Great job this week staying on budget. You avoided Prime Day 👏👏👏 Proud of You!

Cont… Sorry, one more thing- once I have that Excel document set up & it’s accurate (takes a few months to work the bugs out) then I used that as my template for future planning and it makes my budgeting each month easier because my PLAN column is already filled in (like you do), and I just write the ACTUALS as they happen.

Cont… I see why you do the budget the way you do because you do the cash system, so doing Hard/Online then Cash makes sense. But if you have time you might also just do an Excel spreadsheet of monthly costs After your month is over and break it down this way: Income Expenses Save Give Spend Fixed- ex mortgage , insurance- exactly the same amount Bills - recur but amount varies ex electric bill Variable - you can control these more ex. Groceries, vet, doctor, school (this is the one easy for me to overspend on), fun, misc. Then you can see totals by category for the month which is helpful. Then you can see what your monthly picture is. I usually start seeing areas to cut or take to zero temporary to gain some traction. I am happy to email you the spreadsheet if you would like. Liz from Frugalwoods has some podcasts she’s been on that are really motivating. She challenges people to do an UberFrugal month where you go to zero in any category you possibly can & spend only on absolute necessities just to see what you can do in a month. It’s a great experiment to try- I think it’s kinda fun but I am a nerd like that. 😂

So many wins this week! Great job finding that Christian Book recurring charge & canceling it! It’s amazing the more organized we get the more I find! Also, you went right up to your grocery budget but didn’t go over! Also y’all used the deliberation station to really be intentional with your purchases, think carefully & not have impulse purchases! It seems like you are really telling your money where to go, managing it, saying “no” (or “wait”) to some things in order to say “yes” to more important things! And you are cash-flowing your husband’s surgery! So many wins! I recently went back to doing the budget at our house. My husband is an accountant, but he’s so busy with work & does it all day, so was happy for me to take it back (I used to do it). Well, I organized/updated everything in an Excel document for the month and once we got things all organized (we’ve moved, had several life changes, etc) I started seeing how much we were paying in car insurance! It was exorbitant. I called State Farm (we had been with Allstate) and their quote was $300 (vs the insane 800 of Allstate). So we are going to save $500/mo now that we’ve switched! We have 4 drivers(2 teens) and 4 vehicles though. Anyway, being organized helps us see & notice things for sure. Going to do another comment because this is getting so long…

This was a great video, thank you. Are you spiral binding the books yourself or taking them somewhere to have them bound?

I just wanted to thank you for the budget videos! They have bene really encouraging for me and I started really working hard on ours. Our washer died yesterday and because we had been budgeting and had put money aside, we were able to buy one last night. It was used but we were able to pay cash and not use a credit card. So thank you so much for the videos. They are really helpful!

Hello, 😊Where did you get your Encyclopedia set from?

He did great doing in his notebook 👍

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I have Harvey's Grammar. Do you know how they compare? Side note, thank you so much for sharing your ideas about old curriculum and how it can be used in a modern way.

It was helpful seeing the flip through of all his work. Thank you for sharing!

Thank you for all you do!😊

Thank you for showing, and taking the time to make your products and making them affordable. Just finished printing and now on to binding.☺

How do you know that you'll use everything for the whole year? Do you just plan it and then create a sheet for it and then put in there?

You're amazing! I love the twist 🎉

Woo hoo. Thank you for the planner

I liked the notebooking idea! I'll have to try it next yr!

444 😊! Thank you for creating a lovely reusable planner! Love all of your resources!!!

Thank you for the flip through!

These look amazing! Thank you for creating them! If we order off Amazon will it be spiral bound or not ? And cover material?

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do you make trace work books as well?

You just gave me a great idea!!

Do you make your notebooks for the whole year (like your McGuffey's and your everything notebook)? Do you have a video on this? I'd like to do it but I'm afraid of making it and then it not working later on in the year if we advance or something changes. I do like the idea of opening up the notebook to the page and going from there.

I have a small ruled slate. I do not use it as it is too small. I use the cheap plastic slates and chalk. Thry work but the chalk wipes off easily.

