July 29, 2025 • 25 mins
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In this episode, we explore 10 easy and actionable tips to save money without drastically altering your life. Brad Nelson and co-hosts Amber Taylor, Katie Hatfield, and Ryan Nelson share their personal success stories of becoming debt-free, including paying off substantial amounts of debt while living on planned budgets. The discussion includes practical advice such as using cash for purchases, auditing subscriptions, switching to generic brands, planning meals, and avoiding automatic shopping apps. We also delve into money-saving strategies like finding forgotten gift cards, negotiating bills, cutting out weekly habits, and automating savings. These simple yet effective tips can help you free up cash, reduce financial stress, build your savings, and make significant progress in your financial journey.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Brad Nelson (00:01):
So are you feeling like your money's disappearing
faster than you can make it?
You're not alone.
But what if I told you thereare some simple, practical ways
to start saving money right nowwithout having to completely
overhaul your entire life?
Now, in today's episode, I'mgoing to be breaking down 10
easy, actionable things that youcan do today to free up cash,
build savings and finally feellike you're making good progress
(00:24):
.
Now, whether you're strugglingwith debt, living paycheck to
paycheck or just looking to getahead, this episode is packed
with some simple wins.
Let's dive into it.
Announcer (00:34):
You're listening to the Debt-Free Dad Podcast with
Brad Nelson.
Brad and his co-hostsexperience the anxiety of living
paycheck to paycheck beforelearning the fundamentals of
financial success.
They are now on a mission toempower regular people to pay
off their debt for good andenjoy happier, less stressful
lives.
Keep listening forinspirational interviews, tips,
(00:56):
tricks and practical advice togain financial freedom.
Brad Nelson (01:01):
Hey guys, welcome to today's show.
My name is Brad Nelson, founderof Debt Free Dad.
I paid off about $45,000 ofdebt.
I've been debt free now formore than 12 years.
I've also been fortunate tohelp thousands of other people
save and pay off tens ofmillions of dollars with the
work that we do here at DebtFree Dad.
Amber Taylor (01:15):
And my name is Amber Taylor, and my husband and
I saved and paid off $54,000 injust 20 months and have been
living debt-free outside of ourmortgage since 2018.
Kati Hatfield (01:26):
And I'm Katie Hatfield and I have been paying
off my debt for the last sevenyears and still on my journey
and on a single income.
I have paid off over $227,240in credit card bills, student
loans, car payments and more.
Ryan Nelson (01:45):
And my name is Ryan Nelson.
My wife and I paid off about$160,000 in debt over eight
years while we were raisingthree kids.
Brad Nelson (01:52):
So, after listening to this episode, you guys, if
you're ready to take things tothe next level, you're ready to
break free from living paycheckto paycheck, you want to reduce
financial stress, build yoursavings and finally pay off your
debt for good, but maybe you'renot quite sure where to get
started.
We've created some incrediblefree resources here to help you
get there, and I'll be sharingsome details about that later on
in today's episode.
(02:12):
So, guys, today we're talkingall about saving and getting
some quick, easy wins, and thereason I wanted to do this
episode is I can remember andyou guys can share maybe some of
your story or situation, but Ican remember feeling like I
didn't have any money to save.
But the truth is, once Istarted doing some of the things
that we're going to talk abouthere today, I was able to start
saving money.
(02:32):
I was able to actually startbuilding that first emergency
fund or find ways to save moneyto pay off extra debt.
And we see this with membersall the time who feel like
there's nothing else that theycould do, but the reality is
there are things that you coulddo.
Sometimes you can get so stuckand you get tunnel vision.
It's hard to kind of lookoutside the box and say, what
(02:52):
else could I be doing?
And hopefully this episode isgoing to give you guys some of
those tips that it's going tohelp you save maybe 10, 15, $20
a month.
In some cases it could behundreds of dollars a month with
some of the things that we'regoing to talk about here today.
So one of the things I do wantto mention right away and this
isn't this kind of a bonus tip,it's not part of the 10.
But I think the biggest thingthat helped me start saving the
(03:14):
most money was using cash forpurchases right, rather than
using or swiping a debit card orcredit card.
But once I started using cash,that really helped me save a lot
of money, especially like whenyou went out to eat or if you
were at the grocery store or youstop at like a gas station and
(03:34):
you commit to only using cash.
It was crazy to me how muchless money I would spend, which
meant that I had more money inmy bank account to use,
obviously save and get furtherout of debt.
Amber Taylor (03:45):
Well, and cash limits you to how much you could
actually spend if you're onlyusing cash.
So when you're at the grocerystore checkout you got to really
pay attention to what you'reputting on your in the cart,
because you might be having toput stuff back when you get
there.
Ryan Nelson (03:58):
Yeah, and I'm like the worst at that.
I'm the guy that thecommercials are made for.
I go to the store so I'm goingto.
Ooh, that looks cool.
I like the package on that.
I bet that tastes good.
I don't need.
It's not on my list.
When I had cash.
It's a lot harder to do thatbecause it's like you said,
amber, it's like you're addingeverything up because you don't
want to get up there and have$50 extra and be like oh, I
(04:20):
can't pay cash even still, tothis day it's in the grocery
store.
I mean, it's why it's like if Igot a list, I got to just stick
to the list, because if I go upand down the aisles, the
grocery store is wired to makeme spend the money.
Kati Hatfield (04:30):
That's why I'm a grocery shopping ninja, because
I will be like nope, that's 50cents more than last week.
I'm not getting it and I willjust walk right past it.
And more this week than it waslast week.
Brad Nelson (04:42):
Yeah, the envelope system or cash stuffing.
I think that's why that worksso great for so many people,
because I think cash is a reallygreat accountability tool
Because, like you said, amber,once the cash is gone, you're
done spending With a credit cardor even a debit card at times.
You can just keep going andit's just easy to say, like Ryan
you said, oh, that looks reallygood, let's just throw it in
the cart.
So I think cash is huge.
(05:03):
Next one is auditing yoursubscriptions and, honestly, we
could just throw in track all ofyour expenses, not just your
subscriptions, and this is a bigone.
I mean subscriptions,especially like streaming
services and all these apps thatyou can download.
Some of them are so inexpensiveand if you're not checking your
bank accounts on a regularbasis, they're easy to miss.
(05:23):
Or it's easy to say, well, it'sonly a few dollars, right.
Or it could be, you know, a lowcost or even a higher cost.
Some gym memberships areexpensive but you could be
looking at like gym memberships,you know, if you're not going,
I know you have the best ofintentions but you still just
never quite open that door tothe gym and get in there.
It might be time just to cancelthat until you're really
committed to going there anddoing the work.
