One of the most frequent requests I get, on all platforms, is for a mortgage plan update. This is funny to me (the requests are usually random and out of the blue!), but I welcome it, and I understand it: there are not many people willing to talk about finances in a personal and detailed way. But here I am! Willing to talk! So let’s get into it, because we have made a shift since our last conversation…
A brief overview of where we’ve been:
Spring 2013: We buy our house! We pull together a 13% down payment, because that’s the most we could afford.
Fall 2014: After paying off our car loans, we use about half of what we had been paying to make an extra mortgage payment each month (directly to the bank), and the other half to build up a fund for our next car purchase.
Fall 2015: Car fund complete, we shift that amount we’d been paying toward our mortgage, too. Instead of paying down our mortgage directly, though, we begin transferring the extra monthly amount into a specific home brokerage account and invest it, with the goal of paying off the mortgage balance in one lump sum once we reach the amount we need. I talked about that here.
2018: We shift our strategy. Instead of paying off our mortgage as soon as our home brokerage account reaches the right amount, we plan to keep saving a little longer, until we’ve reached a large-enough amount of money that, if carefully invested, the returns themselves would be large enough to cover our monthly mortgage payment (meaning our mortgage would no longer need to be a part of our household budget). I talked about that here.
2022: With June in (public) kindergarten, we shift most of the money we had been paying for preschool each month towards an increased monthly transfer to our home brokerage account.
2023: Our home brokerage account reached the amount where we could begin taking withdrawals for the monthly mortgage payment… but we didn’t begin taking withdrawals.
Wait, what?!
Yes, indeed. In yet another change to the plan, after much discussion, we agreed that we wanted to keep rolling with our current situation indefinitely: paying the monthly mortgage payment to the bank out of our salaries, and contributing to the home brokerage account each month while letting it grow.
Why?
To put it simply, our standard of living was (and is) perfectly comfortable. We don’t see a compelling need in our budget for our mortgage payment right now. Our current plan is to do this for the foreseeable future, or until our needs change, or until it no longer makes sense. Just as I shared in my last post, the hope is that this account will eventually pay for college tuitions, weddings, a rental property, some really extravagant generosity, or – most likely – all of the above.
Suffice it to say, this gives us an incredible amount of flexibility, and peace of mind. We knew that, I think, but we recently had an experience that drove home just how much we value living below our means. Story time? :)
Recently, a house came on the market that we were very interested in. Though we had a few alerts set up, we didn’t consider ourselves actively looking, and so scrambled to get in touch with a realtor and get prequalified for a loan. We went to see it on a Friday, the day it went on the market, and then debated whether we should put in an offer almost constantly for the next 36-ish hours.
We ultimately decided not to. As we were debriefing on Monday (when, naturally, the house went pending), John asked me how I felt. Relief was my overwhelming feeling. The weekend had been incredibly stressful: not only because we were thrust into making a fast decision (when we are two of the slowest decision makers on the planet!) but, had we gone forward, we would have taken on a much larger mortgage with a much higher interest payment. Our monthly discretionary payment to our home brokerage account would have been essentially redirected towards paying our new mortgage.
Could we have done it without much change to our lifestyle? Yes, because we were already used to forgoing that money.
Would it have potentially made us feel more stressed? Almost certainly. When we’re paying ourselves each month, we know we can always skip a transfer if something comes up – but you can’t skip a mortgage payment. At work, John doesn’t have to hustle harder than he wants, or feel pressure to take the extra appointment at the expense of our time together as a family. We feel the peace of knowing we can release my salary if something were to change with our circumstances.
There’s a part of me that doesn’t like our current plan. It’s so open-ended! We don’t have a specific goal we’re trying to reach! The larger part of me, though, is extremely grateful. This margin that we’ve fought for — keeping our standard of living stable while our income has risen and costs, like daycare/preschool, have gone away — has given us an incredible peace of mind. It has helped us to be more present, joyful parents. It has helped keep our marriage happy and stress-free. It has allowed us to give generously and freely to the people and causes we love. All of this is of almost incalculable value to me.
As I was writing this post, chapter 10 from Morgan Housel’s exceptional book came to mind. “You don’t need a specific reason to save,” he writes. “You can save just for saving’s sake. And indeed you should. Everyone should.”
