Jen Kimbro - A Financial Journey

It's officially school supplies season.
✏️📗🖍🛒
Many of you have seen the adds of Walmart "helping" with school supplies. On the website, you can enter in your school's information and with a click of a button you can add all the needed school supplies to the cart at once.

Here's the problem, only name brand items are added.

When shopping for school supplies, check out the brand Pen+Gear!

The Pen+Gear brand, on average, was 50% cheaper than name brand!!

I was able to find the following deals:
2 glue sticks - 25 cents
Bottle of glue - 50 cents
Scissors - 75 cents
Pencils - 97 cents

School supplies shopping doesn't have to be expensive. Having Pen+Gear as an option definitely took some stress away.

Personal finance can be so frustrating. I was ONE paycheck away from completing my 1 month of savings goal.

And then Murphy hit.

🏠 Home Improvement Fund was drained.
✈️ Live Like No One Else fund dropped. 💸 Starter Emergency Fund dropped as well.

But you know what, I was able to cover the expense of the roof without going into debt. 🙌
And THAT is something to be thankful for!

Yes, it's frustrating to start over.
Yes, it is stressful.
Yes, it is discouraging to redo trackers.
Yes, it stinks saying no to things.

But you have to keep moving forward.

Keep making wise choices.
Keep saying no to unnecessary wants.
Keep tracking your expenses.
Keep focused on your goals.

The week I got the news about the roof, I received a recommendation to read Pslam 23.

Psalm 23: 1
The Lord is my shepard; I have what I need.

How incredibly fitting.
Do I have what I want? Nope. Not even close.
But do I have what I need? YEP!

And that's what matters and that is were my focus is. Is this super frustrating, yes. But at the end of the day, I have what I need and I will continue to work HARD to meet the goals I have set.

Murphy's Law hit us pretty hard yesterday.

The plywood on the house is only 3/8"... the minimum a house can have is 1/2". So the boards will need to be replaced, all of them.

Needless to say this extra ($4,000! 🤢) expense was not budgeted for. The Home Improvement sinking fund has been completely wiped out and 2 other sinking funds were cut in half. 😭

Starting over is never fun.

Baby Step 3 - take 2.

I decided to go to Walmart and Kroger to see who had the best prices. I checked the price of each company's brand of bacon, eggs and milk.

My suspicion was true... these items are all cheaper at Walmart!

Bacon
Walmart: $4.32
Kroger: $4.69

Eggs
Walmart: $3.24
Kroger: $3.39

Milk - 1/2 gallon
Walmart: $2.18
Kroger: $2.69

Purchasing these items at Walmart would instantly save you $1!

Kroger vs. Walmart

Where do you do most of your grocery shopping?

Meal planning is more important than ever now that prices are going up and a recession is on the way.

This is a great way to purchase items intentionally and to not over spend at the grocery store. These meals are not fancy, but they will work.

Also, stick to grocery pick ups. This will help eliminate impulse buying.

Call your internet, tv, and phone companies every 6 months. Many times there are promotions and/or new plans that will help lower your months costs.

I recently called my internet provider and asked if there was anything that could be done to help lower my monthly bill. Lucky, they had a promotion going on that offered $10 off for 6 months, saving me a total of $60.

It may not seem like much but these savings can add up over time.

If you are needing home repairs done, request quotes from multiple companies. I will not name the businesses but below are the quotes that I received for my roof.

Company 1: $15,000
Company 2: $12,000
Company 3: $10,000

😬😬😬

Yall, I actually just did this. 🤭

Warning: Nerd Post 🤓

I have always been a pen and paper kinda girl and a self-proclaimed pen snob. You will rarely find me without my planner and pens near by. There is just nothing better than marking items off of my to do list and having a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day.

My planner helps me in so many areas of my life; one being my finances.

