If you’ve followed me for long, you know that I’m a quality girl. I love getting the best quality at the best price. Because of this, there are very few things that I purchase off-brands for. So, how can I do this and still come in under budget?
By getting a lot of the things my family uses for free or eradicating them from our home all together.
15 things I don’t spend money on…
Just as my rule is, I don’t WANT to pay retail for the items I buy, such is the same with free stuff. Some things I just don’t WANT to pay for. It’s a spending habit I’m so glad I implemented. I find that by doing this, my budget and income is opened up on a much larger scale, and I’m able to focus on buying the things that ARE really important to me and ignore the unnecessary things.
1) Kids Clothes
I have found ways of going around paying for kids clothes. Read more on my tips to get free kids clothes here: How to Get Kids Clothes Free
2) Movies and Movie Rentals
Since I rarely watch movies, I don’t buy them. If the kids want a movie, usually they get it for Christmas or birthdays or we rent them online at places like Amazon Prime Video or YouTube. Another trick is not to PAY for movie rentals (for example, I already have Amazon Prime for my business and so the video section is free for me). It makes a lot more sense buying the movie to me for $5-$10 on eBay than to rent it for nearly that same amount, and the gas it takes to pick up the rental and to return it.
3) Household Cleaners
Between the benefits of Grove Collaborative, Norwex, and essential oils, I never have to pay for cleaning supplies.
For every friend that signs up with Grove Collaborative, you get $10 and they get $10. It’s a win win! The products Grove sells are amazing. Things like pull ups, cleaning supplies, candles, lip balm, trash bags, and so on, are products that I never have to pay for thanks to this company.
Since I have a few Norwex cloths that were given to me by a friend, I don’t really need a whole lot of cleaning supplies to begin with. I have the Envirocloth and I especially love the polishing cloth that does windows. It makes things sparkly (like my stainless steel appliances)! You buy the rags one time and can wash them all you want. Never have to replace them, so long term, saves money.
With the essential oils, I really only use two homemade cleaners and they do most of my cleaning.
4) Video Games
We just don’t play them. When we do play games, they are board games. My favorite at the moment is Sorry, though I’m telling you, I lose every time! Grrr. Other good media choices for us are free apps on apple devices.
5) Many Office Supplies
Staples has so many Free After Rebate (FAR) items. We are usually able to stock up on free office supplies like pencils, pens, scotch tape, printer/copy paper, and all those types of little office supplies. It’s easy. Get items you use everyday for FREE at Staples.
6) Virus Protection for My Electronic Devices
Every year, there are FAR rebates that I use and get my computers protected for free. I use Slickdeals to find AH-mazing deals all year round! Simply click Forums, then Hot Deals.
7) Dry cleaners
I do not purchase clothes that need to be maintained at the dry cleaners, although I do have one jacket as such. I use Dryel on it.
Bonus Tip:
Another idea is when you get free beauty samples etc from company’s, you could make a care basket and donate to homeless shelters or give as gifts to your friends for birthdays, etc. or even sell them. I know people who make the baskets & keep for overnight guests when they’re family is traveling and I’ve donated to homeless shelters. When you’re getting as many things as you can for free, then we, save our money and can then AFFORD the things we WANT. 🙂
8) Furniture
I got my dining set (pictured above) that includes the middle leaf and 4 chairs for free outside someone’s home. They had a free sign on it and while I was yard saleing, I stumbled upon it. There are also several other occasions where I get free furniture by reselling.
9) Salon Costs
Haircuts, mani, pedi’s. I’m a simple girl. I have found that doing these things myself gets me much better results, and I like my wages: free. See my article, “Save $160/year on Salon Costs.”
10) Some Herbs and Veggies
This year, we started a garden. My daughter was in control of pulling weeds before we started planting. We have Chives, Squash, Tomatoes, Yellow Onions, and a couple others. This helps keep our food bill down a little bit as we get the herbs and vegetables for free from our garden.
11) Homeschooling Material
With all the homeschooling material that is available online, there are really only a few occasions to actually pay for lessons, at least in the early years before your children hit junior high. If you’re looking for Christian material for your kids, check out all the Christian content in my shop here!
12) Kindle Books
There are SO many eBooks you can get FREE on Kindle. Even if you don’t have a Kindle, you can download the app to your computer here and read Kindle right on your PC!
13) Synthetic Medicines
Before I started using essential oils 5 years ago, I was on 4 daily medications. It was very much a domino effect for me. Thanks to my essential oils, I am on none. I do take vitamins and supplements, but again, through my essential oil company, those are free for me.
14) Doctors Visits
I won’t say that we never go to the doctor, but that it is a lot rarer now that we began using essential oils in our home. Maybe once a year for routine checkups. Whenever there is a need to seek medical advice, I have my handy Zyto Bio-Scanner that is amazingly accurate.
15) Energy Efficient Products
You’ll want to call your power company or get ahold of your local LIHEAP program, but every city has a program where the power company will come out to your home to make it more energy efficient or put on some sort of class to help teach people how to reduce their energy costs. At that class or at the walk-through when they come to your home, they completely hook you up with a ton of free energy efficient products and upgrades for your home to make it more energy efficient. These things can include CFL lightbulbs, electrical outlet plate covers, aerators for your sinks, shower timers, and many other things.
I’m always looking for tricks and tips to save money in my shopping budget, every dollar counts, especially when it comes to saving money on groceries. Not so much out of necessity, but more because I don’t like the idea of some fat cat millionaire having another expensive lunch on me! Let it be that I am wiser in keeping my hard earned money where it belongs…in my pocket! Are you ready to hear the one weird trick that saves me $125/m in groceries?
One Weird Trick Saves Me $125/m in Groceries
So, every month (or every other month, depending on how selfish I get 😛 ) our family likes to play a game called CHOPPED. Maybe you’ve heard of it. It’s a show on the Food Network, where the contestants take 4 mystery ingredients and try to make a meal out of it. The person who transformed the items the best, has the best presentation, and who’s food tastes the best WINS.
