Paper Heart of Mine

Sharing my daily joys.

RedBubble Sticker Haul

I was compensated for this post. This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

It is no secret that I love buying Stickers from RedBubble! They have hands down the best and most affordable stickers that I have found. The variety of stickers and products available is unparalleled. What I love most about Red Bubble is that it is a community of independent artists that are able to upload their work to be printed on a variety of things – stickers, t-shirts, phone cases, wall art, onesies – you name it. Because of this, you get a bunch of truly unique pieces in whatever niche you call your own. I love buying stickers to represent my fandoms – images that are super inside jokes of the things I love most.

Obviously, being the planner girl that I am, I love RedBubble’s stickers for die cuts in my planner. You can stick the sticker on cardstock, laminate it, and pop that bad boy in your planner for an awesome and unique die cut. I love it.

Today’s project, is however, not planner related, but rather deco related. Behold my blank canvas below!

Look at the packaging – even the envelope is awesome!

I haven’t had a new computer in 7 years – and when I purchased this computer the hardest thing was to figure out what case I was going to use. Ugh. I shopped for days – do I go with Harry Potter? The Beatles? Music? Marble? Solid Black? and then I thought…why not all of them – enter: Red Bubble!

I opted for a clear case, and decided to use a bunch of stickers representing a variety of all the things I love and am passionate about – I’m super excited.

The winning theme is black, white and grey (shocker). You can choose the size of each sticker to fit what need you have. The quality is excellent – the stickers are thick, durable, and the ink does not smudge.

Below is a full list of all the stickers I purchased in this round of Red Bubble:

  1. Missigno Pokemon
  2. Whats my age again?
  3. Fight Item Run Pkmn
  4. Theatre
  5. Millennium Falcon
  6. Harry Potter Spells
  7. Circle of Fifths
  8. Starry Switch
  9. Zelda Triforce
  10. The Cavern

When I laid out everything preliminarily – there are still some gaps and I want the entire case completely covered, so I will be placing another order with Red Bubble soon! I’ll keep you guys updated on what the final product looks like!

Check out the link below, and Find your thing with RedBubble!

I was compensated for this post. This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

6 Side Hustles to Try NOW!

As an Amazon affiliate, I make a small commission based on qualifying purchases. Please read full disclaimer here.

It’s no secret that my husband and I are working our butts off to pay off these student loans early. Student loans are crippling; sometimes I feel like I am being crushed from the weight of all of them. I’d had enough, and decided to push it into overdrive by paying off our student loans early. This brings me to this list of side hustles I’ve used to generate extra income to throw at our student loans. If you’re looking for some ideas to pay off your debt early, or maybe just need some extra cash, then read on!

  1. VIPKid – by my favorite side hustle. VIPKid is a company that connects elementary aged students in China to teachers in America and Canada to learn English. Essentially, you go through the presentation (that VIPKid uploads) with the student, correct their pronunciation, and encourage them with high energy. Then you write your feedback for the lesson. I’ve been teaching with VIPKid since May of 2019, making between $700 – $1100 extra dollars a month, depending on how much I choose to work. You can read more about VIPKid in this post here, and you can read about their hiring process here. It’s a lot of fun, and if playing with kids comes naturally to you, you will be great at this job! Check out VIPKid at this link. 
  1. Essay Grader – I recently picked up another side hustle that also ranks highly on my favorites list! I am working as an essay grader to a company that sort of works like an online community college. The classes are online, so there is no instructor. For this job, the requirements are a master’s degree and experience teaching college. It pays $7.50 per essay, and sometimes offers bonuses up to $9.50 – which is awesome! I love the flexibility this side hustle provides me – I log on after the baby goes to bed or before she wakes up, and make some extra money! You could search online for ‘Grader’ positions if this is something that interests you. 
  1. Summer Camps – My husband and I both have taken advantage of our summer time availability to teach a summer camp or two. I’ve done all sorts of camps – Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Day Camps, etc, and they have all been a blast. Basically, you pick what you’re interested in, design a curriculum around it, and hang out with kids for the week…it’s awesome! They are usually a week commitment and pay anywhere from $500 – $800 a week for 3 hours of work a day. This is ideal if you are a teacher, but could work if you have the ability to take PTO or vacation time. It’s a great way to make extra money on top of your existing paycheck or full time job 🙂 
  1. Survey Junkie – I know it’s absurd, but I love taking surveys. Absolutely love them. Anytime I get an email asking to take a customer satisfaction survey, I’m in. When the gym emailed asking about the new classes, and what I’d like to see in the future? I took it. I take surveys for free. I take surveys for fun.  And now, I take surveys and get paid. This is not a primary side hustle for me; it’s more of a way to make a couple extra dollars of spending money. I usually do this while I’m relaxing in front of the TV (currently re-watching House, any other Hugh Laurie fans?), watching Netflix, and drinking a cup of yummy tea. Delightful.The surveys relax me and let me unwind from the day. I also like to take them while I’m waiting in the doctor’s office – I did this a lot while I was pregnant. Rather than scrolling through Instagram, why not make a dollar or two while you wait to be seen? It’s a perfect way to make a couple extra dollars of spending money on a given day.  Click the link below to check it out!
  1. Etsy Shop – an Etsy shop is a great way to generate some income if you have a product to sell! In the past, I’ve sold planner stickers and planner kits to decorate and pretty-fy your planner. (Check this blog post here to see what I mean). Right now, I’m selling a few printables focusing on helping others with their debt free journey. One of my goals is to grow this shop and offer more printables to help people! Take a look at my little Etsy Shop Here.
  1. Teachers Pay Teachers – this is another place I’m hoping to grow and offer more resources to help teachers. I love shopping at TpT because I know the money I spend is going directly to another teacher. Being a teacher is not easy! The ratio between the amount of time you put into your job versus your actual salary is ridiculously warped, so I love that I am supporting another teacher financially. I’ve been working really diligently this school year to create beautiful worksheets that I can sell on TpT. Here’s my little TpT Store!

