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How To Make Money This Holiday Season

 

Easy ways to make extra money this holiday season! Get started now and have a fully-funded Christmas account!

This time of year is my favorite. I don’t want to miss out on Pumpkin Spice Lattes and fall festivals because I’m on a budget. Instead, I want to enjoy everything that encompasses the holiday season. And yes, that means spending some money. Here is how to make extra money this holiday season.

Instead of providing the normal “How to save money this Christmas”-style post, I wanted to do something different. I want to show you how you can make money this holiday season so you have a bit more wiggle room in your budget.

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/ Filed In: Gifts, Holidays, Income, Small Business
Tagged: decor, financial goals, freelance, how to start a business, income, making money, making money online, self employment

How I Get in the Holiday Spirit

Happy Friday!!! Fall is officially here; meaning the holidays will be here before we know it! This is my absolute favorite time of the year, especially now that we are living in beautiful North Carolina. And, my girls are 3 and 2 so they are finally learning just how awesome the holidays and all the traditions that come with them are. I cannot wait to celebrate with my little family this year!

So, in light of the upcoming holidays, I thought it would be fun to back away from the freelancing/blogging/crazy-life-I-lead posts and share a more lighthearted post on how I plan to get in the holiday spirit this year.

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/ Filed In: Holidays, Life
Tagged: decor, fall, life

My refurbished dresser

dresserI mentioned a few months ago that I was going to start a new hobby of refurbishing furniture. Well, thanks to moving and some very cold weather, I just now got around to actually painting the dresser I bought over two months ago.

When we first moved into our new rental home, I told John I wanted to buy all of the furniture that we needed off of Craigslist and repaint it to our liking. We have all our “necessary” furniture – beds, a couch, a dining table…well, that’s about it, haha. We have no desire to spend a bunch of money on stuff that just sits there, but at the same time we want our house to look homey and be cozy and inviting. Since our dresser project went well, we’ve been looking for more furniture items to buy on Craigslist and repaint.

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/ Filed In: Home, Life
Tagged: decor, furniture, home

A new hobby…

Christmas Cami and MaisieMerry Christmas week! Is everyone off of work this week? My husband is working everyday except for Christmas Day 🙁 But that’s OK. This year it’s just us since we moved to NC, so it’s going to be very low-key anyways. I’m done shopping for the little ones…though I do keep adding stuff every time I go out, haha. Kids consignment stores and Marshall’s / Home Goods have been great for puzzles and books for the little ones! Melissa and Doug puzzles are our favorite and both those stores have a HUGE variety for a great price!

I’ve been majorly slacking in the blogging department, but at least I have a few good reasons! For starters, we’ve all been battling awful colds. Cami and John got sick about a week ago and it’s still lingering, and I got sick two days ago and am still feeling very under the weather. And, it’s the holidays and I think it’s only natural to want to spend less time in front of the computer.

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/ Filed In: Home, Life
Tagged: decor, home, life

Making a House a Home on a Budget

How to decorate your home on a budget. Here, I'm revealing all my tips and tricks for decorating a home on a budget!

I woke up yesterday to temps in the 50s, today…the low 40s!! For this gal from AZ, this weather is COLD!! So, yesterday most definitely called for some fall decorating, or decorating on a budget!

How to Decorate on a Budget

When we moved, I was forced (by none other than my husband) to get rid of my fall decor and Christmas decor. We majorly downsized, and if it wasn’t a necessity, it had to go. Unfortunately, fall decor just didn’t qualify as a “necessity” (to him, anyways). The good news is we did budget some money for some festive items. Yes, I’m always on a budget and prefer to save my money rather than spend it, but I’m still a girl, and when it comes to fall decor I’m just not quite ready to give that up.

Shop at Discount Stores

So off I went to Kirkland’s to stock up on a few essentials. I spent $48 (including my $10 off coupon) on the items you see on the fireplace mantle – the “Be Thankful” banner, two ceramic pumpkins, a “Harvest Home” sign, a burlap white floral arrangement, a festive light-up mason jar and a vanilla-scented candle on an antique candle holder. Looks good, right??!

My shopping didn’t stop there, though. We don’t have a dining room table and eating in our small apartment kitchen just wasn’t cutting it. I had found a table a few weeks ago at World Market that I liked, but at $990, I wasn’t sold. Then we had the brilliant idea of having my husband make me my dream farmhouse table. We priced it out and it would have cost roughly $150. Yes!! He agreed, only to later decide it just wasn’t possible in our small apartment. So back to square one we went.

Shop Online

Are you an online shopper? If so, Ebates allows you to earn cash back on your purchases at all your favorite stores – including Macy’s, Kohl’s, Nordstrom and Walmart! This is a fantastic way to do some decorating for your home AND earn money back! Use my link to receive $10 off your first $25 purchase!

After I got back from Kirkland’s, we searched on Craigslist for farmhouse tables. We ended up finding the cutest shop just 20 minutes north of us – The Painted Owl. Owned by three ladies, they find old, antique items at estate sales and refurbish them. Tables, benches and chairs are custom-made by one of the ladies’ husbands. We drove down there and walked out with not only a custom table with a matching bench (chairs coming soon), but also an antique, refurbished desk with a black chair adorned in burlap.

table

We will eventually paint the legs bright white, but for now – this table is perfect. I can’t wait to serve Thanksgiving dinner on it!

antique desk

The antique desk! While I normally work from the couch so I can keep an eye on the little ones, this desk will come in handy when my husband’s home so I can sneak away to our room to work. Also, this is a classic piece I plan on having for a very long time.

How much would you guess this costs? If you guessed $550 total, you would be correct. My home is my happy place, and I’m willing to spend money to make it look nice.

Take it One Room at a Time

Since originally writing this, we moved into a rather large house and we had very minimal furniture to go along with it. We’ve lived here almost a year, and I can say with confidence that we are *almost* fully-furnished. The only two rooms that are unfurnished are the office (other than a desk) and the sanctuary in the master bedroom. That room will eventually be made into a media room, but I’m guessing that’s a few years down the line.

Instead of furnishing our entire place on credit, we saved up and took it one room at a time. The family room was the biggest concern since it’s where we all hang out. We purchased a media console from Walmart and a Chaise lounge from Costco to complete the space. The kitchen nook is now furnished with a white table that I purchased off of Craigslist for $100 and painted. We’ve had to add some knick-knacks to hallways, like console tables, that I either purchased and repainted from Craigslist or bought at my favorite store – Kirklands.

In February, we saved up $1,500 to purchase patio furniture for our screened in porch. We definitely could have gone the cheaper route and bought used, but we had a good month income-wise and decided to splurge a little!

Now, we’re working on the nursery for our third baby girl, due on Halloween. We’re painting the room a pale pink and doing one wall in shiplap. I’m buying a grey crib from Walmart for $200, including the mattress. We currently have a queen sized bed in there that will remain in the room in case I need to crash in there one night. Since the bed’s there, I don’t see the need to purchase a rocking chair, so we’re skipping that expense. The baby also won’t have a dresser but will instead use the shelves in the closet.

Keep it Simple

I hate clutter – both because it makes it so I have more stuff to put away and keep track of and because it means I have to spend more money. Our house is big, but it’s simple. No rooms are overly decorated and everything has a place. If you’re decorating on a budget – keeping the areas simple is going to be the best way you can save money. Purchase the essentials, and then slowly add decor. Overtime, the space will come together. But in the meantime, there is nothing wrong with having a few bare rooms while you save up.

Any tips for decorating on a budget??!

/ Filed In: Home
Tagged: budget, decor, home, moving, north carolina, saving money

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