Mother's Day Gift Guide

For those who may not be aware – Mother’s Day is this weekend!  I know, it’s a bit last minute to be thinking of gifts.  However, I can remember on more than one occasion growing up, I opened a note that stated a particular present “didn’t come in time”.  It never occurred to me until much later, that it was likely because it “wasn’t ordered in time”.  The point is, I didn’t really care, and my guess is neither will your Mom (or wife if you’re doing the shopping for your little kiddos) if she receives any of these gifts… eventually.  Here’s what I’ve got my eye on.  If I hadn’t already bought my own gift, that is 😉

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A heartfelt or handmade card with an IOU tucked inside, and maybe a gift card to her favorite store, spa, or coffee shop – I’m tellin’ ya, she won’t even be mad you waited til the last minute! 

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms, and sending some extra love to all the hopeful Moms and those whose Moms are celebrating in Heaven.  Bless you all! 

Links

The Budgeting App You Need Right Now

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Budget.  There’s a dirty word.  Do you use one?  Do you need one?  How do you know?  The concept of a budget is probably familiar to most people.  But the practical application of using one day to day, maybe not so much.  Even with a finance background, I wasn’t always super consistent with our family budget. 

I’ve read Dave Ramsey before, and implemented the cash envelope system in the past but it just didn’t stick.  I started using a budgeting app a couple years ago, but it wasn’t until about 6 months ago, after switching apps, that I saw a monumental shift in our budgeting and finances.  I noticed a big difference right away, but wanted to give it a good run before I shared (hence this post).  Y’all know I’m not cool enough to have an official sponsorship (although if anyone’s reading, hit me up), I just really love this app! 

Now talking about finances can be a little bit sticky, shall we say.  Personal finances are, well, personal, and it’s really no one’s business but your own what you do with your money – legalities excluded 😉  Budgets are super specific and dependent on many factors – unique to everyone (or family).  So I’m not going to go into depth about how much I budget for different categories each month, because what works for my young family of 6 likely won’t work for you.  After all, I used to be young and cool and I grocery shopped once a month and went to the movies every week. 

There’s many different ways people think of “budgeting”.  Maybe you know your discretionary income (what’s left over after your necessary expenses) and you give yourself freedom with that.  Or maybe you budget on paper at the beginning of the year and tuck it away in a drawer.  Maybe you have a very detailed excel spreadsheet.  Maybe you just keep an eye on your bank balance and make sure it hovers around a certain amount.  Maybe you don’t think you need a budget, because you always have enough, or money is of little issue.  By all means, if what you’re doing is working for you, then stop reading.  But I would first ask – do you know where your money goes?  Like, all of it?  Do you have goals that never seem to get funded?  Are you surprised by one-off (non-monthly) bills?  Do you throw Christmas on a credit card and worry about it later? 

Here’s another way a budget can be useful.  Have you accidentally mentally spent money multiple times?  Here’s what I mean.  Say you got some money for your birthday and deposit it in your bank account.  Yay!  You’re out shopping and find a purse you like – cool, I just got birthday money.  Then a week later you want a new watch, and hey, I have money from my birthday.  And then you find some great earrings on sale you don’t need, but really want – oh that’s all right, I had birthday money.  Whoops.  That $100 in birthday money ran out halfway through the watch.  Or maybe money from a tax refund justified a weekend getaway and some appliance upgrades.  When in reality, the refund actually only covered the cost of a new dishwasher or the airline ticket.

I have a Masters in Accounting and honestly cannot recall ever touching on personal budgeting in any formal manner in my education.  Which means, give yourself some grace.  If you have no idea what you’re doing, or are in over your head, don’t beat yourself up - just start.   

Now that you have a bit of background, I’ll spill the tea.  The app is called YNAB (You Need A Budget).  There’s a great mobile app, but it’s also web-based and works on your PC (with some added features/functionality).  There are a few things that set it apart, in my mind, both in principle and functionality.  I’m not intending to bash other applications, but I think it’s important to make a couple distinctions.  I used Mint in the past (and by use, I mean I had an account and got overwhelmed and ignored it), and I personally know some who use it currently.  I believe it does have its advantages, and it can be used in conjunction with YNAB as well.  Mint can give you a great overall picture of your finances; however, it looks backwards.  It shows you where your money went and where it all sits.  Budgeting, in contrast, should look forward: where should your money go? 