(05:45):
But until then it's like savethe money right.
Kati Hatfield (05:49):
Yeah, and especially on streaming services
, I feel like all of a sudden Ihad seven streaming services and
I was like why did I get rid ofcable if I'm just paying for
all of these?
So think about what you'reactually watching.
And then I share somesubscriptions with family
members, and my dad happened toadd a free week trial of, like
(06:11):
Apple TV that we don't have somelike.
All right, for this week I'mjust going to binge these two
shows that I really wanted tosee and then after that week
we're done with it, All right.
Brad Nelson (06:21):
All right, the next one.
It could be a little bit up fordebate.
How do you guys feel aboutgenerics, like switching more to
store brands or generic brands,you know, instead of buying the
name brand stuff?
I know we've had somediscussions about this in the
past on this show.
Obviously it is a great way tosave, but I would only do this
one, because there are somethings that don't taste exactly
(06:43):
the same, right, but there arealso some things like green
beans.
In my opinion, it doesn'tmatter if it's the generic or
the name brand cute littlepackage like they taste exactly
the same to me.
So I think you get you have toexperiment a little bit with
this, because there are somethings that I'm not willing to
go generic on everything, but itcould be a great way to save.
Amber Taylor (07:04):
I would say I probably 80% go generic.
There's a few that I will not.
My peanut butter definitely not.
Kati Hatfield (07:11):
Yeah, and you can't skimp on saran wrap.
Versus the generic kind,there's a big difference.
Brad Nelson (07:19):
It doesn't work quite as well.
Same thing with tinfoil.
Right, Tinfoil is the same wayyou get the cheap tinfoil and it
just tears apart.
It doesn't even hold together.
But switching to store brands,one of the things that I love is
going to Aldi.
If you're here in the UnitedStates, Aldi is a great place
for a lot of that stuff and youcan save a significant amount of
money.
But again, keep in mind, Idon't shop at Aldi for
(07:41):
everything.
There are certain things likecoffee.
I'm very particular about thecoffee I buy.
I can't find that at Aldi, so Ihave to go to a normal store.
But it can be a great way,especially on produce items and
things, to save a significantamount of money.
Kati Hatfield (07:53):
I go to Aldi first and then whatever else is
left on my list I go to theother store afterwards.
But yeah, same produce meatcheese, really good cheese and
inexpensive and it tastes goodyeah.
Brad Nelson (08:07):
So, along the same lines of grocery shopping is
also plan out your meals.
And, guys, I know this is aneasy one.
People think about this one allthe time, but it's crazy to me
how much money we spend on goingout to eat, and by far you guys
.
When we ask our members what'sthe number one area?
When you first started Roots orstarted getting out of debt,
started looking at your spending, what was the number one area
that you were overspending in?
(08:28):
Almost every single time youguys, it was going out to eat.
And again, I love going out toeat as much as the next person,
right?
So I'm not telling you tonecessarily cut out everything
out of your life, but if you'resomeone who needs to build your
first emergency fund, you needto find ways to start paying
down some debt, free up somecash flow.
Skipping out on going out toeat and just getting better at
(08:48):
meal planning can save youhundreds of dollars per month.
We've seen members spendinganywhere between two to 300 on
the low end, to six, seven, overa thousand dollars a month on
going out to eat.
So it adds up really, reallyquick, and the more you can cut
back, obviously, the more moneyyou have to save.
Amber Taylor (09:05):
Yeah, the going out to eat for us was definitely
the thing that we realized.
Oh my gosh, we gave ourselves apay raise by stopping going out
to eat, or slowing it down atleast.
So it made a huge difference inpaying off our debt.
But planning meals, though,around what you have and then
what you can buy, but actuallyplanning it and having that plan
to make meals made it so mucheasier.
And then you use what you haveand you're not throwing it out
(09:26):
either.
So it makes a difference allaround.
Yeah.
Kati Hatfield (09:30):
I do the big batch meals.
So either I'm going to eat thesame thing for four days
straight because I'm single, andthat's what I do, or I freeze
portions of it to use later.
But it just makes it easier forme to be like nope, I have food
at home, I already have a mealready to go.
I don't have to stop, I canjust go home.
Brad Nelson (09:48):
Yeah Well, and I think, when it comes to meal
planning, to try to plan yourmeals around stuff that's on
sale to most of these places.
Most stores have apps.
Now you just look at the appswhere you shop.
I mean, plan some meals aroundthat where you're going to save
the most amount of money.
And again, I don't expectpeople to do this for every
single meal every single week.
But even if you just commit toeating three to five meals at
(10:11):
home and just doing your best tobuy those products at the
cheapest price, again it alladds up over time and then again
, sticking to more food is shopyour pantry.
First, I got a funny story theother day.
We got waffles in our groceryorder.
Because we do online ordering,I don't like to go to the
grocery store, so we just haveit sent right to the house and
we got a box of waffles in thereand I was like I'm pretty sure
(10:32):
we already have waffles and I goin the freezer.
And yes, not only did we havewaffles, but we had five boxes
of waffles in our deep freezer,right.
So this was like a wake up callto me.
It's like I got to make surethat I check the freezer outside
before I order waffles, becausewe're going to have waffles for
quite some time at our house.
But this is another great areaLike when you're talking about
(10:52):
meal planning is just go throughthe food that you already have
in your house and if you'reanything like our house, there's
plenty of it in there.
But it's interesting.
You know you have to meal plan,you have to create these new
meals.
It's like just use theingredients that you already
have.
Think Amber I think I sharedthe name of it with you and I
can't recall what it is butthere are apps out there where
you can actually put in likethis is the stuff I have in my
(11:12):
home Make me a meal.
Or, if you're using ChatGBT andAI, you could do the same thing
with that too.
These are the ingredients Ihave.
Create a recipe for me to make.
There's a lot of great toolsthat'll help you do this.
Kati Hatfield (11:23):
I take a picture of what's inside my fridge and
freezer and pantry before I gogrocery shopping to make sure I
don't stock up on those things.
And I have a chest freezer andI saw someone on Facebook
probably they take a dry erasemarker and write what's in the
freezer on the lid of thefreezer.
So you just, I just take apicture of what my list is and I
(11:45):
update it whenever I put stuffin or take stuff out.
Brad Nelson (11:48):
That's genius.
I never would have thoughtabout that.
All right, next one might be alittle bit difficult, but pause
your automatic shopping apps orjust delete the apps, like
altogether.
So we're talking about thingslike your Target app or your
Amazon app or DoorDash or reallyany area where you feel like
(12:09):
there's temptation right,especially on your phone,
because when you get bored ifyou're anything like me, you
shop right.
