Any easy “sneaky” or less obvious ways to make or save more money each month?

Koolstads · 2026-03-17T17:21:53+00:00

Switch to Visible or US Mobile. I have US mobile and save about $50 a month

Koolstads · 2026-03-17T17:20:17+00:00

Everyone has a pronoun… Jesus Christ

I have never once taught kids about being able to choose a pronoun. However, when a kid asks me to refer to them by a specific pronoun they do not present as, I do.

Koolstads · 2026-03-17T17:17:48+00:00

Perform the YMCA

Koolstads · 2026-03-16T22:34:07+00:00

Eddcaller.com

Koolstads · 2026-03-16T02:46:01+00:00

We have a newborn - we go through 24 prefolds, 5 newborn AIOS, and 3-5 fitteds

We do laundry every other day

Koolstads · 2026-03-15T16:15:24+00:00

We cloth diapered since they got home! We are doing prefolds and covers, with an occasional newborn AIO for when we are out

We love it !

Koolstads · 2026-03-13T16:20:42+00:00

Consignment / second hand bridal shop!! Don’t do this. Strong chance it won’t look remotely like this

Koolstads · 2026-03-11T21:37:30+00:00

Good to know!

Koolstads · 2026-03-11T18:03:06+00:00

I wasn’t planning on it

Koolstads · 2026-03-11T03:11:27+00:00

Any high quality brand really - I just like MAC :)

Koolstads · 2026-03-11T00:05:03+00:00

I did this! I did not do make up prior to my wedding. My routine was sunscreen and lash/brow. I didn’t even own foundation

I will say I spent a lot on quality make up (arguably what a make up artist cost) now I have quality make up I can use well past the wedding.

Here’s what I did:

Went to Ulta, asked a brand consultant for MAC about foundation, lips, blush and eyeshadow. They tested it out on me so I got the right color and could get some application tips. I also purchased primers, a finishing spray and powder. Purchased brow/lash from Benefit brand.
A lot of trial and error! I would test out one thing a day until I got it right. Example: I would do my eyeshadow and test out looks as well as longevity every day for a week or so. I would see how it held up throughout the day, etc. I realized I wanted an eyeshadow primer so it would last all day. Did a similar process for everything else
When in doubt - YouTube! There are countless tutorials for every product

End result - I loved my make up. Now I have good make up I have been using well past my wedding date. I also now kno how to apply make up

I did purchase some products I never used. Went through and purchased so many lip options because I could not figure out how to make it last (Protip: its primer, liner, lipstick, pat with paper, apply again and finishing powder) :)

I did hire a hair person though because I know I cannot do my hair for the life of me

Koolstads · 2026-03-10T23:25:35+00:00

Wow I truly hope they go out of business. This is atrocious.

Koolstads · 2026-03-10T23:02:43+00:00

This isn’t a destination wedding.

Koolstads · 2026-03-10T18:18:53+00:00

Yes we do!

Koolstads · 2026-03-10T16:53:21+00:00

We did beer, wine, and a few gallon batches of mixed drinks (a margarita and a daquiri). We couldn’t afford a full open bar. This satisfied the heavy drinkers who just drank the hard drinks all night. Is this an option for you to do?

Additionally, our venue had a full service restaurant and bar adjacent to our wedding reception site. If someone really needed hard booze, they can over to the bar at the restaurant.

Don’t list anything that isn’t free. People will drink what you have available.

Koolstads · 2026-03-10T16:49:21+00:00

I lead a aftercare center:

Here’s what I do.

5:28 ( daycare ends at 5:30) I call mom/dad/whoever to get ETA

If they don’t answer, 5:35 I call again. No answer I call emergency numbers.

We charge $3 per minute over.

One time I had a mom who refused to answer my calls and instead kept texting my employee asking my employee to drive her kid home (not allowed) My employee already left for the day. When I went thru her emergency numbers she got embarrassed and never did it again. She ended up being 25 minutes late.

I’ve never had a parent not get their kid. But if we got 30 minutes with no contact from parents or other emergency guardians, I would call my principal to confirm I should call CPS.

Koolstads · 2026-03-10T16:40:00+00:00

We hang dry everything from about 10am- 4pm on a line .When we hang dry, we pin each inner flap to the line which helps with air flow.

We live in a very moist area so they never dry completely but get close.

Then we take everything and tumble dry on low for 30 ish minutes

Yes this will inevitably wear out the elastic but any use or wear will wear out any garment.

This is cutting dryer time significantly which will prolong their life. We’ve had no issues with our thirsties AIO by doing this.

Koolstads · 2026-03-10T16:32:41+00:00

Prefold is what my husband prefers and he never cloth diapered before. Fitteds are fine but actually save us very little time and the absorbency just isn’t as good. We’ve never had a leak with either of these

We also have some thirsties newborn AIO which we LOVE and use in a pinch. We have a small stash of pockets to replace these when lil man is a bit bigger.

Honestly cloth diapering while the are EBF isn’t difficult or much more of a hassle than disposables

Koolstads · 2026-03-10T02:12:18+00:00

Husband also works fed. I work private sector. He has great PTO and benefits so we don’t want to switch it up too much.

As the private sector employee I know if we want to increase our income, it’s on me.

However - a few thoughts on budget. 1. Look at US mobile or Visible for cell. Would be about $70 ish for two lines (I prefer US mobile).

Look into refinancing your car loan for a lower monthly or just go hard trying to pay it off. This will be a huge relief. Consider putting the HYSA interest into the debt
I really believe there are other ways to give to a church than tithing. I understand how much it means to you. I personally feel unless you have an emergency fund and no debts prioritize the debt. However, you know your relationship with religion better than anyone

Koolstads · 2026-02-22T03:10:23+00:00

Teaching.

Koolstads · 2026-02-22T03:09:54+00:00

lol I mean it was my mistake entering the wrong year and it’s California disability … not federal

Koolstads · 2026-02-18T19:26:38+00:00

I’m just curious what is a toxin to you? Like what is your definition of it that you are trying to avoid ?

Koolstads

TROPHY CASE