Life is a constant struggle and real estate is at the heart of that struggle. You spend your youth getting the education you need to earn money; your young adult years saving for your first house, and your forties and fifties desperately trying to increase the size of your assets.
Bigger is always better throughout this time. If you find a new home that has more rooms and more square footage than your current home, you feel like you’re moving up in the world. It means you’ll have more room for that gym you’ve always wanted, the home office you need for your new creative project, and the extra bedrooms for your growing family.
But what happens when your children grow up and move out. What happens when you’re too old to care about a gym and have retired from all professional and creative pursuits? You now have a house that is much bigger than you need and is a chore to maintain.
When to Downsize
The idea of downsizing may seem abhorrent to the ambitious go-getter who is intent on going bigger and better, but there are several times when a smaller home and less space makes more sense, including:
Empty Nesters
If you have a big family, with several children and a busy household, it makes sense to get a big home. Kids want their own rooms and putting multiple family members in a small space is only going to cause arguments and fights.
But when those kids leave home, the noise of a busy household turns into the silence of an empty nest and a larger home no longer makes sense.
Sure, you have extra rooms to do with as you please, but extra rooms mean extra cleaning and maintenance. If you’re not very mobile, it doesn’t make sense to live in a multi-story house with several bedrooms that need dusting and bathrooms that need cleaning.
You’re also sitting on a small goldmine, because by selling up and buying a smaller place, you can use the additional funds to take vacations, buy flash cars and enjoy life a little more.
Struggling Debtors
A big family home costs a lot to maintain, especially if it still has a mortgage. And when you add credit card debts, car loans, personal loans, student loans, and other debts on top of that mortgage, you’ll be left with very little money.
You could take out a home equity loan, but only if you want to cling onto a large home that you don’t really need. In situations like this, it makes much more sense to buy a less expensive home and use the additional cash to pay off debts.
As an example, let’s assume that you live in a 5-bedroom townhouse. If we take the national average, that house could be worth just under $500,000. If you have just $100,000 left on your mortgage and sell for the asking price, you can clear the mortgage, drop $200,000 on a new 2-bedroom house, and once all bills, closing costs, and new furniture expenses have been accounted for, you’ll have around $150,000 to clear your debt.
Being debt-free is a great feeling, much better than owning a large house that you can’t afford.
Homeowners Who Struggle with Upkeep
Bigger homes require more maintenance, and if you’re not very mobile you may struggle to give them the care and attention they need.
Pipes burst, wood rots, doors break, faucets leak. And that’s before you consider all the essentials that need to be replaced every few years. If you lack the DIY skills and can no longer afford to pay someone to help, it might be time to downsize and get a newer and more manageable property, one that has far few maintenance requirements.
Homeowners Struggling with Utility Bills
In stories from the mid to late 19th century, there was a cliché of the old widow who lived alone in a large house that was always cold and poorly maintained because she couldn’t afford the utility bills. She was usually confined to a small portion of the house and left everything else cold, dark, and in a poor state of repair.
This cliché exists for a reason, and while it was once the reserve of “old money” landowners who were desperate to cling onto their family homes despite dwindling income, it is now common in many middle-class homes.
If your financial situation is so dire that you can’t afford to heat the home you live in, it’s time to downsize.
Bored Retirees
If you’ve spent your entire life working, earning, and sculpting a life for yourself, the last thing you want to do is spend your retirement years walking around an empty house in the middle of nowhere.
You need to live a little.
By selling up and getting a smaller space, you’ll have more money left over to enjoy yourself. Go on a few cruises, take a trip across Europe, fly to Australia—live your dreams.
It’s not just about vacations and frivolous spending, either. You can also buy a house that is more suited to your current lifestyle and your desires. You might have purchased a house smack-bang in the middle of suburbia, ideal for raising kids, but what if you’re a city dweller at heart and you miss the big lights? You might have your heart set on going the other way, delving further into solitude by purchasing a cabin in the middle of the woods.
You Want an Investment
Downsizing is often the right move for older homeowners, but younger ones can also benefit by shaving a few square feet off their living space.
Let’s imagine, for instance, that you’re in your forties and have been lucky enough to purchase a large house that is now more or less paid off. You have been working in a high-paying dead-end job for most of your life and want to go out in style before you retire.
You can sell your home and move into a smaller house, before using the money to fund a business or just to invest. You could even purchase several homes, living in one and renting the others. You’ll earn yourself some additional retirement income for when the time comes and if you play your cards right, you won’t have any mortgages to worry about.
Bottom Line: Big Decision
Whatever the reason and whatever you decide, it’s important to take your time and think this through. Buying a new home is a huge step and downsizing is even bigger, because in addition to the buying process, you also have to think about how you’re going to spend all the money you’ll have left over (assuming it won’t go toward clearing your mortgage).
You also have to think about capital gains tax and what will happen to your loved ones’ inheritance.
It’s a big decision made for the long-term and is therefore not one you should make quickly or take lightly. Speak with a financial planner, chat with other home buyers who have done the same thing and get advice from your real estate agent and loved ones.
Hey everyone! Today, I have a great guest post to share on how you can increase your Pinterest traffic to your blog. Ling sees over 100,000 monthly pageviews on her blog from Pinterest and she shares her best tips below, as well as in her new guide The Golden Compass To Pinterest Traffic. Enjoy her article below.
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Hi everyone!
My name is Ling and I created my first blog in the personal finance niche, Finsavvy Panda, along with a Pinterest business account in November 2017 when I was looking for ways to quit my job.
After reaching my first $18,000 monthly affiliate income with my first blog in the summer of 2019, I was beyond excited but nervous at the same time.
Excited because I would have never imagined earning this kind of income from home. But I was also nervous because all my earnings were coming from one blog. That’s when I started an anonymous lifestyle blog so I could diversify my online income and test my Pinterest strategies in different niches.
Today, I earn an annual net income of over $200,000 and it’s mostly thanks to the traffic I get from Pinterest!
Prior to creating a Pinterest business account to drive blog traffic, I used Pinterest like how any regular user would to get inspiration and ideas for home décor, crafty gifts, DIY projects, and healthy recipes.
In fact, I used to flip preloved furniture as a fun hobby for extra money so I could increase my savings.
I remember bingeing content on Pinterest to learn how DIY bloggers would sand, paint, decoupage, and design wooden furniture. Learning from the DIY crafty bloggers on Pinterest helped me earn an extra $500 to $2,000 per month with a flipping hobby!
This hobby allowed me to have fun and unleash my creativity, but I stopped refurbishing small furniture because the income was too active and linear.
Not too long after, I started a personal finance blog, followed by my lifestyle blog, and so far, I’m loving it because it can feel quite passive once you’ve put in the upfront work and effort.
Related content:
How To Get Consistent and Long-Lasting Traffic on Pinterest
After using Pinterest (from a consumer and business perspective) for several years, I am going to share my tips on how I consistently get over 100,000 monthly pageviews from Pinterest.
You may even come across periods when Pinterest sends you over 10,000 pageviews in ONE SINGLE DAY like how it has happened to me several times in the past:
It’s true that some blog niches will do better than others on Pinterest. However, I still believe that almost any niche can drive a good amount of traffic. It depends on what you write about and how you spin those topics on your blog to make it “Pinterest-friendly”.
On top of that, if you want to succeed on the platform, it’s important to understand it from the perspectives of a real consumer and a business user.
Because I had so many readers ask me for Pinterest traffic tips over the years of my blogging career, I created The Golden Compass To Pinterest Traffic, a very comprehensive A to Z step-by-step guide, to help bloggers and content creators succeed on Pinterest.
This guide is a one-stop shop to help brand new and intermediate bloggers create Pinterest content that will get ranked for consistent and long-lasting traffic. They are the exact strategies I used for two of my blogs, which were both accepted into Mediavine, allowing me to diversify my blog income with display ads.
Today, I wanted to share some of my insights with you on Making Sense of Cents, so here are my 7 actionable tips to help you get traffic and succeed on Pinterest.
1. Make sure you have a solid foundation on Pinterest
Before you get started on Pinterest to get traffic, you need to sign up for a Pinterest business account and make sure you build a solid foundation.
From my experience working with bloggers, many people immediately pin out random images that link back to their blogs without setting up the basic things first.
These include:
Claiming your website on Pinterest
Setting up what they call “Rich” pins
Optimizing your Pinterest profile, boards, Pin images, and Pin descriptions
You can’t just create a Pinterest account and start randomly pinning your posts without optimizing your Pinterest profile and having some sort of strategy.
2. Choose a category or niche and try to stick with it
You need to have an idea of what you’ll be blogging about most of the time. That way, you can create specific content and narrowed-down topics that tailor to a specific audience.
I want to say it’s okay to go a bit broader with your topics at the beginning when you have no experience with blogging, writing, or using Pinterest. But when I say go “broad”, I don’t literally mean write about everything and anything especially when you can’t spin those articles around by making them relate to each other.
For example, I don’t recommend writing one article about budgeting tips, the next article about chicken recipes, and then the next article about traveling in NYC. These three are not related and have nothing in common with each other. That will confuse not only your readers, but Pinterest will have no idea how to categorize you on the platform.
I understand that some of you may find it hard to stick to a dedicated niche, so here are my quick tips if you really want to write about everything.
Suppose you’re a general personal finance blogger. You could turn that chicken dinner blog post into budget-friendly chicken dinner recipes under $X. You can also write about cheap travels in NYC.
Alternatively, if you’re a travel blogger, you can spin those other articles around and write about budgeting for a travel fund, or the best chicken sandwiches in NYC. You get my point, right?
Having said that, I still highly recommend narrowing it down and don’t stray too far from your main niche.
As you write more content, you’ll get a feel of what types of topics you want to stick to in your long-term strategy. This is important because you want to tell Pinterest what your focus is so that the platform knows how to distribute your content to the right audience.
3. Don’t neglect Pinterest SEO and keyword research
One mistake I see many new bloggers make, including myself when I was a beginner, is they neglect Pinterest SEO and doing proper keyword research in their niche.
For those of you who don’t know what this means, don’t worry. I can quickly explain this in simple English for you.
“SEO” stands for search engine optimization and all that really means is writing blog posts that get searched by users and having them show on Pinterest.
Once you become a Pinterest business user, you’ll realize that Pinterest is more than just a social media.
It’s also a visual search engine where many users look for inspiration and ideas by typing specific keywords or phrases into the Pinterest search bar. It’s no different from searching for ideas and solutions to your problems on Google.
For example, when I was using Pinterest as a real user several years ago to look for refurbishing furniture ideas for my side hustle hobby (before I even started my blog), I would type the following phrases into the Pinterest search bar:
How to prime and paint a coffee table
How to make chalk paint or DIY chalk paint
DIY farmhouse rustic nightstand
Black and white decoupage ideas for side tables
Lion head drawer pulls
These are called “keywords” and simply searching for those keywords on Pinterest led me to many DIY, home décor, and craft bloggers! These DIY and craft bloggers most likely did keyword research and wrote many blog posts based on all those phrases that I (real user) searched for.
After reading those helpful blog posts, I made purchases on items like an orbital sander, drawer pulls, decoupage paper designs, and many more products through the bloggers’ affiliate links. These unique links allow bloggers to earn a commission every time someone clicks on the link and makes a purchase.
Affiliate marketing is one method bloggers use to make money with their blogs. Michelle has a fantastic e-course called Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing that teaches you how to implement affiliate marketing strategies onto your blog. I’ve taken this course several years ago and it’s the resource that helped me earn my first full-time income with affiliate marketing. I highly recommend it if you want to learn how to strategically insert affiliate links onto your posts so that you can increase your conversions and bring in more income!
As you can see, there are many benefits to learning Pinterest SEO and doing keyword research. You can capture your audience, help them with a specific problem, and earn money with those blog posts using methods like display ads and affiliate marketing.
I’m going to illustrate a couple of examples in the next point to help you prepare a list of blog post ideas for your readers!
4. Prepare blog post ideas using keyword research
By learning what users like to search for on Pinterest, you can come up with a list of profitable blog post ideas and prepare them in advance. This is how you can help your potential readers find and discover you on Pinterest!
To get started on keyword research, you have to first put yourself in the position of the user. Just like the example I gave earlier about myself when I was searching for DIY-related keywords as a real Pinterest user.
What would you type into the search bar when you’re specifically looking for something?
Another quick and simple way to do this is to type the first few words into the Pinterest search and see what keywords show up in the autocomplete drop-down.
If you’re a travel blogger, you can type something like “things to do in…” and you’ll see the following suggestions from Pinterest.
You can write at least 5 different blog post ideas based on this one simple search:
Things To Do in Chicago
Things To Do in Nashville Tennessee
Things To Do in London
Things To Do in San Diego
Things To Do in Boston
And the list of “things to do in…” can go on and on.
Another example is perhaps you want to recommend essentials to your readers. In this case, you can type “travel essentials” and mark down those suggested target keywords as your blog post ideas.
Once you hit enter after searching for your keyword or phrase, you’ll also notice the colorful tiles underneath the search bar. These tiny tiles are additional or related keywords.