Usually in our pantry and fridge, there is a myriad of things that are left over, maybe things that I stocked up on when they were on sale, shelf stable things that I could use in a pinch, and so on.
One week out of the month, I forbid myself to go grocery shopping. I use only what is in the fridge, freezer, and pantry. No going to the store for anything! Not only does this save me a bit of gas, but it also saves me about $125-$200 on groceries without coupons! The kids and I love to get creative. Since they are still young and not old enough to cook, whoever comes up with the best IDEA wins. It’s a fun game with frugal living in mind, rather than a chore. And it gets rid of a lot of food that probably would have gone to waste if we didn’t do it!
I encourage you to try it. If you’re just starting out and you absolutely can’t do an entire week, start small. Try 3 or 4 days the first time and see how it works. I mean, don’t starve. Go to the store for pete’s sake, but if you have the food there, but just don’t WANT to do anything with it, that’s where I would encourage you.
Be sure to stock up on the things you absolutely need to be able to do this as well. For example, my kids have cereal every morning, so I know when I’m going to do this plan, I need to grab an extra milk jug to get us through. If there’s anything your family uses every day like that, be sure to have enough of that item, and supplement with all the other foods in your pantry and fridge.
Still aren’t motivated to try it? Think of it like this…If you do this once a month, every month for a year, you will have saved yourself, drumroll please…….$1,500-$2,400!
Do you know how many bills can be paid with those new-found funds!?!?!?!?! Simple tricks like this add up to HUGE savings throughout the year, and it’s how our family ‘beats the system.’ And if you’re looking for real life advice on how to get out of debt and become financially free, check out my new book here on Amazon!
Update:This post has become so popular, that the story was picked up by CBS and Rachael Ray! They asked me to be on the show. Check out my video here.
Want my recipes that were featured on Rachael Ray?
Chicken Pot Pie (as seen making on the show with things I already had in my pantry closet):
Ingredients:
1 can of corn and 1 can of string beans (I usually use 1/2 frozen bag of mixed veggies)
12.5 oz can of chicken (I usually use left over fresh chicken that I’ve diced and frozen to use later)
Add all ingredients to bowl, except for Bisquick and milk. Stir well and pour into a greased oblong Corningware dish. Make the biscuits according to the directions on the box of Bisquick and shape the biscuits into round circles. Place the biscuits on top of the mixture. Cover with aluminum foil (My favorite is Reynolds wrap) and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Uncover, add butter to the top of the biscuits (this will brown the tops of the biscuits and make the dish taste better) and continue baking for 15 minutes until biscuits are completely done.
One of THE biggest questions I get, day in and day out, is how I’m able to live well on so little. Getting household products for free is one of the many ways I’m able to live frugally! When I first started blogging, I was living on what the world calls poverty, making $18,000/year. Yet, people would come to my house and their jaws would drop. They’d see a glimpse of my life and they’d have a million and one questions about how I do it.
“How is it possible, that you are a single stay-at-home-mom and have all you have,” they’d ask. I’d chuckle. I figured everyone was doing it. I mean, doesn’t everyone have a savings account?
Doesn’t everyone have a home, a car, kids to feed?
I didn’t understand how my way of living was so different from everyone else’s.
But after so many people ask you what you’re doing, you start to realize that you’re NOT like everyone else. That living what I consider rich on $18,000 with two kids is NOT normal.
I started this blog, as emails to my friends. So, I didn’t have to keep telling the same story over and over and over. I could just point them to a link. “Go here and read all about it,” I’d say. “Oh, I have a post about that topic, here’s the link,” I’d tell them. I had no clue what was about to happen. I had no idea that God would use ME, your totally average girl, to do completely and utterly incredible things.
And, part of me knows that’s why He does. He gives me this life, so that I can share it with you!!!! He taught me how to save money.
Everything I do, everything I say, everything I am is ALL FOR YOU. To help you. To show you there’s a better way. To teach you that you DON’T have to make $60,000/year to barely scrape by. You can live in one of the most sought after subdivisions in your whole area, on $18k/year, and while, honestly, I do make more than that now, I HAVE rocked making so little for so long, that even that I have more now, nothing has changed. I’m still my cheap little self. 😊
I’ve been a homemaker for 10 years. But more than that, I’ve been able to make money online FROM home for around 9 years. It’s been my way of life for so long. The knowledge, the wisdom, the ideas and cleverness of things that I take for granted, someone else is PRAYING for.
Maybe you are feeling like there’s no hope of improving your financial situation, but I PROMISE YOU, if you get creative and start thinking DIFFERENTLY, you’ll get there.
One of my FAVORITE ways to save money is by not paying for any of my household products….ever, and I wanna show you exactly how I do it!
Imagine this box shows up at your door…
You open it and find all KINDS of cool products…
Best of all, you didn’t pay a penny for ANY of it! It’s 100% FREE!!!!
No shipping costs. No hidden fees. Just absolutely FREE AND they give you a free extra product just for ordering with them!
Listen! SAVING MONEY IS A WAY OF LIFE. It’s a principle. It’s a pattern. It’s what I do every single day with SEVERAL companies that allow me to have the things I want on the cheap.
But you have to be a little crafty, and I am. haha. So lemme teach you the secret tricks of one company I do this with.
I literally don’t pay for…
household goods
shampoo, conditioner, detangler
cleaning supplies
pull ups (when my son was in them)
candles
beauty supplies
hand soap or dish soap
plastic cutlery
some zipper bags
Borax
toothbrushes and toothpaste
facial tissue (cubes)
aluminum foil
kitchen garbage bags
some makeup
facial roller
cleaning cloths
You can also get these things free…
dryer sheets
laundry soap
straws
microgreens growing kits (so cool!)
personal hygiene products
diapers and baby wipes (SUCH a blessing for moms!)
vitamins
pet care
facial cleansers and skincare
exfoliants
perfumes
lip balm
masks (eye hydrogel masks too!)
nail polish
beauty brushes
A few of the fun brands you’ll get to purchase from (for free!)…
Burts Bees
Seventh Generation
Method
Mrs. Meyer’s
TERRA
Rooted Beauty
Tom’s of Maine
Acure
Kari Gran
Bulldog
Dr. Bronner’s
E-Cloth
Zarbee’s Naturals
The great part is you DON’T HAVE TO buy a certain amount every month of products you can’t afford.