That brings me to the next major mindset hurdle when it comes to YNAB.  Budgeting often uses projections.  How much money WILL you have, and what bills or expenses will you need to pay?  YNAB functions as a zero-based budget.  This means you budget EACH and EVERY dollar you have RIGHT NOW.  It may sound confusing, but this is actually the magic of YNAB.    

The Rules

I will quickly highlight the 4 rules of YNAB and the way a few key features work, and you can decide for yourself if you want to give it a try.   Of course, you can find further explanation of these steps online.

1.       Give every dollar a job.  As I mentioned, this is MAGIC.  It seems silly, really, but it’s incredibly easy to spend money you think you have, when in reality, it’s needed for something else.  This rule evokes a scarcity mentality - you could have hundreds or thousands of dollars available, but because you know what “job” they’re supposed to perform, you actually don’t have the money for those new shoes, for example.  If you’re familiar with Dave Ramsey – your budget categories act like envelopes.

2.       Embrace your true expenses.  This is where I think people get the most off-track with their budgeting.  They will consider only their monthly bills and day to day expenses.  All is well until you’re hit with a bi-annual car insurance bill, or need extensive work on your car.  This, often times, is where you use your savings, or put it on a credit card.  The savings part is not quite as problematic, if that’s what you intended your savings for.  If that savings was intended as a mere safety net buffer however, then you may have a problem.

3.       Roll with the punches.  This rule gives you flexibility.  Things come up or your priorities change and you need to move money around – that’s ok!  This rule gives you permission to change your mind, and gives you the flexibility to make your budget work for you – always.

4.       Age your money.  This is the concept of having the money you need before you need it.  Some of this happens by saving for those true expenses.  For the monthly expenses, this happens when you have enough money to pay all of this month’s bills (or more) before you receive any income for the month.

Once you’re set up, transactions can be entered manually, or linked to your bank accounts.  Each transaction will deduct from money available in that category, and you are prompted to cover any overspending that may arise.

Credit Cards

Most people I know have at least one.  Some have great rewards, and I know some people put many household expenses on them to take advantage of rewards programs.  If this works for you, great.  But what happens if you have a mental “budget” that tells you to keep $200 in your checking account.  At the end of the month you’ve got $300, but neglected to account for the $400 in bill payments that auto-pays on your credit card.  Then you have a problem, because you’ve not only overspent your mental budget, but in this example you also can’t pay that credit card bill.  Overspending on credit cards is all too easy, but I think most people would agree accumulated credit card debt is not ideal.

The way YNAB deals with credit cards can be confusing for some but it is ESSENTIAL if you use them at all.  Your money is budgeted to your individual categories (grocery, mortgage, utilities, entertainment, etc).  When you pay for something, you choose the appropriate category and payment method.  When that payment method is set up as a credit card, YNAB automatically deducts the money from the category and adds it to your credit card line item. This shows as a positive amount available in your budget to pay for the charge when your credit card bill becomes due.  This keeps you from accumulating (more) debt on your credit card.  You can also set goals to pay off any accumulated balances on your card(s), and you would allocate that amount directly to the card when you have income to do so. 

Key Notes and Getting Started

YNAB does not care what account your money is in.  It can be in checking, savings, tucked under your mattress, or on a gift card.  You allocate ALL those dollars.  However, you can choose which accounts you want “on budget” by simply leaving them off entirely, or setting them up as a tracking account.  For example, I have an HSA account for medical expenses that is neither tracked nor on budget in YNAB.  This can be confusing for new users, particularly with savings accounts.  Just because it’s in your “savings” account, does not mean you have to categorize that to a savings category, although you could if you choose.  Do whatever makes sense to you, in your mind.

All you’ll need to do is set up an account either through the app or at the website here.  Add your accounts and create categories (there is a base set there, but you can modify as you’d like).  Be sure to think of all types of expenses, but you can always modify later (I’ve added many categories as I went!).  Use your beginning account balances to fund your bills and expenses that must be paid before you are paid next, before moving on and funding other categories. 

