Finances

5 Minimalist Habits To Achieve Financial Freedom

March 31, 2026 by Amy Slenker-Smith 7 Comments

According to WalletHub, the average credit card balance per household is $11,507. When it comes to decluttering and organizing, it’s impossible to ignore the financial benefits. For my family, financial freedom was the single greatest gift we experienced when we chose to own less. Our path to minimalism began when our son was young. Over time, we’ve sought to set an example by teaching the importance of debt-free living, owning less, and being intentional with our resources, especially money. These are character traits he embodies as a young adult from our example. Debt-Free Living The process began with a personal finance class that my husband and I took together. I was motivated to declutter anything that wasn’t nailed down in our house and never buy anything ever again. Meanwhile, he was motivated to accelerate our retirement savings and reduce our spending. We realized that step one was to eliminate every penny of consumer debt we had. We cut up our credit cards, …

How to Survive a Layoff with Financial Freedom

March 3, 2025 by Amy Slenker-Smith 1 Comment

If you've been through a layoff, or are worried you might be facing one in the near future, then you know how stressful it is. It's especially difficult if you are the family benefits-holder. But it doesn't have to be this way. Early on in our marriage, we experienced two significant layoffs and never touched our savings. As a family, we prepare for emergencies knowing they happen when you least expect it. Simply put, we have an emergency fund (6 months of expenses saved). And we make lifestyle changes to adjust to the lack of income. The Storm My husband was laid off in early 2019. The news arrived just before my son‘s 13th birthday. We had planned to go skiing and kept the trip as scheduled. The next day, en route to the mountains, with the layoff weighing on our minds, our neighbor called. A pipe had burst in our home. We turned around, dealt with the mess and arrived at our destination, albeit several hours late. One disaster after another but somehow we weathered the …

5 Reasons Why I Canceled My Costco Membership

September 18, 2022 by Amy Slenker-Smith 16 Comments

For years my family shopped at Costco. We went every month to buy paper products, groceries, and browse all the aisles. Each time, we expected a full cart and a long receipt. We never bought just one or two things. We always deviated from the list because the impulse buys were too tempting. The average Costco shopper spends $114 a trip and shops every two weeks. That’s over $2,700 per year. Costco knows how to design a store. Milk, eggs, and rotisserie chickens are in the back. Seasonal items, toys, and clothing live in the middle so you walk by them twice. Expensive electronics stop you in your tracks at the front door. The store's natural flow encourages you to walk by expensive items first. The groceries (which are what you came for in the first place) will be last as you travel the store. Shopping at Costco is an event. You need to allocate several hours for this trip. Generally the items on the list are spread across the store because of the strategic design. Since, we …

What You Can Afford Does Not Equal a Budget

January 31, 2022 by Amy Slenker-Smith 10 Comments

Have you ever had a conversation about what you can afford? The better question to be asking is, what's your budget? The words afford and budget are used interchangeably which is a common mistake when it comes to personal finance. Why Budgeting is Important Budgeting is influenced by personal decisions. And we make better decisions when we plan how to spend our money. Also, budgeting is a discipline to achieve your goals. And it allows you to adapt to unforeseen circumstances like the two layoffs we survived without touching our savings. And yet, I encounter people who disagree with how we budget our money. Let me say that again. They disagree with how we budget and make assumptions about our income and what we can afford. Here's what I know. It is not how much you earn, it's how much you spend. This shapes your family's financial picture. Sadly, 68% of Americans do not have a budget. During the pandemic, families with a budget felt less financial pressure because they …

Experiences Not Stuff

November 5, 2020 by Amy Slenker-Smith 4 Comments

The trip can be the gift Experiences, not stuff, that’s my motto. Winter break offers an ideal time to travel and often allows trips to be our primary Christmas gift. This year we plan to ski because it's an outside sport and one we love. Traveling is a treat for all of us. And while we plan to drive this year, my son navigates airports like a pro as he's been flying since age 3. I’m smiling as I look back on the whirlwind of travel in late 2016, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Each memory equally strong and precious because the experiences will stand the test of time and outlast any Christmas present. No tangible item compares to the time I had with husband, son, and parents. Little Things and the Starbucks Effect Through daily life, we intentionally sacrifice stuff for experiences…prioritizing game night, family dinners, and movie night. But we also budget travel in lieu of weekly trips to Target or expensive Christmas gifts. The "Starbucks …

The Ripple Effect One Starbucks Can Have on Your Life

August 18, 2020 by Amy Slenker-Smith 2 Comments

One morning, I left early to get my car inspected. With laptop in hand, I prepared for the long wait time. The garage is conveniently located next to Starbucks. And this presented an opportunity to sit on their patio on a pleasant morning. Debt-Free Living When I use a table at Starbucks, I believe in supporting the business, but I also spend my money carefully. And thus had already made my coffee at home. I gave up my daily Starbucks run over 12 years ago thanks to a personal finance class. I debated over what to order. A muffin would be less expensive but full of sugar so I settled on Bacon Gruyere Egg Bites. $4.99 was the price of using their table, shady umbrella, and WIFI for two hours; good value for my situation. But the price tag got my wheels turning…$5 multiplied by 5 days a week? Add on a grande drip coffee, at $2.95/day and now it's $8/day or $40/week. Change the drip coffee to a latte and it’s $50/week or $200/month. Pick up a pre-packaged …

Finances

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