This isn’t some program promising you that you’ll get rich.
This is an honest company where you can earn your free products simply by sharing their company name with your friends.
Of all the companies I do this same thing with to get my products free, this is my favorite because it’s the company that has the most integrity and has always treated me the best over the years!
Now, I have to tell you, that when I first came across their company, I was pretty sceptical. I mean, I am sceptical about EVERYTHING. I’m that practical girl who’s always looking out of the corner of her eye, thinking, “Yah, right!” I don’t wanna get scammed, you know!
After researching this company thoroughly, I believe I found a diamond in the rough, and I’m SO excited to share it with you.
I cannot even begin to express to you how cool this is.
Basically you become a customer of theirs.
Now, here’s the fun part…
You can choose your FREE gift set (the freebie always changes over time, so what you see may be different when you view this, but they always offer something really good!)
For this freebie, not only do you get the free gift set, but you also get a free Grove VIP trial (this gives you free shipping!)
Talk about cool!
Okay, so you get a free offer to join, right…but that’s not even the best part!!!
For EVERY SINGLE PERSON you refer to join with them, YOU EARN $10 credit!! So, let’s say, 5 people every month join from your link, you get $50 worth of their products ABSOLUTELY FREE. And the people you refer will receive a free gift set too!
And there’s NO limit!!!! You can earn as much as you want! Here’s my account for example:
You can see, at $2,030, this is not chump change, but I am a blogger so I probably make more than the average person. Either way, no matter how MUCH you make, it’s still an AH-MAZING way to get all your products free!
What I really love is that they are CONSTANTLY adding NEW products. I just logged in for this tutorial and they added a microgreens growing kit. I’ve been wanting to grow them on my window sill for EVER and this is seriously amazing, now I get it free! I love the products they add. It’s all a lot of fun and you can use the credits not ONLY in their household shop, but on their sister site, which is all makeup/skincare type products as well! In the same cart.
Order from BOTH sites and use one cart to maximize your cart total so that you get the extra freebie by ordering a higher amount. It always changes, but this time, it’s when you add $43.95.
p.s. this shampoo and conditioner is AMAZING!
There are a few companies that I go through that have this kind of system set up and I’m telling you, the money is FANtastic!
Imagine if you told just a few friends about this and BAM, you get your monthly household products for FREE! I like free stuff, don’t you?!
Now imagine if you had a blog. BOOM! You put up a link, you can get a lot of people to join (all autopilot!)
It’s really not that difficult. When you refer a friend, tell your friend they earn a cool gift set or credit (whatever the deal is at the time) for joining. You earn $10 in credit, they earn a cool thing too. Seriously, this is the coolest program ever! Are you seeing the possibilities?!?! The sky is literally the limit.
I’m pretty sure you already know 5 people who would want to get a free gift set and join. Your mom, your aunt, your cousin, your neighbor, your friends at church, the parents at school.
Chances are you already know hundred’s of people who would want to capitalize on this really cool offer. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO is tell them.
You could even put a Facebook post on your social media site, telling about the deal. You can do it in any way you want really!
What do you think? Do you want to start getting your household products for free? You really couldn’t ask for a better program.
You in???
Here’s how Grove Collaborative works
Step 1: Enter your email address in the box provided and click the green ‘Claim My Offer’ button.
Step 2: Next, you’ll see a list of the current free offers you can choose from. These are the current offers at the time of writing but they are subject to change…
Click on the free offer you’d like and then click the green ‘Claim My Free Offer’ button.
Step 3: Next is the fun step: customizing your basket! Grove Collaborative populates your cart with your free offer and community favorite items, but you can add or remove as many products as you would like.
Step 4: Once you have your basket set, click the blue ‘Continue to Checkout’ button. You’ll need to be at a final amount of $29 or more because the minimum for all orders is $29. I always just order in batches, which is a lot more convenient anyway, so it sucks up less of my time! 🙂
Step 5: Enter in your account, shipping details and payment information, then click the green ‘Place Order’ button. Nice and simple! 🙂
Instead of going to the store or worrying about remembering to pick up this or that when you’re there, you just have the products shipped to your door.
Just like Amazon’s Subscribe and Save, you’ll get the products shipped out to you according to your schedule.Grove Collaborative will email you 7 days before your shipment goes out, so you’re never stuck with something you don’t want. When I get the email, sometimes I cancel the order or just schedule it later. I usually place an order every 2-3 months. It’s not something that will suck up a lot of your time!
Don’t want it shipped at a certain time?
NO PROBLEM.
Simply change the date as many times as you want to whenever you want. It’s full customizable. Delete something, add something. Change the order completely. You’re not bound to order the same things at all, but having a schedule where things are shipped out, can make things SOO much easier, especially if you are getting the products for free anyway! 🙂
Grove Collaborative is VERY conscientious of sending eco products. Products that you can feel good about buying and that help (not hurt) the environment. The products are always quality, so you know exactly what you’re getting. I love that they have a lot of great brands like Burt’s Bees, Seventh Generation, Method, and more!
You will love them. It’s seriously my favorite company to order from! ❤️
You can get just about everything you purchase right now for free, if you know a few handy tricks. 💯 Here’s how I get my kids clothes (and my clothes too!) absolutely free! 🙌
I’ve written a few blog posts about how to live on a certain amount of money over the years:
And the number one question I get on those posts is how much would it cost to live on today?
Totally fair question!
Even after severe inflation over the last few years, in 2025, you can live on as little as about $1,200/month, which is $15k/year! 💯
Wanna know how? Lemme tell you all my secrets and tricks and show you a couple real options on how to live on $15k/year in 2025…
How to Live on $15k/year in 2025
In our culture right now, there’s so much suffering going on. So many people are struggling. Incomes went down after COVID and inflation hit HARD. Groceries are about double the amount they used to be pre-COVID and it stinks.