As I mentioned, I believe this program is beneficial for everyone, no matter your level of income.  If your expense categories are funded for the month, you can allocate that money to longer term savings goals (vacations, loan payoffs, new car, etc), or even budget into future month’s expenses. And at the very least, it keeps you from mentally spending your money more than once :)

Disclaimer: there is a bit of a learning curve to the software.  They offer a free 34 day trial, and Nick True videos on YouTube are very helpful. 

Personal disclaimer: I am not an expert by any means – I simply wanted to share my experience in hopes that it may help some of you.

I hope you’ve found this helpful in some way, and be sure to let me know if you decide to give it a try!  If you’re interested in a follow-up post on categories or any other information, let me know!

 

Thanksgiving Brunch

Happy Thanksgiving y’all!

This year we hosted a low-key brunch for my parents. I may have started a small fire in the toaster oven but overall it was a success! The food was almost as good as the company, so I thought I’d share my menu and some helpful tips here because, why not?!

I decided to try a spread composed of all new recipes, with one small exception, so I tasked my mom with bringing sticky buns in case nothing else turned out. I also cooked one dish in her oven so I didn’t have to keep anything warm for an extended period. Trying new recipes for special occasions or company can be risky, but if it doesn’t turn out, just blame the recipe!

A few days ago, I created the menu (thank you, Pinterest). Traditional Thanksgiving dishes don’t exactly fit a brunch gathering, but I found a few that seemed festive and worth a try. Here’s a helpful tip: I wrote all the recipes down on several pieces of notebook paper. This saved me a lot of time in the long run, only having one place I needed to reference. I hate reading recipes from my phone with the constant lock/unlock, and hoping reopening my Pinterest app brings me back to the same place! This also gave me one central place to create my shopping list.

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The Menu

Cranberry Orange Holiday Punch
Cranberry Relish Log Roll
Spiced Hot Fruit Bake
Sausage Stuffing Muffins
Apple Cheese Danish
Pecan Pie French Toast
Maple Bacon Sweet Potato Hash

Day Ahead Prep

Since I was planning on serving brunch at 10am, I knew I was going to have to do some work the day before so I didn’t have to start cooking at dawn.
In case you’re planning to try out any recipes on a time crunch, here’s what I prepped yesterday:

Cranberry Relish Log Roll: make everything ahead to chill (separately) overnight

Sausage Stuffing Muffins: cook sausage, shred cheese (I used 1 block instead of buying pre-shredded cheese)

French Toast: soak bread in milk mixture overnight

Sweet Potato Hash: cut up sweet potatoes, cook bacon

They couldn’t wait to dig in!

They couldn’t wait to dig in!

Overall the menu turned out great! The muffins were definitely a crowd favorite, and most closely mimicked a traditional thanksgiving dish. The hash came in a close second. The apple and cheese danishes had a distinct unintentional smoky taste, but were still edible. And we didn’t even have to call the fire department, so I call that a success.

Every thanksgiving, I find myself reflecting and thankful for many great blessings in my life. Today I am especially thankful for my family, my friends, my faith, the sink full of dishes, and that I finally have free reign to burn my Christmas candle. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving spending time with those that matter most.

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Holiday Home Tour - Fa la la Farmhouse

I love decorating.  Thanks to Pinterest and self-taught design via HGTV, I’ve gotten much better than I used to be.  My husband used to say I had great taste, but trouble putting things together.  And he wasn’t wrong.  While I love decorating, I don’t really change up the look in our home very often.  But I do love to decorate for Christmas.  There’s something magical about the holiday season, and it’s my favorite time of year.  The decorations start going up the day after Thanksgiving (since my husband is a scrooge and refuses to decorate until after his favorite holiday), and stay up until the new year. 

