Our Debt Free Family

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How to Be Frugal With a Newborn

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frugal with a newborn

There is no doubt that having a baby absolutely changes your life. It is a challenge to adjust to such a huge change and maintain progress on financial goals, let alone stay on budget. Needless to say, our monthly budget has been looking rather neglected and ignored recently. This has led us to look for ways to be frugal with a newborn and make the most of our money.

Is It Possible to Be Frugal With a Newborn?

The biggest cost for our family since having a baby has been food. Sometimes you are just too exhausted to cook. So, we wind up ordering food or hitting the drive thru so that I can continue working or tend to a crying child. It’s understandable and we’ve tried to not be too hard on ourselves for it. But it is money wasted and that will always bother me.

That being said, it is possible to be frugal with a newborn. You simply need to find where your problems areas are and focus on improving there to be successful at it. Here’s how…

How to Be Frugal With a Newborn

There are a few steps you need to take to being able to be frugal with a newborn. Frugality is more than just looking for the best deal or pinching pennies. You have to consider long-term wear items and contributing financial factors.

  1. As I just mentioned, you need to be able to identify what your problem areas are. For us, we overspend on easy food. Think about how you can resolve the issue. For example, our family sticks to our grocery budget better if we meal prep and plan. It takes a little additional time but it will save us hundreds per month. Similarly, when our newborn starts eating different foods, we will make her meals as well to help save money.
  2. Invest in quality items. Like I said, frugality isn’t all about pinching pennies. If you are going to use an item every single day or with your children in the future, spend a little extra money. It will keep you from having to buy it again. You may even be able to resell it once you’re done using it.
  3. Hit the consignment shops. Buying secondhand clothing and other items is a great way to be frugal with a newborn and kids in general. They outgrow their clothes and toys so fast, so why spend a ton of money on those things? Not to mention, some stores will allow you to sell your child’s items for a store credit or cash.
  4. Don’t stress experiences now. Until they are older, you shouldn’t spend too much money on experiences for your child. Of course, you want to have those memories but they won’t remember much. As a newborn, they won’t remember anything. Save your money and put it aside for creating memories when they’re a bit older.

These are just a few things we’ve discussed that will help us be more frugal with our newborn and stay on track. What are some of the ways you have saved money with children?

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How We Financially Prepare for the Holiday Season

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prepare for the holiday season

The holidays are swiftly approaching. It’s hard to believe we will be celebrating our first Thanksgiving with our little one next week! For many people, this is a stressful time of year. Most of us have more social engagements than usual. On top of that, we are spending more money than we normally do, possibly traveling, and probably not eating the best. Many people find themselves biting their nails over the cost of presents and celebrations. Here is how our family tries to prepare for the holiday season.

Confession: I’m Buddy the Elf

If you’ve seen the Will Ferrell movie Elf, you know Buddy. I am him, he is me. Christmas time is one of my favorite times of year (I’m also a huge fan of Halloween). I simply love the season of giving, family time, baking, colder weather, traditions. It is important to me to be able to spread my cheer each year. However, it is also extremely important we stay within our budget each year. Only a cotton-headed ninny muggins would go into debt buying presents, right?

While we certainly don’t plan to put any gifts on credit this year, many Americans do. In fact, more than 21% of Americans say they will go into debt buying Christmas gifts. About 29% of shoppers say they’ll go into debt but they pay it all off in full with their tax returns. In general, people are willing to go about $1,400 in debt just to celebrate the holidays. For our family, wracking up debt on gifts just simply isn’t in the cards and it shouldn’t ever be, honestly.

Establishing New Traditions

Because Christmas is such an important time of year for me, we want to establish family traditions. One thing we are going to try to do is work in a lot of low-cost or free activities into our holiday traditions. For instance, there is a giant village about an hour from our home that has an amazing Christmas lights display. We will likely pack some food, hot chocolate, and get in the car to see the lights each year. This is little cost to us and a great tradition.

We will also be doing low-cost crafts.  This is something I always did with my godchildren before. Each year, we plan a night where all our parent friends can get together with their kids and do some type of holiday craft. I also usually bake cookies for them to decorate. The entire event typically costs less than $50 and is so much fun. It is also a great tradition to keep (kind of like a Friendsgiving of sorts). We’ve also been considering doing things like volunteering and family secret Santa when our little one is a little older too.

