Thoughts on a Money Management Podcast with Amanda Steinberg

I've been working regularly doing cleaning jobs, and at first, I was listening to music while I was cleaning. But then I decided I wanted to start being doing more, and decided to listen to various self growth related podcasts while cleaning, and I've been loving it.

Today I was listening to a podcast on Marie Forleo's channel (I discovered her through talks she did with Brene Brown, an author, speaker, and researcher I highly admire) and it was with a woman named Amanda Steinberg, who has been named one of the top people on finances, and I was curious to hear what she had to say. The topic of her talk was "Manage Your Money in a Way That Feels Good", and as I've heard and read a lot that many different money experts say, I was interested in seeing whether their advice and and perspective would be similar to what I've previously heard.

3 Ways Grass-Fed Beef Can Help You Improve Your Diet

I enjoy beef as well as chicken and turkey; these are the main proteins in my diet as I don't eat eggs and don't really eat dairy. I wish I could afford to buy grass fed beef. Here's a post sent in by a reader about the benefits of grass fed beef.

For years, a common item of popular wisdom in dietary science has been that red meat should only be eaten in very small amounts. Healthcare professionals cited concerns around fat levels and number of calories, and suggested that too much red meat could lead to heart disease.

While there is no question that red meat, like many other things, is best enjoyed in moderation, it is also true that many of the less salutary side effects associated with red meat are seriously exacerbated by the industrial farming methods used to raise most beef cattle.


Most people don’t spend a lot of time thinking about what their food eats, but a good diet is just as important for livestock as it is for humans. Unfortunately, the vast majority of cattle raised in North America are fed a diet that is meant to add pounds quickly, rather than produce nutritious beef.

My Latest Super Frugal Grocery Shop

Being busy working a lot lately, it's been hard to find time to do frugal shopping like buying reduced rack produce from the open air market, or going to the scratch and dent store. But earlier this week I was able to arrange a play date for my kids after school and used that time to do my bargain shopping.

My first stop was at the store that sells collapsible shopping carts. The last one I bought, from an expensive place that I thought would be good quality actually was such terrible quality that it broke the first time using it. Sometimes just because something is expensive doesn't mean it'll be good quality. This store, on the other hand, is the store where I've bought all my other wagons and they have replacement parts so I don't need to replace the entire thing in one shot if something breaks. I've come to terms with the fact that I need to fix or buy a new one a couple of times a year, because I'm very heavy on my carts, and I don't plan on changing how I use them, and take them as a price of how I shop and the price for not having a car. I just make sure to include the price of carts into my budget with a sinking fund (under the category of 'things for the house').

Delightful Dishes For A Special Holiday Gathering

Some people really love having guests and entertaining, but have a difficult time coming up with a menu. For this reason, even though they know how to cook, they go out to restaurants when they would like to have a fancy dinner. Here's some suggestions from a reader as to how to make a fancy dinner for your holiday gathering.

Soon your relatives and close friends will be coming through your front door with gifts tucked under their arms, waiting to stuff their faces with delicious food. This type of reunion doesn’t happen every weekend, so you want to pick dishes that will impress them until the very last bite. These are a few meal suggestions that you should follow if you want people to leave the gathering with full stomachs and wonderful memories.

Make Ahead Freezer Meals For Work -- Low Carb, Paleo, Budget Friendly, Allergy Friendly

Since I started working out of the house on a regular basis, I realized I was having trouble with everything regarding eating. My eating habits or not eating habits were hurting me. I'd be in a rush in the morning and not have time to make food to bring with me, so I'd either end up eating nothing all day, or going out to the store and buying something to eat while I was out, or I'd get cheap takeout. Or if I really was on top of things and ready early enough, I'd pack a lunch, usually a few gluten free sandwiches and a fruit or two.
This meant that I was either unnourished, which wasn't good for my energy levels, let alone mental well being, or spending too much (because even cheap takeout, or ready made food from the grocery store is pricier than homemade food).
And in addition to all that, I really noticed how many carbs I was eating, how much of my meals were based on gluten free grains or other starches, and that I was definitely not eating enough vegetables. My weight has been creeping up, in part because of the meds I've been on, but I'm sure my less than stellar eating habits have not helped.