Does this mean we will never move to a more expensive home? It does not. Our run-in with the market last month actually gave us a lot of clarity on what we’re looking for in a next home, and what we would and would not be willing to move for. With a narrowed scope, we feel ready to go if the right home comes on the market, but also perfectly content to wait several years should it not. And while we wait, that brokerage account will (hopefully) continue to grow – making action even easier when the time comes.
And now, to one more practical question before we close:
Over the years, readers have asked whether our feelings about this strategy have changed since we shared it, especially given the market volatility during the pandemic. Did the market drop in March 2020 make us wish we’d made payments directly on our mortgage? What has been the emotional impact of this plan, now that we’ve been at it for a bit?
This is an excellent question, and one of the most important ones to get clear on before embarking on a plan like this yourself. In a way, I’m grateful that the pandemic drop proved what we thought all along: that we both have a high tolerance for market volatility and risk. We set out on this plan knowing what we had set aside could decrease in value – and we were okay with that, considering our time horizon and the purpose of these savings. Also, not all of the money is invested in stocks, and most of it is managed in a defensive style which is more protected from volatility. We also have a fully-funded emergency fund, which helped assure us that even if something really unfortunate were to have happened (like, both of us losing our jobs WHILE the market plummeted), we still would have had options.
Key to our plan? We practice dollar cost averaging, or investing on a regular schedule, whether the market is up or down. No trying to time the market over here! Some months it will be up, which is great, and some months it will be down, which is also great – we can get in at a discount :) Over the long-term, though, we believe the market will continue to go up.
I’ll end this post the same way I’ve ended previous ones: if you like the idea of trying something like this, I would highly recommend working with a financial advisor. Of course, it’s possible to make investment decisions on your own, but I don’t want to give you the impression that it’s just me over here knowing all the things and that you should be able to do the same — John IS a financial advisor, and if he weren’t, we would definitely be seeking expertise on decisions of such magnitude.
And finally, I know this is a bit more of a niche Marvelous Money topic than we usually cover, and perhaps it feels wildly out of reach for you right now. I get that. I share this not to brag (!!!) or make you feel defeated (hopefully you know that!), but to perhaps stretch your imagination of what’s possible. At the very least, I hope it encourages you to value the peace of mind that comes from living below your means, whatever that looks like for you.
A final reminder: I am not a financial professional, and nothing I say here should be construed as investment advice! I’m just one gal sharing her story :)
Let’s discuss! What questions does this post bring up for you? Anything we could discuss in a future Marvelous Money post?
Writing about your own generosity is a tricky thing, isn’t it?
On the one hand, there’s the very real fear that you’ll come across as prideful, a show-off. Or that you’ll needlessly make others feel bad about their efforts – which might represent a real sacrifice – or feel shame about the gap between your generosity and theirs.
So why risk it?
Of course, there’s also this, just one chapter later – also from the mouth of Jesus:
Giving in public = bad? Giving in secret = good? If only it were so easy :) The Christian faith is not interested in being simple; it’s interested in being true. In the end, the motivation of the heart is what categorizes the same act as either a treasure or a disgrace in the eyes of God, which can make it confusing to know when to share. However – as long as I can feel reasonably confident that I’m sharing to reflect the light and love of God and not to be praised by men blog readers, I want to do so.
Also, we hear a lot about Christians behaving badly. But there are many, many, many more stories of light that go untold – stories of quiet, unsung acts of selflessness, compassion, and generosity. We need those stories, too, to remind us about the beauty, grace, and truth of a life spent imitating Jesus (imperfectly, always, but earnestly, too).
Finally, on a practical note, I like hearing about the positive things others are doing! It inspires me to be better, to do more, to stretch my conception of what I think I’m capable of and comfortable with – and it gives me ideas for how to do so! It reminds me that people everywhere are doing their best to make people feel loved and the world a better place. It buoys my hope and optimism about my fellow man and the world we inhabit together.
So — with that lengthy introduction, I submit to you three ways we’re trying to live generously this Christmas season – written with humility and love!
We’re giving generously to our kids’ teachers.
Currently, Annie and Shep each have two preschool teachers, while June has her second-grade teacher, her math teacher, and a student teacher. In past years, we have given physical gifts to preschool teachers, like fresh wreaths, snap totes, and Cultivate goodies. I love all of these ideas and may return to them!