Another thing I’ve seen online this year is people hitting the dollar store for their decor. This is great way to switch up themes and color schemes from year to year at a low cost. I’ve seen some folks on TikTok decorate their tree for less than $35. That’s pretty amazing! So, in essence, we are looking to keep costs as low as possible by establishing some low-cost traditions and focus on the reason for the season.

How Do You Prepare for the Holiday Season?

As always, personal finance is personal. If you are someone who takes out a loan every year and it works for you, keep doing what works for you. If you’re like me and start the countdown for Christmas on December 26, saving and planning throughout the year, that’s okay too. You are doing what works best for you and your family.

At the end of the day, it really isn’t about the amount of money you spend. Focus on spending quality time with your family this season. Those are the memories they’ll keep forever anyway. Happy Holidays!

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The Real Tea No One is Spilling: The Grind Culture is Toxic

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grind culture

Money makes the world go round, or so the saying goes. Recent years have fully embraced the contractor and independently employed individuals. In fact, hustling or grinding has become the norm. People leave their nine-to-five and head to work on their side hustle. In some special cases,  people may even turn their hustle into a full-time gig. What I haven’t heard many people talking about is how the grind culture can be extremely toxic.

Unpopular Opinions

There is a recent trend on TikTok where people have been sharing a few unpopular opinions they have. In the world of personal finance Toks, this has been interesting. Just about everyone has a different opinion about how money should be managed, how you should invest, and what size down payment you should have. However, at the same time, no one was really talking about my elephant in the room: hustle culture. So, of course, I added a TikTok of my own.

@districtmediafinance##fyp ##foryou ##foryoupage ##finance ##personalfinance ##budgeting ##startariot

♬ original sound – Alien


In the personal finance world on social media everyone is talking about how you can earn extra money. More money is always a good thing, right? Well, for me, B.I.G. said it best, “Mo money, mo problems.” Of course, you can earn some extra cash to pay off some debt (I’ve done it) or even fund a vacation, but it shouldn’t be a lifestyle. You’ll work yourself to the bone and the other things in your life will become less important than making an extra buck. Your relationships will suffer, your health may suffer, and all you’ll have is a padded savings account.

Why Grind Culture Has Become Toxic

In today’s climate, if you only work one full-time job it’s almost unheard of. Almost everyone has a side hustle, part-time gig, or way they are making money on the side. This is due, in part, to rising prices and people’s need to make ends meet. A lot of it has to do with the toxic hustle culture that has infiltrated social media and other communication platforms.

Now, grind culture hasn’t always been toxic. People have been “making a little money on the side” for ages. You take work where you can find it. Today, people are working to excess though. Many are working over 40 hours every week and then feel pressure to be working on a special project or additional job on top of that. If you don’t have a hustle you’re almost seen as lazy or dumb.

After all, who wouldn’t want extra money?

You should work extra hard now so you don’t have to later!

Ultimately, this just leads to a bunch of overworked people walking through life as zombies. Possibly worse, it could lead to a culture where the main focus of our interactions with each other is financial.

Final Thoughts

Have your side hustle but have your family too. Don’t let your jobs or means to make money overshadow the life you are building or take away from time spent with your family. Carve out time to enjoy your loved ones and the cash you’re making. Hustle hard, live life even more.

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Meet the Newest Addition to Our Debt Free Family

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newest addition

As you know, towards the end of August we were counting the minutes until our baby arrived. Thankfully, our little one, Dahlia, arrived on August 31, 2021. She is a beautiful, healthy baby girl and she has completely changed our world.

Meet Dahlia

Let us formally introduce you to Dahlia. She was born 7 lbs. 14 oz. at 8:54 p.m. on August 31. From the moment we met her, she amazed us both.

newest addition

Of course, there have been plenty of ups and downs. Labor was not easy. I was technically in labor a little over 32 hours and in the hospital four days. Breastfeeding was extremely difficult and caused me a great deal of anxiety. We’ve had to address the cost of formula, find a formula that sits well with her, pacifier or no pacifier, swing or no swing, and the list of decisions and concerns goes on. But, from what I understand, that’s parenthood. We are just along for the ride!

