The Debt Free Mom Podcast

YNAB is one of the major players in the world of budgeting apps. For some people, it's features like requiring a plan for each dollar, spreading savings plans evenly over time into sinking funds, or syncing with your bank accounts and credit cards are very helpful. For others, like today's guest, Sarah, it can seem like a great idea, but fall short in execution. Today we'll talk about...

When two adults with two very different interests, priorities, and stressors come together to manage one budget, it can become contentious and not budgeting at all feels better. Today, my husband, Kyle, and I are going to share about how we each contribute to managing our family's finances in very different ways. Kyle has experience managing a business budget in his previous role as a nonprofi...

There was big news in the personal finance world this week as Mint budgeting software announced that they are closing as of January 2024 and rolling into their Credit Karma software. The data will not carry over and users have to download their information before the end of this year. I sat down with Alissa Henry and recorded this podcast episode to talk about her experience moving from Mint to th...

If you've been following me for the past four months, you know that we recently chose to sell our home and become renters. This was a confusing choice to many people, and I was told multiple times that we are now throwing our money away. Well, my family isn't the only one who is budgeting well, achieving our financial goals over time, and choosing to rent instead of own. Haley Brown-Woods...

How are we supposed to make an accurate, realistic budget when medical providers can bill you months or years after actually visiting them? In today's episode, Ashley will tell us about budgeting for her family and learning to incorporate these bills and payments into her budget. Ashley is a registered dietician and mom of two. She has used the Debt Free Mom pay period budget template for awhi...

10% of adults in the us have outstanding medical debts greater than $250 according to the most recent US Census Bureau. Unfortunately, medical bills are both common and confusing. Today on the Debt Free Mom Podcast, Lindsey joins us to talk about the hard reality of learning how to navigate medical bills and advocate well for her family. Lindsey is a married mom of two boys who works in talent acq...

Today on the podcast, I have Paige Pritchard who owns Overcoming Overspending. Paige is a spending coach who helps women stop impulse shopping and overspending. In 2020 Paige became a certified life coach through The Life Coach School and since then has coached thousands of women to become better spenders and reach their full financial potential through her social channels, her podcast called The...

If you are feeling stuck with a shrinking gap between your income and expenses and wondering if there is any light at the end of the tunnel, look no further than today's episode. Emily Austin is a mom of two living in the high cost Northeast. Her husband is a social worker and she is a part-time waitress. Their willingness to be flexible with their income and their expenses has changed their o...

For all the negativity, social media may get, I'm so thankful for how it brings people together. I have followed Tidy Dad for a year now and always look forward to the beautifully predictable rhythms he brings to his stories. Tyler, his wife, Emily, and three daughters live in New York City. As you can imagine, big city living with a family of five comes with its challenges. Tyler uses his acc...

What would you do if you bought a home with a mortgage that was almost triple your previous mortgage? And then you ended up needing to reduce your income to care for a sick family member? Today on the podcast, Jenelle Walsh comes to share her story of getting creative with her money and committed to paying off debt that came out of circumstances she couldn't have seen in advance. Jenelle is a...

What would you do if three major home repairs fell in your lap all at once? Can you think of a possible plan of action easily, or would this kind of life event paralyze you financially? Today, Jackie comes on the podcast to share about this happening to her family. Jackie is a mom of three who works in medical sales. She's always budgeted in some form and has used the Debt Free Mom template fo...

Welcome to season two of the Debt Free Mom podcast! Kicking off our next season, we have Mya on the podcast today. She is younger than our average listener base and she's here to share about being a Gen Z budgeter and trying to find financial advice that works for a younger generation. She's going to share her story about graduating from college, looking for jobs, and establishing herself...

Last week, we wrapped up our June theme learning to enjoy eating most of our meals at home. To close out this month, today's episode is with our first ever expert guest! Amy Cross is an expert in food storage and preservation. She shares practical approaches to reducing food waste and spending even while accommodating food allergies, sensitivities, picky eaters, and everything in between. List...

Summer with kids can be one of the most expensive times of the year. For some reason when they're all home and they're all eating meals at home all the time, it can end up being even harder to stay on budget. In today's first summer episode of the Debt Free Mom podcast, we'll talk through how to manage our finances and our time with kids at home for the summer. First, we'll cov...

This is part three of my money story spanning over 11 and a half years of personal finances in our family of growing of learning from our mistakes of finding our way through the advice and rules of other people to what worked for us. In this final installment of our money story, I'm going from March of 2019, which is when Debt Free Mom began up to today in the spring of 2022.  Part 1 of my sto...

This is a special bonus episode of the Debt Free Mom Podcast. This episode is from a recording of an Instagram live sharing with my audience why a monthly budget might fall apart even when it looks right on paper. I also share why a pay period budget might be better instead. So the audio might sound a little different than what you’re used to here on the DFM podcast, and you’ll hear me answer a fe...

How do you pivot your relationship with money when you had one singular goal, you finally accomplished it, and you realize you haven't at all prepared for what life on the other side of that goal might look like? Today's episode is part two of My Money Story, right after we became debt free. What did we do next?   Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https...

I started Debt Free Mom in March of 2019. We were debt-free, we had three kids, and we were about to buy our first house. But we had also been married for over seven years, and the way our finances looked over those seven years was nothing like it looked when I started Debt Free Mom. So I thought to close out season one of the Debt Free Mom podcast, I would take three episodes to break down our st...

How do we sort through our money goals? When we have big deadlines, like a baby due date, a car that won't fit the whole family, and then just a general desire to be investing more today? Jenny and I talked through a game plan for financially preparing for a new baby and then which goal is to focus on after baby arrives. Do we do the goals that just feel good or should we run the numbers first...

Lacey is a full-time accountant who has been married for nine years and they have floated in and out of being debt free, most recently a move in 2021, putting them back into debt. She lives and breathes numbers and spreadsheets professionally, but didn't find a budgeting system that stuck until trying the Debt Free Mom template. Lacey comes on today to talk about sinking funds, saving, setting...

Anytime I do an audience poll about why budgeting is so hard, the number one word that comes up is "overwhelming." It's overwhelming to try and start. It's overwhelming to be in the middle of a budget and have things change. It's overwhelming to choose what goal you should be focusing on. Today on the podcast with Anna, we talk about how to address this feeling of overwhelm so...

Some of us have always been in the role of managing our family's finances, but other times a transition in job or relationship or family structure can land you in this role for the first time in your adult life. Cortney comes on the podcast today to talk about becoming the family's budgeter after being married for 13 years. I'm excited for you to hear her story today as she shares all...

All this budgeting talk sounds great, but what if you're currently spending more than you make? You might be counting yourself out of this budgeting conversation because you know that each month your credit card debt is growing or your savings is shrinking, or both. This is for all the people who are consistently spending more than they make - you are not the only one! This might not be someth...

Congratulations, you got a raise! Now, what are you going to do with it? Without a plan, these hard-earned dollars can disappear quickly making it feel like you never got a raise in the first place. Hayleah is thinking hard about this question as she's preparing her family's budget for a large raise. We talk about how to prevent lifestyle inflation, enjoy the extra room in the budget while...

How long in advance do you plan out your money? When you sit down to make a budget, are you still making a once a month budget? In this video, I'll share about not only budgeting by pay period, but budgeting by pay period farther in advance than 30 days. This is one of the keys to avoiding budget failure and creating meaningful progress toward your money goals! If you're tired of the lack...