Whelp there you have it! These are the 6 side hustles we use to make extra income to pay off our student loans. What are your favorite side hustles?

Make Extra Income with VIPKid!

As an Amazon affiliate, I make a small commission based on qualifying purchases. Please read full disclaimer here.

In our debt payoff journey, one of the side hustles I have found to be the most lucrative and straight forward is working with VIPKid. Now that I’ve just signed my third contract – (has it really been a year??) I feel like I can make a pretty comprehensive list of pros and cons about what working for them looks like.

What is VIPKid?

What is VIPKid, you may ask? VIPKid is a company that connects elementary aged students in China to teachers in America and Canada to learn English. For the actual lesson, VIPKid uploads the PowerPoint presentation for the student’s current lesson. Essentially, you go through the presentation with the student, correct their pronunciation, and encourage them with high energy. Then you write your feedback for the lesson. Everything is set up for you.  It’s a lot of fun, and if playing with kids comes naturally to you, you will be great at this job. 

What experience do I need? 

You don’t need any formal teaching experience, just a bachelor’s degree and experience working with children in some capacity. Remember that summer you volunteered at Vacation Bible School? That counts. Babysit a lot as a teenager? That counts too. They just want to see that you have experience with children.  

What do I need to invest in? 

Technically nothing, but there are a few things that will make your life a bit easier. 

Headphones: I’d suggest using a pair of headphones with a microphone for clarity purposes. I use this pair here and they have served me well over the past 12 months. A pair of iPhone headphones should also do the trick, but they hurt my ears after a while. The Logitech ones are cushy, and when I’m teaching 4 hours of back to back classes, my ears (and extra ear piercings!) are thankful. 

Lighting: VIPKid requires that your face be well lit, with no shadows at all times. I have a lamp set up in front of me while I am teaching, but this little light right here really does the trick. It has a clip that affixes to my desk, I plug it into my USB port, and BOOM. I am illuminated. 

A background – VIPKid requires that you have a professional background, but what that looks like is up to you. I’ve seen people who use bookshelves, a plain wall with a map poster, shelves of toys and props, bulletin boards, etc. My background is a piece of driftwood fabric from Hobby Lobby, my reward system and a globe sign with my name on it from the Target Dollar Spot. Your set up does not need to be anything too wild or elaborate, unless you want it to be! The main point is to have an area in your home that you can dedicate to VIPKid where you wont be interrupted by any other family member in your house. You can check out my Pinterest board with tons of background ideas and reward systems for more inspiration. 

High Speed Internet – You need to have a reliable internet connection that doesn’t freeze or experience any lagging issues so that you can teach the students in real time. 

Webcam – Some sort of Webcam set up so that you can teach the students is required by VIPKid – you won’t be able to do your job without it.

PROS of Teaching with VIPKid

  1. You cannot beat the commute! Working from home is amazing. I wake up 15 minutes before class, wash my face, throw on an orange t-shirt, shuffle down to my basement and VOILA I am at work.
  2. Flexibility – You can set your own schedule with whenever you’d like to work. If you’re going away on vacation, you can take your set up with you and teach while you’re on vacation! Or, you could just not. You don’t need to “take time off.” If you don’t feel like teaching for a week, you don’t have to teach. It’s totally up to you.
  3. The Money – You can make anywhere from $16-$22 an hour teaching with VIPKid depending on your experience and your credentials. Personally, I make $20. I usually squeeze in an hour before my teaching job during the school year – that’s $100 extra dollars a week, or $400 extra dollars a month, or $4800 a year just for doing an hour of playing with kids before I go to my full time job. Worth it. 
  4. It’s fun. I actually enjoy my time with the kids, and as you build relationships with them it only becomes more enjoyable. One student draws me a picture every lesson. Another kid likes to do ‘cheers’ with our water cups at the end of class. One little girl draws hearts on the goodbye screen for me everyday, and another likes to reward me for doing a good job as a teacher. They are literally the cutest thing ever. Sure you get kids that act a fool, but they are the exception and not the majority. 
  5. Sidehustlin’ – no matter what your reason for sidehustlin’ is, you can do this. Maybe you’re saving for a house, or looking to add a little to your vacation fund. Maybe, like me, you are looking to accelerate the process of paying off your student loan debts. Whatever the reason, VIPKid is a great option, and has served me and my family well as we work to pay off our student loans. 

