Do This 1 Thing No Matter How Tight Your Budget Is

Look, I know we are in the middle of a pandemic and for millions of Americans, times are tough financially.  People are job searching, redoing their budgets, and cutting corners.  2020 is not a year many of us will miss when it finally packs its bags and leaves.

Years ago when my husband and I got married, my dad passed down some advice for budgeting.  He said, (paraphrasing here because it was nearly 2 decades ago): "Always have some money that you each get that isn't accountable to the other one."

You need to have spending money each month that is YOURS.  

Here are the rules:

• The amount is agreed upon ahead of time and each person gets the same amount. It might be a minuscule amount. That's fine. Write it in the budget. 
  
  
• You get your spending money. You spend it on whatever you want.  
  
  
• The other person does not get to complain about what you bought with your spending money.
  
  
• If you want to spend it all at Starbucks. Fine.  
  
  
• If you want to save up your spending money for awhile and buy something big? Fine.

Why do we need spending money in our budget?

If you don't budget spending money for both you and your partner, you will either a) overspend, b) underspend, or c) be resentful of your partner.  

If money is super tight and your spouse comes home with a $5 frappe from Starbucks, you might be ticked.  

But if it came out of their spending money, then you can't get mad---it was their money and furthermore, you have YOUR money so if you want a frappe too, you can get one!

Having your own spending money allows each person to feel free to purchase something without feeling guilty for taking money from another budget category.

How much should we budget for spending money?

It depends greatly on your budget.  Generally we now do $50 each, each month.  Sometimes we do less if a big expense is coming up.  In the early years of marriage when money was really tight, we started with $5 a month and worked up to $10.

Can we use a credit card for our spending money?

Uhh.  It should really be cash so that once it's gone, it. is. gone.  If you must use a card (or order online), be sure to write down what you spent and keep track of how much you have left.  Do NOT go into debt for spending money.  If you can't afford more than $3 that month, then you only get $3!  

Why should I listen to you?

My husband and I aren't financial advisors, we're just people who've been married for a long time, rarely argue about money (you can count our money arguments on one hand), have been poor, have been not-poor, and have no debt except our reasonable mortgage.  

Plus, technically this advice came from my dad and he's the smartest person I know.  ;) 

Things We DON'T Buy

Not long ago I shared the 7 things we don't mind spending money on.  Cherry Coke, life insurance, etc.  Many years ago when this blog was quite new, I wrote about the things we just won't buy.  But it's time to update that list!  

We do spend a little more on cell phones now.  My husband's is provided through his work and our teenage son and myself get a $30 a month plan for a total household cell phone bill of $60 per month.  

What about things we don't buy though?  When you are looking for frugal tips and money saving advice, you'll often come across people who don't eat out, don't buy paper plates, and haven't had a name brand bag of chips for the last 20 years.  Those people are not me.  Now if it's how you choose to live, by all means, do so.  It would save you money!  But me?  I've gotta have paper plates and Pringles from time to time. 

We try to be responsible with our money while still enjoying life without going into debt.  It's a balance we all have to find!  

Here are the 10 things we don't buy.  Let me know if your list is different or similar!

1. Apps

If it's not free, we're not getting it.  Sure there are likely some fantastic apps out there that only cost a few dollars.  Nonetheless, we just don't pay to buy apps, nor do we do the in app purchases for them.  Believe me, I've been stuck on levels of Candy Crush or Cooking Craze and been super tempted by the $3 booster pack.  But I resist!  Our budget doesn't have a "Beat the next level" line item. :-D

2. Tanning Sessions

Oh how I would love to go tanning!  It evens out your skin tone and gives a "healthy" glow.  But I read about how even going tanning just once can greatly increase you chances of skin cancer.  It's scary stuff and while my chubby parts would look better tan, I don't want to die so the world will just have to deal with my bright white chub.

3. Alcohol

For various reasons, we don't drink.  Alcoholic drinks can be quite expensive, especially if you're at the bar ordering the $10 drinks.  No alcohol for us means no extra cost.

4. Cigarettes / Vape

We aren't Mormon but with the lack of drinking and smoking we might blend in with them. ha! We don't smoke or do any of the various alternatives such as vaping.  

5. Gym Memberships

Funny story.  I did the Planet Fitness thing for awhile and of all the gyms, it does seem the be the most affordable.  But.  I just didn't go enough to justify it.  So one year on January 4th when everyone was joining the gym, I marched in and stopped the membership.  #Winning

6. Lottery Tickets

For both mathematical and religious reasons we don't purchase lottery tickets or visit casinos, horse tracks, etc.  