Right now, she is a little over two months old and sleeps really well. Both of us are adjusting to our new lives as parents who work from home. Kids change your life in so many amazing ways. Of course, I went through the life-changing experience of giving birth, but we have also brought a life into this world who is so special to us both. Neither of us knew we could love anyone as much as we love our little girl. As we look to what’s next for us, she is at the center of every decision, every move we are making.

What This Means For Our Debt Free Journey

Preparing for Dahlia’s arrival was our main focus throughout 2021. We’ve been stocking up on things, saving money, and paying for medical care to get her here safely. All of our prep work paid off well. We have been prepared for just about everything that has been thrown our way since she arrived. As far as our debt freedom journey goes, it is still slow moving. However, our journey has a whole new meaning now.

Now, our debt-free journey is about providing a more financially stable environment for our child, something we both lacked growing up. It gives us a new sense of purpose and more urgency behind paying down and paying off our debts. At the beginning of the year, we will be shifting our focus to paying off large sums on our car loan. After that, we will focus the efforts on student loans and small debts. That is our plan for now. The sooner we are debt-free the sooner we are able to look at buying a home and building the life we picture for our family.

To me, this is the magic of the debt-free community. Everyone has their reasons behind their journey. Some people want to be financially free, others want to avoid hardship (because they’ve been there), and people like us want to build a positive, health environment for their families.

What is the reason you decided to pursue debt freedom? 

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My Favorite Debt-Free Instagrammers

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debt-free instagrammers

Instagram is a great place to find other people in the debt-free community. Many Instagrammers share debt updates, budgets, saving tips, and real-life experiences in their own debt freedom journey. Here are five of my favorite debt-free Instagrammers.

My Top Five Debt-Free Instagrammers

There are so many fabulous and inspiring debt-free families, couples, and individuals over on Instagram. If you haven’t already signed up for Insta, do it! Then check out these five accounts…

1. The Savvy Sagittarius

debt-free instagrammers

Elyse, also known as The Savvy Sagittarius on Instagram, has paid off $36,500 in debt. Over the time she paid off her debt, she’s documented her journey on Instagram. She also now provides helpful tips to others getting started and keeps everyone updated on her current financial success. Elyse often performs challenges, such as No Spend September, and she updates her audience on her savings goals. This is a great Instagram page to follow if you’re looking for someone who is financially focused.

2. The Budget Mom

debt-free instagrammers

The next on my list of debt-free Instagrammers is Kumiko Love or The Budget Mom. Kumiko started out as a broke, single mom and has seriously transformed her life. She has gained financial and debt freedom. Now, she shares her experience and knowledge with others. Best of all, she posts a lot of free tools and templates to help you get started with budgeting, saving, and paying off debt.

3. Kiwi Girl on a Budget

debt-free instagrammers

This Instagrammer is possibly one of my absolute favorites! They paid off an astounding $556,000 in debt in 39 months. How amazing is that?! Now, the main focus of the couple as they move forward in their financial journey is investing money for the future. They are investing 70% to $100K. The page itself offers up some good tips and inspirational posts to help motivate you on your own financial journey.

4. Debt Free By Thirty

debt-free instagrammers

I think I enjoy following this page so much because the creators are closer to my age. As you can probably tell by her name, the goal is to be debt-free by the time she turns 30. I will be 30 myself in less than two years. So, the story here is pretty inspiring to me personally and you may find it to be too! Rachel has already paid down a significant amount of debt. She started with $54,000 in September 2019 and now only holds $36,950 in debt. She shares regular progress updates and tips as she goes, which are helpful too.

5. Debt Free Weirdos

debt-free instagrammers

I was originally drawn to this page because of the quirky name. Isn’t everyone in the debt-free community a little weird? What kept me sticking around was their amazing story. They’ve paid off more than $240,000 in debt! They have less than $7,000 to pay off and are just killing it. As of September 24, 2021, they will be completely debt-free. They’ve talked a lot about how they will celebrate and I can’t wait for them to reach that goal. It is truly inspirational.