With incomes going down (or staying the same, at best), not up, so many people are forced to live in dire situations and are struggling severely.
My heart truly goes out to you if you’re struggling. I know how hard it can be. How you’re in survival mode for years and it can become such a daunting thing to deal with. It makes you want to give up, it can lead to bitterness, and collectively, much of society has believed that God has left or abandoned us. He’s just no longer there.
That’s a lie from the enemy! God is absolutely there and I can prove it!
Hebrews 13:5 and Deuteronomy 31:6 both say very clearly that God will never leave us or forsake us. Never means never. But if you want further proof of it, take a look at Malachi 3:6.
God never changes. If you felt He was with you before, He is still there. He hasn’t left.
“So why does it feel like He has left then?” someone might ask.
First, we cannot base truth off of our emotions. Emotions change with the wind, especially if you’re female. Our hormones can sometimes make our moods and emotions all over the map, sometimes all in one day! 😬
So what separates us from God?
Isaiah 59:2 tells us that our sin separates us from God. He hides his face from us, He does not hear our prayers (James 5:16). This does not mean every time we commit a sin or are acting in an unrighteous way He leaves, but it does mean, if there is unrepentant, habitual sin, He will hide from us.
We need to be right with God, then He will not hide from us, and we can not only be reconciled to Him, but also live a happy and fulfilled life as we seek to put Him first in all that we do (Matthew 6:33).
If you’re not in sin and you’re right with God, you can be sure that He is there, leading and guiding you, ordering and directing your steps (Psalm 37:23).
Whether you’re in habitual sin or not, you’re right there in the palm of His hand. He loves you so very much! ❤️
And if you’re crying out to Him because you’re scared or not sure what to do, you can be assured, He’s even closer to you in those moments (Psalm 34:18).
Either way, He didn’t leave. He’s right there with you, walking with you, wanting to help (Jeremiah 29:11)!
How does He show you He’s there?
Maybe you’ve prayed, asking Him for help, and He’s bringing you to this post sovereignly, knowing this post will help you in some way! I truly hope it does. 🤗❤️
So, let’s get started!!
The specific amount that you live on may differ from these options below, however, the point of this post is to help you to do as many things that you were not previously aware of, in order to get your living expenses down further, all while providing you with NEW resources that will help you save massive amounts of money! This will give you more options. Go through and pick and choose which options and ideas will best fit for your family in particular.
To live on $15k/year, your exact bills can look like one of these two options…
Option 1: Low-Income Apartments
Rent: $593
Gas: $30
Power: $75
Water/Sewer/Garbage: paid by apartments
Car insurance: $108
Internet: $55
Phone (iPhone): $35
Groceries: $300
Total living expenses: $1,196/month
Rent: It really depends on where you live as to the exact prices, but if you need to move half-way across the world in order to have a good life and live beneath your means, it may mean doing that for a little while until you’re in a better place financially. At Crestview Commons in Klamath Falls, OR, you can get a one-bedroom apartment for $593, a two-bedroom apartment for $798, and a three-bedroom apartment for $914 as of 2025. They are low-income apts but they are nice. The deposits are the same as the rent and each apartment has a washer and dryer within the unit itself (total score) and a patio/deck with ample outdoor storage space (I used that closet to store resell items back when I was reselling physical items). The apartments include water, sewer, and garbage. There’s two garbage stations through out the apartments, plenty of space for your needs.
There’s also some options on Realtor.com in Portland, OR for $600+ rent for one-bedrooms. I’m not sure if they are in safe neighborhoods though, as I’ve never lived in that city before.
Car insurance: My car insurance is seriously high right now and I have it on my to-do list this month to call around and see if I can get it lower, but that’s what I pay right now. Hopefully yours is cheaper! 😊
Internet: Internet is $55/month in my area. If you don’t have a modem, that is an additional $17/month. What I do is ask the phone/internet company what exact models of the modems they use are and then purchase them cheaper online and buy them outright, so I’m not paying their exorbitant fees to buy the modem and I’m not stuck with a monthly leasing term on that either.
Power: Be sure you go through my free training on how to reduce your power bill. I learned directly through the power company themselves, so it’s a lot of information that is relevant and works the best!
No debt: The first thing you might notice is that I don’t have any debt. This is true. I’ve been very blessed in all my single years, to not have any debts to pay. I’ve worked extremely hard to live on ONLY what I bring in and not a penny more. If I didn’t have the money, I didn’t buy it. And being extremely frugal, I’m good at getting all that I want on a very tight income.
Car: The next thing you might notice is that I don’t have a car payment. My car is paid for, I don’t have a loan on it.
Satellite TV: I don’t personally have satellite TV. There’s a boatload of options to watch TV for FREE online nowadays…
YouTube videos (you can watch just about anything here, but they do have a free movie section too!)
*They all have bad options on them (scantily dressed women movies), so when you’re looking for movies to watch, be sure your husband and your kids are not in the room. Then just bookmark the pages of the movies, so you can watch later with them. I gave some links to cut through some of that and get you started right away! 🥰
Groceries: I go through Instacart for groceries and my bill is about $300/month (you can learn how to get your groceries FREE here), but it might be more for your family and it might be cheaper for you if you don’t go through them and you’re single like me. If you qualify and you need it, you can apply for Food Stamps and WIC to help cushion the blow of food also. There’s nothing wrong with being on assistance when you need it. Just don’t take advantage of the system and get off as soon as you can. 😊
Roommate: For this option, you don’t have a roommate, it’s your own apartment!
Gas: Gas is pretty cheap for me, because I don’t really go anywhere at this point (everything is delivered to me and I get cheaper prices online than in stores). I work from home on this blog and in my faith-based printables shop, so I’m not running around a lot. I homeschooled my kids when they were home, so didn’t have to take them to school every day. Whenever I have to run errands (or go to church, etc.) I plan trips where I do all the errands in the vicinity at the same time.