This year marks the 4th Christmas in our house, and the decorations have changed only slightly the past three years.  Our living room fireplace and built-ins anchor our downstairs living space and allow for a large display of smaller items.  I really love my built-ins, but sometimes they can get a little too cluttered and start to look like Christmas spirit exploded in chaos.  But we’re used to chaos around here, so we roll with it.  I do have an idea to streamline the décor in a big way next year though!  

holiday living room built ins

I love decorating with items that remind me of my childhood, or with actual childhood items as well.  Growing up, there was a house down the road that had my favorite holiday decoration.  It wasn’t anything fancy, the small porch sported a clothesline of Santa’s long john pajamas.  For some reason, I just loved this house growing up.  Coincidentally, it’s still just down the road from where we live now, and, Santa still lives there!  I smile every time I drive by.  While not nearly as cute, I do love my little Santa clothesline I hung above the mantel this year.  We have a tiny Santa that lives here, apparently.

holiday Santa's clothesline mantel
holiday mantel

For years, we’ve had an artificial Christmas tree, which we’ve adorned with ornaments matching a traditional color scheme and have added ornaments our kids have received throughout the years.  However, this year, we decided to get a second, real Christmas tree.  I had no idea how happy this would make me!  I was smiling like a kid on Christmas morning when we put it up in our front entryway.  We decided to make this tree our vintage Christmas tree – we decorated it with the ornaments from Jon and my childhood, that have for the most part remained untouched the last 10 years.  In the spirit of a throwback tree, we opted for the large, colorful bulbs to top off the vintage feel.  Which, in case you’re wondering, are ceramic and very fragile.  I shattered a couple bulbs before we were even able to water the dang tree.  Jon and I decorated our vintage tree one night after the kids went to bed.   After he got over the initial complaints of having to decorate, we had a fun time unwrapping our old ornaments and reminiscing.  A cheap, nostalgia-filled date night in. 

vintage Christmas tree

The window wreaths are another new addition this year.  I visited a friend’s house shortly after Thanksgiving and she had wreaths hanging in her dining room.  I had been thinking of adding some to the inside of my house and seeing hers encouraged me to come home and create my own.  I decided to hang them offsetting one another because it reminded me of jingle bells.  I love them so much, I may just leave them up all winter long. 

holiday window wreath

The Christmas village is another throwback from my childhood.  My mom actually gifted hers to me a few years ago, and I love to set it up in our formal dining room.  I can remember setting it up with my mom when I was younger, and, although some lights have since gone out in the town square, those little people haven’t aged a bit.

Christmas village

I can only hope our family holiday traditions create lasting memories for our children.  Someday maybe they’ll place the same ornaments on a vintage tree and remember our tradition of picking out a new one each year when they visit Santa.  Or maybe they’ll remember decorating the tree as a family, hiding the Santa Dad hates in plain sight, and looking for Sparkle the Elf each morning.  And here’s to hoping they’ll forget the time mom yelled an “adult” word when she shattered the new Christmas lights.  To us, the Christmas season is one of celebrating the birth of Jesus, and spending time with family.  It’s not so much about the gifts around the tree, as much as the memories made there, am I right? 

May you have a very happy holiday that brings warmth and joy to you and yours.

The Newlywed Essentials Library

This year my husband and I celebrated 10 years of marriage.  And we celebrated, in part, by attending SIX weddings.  That’s a LOT of weddings in a year!  I actually love to attend weddings.  It’s a fun, usually kid-free, date night out with my husband.  There’s dinner, dancing, drinks, and of course, cake.   

With that many weddings though, I wanted to come up with a unique gift.  And I’ll be honest, I love gift-giving – it’s one of my favorite things. I love picking out the perfect gift, something I’d love to receive myself.  While all gifts are appreciated, the unique or special ones are usually what you remember: I can tell you exactly what glasses my best friend gave me at my wedding, and every time my mother-in-law uses a somewhat vintage-looking kitchen gadget, it’s sure to be a gift she received at her wedding.  The sentiment means it usually sticks around for quite a while.

I scoured Pinterest looking for unique ideas and came across the idea for an anniversary book from The Dating Divas.  Each year, on their anniversary, the couple takes a photo for the anniversary book.  It’s a cute little keepsake album.  I loved the idea and found a cute little scrapbook type album that is perfect for these special pictures.  The anniversary book inspired me to create an entire gift basket out of books -what I call The Newlywed Essentials Library.