CONS of Teaching with VIPKid

  1. Time Difference – you may be waking up at absurd hours of the night to teach classes, based on your time zone. On the east coast, we are exactly 12 hours behind them, so when it’s 5pm in China, it’s 5am here. Some mornings, I wake up at 4am to teach classes. It is what it is though, and the extra money and convenience of being at home are worth it to me.
  2. It’s a slow start – it does take about a month to get consistent bookings, or at least it did for me. Stay patient and consistent, and the bookings will come.
  3. Little control over which students book you-  I want to preface this with 99% of the kids are awesome. This is actually mathematically correct, as I’ve taught 202 kids, and only 2 of them have been awful – 1%. But those two kids, man oh man, they gave me a run for my money. VIPKid doesn’t have a way to block students who are behavior issues. Basically, as long as they are not in physical danger or displaying any sort of nudity, we are expected to keep teaching them (it’s never come to that in my classes). I say this not to put you off, but to make sure you are informed. Like I said, most of the children are AH-MAY-ZING, but I have had behavior problems, and there’s really no way to handle it other than to deal with it. 

If you are thinking about pursuing VIPKid, I say, do it. I tell my husband all the time: I wish we had done this sooner. Doing this gives me an extra $700-$1000 dollars a month depending on how much I work, which goes right to paying off our student loans. I feel like we’re making progress, and I feel empowered, like I finally have control of our money. You can feel this way too! 

If you’re  interested, you can read this post about the interview and hiring process. This is my referral link for VIPKid – if you decide to apply and use my code, shoot me an email and I will gladly help support you throughout the process. This has changed my life, and I hope that you can see a change in yours if that’s where you are in your journey. 

Top 10 favorite Erin Condren Life Planner Spreads

My instagram feed has been flooded with some really beautiful Erin Condren spreads recently, and while I haven’t planned in an Erin Condren in over two years, I still think they are so beautiful and amazing to look at. I’ve wanted to do this post for a while, but what I was unprepared for was the wave of emotions as I re-read and took photos of my spreads. 

As I took my planners off the shelves and started to flip through them, it really took me to a reflective state of mind. Nostalgia washed over me in waves as I contemplated where I was four years ago and who I used to be. I saw the sweet moments of experiences with my boyfriend, who become my fiance, my husband, and the father of our beautiful daughter. I flipped through pages of wedding planning, engagement photos, and vendor deposits. I saw my sister’s 21st birthday dinner – she’s married now to an incredible person. I saw funerals, parties and get togethers. I remembered snow-ma-geddon, when my then fiance and I had to dig our cars out of 3 feet of snow, and thought about how our neighborhood rallied together.  I looked through family time, outings, and game nights. My life was so different four years ago, but it is still very much the same – surrounded with family, friends, love and joy – and that is truly beautiful. 

Today, I’ll be sharing my favorite 10 spreads in my Erin Condren Horizontal and Vertical planners. I hope you enjoy!

#10 – Teal and Summery

I don’t know what it is about this spread, but it just makes me think of summer! Maybe it’s the teal with the neutral? I don’t know – either way it makes me want to take a dip in a nice cool pool with a margarita.

#9 – Cozy Christmas

I mean, who doesn’t love a festive Christmas spread? I love the neutral toned down palette. I also especially loved reading through the events – it gives me such tidings of comfort and joy to see my family’s traditions, and I love that we do the same things every year together.

#8 – Purple and Black

Purple and black is so my jam. I remember getting the diamond washi tape and being so excited to use it.

#7 – Pink, Black, and Grey Neutral

Pink, black, and grey is so classic. I love the Chanel bag (…my dream bag!) and the neutral tones of this spread. The paper clips are also some of my favorites!

#6 – Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, part 2! Another festive spread – I love the red and gold, and the ugly Christmas sweater is so fun! The woodland animals with hats are just adorable, making his one of my favorites.

#5 – Purple and Pink Floral

For me, this set up is so punchy. I don’t know why – the punches of the coral and purple underlined with the black accents make me so happy. I love crisp black lines and so this one is a top favorite for me.

#4 – Moody Neutral Marble

I am OBSESSED with the colors in this. I love marble patterns, and the colors here are just stunning. The Kraft sticky note was such a fun find at the Target dollar spot – one of my [former] shopping weaknesses.

#3 – Teal and Pink

Another bright, cheerful color palette -the teal dress in the middle is one of my favorites, coupled with the gold diamond washi.

