For today's episode, I sit down with Lauree for a budget coaching call to help her set up a pay period budget. Lauree is an accountant who manages numbers for a living but has struggled to feel in control of her own finances. If you’ve ever felt embarrassed that money management should be easier for you than it is, you’ll resonate with Lauree's story.

If you'd like to watch the full coaching call and see me build Lauree's budget, check out the extended video call of this episode on the Debt Free Mom YouTube Channel.

Together, we walk through:

• Why personal budgeting feels different (and harder) than professional accounting
• How to map out income and expenses by pay period for a clearer picture of cash flow
• Setting realistic goals for an emergency fund before tackling debt
• The role of buffers and sinking funds to make your budget sustainable
• Why deficits in certain pay periods don’t mean you’re “bad with money”

By the end of the call, Lauree has a customized spreadsheet budget that aligns with her income schedule, covers her family’s needs, and sets her on the path toward building a starter $4,000 emergency fund and paying down high-interest debt.

If you’ve ever downloaded an app, felt overwhelmed, and thought, “Why is this so hard for me?”, this episode will encourage you that you’re not alone, and you’ll walk away with practical steps to make your budget work in real life.

Want to have a budget by pay period built for you (either by email or on a coaching call like this video!), use code YOUTUBE20 for $20 off any custom budget! www.debtfreemom.co/custom

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In this encouraging episode, Carly is joined by Madison, founder of Cook at Home Mom, to talk all things realistic mealtimes for busy families. Madison shares her journey from frozen pizza queen to home-cooking advocate and offers practical advice for making dinnertime less stressful and more meaningful.

They dive into topics like:

• How to simplify meal planning (even if you're Type B)
• What to do when the 5 PM chaos hits
• Creating a family rhythm around shared meals
• Involving kids of all ages in meal prep (without losing your mind)
• Letting go of unrealistic expectations (spoiler: your 4-year-old won’t sit for 30 minutes)
• Building appreciation and connection through shared responsibility

Whether you're a brand-new mom wondering how to get food on the table, or you're in the thick of dinnertime with multiple kids and mounting stress, this episode is packed with relatable stories, helpful strategies, and a whole lot of grace.

Mentioned in this episode:

• The “hands!” method for serving dinner
• Kid-safe knives and stools to help little ones join in
• The power of planning just a few meals a week
• Why it’s okay if your mealtime doesn’t look like a Norman Rockwell painting
• 
  

Tune in for realistic encouragement and ideas you can try tonight — even if your kitchen is already a mess.

Connect with Madison:

Instagram: @cookathomemom

Website: www.cookathomemom.com

Podcast: The Vine

The Balanced Dinner Club - coming soon!

Follow Debt Free Mom for more realistic money and motherhood conversations:

Instagram: @debtfree.mom

Website: debtfreemom.co

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Today's guest is Natalie Johnson: A mom of 5 in Ohio who shares her tips for feeding the family both at home and on the road on Instagram at www.instagram.com/homebeginswithlove

In today's episode we cover:

• food on travel days
• in hotels
• in rentals
• in other people's homes
• how to make food easier even if it's not from a restaurant.

Check out her instagram account and subscribe to the Debt Free Mom Podcast!

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Laura Jennings began virtual assisting as a small supplemental income and quickly worked her way up to a clientelle that replaced her 9-5 job, allowing her to work from home, control her schedule, and earn more for her family.

She now offers coaching services to help women discover the skills they already have that are sought after as a virtual assistant and land that first client!

Whether you want a couple hundred dollars a month extra to speed up your financial goals OR you're looking to switch careers and intrigued by the idea of being a virtual assistant, today's episode and Laura's story can help you see if this is something that you can do too!

Download Laura's Career Switch Cheat Sheet: https://www.laurajtraining.com/career-switch-guest-podcast

Free workshop about becoming a virtual assistant: https://www.laurajtraining.com/masterclass-registration-guest-podcast

Your Virtual Assistant Coach Podcast: https://www.laurajtraining.com/your-virtual-assistant-coach-podcast

Laura's Social Media: @hey.lauranicole

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After a whirlwind move out of homeownership and back into renting in the summer of 2023, followed by several months of house hunting with failed offers and almost no inventory, we are currently under contract on a home in Illinois.

It will mean lots of change for our family and we dive into how this house is different (but also better!) than the wishlist we had for our family.

Subscribe to follow along with our process here as well as on Instagram: www.instagram.com/debtfree.mom

Need a budget by pay period to organize your income and expenses into a plan that matches your bank account? Get the bestseller $9 Debt Free Mom budget template here!

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Today's guest is Shang Saavedra. She comes on the show to discuss her new book Wealth is a Mindset. Shang is an author, coach, and the Founder and CEO of Save My Cents.

Shang's Website: www.savemycents.com

Follow Shang on Instagram

Purchase the book Wealth is a Mindset

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Interested in the magical Little Green Machine mentioned in the episode? Check it out here!

