Category Archives: Saving Money & Personal Finance

Tips on saving money, spending money wisely, personal finance and more. #TexasHomesteader

Grocery No-Spend Challenge: WEEK 3!

23 Replies

by Texas Homesteader ~ 

WHEW – things are getting interesting! RancherMan & I have embarked on a month-long grocery no-spend challenge.

Although we didn’t purposely stock up before this challenge (which to me would have defeated the purpose) we did start out with healthy & overflowing pantry & freezers.

Week One was a breeze, no real changes necessary except that I had to start making lots of homemade bread. Then Week Two was a little bit more of a challenge, but still doable.

But now the pantry is getting more & more bare & the freezers are emptying out nicely. How did we fare for week three?  Read on, dear friends.

30-DAY GROCERY NO-SPEND CHALLENGE! No money spent on food for a full month - see how we survived week 3. Tips & recipes included! #TexasHomesteader

Continue reading →

Grocery No-Spend Challenge: Week 2

14 Replies

by Texas Homesteader

Ok y’all, we’re still trucking along with this grocery no-spend challenge where we’ve agreed not to spend any money on food of any type (except Valentine’s Day) for the entire month of February.

That includes fresh foods such as milk, fruits & veggies. (although we may tweak this as the challenge goes on) It also includes soft drinks & juices, spices, eating out, etc.

Week one went without a hitch since our freezers and pantry were well-stocked with food to start with. But what about week 2?  Were there any hitches? How much discomfort? What have we learned?  Read on…

30-DAY GROCERY NO-SPEND CHALLENGE! No money spent on food for a full month - see how we survived week 2. Tips & recipes included! #TexasHomesteader

Continue reading →

Grocery No-Spend Challenge: Week 1

32 Replies

by Texas Homesteader ~ 

What is a grocery no-spend challenge? It’s where you eat only the food you already have in your home. No buying cans of shelf stable foods, or even fresh foods like milk and bread.

I’d embarked upon a grocery no-spend challenge for a whole month. Come see how week 1 went. 

Can we go a month without buying any food at all? I've embarked upon a grocery no-spend challenge for a month. Come see how week 1 went. #TexasHomesteader

Continue reading →

Saving Money In The New Year

24 Replies

by Texas Homesteader ~ 
* contains affiliate link

Many people aspire to improve things at the beginning of the year. They may look at aspects of the prior year and vow to do better this year.

Of course this often includes becoming physically healthier or learning a new skill. Or it could be to reach for a more fulfilling job or even to make the plunge into self employment.

But almost always there’s a critical eye cast on our finances from the previous 365. Questions bounce in our heads “How could I do better this year? Save more? Spend less? Be more mindful with my hard-earned dollars?”

Saving Money. HOME FINANCE - Learn from the masters in these home finance books. Here are the home finance favorites in my own bookshelf. #TexasHomesteader

Continue reading →

No Corporate Paycheck? How Do You DO IT?? (part 2)

11 Replies

by Texas Homesteader

OK y’all, yesterday we started a two-part series about surviving in self-employment mode without the benefit of a regularly-scheduled corporate salary infusion on the side.  I encourage you to read ‘Saving Money, Part I’ if you haven’t already!

The topics covered were how important pre-planning is before you ever make this independence leap, then adding the steps of recognizing “needs” vs “wants”, paying cash, buying only high quality, researching purchases, finding lower-cost alternatives, repairing instead of replacing things and buying used where possible.

But now let’s look into some more ways to break the corporate paycheck shackle so you can follow your dreams, whatever they may be.

Finishing up a two-part series on how we successfully keep our monthly income requirement LOW to be able to live w/o a corporate paycheck. #TexasHomesteader

Continue reading →

Broken Item? Don’t Throw It Away, Repair It For CHEAP!

37 Replies

by Texas Homesteader ~ 

Do you ever wonder if it’s worth the effort to repair something instead of just chunking it away and buying a new one?

Recently I was quickly running an iron over the fabric to press the wrinkles out of a blouse and I noticed that the iron wasn’t getting as hot as it should. I further noticed the cord was a little worn.

Now I realize an iron isn’t very expensive. But I hate the thought of throwing away one thing so I can buy the very same thing to replace it.

So I asked RancherMan to repair my iron for me. Oh yeah, RancherMan is the king of repairs around our Homestead! 

It's easy to throw out your worn whatsit and buy another one, but it's more environmentally friendly to fix it. Thankfully it's easy & inexpensive too! #TexasHomesteader

Continue reading →