This year and last, however, we’ve moved to giving gift cards (accompanied by handwritten notes). Last year we gave each preschool teacher a $15 gift card to a local ice cream shop. This year, we’re giving them $50 gift cards to a local gift shop I love, and the director (who is also a teacher in Shep’s classroom) a $100 gift card to our favorite local restaurant. It’s been a challenging year in their school, and we want her and her husband to enjoy a fun dinner out.
For June’s main teacher, we’ll do a $75* gift card to either a local garden store or the same local restaurant – I haven’t decided yet! (I always try to choose based on their hobbies – last year, we gave her first-grade teacher, an avid runner, a gift card to Fleet Feet.)
*I had planned to do $100, the same as our preschool director, but our district put a $75 cap on gifts this year.
For her math teacher, we chose a 3-month subscription to the Book of the Month Club, and her student teacher will get a Cultivate tumbler stuffed with crinkle paper and a $50 coffee shop gift card.
Again: I include the dollar amounts not to show off (blerg), but to gently encourage. Last year, $15 for five preschool teachers felt like a stretch. My understanding is that even the smallest gift card is appreciated, and if $5 per teacher is what’s possible, it will be gratefully received.
This year, we can do more, so we are. When I think about what it would cost to send our three children to private school (I did the math right here), $100 per teacher feels like a drop in the bucket. Excellent teachers are the lifeblood of our schools and I’ll do almost anything to help them feel appreciated.
We’re giving generously to our pastor.
Moving on to our next category of challenging jobs :) Full-time ministry – whew! It is not for the faint of heart, for the pastor or for his or her family. They (joyfully!) sacrifice so much for the people in their care, and last year, John and I felt compelled to share one of our very favorite traditions with our pastor and his wife.
We wrote them a note explaining our end-of-year celebration dinner – what it is and what it has meant to our relationship over the last many years – and included a $100 gift card to a local restaurant in the envelope. We wanted to make it easy for them to start their own tradition, if they wanted to. We’ll do the same thing this year. Sowing into their marriage feels like sowing directly into God’s Kingdom, and we’re grateful to do it.
We’re giving generously to our garbage and recycling guys.
This is one I come by honestly – it’s straight from the brain of my mom :) Growing up, she’d always leave a Subway gift card and bag of peanut butter balls on top of our trash and recycling cans in December, and honestly, I thought it was weird – ha!
But I also just thought it was normal, and sure enough, when we moved into our own home a decade ago, I taped a colorful (eye-catching!) thank you note, a Jersey Mike’s gift card (we usually do $20 – enough for two guys in each truck), and a bag of peanut butter balls to the top of each can one Wednesday in December. I can only hope my children will think this is weird and then grow up to do the same thing, too.
Of course, I’d love to hear: big or small, how are you being generous this season? This group always has the best ideas.
Editor’s note: I wrote most of this post when I was still pregnant with Annie (!). It’s sat in my drafts folder for more than two years, waiting for me to come back and finish it up. Today is the day! I decided the best thing to do would be to publish my original speculative thoughts and then add a little two-years-in update with how things have actually turned out (so far). I hope it’s helpful!
There were a number of topics I knew I wanted to discuss once the news was out about baby number three. There was deciding to have a third baby at all, of course, as well as the pros and cons of another boy or girl. But one I was really looking forward to? The financial implications of having a third child. We’ve discussed the intersection of money and kids a few times (here and here most specifically!), and I find it an endlessly fascinating and severely under-discussed topic. So, consider this post one part sharing our personal experience, one part encouragement, and one part practical strategizing. As always, I can’t wait to hear your thoughts. Let’s dig in!
Though each additional kiddo in a family introduces a new element to the financial picture, I think a third child is unique in a way a second or even a fourth is not. I thought I’d walk through a few common kid budget categories to share how we thought through them, and a few things you might want to think about if you’re considering having a third. I hope this post offers some hope, helpful perspective, and fodder for conversation with your spouse! :)
Housing
Let’s tackle a big one first! People have been curious from the beginning as to where baby sister will sleep. Our home has four bedrooms, so theoretically we have a room for each kiddo and one for John and me. However, it’s important for us to maintain a guest room, considering that we have frequently-visiting family who lives far away, so as I explained here, we’re planning to keep our guest room intact and add a crib to it. This should hold us for at least two years, at which time we can decide if we want to house two of the kids together, officially designate the guest room as baby sister’s room (but keep the big bed for guest visits), or consider a move to a larger home. I shared a room at times growing up and would have no problem with that scenario.