Stay in touch with Debt Free Mom by joining our newsletter list! We send emails less than 3 times per month and only when we have something we really want to share!

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Today's episode kicks off our Feed the Family month! I talk about food spending and realistic meals for families all year long, but I like to take one month per year to narrow in on the mom math and realistic planning of feeding the family well!

40 Aprons Butternut Squash Chili

Pinch of Yum Kale Peanut Crunch Salad

Join the Care Creates Community as we hold each other accountable to feeding our family well this month! We'll be holding a Bingo challenge for creative ways to feed the family on a budget and there will be a drawing for 2 $100 Gift Cards for anyone who completes a bingo!

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Kelly Stumpe aka the Car Mom takes a cheerleader approach to helping moms and families choose their next car confidently. Her enthusiasm for the car industry combined with her expertise as a car salesperson, mom of 4, and child passenger safety technician all come together to make her the voice I listen to for all things cars!

You can find The Car Mom on instagram for daily stories, car tours, and the latest industry info

Her website offers car buying resources as well as consultations to help you choose your next car.

The Carpool Podcast with Kelly and Lizz is your mom break from entertaining and lighthearted conversations about everything from movies and recipes to car news and parties.

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A few weeks ago I shared what I'm looking for in a house. I wanted to include Kyle on that episode but he was completely out of commission sick with the flu! So this week he comes on the podcast to share his thoughts: what we are both looking for but also where we have different priorities.

 If you feel like you're not making the best use of your paycheck, try the Debt Free Mom Budget Template. It's a one time cost of $9, includes space for your whole year in one document, and comes with a couple tutorial videos to get you started. Join over 7,000 other people who have downloaded this template and start budgeting confidently today!

I'm 6 months into a commitment to buy 10 items or less on Amazon. Each month I save what I bought to a list and you can see exactly what I've bought here!

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When I started the Debt Free Mom instagram account, I had already been debt free for 3 years. But that doesn't mean we didn't have years of struggling to make ends meet, realizing money mistakes we made, or paying off debt while also having 3 sons in 39 months.

Today's episode spans from December 2011 when we got married to April 2019 when we bought our first house. Sometimes we met our goals faster than we imagined, other times we grappled with over a year of paying our bills and nothing else.

And what was one of the keys to our success? Budgeting by pay period for our biweekly income. This allowed me to maximize every dollar we made and meet our goals even when our income never exceeded $60,000. If you feel like you're not making the best use of your paycheck, try the Debt Free Mom Budget Template. It's a one time cost of $9, includes space for your whole year in one document, and comes with a couple tutorial videos to get you started. Join over 7,000 other people who have downloaded this template and start budgeting confidently today!

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We are planning to go back to being homeowners when our current lease is up this summer. This is my stream of consciousness about what I'm looking for in our next home. Whether this is actually what we end up buying will remain unseen, but it will be fun to be able to look back on this episode and see where I was right and where I was wrong!

If you're looking for a budget template that arranges all your income and expenses by pay period instead of by month, try the Debt Free Mom Budget Template. It's a one time cost of $9, includes space for your whole year in one document, and comes with a couple tutorial videos to get you started. Join over 7,000 other people who have downloaded this template and start budgeting confidently today!

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On today's episode of the Debt Free Mom Podcast, Nicole Stanley is on the show to share her experience dealing with a kitchen contractor and what she wishes she had done differently.

You're putting your home and your money in someone else's hands when hiring someone to complete a project - big or small. On today's episode, we'll discuss the questions to ask, the notes to keep, and the way to advocate for yourself and your money even if you're not well-versed in construction.

Nicole is a financial coach and runs Arise Financial. You can find out more about working with her here. as well as her full website: www.arise.financial

If you're looking for a budget template that arranges all your income and expenses by pay period instead of by month, try the Debt Free Mom Budget Template. It's a one time cost of $9, includes space for your whole year in one document, and comes with a couple tutorial videos to get you started. Join over 7,000 other people who have downloaded this template and start budgeting confidently today!

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Susan Soucy is a mom of 2, farmer (how cool is that?!), and adjunct professor. In the last several years, she's taken her finances from fear-based and stressful to confident and growing.

She began budgeting by pay period and few years ago and her weekly budget now gives her peace of mind that she can cover large expenses like daycare for her 2 kids. It also helps her plan out her fluctuating income and see the true impact of choosing to pick up jobs or side hustles.

If you'd like to try the Debt Free Mom pay period budget template that Susan uses (especially if you're paid weekly or bi-weekly and a monthly budget has just never worked out right!), you can download it here for only $9 and it comes with a couple setup tutorial videos!

In the episode, Susan mentions finding Carly by listening to the Herself Podcast and then gaining confidence in car-buying from listening to the Car Mom Podcast. You can find both of those episodes below!

Carly on The Carpool Podcast with Kelly and Lizz

Carly on the Herself Podcast

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Claire Wood is a military wife, mom, writer, and teacher. Today she joins me to discuss an idea she's been pondering and applying to her life: compounding. Those small, consistent tasks and habits that lead to the large changes we're really seeking. Whether it's parenting, cooking at home, or investing: we need to allow time for the effect of compounding to truly show results.