For example, “travel essentials” is a general keyword or phrase. But when you use the pink tile, “for women” example, this becomes what they call a “long-tail” keyword. Instead of writing a blog post about “the best travel essentials” (this is the general keyword), you can also write another blog post to target an audience of women using the long-tail keyword, “the best travel essentials for women”.
After blogging for several years, I can tell you that Pinterest SEO is essential. You can’t afford to neglect Pinterest keyword research if you want people to find your articles!
5. Know who your audience is
In my first two years of blogging, I made a lot of mistakes with my blog because I didn’t really know who I was writing to.
Sure, you can “niche” down by only writing about personal finance and money topics like what I do on Finsavvy Panda, but truly understanding your audience is more than just “niching down”.
I always knew that I should be narrowing down and targeting a specific audience, but no matter how much I read or learned online about “know who your audience is”, I just didn’t fully understand that concept until more and more readers kept e-mailing me and asking me questions.
It wasn’t until my third year of blogging, or even last year, that this really hit me in the head!
Yes, doing keyword research is essential. But even after you have your blog post ideas ready based on your keyword research, you can’t blindly write without knowing who you’re speaking to.
Suppose you’re a male nutritionist and fitness blogger. Which audience are you tailoring your message to?
An unfit male who is overweight and wants a simple diet and exercise plan to help them achieve their weight loss goals.
An average-built male who wants to learn about a specific diet and workout plan to help them tone and build muscle.
A male who’s already fit and somewhat knowledgeable about specific diet plans but wants to go to the next level and bulk up even more.
As you can see, those are three very different audiences, and you can’t possibly write for all of them. The saying goes, “If you try to please everyone you’ll please no one”.
This advice about “knowing your audience” may sound like common sense, but you’d be surprised that many bloggers don’t really know who their audience is. To be honest, I still struggle with this part but I’m always learning more about my readers and testing new strategies to see what works and what doesn’t.
To get started on knowing your target audience, use Google and Pinterest analytics to analyze your data. It’s so easy to neglect this part, especially when you’re not an analytical blogger. However, to my surprise, when I started using this data, I was able to better target my audience and readers for more intentional traffic.
The more intentional you are with your content, the more quality readers you’ll attract.
6. Make your Pin design and titles click-worthy
The first step to getting your blog posts found is doing proper keyword research on Pinterest and “optimizing” your Pin descriptions. Doing that alone will increase your chances of ranking higher on the Pinterest search engine, allowing people to find your blog posts.
But what good is it when your Pin is shown on the organic searches without a click-worthy title?
I want to emphasize that you will get traffic as long as your Pins are shown on the feed, especially on organic searches. However, you can increase your traffic further just by simply making small tweaks to your Pin designs and titles.
I’ve tested this by coming up with a variation of titles on my Pin designs for the same blog post. There are a lot of factors that cause more or fewer clicks to your pages. Those factors include the audience on Pinterest, search volume for your target keywords, the Pinterest algorithm, and many more.
Holding all else constant, I noticed that whenever I made tweaks to a word, phrase, or even design on the Pins for my anonymous lifestyle blog, my click-through rate (AKA traffic) on Pinterest improved significantly.
For the sake of simplicity, let me illustrate an example. I am going to deliberately use blogging and business titles as examples here because I know it speaks to you.
Which of the following titles (for the same blog post) entices you to click in and actually read them?
How To Get Traffic on Pinterest in 20XX
How To Get Traffic on Pinterest and Monetize Your Blog in 20XX
The Ugly Truth About How Long It Takes To Get Traffic on Pinterest
10 Pinterest Traffic Tips That Nobody Tells You About
10 Reasons Why You’re Not Getting Any Traffic On Pinterest
Think about those Pin titles and ask yourself which one sparks the most curiosity.
You can also see one of my Pin templates used by my friend, Enoch from Savvy New Canadians. He made quick tweaks to the general pre-made template to target his personal finance audience and named his title “21 Easy Ways To Make An Extra $1,000 Right Now”.
This is a better headline than a boring title like “How To Make Extra Money”, “Best Ways To Make Extra Money” or “21 Ways To Make More Money” because the word “Easy” speaks to a specific audience who’s looking for quick wins, and the term, “right now” emphasizes to the reader that he/she can do something about it immediately.
Generally speaking, people are more likely to click in and read your post when you suggest something that’s relatively easier, quicker, and immediate.
You can use these Pin Savvy Templates to help you create beautiful and click-worthy Pins in just seconds. They are the templates I use to make over 100 Pins in less than 30 minutes hence saving me time and hassle.
Pin Design and Title Example Using One of Michelle’s Pin
When I was searching for “meatless dinner ideas” or “no meat dinners” on mobile, this Pin that Michelle used from the Pin Savvy Templates bundle showed up on the top searches on Pinterest. Michelle is ranking quite high on Pinterest with these related keywords about meatless meals on the platform as you can see in the screenshot:
This is what you’ll want to aim for – to have your Pins show up on organic searches when users are searching for keywords or phrases used on your blog post.
While designing your Pin, you’ll want to think about titles that will pique your readers’ interest because that is one thing you can do to increase your traffic on Pinterest when they find you on searches.
Click-worthy titles for Michelle’s blog post about meatless dinner can include:
10 Insanely Delicious Meatless Recipes You Need To Try Now (To target the general audience)
10 Budget-Friendly Meatless Meals Under $X (To target budget-conscious audience)
10 Insanely Good Meatless Recipes – Kids Approved! (To target families with kids who typically don’t like veggies)
10 Fast and Easy Meatless Dinner Ideas – X Minutes and Under! (To target people looking for quick and easy meals)
10 Healthy Vegetarian Dinner Recipes You’ll Want To Make Forever (To target health-conscious readers. Health-conscious people know that just because it’s vegetarian, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s healthy, so you’ll want to call it out if it is.)
Noticed that ties back to the point I made above about targeting your audience.
Not only can you make your Pin designs pretty and click-worthy, but you can also see how you can attract a specific type of audience depending on what words you use in your headline.
7. See what’s trending on Pinterest
Look for some content ideas by using Pinterest Trends.
Pinterest Trends can be extremely helpful for bloggers in a number of ways. For starters, this tool can help you get an idea of what people are searching for on Pinterest. This is valuable information because it can give you an indication of what topics are popular and thus, worth writing about.
To get started on Pinterest Trends, go to “Trends” under the “Analytics” tab.
Once you’re there, you’ll see a variety of different categories that you can browse through. If you’re not sure where to start, try looking at the “What’s surging this week” section to see what’s currently trending on Pinterest. This section displays trends with high growth in search volume within the last 7 days, so you can take advantage of this information to see what you can write about.
The great thing about Pinterest Trends is that these ideas are not necessarily seasonal for one time only. You can reference them year-round! For example, if you see that “Summertime Recipes” is currently trending, you could write a blog post about summer recipes even if it’s not currently summer. This is valuable information because it allows you to be ahead of the curve and write about topics before they become popular again next year.
Aside from seasonal topics, you can also use Pinterest Trends to determine what content is popular among your target audience. For example, if you’re a beauty blogger, you could check out the “Beauty” category to see what topics are being searched for by Pinners on the platform. This information can help you come up with blog post ideas that are relevant to your audience.
Many people overlook Pinterest Trends thinking it’s only related to seasonal or current events, but this isn’t true at all. As bloggers, you can create an unlimited amount of evergreen content based on the information found in this tool.
What To Do When You’re Not Getting Any Pinterest Traffic or When Your Pinterest Traffic is Down
It doesn’t matter what platform, channel, or social media you use to get traffic, you’ll always experience a shift in pageviews. This is very normal and every blogger goes through it no matter how new or seasoned they are.
When Pinterest hits you in the face, the best course of action is to continue working on your blog. That includes writing new blog posts, updating your older content, learning how to use a tool, engaging with your readers, etc.
You can’t control Pinterest’s algorithm, but what you can control is writing new content on a consistent basis. This actually applies to all channels regardless if you’re on YouTube, Instagram, Google, Pinterest, etc. They are always thirsty for creators like you to consistently publish new content on their platform. It is a tried-and-true long-term strategy that almost never fails.
In fact, in The Golden Compass To Pinterest Traffic, I cover every single step you need to take as a blogger to succeed when you’re not getting any Pinterest traffic or when your pageviews are down. There’s more to it than just optimizing your Pinterest profile, boards, Pin design, and Pin descriptions. I go through everything a beginner needs to know and implement all the way to strategizing your content on Pinterest.
These are the Pinterest strategies I use to get consistent and intentional traffic to my blogs, which allowed me to quit my job and earn an annual six-figure income online.
About the Author: Ling Thich is the blogger behind Finsavvy Panda and Blog Savvy Panda. She also runs an anonymous lifestyle blog as a side hobby to learn and test different strategies. Overall, Ling loves teaching beginners how to start and grow their blogs on Pinterest. Outside of blogging, she enjoys staying active and exploring different cities.
What questions do you have about Pinterest? Do you use Pinterest to grow your blog? Why or why not?
How much should you spend on a wedding? Well, that depends on who you’re asking, I suppose. As I’m sure most of you are aware, the personal finance blogosphere tends to be divided into two main camps: those that are focused on investments and entrepreneurship and those that are focused on frugality.
In my experience, however, the entrepreneurship camp is pretty live-and-let-live. The whole “cut everything you don’t care about so you can spend whatever you’d like on the things you do care about” school of thought. When you think about it, this makes sense for a few reasons.
We all have different skill sets to be utilized in our respective side hustles.
Different skills mean different pricing schemes.
We all have different work and family situations that we’re fitting said side hustles in around.
We all care about spending our money on different things, and those things cost different amounts and reflect our tastes and values.
Long story short, what this means is that sometimes it’s difficult to talk about investment and entrepreneurial issues in a way that applies to everyone.
Scenario 1: Someone who just graduated from college, hasn’t been able to find a job yet, and doesn’t have much work experience or professional contacts who is moving out of the dorms and trying to get a lease on an apartment.
Scenario 2: someone who has been in a stable job in their field for fifteen years and wants to start building up their side hustle so they can leave their nine to five and spend more time working from home now that their second child is on the way and their home is halfway paid off.
How do you give the meaningful advice to both folks at the same time? Not an easy task.
However, if I post a recipe for how to make your own laundry detergent and tell you it only takes 20 minutes to make a six-month supply, well — there’s no reason everyone can’t take advantage of that, right? As a result, frugalistas tend to be a little more “one size fits all” and, dare I say it, judgmental (in lots of blog communities, anyway, though blessedly less so at GRS).
What does all this have to do with my wedding? While my husband and I spent significantly less than the national average of $27,000, we did end up clocking in at what was — for me, anyway — a nearly heart-stopping $11,400.
However, there’s more to this type of spending than pure number-crunching; psychology and social expectations play a huge role, and those who argue that those factors shouldn’t play a part are in need of a serious reality check.
Expectations v. Reality
Contrary to stereotype, my idea of a wedding was eloping and sending out postcards to our holiday card list afterward telling people it happened. After all, we not only have school and consumer debt we’re trying to pay off (more on that in another post), but we’ve been together for six years and living together for four of those years. In my eyes, it was a formality that didn’t require a huge expense.
My fiancé, on the other hand, wanted the whole shebang: ceremony in a church (which I did manage to talk him out of — barely — by pointing out that we’re atheists) and formal reception with a hundred and fifty guests. He’d literally been dreaming of his wedding day his entire life and had never once envisioned it without all the bells and whistles. I can’t emphasize this enough; He wanted a black-tie affair and a string quartet, and that’s just for starters.
After pointing out a few salient points, like:
I hadn’t paid off over $10,000 in credit card debt just to rack it all up again, especially when my salary is only $40,000 per year.
He had just quit his extremely lucrative job at a mid-size law firm where he was well on his way to partner for a far more uncertain future starting his own firm with a friend who isn’t exactly renowned for his work ethic.
Our parents were in no position to contribute to the costs: we were completely on our own as far as paying for the wedding.
He agreed with me that there was no way we could pull off a traditional wedding and honeymoon on our own. At first we didn’t think this was going to be a big deal; after all, surely there were less-expensive packages offered by wedding vendors, right? We priced five vendors and, much to our surprise, struggled to find a single one that could provide us for a quote under $20,000. Which didn’t even include the honeymoon. Gulp. Enter compromise. But where would we even start?
However, over the course of many conversations, priorities began to emerge.
First, neither of us are huge DIY-ers, meaning we weren’t going to sit around for hours making invitations and table centerpieces from scratch. Second, having a formal event was non-negotiable; a pot-luck in the park wasn’t going to cut it. Third, the event itself could be small, as long as all our friends and family were invited. Fourth, we weren’t willing to forgo a honeymoon in favor of the ceremony. And finally, we wanted to go on a cruise for our honeymoon.
The Epiphany
Score! I don’t even know where he came across it since it’s not on the cruise company’s main page, but somewhere in the endless Google searches my husband found what ended up being our solution: having the wedding itself on the cruise ship! While it sounds deliciously decadent, shockingly it ended up our most affordable option.
