Archives for December 2018

Create Your Own Family Adventure Map

December 19, 2018 by moneysavingduo

Whether you travel a lot or a little, near or far, creating a travel memory map can be a great way to celebrate your experiences together as a family. Make your own with just a few simple and inexpensive items.

Aaron and I created our own travel memory map years ago when the boys were a bit younger and we both traveled a bit more for work. We thought it would be a fun way to show the boys where we were when we called to check in on those trips.

Over the years, we also started tracking our family adventures on the map as well. From trips to San Antonio, Texas to Grand Rapids, MI, we often reference the map to see not only where we’ve gone, but where we plan to go too.

For example, Elijah really wants to add a star to one of the other countries on our map. We’re thinking Canada since its not that far away from where we live. Perhaps next year?

To make your own travel memory map, you really only need two things:

A map. Find a country or world map online or in the office supply section of a nearby store. Or, if you’re looking to keep your adventures more local, you can get free state maps the next time you pass a visitor’s center on the highway.

Stickers. We found small dot stickers at Walmart and used those for awhile, but then eventually switched over to shiny star stickers we found at the dollar store.

Of course, you could probably get a lot more creative with your family map if you are so inclined. Possibly adding photos, coloring in travel routes or states you’ve crossed off your list, or even decoupaging colorful paper onto the places you’ve visited are all ways to add a little personal flair to your map.

Not Sure How to Budget? Start With These Four Simple Steps

December 14, 2018 by Aaron Mora

Understanding how to budget isn’t something we’re all necessarily familiar with. But with a few simple steps, you can get started and begin to change your financial future.

A few years ago we were lost. We had just started a business and suddenly found our bank account hitting rock bottom more often than we’d like to admit. When we both had steady paychecks, we tried not to spend frivolously. But if there was money in the account we figured that was a green light to spend at the local department store. Then we had to learn to live on less. After receiving another Non-Sufficient Funds announcement we decided to stop and assess where we were and how much we had to live on.

Related: Meet the Duo

So we started to track what we were spending. And an amazing thing happened. We had more control over what we spent when we made a decision before the money came how we were going to spend it. We found out that we could live on way less than we had been living on before things were tight with our start up.

Since that time there have been periods where we’ve had plenty financially and periods when things have been tight again, but we’ve always had a plan and have been blessed to not have to deal with an empty bank account.

Saving money isn’t rocket science. If you spend less than you make, you’ll come out ahead. But it doesn’t feel easy, especially at first.

Here are a few tips on how to get started in this area.

Watch your money.

A great first step is getting to know where your money is going. If you aren’t already, track your expenses for a month and determine your spending habits. There may be some things that surprise you. Like maybe those small stops for coffee are adding up to a big total at the end of the month. You can use a spreadsheet or there are a variety of different programs that can help.

We use a free app we love called Mint (mint.com). You simply login to all your financial services and it will help you track your expenses and keep up with how you’re doing. It will also create charts and graphs to help you visualize.

Determine your expenses.

Go through your monthly expenses and figure out what your recurring expenses are. They probably include things like a mortgage payment or rent, phone bills, groceries, etc. Make a list and determine how much each one costs each month.

Now determine which are discretionary and which are mandatory. Mandatory expenses are bills you know you have each month and don’t change. Like a rent payment or student loan. These are easier to plan for because they are always the same.

Discretionary expenses have a bit more flexibility in that they are not a set amount. Like groceries or gas. These are also the areas that you may be able to find savings if you change your habits. However, discretionary doesn’t mean they’re not important. You have to eat and have an ability to travel. But usually there’s flexibility in how you spend in each area.

Items that are discretionary and not required for you to live are things you should consider keeping, adjusting, or cutting from your budget.

When we got serious about our budget, we ended up cutting cable TV and just using streaming services like Netflix. The result was us saving over $100 per month and there were only a few shows we missed at first. But after a short while, we got over it and have never looked back.

Calculate your income.

Now go through all your sources of income. For some this is pretty simple, especially if you are only drawing income from a single job. For others, you may have money coming in from different sources at different times. Track it and make a conservative estimate of your monthly income for the purposes of your budget.

If you find there is not enough coming in to meet your expenses, you should evaluate if there are additional places you can make money.

Is there a side hustle you can work on the side to make a little extra to apply toward your expenses or a financial goal? If you feel stuck professionally, do you have a plan for the future to get more training or experience for a promotion or to take a step in a new direction.

Put it all together.

Once you have your budget, start tracking your spending. Make sure your budget is realistic so you can stay within the limits. When you’re first getting started you will likely need to tweak amounts in different areas. When you hit the amount you budgeted for any particular area, you can’t spend any more until next month.

The power of a budget is that you are making your money do what you planned for, not making you a subject to your every impulse and whim. But it loses it’s power if you don’t work to stay within the parameters you set.

We don’t get it perfect every month, but we get it right way more than we used to by accident. How have you done with budgeting in the past? Do you have a plan?

Five Ways to Stop Spending and Start Saving Money Today

December 4, 2018 by moneysavingduo

Who doesn’t love a good deal? Finding ways to save money on items you need is one thing, but its super easy to end up spending more because it seems like you’re spending less.

Even when we didn’t take our finances too seriously, it never felt like we lived extravagantly. Instead, we found ourselves spending our money on little things we probably didn’t even really need. I say that because I can’t even remember what we bought or how we spent our money. It definitely wasn’t on extravagant big ticket items. No, our money got eaten up by small purchases – a movie we found on sale while shopping for groceries – an extra meal (or two!) out at a restaurant – or immediate purchases on items we found on sale or “for a good deal.”

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a meal out or taking advantage of a good deal – but only if you can afford it or if it actually helps keep more money in your pocket.

We put a stop to our extra spending by implementing the following:

Shopping at an actual grocery store. One of the first changes we made was to shop at an actual grocery store – not an everything store. This dramatically reduced our weekly grocery bill because we weren’t adding things we didn’t really need to our cart. Most of those items were cheap items we didn’t need anyways and by not having to pass them in the aisles, we were able to drastically reduce our weekly spending with this small change.

Create a plan for each dollar you have. If you don’t have a plan for every dollar in your budget, chances are you’ll spend more. By giving your money a purpose, its much more challenging to use it for other things – you know it has an important role to play in the goals you’ve set.

Buy less, do more. Its tempting to think that you need more stuff to enjoy life more. We’ve found the opposite to be the case. Instead, we find that there are plenty of activities our family can do together that either cost very little or nothing at all. From dance parties to walks, we enjoy spending time together more than just getting stuff.

Delay gratification. We live in a world where its easy to spend money and there are so many tempting ways to use it. From items we know we’d love to have to experiences we know we’d enjoy, its never hard to give your money away. But sometimes we may find that something shiny and new is just that – shiny and new. And when we slow down to determine whether its really worth the investment, the answer might not always be yes. Give yourself a set amount of time to wait before you spend your money. If you still want the item or feel it would be a worthy investment of your dollar, go for it.

Ask yourself this simple question. Will this add value to my life? This question can help you determine whether the purchase is an investment in your life or simply a “whim” purchase. Both purchases are completely fine and we all make them; however, if you are looking to reduce your spending, pay off debt, or live within your means, it may be a question worth asking to ensure that what you spend impacts your life in a positive way.

What strategies have you implemented to spend less and live more? We’d love to hear all about it!

Archives for December 2018

Watch your money.

Determine your expenses.

Calculate your income.

Put it all together.

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