Or if you're lazy and you don'twant to cook food, it's so easy
to open up DoorDash and be like, yeah, I'm not even going to go
get it, I'm just going to haveit delivered, right.
So try to remove as much ofthat temptation as you possibly
can, make it harder for you todo it and the more money you can
(12:30):
save that way too.
Amber Taylor (12:31):
For me it wasn't always the automatic.
Like shopping apps I mean nowAmazon.
Yeah, I got to watch myself,but it was the marketplace and
the buy and sell groups onFacebook or all the emails that
were coming in and bombarding meand it was like, oh my gosh, I
(12:54):
want that.
Ooh, I need that.
Oh, I didn't think I neededthat, but now that I see it in
my email, I definitely need that.
Kati Hatfield (12:56):
So I had to unsubscribe and remove myself
from so many groups and that'swhat helped me curb that
temptation yes, unsubscribingfrom emails and the text
notifications, because you knowthey got you to sign up to get a
bigger discount when you firstwent on their website.
And now, 19 times a day,they're sending you messages
like yes, you still need to shophere.
I'm like, unsubscribe, stop.
Brad Nelson (13:19):
The next one and this just happened to me too
just recently I found two ofthese is look for forgotten gift
cards.
I found two in a drawer, didn'teven realize.
Actually we have three of themnow.
I didn't have, didn't even knowit.
One was for a $50 gift card toa restaurant.
The other one was a $25 to likea fast food restaurant that our
kids normally go to.
I didn't even realize that Ihad that one.
And then we have one for, like,a local place here in town that
(13:44):
we just got.
So this is again another waygift cards easily get forgotten.
I forget.
Ryan Nelson (13:57):
And I think we mentioned on the show I mean
we've been doing this show nowfor nearly five years and I
think we talked about this likeit's crazy the percentage of
gift cards that don't get usedever and again they're easy just
to throw in a drawer or put inyour wallet and forget that
they're even there.
I have a funny story.
I don't think this familymember listens to this podcast.
We helped a family member cleanup some time ago and when it
was all said and done, theamount of gift cards that we
found was over $2,000.
Oh my gosh, just scattered intheir drawers, their kids'
drawers, just junk drawers, justlike you said, just like that.
(14:19):
You just get them.
And I actually have one in mywallet right now that we gave to
my son, for I think it was astocking stuffer two years ago,
and when he moved out a year ago, he was like I found it and
he's like I'm never going to usethat.
And I'm like well, I'll take itbecause we'll use it and I've
had it in my wallet for a year.
Kati Hatfield (14:39):
I think, now that you say that I have a
restaurant gift certificatesomewhere and I'm like I know I
didn't spend it, so where is it?
Ryan Nelson (14:45):
So it is.
It is very easy to just tossthem, because, even to this day,
every once in a while we'llclean something out and I'll
find one and I'll check.
Oh, there's still $17 left onthis.
You just kind of use somethingand you forget about it and you
throw it in a drawer and youdon't really think about it.
But there is potentially.
Use that as an example If youknow that you've done that.
Brad Nelson (15:07):
Yeah, yeah, I do the.
So there's a hardware store.
It's a big hardware store butit's Menards, and I think
Menards are they nationwide nowI don't know, they're pretty big
, at least in the Midwest, butthey do like 11% off.
So you know, when you have homestuff to do, you know you get
an 11% rebate.
You got to send in the rebate.
I'm always really good aboutdoing that, but then I always
forget the rebate check magnetic.
You know it's magnetized to therefrigerator door and every
(15:28):
time I go there I'm like man, Iforgot about the rebate check
and then I got more rebates andmore rebates and by the time I
go back the next day it's likesix rebates that I have because
I keep forgetting to use them.
So again, a great way to savesome money use those gift cards,
another one that a lot ofpeople tend to even miss it.
These are easy things that youcan do is just call places that
you're already spending moneyand ask them to lower your bill
(15:51):
or ask them if there's betterdeals, things like your cell
phone, internet.
There's satellite radio doesthis all the time where they'll
charge their normal price andI'll call and I'll be like I'm
just not going to pay that muchfor satellite radio and all of a
sudden it's only a few dollarsa month as opposed to like $30 a
month and all I had to do wasjust call them.
Another one is shopping yourinsurance on a regular basis.
(16:12):
We obviously recommend anindependent insurance agent, but
get in the habit of every yeardoing this.
We've seen members savehundreds of dollars a year,
sometimes thousands of dollars ayear, just by shopping their
insurance and seeing if they'regetting the best price.
One other one, too, I wouldrecommend is, if you have credit
cards, is calling them to seeif they have any opportunities
to lower interest rates to helpyou save on interest you could
(16:35):
pay down you know the debtsquicker, all right, when you get
into something like that, justmake sure you understand what
you're asking for and what theagreement is going to be and all
that.
But these are just easy thingsthat you can do and just ask.
The worst that they can say isno, all right, and the next one
is cut one weekly habit.
So this kind of focuses more ondoing more of like a no spend
challenge.
We mentioned, you know, trackingyour expenses, looking at where
(16:57):
your money's going and look atsome areas that you would be
willing to cut out and again,we're not talking about cutting
it out entirely or altogetherfor the rest of your life, you
know just temporarily.
What can you cut outtemporarily to get ahead further
, quicker, right?
So again, building your firstemergency fund, paying down some
of those smaller debts.
But maybe it's cutting outeating out for a week, maybe
(17:17):
it's cutting out the coffee runsfor a week.
It could be not going to thegas stations, the convenience
stores.
Maybe you've discovered, hey, Ilike to buy clothes.
You got enough clothes.
Right, those clothes are stillgoing to be there at that store
when the no spend challenge isover.
But you know, find quick andeasy things that you can do and
cut them out and just decideokay, we're going to use this
money for this, to help youstart saving.
Kati Hatfield (17:40):
Brad, what's your record for a no spend challenge
?
Brad Nelson (17:44):
Oh, yeah, a long time ago.
Yeah, well, we had a littlehelp with this.
I was during COVID, but we did425 straight days of not eating
out.
I still don't understand how wemade that happen.
But yeah, that means we cookedevery single day at home.
Yeah, but we didn't step into arestaurant for 425 straight
days.
I can't say that that's thetruth anymore, right, because I
(18:05):
like going out to eat.
I have no issue with it now butit was just something we
noticed.
We were overspending a lot andgoing out to eat.
We were just it's like crazythe amount of money.
So we're like, okay, we'regonna commit to it just for 30
days, we're just gonna cook athome.
And then 30 days turned intotwo months, two months turned
into three months and before youknow it, it was over a year
that we never went.
And again, I would neversuggest anyone go that long.
(18:26):
Right, but a month isn going tokill you and again, you can use
that money to save.