I started thinking about books that would be helpful for newly married couples.  Library essentials, if you will:

1.       A book on money management.  One of the most important things in a marriage, and life in general, is money management.  I personally love Dave Ramsey’s book The Total Money Makeover, so this was an easy choice.

2.       A devotional.  Because marriages are based on faith, I searched Amazon for a couples devotional.  I also added one to my cart for myself!

3.       A cookbook – because isn’t the key to everyone’s heart really through their stomach?  I chose Magnolia Table since it was the most recent one I purchased for myself, and I thought the couples I was purchasing it for would love it.

4.       Keepsake anniversary album.

Once you have your essentials together, all that’s left is the pretty packaging.  Please tell me I’m not the only one who hates to just toss things in a gift bag?  It’s WAY more fun in a basket.  Or a pretty storage bin.  Something that is functional and can be used as décor in the couple’s home.  For this basket, I also added bookends, perfect to display their new collection!

 

Newlywed Library Gift Idea
Newlywed Essentials Gift
Newlywed Library Essentials Gift Set

Command Center To Avoid Total Chaos

Anyone else out there have a hard time managing family schedules and to-dos?  It’s hard enough for me to figure out whether my husband is going to be home for dinner, let alone when the kids need to return their library book.  In fact, the reason we even have public library cards is because of a missed library day when I forgot to put it in my young-fiver’s backpack.  Managing one schedule can be challenging, let alone a spouse and a couple of kids in the mix.  If I had a wall calendar to encompass EVERYTHING it would probably have to be life-size.  Ya feel me?

I’ll admit it - I’m a pencil and paper type person.  I just can’t wrap my mind around using a calendar on my phone to track appointments and schedules.  A reminder to get my kids off the bus though?  That’s what phones (or apple watches!) are for.  For my own personal appointments, the kids appointments, notes on my husband’s work travel, daily to-do’s and general planning, I have an awesome paper planner I use.  My husband still wishes I would sync calendars, and to be fair, I’ve downloaded a few apps to do just that.  But I just can’t.  So, he’s settled for our own method for “syncing” our schedules: we sit at his computer going over his calendar, which I write into my planner.  Now that’s quality time!

My planner works great for most everything.  But the kids’ school schedules and stuff can easily get out of hand.  And let’s be honest, when I’m getting 4 kids ready for the day in the morning, opening my planner is not at the forefront of my mind.  What I can do?  Glance at the command center on our way out the door.  It’s not super-pretty, but it’s functional.  Here, on the chalkboard, I have a list of what’s typically needed each day at school.  For example, Tuesdays my 2nd grader has homework due, and Fridays they need popcorn money.  So, as we’re dashing out the door with our coats and backpacks, juggling my morning coffee and toddler’s hand, I can quickly glance and be sure we’re not forgetting anything super important. 

For those items that are super-important, each school age child also has a clipboard.  Here’s where I keep homework and permission slips and the like that need to go back to school.  Now the trick here is to get your kids to actually clean out their backpacks.  I once emailed the Principal because I was upset I wasn’t notified about a long-term sub in my child’s classroom.  Only to find (literally the next day), the envelope containing the letter was crumpled at the bottom of my son’s backpack (insert foot in mouth!).  Before the clipboards, I used a hanging bin.  While admittedly better than the bottom of the backpack, I found when I can’t see it, I typically forget it.   Next thing you know, you’re digging through 30 days worth of “important” papers to find the permission slip you’re pretty sure was due yesterday. Above that, you’ll notice our “family” calendar.  Here’s where I write down things that affect everyone, so my husband can quickly see if we’re busy this weekend.  Of course, it would require him to look at it.  Maybe if I take a picture and send it to him, he can somehow sync it to his calendar… there’s got to be an app for that! 

If you’re finding your kids’ school stuff is unmanageable, you’re always forgetting to return a library book, or all those papers are cluttering your counter, maybe something I’ve shared will help simplify or reduce your stress before morning drop-off.  If you have a system you love or a tip I didn’t share, drop it in the comments below!

Command Center Schedule Board
Command Center