Texoma with Kids

I’ll be the first to admit it. Right out of college and into my first job, I developed some bad spending habits. I relied too heavily on student loans (my husband went on to law school so they were still available to us), I used credit cards like they were free money, and an “emergency”…

Usually, paying bills is one of those adult chores that takes time away from family time. It doesn’t have to be that way, though! Getting your kids involved in the family finances can let you take care of your responsibilities and spend time with your children at the same time. Making financial fitness a game…

Divvying up your kid’s allowance into different jars, each with a specific label and purpose, has become pretty standard. Your kids probably have one jar for savings, one for spending and maybe another for giving. What most parents and kids omit, though, is one more jar for emergencies. Yes, emergencies, even for kids. Granted, they…

When you’re planning for and bringing home a new baby, it’s easy to get caught up in sleepless nights, organic baby food and reading every book you can find, but sometimes parents forget an obvious priority: teaching and helping your child to save money as they grow up. (Hello, this was me in 2015 –…

Leaky toilets can really inflate your water bill. Try the Kool Aid test! Dump a package of orange Kool-Aid into the tank of your toilet and don’t flush for an hour. If you still see orange water in the toilet bowl after an hour, you have a leak. Stop throwing out money and get it…

Back-to-school season can be exhausting — and expensive! Take the hassle and the hefty price tags out of this year’s school shopping by downloading these 5 apps. Who knows? Maybe school shopping can be fun again! 1. School Supply List (iOS, $0.99) Keep things organized with this app created just for school supply lists. You can…

Apps like Ibotta and Checkout 51 will give you cash rebates on your groceries – all you have to do is scan your receipt. For just a minute of your time, you can earn a little bit back, potentially putting hundreds of dollars back in your wallet this year!   The ones I use: Walmart…

Impulse purchases can wreak havoc on the most carefully constructed budgets. It’s something we struggle with as adults (myself included). But what if we could break the cycle? By teaching your kids how to recognize them, you will be giving them the tools for overcoming that overpowering impulse to buy, buy, buy.  This month’s goal: Show your kids how retailers manipulate our…

Welp, I’m back on the wagon. (After gaining COUGHFOURCOUGH pounds in the seven days I was in Houston…) AnyWHO, when I have had success in eating better and losing weight, it had a lot to do with planning meals. Meal planning is a simple and effective way to save a lot of money each month,…

Q: My partner and I are excited to soon bring home our own little bundle of joy. How can we save money while raising our baby? A: It’s hard to work and juggle child care around normal adult responsibilities! Costs have gone up as well – raising a child from birth to age 18 can cost over…