#2 – Valentines Week

I must have been going through a pink phase four years ago, because every other spread is pink! One thing I really loved about this spread was the gold – I used sparkly glitter washi squares and cut them down to size, and they make me so happy.

#1 – Wedding Week

For obvious reasons, our wedding week is the winner of my favorite spread. Such a joyful and happy time in my life, where I would be forever changed. I love the wedding countdown stickers, I love the honeymoon countdown stickers for our vacation to Disneyland – there is so much joy in this post!

So there you have it! My top 10 favorite Erin Condren spreads – this was so much fun to do, I think I may do it with some of my Traveler’s Notebook spreads as well.

Happy Planning, everyone!

5 Reasons to use Google Drive in your classroom (..and how I use it in mine)!

As an Amazon affiliate, I make a small commission based on qualifying purchases. Please read full disclaimer here.

Google Drive has changed me as an educator – it saves me time, saves me space, and it has allowed me to become the organized teacher that I always envisioned. Whenever I lead a professional development session for my colleagues, I always get “This is amazing! Your lessons are so clear! You’re so organized!” Well, you can be, too, with a little help and understanding of Google Drive. 

Benefits of Google Drive:

  1. Paperless classroom – I am very fortunate in that I work with students in a 1 to 1 device school. If you are in a 1 to 1 device learning environment, or an environment where students are permitted an iPad or laptop, this approach can be highly successful. With Google Drive, there is no lost work and no crushed papers in the bottom of your bag. You can practice minimalism in your classroom because you don’t need to find a place to store all their papers, notebooks and journals while you grade them. If you are a floater teacher, (like me!), you are set up for success, as you will always have all of your lesson plans, hand outs, and teaching materials with you. You are not taking home a ton of stuff to grade because those assignments are now on your computer – for me that means I’m not lugging home 60 marble copy books for their journals, or 60 ten page research papers, or 60 sets of 20 notecards. I’m also not lugging home my lesson plan book, which is also hosted on Google Drive, more on that here. I’m not carrying home anything at all, as a matter of fact, which brings me to my next point. 
  2. You do not have to lug your work computer home – all of your work is hosted on the cloud. I’m not sure about your job, but at mine, our computers are far from sexy. They are these huge clunky things that take up a million of space in my bag. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very grateful, but I don’t want to carry it home. If I do need to access any of my work files for whatever the reason, all I do is log on to my Google Drive account from my home computer and BAM – everything is there. 
  3. Auto Saves Work – What’s nice about Google Drive is that it saves every keystroke, so you (and your students) never have to save again. If the computer crashes, you can log onto a different device (even a cell phone with the app downloaded) and access all of your files with no glitches. 
  4. Elimates the run around from students  – “Oh, I turned it in, you didn’t get it?” – “I swear I turned it in!” – “Oh? The attachment didn’t work? That’s so crazy!” – “Oh. My computer crashed last night so I couldn’t do it and I lost my whole research paper, so can I get an extension?” There is always that one kid. Right now as you are reading this, I’m sure you’re picturing that one student that is always trying to get over, always trying your last nerve, and always trying to get out of being held accountable. Everything is time stamped for the “Oh…I turned it in crowd” and saved automatically for the “Oh…my computer crashed crowd” eliminating the run-around. It’s such a great feature.
  5. Collaboration – Google Drive is the most amazing thing in the world for group projects. THE MOST AMAZING THING.  Google Drive allows the option for multiple collaborators on one document. You cangrant more than one person permission to edit a document. More on that below. 

How I use it in my classroom:

  1. Three words: Dynamic Shared Folders – Students create a folder on Google Drive, and give me permission to edit it. This means that I can access their Student Work folder, and collaborate with the students on all their assignments. I can rearrange, organize, make comments, and provide them with feedback on any and all assignments. It’s glorious. 
  2. All Worksheets are digital – What’s nice about this is that you can actually upload pre existing Word Documents or PowerPoint presentations to Google Drive and distribute them that way, too! I use the platform to push worksheets to my students, that they then make a copy of, complete and submit it electronically.  I can review their work in one of two ways – 1. I can go into their Dynamic Shared Folder and check it out that way or 2. Students submit their  work online using your school’s LMS (Blackbaud, OnCampus, PowerSchool, Moodle, Etc). I usually go in through the LMS. 
  3. Groupwork – Google Drive is 10/10 a game changer for groupwork.You can assign one group presentation, and each kiddo can be on the document at the same time, and simultaneously make live edits. You can also go into the blueprint of the document, and see which student typed up which slide, eliminating the “Who did the work?” question. It’s amazing. Think about this on a team scale too – how many times have you been trying to collaborate with your team and you send a word document electronically, and then someone else makes edits, and sends it back, and then another person makes changes, but they edited the old document and not the new one – it’s confusing and difficult. Google Drive eliminates all of that – you send your team the link to one document, and everyone edits that one document. 
  4. Journals – Gone are the days of those stupid marble copy books. Hello Google Drive Journals! I push the kids their journals every Monday electronically, and they have the week to complete them. 
  5. Discussion Boards – not only can you do small group work with Google Drive, but you can do cross-sectional group work as well! Say I’m teaching two sections of Honors – I will put both sections of Honors on one discussion board document, and the kids are able to work with the kids in the other section electronically. It’s so fun. 

