Life Changes Cause Budget Changes

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  Major life changes requires changes to your budget. My wife and I are getting used to being empty nesters as both our kids are now away at college. Since it’s just the two of us, our needs have changed so we’re reevaluating all our spending and adjusting our budget accordingly. Below are four expenditures in our budget that I believe are going to change now that neither of our kids are living at home. Groceries Food is the obvious one. The grocery cart differs not only in how much but also what food I purchase during a typical shopping […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 9/5/20

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I was looking forward to a three day Labor Day holiday weekend, but then I received an email from my management giving me Friday off as well.  Four day weekend! I’m going to relax, fire up the grill, and work on staining my deck.  Looking forward to NFL football starting next weekend! Fist pump for long, relaxing, productive weekends, and my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump What Is a Credit Union? from Club Thrifty Do Waiters Always Deserve the Tip? from Money Ning 23 Ways to Make Money as a Teen from Debt Discipline […] Read more »

How My Wife and I Communicate About Finances

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How do you and your significant other stay on the same page with your finances? How often do you talk about finances? There’s no right or wrong answers unless they are “we don’t,” and “never.” My wife and I recently revamped our financial handling plan, and committed to tackling our finances together. I wrote a post about it a few months ago, however we’ve honed our skills since then and have added some new aspects to our discussions such that I thought it warranted a new post. Paying Bills Our budget cycle is bimonthly since my wife and I are […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 8/28/20

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In Monday’s post, I declared my wife and I were on a spending freeze. We have an activity this weekend, and we wanted all the discretionary funds in our checking account available.  Therefore, the goal was to not spend any money during this week. I promised I would provide an update in today’s post, so let’s see how we did. Did we touch our checking account?  Nope, no money was spent from our checking account. That means we didn’t spend any money, right?  Not exactly….let me clarify. The goal that started as a complete spending freeze, was redefined as a […] Read more »

We’re on a Spending Freeze!

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I’m about to do something I’ve never done before. In fact, I’ve often wondered about the reasoning behind why people do these. I’m about to find out for myself, as I’ve declared this week a no spend week. I’ve read about people who have gone long periods of time without spending any money except for necessities, but for my purposes the period will last about 6 days. Why Am I Doing A No Spend Week? We have an activity this weekend, and we need to make sure we have the funds for it. Our budget cycle is on a bimonthly […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 8/21/20

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My wife and I are officially empty nesters. It doesn’t seem like that should be possible, but yesterday we moved our daughter to college.  Both our kids are at college leaving us with only a cat at home with us.  I’m sad that our kids are no longer at home, but excited for what comes next for both our kid and my wife and I. One thing I do know is we’ll have to re-evaluate our budget once we see how one less person in the house affects utility and grocery bills. Fist pump for maybe lowering some budget expenditures […] Read more »

4 Costco Kirkland Brand Products I Love

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I love shopping at Costco (this wasn’t always the case). They have a reputation of selling bulk items at a great price. If you look closely, it’s not just brand name items. Shoppers can find even better deals buying Costco Kirkland store brand items. Some consumers are rightfully wary of the quality of store brand items, however many Kirkland brand products are both high quality and low price. Below is a list of four Kirkland products I’m loving right now: Kirkland Frozen Pepperoni Pizzas: Sold in a four pack, you have to see the amount of pepperoni on each pizza […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 8/14/20

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Earlier this year I began a quest to improve my steak grilling abilities. My goal was to learn how to make steaks so well, that my wife would never want to go out to eat for steak again.  I believe I have achieved that goal. This weekend, I’m putting those skills to use.  I plan to buy some USDA Prime rated fillet mignon steaks from Costco and fire up the grill.  Great food and much less expensive than eating out! Fist pump for a great steak, and my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump Costco […] Read more »

Group Vacation Meals Save Money

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Last week my wife and I were vacationing with three other families at a lake in northern Minnesota staying in couple of lakeside condos. As we have done previously, we saved huge money by doing group vacation meals instead of dining out. Most of the time, anyway. We did eat out once, and it illustrated perfectly just how much can be saved by cooking your own meals when vacationing with a group. Group Vacation Meals Save Money During a late afternoon boat cruise we stopped at a bar and grill right on the water. The group decided to eat dinner. […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 8/8/2020

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EOD Nation, I am glad to be home.  I spent the early part of the week on vacation with friends on a lake, and after coming home and unpacking immediately left again for an overnight family event. I’m now ready to spend time at home catching up on yard projects, getting in some good work outs, and cooking some delicious meals at home.  I need some time for my brain, and my wallet to recover! Fist pump for mental and financial recovery, and my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump How to Stay Fit Without […] Read more »

The Real Monthly Cost Of A New Car

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During a recent car buying experience my wife asked me, “Can we afford this?” We were both staring at the monthly payment we would be responsible for, but the answer is trickier than a single number on a loan document. Several things must be considered when determining if a new car is affordable. Not Just A Monthly Payment Most importantly, do not fall for the most common trick of car salespeople. They ask what monthly payment you’re looking for, then adjust the term of the loan to match that payment. Before looking for a new vehicle, decide not only what […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 7/31/20

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I have a date tonight!  Well, my wife and I have a date with our son and his girlfriend.  They both recently turned 21 and we’re taking them to a local vineyard for a wine tasting and brick oven pizza.  It’s not terribly expensive, but it will be great bonding time with our son and his girlfriend. Fist pump for quality time with family, and my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump 7 Amazing Frugal First Dating Ideas from One Cent At A Time How to Find a New Job During COVID from Young Adult […] Read more »

Restarting Financial Communication With My Wife

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Communication is key between people in a relationship who manage their finances together. Over time people may become less conscientious about staying on the same financial page with each other. My wife and I realized this had happened to us, which stimulated discussions on how to best reopen the channels of communication. Our financial communication now consists of  three major parts: Income / Bill Paying We have a bimonthly income and bill cycle. On the first and fifteenth of each month we talk about the income that came in, and the bills that are paid. We both know how much […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 7/24/20

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As always, I’m looking for ways to maximize my enjoyment of the weekend while minimizing spending.  Tonight we’ve been invited to cruise the Mississippi River on a boat with some friends.  We’ll bring along a few beverages and snacks, but otherwise it’s low cost, high enjoyment.  Then, later this weekend I’ll be firing up my smoker to make three racks of ribs and having dinner with friends.  The ribs will cost about $30, but that’s super cheap for a fun time with friends. Fist pump for frugal, fun, summer activities, AND my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make […] Read more »