7. Cable or Satellite TV 

There was a time when we had satellite tv. We chose Dish Network because it didn't require a contract and you could cancel at any time without incurring extra fees.  It was around $30 a month.  

We do have Hulu with a student discount which is less than $5 a month. It's tempting to get Apple TV, Netflix, Prime, Paramount Plus, etc. But it all adds up and Hulu and the free stuff is enough for us. If we got rid of streaming we'd have no way to watch some of our favorite shows.  

8. Leased Vehicles

We don't lease our vehicles.  Most often it's better to buy a vehicle you can afford and then you OWN at the end of the payments versus paying on something every month and then having nothing to show for it because you never truly owned it.  Sure, you can lease a nicer car than you can afford to buy outright, but...why?  I'm not trying to lose money just to show off.

9. Extended Warranties

You know how when you go to Walmart and the register prompts the cashier to ask if you want to pay $7 extra for a warranty on this Furby?  Hard pass on that.

10. The Latest Technology

We don't live in the dark ages.  But we're also not waiting in line outside Apple stores for the latest igadget.  We wait til something has been on the market for awhile and the price goes down before purchasing. It's fine if having the latest tech is something you enjoy, it's just one of the ways we choose to be more frugal!

The 4 Budget Categories You are Forgetting!

Ahhh, the b-word.  No, not that one.  Budgeting. It can sometimes feel tedious to budget for every dollar but really, no matter your income level or financial status, you need a budget!  Having a budget makes every dollar work harder for you.  

Obviously everyone knows that you have to list out your bills when you make a budget: rent/mortgage, gas, electricity, cell phone.

But there are 4 budget categories that you might be forgetting! Over the years, as my husband and I have written numerous budgets, some of these we forgot about too!  No fear, just be sure to add in these categories when planning your monthly finances.

1. Holidays

As Dave Ramsey says, Christmas is on December 25th every year.  It can't sneak up on you--we know it's coming! :) Likewise, my kids' birthdays, and our anniversary all fall on the same day every year.  Sure Easter and Thanksgiving kind of rotate around but... close enough.  

Make a list of who you buy for and about how much you want to spend. Add it all up, divide by 12 and then save that much every single month so that when the birthdays and holidays roll around, you aren't feeling pressured to go into debt.  

You can put the money in a cash envelope and keep it at home, make a separate sub account for it with your bank, or open an entirely different holiday savings account (many banks and credit unions offer accounts specifically for holiday savings!)  

Don't let this happen to you!

2. Car Maintenance

I saved up money from my teaching job and bought myself a gently used vehicle and was able to pay cash.  We don't have a car loan but we do have money taken out of every check and put in savings for our next vehicle.  However, cars need their oil changes, tires rotated, sometimes things break or need repaired.  

If your car needs a $200 repair to be functional, do you know how you'll pay for it?  Try to keep a bit of money set aside so you don't have to go into debt at the auto shop!

3. Unexpected Gifts

Yes, we plan for Christmas and birthdays (see #1 above).  But you know what happens sometimes?  You have the perfect amount budgeted for the holidays you will celebrate that year and then BAM 3 coworkers are pregnant and you need 3 baby shower gifts. A cousin gets married and you need a wedding gift.  Uncle Sal passes away and you need to send flowers. 

Be sure to have a bit of money stashed away for those unexpected gift needs that arise during the year.

4. Giving

Sadly, when you search "Budgets" on Pinterest or "budget categories", many of them have no line item for giving. Yet there is such a great need in our world. 

25% of children in OUR country, the United States, are food insecure.  As I write this we have a 14% unemployment rate.  The Covid19 pandemic has made people sick, forced businesses to change how they operate, and cost many people their lives or their jobs.  

The amount you choose to give regularly is up to you.  For our family, we follow the tithing guideline of a 10% minimum.  

You can give to your local church and/or many places that could benefit from your monthly donation. Here are just a few: 

• March of Dimes, 
• St. Jude Children's Hospital, 
• Special Olympics, 
• your local homeless shelter, 
• or a local domestic violence shelter.

---------

There you have the 4 budget categories you may have forgotten: holidays, car maintenance, unexpected gifts, and giving. Can you think of any others that often escape our minds when writing that first budget?  If so, leave a comment to let me know!

