Author: <span>Harmony</span>

Things To Do While Waiting For Your Dream Home

After years of hard work, and surviving pandemic quarantine with five kids in a 1,300 square foot home . . . We are finally ready to move into our forever homestead!  There is a down payment in the bank and we have our mortgage preapproval letters.  The next step is …

Death, Money, and God: Reflections and Lessons From A Difficult Time

My father passed away last month. He had been in the hospital since the beginning of December, after suffering a head injury, due to a fall. The rollercoaster ride of the past few months have challenged me beyond anything that I’ve faced before in my life.  In my continuing attempts …

Our Somewhat Frugal Christmas

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year from our family to yours!  This “season of giving” always seems to highlight the struggle between being true to your finances versus indulging and spreading joy to others.  A generous Christmas could easily negate significant financial progress made through the year.  Our …

Black Friday and The Tragic Death of Heirlooms

Now that we’ve survived the shopping frenzy associated with Black Friday and Cyber Monday (the younger sibling), I have a question for anyone that attempted to find some good deals this year.  Did you see anything for sale that could last long enough to be an heirloom for your children, …

Fun Facets of My Kaleidoscope: Time for New Hobbies

We have been laser-focused on repairing our finances throughout the life of this blog, so it makes sense that there would be many, many posts about frugality and side hustles.  However, one of the reasons we work so hard is to have more time for family, travel, and hobbies.  As …

2021 Update & A Reintroduction

How it started?  Frustration.  It was over six years ago when I started this blog as an outlet, a way to brainstorm, and for some accountability.  My days were mostly spent commuting and sitting in an office; unmotivated, depressed, and missing my family.  We were in so much debt that …

What I Learned From Four Years Of NO Shopping For New Clothes

In February of 2016, I posted about my journey of not buying any new clothes for three years. The post really appears to intrigue readers, who still comment about being impressed by this seemingly-impossible task. To the readers who want to know how long I was able to keep it …

Our California RV Adventure: Ideas and Planning

In February of 2020, we explored California in an RV with our five kids.  We had been discussing a cross-country road trip with the family for years, so deciding to take a smaller RV road trip as a sort of test run would have been a very practical idea.  Although …

Not Everyone Really NEEDS A Stimulus Check

This pandemic has clearly affected the finances of people very differently. While some are struggling to pay their bills, others are finding themselves with extra time at home and stimulus checks to supplement their regular income. As the second round of stimulus checks hit bank accounts, I suggest that we …