Link Love: Labor Day Weekend Edition!

 

Can you believe it is already Labor Day weekend???? I can’t. Summer flew by fast, that’s for sure!

Thanks again to everyone that commented, liked, and tweeted my post from earlier this week. Y’all are the best and I’m glad to be part of such a loving and empathetic community ♥

Posts I got a kick out of this week:

Understanding Long-Term Care and How to Pay For It by Shannon from The Heavy Purse is a FANTASTIC post about long-term care for our parents. People…go read this post and have a conversation with your parentals. You need to do it.

5 Types of People to Avoid to Increase Your Health and Wealth by Melanie from Dear Debt. We all know people that just completely sap the energy from us and try to veer us off course. We only get one life and it’s not meant to be hanging out with energy vampires! 😉

Redefining Yourself by Tonya at Budget and the Beach. To quote Tonya herself: “You can define yourself or redefine yourself however you like, whenever you like, at any age! You just gotta be willing to put in the effort.” Truth.

Debt Payoff: How to Zap Doubt and Discouragement by Laurie from The Frugal Farmer. Love, love, love this post. I love the realness with which Laurie expresses her frustrations, but also gives encouragement to keep pressing forward.

Why it is Important to Have Savings Goals by Nicola from The Frugal Cottage. If you aren’t saving towards anything specific, your money has a tendency to disappear. Make your money work for you! Also —> I just discovered this blogger and am a smitten kitten! As you may or may not know, I’m a bit UK-obsessed, so the fact that she resides on the other side of the pond, well that was just the icing on the cake for me 🙂

What fun things do you guys have planned for this Labor Day weekend? There’s so much to do here in the Portland area, that we haven’t settled on exactly what we are going to tackle, but I bet it’ll be a good time! 🙂

Have a great (and safe) weekend everyone!

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Link Love: Happy Friday Edition!

This has been a looong week, and I am still not done with my Christmas shopping! Anybody else still a bit behind in the present purchasing department? 🙂 Christmas seems like it’ll be here in a nano-second, and I still have so much to do!

Posts I got a kick out of this week:

Create a Magical Christmas Through Holiday Traditions by The Heavy Purse. Shannon talks about making memories with your family. That is what they will remember long after the toys are gone.

Getting Out Of Debt: The Secret You Might Not Know About by The Frugal Farmer. Laurie’s posts hit squarely at the heart of the matter. I love her honesty! Read this and then read it again!

Does Being Broke Help Your Creativity? by Dear Debt. Melanie is an amazing writer and her post this week, really spoke to me. Being broke but keeping your creativeness that makes you, you… yeah I can relate.

How I Made 10K In Side Income by Budget and the Beach. Tonya worked that side hustle yo, and I have to give the girl her props. I plan on taking her up on some of the tips she listed 🙂

Are Your Holiday Expectations Holding You Hostage? by Debt Chronicles. Travis lets you know, the holidays don’t have to be stressful. Check out his post!

Has Holiday Gift Giving at the Office Gotten Out Of Control? by Frugal Rules. John every once in a while has these really quirky posts that make me laugh out loud; this is one of them. Two words: office matron. Take my word for it 🙂

Happy Friday everyone! Hope your weekend is marvelous 🙂

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Link Love: It’s Been Awhile Edition!

 

It has been the loooooooongest time since I’ve done a link love post, like a million years 😉 But I really felt like doing one this week, and give some props to the posts that knocked my socks off these past few days!

Posts I got a kick out of this week:

Government Shutdown Got You Down? Here Are 50 Ways to Save Money! by The Non-Consumer Advocate. Um, Katy is all kinds of frugal awesome. So are her tips, which apply to every one of us!

It’s Not Where I Am Now, But How Far I’ve Come by Dear Debt. Love this post! A great reminder that we make more strides than we think.

Invest in my future, or save, save, save! by Budget and the Beach. Savings versus spending money on what is important to future earnings. What would you do?

Avoid the Salvation Army by Frugal Portland. Please read Kathleen’s post. An eye-opener for sure…

Drugs and Student Debt by Student Debt Survivor. Don’t think there is a correlation? Think again!

Chocolate: the industry’s hidden truth (and the easy stuff we can do to still enjoy it) by The Simple Mom. Seriously people, this story needs more attention. What fuels this industry? You’d be surprised… Go read this.

Enjoy this first weekend of October! I plan on watching lots of football and hockey 😉 Oh, and organizing…always organizing!

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Is That The Beach? And Some Link Love!

I’ve missed the beach, I really have. I used to live just minutes from it, and I didn’t realize just how much I missed it until I wasn’t next to it anymore. I swear, if I win the lottery someday, I am immediately buying a house right on the ocean. Well, not right on the ocean, I mean I don’t want a floating house, for Pete’s sake…

On the pier in Oceanside!

