https://linktr.ee/claritybudgeting

Clarity Budgeting, Louisa, KY (2026)

02/17/2024

Having so much fun at

01/25/2024

Isn’t it crazy how just a little extra on any loan can make a big difference. I round my mortgage payments every month to keep my mortgage account at a certain amount.

This month the overage was $33.55…. And that will knock off ONE entire MONTH of payments and $111 in interest.

Winning :)

12/28/2023

As 2023 comes to an end I just want to take a minute to reflect on what all was accomplished this year.

I promise you to let you in more on how this was accomplished, but I need to know HOW would you like me to show you this? Reels? Posts? Lives? Tiktok shorts?

I want you to succeed with your goals and dream just like I am!

What do you want to see more of?
What is causing you pain points?
How can I help you?

2023 was a year of a lot of firsts for me.

My first major vacation since my son was born.
First full year of living alone with another human to support.
First time I’ve ever had a paid off car.
First time I really shared my finances with strangers :)
First time paying extra to my mortgage principal
First time doing the 52 week challenge

But there are also things that I have established for myself that I have continued.

Cash vacations
Cash Birthdays
Cash Christmas
$5 Challenge
Keep the Change Challenge

I hope to really help you this year! Let’s kick 2024s ass!!!!

11/16/2023

I think of all my different things I save for and have saved for in the past this one is the most exciting to me.

I have saved an extra years worth of JUST the principal portion of my mortgage. I will be making a lump sum payment of $2250 on 12/31 toward principal. This will save me 11 month of my mortgage and a whopping $8000 in interest!!!!!!!

It’s amazing what a little bit of extra to the principal of your mortgage can do.

On top of saving to do this lump sum I have also been rounding my mortgage payment up each month based on what is in my savings account that I keep my mortgage payment in - this has been about $20-25 a month AND because of the way I budget have been able to make 3 additional payments if $700 to principal only. This additional payments add up to $2460 and have taken 12 months off my mortgage and saved $9278 in interest.

So in this year I will have paid the equivalent of 3 years of my mortgage and saved $17,378 in interest - just by adding a little bit here and there and having a freedom fund I focus on throughout the year.

In top of this I have also don’t other fun stuff - that is for a different post though!

I can’t wait to see what 2024 holds and how quickly I can save the year of principal again :)

11/02/2023

And just like that my Christmas Freedom fund is Funded. A month early!

I love saving a little bit each paycheck in order to make big purchases without having to worry.

10/12/2023

Another Cash Vacation in the books.

This year for the kiddos fall break we headed to Universal again. And of course it was done all in cash.

I love that I don’t have to go into debt to go on these vacations. And seeing the kiddos face light up when I tell him is even better.

I don’t post these high dollar vacation to brag; but to remind you that you can do it too. I don’t make a ton of money, and I’m on a single income. But I control every penny and save for what I want to do and it allows me to have fun when I want.

I would love to help you figure out how to do it!!!

07/16/2023

Yesterday I had to spend money that was outside of my normal spending. I had to spend $400 to get my car registered and then I had to spend $180 on an AC call.

But I did not panic because I have Freedom Funds specifically for this!

I will end up taking both of these expense out of my "maintenance" fund and then refilling them over the next few months.

I specifically have these funds for this reason. I know that I have yearly things that will come up such as oil changes and registration; as well as I live in a 137 year old house - and things are bound to go wrong.

Would you be able to pay for one or both of these things if they came up? If not - let's talk and get your started

07/12/2023

Here we are again - my favorite time of the month :) Payday!!!

If you have been following along for a while you will notice that the way I divide my money is pretty consistent throughout each paycheck - with a little wiggle room after the main things are taken care of. For 2 years I strictly followed a Budget by Paycheck method - where I used my paycheck (and possibly a freedom fund) to pay for everything that occurred from the day I got paid until my next paycheck. This worked really well and helped me pay off over $30K in Student Loans in about 18 months. But in the last year I have changed the way I budget.

You see budgeting is not a linear thing - you are always having to assess what is working and what isn't working. You are constantly having to fine tune the process. When I moved to my newest house and was taking on 100% of the finances myself I realized I needed to change the way I was budgeting. I sat down and looked at every single bill I would be having come out and I added that up - rounded to the nearest 100 and split it in 2. I now put the same amount of money each paycheck into specific accounts for my "big bills" - my "Four walls". I also stay 1 paycheck ahead - so these accounts never dip below what I deposit into them in one paycheck.

This has really allowed me to breathe and know that my four walls will be taken care of every single month. I have those bills set on auto pay - and they come directly out of their specific accounts (I have one account form mortgage, and one account for all of my utilities). I have been keeping track of my actual utilities each month, as well as getting an average to ensure will continue to keep enough money in those accounts.

I do not touch those accounts - I do not move the money out of those accounts - those accounts sit and money moves in and out of them automatically. They are in a HYSA and are currently getting 5% interest and I just let them sit.