Option 2: Furnished Rentals
Rent: $700
Gas: $30
Power: paid by rental
Water/Sewer/Garbage: paid by rental
Car insurance: $108
Internet: paid by rental
Phone (iPhone): $35
Groceries: $300
Total living expenses: $1,173/month
Rent: It really depends on where you live as to the exact prices you see, but even if you have to move to another city or state while you’re in financial despair, it may be worth it until you can afford more. Furnished Finder is an AH-mazing resource wherever you’re at in your journey though, especially if you’re single. Each place will vary in cost and deposit. Some will have cleaning fees or application fees on them, which you do not get back. This is considered temporary shelter and you can stay anywhere from one month to years, depending on your particular landlord and what you work out with them. In the Furnished Finder I’m living in currently, I’ve been here a little over 3 months and don’t have any plans to move in the next three months still.
The neighborhood is super quiet so I can get my work done and the landlord is amazing! There’s security cameras all over the property and I have a full-size fridge and dishwasher in the unit. There’s no stove, but I do have an induction burner hot plate (which works way better than I thought it would!) and access to the washer/dryer anytime I want. It’s comfortable and everything in the place is high quality.
This is a REALLY great site to find something, because it’s cheaper than a motel and you can literally travel the world, travel to the ocean, etc. living in different places you find off that site! The site is originally intended for traveling nurses, but anyone can rent a place through them (they usually ask what you do though).
If you need cheaper than $700/month, there’s an option in Starkville, Mississippi for only $539/month and it looks nice. The cheapest states to find something are: Mississippi, Oklahoma, Kansas, and West Virginia. Other states that are lower than the national average are: Missouri, Iowa, Tennessee, and Nebraska.
Your stay may not be as nice if you go through someone without at least 1 review, if they’ve been on Furnished Finder for at least a year. If they have like 0 reviews and have been on there for 3 years, I’d personally pass, just to be safe. One Furnished Finder I stayed in was SOOOO cold (50’s) during the day AND at night during the winter. They gave me 3 heaters to use and I used them all, but it only kept the room to 60’s when the heaters were able to be on (couldn’t run 24/7) and I couldn’t take it and had to leave. They didn’t have any reviews. The one I’m in now has reviews and I’m super happy and comfortable here.
When looking for a place, I choose “entire place” in search results. It’s usually things like a studio apartment over their garage or mother-in-law unit they rent out. There are options for roommates too on the site, so if you go that route, it’s even cheaper. Some people rent out their RV’s too, so there’s lots of different options, depending on your needs. It’s not really a good resource for someone with a family, but if it’s just you or just you and your spouse, it’s a great option for a little while. Till you can save money and get a place of your own. Remember that this is just a season for you, it’s not forever and not having any utilities is a big bonus and it’s fully furnished spaces, so you don’t have to have anything like kitchen hand tools, dining tables, pots/pans, etc. They even start you off with soaps, trash bags, and everything so you really don’t need anything but your suitcase!
If you have a space you can rent out to others, it’s a great way to make some additional income for your family as well (!!!) which might help you be able to survive your financial situation in the meantime. Since you don’t have to rent it out forever, you can just do it for a year or so, till your finances are better, no problem. But it can be a great option too, similar to Airbnb, but more long-term than that (1 month+).
Freebies by mail: If you live in a Furnished Finder place for a few months and plan to stay a bit (and the landlord lets you get mail there- they usually do), you can fill out a moving card with the USPS. When you have your mail forwarded, USPS gives you a lot of freebies and discounts at companies. I got a free full-size 2-topping pizza at Figaro’s Pizza and I gotta say, their pizza is legit. The pepperoni pizza is SOOO good; the best I’ve ever had! ❤️ A grocery store also sent me a $10 coupon off my groceries. This is another great way to get some freebies with each place you stay at!
Car insurance: My car insurance is seriously high right now and I have it on my to-do list this month to call around and see if I can get it lower, but that’s what I pay right now. Hopefully yours is cheaper! 😊
Utilities: NONE! All utilities including power/gas, water, sewer, garbage, WIFI, and even TV with streaming are all provided by the landlord in this option, making life super simple.
No debt: The first thing you might notice is that I don’t have any debt. This is true. I’ve been very blessed in all my single years, to not have any debts to pay. I’ve worked extremely hard to live on ONLY what I bring in and not a penny more. If I didn’t have the money, I didn’t buy it. And being extremely frugal, I’m good at getting all that I want on a very tight income.
Car: The next thing you might notice is that I don’t have a car payment. My car is paid for, I don’t have a loan on it.
Groceries: I go through Instacart for groceries and my bill is about $300/month (you can learn how to get your groceries FREE here), but it might be more for your family and it might be cheaper for you if you don’t go through them and you’re single like me. If you qualify and you need it, you can apply for Food Stamps and WIC to help cushion the blow of food also. There’s nothing wrong with being on assistance when you need it. Just don’t take advantage of the system and get off as soon as you can. 😊
Gas: Gas is pretty cheap for me, because I don’t really go anywhere at this point (everything is delivered to me and I get cheaper prices online than in stores). I work from home on this blog and in my faith-based printables shop, so I’m not running around a lot. I homeschooled my kids when they were home, so didn’t have to take them to school every day. Whenever I have to run errands (or go to church, etc.) I plan trips where I do all the errands in the vicinity at the same time.
Even if you make more than $15,000/year, you may still want to live on less…here are some of those reasons:
• To simplify your life and make life easier. Things get real simple when you are living on less. Those fancy cars, fast food tabs all the time, elaborate houses, they all disappear in comparison. You start to realize exactly how little you REALLY need in order to make it through life. THEN, when you do have more, you can appreciate it all the more! 😍
• To get out of debt. Many people deliberately live on less in order to get out of debt. This is, in my opinion, extremely wise. If you’re serious about getting out of debt, you’ll need to make some drastic changes. While that may not be living on $15k/year, it could be living on half your income. If you are married and you both work, try getting to the state of living where you’re not dependent upon both incomes, but only one. If one spouse makes $2,000/month, this means you have $2,000 to put on debt! You can get out of debt super fast that way and then once you ARE out of debt, go back and get your nice house again, get that nice car, just pay cash for the car and rent, so that you’re not getting BACK in debt!
