Category: <span>New Priorities</span>

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 …

2020 Update: Continuing On Our Path, Changes, and New Plans

And just like that . . . 2019 is over.  Everyone seems to be discussing resolutions and reflecting, not only on the past year, but the last decade.  As we enter the New Year, my thoughts are also focused on goals and accomplishments, including the past progress of this blog …

Our Frugal Family Road Trip To Virginia

What a fun and frugal family adventure!  We used the President’s Day school break to take a road trip down to Virginia and visited Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown Settlement, Virginia Beach, and Norfolk.  We also spent some time with my brother-in-law and his wife in Washington, D.C.  The trip was perfect: …

2019 Update: Finances, Life & Plans For The Future

Greetings from The Smith Family!  We hope that 2019 is going well for you so far.  This blog is quite overdue for an update on our progress with finances and everything else that has been going on with us.  Read on to learn about just how much debt we’ve destroyed …

Family Road Trips: Exploring The World Together

Few things in life offer families a unique bonding opportunity the way road trips do, and seeing as this year one in three Americans will be on the road (the highest ever recorded) it’s safe to say most Americans would agree. Finding a great destination, planning out all the stops and staying …

A Cautionary Tale: How One Side Hustle Almost Cost Me Everything

In looking back over my blog posts over the past several years, they always seem to be a bit more spread out over the summer. It makes sense, because we’re on the go more during the warmer seasons of the year, trying to fill our days with as much adventure …

How To Be A Financially Responsible Adult

I hope you are having a great summer!  We have been a little too busy over the past few months, but continue trying to make the most of our time by focusing on family, frugal living, and being responsible with money.  I’m pleased to share the following guest post for …

Monday Medley: Where Have We Been?

I must start off by apologizing to my dear readers, as it has been quite a while since anything new has been posted here at Creating My Kaleidoscope.  Everything is fine, great actually.  We’ve just been very busy with family adventures, frugal living activities, and hustling too.   Celebrations Believe …

Sending Kids To Birthday Parties Without Breaking Your Budget

Frugal parenting come with many different types of challenges. A reader and Instagram buddy reached out to me about how we pay for birthday party presents. I agree with her that dropping the kids off to be entertained for a few hours can be really nice, but is it worth …