Ryan Nelson (18:32):
As you go through the list.
I think one of the best ways tosave money is and I think this
is where most people get stuck.
It's where I was stuck at for along time is I have no way to
save any money, and it's like ifyou really truly believe that,
then you're not going to saveany money and you got to be
willing to make some sacrifices,do some things different.
If you're unwilling to do that,I would say very few people
(18:53):
have I ever talked to or met arespending everything very like
just being perfect with theirmoney, like everything is just
perfect, like, I would say, thevast majority of people.
If you are saying there's justnothing left, there's no
possible way I can save, it'smore of a mindset issue, and I
was there too.
I was unwilling to change, andso I was unwilling to accept
(19:15):
that this $50 in my checkbookevery month that was left was
all there really was, because Iliked going out to eat, I liked
doing all these things that wejust talked about.
I don't want to do any of thembecause it takes work, it takes
sacrifice, it takes looking inthe mirror and realizing you're
doing the wrong things, and so Ithink one of the best ways to
save money right now is justtake an honest look at yourself
(19:35):
and your finances and are youbeing honest with yourself and
that you're doing everythingright with your money?
And you know cause.
When you say this, like, justtake out your drive-through
coffee, back in the day I wouldhave been like I ain't doing
that.
Yeah, like I love my.
To this day, I still love mycoffee, I still love going out
to get coffee, and I know it'sexpensive, but now I can do it.
But back then I couldn't affordit and I still didn't want to
(19:56):
do it.
But once we started to do it,like you said, suddenly it's
like giving up your coffee.
Holy cow, we just saved $100this month.
You add one more thing, onemore thing, one more thing.
Suddenly you're go back to Imean, I go back to coffee, I
(20:18):
don't feel guilty about it now,yeah.
Kati Hatfield (20:20):
Or going out to lunch.
If you did that five days aweek while you're working, if
you would just make sandwichesat home, like if you would just
pack a lunch, it could be thateasy to save ten to twenty
dollars a day sometimes, andthat adds up real fast.
Brad Nelson (20:36):
Yeah, yeah.
And I think, well, the point oflike all of this is to get you
some quick wins, because thewins is what creates motivation,
right, and the more wins youget, the more willing you're,
willing to try things and getrid of things.
So, like when I first started,I started out doing some of the
small stuff we're talking abouton the show.
Then eventually it got to I'mcutting out my satellite TV
(20:56):
because I was paying mananywhere between I was probably
$150 to $200 a month on justsatellite TV.
Back in the day I was like I'mwilling to get rid of that, I'll
make do, I'll figure it out.
I'd rather have that extramoney to save or get out of debt
.
And then it went on to I'mgoing to get rid of my car
payment, I'm going to sell mycar, I'm going to take that $500
car payment.
I'm going to use that to getout of debt quicker.
Like it builds momentum and itcreates change and you're
(21:19):
willing to do more because itstarts to feel good, right.
So that's the point of allthese little things.
The last one, really important,is make your savings automatic,
even a small amount $10 or $20a week, man, that stuff adds up
and we talk about sinking fundson this show quite a bit and
saving up for future expensesand putting that money away.
(21:39):
And sinking funds is just that.
It's automating your savings of.
Okay, I know these expenses arecoming up.
Let's pick on the holidays.
Holidays come around once ayear.
We always know when they are.
They're the same date.
Start just putting that moneyaway regularly, on a weekly or
monthly basis.
It's amazing.
In six months it's like you gothundreds of dollars sitting in
there, sometimes even moredepending on how much you're
(22:00):
saving and now you can goshopping, get stuff done early.
But setting up automatictransfers makes savings number
one automatic and it creates ahabit.
Right, rather than having tophysically have to do it you,
you just set it up where it'sautomatically done for you.
You don't have to think aboutit.
Kati Hatfield (22:16):
When I started doing that, that was huge,
because I started with, I wantto say, $100 per paycheck and
then I built up over time to nowit's 10 percent and I don't
even miss it.
It just goes automatically in.
And my savings account is hugeand my savings number is not
included in my paying off debtnumber.
So all my savings that I'vebeen doing for the last seven
years is on top of paying offthe $227,000.
(22:39):
And that is huge, whether it'sgoing into my retirement fund,
my emergency savings or myhealth savings.
It's a big, big improvementfrom what I used to do.
Brad Nelson (22:50):
All right, guys.
So if you're ready to breakfree from living paycheck to
paycheck, you want to reducefinancial stress, build savings
and finally pay off your debtfor good, but again, maybe
you're just not sure where toget started.
Don't worry, we've got youcovered.
Simplify my Money is sent toyou each and every Sunday to
your email, and it's going to beyour step-by-step roadmap to
better financial control, andyou're also going to learn some
easy to follow strategies tomanage your money more
(23:12):
effectively Stress-free moneydecisions that are going to help
you simplify your financiallife with proven tips that
actually work, and you're goingto gain the tools and the
confidence to tackle yourfinancial goals head on.
You can sign up for Simplify myMoney by clicking the link at
the top of the show notes.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, let's talk,let's talk about that, baby.
Amber Taylor (23:33):
Let's talk about your money.
Let's talk about all the goodthings, all the bad things that
may be.
Let's talk about that, let'stalk about that, and that's how
it means.
It's time for the celebrationsof the show.
(23:54):
First we have Max.
I tracked my spending this weekand put my old moped up for
sale to make some extra cash.
Brad Nelson (24:01):
Awesome Way to go, max Jodi says.
With our daughter expecting herfirst baby, my goal has been to
buy her gifts with cash.
This week we scored an $800travel system for only $315.23.
Not only did we score on anamazing gift, but we did it all
with cash only.
Jodi, that's an awesome win Wayto plan ahead.
Kati Hatfield (24:24):
Babies are expensive.
Brad Nelson (24:25):
That is a good one.
Kati Hatfield (24:27):
Misty, the credit card we've been working on
paying off is down to just $82.
The plan is to have it paid offbefore the end of the month.
That is awesome, Misty.
Ryan Nelson (24:39):
And Paige.
I put $150 in the dog emergencyfund and I appreciate that we
just had a huge emergency forour dog and $100 in my Las Vegas
fund.
Brad Nelson (24:50):
Awesome Way to go, paige.
Hey guys, as always,congratulations to all of you
guys who are taking a stand foryour financial life and you're
wanting better.
We get that.
Getting out of debt isn't easy,but with our help and hopefully
with your consistency anddiscipline, we promise you guys
this will be some of the bestwork that you guys do in your
entire life.
Thanks for joining us ontoday's show and we will see you
guys on the next episode on thenext episode.