There are some drawbacks to Google Drive as well, but I think the positives outweigh the negatives. For me, I think the only real negative is being on the computer constantly. You’re looking at a computer screen all the time. Invest in some of those blue light glasses because constantly looking at a screen can give you a headache. Take breaks, drink water, and move around. I also think Google Drive can be cumbersome if you are using a trackpad and not a mouse. My work laptop only comes with a trackpad. Our IT department bought me this mouse – it’s cheap and it works great for what I need to do. I have dropped it a thousand times, and it is still going strong!  I find myself getting frustrated when I forget my mouse somewhere – I can whip through things so quickly when I’m using a mouse, and I think it’s worth the $12 investment. 

Like I tell my colleagues when I lead a PD session on Google Drive – Do one thing at a time. Pick one thing and try it.  I made the switch to a paperless classroom gradually. The first year, I committed to doing Journals. As I got comfortable with that, I added some electronic lessons, like discussion boards. When I felt good about that, I switched over my lesson plan book to Google Drive. Then, I switched my entire Multi-phase Composition over to Google Drive (thesis, notecards, annotated bibliography, outline, rough draft, peer edit, and final paper). THAT was so scary for me!! I was worried I was going to do something wrong, and that my students would be confused. I was scared of failure. But I learned, I figured it out, and it was a success.  Now, everything I do in my classroom is on Google Drive. It doesn’t have to be an overnight process. But if you put your mind to it and choose one area to learn, you can also have success in your classroom!

Are you using Google Drive in your classroom? How do you use Google Drive? I’m always looking for new ways and new creative lessons! Share in the comments below 🙂

Harry Potter TN Set Up

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Y’all, I absolutely love this set up.

It’s been sitting on my desk for an embarrassing amount of time, I’ll admit, because you know. Life. But I still can’t bear to disassemble it because I just love it so much.

Since I started planning in 2014, I’ve been collecting Harry Potter Stuff – planner stickers and washi tape specifically. When I made the switch to TN’s, I [obviously] amassed a ton of Harry Potter die cuts [as one does when they plan in a TN], and so I’m happy to show off a bit of my collection here. I hope you enjoy!

I just love it. The planner itself is a Foxy Fix Boss Babe No. 2 in Cambridge leather. Swoon. I just felt like it had that old world Harry Potter feel. Like a spell book. Or maybe that homework planner that Hermione bought Ron and Harry in OOtP.

The Planner Sack is from Shameless Stickers and I love it. It gives me a Hagrid/Care of Magical Creatures vibe, but its also a practical way to store my planner. They grey goes with everything and it is so soft. The Prongs planner charm is also from Shameless.

Golden Snitch and Coffee Cup from Studio L2E, Sticky Notes from Nerdy Paper Co., Stopper in Death from Ursa Mama Creations

I was going for a classic Harry Potter vibe using the classic house colors. I found a digital paper pack from a shop called Coffee Doodles on Etsy. I loved the primary colors, and I printed them on cardstock from Amazon. I’m so pleased with the way it turned out, and it is a cheaper alternative to buying scrapbook paper at a craft store.

Sticker kit is from Nerdy Paper Co.

I love love love the midnight vibe of this sticker kit from Nerdy Paper Co. She has the BEST Harry Potter Stuff, and I use so many of her items in this set up (and others, too!).

Dashboards and Quidditch Gal are also from Nerdy Paper Co.
Another little area I love.

Finally, here is what the inside back cover looks like – I love the way it turned out.

I swear, people in this planner community are so talented – I wish I could draw! This is another favorite spot in this set up. The Ravenclaw Sweatshirt and HP Letter Diecuts are from JkruuuPlans, and the Always Dashboard is another Nerdy Paper Co. I always laminate all of my die cuts with this laminator off Amazon. It makes them last forever and they are then reusable

Well, those are some of the highlights – if you’re interested in the full flip, the YouTube video is at the top of this page 🙂

What’s your favorite place to get Harry Potter planner stuff from? I’m always looking for new shops 🙂

10 ways to cut costs while you are paying off debt

Affiliate disclaimer here.

I want to pay off my student loans so badly I can feel it in my bones. Seriously. After being on this debt free journey for about 6 months now, I’ve become a bit more experienced on ways to cut costs while one the journey. So I thought I’d share some of the basics with you guys today! Here are 10 ways I cut costs in my own life. 

