Brave Saver

08/16/2022

A recent pos

05/13/2020

I was honored to share my story on the Beyond The Dollar podcast, hosted by Sarah Li Cain.

I open up about my religious background, the internalized sexism I’ve struggled with, and how it’s impacted my financial and career choices.

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Give it a listen and let me know if you can relate to my story, and if you've been impacted by similar things.

https://beyondthedollar.co/mormonism-money-motherhood-with-elyssa-kirkham/

Elyssa Kirham, writer at Brave Saver, speaks about the conflict she felt as a member of the Mormon church when it came to becoming financially secure. She talks about how growing up, she was taught being a mom is her only goal in life, why wanting to work is frowned upon, the conflict she felt…

05/13/2020

Financial stress is an almost universal experience. If left unchecked, this money stress can damage both your financial and mental health.

03/02/2020

Money, like our belongings, helps us create the lives we want. It's a tool to get us to the destination of our best selves.⁠⠀
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Does how you’re managing your money match the lifestyle you want? Are you making that life possible by getting your finances in shape? ⁠⠀
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When you can imagine your financial destination, as Kondo points out, then you can see the best way to use your tools (finances and tidying) to get there.⁠⠀
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This quote was featured in a Brave Saver blog post: "KonMari Your Money: 12 Marie Kondo-Inspired Tips to Tidy Your Finances." Visit the link in my bio for the full read!⁠⠀

https://bravesaver.com/2019/01/15/konmari-money-marie-kondo-tips-organize-finances/

02/28/2020

Money's almost always tied into my big emotions. The resentment over sending in student loan and car payments every month. The fear when a client stops assigning me work. Or that tax season I wound up owing more than $8,000.

It can be healthy and even justified to get mad or upset over money. Some situations truly are messed up, unfair, or stacked against you.

But dwelling on the anger too long isn't productive. Getting worked up and mad does nothing to change the situation or resolve it faster. All it does is make something admittedly unpleasant into a personal agony.

Instead, turn frustration, anger, shame or any other negative emotion into fuel. Use it to get motivated

I can't erase past debt mistakes, I can work my butt off to make sure there's an end in sight to my debt payments.

If you're pi**ed off that health insurance is so expensive, turn that emotional energy toward searching for a job with better benefits.

It sucks when your car breaks down, but you can use that to fuel efforts to save an emergency fund so that next time it won't be so stressful.

That anger is a powerful sign that you have a lot of fight in you, and it's time to channel it to your real obstacles and enemies. Get mad, stay mad — and then get motivated. Your money monsters won't stand a chance.

02/26/2020

I'm *so* excited to share this one with you!
Part of my back-to-school routine is creating a menu for school lunches. In the past it's been simpler, but this year I wanted the make a 2-week menu. Then I figured I'd make a grocery list to go with. And then that got me thinking... maybe this is something my audience would find helpful, too?
In my latest post, I share 10 cheap school lunch ideas that create a 2-week menu. Best of all, each lunch costs less than $1.
This post lists these 10 ideas, tips for each lunch, as well as a downloadable menu and grocery list at the end. I've also linked a google spreadsheet that you can copy to customize your own lunch menu.
Head over and leave a comment if you find it helpful. And let me know below – do you have any additional cheap and yummy lunch ideas to add?

https://bravesaver.com/2019/09/26/cheap-school-lunch-ideas-menu/

02/24/2020

A Brave Saver post I haven't shared here yet. To read, visit https://bravesaver.com/2019/11/14/moms-justify-choices/

As women and moms, we feel the pressure. We internalize it. We come to believe that we have to come up with reasons why the choices we want to make are the right choices for our families.

We can spend on ourselves... but only if everyone else first has what they need. If we've triple-checked the budget. If we shave a little off the grocery budget to make it work.

We can get time to ourselves... only if it doesn't take away from time with our kids. Or if our spouse isn't feeling neglected. Or if all the to-dos and errands have been checked off first.

From the small choices to the big, the pressure to put others first is immense.

That's why I wrote this post. To tell you that what you want matters. You get to choose you, without justification, without compromise. Because you are important. And you deserve space and money and time.