This paycheck I have a few extra things I need to do. I had to dip into my bank account cushion so I need to replenish that, I have a Disney Vacation deposit I need to pay a little on, and I am going to put the extra money into my Universal Studios Fund!

07/09/2023

New weeks - New Challenge!

I know I have had this challenge a few times - but it is one of my favorites an super easy!

This next week I want any time you make a purchase - if there is a 5 anywhere in the total save $5 - or put it toward your priority debt!

This is such a fun and easy way to save money. As of Friday I have over $450 saved in my $5 challenge.

I even have a tracker for this :)

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1425106121/5-dollar-challenge-tracker?ref=listings_manager_grid

06/28/2023

It is that time of the week again! It is payday :)

I get paid bi-weekly and I use a zero based budget. This does not necessarily mean I use every single penny of my paycheck - but rather that every single penny has a job.

As you can see my figures our nice neat numbers - that is because any "change" I have after my money is moved around gets put into its own savings account that I call "change you can see".

I have several different accounts and each one has a job. I put the same amount of money into my Mortgage, Spending, and Utilities each paycheck - $700, $500, $400 respectively. I also always put $200 into my savings that gets distributed to various Freedom Funds I have going on at the time. once that I done I decide what I am going to do with the rest of my paycheck.

This paycheck I need to put 2 paychecks worth of savings into my challenge so $110 and my MacBook payment is coming up - so that is $161. Lastly it is mine and my kiddos birthday next week and I am going to use the rest of the money for a buffer on top of my freedom fund I already have set aside for next week.

My top 3 Freedom funds currently are: Christmas, Savings 1 years worth of principal payments for my house, and my Universal Trip I am taking in October.

How do you budget your paycheck?
Do you do any fun savings challenges?
Do you have freedom funds?

Let me know!!!

06/28/2023

This summer has been full of FUN!!!! Right after school got out we went to Disney :) It was a total surprise for the kiddo and we had so much fun while we were gone. This is one of many Cash Vacations I have been able to do since taking control of my finances and having a clear vision of what I want!

One question I get often is HOW do you afford it and how MUCH did it cost. So I will answer both of these questions :)

How do I afford it - I intentionally spend and save for vacations like this. I use cash back apps, or credit card rewards. I also look for the best deal for the time I want to go and make sure I am semi-flexible for the vacation. I also use visual trackers to help me track my progress and make it one of my priority goals. I will go into more details about this on another post later in the week!

As far as how MUCH - this is my personal breakdown - you can spend more or less depending on what exactly you want to do and experience.

I went with a moderate resort and went with a 7 day base ticket with the water park option. After the time there I could have probably went with a 5 day base ticket with water park option and been fine. For 1 I didn't need a "park ticket" for the day that we went to the water park and then we did 2 half days (arrival and departure days) and we could have skipped one of those days all together. For this package it was $2715.

We live 15 hours from the parks - so I do a 10 hour day and a 5 hour day and stay the night in a hotel in between. I could probably do the 15 hours in one day - but since I am the only one that can drive this is what I feel most comfortable with. This cost me $310 and I got $31 back in rewards.

Food is the next "big" expense. Food for the trip down and back cost me right at $168. Food at the parks cost me $466. This is where people can go big or small. You can bring food and drink into the park so you could in theory not buy any food at the parks at all and bring your own the entire time you are there. I brought a camel pack full of water every day and flavor packets to help keep me hydrated. I bought the $13 popcorn bucket and filled it many times for $2.25 each time. I got a refillable cup for the resort and used it before we left and when we got back several times to get a little special treat. We didn't end up eating breakfast at all and then for lunch and dinner we either shared a pizza or we both ordered from the kids menu. I am sure there are other ways we could have handled food but this is what works for us.

And that leaves the rest of the expenses:
Key Chains: $106 (this is something my kiddo collects and he got one each day)
Pressed Penny's (120): $92 - again a collectable in our house
Other Souvenirs: $107
Gifts: $56
Other $40
Stroller: $139 - yes I got the kiddo a stroller it saved my sanity
Pre-Trip items: $638 - this included snacks, magicband+, shirts, clothes, $150 in gift cars to give the kiddo to spend how he pleased, etc.

In all I spent right at $4840. I also got $300 Statement credit on my Disney Visa, $31 in hotel rewards, and $140 back on other credit card rewards.

All in all I think I did an amazing job and came in under budget ($5000) without filing like I sacrificed anything major!

06/19/2023

What have I been doing? I have been coming up with some big things I want to do. I have been in the moment with the kiddo - but it is time to start helping you guys again!!! I miss my clients and miss people Dream, Plan, and Do the BIG SCARY things they want to do.

And even if you don't have a big scary goal - I am sure you have small goals - even if it's just "get started" and I want to help you do it!

Who is ready to get started?

Clarity Budgeting

02/17/2024

01/25/2024

12/28/2023

11/16/2023

11/02/2023

10/12/2023

07/16/2023

07/12/2023

07/09/2023

06/28/2023

06/28/2023

06/19/2023

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