![\"\"](\"https:\/\/frugalwoods.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/before_wall_house_renovate_remodel-scaled.jpg\")
<\/a>A menace wall in our home is gone! Longtime readers may recall that we\u2019ve embarked on a slow, years-long renovation process, which we kicked off with a wall removal.<\/span><\/p>\n This erstwhile wall awkwardly divided the kitchen and dining room from the rest of the downstairs and, to make matters worse, had a weird, low archway door for egressing. Not great. Everyone who came into our home said, \u201cwhy do you think they put a wall there?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n I will tell you why. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n When our house was built\u2013circa 1991\u2013the builders utilized this wall for the following fairly crucial items:<\/span><\/p>\n Essentially, we selected the most challenging, most expensive, most intricate wall possible in our entire home to remove. And it finally happened in June!<\/span><\/p>\n This was no simple knock-down-the-drywall and call it done project. First, yes, we did the easiest thing: the demo. Then, we hired a plumber to re-route the plumbing stack in an amazing zig-zag through the ceiling (as well as down one corner of our pantry). Then, Nate built a little wall around the plumbing in the pantry using leftover siding from the chicken coop. This was my idea and I am very proud of myself. It\u2019s basically the biggest contribution I\u2019ve made to this project\u2026 other than demo, which was FUN.<\/span><\/p>\n Next, we hired an electrician to re-route all the electrical and the box. He also added a recessed light over our dining room table, which has greatly improved our game nights\u2013we can actually see our cards now!!! For some reason, the builders didn\u2019t put any overhead lighting in the living room, so this one new light is doing a lot of work.<\/span><\/p>\n Next came the most challenging aspect: recessing a support beam<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n Since this wall was load bearing, the solution was a work of art (and genius) created and executed by my husband.<\/span><\/p>\n He cut the existing ceiling joists very accurately and removed the double top plate of the wall being removed from below. This was challenging since it\u2019d been nailed in with 1M nails. It was also tough to extricate from its narrow space.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n He\u2019s waiting to do the final drywalling (and flooring) until we decide if we want to have the electrician come back and put in the wiring for the kitchen. We plan to redo the kitchen in the near-ish future and it would make a lot of sense to do the lighting now (while part of the ceiling is open) so that we don\u2019t have to hack into the drywall again in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n Per our usual renovation style, we did everything we could ourselves, which was mostly the grunt work and the carpentry. We hired an architect to do the beam calculations (again: priority #1 was for the house not to fall down). And the plumbing and electrical were both beyond Nate\u2019s capabilities. He can totally do basic plumbing and electrical, but this plumbing was INTENSE and I\u2019m really glad we hired a professional.<\/span><\/p>\n Doing the demo, cutting out the drywall, disassembling the chair rail\u2013that\u2019s all stuff we did ourselves. It\u2019s not technical or complicated, it\u2019s just grunt work that takes time. The carpentry to build the temporary wall and recess the beam was advanced, but it was all stuff Nate was able to teach himself how to do. He\u2019ll also do the final drywalling, the little section of flooring, and then we\u2019ll paint together.<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019m always happy to pay people to do stuff I can\u2019t, or don\u2019t know how, to do. I\u2019m equally happy to do stuff myself that I feel safe and confident in my ability to do.<\/span><\/p>\n This turned out to be a pretty massive project\u2013and rather expensive\u2013but, it dramatically improves the flow and openness of the main floor of the house. All in all, 100% worth it! Stay tuned for my next renovation update, which at this pace will be in five years.<\/span><\/p>\n Money is terrifying for a lot of people and many of us don\u2019t know where to start.<\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s where I come in.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n I demystify personal finance and break it down into manageable steps. I explain where to start, where to go and how to confidently manage your money on your own.<\/span><\/p>\n My consultation sessions\u2013and resulting written financial plans\u2013are comprehensive, holistic, and all-encompassing of each person\u2019s finances. I look at income, debts, assets, mortgages, expenses, investments, retirement accounts, anticipated social security, credit card strategy and more. I run through every aspect of a person\u2019s financial life alongside their longterm goals and aspirations.<\/span><\/p>\n I help people figure out how to make their money enable them to live the life they want.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Need help with your money?<\/span><\/p>\n \u2192Not sure\u00a0which option<\/a><\/span>\u00a0is right for you? Schedule\u00a0a free 15-minute chat with me\u00a0<\/a><\/span>to learn more. Refer a friend\u00a0to me here<\/a>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n I use and recommend a free online service called\u00a0Empower<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>to organize our money. It tracks our spending, net worth, investments, retirement, everything. While the name is different, the free net worth tracking and money organization tools are the same!