In my efforts to help us all love our life and live our best life, I feel the need to talk about how easily we tend to judge or compare ourselves to what we perceive of others. My mission in life is to help just one person stop comparing, stop criticizing and to just stop wasting time and LOVE YOUR LIFE! Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

It is increasingly harder and harder in today’s world not to fall into the trap of believing other people’s image as their reality. This is not to say people are being fake or dis-genuine but let’s be real, most of us show what we want each other to see. Even if unintentionally misleading, in the world of social media today, most of us have painted a picture to the outside world that doesn’t always reflect our actual world, or at least not our normal day to day real life.

My goal is and always will be to be authentic and genuine in all that I do. So in that, I want to talk about a social media post I made back in the spring of...

There is often a vague big picture vision of things before they actually come to be. That’s been my experience anyway. The vision isn’t necessarily focused or clear. It doesn’t come with how to’s or money or guarantees.

But it does come with hope, and that’s what keeps you going in the fog.

For years I’ve been looking forward to this time in our lives. I’d originally only conceived it as a small seed idea in my mind (maybe my heart), and now it’s time to share it here on the blog – that my hubby Derek quit his job.

Ever since we had our second child, maybe even our first I can’t remember back, I’d brought up the idea of Derek staying home with the kids when I return to work. Always half joking with a “wouldn’t it be nice” flare to it.

We didn’t exactly know that we had the ability to actually make a plan like that come to fruition at that stage in our lives. We were both caught up in the...

Whether you are drowning in debt and need to dig out of it or are already debt free looking to stay there, you’ve come to the right place for helpful information. Below are 10 habits of debt free people. Use them to help plan your journey.

Debt Free People;

1. LIVE UNDER THEIR MEANS:

To be and live debt free, you need to live below your means. PERIOD. This is the single most important thing you can do to become and stay debt free. The additional funds between your lifestyle and what you're take home income are, is what you use to pay down debt and build wealth. There is no room for “keeping up with the Joneses” in this lifestyle, I will put that out there right now, right away.

2. MINIMAL INCOME MINDSET:

The fastest way to save money and/or pay down debt is to put large amounts of money into it, no easy task. Like living under your means, a great way to manage your money is to change your money mindset. First off, tell yourself that you make less than you do.

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A lot of the time when you start dating, fall in love, marry, and move in together, it’s traditional that the “next step” is to have babies. This may not be true for all and some may do things in a different order but regardless of that, the idea of “playing house” is generally very different from the reality of it.

If you have or decide to have children, among being a huge giant blessing, they are also quite frankly, a lot of work. Parenting is such an extremely hard job and no one really truly talks about that up front. Don’t get me wrong, it’s ridiculously rewarding, which is likely why the hard part is glossed over.

I’ve been lucky in love to have a partner whom I’ve chosen to do life with. He and I work hard and have been blessed with 4 precious beings we get to care for, love and laugh with.

Happy parents, happy children; try these 8 tips to build and maintain a strong marriage while parenting:

1. Take turns being strong

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Spending time with your love doesn’t have to cost a small fortune. You can have fun and spend meaningful time together while sticking to a budget. Here’s how:

1. Have a wine & cheese night

Grab your fave wine, or even one (or two!) you haven’t tried before. Pair it up with some cheese and snacks and viola! Perfection.

An added adventure here if your really feeling it is to pair wine and cheese from different countries … you can travel the world together from the comfort of your own home …. cheesy I know (see what I did there?!)

2. Go thrifting or antiquing together

This is one of our favourite things to do. You never know what gem or next diy project you’ll find. The best part is, you don’t even have to find anything at all. Browsing history and talking about the items past and possibilities together is a beautiful way to pass some quality time.

3. Volunteer Together

Not only do studies show that acts of kindness increase overall...

The path to setting your year straight: Make a come back from holiday debt.

Are you feeling the effects of a holiday debt hangover? Follow these 6 steps to get back on track again.

#1: You need to assess the damage

Total up your gifts given. You should know what you bought or be able to track it fairly easily. I would suggest adding 15% (20% – be honest!) for gift giving related expenses. What does this mean? Think wrapping paper and cute gift bags, lunches while out shopping, maybe parking costs to shop, candy cane lattes …. etc etc .

Be real with getting the total damage here, we can only work on what we know and see. If you hide a body under a rug too long…. you may not see it but it will start to stink! Let’s air it all out in the open and work towards the debt as a whole.

#2 Cut the Credit

That’s not a typo, cut the credit cards up! Before you stop reading now or delete your following, hear me out. You do not need a credit card to do life. You...

“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.“

H. Jackson Brown Junior

A New Year often brings a time for reflection and a time for planning. Do you make New Year resolutions? Whether you do or not it’s important to set goals.

You do not need to wait for a new year, new month, or even Monday to start a new challenge, but many do.

If you want to be in the Top 1% of achievers you need to set goals. I’m not talking about New Year resolutions saying half heartedly that you’ll hit the gym three times a week and then never step foot in it again after Jan 15th, or that you will pay of your credit card debt you stacked up from Christmas only to hit the biggest boxing week blowout because the deals were so good you couldn’t resist, I’m talking BHAGS! big, hairy,...

Okay so do you all want to talk about what we did for our 10th wedding anniversary? 10th! TENTH!! Huge right? That’s a whole decade of being married, what an accomplishment. Well, we have 4 young children, and so, like other days we came home and had a real fancy meal consisting of tacos (it was hockey night) and exchanged a few nice sentimental gifts. That’s true love my friends, doing real life with your person. It was perfect. That being said, when the weekend came we turned up the fancy to level 2, here we go. That weekend my mom happened to ask the kids over. Well 3/4 (we kept baby as she’s still EBF), so we decided to have our “anniversary dinner”. Hubby stopped by Costco (yes you read that right folks, Costco) on his way home and got a seafood dish we had been drooling over for months that just wasn’t in our budget. We paired it with his fave beer and a wine I’d been gifted and “voila” the perfect date!!! This sounds...

Living simply, or simplifying things where ever possible, is a tactic you can apply to help enjoy your time and love your life.

When things are simplified you will be more productive, feel better about how you utilize your time, have an easier time with decision making and an overall happier and more content disposition.

When it comes to how you store items and what you choose to host in your home, KEEP IT SUPER SIMPLE = KISS!

If you are tired of your home space feeling cluttered and the weight of “stuff” weighing you down, following these simple steps to organize your home in just one week!

and remember…..KISS

Before you start:  – get some containers or boxes together along with some trash bags. You will have items you can give away to others you know in need, donate to a charity, sell and a lot of trash as well.

• Next: pick the room or closet you will start with and set a timer. Sometimes things seem very hard and overwhelming but knowing there...