Here’s a rough cost breakdown:
Ceremony and Reception: $2000 for up to 20 guests, $30/each thereafter. We ended up paying about $250 for going over the limit, so $2250 total. The reception was an open bar and included a selection of 10 appetizers.
DJ: $100. We provided the CDs with music, he was just the host.
Flowers: $100. Basic bouquets.
Bride’s apparel: $600. I bought a sample dress for $110 and had it tailored. This amount also includes my accessories.
Groom’s apparel: $200, tuxedo rental. Though pricey, a tux was one of his non-negotiables and going through the cruise company was cheaper than having to rent a tux for the entire week of the cruise.
Rings: $300 each, $600 total. My ring is white gold with CZ accent stones and his is white gold. We bought mine off a costume jewelry website and his off Amazon.
“Rehearsal” dinner: $400. There wasn’t actually a rehearsal since the boat docked the morning of the ceremony, but we took our friends and family out for deep-fried seafood the night before we set sail.
Invitations: $500. Note: This is probably the expense I regret the most. Due to a pretty significant miscommunication, we waited until the last minute humanly possible to get invitations sorted out, and we paid for it. Ugh.
Postage: $100. Note: Don’t forget to account for this expense! We had to buy 65-cent stamps for the invitations and then you have to also stamp the RSVP cards. Originally the plan was to do RSVP postcards to save a bit, but since we needed full legal names and birth dates with the RSVPs to comply with cruise ship regulations, this didn’t end up being feasible.
Wedding website: $100. This was for one year of hosting service, which is about how far in advance you want to start notifying people of a cruise wedding anyway.
Bridesmaid’s gifts: $300. I bought their jewelry for the wedding as well as took them out to a fancy brunch, since they planned the bridal shower in my state and a bachelorette party in the state where the wedding was held, despite the fact that neither of them lived in either of those states.
Favors: $150. This one was almost a fight, too, since the favors he wanted were really expensive. However, since we had fewer than 30 people attending when all was said and done, we could spring for this.
Photographs: $1000. Note: this seemed expensive to me, but apparently a professional wedding photographer usually runs $3000 or more. Our photographer was actually included in the cost of the wedding, so the $1000 is only for the prints we purchased and digital copies of those prints. He also turned them around in THREE DAYS, which is apparently unheard of in “normal” wedding photography circles. And everyone agrees that they’re stunning.
Flights, hotel, and other transportation: $1500. We live in Arizona and the cruise departed from Florida, so we would have spent this regardless. It’s also worth noting that my friends and family all are from Florida and having the wedding there was the only way a lot of them could afford to come. Additionally, we ended up having to pay the overweight luggage fees because we weren’t willing to pack light for our own wedding.
Cruise: $2200. This was a seven-day western Caribbean cruise with four ports of call. We also stayed in one of the nicest cabins on the ship — we had a living area, plenty of closet space, and a balcony.
Spending while on cruise: $1300. This included excursions like snorkeling with sting rays, zip lining in Belize, tubing through ancient Mayan caves, alcoholic beverages while on the cruise, and all gratuities.
Total: $11,400
Since the wedding actually happened while the ship was in its home port, guests could attend even if they weren’t coming on the cruise. Since they weren’t obligated to cruise with us, and most of the guests would have had to travel to us even if we’d gotten married in our home state, the wedding was no more or less a burden to attend than it would have been otherwise. And four of our friends did end up joining us on the cruise, which ended up being even more fun than a honeymoon alone!
The Aftershocks Afterglow
We managed to pay for about half of these costs prior to the wedding, and ended up with credit card balances of approximately $5000 that still need to be paid off, or about $2500 apiece (we haven’t combined finances yet). However, it’s also worth noting that I fully paid off my last remaining $2500 in credit card debt during the year prior to the wedding. On the surface my balance hasn’t changed, but this means I know I can pay off my share of wedding debt within a year, since I’ve basically done it before.
While I will admit that I started off resenting every penny and every minute of my time I spent on the experience (remember, I wanted to elope), I had an amazing time and appreciated the opportunity to reconnect with family and friends a lot more than I thought I would. And while he started off resenting that we weren’t taking advantage of every upgrade available, after everything was said and done he agreed that everyone considered every aspect of our wedding to be very classy, indeed.
What Do You Think?
Are we heroes to be commended for spending less than half the national average? Complete and total fools duped by consumerism and the wedding racket into spending way more than we should have? Have you ever had an experience with a romantic partner where initial opinions differed so radically on an issue of such significance? If so, how did you resolve it?
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Many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and struggling to make ends meet. A paycheck has much more information than simply take home pay, and understanding your pay stub is the first step to good money management. Get familiar with what a pay stub means so you can take control of your finances.
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Inside: Find money cake ideas! Learn how to make a money cake or buy pre-made kits. This guide has you covered with ideas for creating an edible centerpiece that will wow your guests.
What’s more fun than a money cake? A cake that pulls in money, of course!
This easy-to-make cake is perfect for any gift-giving occasion. All you need is a little bit of creativity and some basic baking skills.
Can you imagine yourself walking up to a graduation or wedding carrying a beautiful money cake?!?! What a way to get people talking.
Equally important, making a money cake is easier than it seems!
With this guide, you’ll be able to make a money cake that looks and tastes amazing. So let’s get started!
This post may contain affiliate links, which helps us to continue providing relevant content and we receive a small commission at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read the full disclosure here.
What is a money cake?
A money cake is a unique and creative way to give someone a gift of money.
They are a fun surprise that adds an extra element of excitement to gift-giving.
Money cakes are perfect for special occasions like birthdays, weddings, graduations, and holidays.
How many bills does it take to make a money cake?
The number of bills needed depends on the size of the cake you want to make.
Typically, most money cakes use 50 one-dollar bills. However, you can use bigger bills for a larger gift.
The number of bills will be decided on how much you want to spend.
This is one of the popular money gift ideas!
Two Different Ways to make a money cake
Money cakes are a fun and unique way to gift money for special occasions.
Here are a few different techniques to make a money cake:
Rolled-up bills: With this design, you are using dollar bills as decoration.
Real cake with a pull out kit: This would be a complete surprise as the money is hidden underneath the traditional edible cake.
Making a money cake is a fun and exciting way to gift money for special occasions.
You can create a unique and personalized money cake that will surely surprise and delight the recipient.
What materials do I need to make a money cake with rolled-up Dollar Bills?
If you are looking to create a crafty masterpiece using dollar bills, this is exactly how to do it.
To make a Real money cake, you will need:
Crisp bills (use as many as you want, but 50 one-dollar bills are shown in the photo)
A pencil or dowel
Small clear hair rubber bands
Large rubber bands
Round Styrofoam discs or round cookie tins (2-3 of varying sizes)
Ribbon
Removable tape or glue dots
Glue gun or double-sided tape dots
Embellishments to decorate ribbon and top of cake
One round cake board or paper doily (optional)
To assemble the money cake, follow these steps:
Roll one dollar bill around the pencil or dowel and secure it with a small rubber band.
Place one large rubber band around each Styrofoam disc.
Tuck the rolled bills under the rubber bands in a standing position until the Styrofoam discs are completely covered.
Cover the large rubber bands with ribbon and secure dollar bills in place with removable glue dots or tape.
Embellish the cake using stickers or other decorative items.
Adhere the top layer of the cake to the bottom layer using a glue gun or double-sided tape.
Place the completed cake on a cake board and/or paper doily (optional).
Remember to have fun and be creative with your money cake!
Money Cake Assembly Tips:
Make sure you have a sturdy bottom to withhold the weight of the cake.
Use a sturdy and well-constructed cardboard tube for the money.
How to Make an Edible Money Cake
What better way to eat your cake than find money inside!?!? Well, this is exactly how to make a money cake.
To make an edible money cake, you will need a homemade or store-bought cake, a cardboard tube or prepaid money cake kit, dollar bills for money, ribbon or string, plastic wrap and/or aluminum foil.
Step #1 – Make a Cake or Buy a Cake
First, you need to decide if you want to bake a cake or buy a store-bought cake. This is 100% your decision. If you decide to bake a cake, our family LOVES this chocolate cake recipe.
For this type of money cake, you need a sturdy base and size. You need a wide cake (at least 9-inches) and tall (about 4 inches)
If you are planning on giving a small amount of money, then you can do a smaller cake. But, you need enough space to hide your cash.
Please note… do NOT bake the money inside the cake. You will insert the money after baking.
Step #2 – Prep the Money Roll
The easiest way is to buy a pre-made money kit to put the money inside. You can buy them here.
If you want to DIY your money roll, here are the instructions:
Start with a sturdy cardboard tube and cut a slit in the tube the same length as the bags.
Insert money into each vertical treat bag.
Tape the treat bags together to make a long strand.
Roll up the money starting from one end and place it inside the cardboard tube, gently pulling out a few inches of one bag and leaving the rest inside the tube.
Tie a ribbon or string to the end of the treat bag and attach it to a lollipop stick. This is what you will use to “pull the money” out.
Wrap the cardboard tube with plastic wrap leaving an opening for the money to come out. You may use aluminum foil for more stability.
Or buy a money pullout kit!
Step #3 – Assemble the Cake
Wash your hands thoroughly before handling the cake. Additionally, make sure the cardboard tube and treat bags are also clean and food-safe.
First, you need to cut out the cake to insert your pre-made money kit or your DIY money roll.
Place the roll of money into the cardboard tube and gently pull the money through the tube.
Cover the top of the tube with cake/frosting scraps. Make sure to leave the string visible, so you can reveal the money when it’s time to serve the cake.
You can always use the extra cake to make any of these leftover cake recipes.
Step #4 – Decorate the Money Cake
Now, it is time to add your own personal touch by decorating the cake with additional frosting, sprinkles, chocolate chips, ribbon, or other toppings.
You can also attach the money roll to a stick using a homemade or store-bought lollipop, making sure the stick is strong and long enough.
It is important to note that the money should be clean and the money roll clean because you want your cake to be safe for consumption.
Step # 5 – Surprise Time at the Party
Cutting into a money cake can be a surprising and exciting experience for any occasion.
As the cake is sliced into, the recipient will discover that there is actually money inside to pull out and enjoy. This unique and thoughtful gift is perfect for birthdays, weddings, graduations, or any other special event.
Is Making a Money Cake Hard?
While it may seem complicated, making a money cake is not as difficult as it looks.
With time and effort, anyone can create this memorable surprise for their loved ones.
Simply follow the tutorial and tips provided above, and you’ll be able to create your own DIY money cake that will be sure to impress.
If you want the easy button, click here to buy one today.
Buy Money Cake Ideas Near Me
To find and buy money cake ideas near you, start by searching for cake decorators in your area.
Ask if they offer a surprise money pull out kit for their real cakes and if they can provide a quote.
More than likely, you will have to provide the money cake kit to the decorator to add to the cake before decorating.
Remember to give them enough time to create the cake and then enjoy a unique and memorable money cake for any special occasion.
Are there any websites that offer money cake kits?
Yes, there are several websites that offer money cake kits.
These kits provide all the necessary supplies and instructions to create a money cake, making the process easier and more convenient. They are especially useful for those who may not have the time or skills to create a money cake from scratch.
Additionally, some kits offer unique features such as surprise money pull-out kits or customizable cake toppers.
FAQ
It is generally cheaper to make your own money cake from scratch than to purchase a pre-made one from an online seller.
Additionally, making your own money cake allows for customization and a personal touch that store-bought money cakes may not provide.
For a typical money cake, the number of bills used varies depending on the occasion.
With birthday money cakes, the money cake contains $20-50 rolled US dollar bills, with graduations being about $50 – $100 rolled up and placed on top for the recipient to pull.
For weddings and engagements, bills can total $100-200.
Which Money Cake Ideas Are Your Favorites?
Money cakes are a fun and unique way to celebrate special occasions!
With a little creativity, you can make a money cake that is both fun and practical. Whether you use your own materials or buy a pre-made kit, you can create an impressive centerpiece that will be the talk of the party.
Learn how much to give for high school graduation before you start making your money cake!
Moreover, making a money cake allows you to incorporate the gift of money in a unique and surprising way, making it a perfect surprise for birthdays, weddings, graduations, or any special event.
Overall, making a money cake is a fun, creative, and cost-effective way to give a special gift.
Know someone else that needs this, too? Then, please share!!
Save more, spend smarter, and make your money go further
One of the monthly expenses many of us forget to include in our budgets is car repair and maintenance. Sure, we put down the price of gas, and maybe an oil change every two or three months, but we forget about most of the ongoing maintenance costs. Cars need regular maintenance over their useful lives, and most of us will pay through the nose to get it performed. But it doesn’t have to be that way. With parts bought online, some simple tools, and a little basic knowledge, many car repairs can be done without visiting a mechanic.
I talked to Richard Reina, the Training Director at CARiD, about some of the easiest car repairs you can do at home. You can find most of the replacement parts at CARiD or similar sites, plus many instructional videos and fact sheets that will ensure you have the help you need every step of the way. I also talked to several mechanics, including a family member who has had over 20 years of experience fixing cars. He, like many other experts, was adamant that with preparation, you can save a lot of time and money on repairs.
