FRUGAL LIVING, BUDGETINGJess TingleOctober 17, 2019MEAL PLANNING, FRUGAL LIVING Comment

The Best Meal Planning Service for Busy Moms

Friend, let me tell you, if someone has created a service that can do something for you that you don’t love doing (meal planning, etc) and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, give them your money! The time and stress that $5 Meal Plan has saved me is worth the monthly subscription fee (which is actually inexpensive, by the way)!

FOOD, FRUGAL LIVING, SPENDINGJess TingleOctober 10, 2019MEAL PLANNING, $5 MEAL PLAN, FRUGAL LIVING, SPENDINGComment

5 Reasons To Give Meal Planning a Try (or a Second Chance)

Finally, about two years ago, I was introduced to a SIMPLE meal planning method by a friend. I started going by that plan and now have evolved it into my own version that works really well for my family and our lifestyle. I have finally come to realize that meal planning can actually be a good thing. It has helped us save money, stop wasting food, and just stress less overall when it comes to meal time.

FRUGAL LIVING, FOODJess TingleOctober 3, 2019MEAL PLANNING, FRUGAL LIVINGComment

6 Money Mistakes That Will Crush Your Financial Future

You’ve probably heard the phrase “the future is now,” but have you ever really stopped to think about what that means? The choices we make today determine what our future will hold. The way we are living life today affects how our future will unfold. From a financial standpoint, that means if you’re making money mistakes today, your financial future could be at risk. You cannot wait to save for retirement until the last minute. Compound interest is based on time, so you want to start saving money as early as you possibly can. No matter if you’re starting just in time or you’re a little late, there’s no better time to start than today.

FRUGAL LIVING, LIFE, SPENDING, DEBT, RETIREMENTJess TingleSeptember 19, 2019PERSONAL FINANCE, FRUGAL LIVING, DEBT, BUDGET TIPS, SPENDING, SAVINGSComment

8 Habits Keeping You Broke

No matter what your financial situation looks like right now, we have all been in places where we feel like we made money mistakes. But nothing is stopping you from breaking those habits that are keeping you broke and making new and better choices right now. Being aware of which bad habits are keeping you broke will help you address them and fix them. Let’s look at 8 (common) habits you might need to kick to the curb.

16 Ways to Save Money At Christmas

If you want Christmas to still be the most wonderful time of the year without going into debt, you can be more intentional and impactful with your spending and your savings. Not only do you need to plan ahead for Christmas by setting aside the cash early, but you need to cut expenses and save money where you can. Here’s 16 tips to help you make the most of your Christmas budget.

FRUGAL LIVING, SPENDING, DEBTJess TingleJuly 30, 2019HOLIDAYS, FRUGAL LIVING, SPENDING, DEBTComment

Is Amazon Prime Worth It?

For us, the benefits of being a Prime Member have far outweighed the cost and we’ve definitely made our money back in savings (and probably double that). But since I am a personal finance blogger and I fully believe in living a debt free life, I encourage you to make sure you’re purchasing an Amazon Prime membership when you can afford it.

FRUGAL LIVING, SPENDINGJess TingleJuly 12, 2019SPENDING, FRUGAL LIVING, AMAZON PRIME Comments

How To Raise a Family And Still Get Out of Debt

It is still definitely possible to pay off all your debt while raising a family. Many people have done it before. We have done it. You can do it too. It doesn’t matter if you already have debt and you’re thinking about having kids, or if you already have kids and you’ve realized you should dump all the debt…it’s doable. But you have to get your head in the game. Here are 7 pieces of advice for raising a family while still getting out of debt.

BABY STEPS, DEBT, FRUGAL LIVING, LIFE, SPENDINGJess TingleJuly 8, 2019DEBT, FAMILY, FRUGAL LIVING, BUDGET TIPSComment

7 Lame Excuses For Not Budgeting: Debunked

You have to believe that budgeting will work for you. Budgeting is more about self discipline than anything else. Here are 7 of the most common excuses I hear and how you can allow the truth to help you push through.

BUDGETINGJess TingleJuly 1, 2019FRUGAL LIVING, BUDGET TIPS, INSPIRATIONComment

10 Personal Finance Habits You Can Start Today

Personal finance is more about behavior than anything else, including math! You need to be creating habits with intention if you want to reach financial freedom. There are so many things you can do to turn your finances around and get control of your money (I recommend following Dave Ramsey’s 7 Baby Steps) and while I think all of those big goals are important, it’s also important to put in place the small, everyday habits that are going to help you change your behavior. You can stop living paycheck to paycheck and stop living with money stress, but you’re going to have to change the way you behave when it comes to your personal finances.

Stop Falling Into The Comparison Trap

I’ve been there and I know you’ve been there too. It’s so easy to compare our lives to others and social media multiplies that by ten. Falling into the comparison trap only leads us to feeling defeated and discontent while causing us to waste time we could be using for good and to miss out on being excited for someone else!

FRUGAL LIVING, INSPIRATION, LIFEJess TingleJune 19, 2019FRUGAL LIVING, COMPARISONComment

How to Reduce Money Stress

So many of us are living day to day feeling overwhelmed and stressed out about the state of our finances. When an emergency comes up and you’re not sure how you’re going to pay for it…stress. When you want to be saving for your future and retirement but your bank account never has anything extra at the end of the month…stress. Let’s talk about some actions steps you can start today to reduce your stress levels.

DEBT, BUDGETING, FRUGAL LIVING, INSPIRATIONJess TingleApril 25, 2019DEBT, FRUGAL LIVING, STRESS, BUDGET TIPSComment

The Art of Living Below Your Means

Learning to live below your means will set you free. Living below your means allows you to have extra money for paying off debt, saving for retirement, or whatever your current financial goals may be. It’s crucial for good money management and reaching your financial goals.

SPENDING, FRUGAL LIVING, DEBT, POPULAR POSTSJess TingleApril 19, 2019SPENDING, DEBT, FRUGAL LIVING Comments

20 Ways to Reduce Impulse Purchases

Impulse purchases are a serious issue. We’ve all fallen subject to that tempting cold drink right before the checkout line, the email that says “free shipping,” or the dessert deal to go with our pizza. Impulse buying is a habit that causes us to spend money we don’t have by either busting the budget or going into debt. We have to stop giving into these temptations if we’re ever going to reach our financial goals. That means we must understand what an impulse purchase is, why we do it, and most of all the steps necessary to end it.

BUDGETING, SPENDING, FRUGAL LIVINGJess TingleApril 15, 2019SPENDING, FRUGAL LIVINGComment