[Related: 7 Things We Don't Mind Spending Money On]

3 Ways YOU Can Make Money Online This Week

Looking to make some money online?  Most of us could find a way to use some extra cash, myself included!  While I do have a full-time job, there are also a few websites I use to make extra money online.  Lately I've been using them to save up for some Christmas gifts for friends and family.  Today I'll share with you my 3 favorite ways to make money on the web.

1. Ebates / Rakuten

• Cost to join: Free
• How much can you earn: % of your online shopping, no extra fees
• How often can you cash out: Quarterly via check or PayPal
• What stores qualify: Too many to list!  Kohl's, Sephora, Torrid, Macy's, and hundreds more

Rakuten, formerly called ebates, lets you earn cash back for your online shopping. It's a very simply way to make some money online! For example, I recently ordered more dog food from Chewy.com and earned a little cash back.

Will you earn enough to pay your rent each month? LOL.  No. Of course not, but if you think about all of your online shopping, you might as well get some of those dollars back! 

This is my referral link to Rakuten and if you use it, you get a $10 bonus once you spend $25 and I'll get a $25 bonus.  Then you'll have your own referral link to give out and get bonus cash for yourself!

Related: {What's The Deal With Ebates}

2. Swagbucks

• Cost to join: Free
• How much can you earn: Varies. I earn around $300 a year.
• How often can you cash out: As soon as you have enough points for the giftcard or PayPal amount that you want!
• What stores can you get gift cards to: Too many to list!  Paypal, Best Buy, Kohl's, Sephora, Macy's, and hundreds more

You've heard me talk about Swagbucks repeatedly, so why haven't you joined yet?  I have $75 in Target gift cards that I earned through Swagbucks so far this year.  That's a nice chunk of change to put towards some Christmas gifts!  

You can also choose gift cards to Walmart, itunes, Ulta, Sephora, and like a million other stores.  

If you would rather have straight up cash, you can redeem Swagbucks for PayPal cash!  I've done that before too and it works perfectly.

If you'd like to join Swagbucks, please consider using my referral link.  You still get all the perks of Swagbucks and I get a few extra points towards my next gift card!

3. Microsoft Rewards

• Cost to join: Free
• How much can you earn: roughly $5-10 a month
• How often can you cash out: Any time you have enough points!
• What stores can I get a gift card to: Target, Sephora, Dunkin, Taco Bell, AMC Movies, and more

This site is less well-known that Rakuten and Swagbucks but the Microsoft Rewards program is a pretty solid way to earn some money online.  They don't have a Paypal option but you can cash out for gift cards such as Hulu, Target, Dunkin, Starbucks, Xbox, etc.  A great way to earn some ways to treat yourself or some gift cards to give away at the holiday season!  If you want to join Microsoft Rewards you can start earning points right away.

Do you have other ways you earn money online?  I do also use the ibotta app but without doing much in-store shopping my usage of it is way down.

DIY Self-Care Gift Set (on a budget!)

Tis the season to be....stressed out! Fa la la la la, la la la la!

Self-care is the practice of taking care of one's self physically, mentally, and spiritually.  Like the old saying goes, "You can't pour from an empty cup."  I'm trying to be better at caring for myself in ways like getting to bed on time, getting semi-regular massages, staying connected with my faith, etc.

As a teacher, I happen to know that the rest of the staff at the school is just as busy as I am!  Though we all have different roles, everyone is giving it their all.  Sometimes we need encouraged to recharge.  Our family tries to do a gift to all of the office staff each year at Christmas.  This year's gift is a self-care kit.  

I've been gathering things for several months in preparation.  Not only is a self-care kit a great gift but you can also do it within a reasonable budget.

Here is the breakdown of what is in each kit (and what it cost):

• wax melts  These were from Kohl's and were $5 each.  I bought 6 but used Kohls Cash and a promo code.  Total cost: $0.
  
• face masks  These are also from Kohl's and were $3 each.  I bought 6 but like above, used Kohl's Cash and and a promo.  Total cost: $0.  Amazon has the Earth Therapeutics masks right now ($13 for 5 masks).  A fair price if you're out of Kohl's Cash!
  
• candles  These were from Kirkland's and I had paid $3 for an entire container of 20 candles. Total cost: $3.
• mini notebooks     These are from a recent trip to Dollar Tree. Total cost: $6.
  
• candy   I used 2 bags of Dove Promises and 1 bag of Hershey Kisses. I bought 3 packs from Dollar Tree and divided it up. Total cost: $3.
• magnets I only had 4 of these so the 4 office workers will get one but the 2 specials teachers will be out of luck (I don't think they'll mind).  These were list price $6 but on clearance at Barnes and Noble.  Total cost: $1.50.
  