1. Change Your Own Brake Pads
When I first heard that, my reaction was “No way, I’m not messing with my brakes!” But as Reina points out, it’s a very simple and inexpensive procedure that mechanics and specialty brake shops will charge hundreds of dollars to do. The industry wants you to think it’s hard, because they make a lot of profit from a very simple procedure, but pads are way easier to replace than old fashioned drum brake “shoes.”
All you need is a wheel lug wrench, some basic wrenches, pliers, and of course a jack and set of jack stands (never get under a car unless it is on jack stands; you cannot rely on the jack as it may fail).
A set of new brake pads will set you back just $20–$40, depending on the car and pad material. Compare that to the industry average of $250 per axle, and you can see how much this DIY job will save you. The procedure is basic. Take off the wheel, remove the hardware, pull out the worn pads, push in the caliper piston, install the new pads, and reinstall the hardware. You should be able to do all four wheels in under an hour, even if this is your first time doing the job. The new pads will last between 30,000–50,000 miles, and you should check them every 10,000 miles. When the pad thickness falls below 2mm–3mm, it’s time for another replacement set.
2. Change the Battery
It amazes me how many people will get a shop to replace the battery, since this is by far the easiest of all DIY repairs. A battery will last 4–6 years, so you should be able to figure out when your current battery is ready to be changed. (Almost every battery will have a date stamped on it, so look for this if you want to be sure.) You do not want to wait until you start having problems. If you do, you could be stranded with a dead battery, and that’s dangerous for many reasons.
The average price of a new battery is around $80, although you can spend more or less depending on the make and model. A dealer will charge upwards of $200 to replace it.
To do the swap, you just need a basic set of wrenches. The biggest warning here, Reina says, is the order in which you remove the replace the cables. Remove the NEGATIVE (black) cable FIRST, and when you have installed the new battery, replace the NEGATIVE cable LAST. If you don’t do it this way, you could short circuit the positive (red) terminal to a grounded part of the car.
3. Do Your Own Oil Change
A typical quick lube place could charge anywhere from $30 to $70 for an oil change. Some can go as high as $90–$100, especially if you own an expensive import. But then you see signs like $15 oil change and think, “Well I’d pay that for the oil and filter anyway, so why not let them do it for me?”
Here’s why. First, there is always an asterisk on those oil changes. They come with conditions, and may not include the correct amount of oil required for your engine (this happens a lot when you bring in an SUV or truck). You will also be given a low-grade oil, rather than a full synthetic or even a synthetic blend. And most importantly, the cheap oil change is a loss leader.
The loss-leader oil change is a great way to get you to hand over your car to the garage so that they can get under the hood and see if it has problems. A reputable place won’t find any unless there are genuine problems. Others, well, let’s just say they find problems that don’t need attention.
Suddenly, the $15 oil change has become thousands in major repairs. Poor establishments will use high-pressure tactics to get you to sign up for the work, and you may not even get the chance to get a second opinion.
So, do it yourself. Buy a good quality oil filter and the best oil you can afford from your local supplier (it can be an auto specialist or a retail store). Other than jack stands and a jack, you’ll need an oil filter wrenchand a drain pan. These only have to be purchased once and will last you decades (my father-in-law has been using the same drain pan for 20 years). You can find videos online walking you through oil changes on a variety of different vehicles.
And one final note. As Richard Reina points out, the days of the “every 3,000 miles” oil changes are long gone. Vehicles these days can often go 10,000 miles between oil changes. Check your manual.
4. Change Your Spark Plugs
There is an episode of the iconic TV series Frasier that shows Niles and Frasier Crane attending an automotive workshop. The very first lesson is how to change spark plugs. It’s one of the easiest home repairs you can do, although these days it is very rare you’ll even have to perform this service. On modern cars, extended-life spark plugs can maintain a precise gap for 100,000 miles. However, it is still wise to check them every 30,000-40,000 miles, just to make sure.
When the time does come to replace your spark plugs, along with your regular set of tools you will need a spark plug wrench. Again, this is a “buy once, use for a lifetime” kind of purchase, and it’s not very expensive (under $10 in most cases). (WikiHow has a great instructional piece here.) And the savings…let’s just say it’s significant. You can pay over $300 for spark plugs to be changed, and spark plugs themselves are rarely more than $30 for a set.
5. Replace a Headlight or Taillight
If you are a good car owner, you will perform a regular walk around of your vehicle. It’s important to do this for many reasons, but one of the biggest is to check that all the lights are working. Not only are lights essential for clear vision, and alerting drivers to your intentions, but you can also incur traffic tickets if they aren’t working. So, try and do this at least once a month (you’ll need someone to help you check the taillights).
If one (or more) isn’t working, it’s time to buy a replacement and do it yourself. With the average hourly repair rate of a garage being $100, you could easily spend $25–$50 per bulb, especially if the shop has a minimum charge.
One of the most important things to do is bring the old bulb with you to the store. You want to make sure you are getting like for like. And, when it comes time to change it out, never touch the bulb glass with your bare hands. The grease from your fingers can cause the bulb to burn out early.
6. Replace Your Windshield Wipers
Some people go to a garage or dealership to have their windshield wipers replaced. This is, without a doubt, a massive waste of your time and money. A set of wipers will run you between $20 and $40 on average, plus the dealer will charge you one hour of labor (that’s about $100). Don’t throw your money away. It takes minutes to replace the wipers on your vehicle yourself, and all of the instructions are provided in the replacement wipers you buy.
When you go to a store — say Walmart or Target — they’ll have a reference manual (these days it’s often a small electronic terminal) which will tell you which wiper sizes you need to ensure a correct fit. In most cases, the old wipers slide out, and the new ones slide in. The last time I changed my wipers, it took two minutes for both…and most of that time was spent trying to hack open the vacuum-sealed plastic package!
7. Replace Your Air Filter
Richard Reina pointed out another simple fix that mechanics and dealerships will heavily mark up with labor costs and parts. And yet, it is a very quick fix (in most cases…if you happen to own a German import, you may have a few extra parts to remove to access the filter). On average, you’ll pay over $100 in labor costs, and $50 for the filter.
The typical cost of an air filter from a retail store is between $15–$20, but again, this can be higher depending on the make and model of your car. In most cases, you will simply have to open up the hood of the car, turn a few screws, open the air filter housing, swap out the old for the news, and replace the screws. It really is that simple, and you can save a ton of money doing it yourself.
8. Fix a Chipped Windshield
I recently had to do this one myself, and I can tell you…it’s so simple. I had a small rock chip in the windshield. I was tempted to go by one of those “fix it free” places that hang out near malls, but they operate through your insurance company, and I wasn’t keen on going through all that for a simple rock chip.
On Amazon or eBay, you can find windshield repair kits for under $15. Some run as low as $8. When you get it, all you need to do is dig out any loose glass with the pin provided, and then thoroughly clean it, and the surrounding area. You will have to stick a small device to the windshield that forms a seal around the rock chip, and then a vacuum contraption will work to apply the resin into the crack. It’s an operation that takes less than one hour, from opening the package to the finished result, and most of that is simply waiting time. Stop that crack from spreading, before you need to replace the entire windshield. That can be costly.
This article first ran on Wisebread.com, a community of bloggers here to help you live large on a small budget. Read more from Wisebread:
Save Hundreds Next Month with These 10 Grocery Shopping Tips
6 Ways to Transition to a New Career After 30
The 8 Classic Personal Finance Books You Must Read
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Is it possible to earn a paycheck while sitting on the couch watching television? Absolutely, but it takes a bit of work beforehand to set things in motion. By developing online assets, investments and interest payments, you can put your dollars to work so they provide gains while you sleep. Here are the details and the best ways to put $1,000 of passive income into your pocket every month. For help managing your money — no matter how you earn it — consider working with a financial advisor.
What Is Passive Income?
The IRS defines passive income as earnings generated by someone who isn’t materially participating in the endeavor, meaning you work less than 500 hours annually on a project or less than 100 hours if you put in more time than the rest of any coworkers involved.
Essentially, passive income is created by developing assets that earn money by themselves. For example, creating a blog with affiliate links will provide earnings every time a reader clicks through to a specific product. This way, you make money in perpetuity for the work you did once.
How to Find Ways to Make Passive Income
Passive income comes from assets, like a YouTube channel or an online store. In most cases, though, you need resources to start out. Whether you buy a better webcam or take a writing course, generating passive income means investing money to get yourself going. Therefore, saving money beforehand is key.
To that end, your first steps are researching the passive income streams that appeal to you, identifying your starting costs and saving the money you need. In this phase, it’s crucial to avoid financial risk. Piling money into a high-yield savings account is an excellent choice because you can earn 4% APY in an account with FDIC insurance.
Putting serious cash into a savings account that compounds monthly can also serve as a first exposure to passive income. You’ll put your dollars to work and watch your money grow. Once you save the money you need, you can invest it in more lucrative passive income streams.
Low-Involvement Passive Income
These options put the ‘passive’ in passive income because they require less work to get going. However, they have less earning potential than high-involvement passive income streams.
Purchase Series I Bonds
Rising interest rates have made Series I bonds a viable passive income investment. Specifically, you can purchase these bonds with a 4.3% APY through October 2023, after which the government will modify the rate (this occurs every six months). Plus, the U.S. Treasury backs these bonds, meaning your risk is almost zero.
Additionally, Series I bonds earn interest for thirty years, making them a suitable long-term investment. On the other hand, you can sell your bonds after holding them for at least a year. However, you’ll lose the most recent three months of interest if you sell them before holding them for five years.
Create a CD Ladder
A certificate of deposit (CD) is like a short-term savings account with an excellent interest rate. Therefore, you can continuously purchase new CDs as they mature and reinvest your gains. You can buy a CD at most banks and credit unions.
CDs mature in one to five years, depending on the specific product. The longer the term, the higher the interest rate. Because your CD money isn’t accessible while it matures (unless you want to forfeit your gains), it helps to create a CD ladder. This way, a portion of your investment is always available.
For example, your ladder could look like this:
$1,000 in a one-year CD with a 3.5% APY
$1,000 in a two-year CD with a 3.75% APY
$2,500 in a five-year CD with a 4.5% APY
So, you’ll receive part of your investment back after a year and can reinvest or pocket the profits. Then, you’ll get another portion of your investment back after another year and the final $2,500 plus interest three years after that. Your ladder will provide a stream of income at different milestones, boosting your liquidity as an investor.
Become a Paid Online Shopper
If you’re a dedicated online shopper, you can turn your pastime into cash. For example, Rakuten pays between 1% and 20% for each online purchase you make, with no upward limit on earnings. While this perk isn’t a license to impulse spend every night, it can provide a passive income boost to purchases you would make regardless. You’ll also get a $10 welcome bonus for signing up (or more for using specific affiliate links).
Use Rewards Credit Cards
A rewards credit card pairs perfectly with online shopping (and any other shopping you do). There are dozens of excellent rewards cards available, such as Discover (1% to 5% cash back per purchase) or Chase Freedom Unlimited (1.5% to 5%). This way, all your purchases, from grocery stores and gas stations to vacation expenses, will provide an income stream. Remember, paying your credit card monthly is essential for this strategy. Otherwise, you’ll pay at least 15% APR on your balance, putting yourself in the hole instead of getting ahead.
Use a Robo-Advisor
Robo-advisors are digital investment companies using algorithms to grow a diversified portfolio of assets. The advantages are the low management costs and balance requirements. For example, Betterment charges $4 per month to invest, with no minimum balance requirement (you can achieve even lower fees with a sufficient balance or monthly deposit). Because human advisors charge at least 1% of the assets managed and often require a high minimum balance, robo-advisors are an inexpensive, accessible way to receive capital gains. In addition, your portfolio will rebalance itself periodically, meaning you don’t have to lift a finger.
High-Involvement Passive Income
These methods require more elbow grease but can provide thousands of dollars per month:
Invest in the Stock Market
Since 1926, the top 500 companies in the stock market (as tracked in the S&P 500 index) have returned an average of about 10% per year. Therefore, the stock market remains one of the most lucrative passive income options.
You can open an investment fund, dump money into an S&P 500 index and let it grow. However, you can also become a more involved investor by researching companies and industries and allocating money to stocks in companies with high growth potential. While doing so requires more work, you may see higher gains if you can stomach the risk.
Invest in Real Estate
Real estate can provide passive income in various ways. First, you can purchase shares in a real estate investment trust (REIT) if you don’t want to own or manage physical property. Instead, you’ll have shares in a company that invests in mortgages and commercial real estate. You’ll receive gains when the company’s investments flourish. Because federal law requires REITs to return at least 90% of their profits to shareholders, you’ll see profits any time the company does well.
Next, you can purchase rental properties to develop monthly income from rent payments. This strategy involves managing property and can get hectic if you acquire multiple properties (fortunately, you can hire a company to manage your properties when you scale). The payoff is thousands of dollars per month, which can offset the mortgages for your properties and pad your wallet. As you pay off the homes, each rent payment becomes worth even more. Plus, property appreciation gives you an opportunity to sell the property for substantial gains.