So I decided that I wanted to make a change. I wanted to make meals in advance that were healthy, vegetable rich, and low in carbohydrates. Add to that the fact that I wanted things that were freezer friendly, because I didn't want to have to worry about them spoiling in my fridge.
I was trying to come up with ideas, but I was really thrown for a loop because in addition to trying to not eat grains, I also don't eat eggs, most dairy, or cruciferous vegetables, which means that the standard "freeze ahead meals" were mostly out for me, because they tended to rely heavily on broccoli and cauliflower which I don't eat, or egg based things like mini quiches.

Can a Prepaid Debit Card Help With Your Finances?

I am pretty firmly anti credit cards, because I see how much trouble they can get you into financially. However, a reader sent me this post about how prepaid debit cards can actually be helpful with your finances, and I'll admit it got me thinking. 

In a nutshell, a prepaid debit card is a financial instrument that makes your life easier. You can look at it as plastic money. The card requires you to load it with a certain amount of money that you can use to make purchases, pay your bills, and pretty much anything that plastic money can do. It comes with a number of incredible benefits, including limiting your spending, helping with budgeting, avoiding high banking fees, saving time, and avoiding the risks of carrying cash, among others. But really, can a prepaid debit card help with your finances? And if so, in what ways can it do so?

Well, if you guessed right, the right answer is YES! Here are a few ways how a prepaid debit card can help with your finances.

Visiting London on a Shoestring Budget

No, I'm not heading to London. (Yet, though this post really makes me want to go.) However, my best friend, Michelle, recently was in London, and she amazed me not only by how many things she saw in her short amount of time there, but also little she spent doing so. As she knows how much I love travel, and especially frugal travel, she offered to write this amazing and informative post on how you, too, can visit London, have a great time, and pay nearly nothing. I'm really psyched about this, and I wish I could be in London now (though I will see what kind of Black Friday deals I can find...)

Hi! So I just came back from four days in London, and I realized that London itself, although there are some parts of it that can be expensive, is an extremely frugal city to tour if you can navigate the 2 hot-spots. I thought that I would give some ideas, especially for those interested in touring this major historical metropolis, that might help those who are interested in getting there!

I'm also a huge history geek, so for me, London is a hotbed of amazing historical and cultural places that really added to the experience.

Brilliant Gifts For The Obsessed Foodie In Your Life

I'm a foodie. Anyone who knows me well (or even semi well) knows that about me. Don't get me baskets of lotions and creams as a gift, those will go unused in my house. Get me something food related and I'm sure to love it. Here's some tips from a reader about what types of gifts work well for a foodie like myself. (Not that I'm hinting or anything... haha.)

You know someone who passionately believes that breakfast, lunch and dinner are much more than necessities. They go to restaurants to try the newest trends, explore adventurous menus and test out unique recipes in their own kitchen. If you need to get this culinary connoisseur a thoughtful gift, read these fantastic ideas for inspiration.

Taco Night! Delicious, Frugal, Easy, and Healthy

My kids, somehow, despite never having had tacos before, heard about the concept of Taco Tuesday. (I don't even know the source of Taco Tuesday!) They asked me if we can please have a Taco Tuesday at our house. I kept the idea at the back of my mind, and when I saw taco shells being sold in a grocery store I was visiting, I decided that we'd have a Taco Tuesday night.

Boy was it a success!

I wanted to share with you how we did it, and relatively frugally as well, not to mention pretty healthily. Oh, and can I mention that it was pretty easy and quick to make, and enjoyed by every last family member, including a guest?

Parenting and Earning: How to Do Both at the Same Time

I've pretty much only been a work at home mom since my kids were little. Only recently, since deciding to get divorced, did I start working out of the house more regularly. Some people want to be able to work from home but don't know how to do it. Here's some great ideas from a reader on what type of jobs you can easily do from home; I learned something new from this post, and I thought I knew all about being a work at home mom!

Between dealing with temper tantrums, breastfeeding, diapers, wiping runny noses and completing other chores at home, being a stay at home mom is a full-time job. Also, it is tiring and expensive.

Yes, having kids is one of the best feelings and experiences for moms and dads too but the responsibility of raising them and juggling other chores is a pain. The good news is that stay at home moms can hire a housemaid to complete other chores and leave them with the responsibility of raising kids. The problem is this costs money.

To earn some cash in order to pay the housemaid and even cater for other in and out of the house expenses, one needs to work. Thanks to the internet and the gig economy, stay at home moms have the opportunity of earning up to six-figure sums from the comfort of their homes.

Want to know how?

Here are the top 5 money making online opportunities for stay at home moms.