Why I switched from YNAB to Monarch Money

I’m a big YNAB fan. After we signed up in 2017, the software + method categorically changed our family’s financial trajectory for the better. Before YNAB we struggled to stick to budgets; they were hard to track, and thus easy to break. YNAB stopped that cycle cold. The digital envelope approach helped us answer two …

Garden Progress

We have officially eaten food grown in our little garden -- and it was good! Early July progress (I need to get a picture now, things are much fuller): Last week the harvest from those green beans gave us our side dish for dinner. And again -- they were surprisingly good. The plants themselves seem …

Garden Update: It’s All Happening

I shouldn't say how long this plan took, but it was all of January. Thanks to a 65 degree Saturday in mid-February, things got underway! First up: the bed for strawberries. Off to Lowes for lumber. To keep my costs down, I wanted to make a bed out of a single piece of wood. I settled on a …

In Search of Savings: Switching from AT&T to Ting

I’m always looking for ways to trim spending. Ten years ago we ditched cable for the savings, and we haven’t looked back. Our newest target: the cell phone bill. A few months back Renate suggested we switch from AT&T to Ting. Several friends had switched and recommended it as well. After some research and planning, I …

2017: Bumper Crop or Bust

At least once a year I spend an unreasonable amount of time romanticizing vegetable gardening and making my plans. “Everyone says homegrown vegetables taste delicious! Think of the money we’ll save not buying carrots!” I imagine the kids, faces smudged with sweat and mud, filling baskets with our yard's bountiful yield without throwing dirt on one another or "accidentally" spraying …