Simplify and Enjoy Podcast

Need a boost with your income? Learn how to find the best paying side hustles for you!  Finding the Best Side Hustles That Pay Well Sometimes to hit your goal faster, you just have to earn extra money. Of course that's not the only thing you're doing. If you've taken my Free 5 Days to $5K course, then you know we look at three pillars when it comes to 'finding' money.  First we optimize your budge...

Getting ready to start house hunting? Get tips on how you find and buy a house you love that is still affordable!  Are You Ready to Buy a House? Right now with the  national median listing price in December was $340,000 , chances are buying a house – it's typically the biggest purchase a family makes. Depending on where you live it can be a hot seller's market, making it even more difficult to fin...

Thinking of selling your house? Today we'll go over how to prepare your place so you can get the best price for it! What You Need to Know to Sell Your House for More Selling a house, especially when it is your first place, can be overwhelming. Even in a seller's market like we have here in Raleigh, you have work to do.   You have to fix up your space, stage your house, and have it ready for showin...

Who doesn't love a good DIY home project? But how do you take what you see online or on television and translate that into your home, especially when you are not naturally handy? Today, we'll look at what you need to know to get started and build up your DIY skills! How to Get Started with Your DIY Home Projects Last week we were talking about being a frugal foodie, home brewing,  and having a gar...

Just because we're at home doesn't mean we can't still be frugal foodies. Today, we'll look at how you can jumpstart a garden and start making craft brews at home! Frugal Foodie at Home Frugal foodie is back! If you're new to this series, it's where we explore ways you can eat well without breaking the budget. For some though, when you hear frugal. It means cheap. I get it. Maybe, you know, someon...

Tax season is here. How prepared are you? Today we'll go over how to make filing your taxes easier and less stressful!  How to Make Taxes Less Stressful Between the paperwork you need to track, tax terms that are dry, and the eye-opening nature of going through your finances for the year, taxes can understandably make you anxious.  If you're looking to optimize your finances, you have to get your...

How can you plan and budget for a year when there are so many things up in the air? Today we'll go over how the two of you can create a plan and budget so you can hit your goals while being flexible enough to switch gears if needed! How to Hit Your Money Goals During a Uncertain Year This first month of 2021 is just about wrapped up and already it's been an eventful year! A huge challenge we faced...

For many families, 2020 threw us for a loop. Today we'll look at how you can revamp and build your budget so you can hit your financial goals faster! Revamping Your Budget I think it's fair to say that last year did not go as any of us planned. I'm not going to recap the year – we were all there- but honestly, we had a lot curve balls thrown at us.  Because we had to make so many changes with how...

Dealing with debt can be a grind, especially if you have a ton of debt or if it is high interest. Today we're going to see how the debt lasso method can speed things up with credit card debts and we'll get tips on how to pay off over six figures of debt without sacrificing fun! Creating a Plan to Pay Off Your Debts One of the most popular goals families make when it comes to money is paying off th...

Most parents have their hands full and too many times our finances, health, and homes don't get the attention they should.  We go over how you can reset your habits so you simplify your finances, home, and lives to enjoy some big wins this year!  Reworking Your Habits For multiple reasons, 2020 was a challenging year.  Even if you weren't directly affected by the pandemic or managed to avoid the f...

Has 2020 thrown you off your FI course? Today we're going to tackle how you can get back on and knock out a goal before the year is over! Knocking Out a Money Goal Before the Year Wraps Up I'm going to take a guess and say that 2020 has not gone the way you thought it would back at the beginning of the year. Looking at the first half of the season, you probably remember that we started off the yea...

Before they leave the house, how can you prepare your teen to be money savvy? Today we go over the five essential skills they need to know! Teaching Your Teen About Money and the Real World Last week,  Kristia shared how she's helping her girls become more savvy and thoughtful with money . We also go into how to start the conversations so your kid can begin to pick up crucial money habits and lear...

