5 simple ways to save money as a family (+ my unfiltered money story)

I have a story I want to share with you. It’s pretty personal, but I hope it will resonate.

I’m sharing this story in the middle of the muck. I’m not “over” this per say. I’m smack dab in the center of uncovering this story, but I decided I wanted to share in ANYWAY.

It’s much more fun to share a triumphant victory, an “after” picture, once its all cleaned up, fixed and pretty. But my heart is telling me to share this story NOW so that it’s relatable and gives hope to those who might need it.

When we got pregnant with Hazel we were set 100% financially. I had worked my but off to built a residual healthy six figure income in my Coaching business. When we had her, we had no money care in the world. Both my husband and I were home with her full time. We snuggled, slept and tried to figure out what the heck to do with a newborn. As hard as it is being a new parent, we did not have the stress or worry of going back to work. It truly was a blissful time. I continue to be grateful for my business for providing us this time to figure out what our family was going to need.

Our financial picture has changed over the last two years because I couldn't keep up with the way I was doing business before having her. Being a mother changed me inside and out, I know you can relate. What I had been doing pre baby was not sustainable if I wanted to maintain any sense of sanity or calm. I wanted to be present for my family, not a stressed out work-o-holic. It wasn’t only the hours worked, it was the amount of brain space it took up to work the way I had before. Slowly, I backed away doing less and less until I just couldn’t do it anymore.

Over this time we lost close to 50% of our income. It was a HUGE change.

But......We had been smart and careful with our money up until this point. We had eliminated all debt (except for our mortgage), and have been good stewards with what we had been given. We saved a lot of money, and put money it into retirement and investments, so by the grace of God we were able to ride the tide of our current financial picture.

Because we re-prioritized, spent (way) less and were 100% aware of what our money was doing, we have not had to sacrifice any of our living.

Because of this freedom it has opened the doors for new ideas to spin for what I want to teach moms—and THIS is part of what I want to teach and help you with .

💲💸 MONEY!

It can be a taboo subject, but I want to bring it to the surface since I know we all struggle in this area.

➡️ When babies come into the picture, often times moms decide to quit working or cut down their work. It leaves many families in a really tight spot with finances. If this is you, know you are NOT alone. Staying home with your kiddos or choosing to go part time does not have to be the demise of your financial story. Working moms too! This can absolutely be the picture too if you work full time. My families struggle to get by with two full time incomes.

If you are strapped financially, feeling like you are just getting by... Or even if you are abundant but want to take better care of your money...

I want to invite you to read my 5 tips below.

I will be going over tangible ways you can start cleaning up your finances right away.

I want to share with you how even though our income has decreased by 50%, we have been able to live the same kind of lifestyle and not suffer from that loss. Not be worried about our financial picture, or stress out.

I want to help you live with a sense of freedom with your money! To simplify what you are doing so you can live on purpose, mamma!

There is no greater stress than waking up in the middle of the night wondering how you’re going to pay for your life. So if that’s the place that you’re in now, or you just want to up your money game this is the topic for you!

Freedom and Simplicity are the main focus of everything I teach, so lets get started!

5 tips that have helped us keep our money in order with a family--->

VIDEO TO BE POSTED AFTER THE LIVE AIRS

I also want to say this as a disclaimer. It's more than OK to be motivated, to love your work and to be excited about creating something or being an awesome employee. I’m redefining how being a work at home mom works for me and to be honest, I have never been more excited or motivated to work on something in my life. It’s because of you Mamma! I am you. I understand you. And I want to help you.

I’m incredibly grateful for my previous business and am actually thankful for the burnout because it helped TEACH me. Yes, I did say I'm appreciative for the burnout lol. It helped me uncover truths about myself and it led me to wanting to create something of my very own and re-define my entire life mission. Cool stuff!

5 Tips for family budgeting:

1. Decluttering

Decluttering your home is the fastest way to expose your purchasing habits. Not only do you feel more light and free when there is less clutter in your home, but it also shows you in plain sight what things you over buy. When you see and realize all the "stuff" you have accumulated it helps you naturally cut back on spending. Areas like the pantry, bathrooms and kids toys get out of control fast so when you clean them out you realize you have duplicates of things or items maybe never even opened.

When you can really take stock of what you own you don't make duplicate purchases. When your home is free of clutter you become more choosy about what comes into your house and only let things in if they have a purpose or they are going to bring you immense amounts of joy.

PS-I have WAY more to say on this subject, so stay tuned in the next few weeks for lots more tips

2. Selling old stuff

The 2nd step of decluttering is finding the things that have any value and selling them. When we did this we got rid of $400 of unused electronics! They were literally sitting in our basement collecting dust. It was so fun to get some cash for those things and bless someone else with something they could actually use! The sooner you get rid of this stuff the more money you get.

3. Choosing experiences over things

This was a game changer for our family. We received a zoo pass for our daughters birthday and its been our go to summer activity. We can pack our own lunch and have an outing for free! Plus its nice with a squirmy toddler to not have to say committed to a time frame. You can save hundreds of dollars a year by finding free days at museums and aquariums or creating your own picnic adventure instead of doing something that costs money. We love playing bubbles outside, talking a nature walk or snuggling up to read books!

4. Creating a fun money account

Every time we have a little money to spare, even if its $10 or $20 we put it in what we call the "FUN MONEY" account. This is a separate checking account than what you keep your bill money. Its there for guilt free spending. The key to this account is to not use it on a day to day basis, but save it for special things. A dinner out with friends, the special notebook you have been wanting, a treat for your kiddo. Our rule of thumb is if you have really wanted it for more than 30 days then it gets added to a fun money list and we divvy out a few purchases at the end of the month.

The fun money is so helpful in stopping impulse purchasing (which is so common in our culture) We thing we need it NOW in order to be happy/cool/satisfied. Delayed gratification is a skill, and having a fun money account helps with this because you know at the end of the month if you still really want it, you can get it!

5. Having an emergency fund

I can't leave here without saying this. Even if its $1,000 you have stored up for an emergency, its a must!! Often people try to pay off debt fist, only to have to get in more debt if an emergency comes up. And lets be honest, life happens, cars need repairing, doctors bills come up. You want to have a safe little chunk of money that helps you stress less and know you are covered when the inevitable happens.

Here is the cool thing--when you do the tips above and spend more consciously, you will actually have money to put towards your emergency and fun money accounts.

Being aware of your purchasing habits and saying "no" now so you can have more freedom in the long term is worth it. Flex your delayed gratification muscles, save money and live a more simple lifestyle!