Adopting a Lifestyle Exclusive Resources Page
This Page is for families who want to Plan + Personalize their Financial Life.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: This is your one-stop shop for all the best resources to help you handle, save and make money. All content is free for personal use only. You can download each printable template by clicking the underlined name. It well then automatically download and you’ll be ready use it as you wish!
RESOURCES: All resources are ones that I personally use and trust for my own family. I won’t share anything I’m not currently using and they’ll always be up to date. The links with a * are affiliates and I may be compensated if you sign up for them. Thanks for supporting me and my family so I can continue to help and support yours! 🙂
Enjoy!
Free Downloads
The basic budget template anyone can use to help build your financial foundation.
If I didn’t keep track of my expenses I would go insane! How are you ever supposed to know how much you made, spent and have to put into savings or pay off debt? Keeping track of your expenses is super essential when budgeting! Easily keep track with this one.
For anyone who just started their budget it’s helpful to set goals for each category. (To learn more about it check out my post HERE.)
One of the ways I save money is by planning out my meals. But sometimes I have no idea what to make for the week! This is just a simple printable so that you can write down all the possible dinner/meals you make so you can go back and look at it when meal planning.
For all you stay at home moms (or dads!) I have got just the meal plan for you. This is a handy dandy 1 week meal menu so you can plan out your breakfast lunch and dinner. Or, for all you dieters …(definitely helps me eat healthier!)
Now since you have written so many dinner ideas in the template above you can make a meal plan! I’ve made a two week meal plan for you (because I think a whole month is just a little too long.)
Since you have your meals planned out you may as well get a grocery list started.
Holiday Savings Template - Lighter Colors
Holiday Savings Template - Holiday Colors
It’s never too early to save for the holidays! (When I first made this it was August, that’s typically when I start saving.) Here’s a handy dandy template to write down who you need to buy for and how much money you save for holiday/present money.
I also included a few different colors, the first download is a subtle yellow and peachy pink color. The second download is a cherry red and forest green. Both downloads include a no color option if you prefer that 🙂
Checklists:
This checklist is from my post of what 9 things you should be doing every month to be financially prepared. In it I provided what tips to take so you can be prepared every month! To find that post, go HERE.
Since I did a monthly checklist of course I had to do a yearly checklist! Here’s a checklist for what you should be doing every year to improve your finances. If you’d like to read that post go HERE.
My Fav Resources For Saving Money
*Ibotta –
I can’t express my love for an app more than I can for Ibotta. I literally use it ALL.THE.TIME because I hate couponing. Ibotta is just a rebate app that’s so much better than couponing gives you cash back on grocery/household items you’re already buying.
Simply open the app, find the store you’re going to and click the items you’re purchasing. Scan the bar code on the bottom of the receipt and DONE! Instant cash back 🙂 You can cash out through Paypal, Venmo or a gift card once you hit $20.
You can sign up here for the Ibotta app. Altogether my team on Ibotta has gotten back $1,089.63 in just a few short months. (most people have already gotten back $100+ in less than 2 months.) Also, you’ll get an extra $10 dollars back on your first rebate – you’re halfway there to cashing out!
*Ebates –
This is another cash back thingy, but for online shopping. If I’m not getting clothes, I typically only shop online. (Except when I go to Target – I can’t resist that dollar section.) Even before purchasing big items at Target, I order it online and pick it up in the store.
All you do is open up Ebates, search the online store/product and they’ll take you right to the website. Their cash back goes by percentages, so you get back a certain percent of what you ordered after checking out. You may as well do anything you can to get some cash back, right?
You can sign up here for Ebates. Oh yeah, and get an extra $10 bucks for signing up. (They’re just handing you cash at this point, who would say no?!)
This is one of the first things I started using when I realized I had a spending problem. It’s a free app that was created from Dave Ramsey and his financial team. It’s perfect for budgeting on your phone and helping you understand where you’re spending your money.
All you do is you give every dollar a place when creating your budget. Throughout the month you can put in how much you spend and it handily calculates it for you.
I don’t use this app as much as when I first started budgeting, just because I like writing my budget down in my templates instead (totally old-fashioned that way.) But, it’s a great place to start! You can check out the EveryDollar app here.
This is another one of my Dave Ramsey finds. Total Money Makeover is a super popular book that he wrote that gives you the basics on just that, giving your money a makeover. This is the book that actually made me change the way I see money and it’s what got me wanting to start a blog about personal finance.
Not only does it have all the steps you need to take (all the way to retiring) there are so many stories he included of other families/couples in the same exact places that I was. Some of the families had a lot more debt than I had (and miraculously got out of it!) Which encouraged me even more to keep going and to create a stable, financial life that I wanted.
I highly encourage anyone who feels lost and hopeless about their situation to read it. I refer back to it constantly and can’t thank him enough for helping my husband and I get on track! You can find the Total Money Makeover book here.
Like I mentioned above, I’m totally old-fashioned and like to write everything down pen and paper. I searched and searched for planner and templates that fit everything I needed. There was nothing I could find that included all of the personal finance options I wanted, day-to-day things and was also simple + affordable. So, I created a whole Financial Planner that includes any possible thing you can thing of when it comes to your money.
I also have to have a plan for my day, week and month. I can get off task super easy and completely forget what needs to get down whether with work or just around the house. The planner includes all day-to-day things that a normal planner would. Yes, they are just printables but I found a cute binder at Target to fit it all and couldn’t be happier with how it turned out! These are literally the exact templates that I use every day – you can get the 2019 Budget Planner below!
Almost everyone still believes that you should only check your credit score once a year because it will ding your credit if you pull your credit report. While that is true in most cases, there are ways around it. CreditKarma.com is a free site that lets you login any time (you can do it multiple times a day if you’d like) and check your credit score.
They pull the credit score from TransUnion and Equifax so you get two different ones. And no, sometimes the score they provide is not going to be the exact same. But, in my experience it is pretty darn close (if not the same) as the one that is pulled from the three bureaus that pull your score. The one downside is they do not provide a FICO score. But, even staying up to date on your credit score and checking continuously to make sure there aren’t any mistakes can save you big time. You can check it out here at CreditKarma.com.
My Fav Resources to Make Money
Rev –
When I first started looking for ways to make extra money I found Rev. They’re a transcription home-based company with tons of jobs that you can choose. They have captioning positions available as well, but I liked the transcription the best. If you enjoy typing this is a great option. You can check out Rev here.
Blogging –
Starting a blog was one of the most challenging things for my perfectionist self to do. Although it was difficult, I knew I had solutions to financial problems and could help others. As I got more in to it I realized the potential to actually make extra money from doing something I loved. Why wouldn’t anyone want to jump at that opportunity?! I do make extra income from my blog every month – but I’m not quite at a full time income from it yet.
Everyone has something significant to share with the world and to help others with. If you’re wanting to share your passions – but don’t know where to start – you can check out all the things I use for my blog below.
Bluehost –
I use Bluehost for my domain and hosting service. I’ve used them for over a year and have been very satisfied with them (and the price!) I have no intention of switching hosts. Plus, they’re budget friendly at only $3.95 a month. You can check it out here to see all the details about Bluehost.