Anyways, my husband surprised me and took me and my girl to the beach! And it was wonderful! We went to Oceanside and then to Carlsbad. It was such a nice day! I think my husband knew I was going through “beach withdrawals” 😉

I’ve also been reading blogs, yo…

Here are the posts I got a kick out of this week:

Giving Up Habits to Save Money by Budget and the Beach. Are there some habits you could give up to same some moolah?

Expensive Doesn’t = Good Quality by Student Debt Survivor. Isn’t that the truth?

How I Paid Off $30,000 of Debt in Two Years by Blonde on a Budget. This is just all kinds of awesome, seriously!!

The Biggest Ripoff EVER! by Debt Chronicles. You won’t believe what it is! 😉

May Budget Review: Epic Fail by Club Thrifty. Holly’s comedic post on why May was not a good month for her budget!

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Life, Lemons, and Some Link Love

Lemons, lemons, lemons, oh my!

So, I have a lemon tree! Fantastic, I know! 😀 When we moved last month, we moved to an area with a lower cost of living so that we could rent a house. Living in an apartment is all good, but we were growing out of it. Hence a house which happened to come with a fabulous lemon tree!! Super cool, I know! I see lots of lemonade in the future this summer 😉

In other news, my Ducks lost in the 1st round of the hockey playoffs 😦 I was devastated honestly… I really am a diehard fan, and this year just really seemed to be our year to take the whole thing, and now it’s just over… Still bummed but what are you going to do, right?

The weather has been warming up considerably here in SoCal, which is nice. And now I have a backyard to spend those warm days in! Happy, happy, joy, joy 😀

I’ve also been reading blogs, yo…

Here are the posts I got a kick out of this week:

Things I Would Never Do: The 97 Month Car Loan by Frugal Rules. Check out John’s post; there were many of us who didn’t even know this option existed!

Blogging and Social Media Etiquette by Girl Meets Debt. GMD shares what one should and shouldn’t do in the wide world of online sharing.

Your Credit Cards Are Paid Off, Now How Do You Stay Out of Debt? by Eyes on the Dollar. Want to know the answer? Read Kim’s Post!

Important College Considerations and Conversations by The Heavy Purse. Even though I graduated college eons ago, Shannon’s posts on college and money are always my favorites!

In Life and Finances, You Are More Adaptable Than You Think by Budget Blonde. Cat wrote my favorite post of the week! A definite must-read!!

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Link Love: It’s My Birthday Edition!

IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!!! Well, on Sunday it’s my birthday 😉 It’s also Cinco De Mayo, so toss back a margarita or two. Here in SoCal, it really is its own holiday, which is cool with me!

I can’t believe I am another year older, as I feel like my birthday was just here. But it seems that sometime after you turn 25, the birthdays just keep coming faster and faster. Kind of like the spinning teacups ride at Disneyland. Spin, spin, spin…another birthday is here. Spin, spin, spin…here’s another one!

Even though I am older, I miss the days of my early 20’s and getting completely blasted on my birthday. Those were the days, right? Because, you could totally function the next day, like nothing. Now if that were to happen, I’d probably be out of commission for days on end, and would probably be sick as a dog 😉

So while I’m not going to chug drinks called Alabama Slammers or anything, I am going to celebrate with a nice dinner and presents. Cause presents are important. Honey, are you reading this? Love you ♥

I’ve also been reading blogs, yo…

Posts I got a kick out of this week:

Things I Refuse to Spend Money On: Wasteful or Smart by Eyes on the Dollar. Kim shares what she refuses to spend her hard-earned dollars on.

The Sweet Spot: Where Spending and Frugality Coexist by The Heavy Purse. Shannon shares how there is a happy medium when it comes to finances.

The Outlier Model asks Are You an Introvert? The answer is yes. Yes, I am 🙂

Tackling Our Debt shares 10 Smart Ways to Live a Frugal Lifestyle. Check ’em out!

We’ve all been there. The Frugal Farmer shares a great post about Fighting Boredom and Restlessness As You Work on Long-Term Goals.

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Happy Friday and Some Link Love!

Another week of April officially in the books. Anyone else notice that time seems to be flying by at warp speed? 🙂 Glad it’s Friday, though!

I’ve noticed some other bloggers who list the random search terms that brought people to their blogs, and I thought I’d join the party!

Search terms that brought people to The Random Path:

Candy Credit Cards: Do they come in watermelon flavor?

How to start the things I wish I could tell you: Um, maybe not so much verbiage…

Funny lunch detention stories: Yup, I have those!

Wish if I can be 5 years old: Life was definitely easier at that age!

My sister took my ex-wife’s side: Whoa…I’m not even going to touch that one!

A wedding dress that doesn’t break the bank: They are out there; mine only cost $100 🙂

I’ve also been reading blogs, yo…

Posts I got a kick out of this week:

Kim over at Eyes on the Dollar asks Is Living in a Small Town Better? It’s interesting how one’s perspective changes once you are a parent.