Because the pursuit of our own health and happiness needs no justification; it is inherently just.

Moms, women, and people: what you want matters. It's not selfish to prioritize yourself. It's the greatest gift you can give yourself and others, to fully own your choices and live a full and meaningful life.

https://bravesaver.com/2019/11/14/moms-justify-choices/

02/19/2020

"Rediscovering things I own helps curb shopping impulses in two ways. First, I see how much I already have and am not using — proof I don’t need to buy more. And second, I can rediscover a neglected hobby or get creative with using what I own, getting a boost without spending anything.

Even if I don’t own something, I might be able to borrow it if needed — especially if it’s something I only plan to use once or very occasionally. Check a book or movie out from the library, for example. Or borrow a dress from a friend for a work party, or a specialty cake pan from a sister."

https://bravesaver.com/2020/01/23/fight-emotional-shopping/

02/17/2020

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"I wish someone would just show up and dump money on all these financial fires."⁠⠀
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When life gets overwhelming and there are so many problems to solve, I've often wished for someone to show up and make it all right. ⁠⠀
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Some Actual Adult™ who knows the right thing to do, can fix all my problems, release me from my responsibilities, and probably organize my underwear drawer while they're at it.⁠⠀
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But while I was waiting, life was happening. Opportunities passed me by. Small problems became big problems.⁠⠀
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At some point, we have to shed the helplessness and take responsibility for our money and our lives. There is no one coming to save us. No one else has all the answers. ⁠⠀
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We have to figure it out. We must grow into the person we've always been waiting for.⁠⠀
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And you know, I think we're up to the challenge.⁠⠀
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I want to hear you give yourself credit for showing up for yourself. What was something you did in 2019 to make life better and easier for yourself? What are you proud of doing in 2019?

https://bravesaver.com/2019/12/04/save-your-own-self/

02/15/2020

As I mentioned in a recent post, my three-year-old is staying at home with me through August. I wanted to write out more about my concerns and strategies when it comes to managing this transition.

Because I want to get better at looking at things that seem hard, challenging, even scary — and do them anyway if they're what I want and believe in. That's a huge part of what I think it means to be a Brave Saver.

Honestly, I don't expect it to go perfectly. So I'm shooting for good enough, and trying to trust myself and the process enough to figure it out as I go.

I'd also welcome tips from other stay- or work-at-home parents. How do you deal with having kids around all day, every day? What are your best tips and strategies?

https://bravesaver.com/2020/01/16/update-stay-at-home/

02/12/2020

There are a lot of stories we tell ourselves about our finances. I've found I often idealize money in one of two ways:⁠⠀
1. My approach is ideal, fine, and needs no changes.⁠⠀
2. Other people's finances are ideal, so much better than mine, and I'll never be that good.⁠⠀

Both financial fantasies keep me stuck. The first is a comforting lie that keeps me from growing. The second convinces me that everyone else has it figured out, and all I need to do is follow their advice.⁠⠀

Both of them keep me from an important step: dealing with my financial reality.⁠⠀

https://bravesaver.com/2019/08/07/financial-fantasy-money-reality/

02/07/2020

When my money worries kick up, I try to ask what's really going on, what I'm really afraid of.
And then I make a specific, concrete plan to address those fears directly.
Recently, I was worried about paying quarterly taxes for my freelance business. I had the money set aside so I paid on time, but calculating and sending in what I owed was STRESSFUL — some of the worse days for anxiety I've had in months.
I decided it didn't make sense to put myself through that again. So I'm making a plan to get help (hire an accountant) to make sure I'm handling things correctly.
Take a minute to think about your money stress, and where it's coming from. We can't always wave a wand over the money problems that are our biggest pain points, I know. Some things, like saving up and emergency fund or paying off debt, will take years to accomplish.
But you don't need to be stressed out that whole time. Making a plan and putting it in place can put you back in control and make you feel empowered. It can help quiet fears when you know you're taking steps toward a solution and making real progress.

https://bravesaver.com/2019/10/02/how-much-money-save/