Balanced FI Podcast
The Balanced FI podcast is all about practical, real-world ways to pay off debt, save money, and balance life with financial goals. Each week your host, RaLea, dives into a family finance topic that will improve your life: the steps to financial security, debt payoff methods, easy ways to save money on everyday expenses, and more... all with a dose of intentional living, a dash of minimalism & a splash of the realities of parenting a child with disabilities.
Episodes
Welcome to the Balanced FI Podcast, episode 42 - How to Make the 52 Week Savings Challenge Work for You
The 52 Week Savings Challenge is a simple method for saving a large amount. Making smaller deposits each week will help you reach your savings goal amount by the end of the year-long challenge period.
Print out one of the trackers included in this article for monitoring your savings progress. You don’t have to start your challeng...
Welcome to the Balanced FI Podcast, episode 41 - The Best Mother's Day Gift Ideas for Moms of Young Kids
These Mother’s Day gift ideas for moms with young kids are guaranteed to score the dads out there some major brownie points. We all know it’s Dad’s job to buy Mother’s Day gifts when their children are young. That also means there’s more pressure to buy a great gift. Mom is going to appreciate anything directly from the kids. It...
Welcome to the Balanced FI Podcast, episode 40 - How to Start a Virtual Bookkeeping Business, based on my own experience in starting one. I’ll walk you through the major decisions you need to make, step by step, to get this side hustle off the ground.
The most important reminder is to not fake your qualifications; don’t pass yourself off as a bookkeeper with no knowledge or experience.
We’ll cover the basic steps, like
- Decide on ...
Welcome to the Balanced FI Podcast, episode 39 - Investing Terms 101: Basic Investment Terms You Need to Know
Understanding a few basic investment terms is a step forward on your journey toward financial security.
Investing can be as complex or as simple as you want it to be. Thousands of people actually invest others’ money as a job…. but it’s also something literally anyone with money can participate in.
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Welcome to the Balanced FI Podcast, episode 38 - The 20 Best Money-Saving Life Hacks
Planning for your money, conserving, meal planning, and more… little changes can lead to big improvements in your finances.
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Read- The 20 Best Money-Saving Life Hacks: Ways to Save Money in Everyday Life
Welcome to the Balanced FI Podcast, episode 37 - Quick Tips for a Frugal Wedding
The average cost of a wedding in the US is around $30,000. That’s an awful lot of money to spend on one day.
If you’re looking for more affordable alternatives, there are many ways to plan and host a frugal wedding without going into debt. These ideas will allow you to do something meaningful with your partner and celebrate your love in a way that doesn...
Welcome to the Balanced FI Podcast, episode 36 - Gather These Documents for Your Tax Prep
Hopefully, you’re planning ahead to make sure your taxes will be filed in a timely manner.
Whether you’re preparing your own return or paying a professional, some documents are needed for taxes, and you need to make sure you have all of them gathered up.
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Welcome to the Balanced FI Podcast, episode 35 - Struggling to Talk to Your Spouse About Money: 3 Simple Steps to Help
Money is a big part of marriage, whether you want to acknowledge it or not. The 3 steps to discussing your money with your spouse are:
- Talk about your current money situation
- Talk about your current money feelings
- Talk about how to change your money
Tips for making these things happen included!
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Welcome to the Balanced FI Podcast, episode 34 - Amazon Hacks for Making the Most of Your Account - even if you’re not a Prime member.
Amazon has taken over so many areas of life, but some of those features are super helpful. Although some of the things we discuss require a Prime membership, some are still available to non-members.
Taking advantage of all the features of your Amazon account just makes good sense.
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Welcome to the Balanced FI Podcast, episode 33 - The 4 Cs of Credit: What You Need to Know
Although you probably haven’t heard of them, the 4 Cs of credit are:
- Capacity to pay the loan back
- Capital
- Collateral
- Credit score
Improving one or all of these areas can greatly improve your odds of being approved for a mortgage or getting a better interest rate.
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Welcome to the Balanced FI Podcast, episode 32 - Frugal not Cheap: 6 Things You Shouldn’t Skimp On
The cheapest option isn’t always the best option - it might not be safe, efficient, or long-lasting. Instead, you shouldn’t skimp on these things:
- Safety things
- Baby safety things
- Shoes
- Anything sleep related
- Dog food
- Insurance
Listen to find out why!
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Welcome to the Balanced FI Podcast, episode 31 - How to Find Grants to Pay Medical Bills
The American healthcare system isn’t just un-user-friendly, it’s very expensive. Grants and financial assistance can help you avoid financial hardship or even bankruptcy.
This episode covers where to find grants and other assistance, how to negotiate with medical providers, and how to organize everything to stay sane.
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Welcome to the Balanced FI Podcast, episode 30 - 3 Simple Gratitude Prompts for Your Holiday Season
The holidays can be hard for so many, making the focus on gratitude even more important. Askin yourself 3 simple questions can help you find the good in your day.
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Read: 3 Simple Gratitude Prompts for Your Holiday Season
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Welcome to the Balanced FI Podcast, episode 29 - All You Need to Know About Keeping Fun in Your Budget
Setting aside a bit of money each month for fun, frivolous purchases helps you stay on track financially. You’re less likely to completely blow your budget when you know you have already planned for your hobbies and random habits.
This episode goes over
- why you need to budget for fun
- how much to set aside
- how to actually make a f...
Welcome to the Balanced FI Podcast, episode 28 - Do You Need a Credit Score While Debt-Free?
You CAN live without a credit score, once you’re debt-free… but life is a lot easier with a good credit score. A credit score is helpful for renting a home, establishing new utility services, applying for certain jobs, getting a mortgage, property insurance in some states, life insurance rates.
Using credit wisely and carefully can help you g...
Welcome to the Balanced FI Podcast, episode 27 - 5 Tips for a Frugal Christmas
Gift-giving doesn’t have to bankrupt you. To save money on Christmas, consider:
- Simplifying your giving list
- Planning ahead and making a budget
- Shopping sales & looking for cashback
- Making gifts
- Giving second-hand gifts
To make next year less stressful, save for Christmas throughout the year
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Welcome to the Balanced FI Podcast, episode 26 - How to Find Good Mental Health Care That Fits in Your Budget
Whether you do or do not have health insurance, you are entitled to mental health care (and medical care, but that's for another day). Cost can make proper mental health care prohibitive, but there ARE resources out there when you can't afford a more traditional route.
Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
Welcome to the Balanced FI Podcast, episode 25: 7 Steps to Find Your Motivation For Debt Payoff.
We’ve got 7 easy steps to keep you going during a long debt payoff journey:
- Identify what’s important
- Get on the same page
- Turn your priorities into goals
- Remind yourself of your motivation for debt payoff
- Watch the numbers change
- Set rewards to keep your motivation for debt payoff
- Celebrate your victories with like-minded people
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Welcome to the Balanced FI Podcast, episode 24! Thank you so much for listening in!
Appealing health insurance denials is the best (maybe only?) way to increase the chances your health insurance provider will cover the requested medical treatment. So many times a claim is denied automatically, or without sufficient investigation, so it falls to the patient (or patient’s representative) to appeal the denial and seek coverage.
To app...
Welcome to the Balanced FI Podcast, episode 23! Thank you so much for listening in!
Make saving money fun to keep yourself engaged in long-term financial goals. Some ways to make saving fun include:
- Set goals & rewards
- Track your progress
- No spend month challenge
- No spend days challenge
- Loose change challenge
- First to save challenge
- Pantry challenge
- Dollars per week food challenge
- Kids savings challenge
- Annual savings challenge
RESO...
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