Announcer (25:15):
Thanks for listening to the Debt-Free Dad podcast.
Connect with us on Facebook,tiktok, youtube and Instagram.
Just search Debt-Free Dad.
If you found value in today'sepisode, please leave us a
rating and review.
We so appreciate it.
For resources, show notes andlinks mentioned in today's show,
visit DebtFreeDadcom.
(25:36):
Catch you next week.
So are you feeling like your money's disappearing
faster than you can make it?
You're not alone.
But what if I told you thereare some simple, practical ways
to start saving money right nowwithout having to completely
overhaul your entire life?
Now, in today's episode, I'mgoing to be breaking down 10
easy, actionable things that youcan do today to free up cash,
build savings and finally feellike you're making good progress
(00:24):
.
Now, whether you're strugglingwith debt, living paycheck to
paycheck or just looking to getahead, this episode is packed
with some simple wins.
Let's dive into it.
Announcer (00:34):
You're listening to the Debt-Free Dad Podcast with
Brad Nelson.
Brad and his co-hostsexperience the anxiety of living
paycheck to paycheck beforelearning the fundamentals of
financial success.
They are now on a mission toempower regular people to pay
off their debt for good andenjoy happier, less stressful
lives.
Keep listening forinspirational interviews, tips,
(00:56):
tricks and practical advice togain financial freedom.
Brad Nelson (01:01):
Hey guys, welcome to today's show.
My name is Brad Nelson, founderof Debt Free Dad.
I paid off about $45,000 ofdebt.
I've been debt free now formore than 12 years.
I've also been fortunate tohelp thousands of other people
save and pay off tens ofmillions of dollars with the
work that we do here at DebtFree Dad.
Amber Taylor (01:15):
And my name is Amber Taylor, and my husband and
I saved and paid off $54,000 injust 20 months and have been
living debt-free outside of ourmortgage since 2018.
Kati Hatfield (01:26):
And I'm Katie Hatfield and I have been paying
off my debt for the last sevenyears and still on my journey
and on a single income.
I have paid off over $227,240in credit card bills, student
loans, car payments and more.
Ryan Nelson (01:45):
And my name is Ryan Nelson.
My wife and I paid off about$160,000 in debt over eight
years while we were raisingthree kids.
Brad Nelson (01:52):
So, after listening to this episode, you guys, if
you're ready to take things tothe next level, you're ready to
break free from living paycheckto paycheck, you want to reduce
financial stress, build yoursavings and finally pay off your
debt for good, but maybe you'renot quite sure where to get
started.
We've created some incrediblefree resources here to help you
get there, and I'll be sharingsome details about that later on
in today's episode.
(02:12):
So, guys, today we're talkingall about saving and getting
some quick, easy wins, and thereason I wanted to do this
episode is I can remember andyou guys can share maybe some of
your story or situation, but Ican remember feeling like I
didn't have any money to save.
But the truth is, once Istarted doing some of the things
that we're going to talk abouthere today, I was able to start
saving money.
(02:32):
I was able to actually startbuilding that first emergency
fund or find ways to save moneyto pay off extra debt.
And we see this with membersall the time who feel like
there's nothing else that theycould do, but the reality is
there are things that you coulddo.
Sometimes you can get so stuckand you get tunnel vision.
It's hard to kind of lookoutside the box and say, what
(02:52):
else could I be doing?
And hopefully this episode isgoing to give you guys some of
those tips that it's going tohelp you save maybe 10, 15, $20
a month.
In some cases it could behundreds of dollars a month with
some of the things that we'regoing to talk about here today.
So one of the things I do wantto mention right away and this
isn't this kind of a bonus tip,it's not part of the 10.
But I think the biggest thingthat helped me start saving the
(03:14):
most money was using cash forpurchases right, rather than
using or swiping a debit card orcredit card.
But once I started using cash,that really helped me save a lot
of money, especially like whenyou went out to eat or if you
were at the grocery store or youstop at like a gas station and
(03:34):
you commit to only using cash.
It was crazy to me how muchless money I would spend, which
meant that I had more money inmy bank account to use,
obviously save and get furtherout of debt.
Amber Taylor (03:45):
Well, and cash limits you to how much you could
actually spend if you're onlyusing cash.
So when you're at the grocerystore checkout you got to really
pay attention to what you'reputting on your in the cart,
because you might be having toput stuff back when you get
there.
Ryan Nelson (03:58):
Yeah, and I'm like the worst at that.
I'm the guy that thecommercials are made for.
I go to the store so I'm goingto.
Ooh, that looks cool.
I like the package on that.
I bet that tastes good.
I don't need.
It's not on my list.
When I had cash.
It's a lot harder to do thatbecause it's like you said,
amber, it's like you're addingeverything up because you don't
want to get up there and have$50 extra and be like oh, I
(04:20):
can't pay cash even still, tothis day it's in the grocery
store.
I mean, it's why it's like if Igot a list, I got to just stick
to the list, because if I go upand down the aisles, the
grocery store is wired to makeme spend the money.
Kati Hatfield (04:30):
That's why I'm a grocery shopping ninja, because
I will be like nope, that's 50cents more than last week.
I'm not getting it and I willjust walk right past it.
And more this week than it waslast week.
Brad Nelson (04:42):
Yeah, the envelope system or cash stuffing.
I think that's why that worksso great for so many people,
because I think cash is a reallygreat accountability tool
Because, like you said, amber,once the cash is gone, you're
done spending With a credit cardor even a debit card at times.
You can just keep going andit's just easy to say, like Ryan
you said, oh, that looks reallygood, let's just throw it in
the cart.
So I think cash is huge.
(05:03):
Next one is auditing yoursubscriptions and, honestly, we
could just throw in track all ofyour expenses, not just your
subscriptions, and this is a bigone.
I mean subscriptions,especially like streaming
services and all these apps thatyou can download.
Some of them are so inexpensiveand if you're not checking your
bank accounts on a regularbasis, they're easy to miss.
(05:23):
Or it's easy to say, well, it'sonly a few dollars, right.
Or it could be, you know, a lowcost or even a higher cost.
Some gym memberships areexpensive but you could be
looking at like gym memberships,you know, if you're not going,
I know you have the best ofintentions but you still just
never quite open that door tothe gym and get in there.
It might be time just to cancelthat until you're really
committed to going there anddoing the work.
(05:45):
But until then it's like savethe money right.
Kati Hatfield (05:49):
Yeah, and especially on streaming services
, I feel like all of a sudden Ihad seven streaming services and
I was like why did I get rid ofcable if I'm just paying for
all of these?
So think about what you'reactually watching.
And then I share somesubscriptions with family
members, and my dad happened toadd a free week trial of, like
(06:11):
Apple TV that we don't have somelike.