• To retire early. Outside of kingdom work, who wants to work all their life? Not me! There was a reason I worked 80+ hours a week for those 4 years. So that I can provide for my family as a single mom, making good money and getting somewhere. Put money aside to buy a house or car with cash, to put away for college for your kids, their cars, my retirement, and so on. Work hard now, so that you don’t have to work so hard for the rest of your life.
• To prepare for emergencies. What if you or your spouse were laid off at their jobs? What if a natural disaster overtook your home? There are a million and one things that could happen and having a nice, well-stocked savings can drastically help in the event of an emergency.
• To prepare for kids. Some people like to live on little in order to prepare for having kids or adopting. While I feel kids are inexpensive to raise (see my post on how I get my kids clothes completely free here), they still do add to the expenses each month. You might need a bigger house with more bedrooms, a bigger car, more food, and so on. Saving now to prepare for those expenses is wise. As for baby equipment, just don’t buy new and you’ll save a ton (you’ll want to buy the crib and car seat new for safety reasons though). I used to go around yard saleing to gather up all I needed when I had my two little ones.
• To start your own business. Depending on the business you want to start, it can become very costly. Blogging is probably one of the cheapest businesses to get started in, but it requires investment just the same…in your time. You have to build it. It can also be very lucrative. Within 1 year from my starting a blog, I was making $10,000/month! I’m not saying that’s normal, but I am saying, it’s possible!
How to get your cost of living down and how to spend less money on whatever income level you’re at:
• Don’t use any credit cards. You don’t want to incrue any debt. Being debt-free allows you to have a completely free lifestyle.
• Pest control. Don’t pay $125/quarter for a pest control company to come and spray the exterior of your home! I can tell you the exact product they use! It’s a concentrate, so you just mix it with water and spray and it works AWESOME! I love this stuff! Best of all, it’s only $40 and the bottle lasts like forever! Just be sure to use gloves when you mix and spray it. After you spray it and it dries, it is safe for pets and humans, so you can even spray it indoors if needed in certain spots.
• Find and use the cheapest cell phone service you can.Net 10 is a great prepaid service and if you don’t use your phone much, the prepaid cards can last you 3 months! Last time I used their service, it was $30 for a phone card, which lasted me 3 months, so $10/month. Now, I have my iPhone, but the service is very cheap and I’m not on a contract at all. It’s MY phone (again, paying cash for what I want).
• Use cash back sites like Ebates. You’re going to spend the money anyway, might as well get paid to shop! If you don’t have an account, you can sign up here and get a free $10 gift card! To receive your free gift card, just make one purchase of $25 or more and they have every site I shop at on there, so it’s very easy. I put a sticky note on my computer so I remember to go through them first. I’ve been with Ebates for about 5 years now and have earned to-date $7,236.84. They are a pioneer in the cash back industry and I highly recommend them!
• Negotiate your bills. Did you know that you can do that with some of them? You totally can. Negotiate credit card bills, everything, and get that DOWN!
• Use free budgeting software and tracking services like Personal Capital. If you don’t have a pre-set budget, you’re dead in the water before you even start. You have to tell your money where to go each month or it likes to spend itself!
• Meal plan. Like budgeting, you have to tell your meals what to make or it can take over your expenses. You’ll go out to fast food too much, nice dinners, and so on. Having a meal plan set up makes things a lot simpler.
• Stop paying for stuff. Just decide that there are things you won’t pay for anymore! Here’s my list of 15 things I refuse to pay for. Here’s a post I wrote about how I get all my household products for FREE, including diapers, baby wipes, pull-ups, candles, soaps, dishwashing detergent, cleaners, and SO much more! I literally never pay for household goods anymore because of these ways! You can also join local groups on Facebook in your area that give away things for free every day (or start your own group to get free stuff). The things that they give away are incredible! Here’s a post about what I’ve seen being given away and how you can literally get everything you buy for FREE, yes today, in 2025! I know because I’m doing it! 🥰
Increase your income to put into savings:
• Start a blog.Staring a blog is first because it’s my own favorite personal way to make money by doing what I love, serving others! If your heart is about helping others and sharing your knowledge with the world, then you should go for it. I started out with a dream of making $1,000/month by 1 year and ended up making $10,000/month by 1 year! My life has changed drastically. Though the results are not typical, you never know until you try. I surely didn’t know when I started, but God did!
I recommend going through Bluehost and through my site, you can get the cheapest cost (I worked out a deal with them on your behalf!) You have to pay upfront for how many ever years you want to choose, but by far, this is the cheapest and best plan.
• Rent out a portion of your home. If you’re able to, rent out a portion of your home on Furnished Finder to make some money quick. There are ALWAYS people looking for places on that site!
• Take surveys online. It won’t get you rich, but it’s income and you want as MANY revenues for income as you can. You can check out my 25 best survey companieshere.
Whatever income you currently live on, whether $15k/year is a dream to you or it’s 1/10th of what you currently make, there are things that you can do to improve your financial outlook and I’m here to prove it. In my darkest time, I was homeless.
I had absolutely nothing and now, I make pretty dang good money and have no debt. I can come and go as I please, have a nice savings account, and have a lot of options opened up to me now…but it didn’t all come without hard work and God in my life every step of the way.
No matter what your financial situation, you can improve it using these tips. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to let your friends know. Because this information, truly is life-changing to women who want to be home with their kids, or are already home with their kids, but are struggling financially to STAY home with them.
Wanna know why credit unions give out prizes and candy to children when they make a deposit? Have coloring contests for kids? Send kids birthday cards in the mail?
A customer sees it as the credit union just being nice, but if it were just that, they’d do that for everyone, right? Adults, included. Nah, there’s actually a good reason they do this.
It’s marketing!
They want to become your child’s favorite place for money.
Think I’m making all this up? I worked in banking for a decade! It’s absolutely true!!!
So, why should this matter?
They know that loyalty with kids is extremely harder to break as the years go on. A local mom/pop credit union where the parents bank with them, the children once they turn of age, almost always bank with that same credit union. It is very, very common.