Start a YouTube Channel
The typical YouTuber receives $18 per 1,000 views on their videos. So, you can transform a hobby or passion into a series of money-making videos. For example, if you have a particular skill, such as DIY home improvement, your how-to videos can educate the masses and provide hefty returns.
Start a Podcast
Similarly, your favorite topics, movies, books and more can become profitable discussion material on a podcast. So, choose what interests you most, purchase a high-quality microphone and start talking. Like a blog, a podcast can provide earnings through advertisements, affiliate sales and membership subscriptions.
Create a Course Online
Likewise, you can turn a special skill or interest into web-based training. So whether you’re a social media marketing savant or a workout expert, you can transform your knowledge into a purchasable set of online classes.
Write a Book
While writing a book requires time, editing and publishing costs, book royalties can provide sizeable passive income. Additionally, your earnings can snowball if you release multiple books. Plus, you can also pair this strategy with an online writing course if you become a well-known author in your genre.
Remember, you can write physical books or eBooks. The advantage of eBooks is the inexpensive publishing, mass availability and sales potential. Specifically, Publishers Weekly reported eBooks sales for 2022 to be $2.57 billion, a 6% increase from the year prior.
Maintain a Blog
Writing a blog can be an excellent creative outlet and passive income generator. Whether your focus is pet training or gardening, you can write with expertise and direct readers to the products you use. This way, you can earn affiliate income, gain an online/social media audience and accumulate an email marketing database.
Create Leads For Another Business
If you want to create a website but don’t have a specific idea for earning money, you can increase sales for another company instead. For instance, you can write about topics pertaining to the business and provide links to the company’s website. This way, every click can earn a commission. In addition, you can use social media and Google ads to generate leads.
As a result, competence in Digital Marketing and SEO is essential for this strategy to work. The payment structure usually involves a flat monthly fee or a pay-per-lead model. This flexible business model has great potential for scaling up to generate an unlimited monthly income.
Sell Stock Photography
Many internet-based entrepreneurs lack the time or inclination to snap their own photographs for their websites. Instead, they resort to stock images, which are generic and expertly captured photographs. These photographs are usually acquired as a set or via a monthly membership to a stock photo website.
So, if you want to diversify your income sources as a photographer, you could create and sell styled stock photo bundles. For instance, you could offer a package of 15 stock photos with a business theme for $15. Then, you can market your product to websites and businesses. By doing this, you can earn a continual flow of revenue from images you captured once.
Rent Out a Room
If you have additional rooms in your home and are open to having guests, you can utilize online platforms such as VRBO to rent out a room in your house. Moreover, you could rent out your entire home if you travel frequently. The cost of renting a room varies based on location and the area you reside in, meaning you could charge hundreds of dollars per night in a high-demand area.
Rent Out Your Car
Similarly, you can rent out a car if you have a second one or don’t drive much. Platforms such as Turo connect car owners with customers who need a vehicle temporarily. Renting out your car a couple of weekends per month can create hundreds of dollars of extra income for an asset you already own.
The Bottom Line
There are numerous options for generating $1,000 a month in passive income. Your path toward earning this self-sustaining income stream depends on your strengths, interests and the amount of time and work you put into the project. Therefore, your way forward may be as simple as becoming an Airbnb host or involve researching the real estate market and purchasing a rental property. Remember, your passive income will have specific tax implications, so it’s best to understand how an asset will affect your taxes before going all in.
Tips for Making $1,000 a Month in Passive Income
A financial advisor can help you create a plan for your money. Finding a financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
Remember, reducing costs means keeping more of your passive income. Shaving even a tiny percentage off expenses can create a significant upside. For more, here’s how minimizing expense ratios can boost your savings.
Ashley Kilroy
Ashley Chorpenning is an experienced financial writer currently serving as an investment and insurance expert at SmartAsset. In addition to being a contributing writer at SmartAsset, she writes for solo entrepreneurs as well as for Fortune 500 companies. Ashley is a finance graduate of the University of Cincinnati. When she isn’t helping people understand their finances, you may find Ashley cage diving with great whites or on safari in South Africa.
This week’s garage sale map for Wausau-area yard sales is a service of Saint Vincent de Paul of Wausau. Submit your free listing for a future sale at this link.
NOTE: This week marks the annual Wausau Southeast Side Neighborhood Garage Sale weekend. Due to crowding on the map, we are providing the full list below of all participating sales. Thanks to Nicole Guenthner for providing this information!
May 19, 20 AND 21 734 Lake View Dr. Clothing, Books, DVDs, Homegoods, etc
May 19, 20: 8am-2pm 176 Lake View Dr. Household, clothing, books, tools, outdoor/indoor furniture, Christmas decorations
May 18: 4pm-6pm, May 19: 3pm-6pm, May 20: 9am-5pm 2408 Midway Blvd. New ping pong table, antique vanity, kitchen essentials, sporting gear, tools, housewares, decorations, camping gear, reverse osmosis system, lighting, ice fishing gear, games and much more.
May 18, 19, 20: 8am-3pm 915 Ross Ave. Misc household
May 18, 19: 9am-5pm, May 20: 8am-11am 725 Lake View Dr. Baby and kids items including clothing, toys, art easel, tricycle, high chair, swing, and car seat. Household items such as small appliances, electronics, decor, and books. Womens clothing
May 18, 19: 8am-4pm, May 20: 8am-12pm 609 Ethel St. Toys, loads of great puzzles, Stampin’ Up stamp sets(most never used), household, some camping, vintage boxed silverware, lots of Thirty-One bags, and never used rice cooker. Kids clothes: girls newborn to 5 and boys newborn to 2T.
May 20 704 Kent St. Two kiddos, 7 and 10 years old, will be hosting their own yard and bake sale to earn money for a summer trip
May 19: 9am-4pm, May 20: 9am-12pm 605 Ross Ave. Dumbbells, teen boys clothes, DVDs, CDs, housewares.
May 19, 20 2505 Mount View Blvd. All the usual garage sale items. No children’s items.
May 18, 19, 20: 8am-5pm 205 Broadway Ave. Womens Plus-sized clothing, shoes, Tupperware and other household goods, decor, hand painted glassware and many other miscellaneous cool things!
May 18, 19, 20: 8am-4pm 201 Weston Ave. Crafts and art pieces, clothing, toys, misc.
May 19, 20 421 Ruder St. Household furnishings, brand name Juniors/Women’s clothing, accessories, formal dresses; Christmas decor.
May 18, 19: 8am-4pm 1918 Fairmount St. Multi-family sale with a variety of items.
May 18, 19, 20: 8am-5pm 502 Kolter St. Multi-family sale! Spring cleaning and purging, something for everyone! Household items-popcorn machine, kitchenware, furniture, dog kennel, video games, toys, clothing for men, women, and boys, shoes, designer handbags, jewelry, and much, much more!!!
May 18, 19, 20: 8am-4pm 1912 Zimmerman St. New Bradley Smoker; FitMi portable home suite; magnifying light; doll-house; Weider weight bench; rugs; clothing; and this-n-thats.
May 18, 19, 20: 9am-5pm 1629 Plato St. Household, books, etc.
May 18, 19: 8am-5pm, May 20: 9am-12pm 121 Weston Ave. Boys and girl clothes, toys, shoes, tools, some antiques, golf clubs and balls. Variety of household items. Bows and arrows. High chair
May 19, 20, AND 21: 8am-4pm 619 Ruder St. Toys, Nerf, antique furniture, motorcycle, misc clothes and accessories, video games
May 19, 20: 8am-5pm 2517 Pied Piper Lane Multi-family sale! Treadmill, household items and decor, highchair, tow behind bike trailer and other baby items
May 18, 19, 20 1921 Roosevelt St. Housewares, tools, movies, CDs, collectibles
May 18, 19, 20: 8am-4pm 2401 Mount View Blvd. Multi-family sale. Baby items, baby and toddler furniture, toys, nursery decor, household items, household decor, women’s clothing (medium-xxl), maternity clothes men’s clothing, women and men’s shoes
May 19: 8am-4pm, May 20: 8am-12pm 816 Ross Ave. Home decor, household/kitchen items, men’s clothing size L, XL and tons of young women’s clothing, size XS, S
May 19, 20: 9am-5pm 710 Ross Ave. 5 family garage sale–clothes, shoes, house goods
May 19: 8am-5pm, May 20: 8am-3pm 2624 Oakwood Blvd. Girls clothing 7/8 to 10/12 and boys 3T-4, women’s clothing L-2xl, men’s clothing L- XXL, toys, shoes, household items, sports cards and memorabilia, many other miscellaneous
May 18, 19, 20: 9am-5pm 146 Eau Claire Blvd. Household items, toys and clothing size child 6 – adult.
May 18, 19, 20: 8am-6pm AND May 21: 9am-4pm 2401 Pied Piper Lane We have a variety of kitchen items, dining room table, furniture, pet supplies, women’s and men’s clothes ( most sizes are large to XXL, with some mediums), books, some linens for crafts, household decor, some bathroom and bedroom accessories, a tonneau cover that was one a F-150 6’5” box, and many more items. We will also have a snack station available. $5 fill a bag for clothes sale and $3 fill a bag sales for books every day. Saturday at noon, 1/2 off smaller items and best offer for larger items.
May 18, 19, 20, AND 21: 8:30am-until it slows 212 Weston Ave. Boys and Girls clothing and shoes sizes 7 – teen Women’s/Junior’s XS – L, Furniture, Gas Grill, Household, Nerf guns, Legos, and more!
May 20: 9am-4pm 415 Broadway Ave. Household items, decorative, clothing. $5 for all items you can fit in a bag. Individual items or larger items please make an offer.
May 18, 19, 20: 9am-5pm 1906 Emerson St. 3 wheel push golf cart, lawnmower, misc household and quality men’s clothes
May 18, 19, 20: 8am-5pm 807 Graves Ave. Huge multi family sale including but not limited to – Men’s Clothing Sizes L-2XL, Men’s Shoes Sizes 11-12, Women’s Clothing Sizes S-L, Women’s Shoes Sizes 8-9, Girls Clothing Sizes 3T-5T, LOTS of Kids Toys, Decor, Kitchenware, Holiday Items, Outdoor decor, And much more!!
May 18, 19, 20: 8am-5pm 904 Lake View Dr. US & world coins, Denmark blue & white plates, Disney snow globes & water fountains, collector plates (Star Trek, eagles, Elvis, etc.), books, lighted beer signs, CDs, DVDs, sports figures, racing, fantasy axes and shields, Beanie Babies, Beanie Buddies, unused sporting tickets, vinyl records and more.
May 18, 19: 9am-5pm 1927 Lamont St. Estate/Rummage Sale. Rain or shine!! (HUGE tent!) More items added from last week’s sale. Furniture, kitchen items, home decor, brand new and used exercise equipment, tons of bedding and curtains, rugs, baskets of all sizes, luggage, dishes, Christmas items, German movies with multi-region DVD player. Too many items to mention. Make me a REASONABLE offer!!!
May 18: 12pm-5pm, May 19: 9am-5pm, May 20: 10am-5pm 722 Weston Ave. Multi-family sale. Maternity, girl clothes: newborn-24 months, womens and mens clothes, kitchen items, house items, unopened formula, play kitchen, craft stuff, wedding stuff, AC units and MORE!
May 19, 20: 8am-4pm 2503 Marshall St. Boy Scouts National Jamboree fundraiser will be selling coffee, donuts, and additional drinks.
May 18, 19: 8am-5pm 147 Eau Claire Blvd. Old Army trunk, Jenny Lind maple full size bed with frame, vintage lawn chairs and vintage wood folding chairs, Pyrex, nested bowl sets, vintage graters and cookie cutters, Ohio art checkerboard, DVDs, backyard privacy screen, some tools, housewares, canning jars, new lids and rings in boxes and much more. NO CLOTHES.
May 18, 19, 20: 8am-5pm 401 Eau Claire Blvd. Wrought Iron outdoor dining set, Outdoor Lounger, Weber Charcoal Grill, De-Humidifier, Punching Bag, 2 person ice fishing Shelter, Fosse Ball Table, Bike, DIY Swing Set Hardware (NEW), 5-Drawer Dresser, Leaf Blower, Adult Clothes – S-L, Boys Clothes 8-12 , Toys, Bedding, Misc Household Items WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING Look for the GARAGE-A-POLOZA sign!!
May 20: 8am-3pm 326 Ross Ave. Sports Cards/Memorabilia, Collectibles, CD’s, DVD’s, Vinyl/Records (Oldies to Current), Men’s Shirts (Brewers/Sports Related), Women’s Clothing, Snowboarding Jacket, Ice Fishing Bibs, Women’s Scrub Tops, many other items!
May 20 AND 21 1913 Kings Court Watermelon and cucumber Agua fresca (fresh water)
May 18, 19: 7:30am-5pm 1635 Plato St. Eclectic sale of mostly man items: knives, axes, traps, welder, troy bilt rototiller, vintage cans, cast iron, Coleman Lanterns, and military items. Some kids items and a fair amount of jewelry. A lot of vintage/collectible items that are priced to move! If raining, the sale will be shut down.