All right, for this week I'mjust going to binge these two
shows that I really wanted tosee and then after that week
we're done with it, All right.
Brad Nelson (06:21):
All right, the next one.
It could be a little bit up fordebate.
How do you guys feel aboutgenerics, like switching more to
store brands or generic brands,you know, instead of buying the
name brand stuff?
I know we've had somediscussions about this in the
past on this show.
Obviously it is a great way tosave, but I would only do this
one, because there are somethings that don't taste exactly
(06:43):
the same, right, but there arealso some things like green
beans.
In my opinion, it doesn'tmatter if it's the generic or
the name brand cute littlepackage like they taste exactly
the same to me.
So I think you get you have toexperiment a little bit with
this, because there are somethings that I'm not willing to
go generic on everything, but itcould be a great way to save.
Amber Taylor (07:04):
I would say I probably 80% go generic.
There's a few that I will not.
My peanut butter definitely not.
Kati Hatfield (07:11):
Yeah, and you can't skimp on saran wrap.
Versus the generic kind,there's a big difference.
Brad Nelson (07:19):
It doesn't work quite as well.
Same thing with tinfoil.
Right, Tinfoil is the same wayyou get the cheap tinfoil and it
just tears apart.
It doesn't even hold together.
But switching to store brands,one of the things that I love is
going to Aldi.
If you're here in the UnitedStates, Aldi is a great place
for a lot of that stuff and youcan save a significant amount of
money.
But again, keep in mind, Idon't shop at Aldi for
(07:41):
everything.
There are certain things likecoffee.
I'm very particular about thecoffee I buy.
I can't find that at Aldi, so Ihave to go to a normal store.
But it can be a great way,especially on produce items and
things, to save a significantamount of money.
Kati Hatfield (07:53):
I go to Aldi first and then whatever else is
left on my list I go to theother store afterwards.
But yeah, same produce meatcheese, really good cheese and
inexpensive and it tastes goodyeah.
Brad Nelson (08:07):
So, along the same lines of grocery shopping is
also plan out your meals.
And, guys, I know this is aneasy one.
People think about this one allthe time, but it's crazy to me
how much money we spend on goingout to eat, and by far you guys
.
When we ask our members what'sthe number one area?
When you first started Roots orstarted getting out of debt,
started looking at your spending, what was the number one area
that you were overspending in?
(08:28):
Almost every single time youguys, it was going out to eat.
And again, I love going out toeat as much as the next person,
right?
So I'm not telling you tonecessarily cut out everything
out of your life, but if you'resomeone who needs to build your
first emergency fund, you needto find ways to start paying
down some debt, free up somecash flow.
Skipping out on going out toeat and just getting better at
(08:48):
meal planning can save youhundreds of dollars per month.
We've seen members spendinganywhere between two to 300 on
the low end, to six, seven, overa thousand dollars a month on
going out to eat.
So it adds up really, reallyquick, and the more you can cut
back, obviously, the more moneyyou have to save.
Amber Taylor (09:05):
Yeah, the going out to eat for us was definitely
the thing that we realized.
Oh my gosh, we gave ourselves apay raise by stopping going out
to eat, or slowing it down atleast.
So it made a huge difference inpaying off our debt.
But planning meals, though,around what you have and then
what you can buy, but actuallyplanning it and having that plan
to make meals made it so mucheasier.
And then you use what you haveand you're not throwing it out
(09:26):
either.
So it makes a difference allaround.
Yeah.
Kati Hatfield (09:30):
I do the big batch meals.
So either I'm going to eat thesame thing for four days
straight because I'm single, andthat's what I do, or I freeze
portions of it to use later.
But it just makes it easier forme to be like nope, I have food
at home, I already have a mealready to go.
I don't have to stop, I canjust go home.
Brad Nelson (09:48):
Yeah Well, and I think, when it comes to meal
planning, to try to plan yourmeals around stuff that's on
sale to most of these places.
Most stores have apps.
Now you just look at the appswhere you shop.
I mean, plan some meals aroundthat where you're going to save
the most amount of money.
And again, I don't expectpeople to do this for every
single meal every single week.
But even if you just commit toeating three to five meals at
(10:11):
home and just doing your best tobuy those products at the
cheapest price, again it alladds up over time and then again
, sticking to more food is shopyour pantry.
First, I got a funny story theother day.
We got waffles in our groceryorder.
Because we do online ordering,I don't like to go to the
grocery store, so we just haveit sent right to the house and
we got a box of waffles in thereand I was like I'm pretty sure
(10:32):
we already have waffles and I goin the freezer.
And yes, not only did we havewaffles, but we had five boxes
of waffles in our deep freezer,right.
So this was like a wake up callto me.
It's like I got to make surethat I check the freezer outside
before I order waffles, becausewe're going to have waffles for
quite some time at our house.
But this is another great areaLike when you're talking about
(10:52):
meal planning is just go throughthe food that you already have
in your house and if you'reanything like our house, there's
plenty of it in there.
But it's interesting.
You know you have to meal plan,you have to create these new
meals.
It's like just use theingredients that you already
have.
Think Amber I think I sharedthe name of it with you and I
can't recall what it is butthere are apps out there where
you can actually put in likethis is the stuff I have in my
(11:12):
home Make me a meal.
Or, if you're using ChatGBT andAI, you could do the same thing
with that too.
These are the ingredients Ihave.
Create a recipe for me to make.
There's a lot of great toolsthat'll help you do this.
Kati Hatfield (11:23):
I take a picture of what's inside my fridge and
freezer and pantry before I gogrocery shopping to make sure I
don't stock up on those things.
And I have a chest freezer andI saw someone on Facebook
probably they take a dry erasemarker and write what's in the
freezer on the lid of thefreezer.
So you just, I just take apicture of what my list is and I
(11:45):
update it whenever I put stuffin or take stuff out.
Brad Nelson (11:48):
That's genius.
I never would have thoughtabout that.
All right, next one might be alittle bit difficult, but pause
your automatic shopping apps orjust delete the apps, like
altogether.
So we're talking about thingslike your Target app or your
Amazon app or DoorDash or reallyany area where you feel like
(12:09):
there's temptation right,especially on your phone,
because when you get bored ifyou're anything like me, you
shop right.
Or if you're lazy and you don'twant to cook food, it's so easy
to open up DoorDash and be like, yeah, I'm not even going to go
get it, I'm just going to haveit delivered, right.
So try to remove as much ofthat temptation as you possibly
can, make it harder for you todo it and the more money you can
(12:30):
save that way too.
Amber Taylor (12:31):
For me it wasn't always the automatic.
