Carrie Willard

putting the "her" back in motherhood

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May 23, 2023 by Carrie

Dumb Reasons I Spend Money (and how I plan to fix it)

dumb reasons I spend money and how to fix it

If you’re like me, most of your purchases consist of necessities: housing, transportation, food. Those feel good because they mean I’m caring for my loved ones. Even the fun expenditures are meaningful because they’re intentional and create memories. But every month as I look over my spending, I notice silly purchases that add little or […]

Filed Under: Frugality

May 19, 2023 by Carrie

Five Frugal Things

I love finding ways to save money. Not because I want to live an ascetic lifestyle, but so I can budget my money in alignment with my values. As an example, I bought tickets to an upcoming Liz Phair show for myself and my two oldest daughters. Experiences and making memories gives me more happiness […]

Filed Under: Frugality

May 11, 2023 by Carrie

Thankful Thursday

Yesterday I cried when I heard that Heather Armstrong, the writer known as Dooce, died by suicide. She was 47, the same age as me. Dooce was the first mega-popular mom blogger I (and many other people) had ever known. Unbeknownst to her, she likely inspired thousands of other women to tell their stories online. […]

Filed Under: Well-being Tagged With: gratitude, thankful thursday

November 14, 2022 by Carrie

My solution (for now) to avoiding food waste

Recently I shared that we’ve been wasting far too much food around here. Groceries are my second-biggest monthly expense (after my mortgage). Therefore, avoiding food waste is one of the fastest ways a family can save money. I sat my two oldest still-at-home kiddos (19 and 17) down and asked them to help me brainstorm […]

Filed Under: Food

October 17, 2022 by Carrie

Frugal Wins, September Edition

Pardon my metablogging for a moment, but expect to see more content here focused on women + finances. Frugality for me is a way to redirect more money into investments, and the frugal choice is almost always more environmentally sound. And I know September is over. This post is about what I did last month […]

Filed Under: Frugality

October 13, 2022 by Carrie

The benefits of financial trauma

I heard a lot about financial trauma and financial anxiety at FinCon. And I’m thrilled at this public conversation. Financial trauma is defined as “a financial wound or injury that can cause disruptive behaviors with money,” according to Stephanie Genkin, Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Certified Financial Therapist (CFT-1) and founder of My Financial Planner, LLC.  I remember a story my […]

Filed Under: Your Money

September 15, 2022 by Carrie

How to stop emotional spending

I’ve avoided taking a close look at my spending recently, and this neglect has made me anxious.The stress of the last few months has made it impossible for me to focus on the details of my budget. In addition, I’m no longer doing a weekly or monthly budget meeting with my spouse. So when I […]

Filed Under: Well-being, Your Money

September 12, 2022 by Carrie

Notes from my first FinCon

My first FinCon: meeting Erika Kullberg

It’s Monday and I have a mile-long to-do list from my first FinCon notes. If you’ve considered going to FinCon or are just curious about what it’s all about, read on! What is FinCon? FinCon is an annual conference for content creators in the personal finance space to come together for networking, learning and connecting […]

Filed Under: Blogging & Writing

August 16, 2022 by Carrie

On Learning to Linger

I didn’t choose a “word of the year” as I have in previous Januaries. But if I had, my word should have been linger. (Hat tip to my fellow Gen-X readers who, upon hearing that word, conjure Dolores O’Riordon belting it out, may she rest in peace.) One of the things I work on with […]

Filed Under: Well-being

July 7, 2022 by Carrie

Frugal Wins, July edition

Hi! If you’re new here, welcome! I share frugal wins periodically, both to keep myself accountable and to share good ideas with others. Here are some recent ways I’ve saved money. Note: this post uses affiliate links, please read more about that here if you’re curious! Thanks to a post by MoneySavingMom.com, I got 3 […]

Filed Under: Frugality

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Recent Posts

  • Dumb Reasons I Spend Money (and how I plan to fix it)
  • Five Frugal Things
  • Thankful Thursday
  • My solution (for now) to avoiding food waste
  • Frugal Wins, September Edition
  • The benefits of financial trauma
  • How to stop emotional spending
  • Notes from my first FinCon
  • On Learning to Linger
  • Frugal Wins, July edition

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