May 18, 19, 20: 9am-5pm 729 Graves Ave. GINORMOUS Multi-Family Sale. If we don’t have it, you don’t need it!! Household, Tons of Books, Clothes, Shoes, Toys, Canoe Bookshelf, Camping Lanterns, Stuffed Animal Cage, FUNKO POPS and so much more. If it is a major downpour, we may not open or close early since there is so much stuff and not everything will display inside the garage.
May 17 AND May 18, 19, 20: 9am-5pm 1410 Fairmount St. Medical supplies, women’s/men’s clothes, homemade woodwork crafts, antiques, kitchen gadgets, books, etc.
May 18, 19, 20: 8am-4pm 1923 Zimmerman St. Antiques and collectibles.
May 20: 8am-4pm and may be open May 18th and 19th after school 304 Eau Claire Blvd. Kiddo is running a treat stand with prepackaged snacks and drinks
May 18: tentatively open. May 19, 20: 8am-5pm 152 Bertha St. Womens and men’s clothes, purses and bags in very good condition, some household decor items and art.
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The Christmas season is here and you want fun ideas to do!
To help make your life easier this year, I created a bucket list full of over 100 activities. You can use it as an actual bucket list or just enjoy scrolling through some fun things to do with friends and family before December 25th.
You will find everything from decorating ideas for your home (from simple snowflakes that are easy enough for kids to make) all the way to DIY recipes for Christmas treats.
Who doesn’t love a good list?
This Christmas bucket list is things you can do with your family around the Christmas season to make it more lively and enjoyable.
I made this list for my own kids, but I thought I would share it with you to use it too!
How can you make your Christmas bucket list more fun?
There are many different ways to make your Christmas bucket list more fun.
One way is to focus on new activities that you haven’t done before. Another way is to add food-related activities, which always make Christmas special.
You can also try incorporating some outdoor activities, even if it’s just for a (snowy) day.
And don’t forget about family traditions! They’re a big part of the holidays and can really enhance the experience.
No matter what you do, make sure you enjoy yourself (and not stress yourself out)! The holidays are a time for celebration and should be spent with loved ones. Merry Christmas!
Memorable Christmas Bucket List
While we love the classic Christmas bucket lists, we also are always looking for unique ideas to add to your holiday bucket list.
Some of these out-of-the-box ideas are pretty sweet and you may want to do them year and year again.
You can find everything from baking cookies to attending a German market to spending Christmas at a lodge. No matter what you choose, make sure you keep in touch with your family and friends during the holidays.
1. Go to Mexico. This is one of our Christmas traditions! There is something relaxing about enjoying the beach while Felix Navidad is playing in the background. (Gift hint… all of the beach gifts can be given to be used on the trip.)
2. Book a Wintery Mountain Stay. On the flip side, there is something magical about sipping hot cocoa while by the fireplace when giant snowflakes are falling outside.
3. Participate in a Neighborhood Luminaires Night. Organize one night for all of your neighbors to put luminaries outlining their driveways. It is a symbolic event with neighbors coming together in peace.
4. Roast Chestnuts. Just like in the famous song by Nat King Cole, it is your turn to roast chestnuts on an open fire.
5. Wrap Presents with Friends. For some wrapping presents is fun, for others it is a task. But everything is always sweeter to do with friends, so plan a time to wrap presents with friends. Appetizers and drinks are optional.
6. Order Matching Christmas Pajamas. This is a popular Christmas tradition for most families. Make sure you order your matching Christmas Pajamas in time. Some of my favorite places to find them are Kohl’s, Macy’s, and Amazon.
7.Wear Matching Christmas Pajamas. Depending on the age of your kids and spouse will depend on how well the matching outfits go over. Make sure to snap pictures!!
8.Kiss Under the Mistletoe. This is a fun Christmas tradition for kids and adults. Kids love this because it’s not just kissing their parents on the cheek, but they get to kiss everyone in the room! Adults love this too because it’s a great opportunity to get some alone time with your significant other.
9. Host a Progressive Dinner. This is a great idea to host a fun holiday party. For each course of a meal, you move houses.
For example, you start at house A for appetizers.
Then, move to House B for dinner.
Finally, wrap up at House C for dessert.
If you have more houses participating, then you can easily stretch to a 7-course meal.
10. Buy Ugly Christmas sweaters. This is a love-hate for many people. Are you totally into buying Christmas sweaters or do you want to shy away? Either way, it is always helpful to have at least one ugly Christmas sweater in your closet.
11. And then host an Ugly Sweater Christmas Party. Time to invite all of your introvert friends for an epic ugly sweater party. The winner walks away with a prize!
12. Go to a Christmas Eve Service. If you’re feeling a little more spiritual, there are many churches that offer Christmas Eve services. If it’s your first time going to one, consider this a good opportunity to introduce the whole family and get them interested in going.
13. Classic Christmas Movie Marathon. This is always a popular idea! Especially one that is next to free to do! Pull up the classic movies and enjoy!
14. Read Christmas Books. This is another one that is uber-popular in our house! We try to stick with Christmas-only books in the month of December. One of our favorites is JK Rowling’s latest book!
15. Go on River Cruises. The river is a great place to find some peace and quiet. You can go during the day or at night.
16. Stay Downtown. Whether you are looking in another state or in your own city, you’ll find a new adventure.
17. Snowman Building Competition. Set up a snowman building competition in your neighborhood and let the winners decide what charity to donate the money raised! Bragging rites until the next competition is held.
18. Shake a Snowglobe. Maybe even add to your snowglobe collection. There is a great children’s book called Snow Globe Family. That is a super fun read.
Classic Christmas Bucket List Ideas
This is the list you think of when it comes to Christmas things to do!
Whatever you decide to do this holiday season, make sure it’s something that will create memories that will last a lifetime.
19. Bake Christmas Cookies. This is the classic holiday bucket list idea. Here are some of our favorite Christmas cookie recipes.
20. Watch Christmas Hallmark Movies. Did you know there is a countdown to when the Hallmark Channel releases their Christmas movies?!?! Yes, this is a must-do for many people. In fact, you may want to buy them the same Hallmark socks we gave our moms.
21. Host a Christmas cookie exchange. Yes, please! Cookie exchanges are the best. In fact, it is one of the most popular Christmas challenges.
22. Go Christmas Caroling. Is it a tradition? Or is it just something that you love to do with your friends and family? Bring joy to your neighborhood or nursing home by singing traditional Christmas carols.
23. Volunteer. This could be serving at a soup kitchen, organizing an event for people who can’t afford gifts to “shop,” or lending a hand to a neighbor in need. There are many organizations looking for help.
24. Build a Snowman. Yes, this is the ultimate idea for families. Make sure you have the snowman supplies to dress up your Frosty the Snowman properly. Don’t forget the carrot nose!
25. Build a Gingerbread House. This is a classic activity for many kids and you can easily pick up a gingerbread house kit for under $10. However, it is not just for kids. Check out this family’s gingerbread house display!
26. Christmas Portrait Time. Thankfully, this time of year you can find plenty of Pinterest-perfect backdrops to take portraits at. You can take family photos or one of each person in your house. This accessory helps your amateur photos look professional!
27. Mail Christmas Cards. This may have been a long-standing tradition for many years and slowly making a comeback. You can take Christmas photos just for the occasion or a collage of photos. Order your Christmas cards here.
28. Read Twas the Night Before Christmas. This Christmas classic must be read at least once on Christmas Eve. Grab your copy of the classic book.
29. Find Creative Ideas for Elf of the Shelf. Let’s face it. You jumped on this tradition … hook.line.and.sinker. Now, you must keep up with all of the Pinterest perfect ideas.
Christmas Outdoor Bucket List
Time to get outside and explore. Fresh air is always helpful!
30. Go Sledding. This is a classic bucket list item. Check out a new sledding hill in your neighborhood.
31. Build a Snow Fort. This is personally one of my favorite activities, but Mother Nature must cooperate with tons of snow! Grab some shovels and start building a fort!
32. Snowball Fight Time. Who doesn’t love a good snowball fight?!?! Grab some friends and head out for an epic snowball fight. Even better if you built the snow fort prior to game time!
33. Go Ice Skating. This is a classic especially if you live in the upper midwest. There are plenty of recreation centers that make ice skating a reasonable cost activity.
34. Skiing. Fresh powder sounds like the perfect Christmas tradition. Just make sure to book your ticket early.
35. Plan a Wintery Picnic. Grab a blanket, lunch, some hot cocoa, and your Christmas Pajamas for an outdoor picnic this winter! Make this time special with a special picnic basket to use.
36. Go Snowboarding. Time to shred the slopes. Check out the latest snowboarding gear.
37. Time to Go Tobogganing. What is tobogganing exactly? Much like sledding except you hit the snow-covered slopes and artificial-ice-covered chutes with a toboggan.
38. Give the Gift of Nature. Take your family on an outing to see some beautiful nature! Get out in the fresh air and enjoy the beauty of nature.
39. Make a Snow Angel. This is the perfect activity for kids to do. Yet, very calming and peaceful if you decide to get down in the snow and create snow angels.
40. Hunt for the Perfect Live Tree. Grab your permit and go on a hunt for the perfect Christmas tree. Make sure to bundle up and wear snow boots!
41. Catch Snowflakes on your Tongue. Regardless of your age, this childhood memory needs to be done yearly for your Christmas bucket list. Drop all of your worries off your shoulders as you catch a snowflake on your tongue.
42 Skate on Outdoor Ice Skating Rinks. Skip the indoor rinks and head outside to skate. Even more romantic if the snow is falling.
43. Create a Winter Wonderland. This one is a do-it-yourself project that doesn’t require any crafting skills.
44. Go for a Holiday Walk. Take some time out of the hustle and bustle by taking a walk outside.
45. Neighborhood Christmas Light Competition. Another great idea is to put your home in a Christmas lights competition! This can be really fun if you have friends and family who live close by. All you need is some creative decorations and an appetite for holiday cheer.
Name That Entertainment Holiday Bucket List
Time for friends, laughter, and fun!!
These are the social must-haves on your entertainment holiday bucket list!
46. Host Christmas Eve Dinner at your home. If you have room, open up your home to friends or family who might otherwise be alone for Christmas. Our Christmas Eve tradition is fondue!
47. Christmas Party Night. Invite your friends and family over for a Christmas party night! This is a fun way to get everyone together in one place, have some laughs, and enjoy each other’s company.
48. Wear Christmas Dress Attire. Everyone wants an excuse to dress up. So, make sure you have a special occasion to year your Christmas cocktail dresses.
49. Find Entertainment from the Seasonal Classics. This could be watching The Polar Express (it’s on Netflix now!), listening to holiday music, or reading a children’s Christmas book.
50. Host an Advent Calendar Party. It is so much fun to count down the days before Christmas! This works especially well in a classroom setting. Each day is a new activity to count down the days until Christmas.
51. A Christmas Story. Watch A Christmas Story and then read a few of the lines with your friends!
52. Home Acting. Put on your own production of your favorite movie or theater production!
53. Misfit Toys. Collect a variety of small, inexpensive toys and have your guests guess which toy belongs to each guest. To make it more fun, be sure to include some items that are broken or missing pieces!
54. Mistletoe Bingo. Get your guests in the Christmas spirit by setting up a bingo board with different categories for them to fill out!
55. Birthday Party for Jesus. ‘Tis the reason for the season – the birth of Jesus Christ. Plan a birthday party to celebrate everything Jesus gave to us.
56. Holiday Game Night. Christmas is a time for fun and games, so why not have a Christmas-themed game night? Some popular game ideas include playing charades, Pictionary, or Cranium. You could also try some new games that you haven’t played before – like Elf on the Shelf or Monopoly.
Holiday Season Bucket List Around Town
One of the best things about the holiday season is there are SO MANY activities to do with no money. You can find something to do each day for free.
The paid events are classics that create lifelong memories!
57. Book a Limo to Check out Christmas Lights. What better way to enjoy watching the Christmas lights and not having to drive? Personally, this works great when sharing the limo costs with friends!
58. Attend a Local Craft Fair. These craft fairs are becoming a hot place to find personalized gifts. Plus it is a great way to give back to local small businesses as well as the high school teams and clubs who organize the craft fairs.
59. Book Tickets to a Lightshow. This is a hot commodity so make sure to book your tickets early – like around Halloween. That way you will get the prime time you want to attend the light show. Also, many areas have more than one popular light show to see!
60. Attend a Ballet Performace. While the Nutcracker is a popular dance performance, there are plenty of other ballets at this time of year.
61. Watch The Nutcracker Live. I have danced in and seen the Nutcracker so many times that I have lost count. However, I love the production, the costumes, and the music! Make it more magical by taking a young girl who has never seen the Nutcracker before and watching the production through their star-struck eyes.
62. Visit Your Local Christmas Market. Every town has one. A local store stocked with all things Christmas! Maybe even see if your area has a German Christmas Market and check out the varying traditions.