  1. Begin on a budget – It all starts and ends with a budget. I know, I know. Insert the eye roll for reading this the millionth time [here]. But it is so true, and so critical to your success that it is impossible to not mention budgeting. 6 months ago, my husband and I put ourselves on a budget for the first time. We were so frustrated trying to figure out everything and with the baby’s child care expenses, it was turning into a nightmare. When we added our paychecks together, we were making $X amount of dollars, but for the life of us we couldn’t figure out where that money was going. Enter: THE BUDGET –  ahhhhhhh! and stick to it! This will save you so much money in the long run, because you will avoid overspending, mindless shopping, and impulse purchasing which can save you thousands.  I will never go back to not budgeting. Ever. 
  1. Slash your budget. Did you do your budget? Ok, Awesome! Now, look at everything, and cut out 3 things. No seriously. Slash it.  Cut back just the basics – electric, groceries, housing, and water. What can you live without? Get rid of that cable bill. We cut subscription boxes, got rid of our storage locker, cut cable entirely and got YouTube TV instead, then we cut YouTube TV because we wanted to save even more money. We set a grocery budget, but now I play a game where I try and spend less than the budget, and put the money back into our student loans. 
  1. Ditch the gym membership – this cut me the deepest. I HATED getting rid of our gym membership, and it’s the membership we held on to the longest. I actually go to the gym 4ish times a week, including when I was 9 months pregnant. I used the pool every day in the summer (hello, teacherlife!) I had watched all the other mommas take their babies to the little teeny baby play area for years, and for years I could not wait to go to the pool with my baby girl. It hurt me. It hurt me bad. It cut me real deep. But that money had to go to the student loans. The sooner we pay these student loans off the sooner we get to enjoy things like this again. Instead, I purchased the Beachbody App for my smart tv and there are a million home workouts to do that are all super challenging and have kept me active. I plan on buying a $20 baby pool for my sweet girl this summer. This will have to do! She’s not going to remember it anyway….
  1. Meal Prep – having a plan always saves you money. I repeat, having a plan always saves you money. Now, I’ve always been a weekly grocery shopper, I’ve always been a meal prepper, and I’ve always been a healthy eater. Because of #QuarantineLyfe, my husband and I have been limiting our exposure by only going to the grocery store once a month. That means we sit down at the good ol’ kitchen room table, search through pinterest for healthy meals, and plan them out for a month. I have never tried a month of meal prep before, but holy hell, does it save time, energy and money. We look for recipes, we add the ingredients to our shopping list. If there’s anything strange on the list that we don’t have handy, then we find another recipe that will use that ingredient, we add it to the meal prep calendar. Rinse. Lather. Repeat. 
  1. Cash Back Apps – I would be remiss if I did not address Ebates and Ibotta (referral code is IMUPSCY). I’ve received over $500 cash back from just using these two apps alone. You can really get some killer savings with these apps when you combine your cash back savings with shopping in the clearance section, using coupons, and purchasing with gift cards. I will not buy a damn thing unless I can save money using at least two ways, no matter how big or how small the purchase. 
  1. Groceries – do you need designer groceries? While you may think this question sounds ridiculous, that is exactly what you are doing when you buy a name or commercialized brand of groceries. Let me introduce to you: Aldi. Another store that has changed my life. It is a no frills grocery store. I’m talking you bag your own groceries, and they only stock one brand (their own, which is delicious btw) of groceries. But do you really need to deliberate between 3 different types of Caesar Dressing? I don’t. Time and money. When they have a sale, too? All bets are off. Last time I went grocery shopping, their honey wheat bread was on sale for 50 cents a loaf. 50. Cents. I bought four, and froze 3 of them. Boom.
  1. Download reward apps – and actually use them! Dunkin’ and Starbucks both have amazing reward apps. My husband and I, both being teachers, get HELLA gift cards at Christmas and the end of the year from our kiddos, and I immediately load them into the app. Once you’ve earned X amount of points or bought X amount of drinks you get free coffee. Free coffee! I’m obsessed with free stuff. Whatever your ‘thing’ is, see if you can find a reward app for it. 
  1. Credit Card Rewards – tread carefully with this one. If credit card usage is too tempting for you, you may want to avoid this entirely. My husband and I make a purchase that we budget for, and then we immediately pay it off, like when I get in the car after the grocery store, or after pumping gas. Day care gets auto paid to our credit card, and then we immediately pay it off. We don’t wait until the end of the month. We don’t carry a balance ever. BUT –  for every purchase on our card we get cashback – score! We take that cashback, and transfer it into our student loans. Every little bit helps!
  1. Groupon – I’ve been a groupon customer for 8 years. Whenever I’m looking for gifts, experiences or something to do, I always start on Groupon. They sell all kinds of gifts (Christmas, Birthday, Etc) on here, as well as deeply discounted experiences. For example, last year for my Mom’s birthday, I wanted for all of us to go to an escape room together. I searched on groupon – BAM – fifty percent off. Oh, also? You can layer on Ebates on top of your already discounted Groupon purchases. DOUBLE BAM. BAM BAM. Winning. My referral code for Groupon is here if you are interested in its awesomeness. 
  1. Just Say No – The hardest thing to do when you are trying to cut costs is to just say no. The amount of times I have been unable to join friends for dinner, or say no to happy hour after work, or pass on a morning coffee craving for Dunkin, or pack a lunch instead of going out with coworkers on a half day is endless. The list goes on and on. 