• tea  It turns out that the sampler box of tea has easily gift-able packets inside. There are 5 flavors, so 5 packets. You can't open them up to further divide because the tea  bags themselves are not marked/labeled (learned that the hard way).  So again our office staff gets tea and the specials teachers will not.  Total cost: $2. 
• cellophane bags  These are from Dollar Tree. Total cost: $1
• ribbon I will add wide ribbon around each one before gifting them.  The ribbon will come from Dollar Tree. Total cost: $1.
• gift tag I used Canva to make a label with a little poem I wrote.  Canva has a free and a paid version. Of course I use the free one. ;)  If you're crafty you could make your own tag. Bottom line: the gift tag is free. Total cost: $0.
  

Grand Total: The kits have a value of $11.50 each but with sales and coupons I spent just $17.50 for all 6 self-care kits!  That means just $2.92 spent to give a gift worth over $11!  Not only did these turn out super affordable (less than the cost of a $5 gift card) but also they are promoting care and compassion to their recipients.  I can't wait to give these little self-care kits out next month!

Of course we are giving these to school staff but the little DIY kits also make great gifts for: teachers, tutors, coaches, Sunday School teachers, nurses, secret pals, moms group friends, neighbors, coworkers, and stylists!

Need an easy to follow/remember guide for making a self-care kit?  I've got you covered!  Check out the infographic below:

Amazon links may be affiliate links. See full disclosure here.

4 Easy Ways to Make Money Online

There are oodles of ways to make a little extra money online.  I've written about several of them before but thought it would be helpful to compile it all into ONE post.  Here are some of my favorite ways to get a little extra money in my wallet:

This used to be called eBates. Which makes sense because it sounds like "rebates"--you know, cash back?  But then they inexplicably changed the name to this Rakuten nonsense.  Goofy unrelated name? Yes.  But, then again, I'm the idiot who named this blog Zucchini Summer when it has nothing to do with zucchini, nor summer.  So.  I guess we'll call it even.

At any rate, Rakuten/Ebates is a legit way to get some cash back if you are shopping online.  They do have a shop-in-person way to earn as well but I have not tried it and therefore cannot vouch for it.  The online is legit though.  You simply go to the ebates site, click the link to the store you want to shop at, and boom. A % cash back will be credited to your account.  This is CRUCIAL if you are Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping!  Around that time of year you can often get 10-50% cash back!  The rest of the year tends to run 2-8% depending on the store.  Ebates/Ratuken will pay you quarterly via PayPal or check.  You can even earn cash back by using the ebates Ratuken link to Turbo Tax when you file your taxes!

Join and they will give you a bonus $10 after your first eligible online shopping trip!  Here's my referral link.

You're sick of me talking about this, aren't you?  Swagbucks was my first "money online" venture and it really does work. It's free to join and use.  You earn points called "SB" and then can cash them in for gift cards (Sephora, Kohls, GameStop, Best Buy, Starbucks, etc) or PayPal cash.   I've earned the equivalent of $1,700 doing Swagbucks.  I average about $300 a year though some users get much more.  You earn those points by searching the internet, answering a survey, doing the daily poll, and so on.  Most recently I cashed in points for a $25 PayPal payment that I am donating to charity*.  

Again this one changed names.  It used to be called Bing Rewards but now is just Microsoft. You click the search links and earn on your desktop. I actually love the daily "trending" scroll. I click and get the main headlines for the day AND some points.  I earn $5-10 a month using this. No referral links but you can try this to see if you can get an account up and running. You can redeem points for Hulu, Starbucks, Sephora, Xbox credits, and more.

This app sounds like you are saying "I bought a..." really fast. My friend told me about it and I've been using it for a little over a year now.  When you shop at a store (Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, Target, etc) you upload your receipt and get $$ credited to your account.  You can often get .20 for any item and then larger rewards on other things.  For example today I got $2 back when I bought a Neutrogena face wash that my dermatologist recommended.  It sounds small but it all adds up!  I've earned over $100 in the past year.  Be careful to only buy products you were going to buy anyway, or that end up being cheaper than store brand after the discount....otherwise you may wind up spending more than you're saving!

If you would like to join, you can get a $3 bonus by using my referral code: fnupyjf.  

*Raices!  Help those seeking asylum in the United States, including children and families.