These are just a few debt-free Instagrammers out there. Do you have any Instagram accounts you love to follow? Drop them below!

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How We Are Preparing For Our New Arrival

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preparing for our new arrival

If you have ever prepared for the arrival of a new baby in the age of the internet you know there is a plethora of information out there. Sometimes it seems like too much. Do I have all the items deemed necessary by blogger moms for delivery? Will I have everything I need for recovery? Should I write out a detailed birth plan? Honestly, it can be overwhelming. That’s why we decided to dial down the use of the internet and focus on we can best prep for the arrival of our baby girl.

Preparing for Our New Arrival

My mom has told me about a dozen times that she didn’t need much in terms of creature comforts when she went into labor with me. “You don’t need that much, don’t overdo it.” While I trust my mom’s judgment and value her input, you could also smoke cigarettes in the hospital when I was born. It has been a while since she’s gone through pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum recovery. She will undoubtedly be a rock of support for me but when it comes to how to best prepare, we’ve done our research to figure out what will work for us.

We got our hospital bags packed this week. Baby Blankenship is due September 2. Hopefully, she will at least be on time (if not a little early). I’ve done so much reading when it comes to prepping for our little one. What foods should I eat for breastfeeding, hospital bag must-haves, and even how to best introduce our beloved family dog to the new member of the family. More recently, I’ve been researching what to expect during labor, things we should have with us (and things that are provided), and have been attempting to be as prepared as humanly possible.

My husband realized it was stressing me out a bit. After all, the internet is literally full of information and every mom thinks she got it right when it comes to how she prepped for the birth of her child. That’s the thing though. It is a very personal experience and you should cater it to your personal preferences.

For instance, many moms said they packed makeup for their delivery so that they could look nice in photos. I read this and thought to myself, “Seriously?” There’s no way I’m going through the trouble of putting on makeup when I just birthed a baby. However, I do think it will be worth it to pack a comfortable blanket, robe, and comfort items from home. We also hit Costco and stocked up on some snacks, which will come in handy, especially if I give birth at an odd hour of the night. The hospital cafeteria doesn’t open its doors simply because you had a baby, unfortunately, and most restaurants are closed in the middle of the night.

On top of that, we are also making sure we have phone chargers, vape chargers (for my husband), and some essential toiletry items to clean up during our stay. This, according to many people, is a bare-bones hospital bag list, but it definitely works for us.

What did you pack when preparing for your own new arrival?

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Pre-Baby Debt Update

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debt update

We have less than two weeks before our baby arrives and things are falling into place. As mentioned in some of our recent posts, the main focus for us has been saving and preparing for the new arrival. That doesn’t mean we’ve stopped paying off debt by any means, but it hasn’t been a hyper-focus of ours in a few months. We are preparing to shift our focus back to paying off debt. Before we do, here’s a quick snapshot of where we stand.

Where We Stand

This year has brought some MAJOR changes for our family. First, my husband started pursuing a new career. He is freelance writing for several websites and is doing a phenomenal job! (You can catch some of his posts over on Clever Dude). He has quickly caught up to my salary with what he is able to produce each month with his writing, which is fantastic. This takes a lot of the financial burden off of us and will make it easier to pay off debts and reach our goals.

Speaking of debts, it has been a while since I provided a numbers update. Here’s where we stand:

  • Credit cards: $451 – This will be paid off in full soon.
  • Collections: $1,213 – We are working on getting these removed.
  • Car loans: $16,398
  • Student loans: $24,185

We are continuing to take the federal student loan payment break during this time. Once payments resume, we will attempt to tackle that debt in a similar way that we plan to pay off the car (see below).

Plans for the Coming Months

There are some things changing in our finances over the next few months. Of course, we are having a baby. So, household expenses may be a bit higher than they have in the past. Additionally, we will need to add our little one to the health insurance. We are also looking into purchasing life insurance just in case something was to happen to one of us.