How can you help your kids to be thoughtful and master money? We'll go over key things they need to know about how to save, spend, and give!  Teaching Your Kids About Money Teaching Your Kids About Money In a way, I feel like 2020 has kind of given everyone a sense of how time works with parents. On one hand, you look up at the calendar and are amazed at how quickly things have flown by.  I mean i...

Should We Hire a Contractor or DIY This Home Project? If you had to rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 on how handy you are, what would it be? First off congrats if it's a seven or higher.  However, even if you're more in the one to three range, chances are you had those moments and conversations about how cool it would be to tackle some projects.  It could be as simple as a splash of paint, switchi...

With the market not seeming to match what we see around us, how can we invest wisely? Today we're digging into what mistakes to avoid and how to be a wise, effective, and efficient investor! How Not to Stress Out with Investing With so many things going on this year,  it is understandable to wonder if right now is a good time to invest.  Back in March, with things shutting down around the country...

Despite popular opinion, you don't need a million dollars to be financially free. We'll go over how you can create a financial independence plan that fits your family and is actually fun! How Much Do We Need as a Family to Be Financially Free? Simplify and Enjoy  is about  families working toward financial freedom  using core ideas from financial independence and minimalism.  But how does that wor...

Credit scores have a huge influence on finances, but they're not an end all be all. Learn how to raise your credit score while building up your finances! When Your Credit Scores Matter I have to be honest – based on what I know and seeing how people react to them, I'm not a fan of obsessing over your credit score.  However, I also realize that it does have a huge impact on most people's finances. ...

For most families, the school year is over and after being at home for months, there's this desire to get out and explore. However, with coronavirus cases growing, many families are wondering, can we have a safe summer gateway? Summer Break (without Travel?) We're in a strange season. Usually, summer is when families go on vacation, but travel is tricky (to put it mildly). Different parts of this...

Today we're digging into how to live well and enjoy this summer without breaking your budget! Enjoying Summer as a Family, Staying on Budget Saving money can be a smart and practical move when it comes to your finances. Sometimes though, you can get caught up with savings that it becomes your goal. In the personal finance space and in particular with the financial independence community, there's a...

Since March families have been forced to scramble and readjust their money, homes, and routines to deal with the pandemic. Today we'll look at how you can reset, rework, and simplify to reduce the stress and overwhelm this summer! Summer Plans: Rework Your Money, Home, and Routines Right now 2020 seems to me to be a cross between a disaster movie and a rollercoaster.  The original plan was to retu...

Want to get out and travel more with the kids this year without breaking your budget? Learn how you can use travel hacking to snag fantastic deals for your family trips! Travel Hacking 101 for Families This week we're going to have to make a decision – the beach or mountains? Spring is coming which means we have a big break coming up and we'd like to take a mini-getaway as a family.  As we've paid...

Besides investing in index funds, many families in the FI space are also investing in real estate.  We'll look at the different avenues involved (flipping, rental properties, REITs) so you can see if investing real estate is right for you! Is Real Estate Investing Right for Us?  Have you ever watched one of those shows on HGTV and DIY where they renovate and then sell the homes –  Desert Flippers...

Learn how you can find a great deal on a reliable car that you love! Car Buying Guide For many families, car payments are a part of their finances and a big chunk of their budget.  Average monthly payments for new vehicles are $530 for new vehicles  and for  used cars, it's around $381 . It doesn't have to be that way though.  When we switched over to buying our cars with cash, it really freed up...

Food is usually one of the biggest expenses families have. We dive right back in with ways you can save a significant amount of money while still being a foodie! Becoming a Frugal Foodie Frugal foodie is back! During our first season last year, I did an episode  eating well on a budget and becoming a frugal foodie .  It was one of the most popular episodes by far. I had a lot of fun doing it becau...

We're planning on renovating our kitchen, but we don't want to break our budget. Is it possible to have a designer kitchen on an IKEA budget? We'll find out today!  Kitchen Reno on a Budget One of our big goals for 2020 is finally updating our kitchen. When we moved into our house four years ago, we knew there were going to be some projects.  While the house definitely had some great bones and had...