Want to start those small, consistent habits in the year with a budget by pay period? You can download the Debt Free Mom pay period budget template for only $9!

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In our first episode of 2025, we welcome back a DFM Podcast favorite, Tyler Moore, famously known as Tidy Dad. Tyler shares insights about his new book, 'Tidy Up Your Life,' which explores the deep connection between mental clarity and a tidy, organized living space. Tyler also shares his personal journey of balancing life in New York City with his family, the concept of 'just enough,' and practical strategies for decluttering the various areas of his life. We also discuss how responsibilities at home can be shared, outsourced, or eliminated to focus on what truly matters. I know you'll love this incredible and insightful discussion about tidying up not just our homes, but our minds and lives.

Get Tyler's new book "Tidy Up Your Life" at thetidydad.com

Key Highlights:

• 02:38 The Importance of Mental and Physical Decluttering
• 16:13 Defining 'Just Enough'
• 31:02 Sharing, Outsourcing, and Eliminating Responsibilities

Get started with pay period budgeting today for just $9! The Debt Free Mom Mini Course + Template will help you take your first steps toward managing your home finances with confidence. Get it today at debtfreemom.co/template

Do you have a money question that you’d like to talk about with Carly? Do you have a story of navigating a tricky financial situation? We’d love to have you on the Debt Free Mom Podcast! Fill out the guest application at dfmpodcast.com.

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Resources mentioned in this episode:

Gifts like the little green machine, leather conditioner, etc.

$7 Car Detailing Guide

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Click Here to find these gifts that will help you save money in the kitchen!

{Amazon List} - most items mentioned in the episode are here!

{Walmart List} - Air Fryer, Toaster, Griddles, Containers on the Kitchen List

www.instagram.com/debtfree.mom

[post contains affiliate links]

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We usually know what goals we want to accomplish in the future, but we also need to look back on what we have already done! Today I fly through a decade of our personal finance progress in less than 30 minutes. "We overestimate what we can accomplish in one year and underestimate what we can accomplish in a decade." -Bill Gates

For a more detailed story of our money including details and numbers, check out Episodes 19, 20, and 22 of the podcast!

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Join us in this episode of the Debt Free Mom Podcast as Stacie returns to share her journey of switching from monthly to bi-weekly budgeting. We dive into the challenges and benefits of aligning budget schedules with different pay periods, managing increased incomes, and strategies for forecasting expenses accurately. She also talks with me about practical tips for utilizing savings accounts, handling car insurance payments, and setting up effective budgeting templates. Get insights on the psychological impact of budgeting experiments, involving partners in financial planning, and balancing important financial goals while enjoying life's moments. Whether you're dealing with variable incomes, credit card dynamics, or just starting your budgeting journey, this conversation with Stacie offers some valuable advice.

You can listen to my previous conversation with Stacie all the way back in episode 9 - Preparing Your Budget for Variable Income with Stacie

00:38 Switching to a New Budget Tool

00:55 The Learning Curve of Budgeting by Pay Period

01:43 Benefits of Budgeting by Pay Period

01:50 Managing Multiple Income Streams

02:31 Adjusting to Bi-Weekly Budgeting

07:29 Handling Variable Expenses

12:03 Using Checking Accounts as Waiting Rooms

16:08 Collaborative Budgeting with Your Partner

20:10 Understanding the Learning Curve

20:44 Transitioning to a New Budget Template

21:14 Long-Term Financial Planning

21:58 Tracking and Adjusting Expenses

23:05 Benefits of the Budget Template

23:56 Planning for Future Expenses

24:57 Achieving Financial Goals

32:57 Managing Credit Card Payments

37:56 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Get started with pay period budgeting today for just $9! The Debt Free Mom Mini Course + Template will help you take your first steps toward managing your home finances with confidence. Get it today at debtfreemom.co/template

Do you have a money question that you’d like to talk about with Carly? Do you have a story of navigating a tricky financial situation? We’d love to have you on the Debt Free Mom Podcast! Fill out the guest application at dfmpodcast.com.

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Are there rules to budgeting? And if there are, do you have to follow them? In this first episode back after my summer break, I have a wonderful conversation with Jessica who shares her personal journey managing finances for her rural Michigan family of five. Jessica dives into the pros and cons she has found in using budgeting tools like EveryDollar and YNAB and why budgeting by pay period has led to more rational spending behaviors without being overwhelmed. We also dive into the importance of teaching kids about financial responsibility and incorporating budgeting as a seamless part of daily life.

Get started with pay period budgeting today for just $9! The Debt Free Mom Mini Course + Template will help you take your first steps toward managing your home finances with confidence. Get it today at debtfreemom.co/template

Do you have a money question that you’d like to talk about with Carly? Do you have a story of navigating a tricky financial situation? We’d love to have you on the Debt Free Mom Podcast! Fill out the guest application at dfmpodcast.com.

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