Bottom line: For us, baby number three won’t add any additional cost to the housing line in our budget. Regardless of whether we had a third child, we likely would have considered moving in a few years, anyway, so I’d consider this category a wash.
Update two years in: Annie is still going strong in the room previously known as the guest room! We’re hoping she’ll last another year in her crib before transitioning to the queen bed. June is also keen for the two of them to share a room, so we may consider bunk beds in the future. No immediate plans to move :)
Transportation
Another big one! Many people find a third child pushes them over the edge to a larger car, either to get a third row of seating in an SUV or to switch to a minivan. Obviously, this can be a huge expense.
Our take: Currently, we have a Kia Sorento. We love it! It’s a small three-row SUV, but it does not have captain’s chairs, so there’s no easy way to get to the third row of seats with two car seats installed in the middle row (i.e. they can’t slide forward with the car seats installed).
To accommodate a three-child family at our kids’ ages, we have a few options. We could invest in skinnier car seats that would fit three across. This is what Nancy did to fit three kids in their Highlander, using the Diono car seats. They’re pricy, but less than buying a different car.
Or, we could have June climb in through the back lift gate or clamber over the second row of seats. She does not mind these options – in fact, she kind of loves them – but they’re not the most practical for things like carpool pick-up lines or when we’re traveling and have the trunk packed full.
Bottom line: We will almost certainly upgrade to a larger SUV with captain’s chairs at some point in the not-so-distant future. We have our eye on the Kia Telluride. This will be a big expense that we may not have incurred if we had stayed at two kiddos, but we’re thankful to have socked away money for this expense over the last few years and plan to pay cash. Also, it’s nice to know we could do just fine with our current ride and can make this change on our own time table.
Update two years in: We placed an order for a Telluride two months before Annie was born and received it four months after she was born! Big, big Telly fans over here.
Childcare
The final biggest immediate expense! Anecdotally, I feel like the change from two to three children is when many couples feel that it no longer financially makes sense for both parents to work outside the home and pay for three kids to go to full-time childcare. Of course, this depends greatly on the age gaps between your kids and what option you choose when they enter elementary-school age.
Our take: The spacing of our children makes this not as burdensome as it could be. June will move on to public school kindergarten shortly after Annie is born, but we’ll replace the cost of her preschool with a higher rate to send an infant to daycare (in our area, this ranges from about $1,300-$1,600 per month, which is about twice what we pay for June’s preschool as a five-year-old).
Bottom line: Our childcare costs will go up slightly in 2022, but we will never need to pay three childcare costs at the same time. That would require a much bigger adjustment to the budget.
Update two years in: We made it through the most expensive year! Annie has now joined Shep at their Montessori preschool, where her tuition is less than we paid at daycare.Yes, we will be paying childcare for more years than we would have if we had stopped at two, but our budget is used to it at this point and so it doesn’t really require any additional rejiggering.
Gear
Some good news! By the time most people get to their third child, they have all of the basics covered: cribs, car seats, toys, high chairs, etc. Of course, some items may be a bit worn at this point and need replacing, but for the most part, for most people, this category should not need to add much to the budget.
Our take: This jives with our experience! We will be reusing our crib, crib mattress, car seats, stroller, travel bassinet, and more. The bigger items on our list: a stroller fan (our first one died and it’s a must for a summer baby!), a few more silicone bibs (many of ours have ripped or cracked at this point), Kiinde pouches (they’re one-time use), another hooded towel, another sound machine, and a new trike. (Our two older kids used and loved the same one that was handed down from a neighbor, but the wheel constantly comes off its track and considering how much we’ve used our first one, it would be well worth the purchase!) We’ll also buy new sheets, a muslin lovey, a few stuffed animals, and a nap quilt – sweet things chosen just for this baby girl.
Bottom line: We expect our expenses to be minimal in this category, especially because I’ll look to buy whatever possible secondhand if we don’t receive it as a gift. (I’m planning a gear redux post sometime soon, going into more detail over what we plan to reuse or try new this time around, so stay tuned for that.)