So, why should you care that the bank cares so much about your child’s money?
Well, if THEY care so much about it, don’t you think it’s a good idea you do too?
Credit unions aren’t going to hurt your children and their money, but there ARE PLENTY of OTHERS WHO WILL!!!
Teaching your kids about money is EXTREMELY important. So often, I meet people who are just in financial ruins, and you want to know the one thing they tell me.
“I was never taught how to manage my finances.” They contribute that as the #1 reason why they are failing in their own finances; they simply weren’t taught.
Don’t let your kids become a statistic! Invest in them now, learn how to teach your child financial responsibility while they are still young.
Teach your kids about money…
1) Be a good role model.
Have you ever heard the saying, “Monkey see, monkey do?” Our words are important, but far more than that are our actions. Actions speak louder than words. Be a great role model in YOUR finances.
My daughter is constantly asking me about money. She wants to be able to stay home with her kids in the future. Do you know that already (she’s 8) and she wants to make her own blog or run her own business. People think that’s silly, but is it?
Think Goodness (formerly Origami Owl) is a HUGE well-known company and who started it? A 14-year old girl named Bella! Our children are FAR more capable than we give them credit.
2) Talk to them about saving, credit cards, money, etc.
Seems pretty simple, huh? Just open up the discussion. Ask them if they have any questions. Teach your child to save money. Tell them how important it is not to get into debt. Show them the difference between a debit card and a credit card. Give them examples of people who have gotten into debt too much and of people who live their lives debt-free. Whatever their age level is, explain to that fullest capacity.
3) Give them opportunity to save, earn, and spend money.
I don’t know about you, but I do NOT learn by someone telling me what to do. lol. My mom probably wishes I did! Rather, I learn by DOING. You can give your children allowance. Make them earn that allowance. Even if you don’t do allowance, they can still earn money with you or a neighbor.
At one of our old churches, every year to earn money for the youth group, we did something called “Slave for a Day.” Basically, the youth would be put on auction and the people in the congregation bid on them. It was a great way for the elderly to get things done that they couldn’t do, and a great way for the teens to make money. Even money the child gets on the birthday. I mean, there are SO many opportunities to ask them what THEY want to do with it. Reward for good decisions, and talk to them if they are unwise. HELP them understand WHY you’re teaching them this; WHY this is so important.
Part of my kids allowance is saved for church tithes, no exceptions. This is what I do with my money, so this is a family rule, and what they do with theirs as well. Part of it also goes to savings, no exceptions. One day, they will want a car, help pay for college, etc.
How nice will that money be for them to have at that time?!
While these are mandatory things for allowance, all other monies earned are at their discretion. I guide them, lead them, and encourage them to make wise decisions, and yes, even some for things they just plain want. There’s a balance. 🙂
4) Never assume they will learn this stuff in school.
The days of home economics are long gone. Now, instead of preparing a woman to stay home with her kids, high schools have day care centers, proving that more and more kids are having kids. Lifestyles are just different these days, and much worse off overall. Kids aren’t taught about being a godly wife, kids are taught, even in kindergarten about guns, smoking, drugs, and sex. It’s a totally different era. The priorities have vastly changed.
Not only can we not expect the teachers to teach things such as money, we cannot expect them to teach our children about God. Freedom of religion is also gone in schools, and if you don’t believe me, remind me to tell you the story about how I was almost suspended for simply wearing a cross necklace to school because it ‘offended’ someone!
There are some things we must teach our children ourselves!
We cannot become complacent. That bundle of joy you once wrapped in your arms will test every nerve in your body before they reach 18. Teach them everything you can while they are young enough to actually care what you’re saying!
5) Tell them everything costs money.
Learn how to teach your child the value of money. Over the years, I have told my kids that everything costs money. “Let’s turn out the lights guys, they cost money to keep them on.” If we’re in the store and they want something, I politely ask them if they have the money to pay for it…So, the kids know that our home costs money, lights, electricity, etc. But today, my 8 year old was flabbergasted to find out that internet and TV costs money. “They just make us pay for everything,” she said to me.
I’m hoping that by showing her that everything DOES really eat away at our income, that she will be more diligent in conserving where she can. So far, it is working great. Now, keep in mind, we don’t need to go overboard and turn off our heat completely in the winter or anything, but just knowing that things DO cost money, gives such an appreciation for all that we do as parents for our children. We are all a family, we all need to work together. Many hands make for light work. 🙂
6) Shop together.
Going back to being an example, there was a time when we were in the store and I really, REALLY wanted something. I knew it was a luxury item. I didn’t NEED it. It was not useful, meaning, I probably wouldn’t use it for very long. And it was quite expensive, $20 for something like that. It was super hard for me to walk away. But, I think that, it shows the kids that I go through the same thing as they do.
I want things just like them, and that God is so incredibly good to us. We can truly be appreciative for what we have, and not focus on what we don’t. Sure, I’d love a brand new 2014 car, who wouldn’t, but it’s not for me to have. Such is the same with our kids. That shiny new toy they want today, if not taught the proper attitude on our ‘stuff,’ will just be thrown to the bottom of the toy bin by next week.
7) Teach them now to donate.
Living in the homeless shelter 4 years ago, I saw TRUE needs at the deepest core. Women who didn’t have money for a bar of soap. Things that we take for granted every single day. There are people on the street right now, who would think that no matter WHERE you live, you are RICH! Every time I throw out a stale piece of food, I remember my days in the shelter, where that is exactly ALL we had to eat. That was the only nutrition we got.
I’ve come a long way since then, again God is very gracious, but I don’t forget. I will never forget, and that makes me all the MORE diligent to meet the needs of those around me. Sometimes seemingly meaningless things make the world of difference to someone on the opposite side.
Teaching your little ones now about how much you have and how you can give to those who are in need is, in my opinion, one of the best qualities you can instill in your children. Life is not to be lived for us alone, but for others. Let God’s grace abound in you.
8) Help your little ones establish goals.
I’m fairly used to setting and accomplishing goals for two reasons. One, because of God, and two, because I work extremely hard to make those goals. And so, I set goals for myself in every area of my life, every month. Even if they are simple, they help keep me focused.
