Well we’re a good way into 2019 now so I thought it might be a good time to write a post on what 2019 has taught me so far.
It’s been a great year and even though we’re only three months in, I’ve grown a lot and am definitely prioritizing differently than I did in 2018. Keep reading to learn what 2019 has taught me so far.
If you’re a parent, you know that kids are usually one of two things: bored and hungry. The hungry thing can get expensive! Food costs can get out of control when you’re feeding multiple people.
I’ve tried all kinds of things over the years from extreme couponing (ugh, no thanks…) to driving around and shopping sales. These things made a dent in our food cost but we needed something more structured to reign in our food spending.
The answer for us turned out to be meal prepping. Finding a bunch of easy and cheap meal prep recipes was what we needed to turn our grocery spending right around.
So you’ve decided that it’s time to upgrade your ride. Like most people, you’ve probably spent hours online researching makes, models and colors for your new vehicle. You’ve probably researched which models hold their value and have a good idea of what you want to buy.
Here’s the thing, if you don’t invest some effort into your old ride as well, you could be leaving hundreds or thousands of dollars on the table. Sure you can offload any car for cheap, but that’s not what you want, is it? You want to get top dollar for your old ride!
Choosing to buy a used car rather than a new one is a wise financial decision for most people, but there are several things to consider. A used car has a history, it may have been mistreated, or even crashed. It could have been broken into or stolen.
Don’t stress about it though, there is a lot you can do to make sure that a used car purchase is a good deal.
I also asked my Twitter followers what they look for when buying a used car and have included some of their answers below.
“I’m bored!”
The dreaded words that no parent wants to hear. Children have a way of declaring that they’re bored that can drives us parents (who know that they have a room full of toys) crazy. I think they can smell exhaustion, and when they detect that us parents are at our wits end, that’s when they pounce with the boredom talk.
Funny how emptying the dishwasher is never enough of an activity to quench their boredom… The reality is, they want you to entertain them. They usually want their parents to rush in and save the day with some amazing, fun activity.
Consider writing down these ideas on a poster board or chalkboard in your home. To encourage your kids to be decisive and learn how to make fun for themselves, you can ask them to choose an activity from the board when they don’t know what to do.
Want to know what to do when you’re behind on bills? I’ve been there! Keep reading for some helpful ideas for how to get back on track.
The year was 2009, and I was drowning. Not literally, I was drowning in debt. I was newly married with student loans, credit card debt and my personal favorite, a $25,000 loan for a pickup truck I didn’t need.
I was barely keeping my head above water when I got laid off from my job. Not permanently, but for the winter as there was no work. Deep in debt with no work, it wasn’t long before I realized that I couldn’t make my car payment the next month. I was going to start falling behind on bills and didn’t know what to do. I was in major trouble.
Do you need to find a way to make $1000 fast?
It can happen to anybody. A blown transmission, a broken refrigerator, leaking water heater or any number of other emergencies can cause you to need a quick grand. No matter what the reason, you need to figure out how you can make $1000 fast!
Fast money isn’t necessarily going to set you down the road to long-term prosperity, but it can get you out of a bad situation and develop your money-making skills for the future.
Want to find the best items to flip for money?
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure as they say. Personally, I’m happy that they do, because there’s a lot of money to be made selling used stuff for a profit on Craigslist, Ebay and other marketplaces.
Over the years I have sold tens of thousands of dollars worth of stuff. For the most part, I’ve used Craigslist and other local classified sites, though I’ve ventured onto other platforms as well.
Are you stuck in these millennial money traps?
We millennials don’t have the most pristine reputation when it come to managing money. The reality is that for many of us, the reputation is well-earned. There are more millennial money traps out there than ever before. We live in a time when access to pretty much anything we could ever want is a just a credit application away.
If you like buying and selling locally as a way to make extra cash, you’re probably familiar with Craigslist. Craigslist is the OG of online local marketplaces. It’s simple, easy to use, and effective. It’s also ugly, with a design that hasn’t changed much since they launched in 1995.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s good, but if you’re serious about local selling, you should know that there are several other online selling sites like Craigslist out there that are also solid options.