I have to apologise for not blogging much during 2014 – here is my reason: God did a miracle for us! After eight years of marriage and five years of trying for a baby, our daughter was born in January of this year. We could not be happier! Best of all, we were able to cash-flow the entire pregnancy and birth, as well as my short maternity leave, so no new debt!
The only plastic you will ever find in my wallet these days: Loyalty Cards for Cash Purchases. South Africa lags behind the USA on worthwhile coupon or consumer rewards programmes that does not involve signing up for credit, but there have been some new developments in recent years. Although these programmes are designed to encourage customers to spend more at the specific store, I would never adjust my spending behaviour in order to gain points. However, we do sign up…
Have you heard of M4JAM? Make some easy extra cash with Money for Jam My husband and I have been having fun with this project over the past few weeks. Together we have been able to make a couple of hundred bucks in extra cash by completing various quick surveys and tasks in our area. A welcome budget stretcher for those daily odds and ends. How does it work? From their website: “M4JAM takes big jobs from reputable companies and breaks…
This might be a touchy topic, but here goes. We get married to our dear darlings with all the hope in the world that we will always be awesome together and never ever fight about anything. But then Life Happens. There is a misunderstanding, feelings get hurt. Disillusionment. Conflict. Things spiral out of control. Disappointment. Confusion. Discussing your relationship with friends & family Our natural reaction is to want to talk to our friends and family about our relationship problems, in an attempt to…
If you are ready to make major changes to your life, then this song is for you! Brave by Sarah Bareilles:
Have you ever planted your own veggie garden? We have had several through the years. We moved around quite a bit in the first part of our marriage, so we had to restart the process a few times. The best veggie garden we had was next to a farm house we rented – it was a 20m long raised bed {waist high} with fallow ground. We harvested so many veggies that year that we were able to give lots away and freeze some for…
If you are asking the question “Should I belong to a Medical Aid?” because you simply cannot fit the premium into your budget, let me tell you a couple of real-life stories: Story 1: A Tumble Down Some Stairs Someone I know fell down a flight of stairs at her home a while back. She did not have a medical aid at the the time. The fall left her with scull fractures and compound fractures to both wrists. Relatives stepped in and lent her the money needed.She…
Baby Step 7: Build wealth and give! After completing the first 6 baby steps, you will now be debt-free, with a fully funded emergency fund, you are saving 15% of your income for retirement and have started an Education Savings Plan for your children, and you have a paid for house! Well done, you are killing it! From the Dave Ramsey website: It’s time to build wealth and give like never before. Leave an inheritance for future generations, and bless others now with your excess. It’s really the only…
Baby Step 6: Pay Off Your House Early After completing the first 5 baby steps, you will now be debt-free except for your home loan {if you have one} with a fully funded emergency fund, you are saving 15% of your income for retirement and have started an Education Savings Plan for your children. You are now ready to throw any extra money at your home loan and pay off your house early! As you attack this last debt, you will gain momentum much like you did back…
Step 5: Education Savings Plan for your children After completing the first 4 baby steps, you will now be debt-free except for your home loan {if you have one} with a fully funded emergency fund, and you are saving 15% of your income for retirement. Next up is saving for your children’s education. {We don’t have any kids yet, but we plan to be ready to start an education savings plan for them when they are born.} How much should we save for education?…