I just received my new planner dashboard and bookmarks and I couldnt be happier with them. I am all for purchasing items that help me stay organized. So I thought I would share some of my favorite planner items and accessories with you!
Planner dashboard, tabs, bookmarks: Etsy
https://www.etsy.com/shop/SortStuffOut

Filofax Malden Planner, monthly tabs and lined paper: Amazon

Filofax Malden Planner https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DJKT4Q8/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_VSMGFP9HTT5G5B0C3W7K?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

A5 Lined Paper, Refills https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08L3JP36J?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

2022 Monthly Planner Refill https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WX77PH2?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Weekly inserts: Etsy
https://www.etsy.com/shop/DearPlanner

I am a firm believer in all things Dave Ramsey and these are the baby steps that I follow.

I understand that some may not agree with this method, but these baby steps have saved me multiple times.

Anyone else fighting the temptation to pick up a pizza tonight? 😩

Money saving tip:

Plant a garden and can vegetables.
🥒🍎🥔🌽🥦🫑
Summer is always a season of work for our family, but snapping greenbeans will always be one of my favorite things to do.

Happy Easter!
The BEST day of the year!

Remembering who paid my debt on this Good Friday.

It is almost EASTER!

Easter baskets can get pricey fast, especially if you are buying for more than one kid.
I was able to put this basket together for less than $13!!

Money saving tip for bubble wands:
Do not buy bubble wands in the Easter section at Walmart. They have a HUGE mark up on them. Check out the outdoor toy section and you will find bubble wands for less than a dollar.

No Spend Month
Day 4 - Join Reward Programs
Are you a rewards member at Pizza Hut? If not, you should check it out!
I was able to cash in some reward points for a FREE large pizza!!

No Spend Month: Day 2
We took a trip to Target today to pick up some "church" shirts for Cam. The kids are growing like crazy.
This was my very first time going to Target and not picking something up for me, just because.
I forced myself to go to the check out, and I did it! I only bought what we needed.
Honestly, it was a great feeling and not impulse buying will help us reach out emergency fund goal.

April showers are on the way.
It WILL rain and unforeseen expenses will pop up. That's why it is so important to have an emergency fund. With that being said, I decided that April is the perfect time for a "No Spend Month."
What's a No Spend Month?
A No Spend Month, is when you go an entire month only purchasing necessary items. Needs only, no wants.
This allows you to put extra money into your emergency fund; short term sacrifices for long term gain.
Are you doing a No Spend Month for April?

Jen Kimbro - A Financial Journey updated their website address.

Reason #423 for why you need an emergency fund...
Ya'll.
The plumbing in my house messed up.
I mean, giant bubbles coming up out of the toilet messed up!
I had to call a plumber.
I sent Cody Demoret a message at 8 in the morning and he had it fixed by noon! He explained the possible solutions and gave his honest opinion on what my best option would be. His pricing was also significantly lower than what I anticipated. I HIGHLY recommend him!

Slowly working on my 3 month emergency fund. This step is not nearly as exciting as paying debt off, but it is incredibly important.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Have I made personal financial decisions that have upset individuals in my family?
YEP!
Do I care?
NOPE!

"No" is a full sentence.

Gas prices are starting to get a little scary.
To get the best price possible, download the GasBuddy app. It's FREE.
All you do is enter in your location and it will provide a list of all the gas stations near you and the current prices.

Meal planning while the kids play.

Let's be real...

Some nights, the last thing I feel like doing is writing out my meal plan. I would rather color with the kids, read a book, binge Netflix... ANYTHING but make a meal plan.

It's not always fun or exciting.

Sometimes it's a pain.

BUT

Meal planning allows me to save for Christmas, save for my emergency fund, save for vacations with the kids.

Would I rather have Doritos or a vacation?
(Some days it's Doritos, 😆 and that's okay)

But by being intentional with meal planning I am able to save for things that I want in the future.

I'll be honest, it was nothing for me to spend $600-$700 a month on groceries. I would walk into the store with no plan at all and put whatever sounded good in the cart.

I knew I was spending WAY too much on groceries, so I started meal planning. I was able to see the savings immediately!!

This week, by meal planning with items that I already have on hand, I was able to keep my grocery list under $30!

Do you meal plan?
Are you thinking about starting?!

You can send a message directly to Jen Kimbro - A Financial Journey.