On top of those additional expenses, our rent is also going up by $110 per month. This is to renew it another year. If we were to renew for two years, it would go up another $140. Neither of us wanted to make a two-year commitment to renting here, so we are going with the one-year renewal. So, our rent is going from $1,495 to $1,605 (plus the $25 pet rent). Hopefully, within a year, we will have some savings and enough debt paid down to look at buying a home.

Our car payment is another big monthly expense we are hoping to trim down. The car still has under 75,000 miles and we will drive it for several years. However, the $488 monthly payment can be crippling. So, we are hoping that my hubby’s additional income will help us pay it off sooner. We hope to double the monthly payment and get it paid off within the next year or so.

Outside of that, we are going to continue trucking along our financial journey with our new baby. We can’t wait to keep you updated on our progress!

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What is the Biggest Thing People Stress About When It Comes to Finance?

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financial stress

Money is commonly the center of stress for many people and families. In fact, 73% of Americans rank finances as the number one stress in life. Younger generations are even more stressed about money. Unfortunately, this is usually because they don’t have good financial practices in place. They may overspend, carry debt, lack savings, or simply struggle to communicate about money properly. But what is the biggest thing people stress about when it comes to finance?

Money Stressors

If you run in the debt-free circles on the internet, you may think most people are stressing about the amount of debt they carry. While that is one stressor when it comes to finances, it isn’t the biggest thing people stress about (surprisingly). The biggest money stressor people deal with centers around major life changes, such as buying a home, having a baby, or other big changes.

Around 62% of Americans say the majority of their financial stress comes from attempting to buy a home. That makes sense. Moving is a stressful thing to do. Sixty-one percent of Americans have stress centered around the purchase of a car, another big buying decision.

As you know, I’m prepping for a new arrival in our home. While it has taken a lot of preparation, we haven’t had to stress about our finances too much because we got ahead. We were able to trim things back and focus on preparing for our baby. There are some things you can do to help you minimize your financial stress though. For instance, we placed a focus on saving and material preparation.

How to Cope

Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to cope with financial stress, no matter what you are dealing with. Here are a few quick things you can do to reduce your money stressors.

  1. Communicate. Communication is key when it comes to relieving financial stress. You need to communicate with your household family members, communicate with loan companies and businesses, and with your partners.
  2. Set up a budget. If you don’t have one set up, putting together a budget will help you relieve some of your financial stress as well. Having a concrete plan for where your money is going will settle some of your anxiety.
  3. Look at all your options. If you are struggling to make all of your payments, research what your options are. Some creditors will establish repayment plans to help you. Many utility companies will do the same. In some cases, consolidating your debt payments with a loan might be a good option. Consider what moves you might make to help relieve some stress.
  4. Don’t stay quiet about problems. The worst thing you can do is keep your financial stress to yourself. While people can be awkward when it comes to talking about money, it is important to be open about it. Just talking about your problems can help you feel better.
  5. Save as much as you can. Having money stashed away for emergencies will make you feel more at ease when it comes to your finances, period.

Readers, what are some of your major money stressors? How do you cope? 

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Is There a “Best” Way to Pay Off Debt?

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best way to pay off debt

When it comes to paying off debt there are a lot of people that insist one method is better than another. Some people focus on the debt snowball or avalanche method. Others tend to have more success with consolidating. Is there a “best way to pay off debt?”

Personal Finance is Personal

In short, no. There are methods that many people have found to be successful for them in their own personal debt freedom journies. At the end of the day, personal finance is personal. You have to find what will work for you and improve your financial situation. Not everyone will be motivated by paying things off slowly, so the avalanche method may be best. Others need to lower their immediate monthly payments to improve their quality of life. For them, consolidating may make the most sense.

The key to figuring out the best way to pay off debt for you will be addressing your current needs and identifying a method that will meet those needs. You won’t have success if you simply follow someone else’s plan. There is a need to alter different methods to fit your family’s needs.

What is the Best Way to Pay Off Debt?

As mentioned above, there is no “one size fits all” to paying off debt. However, there are some tried-and-true methods that have seemed to work for a lot of people. Of course, you’ll need to tweak each of them to cater to your specific needs, but here are some of the best debt payoff methods.