63. Attend a Holiday Tree Lighting Event. Right after Thanksgiving, there are plenty of local tree lighting ceremonies. Check with your city for dates and times.
64. Attend a Holiday Festival. The holidays are the perfect time to attend a festival with family or friends. By attending, you can enjoy the activities and experience new things that may be on your list for next year!
64. Attend a Christmas Parade. Get out and see the Christmas spirit in all of your favorite holiday traditions. Most cities kick off the holidays with a parade.
Christmas Bucket List in the Kitchen (Recipes a Must!)
Around the holidays, the kitchen is the hub of the activity. More money is spent on food and drink in November and December. So, you must include a few of these Christmas activities on your list.
65. Decorate Sugar Cookies. This is a great project that tastes delicious. It’s also really easy and you’ll be surprised how much your decorating skills improve each year.
66. Make Hot Cider. Hot cider is a great drink to have this time of year. This Christmas treat can be made in the oven or on the stovetop, with just enough heat that it’s still perfect for kids and adults. Plus it makes your house smell naturally festive.
67. Enjoy Hot Chocolate with Marshmallows. This is a perfect wintertime drink. Surprise the family with cute Christmas mugs.
68. Drink Egg Nog. This is a classic must-have during the holidays. There is something that warms your belly with the creaminess of egg nog. Make sure to buy your Egg Nog early as many stores ran out at Christmas time. Which eggnog flavor is your favorite?
69. Gourmet Hot Chocolate Bar. Set up a hot chocolate bar with all of your favorite toppings, like cinnamon, heavy cream, and gourmet chocolates. This will make the holidays even more special!
70. Snowy Ice Cream Treats! Make some delicious homemade ice cream and put it in bowls or cups and hand them out to your loved ones.
71. Visit a Bakery. These places are filled with great ideas! If you don’t have time, pick up one of their creations. Or try to make your own at home.
72. Make Your Own Gingerbread House Kit. This gingerbread house kit contains everything you need to make a gingerbread house this season.
73. Make Homemade Marshmallows. These are so simple to make and perfect for hot chocolate or in a sugar cookie recipe!
74. Make a Birthday Cake for Jesus. There is a huge reason to celebrate! So, let’s bake a cake and celebrate!
Crafty Christmas Bucket List
You don’t have to be super crafty for any of these projects. Simple ways to make decorations!
For many people, making their own gifts is a great way to give awesome Christmas gifts when you are broke.
75. Get crafty! There are thousands of Christmas crafts you can do during this season! Some ideas include making ornaments or wreaths, cutting out snowflakes, decorating a gingerbread house, or making your own Christmas cards.
76. Make DIY Christmas Tree Ornaments. Okay, I will be honest … there are so many great ideas for DIY Christmas Tree ornaments that I freeze on which project to actually complete. So, pick 1 or 2 that you know are within your crafty skills and get started!
77. Make Paper Snowflakes. This is a classic Christmas activity to do.
78. Make a Christmas Wreath and Decorations with your kids or family members. This is great for the whole family to do together, as it helps create memories that are sure to last a lifetime.
79. Wonder the Craft Stores. With no agenda and plenty of time! Let your mind wander and fill with amazing Christmas crafts you could make.
80. Make Salt Dough Ornaments. This is the simplest Christmas craft for the non-crafty person! Learn how to make salt dough from Katie.
81. Create Candy Care Garlands. The options are endless on this one! You can use big candy canes or mini candy canes to make your garlands.
82. Decorate a Christmas Photo Frame. This is a fun project that can be completed in just minutes! Take any old frame and spray paint it white. Then, add Christmas decorations around it or use spray painted puzzle pieces.
83. Knit Christmas Mittens. This is a quick and easy project to knit up for the holidays!
84. Make Your Own Snowmen. Make your own snowman out of rice or beans, it’s fun and easy.
85. Put Snowflakes on the Windows. This is a fun and easy way to decorate for the holidays.
86. Make Your Own Poinsettia Wreath. These wreaths can be made in no time at all!
87. Find Creative Ideas for Elf of the Shelf. Let’s decorate the elf and make its day bright!
88. Make Wreath Cards from Last year’s Christmas Cards. This is a great way to upcycle and make unique Christmas ideas. Watch this YouTube video to learn how.
89. Decorate Staircases with Ribbons. This is a simple trick to make your house look more festive!
90. Make Orange Peel Poppuri. This is a simple and quick recipe that will make your house smell fragrant.
91. Make Christmas Cards. This is the perfect time to make your own Christmas card with all of your family members, friends, and even pets! There are so many fun ways to customize these cards. You can be crafty with paper supplies or use a digital template.
Decoration Christmas Bucket List
The decor is the major component of the holidays! Make sure you are ready to get decorating!
92. Decorate the Christmas Tree. This “to-do” should be treated with a little more emphasis. Plan an event around decorating the tree and sharing memories while hanging ornaments.
93. Create a Themed Christmas Tree. Star Wars fan? Barbie lover? Marvel fan? Sports diehard? Time to unleash all of your passion and decorate a themed Christmas tree in honor of your fervor. Find some ideas to jumpstart your creativity.
94. Hang Chrismas lights. Even better make your house look better than the National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Order your lights here.
95. Upgrade Your Christmas House Lights to a Christmas Light Show. Thankfully, technology has greatly approved and you do not need to be an engineer to figure it out. You can pick up this up and quickly set your lights to music.
96. Pick a New Scent for the Holidays. Personally, I like peppermint.
97. Buy Cute Christmas Dish Towels. This is a simple decoration tip from the pros. With this simple purchase, it looks like your house has been staged for the Pinterest perfect Christmas dinner.
Shopping Place for Holiday Activity
Every bucket list has gifts on it, so time to get your shopping done!
98. Create your Christmas Budget List. While this may not be on the top of your list, this is a very important money management tip to master. Learn how to make a Christmas budget that works for you.
99. Shop for Christmas Gifts. This is a great time to find gifts for your friends and family. No need to rush, but shop early if possible! Amazon has a ton of gift ideas that are easy on the wallet too! Find a list of the best Christmas gifts under $10 for kids.
100. Purchase Christmas Flowers just for You! Buy some fresh flowers from your local flower shop and enjoy them for the holidays!
101. Wear Christmas socks. Hello, we all love cool socks! Make sure you pick up some new Christmas socks for your holiday collection.
102. Start A Collection. If you are looking for some easy gifts, start a collection that can be added year after year! A few examples include Christmas ornaments, books about Christmas traditions from around the world, and ornaments made out of candy canes.
103. Shop A Christmas Store. Find a Christmas Store; they are worth a visit if you want to get into the holiday spirit! They have everything from traditional nutcrackers to more unique items like Santa toilet paper holders. No matter what your interests are, these specialty stores have something for everyone.
104. Give Money Creatively. Did you know you could give money besides just writing a check? There are over 45 different money gift ideas for you.
Christmas Bucket List for Family Activities
Entertaining the kids is a must! Thankfully there are so many things to do.
Plus you can see the magic of the season through their eyes!
105. Write a Letter to Santa. This needs to be done in the first part of December in time to reach the North Pole.
106. Make Reindeer Food. Fruit and vegetables make a great snack for the reindeer, so it’s easy to do this activity with your kids. You can also experiment with adding different spices into the mix such as cinnamon or nutmeg.
107. Watch the Holiday Funny Movie Marathon. This is a fun way to spend a cold or hot day. Pick out some of your favorite hilarious movies and get cozy in front of the TV! Laugh til you drop!
108. Make Winter Slime. Yes, every kids LOVES slime and what is better than just slime… WINTER SLIME! Pick up Iceberg Frozen Winter Slime for your kid’s Christmas Party.
109. Host a Kid’s Christmas Party. This is something we have done every year is to host a kid’s Christmas party. It is a simple and festive way to share in the Christmas season. Provide some simple Christmas crafts, hot chocolate (with marshmallows of course), and easy snacks.
110. Sing Christmas Carols. This is a fun family activity that will make you feel festive!
111. Visit Santa. This is an old-fashioned tradition that never gets old. Visit Santa and find out if you have been naughty or nice!
112. Make Paper Snowflakes. This activity is a must for kids. Simple and easy to make. Plus they will get lost in the activity for hours! Find paper snowflake ideas.
113. Make Rudolph Pancakes. One easy way to make your Christmas bucket list more fun is by adding some creative and festive tasks to ordinary things like making pancakes.
114. Talk to Santa Claus. It’s hard to believe, but there are actually people who talk to Santa every year and make sure he has everything he needs for Christmas Eve. You can talk to him on the phone or online, and it’s a great way for your kids to get in touch with their inner child.
115. Go for a Christmas Scavenger Hunt. This is a great family activity that will have your kids having fun and learning at the same time. You can make it as easy or as hard for them to complete, depending on their age.
116. Make a Christmas wish list and check it twice. Have the kids pick out gifts they would like for themselves as well as give to others.
117. Have a Holiday Movie Night with your Friends and Family. Make some popcorn, grab your favorite movie, and cuddle up on the couch for an evening of laughter!
Holiday Bucket List to Help Others
You don’t have to be a millionaire philanthropist to help others in your community. You can make a difference by doing small things that will go unnoticed, but still, provide assistance for those who need it.
118. Participate in Random Acts of Kindness. This is a fun way to do something nice for someone else this Christmas. It’s also a great opportunity to practice your own “random acts of kindness” you want to give back in the new year.
119. Polar Plunge: A Fun and Festive Way to Help Others. Create a team of people who will pledge money for every degree the temperature drops below freezing! Make sure to follow through and take the polar plunge!
120. Donate to a Food Bank. Make a donation to your local food bank or homeless shelter in order to help those who are less fortunate during this time of year. This is a perfect way to help those in need in the wintertime and continue the tradition year round!
121. Be Someone’s Secret Santa. This is a fun and heartwarming tradition that works well for your whole family. It’s simple, too: just give out the names of people you would like to be Santa Claus for in December and tell them not to let the person know who you are.
122. Donate Toys. There are a ton of organizations that accept donations of toys or other items. Find the best charities to donate your old toys and help those in need this holiday season!
123. Make a Financial Contribution to a Nonprofit. Most nonprofits receive the majority of their financial donations in the last months of the year. Maybe see if you could make it a part of your biweekly budget and give more often.
124. Visit the Animal Shelter for a pet adoption event. It’s not just cats and dogs that need homes on Christmas Eve! Many of our furry friends are forgotten about this time of year. Stop by a local animal shelter.
125. Adopt a Family for Christmas. If you’re not into the whole Santa Claus thing, why not take it upon yourself to give back to the community? Adopt a family for Christmas by purchasing gifts, food, and necessities that they might not otherwise have. There are many families in need this time of year and it’s truly an act of love and kindness to give back in this way.
126. Give the gift of music. If you’re a musician or know someone who is, offer to play at a nursing home or assisted living facility on Christmas Eve. If you’re not a musician, sponsor the music of a local choir or orchestra.
127. Give the Gift of a Smile. Visit an elderly neighbor and say hi. Smile to the person behind you in line. It takes more muscles to frown than smile.
128. Pick a Tag from a Giving Tree. Many companies set up a tree with tags of people who are in need. Then, their employees can pick a tag and purchase the selected item.
129. Baking for Others: A Fun Way to Help Others. Bake for someone in your neighborhood and donate the ingredients to an organization that feeds people in need!
130. Pray for Peace and Happiness. Don’t stop praying during these hard times. Pray for peace, happiness and prosperity around the world.
Something Else for Holiday Bucket List Items
These are the ones that are still awesome ideas but don’t fit in the above categories!
131. Empty your Christmas Schedule. This is a great way to destress, especially if you have been stressing about your holiday season.
132. Start Dreaming About Your New Year’s Resolutions. This one is my favorite! I love rolling over to a new year with fresh dreams.
133. Grab your Yearly Planner before January 1st. Yes! Especially with supply chain issues, I recommend getting your yearly planner in advance. Here is the current yearly planner I use.
134. Create Your Own Advent Calendar. It’s easy to create your own advent calendar. Use a simple white board and some markers to create your own countdown to Christmas.
Christmas Bucket List for Couples
These are the top 10 ideas from above just for couples!
Ice Skating at Night
Kiss Under the Mistletoe
Go on a Sleigh Ride
Romantic Movie Night
Catch a Snowflake on Your Tongue
Enjoy A Fireside Cuddle
Leisurely Stroll on a Snowy Mountain Area
Escape for a Night Away
Volunteer Together
Dream About Your Future
Christmas Bucket List Template
Okay, we gave you TONS OF IDEAS!
There is absolutely no way you can accomplish them all in one Christmas season.
So, here is a template to use to pick your top 25 activities to complete.
If you’re like us then setting up the tree is something that you always look forward to. From decorating the tree, baking cookies, and watching movies under it with your family this Christmas is sure to be a magical time for all of us!
What are some tips for creating an ultimate Christmas bucket list?
There are a few things to keep in mind when creating your ultimate Christmas bucket list.