As a fellow SoCal blogger, I loved Tonya’s post at Budget and the Beach, about living on our side of the country. Check out How to Afford L.A. My Perspective.

This post was just all kinds of awesomeness, seriously! I loved Brian at Luke 1428’s take on marriage and finances with his post Two Shall Become One: A Case For Financial Togetherness.

Average Joe at The Free Financial Advisor talks about bad financial advice in his post Bad Advice? Here’s Some From Top Money Gurus. And yes, he mentions the lady who likes to scream at people “DE-NIED!!!!”

Money, time, relationships, and the concept of living life to the fullest, were the topics of two really great posts! Check out Canadian Budget Binder’s Life, Money, and Retirement-Skype Doesn’t Reach Heaven and Monster Piggy Bank’s Time is Money: What Are You Sacrificing For Money?

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Link Love: Happy Easter Edition!

I’m not sure how it is already Easter, but lo and behold, it is here! I made a cute little easter basket for my daughter and I can’t wait to give it to her 🙂 Not hiding eggs this year, but it’s definitely on the agenda for next year. Also, I think next year will be the year of trying to get a photo with the easter bunny. The one and only time I tried to get her picture taken, she was completely freaked out, and in every picture, she was crying.

I guess at that age, a ginormous plushy bunny would freak anyone out, right? 🙂

I’ve also been reading blogs, yo…

Posts I got a kick out of this week:

Michelle shares some great blogging tips! Definitely check out Tips For Beginner Bloggers-Part 1 by Making Sense of Cents

It was an 80’s rewind for sure and it was totally rad! Check out I’m an 80’s Child Because… by Girl Meets Debt and My Greatest Childhood Money Lesson by Debt Round Up

John wonders if Businesses Care About Their Employees Anymore. Head on over to Frugal Rules and weigh in!

When Are You Happiest is a great introspective post by Tonya over at Budget and the Beach

Shannon from The Heavy Purse shares 3 Money Myths Parents Need to Stop Believing. Definite must read for all the parents out there!

Happy Easter and have a great weekend everyone!

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Link Love: TGIF Edition!

Wow, what a week! So glad it is Friday 🙂

We’ve been out looking at new places to live, and let me tell you: it is exhausting…Especially with a 2 year-old. Car rides have been an experience, one I won’t soon forget! But I know the right place is out there and we will find it; we just have to keep looking!

In other news, my exercise regimen has been going really well and I’ve lost some inches! Woo hoo! Once of my goals for this year is to lose some weight, so slowly but steadily, I am trying to get there 🙂

I’ve also been reading blogs, yo…

Posts I got a kick out of this week:

Make Life Better For Yourself: Change Your Attitude by Prairie Eco Thrifter

Budget Fail: Redecorating a Kid’s Room by Eyes on the Dollar

Credit Cards Should Have a Warning For People Like Me by Enemy of Debt

How to Accomplish More in 24 Hours by Tackling Our Debt

Try Change! It is Good! by Reach Financial Independence

How to Expect the Unexpected When It Comes to Moving Expenses by This That and the MBA

First Hand Experience: The Importance of Rental Insurance by Plunged in Debt

How I Reduced Our Grocery Budget From $1100 to $600 In 6 Months by Canadian Budget Binder

A No-Headache Checklist For Moving by Monster Piggy Bank

My Biggest Home Buying Regret: Getting In Over My Head by Boomer and Echo

Don’t forget Daylight Savings starts on Sunday!

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Link Love: Hello March Edition!

Spring is almost here!

Peace out February. Seriously…

I am soooo glad it is March! February was a hot mess…too much going on, too many things that needed to be done, too many “to-do” lists, too much family drama, too much of EVERYTHING!

It was a stressful month and I am glad it is in my rearview mirror!

On to March 🙂 Daylight Savings time, Easter, and the first day of Spring! Speaking of Spring, aren’t those flowers pictured above beautiful? I saw them at the market, and I had to snap a pic! They are just a reminder that a season change is right around the corner 🙂

So, buh-bye February. It’s been swell.

I’ve also been reading blogs, yo…

Posts I got a kick out of this week:

Got the Winter Blues? 10 Great Ways to Feel Better by Tackling Our Debt

Getting to Know the Person Behind the Blog by Making Sense of Cents

Is Poverty in the United States an Excuse to do Poorly in School? by Eyes on the Dollar

Children & Money: Don’t Turn it into a Taboo Topic by The Heavy Purse

Taking the Plunge: Why I Hate Being Self-Employed by Frugal Rules

Dealing With Debt as a Millenial by My Alternate Life

Financial Lessons Learned From My 80 Year-Old Grandma by Student Debt Survivor

Longing For The Simple Times by Budget and the Beach

Bang For Your Buck, UK Edition by Reach Financial Independence

Budget Fail: Unrealistic Expectations While Shopping by Debt Round Up

Have a great weekend everyone!

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