Like shopping apps I mean nowAmazon.
Yeah, I got to watch myself,but it was the marketplace and
the buy and sell groups onFacebook or all the emails that
were coming in and bombarding meand it was like, oh my gosh, I
(12:54):
want that.
Ooh, I need that.
Oh, I didn't think I neededthat, but now that I see it in
my email, I definitely need that.
Kati Hatfield (12:56):
So I had to unsubscribe and remove myself
from so many groups and that'swhat helped me curb that
temptation yes, unsubscribingfrom emails and the text
notifications, because you knowthey got you to sign up to get a
bigger discount when you firstwent on their website.
And now, 19 times a day,they're sending you messages
like yes, you still need to shophere.
I'm like, unsubscribe, stop.
Brad Nelson (13:19):
The next one and this just happened to me too
just recently I found two ofthese is look for forgotten gift
cards.
I found two in a drawer, didn'teven realize.
Actually we have three of themnow.
I didn't have, didn't even knowit.
One was for a $50 gift card toa restaurant.
The other one was a $25 to likea fast food restaurant that our
kids normally go to.
I didn't even realize that Ihad that one.
And then we have one for, like,a local place here in town that
(13:44):
we just got.
So this is again another waygift cards easily get forgotten.
I forget.
Ryan Nelson (13:57):
And I think we mentioned on the show I mean
we've been doing this show nowfor nearly five years and I
think we talked about this likeit's crazy the percentage of
gift cards that don't get usedever and again they're easy just
to throw in a drawer or put inyour wallet and forget that
they're even there.
I have a funny story.
I don't think this familymember listens to this podcast.
We helped a family member cleanup some time ago and when it
was all said and done, theamount of gift cards that we
found was over $2,000.
Oh my gosh, just scattered intheir drawers, their kids'
drawers, just junk drawers, justlike you said, just like that.
(14:19):
You just get them.
And I actually have one in mywallet right now that we gave to
my son, for I think it was astocking stuffer two years ago,
and when he moved out a year ago, he was like I found it and
he's like I'm never going to usethat.
And I'm like well, I'll take itbecause we'll use it and I've
had it in my wallet for a year.
Kati Hatfield (14:39):
I think, now that you say that I have a
restaurant gift certificatesomewhere and I'm like I know I
didn't spend it, so where is it?
Ryan Nelson (14:45):
So it is.
It is very easy to just tossthem, because, even to this day,
every once in a while we'llclean something out and I'll
find one and I'll check.
Oh, there's still $17 left onthis.
You just kind of use somethingand you forget about it and you
throw it in a drawer and youdon't really think about it.
But there is potentially.
Use that as an example If youknow that you've done that.
Brad Nelson (15:07):
Yeah, yeah, I do the.
So there's a hardware store.
It's a big hardware store butit's Menards, and I think
Menards are they nationwide nowI don't know, they're pretty big
, at least in the Midwest, butthey do like 11% off.
So you know, when you have homestuff to do, you know you get
an 11% rebate.
You got to send in the rebate.
I'm always really good aboutdoing that, but then I always
forget the rebate check magnetic.
You know it's magnetized to therefrigerator door and every
(15:28):
time I go there I'm like man, Iforgot about the rebate check
and then I got more rebates andmore rebates and by the time I
go back the next day it's likesix rebates that I have because
I keep forgetting to use them.
So again, a great way to savesome money use those gift cards,
another one that a lot ofpeople tend to even miss it.
These are easy things that youcan do is just call places that
you're already spending moneyand ask them to lower your bill
(15:51):
or ask them if there's betterdeals, things like your cell
phone, internet.
There's satellite radio doesthis all the time where they'll
charge their normal price andI'll call and I'll be like I'm
just not going to pay that muchfor satellite radio and all of a
sudden it's only a few dollarsa month as opposed to like $30 a
month and all I had to do wasjust call them.
Another one is shopping yourinsurance on a regular basis.
(16:12):
We obviously recommend anindependent insurance agent, but
get in the habit of every yeardoing this.
We've seen members savehundreds of dollars a year,
sometimes thousands of dollars ayear, just by shopping their
insurance and seeing if they'regetting the best price.
One other one, too, I wouldrecommend is, if you have credit
cards, is calling them to seeif they have any opportunities
to lower interest rates to helpyou save on interest you could
(16:35):
pay down you know the debtsquicker, all right, when you get
into something like that, justmake sure you understand what
you're asking for and what theagreement is going to be and all
that.
But these are just easy thingsthat you can do and just ask.
The worst that they can say isno, all right, and the next one
is cut one weekly habit.
So this kind of focuses more ondoing more of like a no spend
challenge.
We mentioned, you know, trackingyour expenses, looking at where
(16:57):
your money's going and look atsome areas that you would be
willing to cut out and again,we're not talking about cutting
it out entirely or altogetherfor the rest of your life, you
know just temporarily.
What can you cut outtemporarily to get ahead further
, quicker, right?
So again, building your firstemergency fund, paying down some
of those smaller debts.
But maybe it's cutting outeating out for a week, maybe
(17:17):
it's cutting out the coffee runsfor a week.
It could be not going to thegas stations, the convenience
stores.
Maybe you've discovered, hey, Ilike to buy clothes.
You got enough clothes.
Right, those clothes are stillgoing to be there at that store
when the no spend challenge isover.
But you know, find quick andeasy things that you can do and
cut them out and just decideokay, we're going to use this
money for this, to help youstart saving.
Kati Hatfield (17:40):
Brad, what's your record for a no spend challenge
?
Brad Nelson (17:44):
Oh, yeah, a long time ago.
Yeah, well, we had a littlehelp with this.
I was during COVID, but we did425 straight days of not eating
out.
I still don't understand how wemade that happen.
But yeah, that means we cookedevery single day at home.
Yeah, but we didn't step into arestaurant for 425 straight
days.
I can't say that that's thetruth anymore, right, because I
(18:05):
like going out to eat.
I have no issue with it now butit was just something we
noticed.
We were overspending a lot andgoing out to eat.
We were just it's like crazythe amount of money.
So we're like, okay, we'regonna commit to it just for 30
days, we're just gonna cook athome.
And then 30 days turned intotwo months, two months turned
into three months and before youknow it, it was over a year
that we never went.
And again, I would neversuggest anyone go that long.
(18:26):
Right, but a month isn going tokill you and again, you can use
that money to save.
Ryan Nelson (18:32):
As you go through the list.
I think one of the best ways tosave money is and I think this
is where most people get stuck.
It's where I was stuck at for along time is I have no way to
save any money, and it's like ifyou really truly believe that,
then you're not going to saveany money and you got to be
willing to make some sacrifices,do some things different.