Update two years in: We had to replace our infant car seat because our original had expired, but otherwise this tracks! We were grateful to receive several of the items I listed above as gifts, so the only significant cost was the Kiinde pouches for a year of breastfeeding and pumping. Also, I did manage to write part one of that gear redux post – part two coming soon :)
Clothing
Though this is a category in which it’s easy to get carried away, the good news is that between hand-me-downs, Buy Nothing groups, and consignment sales/stores, it’s also easy to keep your costs relatively low! Of course, if your third child is the same gender as one of your first two kids, this becomes even easier (though clothes do wear out, and more frequently as kids get older – I’ve retired hardly any of June’s leggings this year, as it seems they all have massive holes in the knees!)
Our take: I cannot WAIT to see baby sister in some of our favorite June hand-me-downs!! One of the best parts about having another girl, in my opinion! Between all the clothing I’ve saved from June’s wardrobe and my sister-in-law generously sending along bags of goodies from her two summer-birthday girls, there is nothing we need to buy for at least the first two years. Yahoo! Of course, I’m sure I’ll buy a few pieces here and there just for fun, and certainly more as she gets older and more aware/independent.
Bottom line: Negligible cost at first; will need to build more room into the budget as she gets older and we’re generally clothing three kids instead of two. But again, I cannot emphasize enough the power of buying secondhand!! It’s like magic.
Update two years in: Yep! I can probably count on two hands the number of (secondhand) clothing items I’ve bought for Annie so far, and though it’s hard to resist the cuteness, seeing her in my favorite June pieces helps to scratch the itch :)
Diapers and Wipes
As these are consumable items, you can expect to pay roughly what you paid for any other child – it doesn’t matter if it’s your first or fifth. (Cloth diapers, of course, would be a different story and certainly an opportunity for cost savings over multiple children!)
Bottom line: Yep, these will need to be factored into the budget. However, it’s nice that June is completely out of diapers and pull-ups and Shep is only wearing nighttime pull-ups at this point!
Update two years in: No surprises here! Again, I’m thankful the spacing of our kids allowed for more breathing room in this budget category.
Ongoing Activities
Looking a little farther down the road, a third child does mean we’ll need to increase our budget for the routine costs and “fun” expenses associated with kids – birthday and Christmas presents, sports equipment and class fees, summer camps, tickets to events, expanding family museum memberships, adding an extra person to meals out and vacations, etc.
Bottom line: Yep! For us, this feels like one of the bigger factors when considering the financial implications of a third child. Yes, daycare costs might loom large immediately, but over the long run, this category will likely add up to much more. However, the nice thing is that it’s gradual, and most of it is discretionary – and as I mentioned, I don’t mind the idea that our kids might feel a little deprived at times :)
Update two years in: We haven’t really felt the impact of this yet, as Annie doesn’t do any activities outside of school and doesn’t even always order her own meal when we eat out. But I know it’s coming!
Long-Term Expenses
Our final budget category brings us farther into the future: we’re talking large, long-term expenses like paying for private schooling, college, cars, and weddings. There’s no doubt about it: these can be BIG expenses, and it’s straight-up addition that you’ll shell out more the more children you have.
Our take: While this category will likely represent the largest portion of the budget when all is said and done, it did not loom largest for us when we considered the financial implications of having a third child. Yes, that’s in part because many of these costs seem far away when you’re still pregnant. But it’s also because they are far away, and we’re optimistic enough to believe that our track record of saving, investing, and living below our means will get us where we need to go when the time comes.
These costs also don’t spook us because we believe there’s lots of room to be judicious with spending (and creative!) within these categories. A new car for each child at 16? Not likely – but maybe we’ll agree to match whatever they save for a car purchase. College? Yes, we’d love to help send them if they choose to go, but also know that there are GREAT and less-expensive options than a four-year liberal arts degree at a private school. A wedding? Well, you know that one is my weakness :) But just as we were creative with our own wedding expenses, we’ll be ready to get creative with theirs – and expect them to contribute, just as we did once upon a time.
Bottom line: These costs are big – yes. But to us, they’d never be the deciding factor in whether or not to add a third child to the fam. Many of the costs are gradual, can be delayed, or are simply optional.
Update two years in: Here, here! Knowing the total joy our third child has brought us, I’m glad this was (and is) our perspective :)And here’s the photographic (almost) two-year update below!
I hope this was helpful, friends! I would really love to hear your thoughts and perspectives in the comments. And of course, though I’ve tried to consider many factors, it should be said that my conclusions here are drawn from our experience with our particular three children. There are many scenarios in which the financial implications for a third child (or any child) could be wildly different – I’m thinking specifically about those who have a child with a disability or extraordinary health needs.