I love to pass that onto my children as well. How easy is it to write down a goal on the family calendar of your oldest to have $5 saved up within a month if their allowance is $10/week? Be sure the goals are balanced (easy to attain, but also a challenge). This will give them a huge sense of accomplishment when they achieve their goal.
Hi guys. I’m Sarah Mueller from Early Bird Mom and today I’m going to be sharing with you the Top Sinking Funds Everyone Should Have.
One of the problems you may encounter when you start budgeting as a beginner is spending money in places you hadn’t anticipated. This is to be expected in budgeting – you’ll have to make adjustments along the way.
To help you out, take a look at these 23 budget categories or “sinking funds.”
Sinking Fund defined: A sinking fund (or reserve fund) is a budget category that you don’t necessarily need every month, but that you want to contribute to, in order to start building up a balance. You “sink” or save money into a budget category or “fund” and let it build up over time.
Using sinking funds is a less stressful way to budget and pay your bills than trying to deal with each one when it’s due.
A sinking fund is different than an emergency savings because in a sinking fund, you are telling your money where to go, instead of letting an emergency dictate where you spend it.
Top Sinking Funds Everyone Should Have
Here’s how it works for us.
We pay our car insurance just once a year. But with 2 cars and living in a high cost state, our insurance bill is $1600. Yikes! I don’t want to have to face that bill without money in the bank.
So instead of scraping up the money when the bill is due, we put $130 every month into our car insurance sinking fund. By the time the insurance bill is due, we have the total amount saved up. I can write a check without having to worry that it won’t clear.
Another example of a helpful sinking fund is for variable utility bills.
If your winter heating bills are much higher than your spring and fall bills, you may experience a shock when you open that February bill! But if you’ve been putting a little extra into a utilities sinking fund all year, you can pay that February bill without having to take money out of say, the grocery budget.
Here is a list of 23 different sinking funds:
Car repairs
Car insurance
New car savings
Homeowners insurance
Life insurance
Taxes
Doctor / dentist
Medication
Vacation
Christmas / Holidays
Gifts
Fees and licenses (car registration, etc.)
Dues and subscriptions (magazines, memberships)
School and education fees
School tuition
Pets
Utilities
Home maintenance and repairs
Kids sports and activities
Miscellaneous
Travel
College savings
Emergency fund
Where do you find the money to put into these sinking funds?
You start with the most critical ones. This means bills that are due soon and larger bills.
If you know your car insurance is due in 3 months, start adding to that fund first. You might not be able to fully fund it before it’s due, but even having some money set aside helps.
Find ways to save on your expenses (like electricity and groceries). Then put the money saved toward your sinking funds.
You can also contribute a little each month to some of the smaller funds.
If you put $5-$10 a month into the gifts fund, you’ll have enough to buy a present for a birthday party in just a month or two. Shop around at a few cashback sites before you order (here’s Sarah Titus’ favorite cashback site) and you’ll have a great present that wasn’t a burden to buy.
You might also spend some extra time working from home. Earn an extra couple hundred dollars a month to fund your sinking funds and ease the strain on your budget.
Related:
So what do you DO with the money you put into these funds?
You could put it into separate savings accounts, but this gets tricky if you have many different sinking funds. You could also have 1 account for monthly bills and 1 that you use to pay for these irregular expenses.
I manage the money in our sinking funds with the budgeting software tracker called You Need a Budget (YNAB). My husband and I both use their smartphone app and enter our purchases on the go.
Whatever system you use, make sure it’s easy to see how much money you’ve set aside for each fund. The simpler it is, the more likely you are to stick with your system.
How many funds are too many?
You could go crazy and set up a hundred funds or more. It really depends on your personality – are you the type that likes to see how you spend your money in great detail or would you rather keep it simple and have fewer categories? I find that 20-30 sinking funds is plenty for our budget.
How do you decide how much to put into each fund?
If you have an idea of how much you spent on a category in the past 12 months, ideally you would divide that amount by 12. Then contribute that amount each month. If you have a bill coming up and you know the amount, divide the amount of the bill by the number of months you have to save. Then save that amount each month.
Here’s example: Let’s say your daughter plays soccer.
Sports fees cost $50 per semester plus $50 for uniform and gear. Add in $10 for extra expenses and you’re expecting $110 per year for this sport. $110 divided by 12 is $9.16. So you should save $10 in the sports fund each month. As long as your first payment isn’t due for a few months, you’ll have enough money to cover your sports expenses.
What do you do if you have a bill and your sinking fund doesn’t have enough money yet?
You may have to borrow from another fund. We recently did this when we had some unexpected car repairs. Our car repair fund didn’t cover the bill. Since I’d already saved up our full Christmas budget, I took the money from there. I knew that I’d have time to bring the Christmas fund back up to it’s full amount before December.
What about things like retirement?
I don’t include long term savings goals like retirement because that money comes directly out of our paychecks and never hits our bank account or our monthly budget. I do include a college fund because that money does come out of our budget.
Use this list of sinking funds as a starting point and customize it to meet your own needs.
Tweak your funds each month as you budget. Make changes based on what bills are due and how much money you have to budget. After a few months, you’ll have a helpful list and larger bills should be easier to manage.
Diapers (nappies) can get really expensive for parents, especially for low income families and if you have more than one child in them at a time ! Let me share with you How I Get Pull Ups & Diapers For Free!
If you’ve read my other posts, you know that I am a huge Fred Meyer fan. Not only do I save money on my groceries and gas, get laser targeted coupons just for me on the products that I purchase, but I also receive a coupon in the mail good off any purchase!
This coupon is usually about $15 for me, and with it, I simply purchased my son’s pull ups.
The stock of pull ups always lasts until I get my next coupon in the mail from them. It’s a great trick for me and I never have to budget them in. By the time my son was 5 and bedwetting stopped (find out how I achieved this in ONE day!), he didn’t go through as many. I also like get the Fred Meyer brand as I’ve found they are good quality and cheap, my favorite combination! 🙂