My goal is to pay off my student loans, and I feel that goal so deeply, to the core of my being. There is nothing at this moment I want more than to pay these loans off so that I can give our family the life I want for us. Read more about that here. To me, that’s worth the price of a couple of dinners and my gym membership. My friends and family understand. This moment of sacrifice is temporary and worth the price we have to pay to be debt free and get rid of those student loans.

What about you? How have you cut costs to better your life? Feel free to comment below on ways you’ve cut costs in your own life – I’d love to hear from you – this journey is all about support, right?

How to start your debt free journey in 3 steps

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We all have debt. Student loans. Credit card. A mortgage. Car notes. iPhone loans. A monthly payment plan for item X, Y and Z. Financing an engagement ring. Financing a wedding. 

Having debt is ‘normal’. Living debt free is not….so why, you ask? Why the change, all of a sudden? I’ll tell you why. Motherhood.

Motherhood has rocked me to the core of my being and in the most profound and joyous way possible.

It has me questioning and reexamining every life choice I have ever made and making new decisions to put our family on the path to success. I want to give my daughter experiences that shape her into a strong woman. I want her to use her imagination through creative play. I want her to have a home where she feels safe, welcome and loved. I want her to succeed when she works hard. I want her to fail, and learn how to accept failure with grace. 

This became my why, and I think it’s important for everyone to establish that reason why before undergoing this process. 

Why do you want to get out of debt? How will you start your debt free journey? What is your why? Go ahead and begin that process of self-reflection. 

Reexamining my life after she was born is an exhausting and ongoing process. I was overwhelmed trying to figure out how to pay child care, and frustrated to tears. Everytime a new bill came in, whether it was medical or car insurance, it was a scramble to figure out how to pay for it. We did it, but it was stressful. We could make it every month, but only barely, with pennies left over, living paycheck to paycheck.

What was most frustrating was that we don’t even live an extravagant lifestyle. Working on two teacher salaries, and with student loan payments to make every month we know we can’t afford to go on vacation or go out to eat every week. I know I can’t buy any sort of designer handbags or go shopping. We clipped coupons, we shopped sales, and we lived frugally. Where was our money going? 

Something had to change with the way we were living. With money being tight already and then add this new child care expense which is double our mortgage payment every month [did you just choke? I just choked a little…] we had to get it together, and we were on a timeline before our baby girl arrived. 

The first thing we did was pay off our car notes. We made double payments on our Chevy, and then once that car was paid off, we used the amount allocated for the Chevy to pay off our Honda. We made double payments on the Honda, and then managed to pay it off in January. What I didn’t know at the time, was that this method was called the debt snowball, but what I DID know was that I knew how exhilarating it felt to pay off a debt, and have an extra $500 a month to save for baby girl. I felt empowered. 

It was around this time that I found the book The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. We were staying at my Aunt and Uncle’s cabin, and they had it lying around. I picked it up, and read it cover to cover, and thought to myself: this could work. If you’re looking for an easy read with summer approaching, I highly recommend this book. I could not put it down and it has changed our lives.

The next thing I did was at 6 months pregnant, I found a second job. I started teaching with VIPKid, which is a company where you teach English to Chinese Children via webcam. More on that process here.

The push I needed from freeing up the income from our car notes, and making extra income through my second job had me searching online about ways to get rid of debt. I knew in my heart that knocking out our student loan debts was what is best for us, and this was a turning point for our family. 

How to start YOUR debt free journey:

  1. Become fed up. Done. Frustrated to tears. Hate your debt. I hate my student loans more than anything else in the world and that pushes me to sacrifice deeply for our family.
  2. Determine your why. Why do you want to get out of debt? A better life for your family? To buy a house? To stay at home with your kids? 
  3. Determine your plan. How are you going to accomplish this goal? Will you pick up an extra job? Will you cut back on other financial commitments? Having a plan of action is critical to your success. 

We began this process about 6 months ago, and have been met with nothing but positivity.

We are on our way to financial freedom. 

Why I no longer plan in an Erin Condren Teacher Planner…(and what I use instead)

My days are WILD. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. I think the wild-ness of teaching is part of the draw for me – I love the unexpected, and I love that every day I walk into something different – it’s new, the kids are exciting and I am not chained to a desk all day.

However, with all the chaos that is inherent to teaching, so is my natural desire to find order, simplicity and minimalism in my classroom environment. I’m a floater teacher – my regular course load this year consisted of Middle and High School Choir, 9th Grade English, Intro to Theatre, Musical Theatre and 8th Grade Theatre.

