budgeting

Okay, y’all, let’s talk about buying in bulk. I personally love buying things in bulk if it will save me money. In the past, I have had some trouble with this because (a) I lived in a small apartment with no pantry and limited cupboard space and (b) our grocery budget was really tight. Now that we’re out of debt and we have a bigger kitchen, we have been buying things in bulk more and I wanted to share some…

Okay ladies, let’s talk menstruation. (Men, feel free to skip reading this post if it makes you feel uncomfortable. It’s going to get real.) We all know that buying tampons or pads can be really expensive. I’ve never added it up, but every time I was in the feminine products aisle at the store, I thought “Do they really cost that much?” Now, there is something to be said for buying them in bulk and buying off-brands, but today I…

Well friends, I know it’s been a while. Over 13 months, to be exact, since my last post. Sorry about that. If you recall, in my last post I share about how I decided to go back to school to do my Masters in TESOL. That is what has been keeping me so busy! I have literally been taking courses non-stop and haven’t had a lot of free time (more on that later). However, I am proud to report that…

As an American living in Canada, I have the privilege of celebrating Thanksgiving day twice (and having a wonderful reason to eat a big turkey meal with loved ones in October and November)! This year, I realized that I want to practice Thanksgiving not just on those days set aside and given to us off of work, but always. Especially with Christmas coming up. This realization came mainly as I was planning my Christmas present list. I LOVE giving gifts…

This month, my husband and I went on a 23 day road trip. And we only spent $1,535 for our entire journey. We had been wanting to join my family for a vacation in Yellowstone, and we decided that driving would be the most cost-effective way to go. Then Fred decided that since we were already driving across the country, we might as well stop and see more family and some friends on the way. This week-long trip morphed into…

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes get overwhelmed trying to make dinner look like a Pinterest post. I really like Pinterest – don’t get me wrong. I love getting new ideas and seeing all of the clever DIY ideas, but I know that with our grocery budget, we value cost and health over beauty. Growing up, my mom always made simple dinners that were delicious, healthy and cost-effective. I thought that once I started making my own meals,…