Who wouldn’t want more money in the bank? We interviewed a personal finance expert to highlight the most common places people overspend and to collect practical, user-friendly advice for setting up—and sticking to—a household budget. A reliable budget is the simplest route to saving more each month. We also share low-stress negotiation techniques for working with contractors (including one short line that recently shaved $1,500 off our contractor bill), describe the sometimes-unpredictable process of restoring our vintage pink stove, and offer an easy craft idea to keep small hands occupied. Below you’ll find links, notes, and photos referenced in the episode.
You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and TuneIn Radio. Use this page to check the links, notes, and photos we mentioned. Note: If you’re reading in a feed reader, you may need to open the post to access the player.
What’s New
- We previously shared our plans for the vintage pink stove we bought for the beach house. The photo below shows the tangle of exposed wiring the electrician and Sherry worked through; normally that backplate wouldn’t be removed, but it was during repairs.
- If you missed our recent episode about resurfacing our driveway, check out Episode #62 for the full story about that project and what we learned.
Dr. Budgets
We spoke with Daniel Rodriguez—“Dr. Budgets”—about common spending traps and straightforward budget strategies that are easy to implement. His approach emphasizes tracking recurring expenses, prioritizing savings, and using simple tools to create structure around everyday spending. Below are the resources and ideas mentioned during our conversation.
- You can learn more about Daniel Rodriguez on his website and follow his updates on his Facebook page. He also offers a free e-book, Ten Ways to Save 10K.
- For a free online budgeting tool we discussed, check out Mint.com. It’s useful for tracking accounts and categorizing recurring bills so you can see where money is going each month.
- Daniel suggested cutting cable as an easy way to lower monthly bills; we covered our own cable-cutting experience in this post.
- We briefly mentioned Kroger’s ClickList, an online grocery pickup service; we’ve discussed grocery strategies before in Episode #41.
- On personal challenges, I’ll be doing an “Aqua-tober” month of drinking only water—details and motivation appear in Episode #17.
- Daniel also tried a “No-Spendtember” last year as a financial reset to reduce impulse purchases and reset spending habits.
- We mentioned a portion-control program we tried: 21 Day Fix.
We’re Digging
- One of our phone photos shows Moonrise Jewelry’s mermaid-sequin fabric wrapped around canvases. The sequins flip between gold and silver, which lets kids make sparkle-covered abstract art or “draw” pictures by brushing the sequins with their finger.
- After visiting the shop we found several mermaid-sequin fabric options available in multiple colors at typical prices for a 3×4-foot piece—an ideal size for wrapping a large canvas or an inexpensive bulletin board for a kids’ room or play area.
- We also laughed at some of the creative “possible uses” shown on product listings—Sherry does love a blazer, after all.
- For travel gear, we recommended The Shrunk’s Inflatable Toddler Mattress. We appreciate its compact size, included pump, and four years of reliable use without rips or leaks.
Finally, a big thank you to Thomas Avenue Ceramics for sponsoring this episode. Visit ThomasAvenueCeramics.com/YHL to browse tile selections and to see Sherry’s top 10 picks from their collections (a few favorites are pictured below). Use code YHL20 to receive 20% off your first order.
Thanks for listening. We appreciate you following along and hope the budgeting tips, contractor negotiation ideas, and project stories give you practical ways to save money and enjoy your home. If you try any of the approaches we discussed—budget tools, no-spend challenges, or simple negotiation lines—let us know how they work for you!
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