If you're unwilling to do that,I would say very few people
(18:53):
have I ever talked to or met arespending everything very like
just being perfect with theirmoney, like everything is just
perfect, like, I would say, thevast majority of people.
If you are saying there's justnothing left, there's no
possible way I can save, it'smore of a mindset issue, and I
was there too.
I was unwilling to change, andso I was unwilling to accept
(19:15):
that this $50 in my checkbookevery month that was left was
all there really was, because Iliked going out to eat, I liked
doing all these things that wejust talked about.
I don't want to do any of thembecause it takes work, it takes
sacrifice, it takes looking inthe mirror and realizing you're
doing the wrong things, and so Ithink one of the best ways to
save money right now is justtake an honest look at yourself
(19:35):
and your finances and are youbeing honest with yourself and
that you're doing everythingright with your money?
And you know cause.
When you say this, like, justtake out your drive-through
coffee, back in the day I wouldhave been like I ain't doing
that.
Yeah, like I love my.
To this day, I still love mycoffee, I still love going out
to get coffee, and I know it'sexpensive, but now I can do it.
But back then I couldn't affordit and I still didn't want to
(19:56):
do it.
But once we started to do it,like you said, suddenly it's
like giving up your coffee.
Holy cow, we just saved $100this month.
You add one more thing, onemore thing, one more thing.
Suddenly you're go back to Imean, I go back to coffee, I
(20:18):
don't feel guilty about it now,yeah.
Kati Hatfield (20:20):
Or going out to lunch.
If you did that five days aweek while you're working, if
you would just make sandwichesat home, like if you would just
pack a lunch, it could be thateasy to save ten to twenty
dollars a day sometimes, andthat adds up real fast.
Brad Nelson (20:36):
Yeah, yeah.
And I think, well, the point oflike all of this is to get you
some quick wins, because thewins is what creates motivation,
right, and the more wins youget, the more willing you're,
willing to try things and getrid of things.
So, like when I first started,I started out doing some of the
small stuff we're talking abouton the show.
Then eventually it got to I'mcutting out my satellite TV
(20:56):
because I was paying mananywhere between I was probably
$150 to $200 a month on justsatellite TV.
Back in the day I was like I'mwilling to get rid of that, I'll
make do, I'll figure it out.
I'd rather have that extramoney to save or get out of debt
.
And then it went on to I'mgoing to get rid of my car
payment, I'm going to sell mycar, I'm going to take that $500
car payment.
I'm going to use that to getout of debt quicker.
Like it builds momentum and itcreates change and you're
(21:19):
willing to do more because itstarts to feel good, right.
So that's the point of allthese little things.
The last one, really important,is make your savings automatic,
even a small amount $10 or $20a week, man, that stuff adds up
and we talk about sinking fundson this show quite a bit and
saving up for future expensesand putting that money away.
(21:39):
And sinking funds is just that.
It's automating your savings of.
Okay, I know these expenses arecoming up.
Let's pick on the holidays.
Holidays come around once ayear.
We always know when they are.
They're the same date.
Start just putting that moneyaway regularly, on a weekly or
monthly basis.
It's amazing.
In six months it's like you gothundreds of dollars sitting in
there, sometimes even moredepending on how much you're
(22:00):
saving and now you can goshopping, get stuff done early.
But setting up automatictransfers makes savings number
one automatic and it creates ahabit.
Right, rather than having tophysically have to do it you,
you just set it up where it'sautomatically done for you.
You don't have to think aboutit.
Kati Hatfield (22:16):
When I started doing that, that was huge,
because I started with, I wantto say, $100 per paycheck and
then I built up over time to nowit's 10 percent and I don't
even miss it.
It just goes automatically in.
And my savings account is hugeand my savings number is not
included in my paying off debtnumber.
So all my savings that I'vebeen doing for the last seven
years is on top of paying offthe $227,000.
(22:39):
And that is huge, whether it'sgoing into my retirement fund,
my emergency savings or myhealth savings.
It's a big, big improvementfrom what I used to do.
Brad Nelson (22:50):
All right, guys.
So if you're ready to breakfree from living paycheck to
paycheck, you want to reducefinancial stress, build savings
and finally pay off your debtfor good, but again, maybe
you're just not sure where toget started.
Don't worry, we've got youcovered.
Simplify my Money is sent toyou each and every Sunday to
your email, and it's going to beyour step-by-step roadmap to
better financial control, andyou're also going to learn some
easy to follow strategies tomanage your money more
(23:12):
effectively Stress-free moneydecisions that are going to help
you simplify your financiallife with proven tips that
actually work, and you're goingto gain the tools and the
confidence to tackle yourfinancial goals head on.
You can sign up for Simplify myMoney by clicking the link at
the top of the show notes.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, let's talk,let's talk about that, baby.
Amber Taylor (23:33):
Let's talk about your money.
Let's talk about all the goodthings, all the bad things that
may be.
Let's talk about that, let'stalk about that, and that's how
it means.
It's time for the celebrationsof the show.
(23:54):
First we have Max.
I tracked my spending this weekand put my old moped up for
sale to make some extra cash.
Brad Nelson (24:01):
Awesome Way to go, max Jodi says.
With our daughter expecting herfirst baby, my goal has been to
buy her gifts with cash.
This week we scored an $800travel system for only $315.23.
Not only did we score on anamazing gift, but we did it all
with cash only.
Jodi, that's an awesome win Wayto plan ahead.
Kati Hatfield (24:24):
Babies are expensive.
Brad Nelson (24:25):
That is a good one.
Kati Hatfield (24:27):
Misty, the credit card we've been working on
paying off is down to just $82.
The plan is to have it paid offbefore the end of the month.
That is awesome, Misty.
Ryan Nelson (24:39):
And Paige.
I put $150 in the dog emergencyfund and I appreciate that we
just had a huge emergency forour dog and $100 in my Las Vegas
fund.
Brad Nelson (24:50):
Awesome Way to go, paige.
Hey guys, as always,congratulations to all of you
guys who are taking a stand foryour financial life and you're
wanting better.
We get that.
Getting out of debt isn't easy,but with our help and hopefully
with your consistency anddiscipline, we promise you guys
this will be some of the bestwork that you guys do in your
entire life.
Thanks for joining us ontoday's show and we will see you
guys on the next episode on thenext episode.
Announcer (25:15):
Thanks for listening to the Debt-Free Dad podcast.
Connect with us on Facebook,tiktok, youtube and Instagram.
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If you found value in today'sepisode, please leave us a
rating and review.
We so appreciate it.
For resources, show notes andlinks mentioned in today's show,
visit DebtFreeDadcom.
(25:36):
Catch you next week.
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