michelejo.com

Tag: finances

  • Remember, we’re only human.

    I recently had a string of bad experiences on Ebay. I’ve been a member for over 15 years so what happened kind of shocked me.  But what shocked me even more was the way people reacted and treated me. I had a ton of Proactiv products I wasn’t using (too much auto-ship) so I decided…

  • Emergency meal planning…

    I’ve mentioned before that my family recently suffered a 35% pay cut.  We had no notice and a tiny bit of severance, and this all started during the holidays and just a couple months after we closed on our home.  We had some legal issues related to the home we were leasing and we’d just plunked down…

  • How I reduced my kids’ wardrobes AND my stress…

    My kids have too many clothes.  Waaaaaay too many.  Especially my nine year old daughter.  When my older kids (now 15 and 18) were younger, we were pretty broke and I couldn’t buy a lot of nice clothes for them.  My mom loved to buy them clothes and that was nice, but it was never what I…

  • Resolutions for 2014

    I’m not a huge fan of New Years’ Resolutions.  They are really easy to break. It’s too simple to mess up on say, January 2, and then the whole list is shot to hell.  Am I right? That’s usually what happens to me.  The past several years, I’ve switched to goals that I start working…

  • A Year of Less: February Plans and Progress

    So with January’s No-Spend turned Low-Spend experiment behind us, I’ve been decompressing a bit so far in February.  I honestly cannot believe we’re practically halfway through this month! I’m still definitely working on our Year of Less.  I am working hard to be mindful about each and every penny I spend.  instead of the old “see it, want…

  • ***FREE*** Monthly Bill Payment Record

    I created this chart in Microsoft Publisher but for those you don’t have Publisher, I’ve included a PDF copy.  You can simply fill it in by hand monthly, edit it in Publisher or fill in the names of your bills and due dates and then scan or copy it to make additional copies.  🙂 I keep…

  • Cutting back without much ouch!

    I talked a bit about this here but I’m checking in to update the progress I’ve actually made. 1)  Efax and Stamps.com — I totally blanked on canceling them but it’s on my to-do list for today.  I e-mailed Efax’s customer support several times about the double-billing, even sending them statement copies, and they no…

  • No-Spend February Recap

    They say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.  That seems to sum up my efforts at frugality in February.  :/ I tried really, really hard but it’s been almost impossible to survive on income #1 (while saving income #2 like we’re supposed to). Jake’s B-Day…$50 Heelies, $50 Van’s, $125 dinner at…