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Travel Series: Post 1- Trip Prep

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Hello Friends! Welcome to the very first travel series post, all about how to prep for your trip! If you know me in real life (or have followed me for very long) you know I LOVE road trips!  I had a Jeep Commander and drove that adventure tank into the ground. The majority of the miles on him came from the first year after my older daughter, Eva, was born. We traveled to 39 states that first year and then another 4 states after she turned two. She'll be headed to Japan to be with us soon, so I can't wait to road trip with her here on Okinawa as well! Eva and Roman ready to get on the road! As most of you guys know, especially those of you who budget, planning ahead is key to a successful road trip. Without extensive planning, you run the risk of missing out on places to stop or running out of money along the way. So without further ado, here are my top tips for prepping for a road trip! 1. Establish Your Budget ...and STICK TO IT! Nothing turns a fun trip into a burden faster t...
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Plans vs. Pessimists

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"A goal without a plan is just a dream." -Dave Ramsey My whole life I've been someone with big, seemingly impossible goals. I've always known deep down in my soul that I was made for great things and that  with perseverance, a plan, and God's grace...I could reach ANY goal I set for myself and my family. But as everyone knows, the bigger the goal, the more people  will attempt to place doubt in you and tell you that you CAN'T do it. We all know people like that. Pessimists.  People who believe that if they can't accomplish it...no one can. My first real experience with this was when I was 20 and told my sister in law that I wanted to go to college without taking out student loans. She had an associates in nursing and I thought she'd be my cheerleader...but I was in for a surprise.  I will never forget what she said,  "You shouldn't start something you aren't going to finish." Her words cut me s...
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How to Plan a $500 D.C. Wedding

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Yep. You read that title right.  You CAN plan a wedding in Washington D.C. for under $500. Is that a joke? Absolutely not. Does it sound crazy? Absolutely yes.  Let me give you guys a little back story to my wedding. In 2013 I married a friend of mine. I wasn't in love with him and he wasn't in love with me. The entirety of our marriage neither one of us said "I'm in love with you." In fact, we always talked about how we would never say it because it wasn't true. That wedding was, in hindsight, a huge waste of money. We got married in a turn of the century chapel with friends and family and had a lovely reception. Hindsight being 20/20, I saw that we spent the money on a wedding to cover up the mere fact that we didn't really love each other.  Fast forward 5 years and a divorce later...  I started dating the most incredible man I have ever met a few months after getting divorced. Our first date lasted 16 hours because we didn't want ...
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Bare Bones Budget Breakdown

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Happy Sunday Friends!  Today Stacey and I went "Zillow shopping" for a home. For us (and I'm sure many of you) reaching a big goal is MUCH easier when you have the visual right in front of you. Our "big goal" is to buy land and a home in cash. Yes, you read that correctly...CASH.  So we found a home and property that will serve as a visual reminder as we live on a "bare bones budget" over the next 3 years while we're living in Japan. (Photo: Courtesy of The Langston Group) What is a "bare bones budget"? For us, it is cutting down every line in our budget to the minimum we  can possibly spend to increase our savings towards our much larger goal.  We haven't decided if I'll return to teaching yet,  so I'm calculating the numbers based on our ONE income. Here are our REAL numbers, transparent and broken down. JAPAN BARE BONES BUDGET Est. Monthly Paid: $3,372  Wifi- $95 (Cheapest Plan) Gr...
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Freezer Stock Up: What to Buy & How to Use It

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Happy Thursday Friends! Wow, what a week its been already.  Here in Japan they restricted the movement of the soldiers and families to the base due to COVID-19. Luckily we have awesome medical facilities, a post office, small grocery store, and even smaller home store. To help with our sanity, the husband and I went on  a little shopping trip before everyone was paid to stock up two weeks worth of groceries. We came home and 70% of what we bought went straight into the freezer.  Freezing the majority of our groceries and taking out only what we need every day saves us TONS of money every month and I wanted to share those tips with you all! I know during this pandemic, access to fresh foods might not be as easy,  so having healthy options frozen is SO important!  So without further ado... Here's how we stock our freezer for our small family and how to use it! Freezer Door FRUIT: This is a no-brainer for us here on the ...
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Welcome Friends!

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Welcome Friends,  I'm so glad you're here! I'm Jenna: military spouse, mama to two girls, and homemaker. The Marine Corps moves us all over the world, but we manage to stay  nurtured and nested by growing our family's roots deep wherever we are planted. I hope you'll follow along as we share about military life, home design, finance,  and all other aspects of this grand adventure we call life! 
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