Well….we are debt free. YEARS earlier than expected. And I wish we weren’t. You are probably thinking I’m crazy or wondering what is wrong with me for wishing we were still in debt, but let me explain. I received a call from my mom […]
I’ve been “meal prepping” for years. Only recently did my husband and I realize how ineffecient we were actually being with our meal prepping and our meal plan. Sure, we could have several meals cooked up, but by the time we’d get to eating those […]
There are a few ways that might be helpful when budgeting for utilities. I can tell you upfront that when we began, we took a complete guess based on the square footage of our rental and hoped that it wouldn’t be over that amount. It […]
Tips to make a profitable garden: Gardening is a fantastic summer activity if you have the outdoor space available. It’s a way to get outside, involves light activity, and can easily be done with little ones. But a garden can quickly become an expensive chore if you aren’t careful. My husband and I started off with homemade raised garden beds at our rental, and three years later we’ve got a pretty huge garden at our home. Along the way, we’ve made a few mistakes and done some things right to where I’d like to share tips to create a profitable garden.
step one of simplifying your home, identifying the things you “think” would help you keep your life more simple and organizaed.
My husband Travis and I started off our marriage at ages 21 and 22 with 185K in student loans and a baby on the way.
Yeah. Oh and we hadn’t even graduated college yet.
It was scary. REALLY scary.
We had lived in our fun, happy world of college. (Actually, we both studied engineering disciplines so it was also a lot of hard work). Nothing had truly prepared us for what was to come: life. Like, real life. Suddenly the slamming reality of jobs, an infant, daycare, health insurance, taxes, and all these things we didn’t have a clue about. Yes, we both managed to get through differential equations, but the rest of this? Yikes.
We’ve come a long way since then, and have added another kiddo, a dog, a cat, and a fish to our little family.
Okay, so the money thing is Budgets….but why did the word “Kale” come into the name? Well, when I thought of “healthy living” that was the first word that came to mind. My husband and I are super into healthy living. Specifically, we decided that as we were paying off our student loans that we would NOT sacrifice our health. One of the best ways I did this was REALLY meal planning and saving. The first month I added up our groceries it was $800 in food for two adults. I quickly found ways to cut our grocery bills in half and meal planning is my jam. I wrote a long post about it here. My focus was on cooking Whole30 and Paleo meals. However, that changed in Summer 2018. After some scary health concerns, Rachel was diagnosed with chronic gerd and now must eat a low-acid diet. So as of September 2018, look for low-acid meal ideas! Often this means separate meals from the rest of the family, which is challenging in many ways.
Eating healthy is affordable but it takes effort.
Never carry a balance on a credit card.
Credit cards can get you some awesome perks (especially travel ones!)
Exercise is not a punishment.
Life Insurance is something you can’t afford NOT to have
Traveling can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be.
Saving is important for financial and mental health.
You must care for yourself to be able to care for others too.
The habits you form early can drastically alter your physical and financial health.