I teach in a different space Every. Single. Period. Because of my transience, 5 years ago I switched to a paperless classroom. I refuse to wheel composition books and binders home to grade with me in a cart. I refuse to spend what little planning time I have chained to the copier. I refuse to spend time, energy and money developing a way for students to turn in worksheets, or throw my back out carrying around paper copies of essays to grade. I decided to take back my life and work SMARTER, not HARDER.  Classwork, homework, novels, teaching materials are all scanned electronically and submitted using a combination of Google Drive and our online learning platform, and I finally feel like I have found balance between teaching, grading, organization, and my personal life.

…but for some reason I held on to a paper planner for the duration of my 10-year teaching adventure. I drunk the Erin Condren Kool-Aid Long ago, and I suppose it was the last thing I wanted to give up to go truly digital. In my Erin Condren days,  I spent a whole planning period on Friday afternoons filling out my lesson plans for the following week – meticulously writing each class in a different color, decorating with appropriate stickers, fashioning my to-do lists with gusto and aplomb, but I wasted so much time that I could be putting to the one million of tasks that are thrown my way in a day. Around December, out went my ritual of writing in the planner. I was just too damn busy.

Taking out my beautiful, huge Erin Condren Teacher Planner on the tiny high-top tables eventually started to stress me out. It was just another task on my to-do list, I wasn’t enjoying it, and I was falling into disorganization because I wasn’t writing my lessons down. It was also physically weighing me down because I had to carry that big beautiful planner in my teacher bag every single period. Is it really worth it?

I parted ways with my Erin Condren Teacher planner this February. It pained me to do so, because it’s gorgeous and expensive and I loved it, but it just wasn’t working with my current situation. If I still had one classroom space where I could spread out and keep it in one spot, it would be more functional for me, but with my current teaching situation as a floater, it just doesn’t work.

I just want everyone to take a moment of silence for my Erin Condren.

Ok. Thanks. Because it was a hard parting, because I do love her and she is beautiful. I just really like saving money and functionality more.

Now, enter: THE GOOGLE DRIVE LESSON PLANNER.

Game changer. Total and complete game changer.

Of course, I first turned to Pinterest and did a search for ‘digital teacher planner.’

And what I found, I was not disappointed.

Having my planner on my laptop has been a complete and total game changer. I used this particular one from Teachers Pay Teachers. There are A MILLION ways to customize this planner. Not only does she include two different themes, but she also includes the Google Drive file templates for anywhere from 1-8 classes in horizontal and vertical layouts, as well as the monthly views for each month of the year. You have all the files you need to create a custom teacher planner of your choice. If you find that digital planing is not your thing, you can always print the files and put them in your own binding. There’s also a digital sticker pack she includes to decorate with things like “Early Release” and “Field Trip” that are also completely customizable. If that’s not enough, she includes FREE updates for life. That’s right. FREE. Every year you can log in and download the upcoming school year’s templates and it’s AMAZING. I paid $17.99 ONE TIME for a planner that makes my life a million times easier, compared to the $60 I spent YEARLY on my Erin Condren. I mean, on a tight teacher salary…even TIGHTER now that we have Baby Girl’s childcare to pay for … it’s really a no brainer. I’ve even converted multiple members of our teaching faculty to this planner. It’s amazing!

I’ve been operating out of a paperless classroom for maybe 4+ years now…I have no idea why I waited so long to switch to a digital format for my lesson plan book. It only seems natural to make the switch. My students love it too, because I frequently project it at the beginning of class to set the tone for the week. “Now everybody take out your planners – let’s take a look at what we have going on this week!” and “Here’s what’s coming up…when would YOU like to take your test?” Giving them a say in something as simple as scheduling a test or project makes them feel like they are part of the process of this collaborative learning…(especially when I could care less if a test is on Wednesday or Thursday…)

My parting thoughts are that if you have any inclination or impulse to try digital planning but you feel nervous, or overwhelmed, take the plunge and DO IT. There’s no time like the present, and with being on the brink of summer, it’s a good time to try it out and get your bearings before the school year. You will LOVE it!

Here is the link again if you are interested in checking it out!

I’d love talking about planners, and I’d love to know what kind of teacher planner do YOU use? Digital? Erin Condren? Plum paper?

Creating ‘space’ and switching to TNs

Well it’s been a minute.

And by a minute I obviously mean more than 2 years – yikes.

I’m not too sure why I let things lapse the way I did….exhaustion? Theatre Rehearsals? Insecurity?

All I know now is that I am feeling more creative and inspired than ever, and I so I just opened up a folder today and started typing.

Maybe it’s the nesting…with Baby Girl due in August, I’m just feeling a strong pull to organize and Marie Kondo the shit out of my life. In the past month my husband and I have cleaned out our storage locker, thrown away bags of ‘stuff’ that was dirty, broken or unusable, reorganized our basement, donated my husband’s bachelor’ pad furniture to Second Chance, and given 28 bags of housewares, bakeware and clothing to Purple Heart – and we live in a 928 square foot Baltimore City rowhome – where did all this crap come from? An our house wasn’t even messy to start with! Crazy how much things can accumulate.READ MORE

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