New Year-New Goals!

Posted on January 1, 2020 by Holly

2020 is officially here!! January is my favorite time of year (well, except the part where I’m always flat broke from overspending at Christmas). I absolutely LOVE the idea of a brand new year full of opportunities. Do you have to wait until January each year to set goals or decide to stop a bad habit? Of course not; you should always be working on being the best you that you can be. A new year beginning to me is a great point to check in and see how I did last year and re-evaluate on what I want to achieve in the new year.

I am anticipating that 2020 is going to be full of exciting changes for our family. Michael is slated to graduate from Bellarmine in May. He’s applying for internships as we speak and soon he’ll be doing his final graduation walk.

Nick has three semesters left before he graduates from WKU. He’s already working on a business plan with a friend and I’m sure he’ll have his own company one day.

I am determined to carve out a writing career for myself this year. I don’t have any plans to leave my current job, especially while we all still need health insurance, but writing is my passion. Now is a great time to focus on my love of writing and hopefully it will become another income source for us. The boys are on the cusp of embarking on their new lives and it’s time for me to re-focus on my dreams. Continue reading →

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2020 is almost here!

Posted on December 30, 2019 by Holly

Holy Cow! How is it almost 2020?? It feels like we should be riding around on spaceships or something…of course, there is such a thing as self-driving cars so maybe we’re not that far off.

This year has flown by. The biggest thing I was involved in this year was my new job. I left my former job in December of 2018 so 2019 was busy spent trying to figure out everything in my new position. I just had my one year anniversary and I still feel like there is so much to learn. Continue reading →

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No-show November

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Holly

I know, I know, I’m sure my 13 loyal readers were probably very worried about me in November. Don’t worry, I’m back and motivated to get busy working on this blog and a product I’ve got in development.

So where was I? Well, work was a tad bit busy and there was that holiday thrown in there but mostly I was busy writing like a mad woman. Um…Holly…we just discussed the fact that you didn’t post one single time in November. That’s correct and that’s because I was busy writing 50,000 words towards a novel. Continue reading →

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Why Is She Writing a Personal Finance Blog??

Posted on October 28, 2019 by Holly

I know that’s what you’re thinking!! And it’s okay…it’s a legit question. I do have an accounting degree but I am not a finance professional or offering financial advice in any professional capacity. (That’s my disclaimer in case you missed it!)

Current situation:

45 years old, single (widowed actually), two kids in college, still paying off my own student loans, and too much credit card debt.

Wait, wait, wait, don’t give up on me and click on Dave Ramsey or some other expert that has their financial stuff all figured out. It’s true, if you’re looking for someone that can give you financial advice on what to do with your millions of dollars just sitting around, then you’ve stumbled on the wrong site (but hey, we can still be friends!) Continue reading →

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Take It or Leave It and Advice I Agree With

Posted on October 17, 2019 by Holly

 

There are a lot of personal finance experts out there. Some are popular and some are not. I’m a definite money nerd, I love to read anything regarding personal finance. As with most things in life though I rarely agree with anything or anyone 100 percent. I prefer to evaluate the “experts” stance and decide for myself what knowledge or advice they offer that will apply to my situation. Below are some of the more popular personal finance gurus and the advice they offer that I believe in. Continue reading →

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Stop With The Excuses!

Posted on September 19, 2019 by Holly

 

lady on computer wasting time

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

I’ve been lazy lately. Okay, maybe not lazy. I go to work every day, I also try to always be available when friends and family need me for something, and I keep my son’s cat alive while he’s away at school. Guess what I’ve not been doing? I’ve not been working on what’s important to me, which is my writing.

I’ve got plenty of excuses though…

Continue reading →

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My Spending Fast Isn’t As Cool As Anna’s…

Posted on August 26, 2019 by Holly

cat with the Debt Free Living book

It’s been an expensive few weeks in our household. And when I say expensive, I mean we’re about to hemorrhage some money. Let me just give you the highlights. Continue reading →

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4 Tips for Dealing with a Chronic Illness

Posted on July 22, 2019 by Holly

Diabetes supplies

September 22, 2009 is the day our world changed drastically. My oldest son, Michael, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes that day. It was two days before his 13th birthday and we had taken him to the doctor with a stomach ache.

Our doctor originally diagnosed him with a virus but when I casually mentioned how thirsty he’d been lately she decided to draw some blood. Ten minutes later she walked back into the office, told us to pack a bag and head to our local children’s hospital because his blood sugars were over 500. We were lucky, children often end up in the intensive care unit before they are properly diagnosed. We were in the hospital a day and a half before they sent us home to our new lifestyle. Continue reading →

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I’m Debt-free!

Posted on June 22, 2019 by Holly

 

credit card

DEBT-FREE!!! No…not really…not even close!!

Sorry to fool you but you got excited there for a minute didn’t you? I did and I knew it wasn’t true. Achieving debt-free status is a high priority on my life to-do list. I’ll be honest though, it’s not nearly as easy getting out of debt as it is getting into it. In an effort to combat Frugal Fatigue, I like to daydream/plot out what life will look like once I am debt free.

My debt is comprised of the following items: credit cards, student loans, car loan, and mortgage. Part of this debt is stupidness on my part like buying too much house my first time out, subsidizing vacations with credit cards, etc. Some of the debt is medical debt because diabetes is a stupid, crazy-expensive disease. And some of the debt is just a result of years of a modest income not stretching far enough in the land of single-parenthood despite my best attempts at living a frugal life. I’m ready to dump this debt once and for all though. Continue reading →

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Listen Up Graduates!

Posted on June 12, 2019 by Holly

Photo by Tai’s Captures on Unsplash

It’s that time of year… graduation announcements are probably flooding your mailbox like they are mine. I have one son about to embark on his senior year of college and another starting his junior year. It’s hard to believe in two short years they should both be finished with their schooling (hope I’m not jinxing them!) and out in the real world. As someone that has been in the real world for quite awhile now and has made loads of mistakes, I thought this was a prime time to compile a list of best practices for my boys and anyone else that might be graduating to the real world. Continue reading →

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