First, make sure that it includes experiences that you will really enjoy. This is not the time for obligation or duty–the list should be filled with activities that you and your loved ones will love doing together.
Second, try to include a variety of different types of activities, from traveling and vacationing to visiting new places and trying out new experiences.
And finally, don’t forget to add some classic holiday traditions as well!
KEY TIP… Plan Your Day Ahead: What are you going to do tomorrow?
How can you make your Christmas bucket list more meaningful?
When it comes to the holidays, many people want to do as much as they can.
The Christmas bucket list is often a great way to make sure that you’re able to check off all of the items on your wish list. But sometimes, we can become overwhelmed by all of the things that we want to do. This year, consider making your bucket list more meaningful by doing activities that will bring you happiness and joy.
Idea #1 – Be Happy
One way to make your Christmas bucket list more meaningful is by only including activities that truly make you happy.
For example, if decorating the tree or going shopping for presents isn’t really your thing, then don’t put them down as items that you have to do this year! Instead, focus on doing things like baking cookies with loved ones or taking a walk in the snow.
Idea #2 – Spend Time Together
Another way to make your holiday season more special is by spending time together over a fire. Whether you build one in your backyard or take advantage of one at a local park, this is a great opportunity for conversation and reflection.
Consider lighting the fireplace and reading a good book together–or having some deep conversations about what’s been going on in each other’s lives!
Idea #3 – Make an Advent Calendar
Making your own advent calendar is a fun way to get into the Christmas spirit. You can make it as simple or as complex as you want, but the key is to include activities that will get you excited for the holiday season.
For example, one day you might do an act of service for someone else, and on another day you might bake cookies!
Now, start brainstorming ideas with your family and friends.
Idea #4 – Get Prepared
Take time to figure out what kind of holiday experience you want, which helps narrow down the items on your bucket list.
Another way to make your Christmas bucket list more special is by preparing for Christmas Eve the night before. One great idea is to create a box filled with all of the things you’ll need for the following day. This could include pajamas, breakfast foods, and even some presents!
Use the printable to prioritize which activities your family would like to do during the holidays.
Idea #5 – Make it Personal
Finally, why not add a personal touch to your Christmas this year?
Make your list as personal and meaningful to you as possible by only including activities that are important.
Instead of using store-bought wreaths and ornaments, try making them yourself! There are endless possibilities when it comes to homemade decorations, so get creative and have some fun!
This isn’t the time to make your season harder – only what you want to do.
What are some things you can do to make your Christmas bucket list more exciting?
There are many ways to make your Christmas bucket list more exciting!
One way is to add a variety of activities, from festive traditions to outdoor adventures.
You can also mix up the type of activities so that you have something for everyone in the family. Additionally, you can make a point to do new things every year and keep your bucket list updated.
This will help ensure that you have an enjoyable and memorable Christmas season.
What are some tips for making your Christmas bucket list more fun for everyone?
One way to make your Christmas bucket list more fun for everyone is to try and do something that is meaningful and fun for everyone in your family.
This could be anything from spending time by the Christmas tree together, to doing random acts of kindness this holiday season!
A great tip would be to have everyone include their top three ideas that make the family Christmas bucket list.
All in all, you want to start Christmas traditions that the whole family looks forward to each and every year. This may be as simple as starting a new family tradition or making homemade gifts for your friends and neighbors.
Which Holiday Activities do you Need & Love?
So many ideas, right?
Your head may be spinning, but only put the holiday activities on your list that you want to do.
If you’re looking for something special to do this year, consider checking out one of the many Christmas productions around the country. From The Nutcracker to A Christmas Carol, there’s something for everyone.
And don’t forget about all of the amazing light displays – they’re definitely worth seeing!
It’s the most wonderful time of year, so you might as well make your family traditions more exciting by adding some creative tasks to what is normally a boring list of chores.
What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions? I’d love to hear about them!
For more inspiration, check out our Christmas Pinterest board.
Merry Christmas!
Also, it might be time to start thinking about what do I want for Christmas?
Know someone else that needs this, too? Then, please share!!
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Budgeting is not easy!
It can be stressful and complicated to stay on top of your finances.
It takes willpower, discipline, patience—but also creativity and flexibility in order for us to stick with it long enough that we start saving money as well.
A budget binder with envelopes is the perfect tool for keeping everything organized.
With this very simple and easy-to-use tool, you can organize all of your budgets and actual spending for multiple cash envelope categories in one place—all within an envelope that easily fits into a purse or wallet!
The hardest part is finding one that suits your needs.
In fact, 65% of Americans have no ideas how they spent their money last month.
In this post, we are going to review the topic budget binder with envelopes, so you can make a logical decision on what is best for you.
Why you should use a budget binder?
A budget binder is a great way to keep your finances organized. It can help you track your expenses, stay on budget, and save money.
In addition, with budgeting, you reduce your spending and plan for the future.
There are several ways to use a budget binder:
Set spending limits so you can save money
Label envelopes with category names like “groceries” and “dining out.”
Add money to an envelope as you spend it in that category, even if it’s not the last envelope for that category.
If there is leftover money at the end of the month, put it into savings or your emergency fund (or use it next month).
This type of detail will help you stay organized and aware of your spending habits. Learn more on how to create a budget binder.
Are budget binders worth it?
Though budget binders are not a new concept, they are still worth using to help you stay on top of your spending.
By recording where each penny goes, you can more easily track your progress and make necessary adjustments along the way.
Budget binders can be found in both digital and printed formats. They are often sold on Amazon, but they may also be bought online from other sellers like Etsy.
Budget binders are a popular way to stay organized and save money.
What to include in your budget binder
A budget binder is a place where you can keep all of your financial information in one spot–including accounts, receipts, and other important paperwork. This will help you stay up-to-date on your spending and make it easier to track expenses.
There are some key items that you should include in your budget binder so that it’s most effective for you.
It’s also helpful to have a section for current account statements and recent receipts.
When it comes to personal finance, the organization is key.
A great way to get your budget in order is by using a budget binder with cash envelopes. This method is very simple and can be customized to fit your own needs.
If you want to organize your budget in a simple way, then consider using a budget binder with envelopes. This will help you to easily separate your expenses into different categories.
Here are the best budget binders with cash envelopes to choose from.
This budget binder is a great way to organize your finances. It is lightweight and easy to carry, making it convenient for use at home, work, or school.
The A6 size fits easily in your handbag or backpack, and the money pocket and cards holder make it easy to keep your important documents safe and secure.
Additionally, waterproof sticker labels make it easy for you to categorize everything you need to carry with you.
This budget binder is a great way to organize your finances. It comes with money saving envelopes for cash, as well as inserts that can go into the A6 ring binder. You can also carry it with you anywhere thanks to its handy zipped up holders.
This SOUL MAMA A6 Budget Binder with Cash envelopes is the perfect way to budget your money. It comes with pre-printed inserts for saving money, and the color scheme is half holographic purple and half white. The labels are also written in beautiful rose gold font.
The material makes it both quality and tear-resistant, while the waterproof and soft-to-the-touch design keeps your documents safe. Plus, there’s a 100% satisfaction guarantee, so you can be sure that you’re making a sound investment.
This budget binder is a great way to organize your finances. The faux leather binder has a pen loop and card pockets, which are perfect for hiding passports, ID cards, bank cards, and other important things.
Plus, the personalized holographic design will make you feel like a boss!
There are a variety of cash envelope options to help organize your budget. The most common are envelopes for Mortgage/Rent, House bills, Car payments, Car insurance, and Groceries. You can find specialized envelopes or create your own system.
Label each envelope with the name of the category and the amount you plan to spend each month. When the money is gone, it’s gone!
You can find purchase add-ons with extra envelopes and budget tracking sheets in their shop.
Clever Fox cash envelopes are tear-resistant, water-resistant and durable, making them the perfect option for budgeting.
This Clever Fox cash envelope system is perfect for organizing your budget. The set includes a carrying case, 12 budget sheets, and enough envelopes to track all of your purchases and what you have left to spend. Each envelope has a different color for each budgeting category, so you can stay on top of your spending with ease.
I love the Clever Fox Cash Envelopes for Budget System because of its great features.
The tracker has a zippered storage case to keep everything together and each envelope has a blank category label. When you lift the flap, there’s another label with plenty of space to write down the details! Plus, the quality is fantastic and I love how they include purchase trackers with every set.
Recently, I stumbled upon this super cute budget book that is perfect for organizing your finances.
This A6 budget binder comes with a customized cash envelope system, which will help you stay on track with your budget.
You can choose the color of your binder, the font for your personalization, and the vinyl color. You can also choose to have your name printed on the front of the binder as well as a phrase of your choice.
The quality of the book exceeded my expectations, and the best part is that it’s just so darn cute! If you’re looking for a custom budget binder, I would highly recommend this one.
This SKYDUE Budget Binder comes with 12 envelopes for cash, which makes it easy to keep track of your budget. The binder also has 16 self-adhesive labels to help you stay organized, and it fits in your handbag, backpack, suitcase, or desk.
In addition, the SKYDUE Budget Binder with 12pcs Cash Envelopes is perfect for college students.
The binder and sleeves are made from durable materials that can withstand wear and tear, while the cash envelopes are a great way to start using the sinking funds saving method. Plus, the pouches are big enough to hold a decent amount of money without being too bulky.
A customized cover is a great way to personalize your budget binder!
This starter set gives you all the basics you need to get started. You can have a maximum of 8 envelopes in your binder for a comfortable fit, but feel free to adjust this number according to your needs.
The binder was well put together and the customer service was amazing. The money was well spent and there are many customers very happy with the final product.
A personalized cash envelope binder is a great way to organize your budget.
You can customize the binder with any name or wording in any font color! The set includes a binder and 5 personalized cash envelopes.
This is a great way to start budgeting and get your finances under control.
This cash envelope wallet is perfect for budgeting. It has RFID blocking to keep your cash safe and a heavy duty wristlet to make sure it stays with you.
There are 12 cash envelopes included so you can get started right away, and the vertical design of the envelope makes it easy to add and remove bills or track your spending.
Personally, I like the plastic tabbed cash envelopes because they are durable and small enough to be taken out of my planner system without getting squished. The vertical orientation is easier to see, which helps me keep track of how much money I have left in each category.
In addition, this binder comes with access to a library of 50+ A6 printable pages. There are 12 monthly budget sheets included helping you build your budget and get organized. With this system, you can take control of your finances and see where your money is going.
This budget binder from TNHomegrowndesigns is a great way to start organizing your finances. It includes everything you need to get started, including cash envelopes and a money holder. The cash envelope system is a simple way to budget your money, and this binder makes it easy to do.
You can choose the color and number of envelopes you want, as well as have it customized with your name. This is a great way to organize your budget in a simple way.
Budget Binders with Envelopes DIY
If you’re looking for a low-cost option to organize your finances, consider using a DIY budget binder with envelopes.
This approach allows you to maintain control over your spending even during income fluctuations. Plus, by using airtight plastic bags to store the envelopes, you can save money on buying new folders!
How do you make a budget binder with envelopes?
Honestly, it is just as easy to create your own budget binder as it is to buy one pre-made.
Here are the supplies you need:
The benefits of making your own are personal customization and adding what is important to your personal situation.
For more information, learn how to create a budget binder.
How to organize your budget in a simple way
There are a few different ways to organize your budget:
Income and Expenses: This is probably the most common way to organize a budget. It separates your income from your expenses, so you can see how much money you have coming in and going out.
Fixed and Variable Expenses: This way of organizing a budget separates your fixed expenses, like your rent or car payment, from your variable expenses, like your grocery bill. This can be helpful in seeing where you spend money.
There are a few different ways to organize your budget, but we think starting with a zero based budget is best.
How much money do you save with the envelope system?
The envelope system is a popular way to budget and helps people save money faster.
It works by allocating specific amounts of money to each category of expense and putting that money into an envelope. When the envelope is empty, you can’t spend any more money in that category. This helps people stay within their budget and avoid overspending.
If you need to save money on a tight budget, then the envelope system is helpful.
In fact, many people have had great success with saving over $5000 using the 100 envelope challenge.
Tips for sticking to your budgeting system
When it comes to sticking to your budget, there are a few things you can do to make it easier.
For starters, don’t spend more than you can afford.
If you have debts or other expenses, make sure you factor those into your budget as well.
Also, be sure to set realistic goals and limits for yourself- if you try to cut back too much, you’re likely to give up before you even start.
At the same time, don’t be afraid to experiment a little bit and try new things with the money you have. Just because something is outside of your budget doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it sometimes!
By being smart about how you spend your money, you can stick to your budget without feeling too restricted.
Which Budget Binder with Cash Envelopes is your Favorite?
A budget binder is a great way to organize your finances and keep track of where your money is going.
Cash envelopes help to visually budget your money. You can use them to plan and budget for what you are going to spend each week or month. This will help you stay on track with your finances and change your future for the better.
In this system, you will have separate envelopes for each category of your budget, such as rent, groceries, and utilities. This will help you track your spending and stay within your budget by paycheck method.
Know someone else that needs this, too? Then, please share!!