north carolina Archives - the frugal millionaire

How to Start a Successful Handyman Business

Are you ready to learn how to start a successful handyman business? Working for yourself as a handyman has tons of advantages, such as setting your own schedule, choosing the types of jobs and people you will work for, setting your own pay rates, and being in complete control of your income.

Don’t think you need to do all the work yourself, either. The most successful handyman business owners have crews that either help them with the labor or do all of the labor, allowing you to focus on growing your business, generating more sales, and increasing your profits.

Here is how to start a successful handyman business.

Updated August 2017

12 Things Happy People Do Every Day

Hi everyone!

I am so excited about today’s post. Lately, I’ve been reading some interesting articles on what makes people happy. Is it our environment? Our family situation? Or does it come from within?

I used to believe that happiness truly came from within, and while I do believe that still to an extent (I think people can be happy for the most part regardless of their circumstances), I now also see how our environment (and our family and what’s going on at home) can play a role.

I’ve been lucky enough to always consider myself a happy person (hence believing it came from within). I haven’t had the easiest life, by any means, but I’ve always been “happy.” I don’t really know why, haha.

But you know what? When we moved from Arizona to North Carolina last year, my level of happiness increased tenfold. I didn’t even know that that was possible, but I just LOVE where we live now. I miss my family and friends terribly, but this to me is “home.”

As a fun, light-hearted post, I thought I’d share some things that happy people do each and every day. If you’re struggling in this area, perhaps you can work a few of these things into your daily routine 🙂

FREE Summer Activities for Toddlers

I currently have two little toddler daughters – ages 3 and 21 months – and am constantly trying to keep us all busy so the girls stay active and get tired out and so I don’t lose my mind, haha. I thought it’d be fun to take a peek into our lives and see what we’re up to this summer!

I have a few friends with toddler-aged kids as well, but they sometimes prefer to visit children’s museums or the discovery place and other expensive places like that. While I’m not completely against those places and will visit on occasion, I do prefer to stick to the free forms of toddler entertainment (my little ones seem to love the library just as much as the children’s museum, anyways).

Pros and cons of buying a boat

I grew up going to the lake and have such fond memories of spending weekend days wakeboarding, getting a tan and eating subs. As my own girls start to get older (my oldest just turned three yesterday), I can’t help but want to re-create some of my memories and pass them down to them. My family has always owned a boat since I can remember. My parents still have the bigger boat they bought when I was in high school and use it frequently over the summer.

How to make the most of your weekends

I just came inside from sipping an iced coconut coffee on our back deck. Afternoons are one of my favorite parts of the day – the girls are napping, I’m able to get a little work and cleaning done and then I try to relax for a bit before the girls wake up. For me, weekdays are very similar to weekends except my husband isn’t home most days during the week. I prefer weekends to weekdays simply because he is here and I try not to do any work 🙂

Tips on selling your home with little ones

Selling your house is a stressful process no matter how many things are in your favor. In fact, one poll shows that selling a house is more stressful than divorce, bankruptcy and the death of a loved one. While I would completely disagree with that, selling a house is still very stressful, time-consuming and a ton of work…especially when little kids are involved.

My dream home

One of the reasons we moved to North Carolina was for more affordable housing prices. If you compare a $200K house in Arizona to a $200K house here, you do get more for your money in the sense that you get more land and probably more square footage, but other than that it’s basically the same. The neighborhoods aren’t the nicest in both places, but they’re also not the worst. Where we live, I feel like there are sooo many more “nice” neighborhoods than average ones. I used to think I would be really happy in a small, very inexpensive little home on a lot of land. While that is still true, I’m not going to lie…I kind of want one of those really nice houses in my dream neighborhood (!!).

How to live like you’re on vacation

One of the reasons we wanted to move to North Carolina was for the change of pace and change of scenery. In Arizona, we always felt very busy and rushed. Frequently, we would head up north for the day to the town of Flagstaff to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life in Phoenix. Flagstaff is a quaint college town with a fun downtown area, hip restaurants, beautiful trees, parks and historic homes. To us, it was the perfect escape from our busy life in Phoenix.

When we imagined moving to North Carolina, we envisioned how we felt in Flagstaff – calm, at peace, relaxed and just soaking in life. While life in North Carolina is busy, too, it definitely has a more “vacation” feel to it (and it’s not just because we’ve only been here a few months!). The key is to be intentional.

Money versus quality of life (a rant)

I’ve put myself into quite the dilemma that has got me thinking about money versus quality of life. You see, we moved to NC blindly, including renting an apartment based on online photos alone. Probably not the best idea, but that’s what we did. The apartment is fine – it’s nothing special, but it’s totally livable. We signed a 10-month lease that will be up at the end of June. So what’s the dilemma, you ask?

Making a House 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.

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!

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??!