  • Consolidation: This involves taking out a larger loan and consolidating all of your debts into fewer payments. For instance, we would take out a $40,000 loan and pay off our car, student loans, and other small debt. Then we would have one monthly payment on the $40K loan. This can free up money month-to-month to make your immediate financial situation a bit easier.
  • Dave Ramsey: Dave Ramsey’s method of paying off debt is fairly rigid but it has worked for a lot of people. You need to be extremely strict and focus all of your finances on paying off debt. Once that is complete, you have more money freed up to do the things you want. For some individuals, this is great, but it is difficult. You have to go without a lot of things to make debt payoff your #1 priority without putting money towards anything else.
  • Debt snowball: The debt snowball is one of the more popular methods. This method focuses on paying off specific debts all at once, usually in numerical order (by the amount owed or interest). When you use the debt snowball method, you’ll pay off your smallest debt first and then climb up to paying your largest debt off, while maintaining minimum payments on your other accounts.
  • Debt avalanche: Similar to the debt snowball, the debt avalanche takes large sums of money you receive and puts it towards paying off your debt. So, if you get a work bonus, it would go towards paying off one of your accounts. Any windfall you get would go towards one of your debts.
  • Settlement: Sometimes, the best way to pay off debt is to go through a settlement company. If your debts are too overwhelming or you simply can make the minimum payment, communicating with the company is your best option. You won’t hurt your credit as much and the account will be taken off your plate.

Before you choose what the best way to pay off debt will be for your family be sure you consider your budget, needs, and savings. Again, personal finance is personal so treat your debt payoff plan that way too!

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Here’s Why It is Hard to Save Money

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hard to save money

Our family has always struggled a bit with saving money. It seems every time we get an emergency fund established or a little money stowed away, Murphy’s Law kicks in and we have to spend that cash to stay afloat. However, we aren’t the only ones that struggle with this. In fact, most people find it hard to save money. Here’s why…

Is It Really Hard to Save Money?

You may be thinking to yourself, “That sounds like an excuse to just not save.” It’s really not. Saving is hard, especially when you are spreading your focus across multiple financial goals. For us, we are focused on becoming debt-free, saving money for a home, and stacking up our savings. Sometimes, saving takes a backseat.

Not to mention, every time something comes up, we may have to dip into savings to take care of the cost. Of course, this is better than swiping our credit card or taking out a loan, but it makes reaching that three to six-month emergency fund difficult to reach.

All that being said, we aren’t alone. Much of America has a difficult time even saving enough money to cover a $1,000 emergency. That’s pretty nerve-wracking. Many people don’t even save 5% of their take-home income and 20% of Americans don’t save any portion of their income at all. But why?

Why?

In truth, most Americans aren’t saving any money at all because of their own choices. They aren’t willing to scale back or dial down their lifestyle. That isn’t always the case though. There are several factors that contribute to the difficulty of saving money.

  • Rising cost of housing, childcare, education, and healthcare: This is completely out of your control, but everything is going up. With the rising cost of necessities, it is hard to save money.
  • Debt: One of our loan payments is $488 per month. Think about if that was going into savings! Debt is a huge killer when it comes to being able to save.
  • Not making enough money: Your wages simply may not be high enough to stash anything away and cover your basic needs.
  • Lack of organization: Many people don’t track their spending, which can help you identify areas where you might be able to save.
  • Social activities take priority: This is especially hard for younger individuals. Oftentimes, social engagements take a higher priority than your finances (and they shouldn’t). Plan for outings and don’t overdo it.
  • Financial ignorance: Most of what you need to know about finance wasn’t taught in school and parents often fail to teach their kids about managing their finances too.
  • No desire to learn: While you may not have learned young, you can learn how to better manage your money now. You have to want to do it though.
  • Lifestyle inflation: When you get a raise, start saving more money instead of inflating your lifestyle costs.

The best piece of advice I can give you if you are struggling with saving like we often do is to stop comparing yourself to others. This is at the heart of why it is so hard to save money for many people. Unfortunately, when we compare ourselves to others, we wind up overspending and possibly even hindering financial progress altogether. All of this just to keep up with the Joneses. Don’t do it!

Readers, what part of your personal finances do you struggle with most? Why?

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