Can you point to anything in your past about which you remember saying, “When our budget has room to breathe/I pay off my loans/I get a raise, I’m finally going to splurge on ______”? I can think of two, and I thought it might be fun to chat about them today.
I’ve mentioned here and there the idea of our household budget expanding over time, which is both somewhat fiddly to talk about but also something I feel it’s important to be realistic about. And also, isn’t it the arc we all hope to realize over time? I’ve been writing this blog for almost 15 years – it spans from the perspective of a college senior to a mid-30’s mom – so I certainly hope my financial situation has changed over our time together. Yours, too :)
And it has. John and I have moved from a season of paying off student loans and entry-level jobs (where splitting a burrito at Chipotle was a rare treat) to a new season where we have advanced in our careers and can comfortably afford most things we want. (Though you better believe we still live by our budget – in fact, I’m thinking of updating that very old post because so many of you have emailed hoping I’d get the example Google Doc fixed up. Let me know if that would be of interest!)
Accordingly, our budget has expanded a bit, and it’s been interesting to adjust our behavior to fit it. It’s been sweet, but also has required some rewiring, some uncertainty, some resetting of expectations. For example, I was chatting with John about buying tickets to Wicked, which is coming to the DPAC here in August. I have wanted to see it for years and years and years, and I said to him that maybe we could make it an early Christmas present? To which he gently said, “You know, we can just go to a show occasionally. We don’t have to try to shoehorn it into the nearest holiday.”
And he’s right – we’ve made room for it in our budget. But old habits die hard :) Which on the whole, I’m grateful for! I’d always rather set my expectations for spending too low than too high.
There are two seemingly small things, though, that years ago I identified as milestones and said to myself, when our budget feels more comfortable, I’ll do those things. That will feel like a splurge. That will really be living, ha. They’re kind of hilarious in retrospect, but here they are:
1. Pre-peeled garlic. Many years ago – probably pre-kids – I remember having lunch at a friend’s house and watching her cook a noodle dish. She pulled a bag of pre-peeled garlic from the fridge, swiftly chopped it up, and added it to a saute pan.
I find peeling garlic to be one of those grating kitchen tasks that slows down my meal prep flow, leaves annoying bits of papery peel drifting around my kitchen, and makes my hands reek. The idea of being able to pluck a clove from a bag and immediately press it into action? The height of luxury.
Alas, I didn’t feel I could justify a $4.50 or so bag of pre-peeled garlic every week when the garlic head was $.50 and lasted at least two weeks. But about a year ago, I decided it was time, and plucked the coveted bag from the produce cooler.
And friends, it’s been as good as I thought it would be all those years. The only downside? The garlic in the fridge spoiled faster than I could use it. But I found a solution: keeping the bag in the freezer! The cloves thaw enough to slice in a few seconds, and since we’re cooking them 90% of the time, we’ve never noticed any difference in flavor.
2. A compost service. Probably five years ago, I heard about a service called Compost Now, which swaps out your full compost bucket for a clean one once a week. They come right to your doorstep – you just have to leave it on your porch. They process your kitchen scraps along with everyone else in your community, and whenever you’d like, you can request bags of dirt, or donate the dirt you’ve contributed to to local community gardens. Amazing! I thought. The price? Not so amazing. (It’s currently $39/month.)
I come from a long line of composters, and it’s something that matters to me. You may recall that we had a good long run of driving our compost bucket to the compost bins in our neighborhood community garden, but it was a hassle that did not survive the addition of a third child to our family.
Earlier this year, I decided our budget could support a Compost Now membership, and it’s been a dream. The bucket lives under our sink and the whole process couldn’t be easier – you can throw in everything from meat and bones to flour and sugar bags, flower arrangements to pizza boxes. I love that we’re able to live out something that matters to us.
In the end, I hope that that’s always what our budget expanding feels like – living into what matters to us more and more, not necessarily just adding comfort or luxury or ease to our lives (though those things are all nice, too!). I’m toying with another Marvelous Money post about generosity, our role in it and how we think about it, and how it changes over time – would love to know if that would be of interest, too.
But of course, I must know: what splurges, big or small, have you realized over time? Especially ones that are recurring versus one-time? Please share!
P.S. If you’re in an area that Compost Now serves (currently: Atlanta, Asheville, Raleigh-Durham, Charleston, and Cincinnati) and also want to splurge, you can use my link to get a $10 service credit.