568… 😅 I could sure use those budget planner pages! Looking forward to using the McGuffey’s spelling program this next school year (August start as well) ❤

These Notebooks look really neat! I like that you're going along the same theme as Sherry Hayes with notebooking. I'm still trying to figure out how to fit notebooking into our homeschool, having kids ages 9 and under, and having our days filled with RC subjects (I substitute the writing portion with Sherry Hayes' McGuffey lesson books). I just don't want to over-book them. I love these Bible Notebooks and will keep them in mind when I figure out schedule out 🥴 I agree, I dislike how a lot of Bible curriculum jump around.

The covers are super cute. But, I also like the name plate on the cover. Well thought out. Thanks for sharing!

1130 yay love giveaways 😊

I just found your channel (and messaged you on Etsy). My heart lept for joy when I read the book list on here. We do the Numbers primer, My Book House and McGuffey's! Its so exciting to see someone who uses the same things we do. I'm looking forward to seeing how you use them.

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Where do I find the sequence by subject file?

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Two more thoughts as I was on my walk this morning: Did you happen to listen to those episodes on the Frugal Fit Mom podcast? Budget Breakdown is what she calls them. I just relistened to #14 & 15 this morning. I know she’s starting to have people hire her for financial coaching but is STILL doing it for FREE for her podcast and needs some more right now! It’s completely anonymous of course, and she routinely cuts $1000 /month off people’s budgets- she & Dave are ninjas because they lived on a very low teacher’s income with 4 kids. Now that you have firmer numbers on your budget, this would be a great opportunity to submit your budget & get her ideas! It won’t hurt & may give you some ideas. At least listen to #15 and see what you think. You email them in from her website. 2. If the chickens still lay more eggs than you can eat, could the kids sell them on a little table in your driveway on a Saturday morning? I bet with retired lawyer neighbors, they’d sell very well $8/dozen? My friends used to collect egg cartons from friends at co-op to use to sell their eggs. If your kids did it, they could keep half & half could go towards chicken feed. Plus some small-business & math practice! (My 8 year old has been having a Toy Sale out front where he sells old toys- very cute & helps me declutter) He has made over $30 & used some for extra firecrackers. 😁

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I love everything about your budgeting videos ❤️ You are so relatable. Thank you for sharing and making my budgeting journey feel more normal 😊

Good morning 🌞 Awesome job for keeping up with it, sitting down with your husband and doing the work! The Deliberation Station is fantastic because you can identify needs & wants. Work boots are a need. Surgery for your husband is a need ). Flooring is a want. And it’s not something going wrong. (Like AC- that’s definitely a need!) Fireworks are a want. We enjoy free fireworks shows & I gave my two little boys $10/each and they could use their own money if they wanted more. They had a “blast!” But amazing that your husband is hustling so hard- what a great husband!!! On the Walmart pickup yes- go by yourself! I have been finding so much good clearance stuff at Walmart - yesterday I got a clearance rotisserie chicken for chicken salad (could have gotten 3 but don’t have time to take more off the bone), 2 healthy Joseph’s pitas, and bagels, all for like $9. Oh, and half-price muffins that I put in the freezer- we do muffins on Sunday mornings. But the bread clearance rack is fantastic- and yeah, if I bring the kids they beg for donuts. 🙄So I go alone. Also, on the flooring, we are just now doing our flooring after living with 1981 carpet for the last 20 years. Because both houses are paid off now. It was fine, I just kept getting the carpet cleaned once or twice a year. Kids’ happiness & health was not affected. Was our house the most up-to-date & stylish? Nope. (We also have formica countertops). But we have hosted people, loved people, invested in children, had a rich & fulfilling life. So, if you don’t have cash saved up for flooring for 10 years, it’s fine! Freedom from debt & having more choice in life, being able to help the kids with college, fly to see aging parents, etc, is 100% worth it!! Don’t be swayed by “everyone else”! You have goals! Also, flooring was such a can of worms- has turned into baseboards, drywall, painting. Way bigger than just flooring & way more expensive than we thought it would be. I hope this doesn’t sound too bossy and critical- I truly am sharing these things with a heart of love, like I would to a sister or dear friend. 😁 I am cheering for you & you’re doing awesome. This journey does require such hard choices along the way, but I truly believe with God’s help you can pay this all off & reach your goals!! Praying Hebrews 13:5 for you today. ❤️

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I would love to have a spiral binder so I could make my planners by trimester. I do four month increments.

77. Planners allow us to drop our brain somewhere so we can focus better on the present life. Thank you for🎉 sharing!

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