<\/span><\/p>\n Knowing where your money\u2019s at is one of the easiest ways to get a handle on your finances. You cannot make informed decisions about your money if you don\u2019t know how you\u2019re spending it or how much you have. If you\u2019d like to know more about how Empower works,\u00a0check out my full write-up<\/strong>.<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Without a holistic picture of your finances, there\u2019s no way to set savings, debt repayment or investment goals. It\u2019s a must, folks. Empower (which is free<\/span><\/strong><\/a>)\u00a0is a great way for me to systematize our financial overviews since it links all of our accounts together and provides a comprehensive picture of our net worth.<\/span><\/p>\n If you don\u2019t have a solid idea of where your money\u2019s at\u2013or how you\u2019re spending it\u2013consider\u00a0trying Empower\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/span>(note: the Empower links are affiliate links).\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n We buy everything we can with credit cards because:<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s easier to track expenses.<\/strong>\u00a0No guesswork over where a random $20 bill went; it all shows up in our monthly expense report from\u00a0Empower<\/a><\/strong><\/span>. I also spend less money because I KNOW I\u2019m going to see every expense listed at the end of the month.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n For more on my credit card strategy, and a list of the best rewards credit cards on the market now, check out:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0(note: the credit card links are\u00a0affiliate links<\/a>).<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n The silver lining to our spending is our\u00a0cash back credit card<\/a>.<\/strong> <\/span>We earn 2% cash back on every purchase made with our Fidelity Rewards Visa and, this month, we spent $4,445.10 on that card, which netted us $88.90<\/span><\/p>\n Not a lot of money, but it\u2019s money we earned for buying stuff we were going to buy anyway! This is why I love cash back credit card rewards\u2013they\u2019re the simplest way to earn something for nothing.<\/span><\/p>\n To see how this adds up over the course of a year, check out\u00a0How I Made $712.59 With My Cash Back Credit Card<\/a><\/strong>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Another easy way to optimize your money is by putting it in a high-yield savings account. With these accounts, interest works in your favor as opposed to the interest rates on debt, which work against you.<\/span><\/p>\n Having money in a no or low interest savings account is a waste of resources\u2013your money is sitting there doing nothing. Don\u2019t let your money be lazy! Make it work for you! And now, enjoy some explanatory math:<\/span><\/p>\n Let\u2019s say you have $5,000 in a savings account that earns 0% interest. In a year\u2019s time, your $5,000 will still be\u2026 $5,000.<\/span><\/p>\n Let\u2019s say you instead put that $5,000 into an\u00a0American Express Personal Savings account,<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>which\u2013as of this writing\u2013earns 4% in interest (affiliate link<\/em>). In one year, your $5,000 will have increased to $5,200. That means you earned $200 just by having your money in a high-yield account.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n And you didn\u2019t have to do anything! I\u2019m a big fan of earning money while doing nothing. Is anybody not a fan of that? Apparently so, because anyone who uses a low or no interest savings account is NOT making money while doing nothing. Don\u2019t be that person.\u00a0Be the person who earns money while sleeping.<\/span><\/p>\n Our cell phone service line item is not a typ0 (although that certainly is). We really and truly only paid $28.24 for both of our phones (that\u2019s $14.12 per person for those of you into division). How is such trickery possible?!? We use an MVNO!<\/span><\/p>\n What\u2019s an MVNO?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Glad you asked because I was going to tell you anyway: It\u2019s a cell phone service re-seller.<\/span><\/p>\n MVNOs are the TJ Maxx of the cell phone service world\u2013the same service, A LOT cheaper. If you\u2019re not using an MVNO, switching to one is an easy, slam-dunk, do-it-right-away way to save money every single month of every single year forever and ever amen.<\/span><\/p>\n Here are a few MVNOs to consider:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n For more, I have a full chart of providers and their prices here:\u00a0How to Save Money on Your Cell Phone Bill with an MVNO: I Pay $12 a Month*<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n *the amount we pay fluctuates every month because it\u2019s calibrated on what we use. Imagine that! We only pay for what we use! Will wonders ever cease. T<\/em>hese MVNO links are affiliate links.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n\n
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<\/a><\/a>Want Help With Your Money? Book a Financial Consult With Me!<\/span><\/h3>\n
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I Love the Free Money Tracking Tools from Personal Capital\u2026 now called Empower!<\/span><\/h3>\n
Credits Cards: How We Buy Everything<\/span><\/h3>\n
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The Best Credit Cards (and Credit Card Rewards)!<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
Cash Back Earned This Month: $88.90<\/span><\/h3>\n
Where\u2019s Your Money?<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Yes, We Only Paid $28.24 for Cell Phone Service (for two phones)<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Expense Report FAQs<\/span><\/h3>\n
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