How did you and your husband meet? Brody and I met at Chick-fil-a when we were 17 and 18. We worked together all summer and instantly became friends. We spent a lot of time together going through life and navigating our friendship for two years before he asked me out on our first date. When did you know that he was the one you were going to marry? After our first date, I just knew that we would get married. I don’t know how to explain the feeling or how I knew, but I firmly believe that it was God’s plan. Once we both seriously talked about marriage, our timeline, and what that would look like ..read more

As adults, we are now living in the “real world” full of real stress and real struggles. Our biggest worries no longer include what color crayons we’re going to use and if we’ll have a date for prom. In the real world, we are learning how to navigate our stress and where to focus our time and energy to be the most successful versions of ourselves. But what we don’t always account for is when we are faced with decisions of being thoughtful and kind, or disrespectful and inconsiderate. It typically is so much easier for us to take advantage of those around us, to use them for our own gain, and ..read more

It is surprising how comfortable we have all become with the concept of debt. How many times have you heard a friend complain about their student loans, expensive car payments, or credit card debt? If you are in a lot of debt and paying high-interest rates on that debt, you can feel totally hopeless and overwhelmed. We have normalized debt so much as a society but it shouldn’t be normal.  Debt is sometimes unavoidable when it comes to student loans or a mortgage.  However, the true negative impacts of debt can come from other sources like high-interest rate credit cards, car loans ..read more

Why is consistency so important? Because the habits you create for yourself now are easier to maintain for the rest of your life.  So what are some important habits to create at this point in your life? 1) Budgeting. Start the habit of budgeting your money NOW. This isn’t something you should be consistently putting on the back burner. This is what will make or break your financial success in life. If you are constantly overspending, unsure of how much money you have or how much you need to cover your bills and expenses every month, you won’t be able to live a life of less stress.  2 ..read more

Character and integrity are qualities that we most want in the people we are in a relationship with, whether our co-workers, friends, family, bosses or significant others.  Do we have that same expectation of ourselves?  Are we treating others how we want to be treated? Are we working to change our own attitudes and making the effort to do the right thing in our own lives?  Or do we find our first instinct to be self-serving, living in offense, seeking power & control, and overall have a self-focused mentality? We all struggle at some point with that.  It takes intenti ..read more

If you’re wanting to become financially stable or have a little something set aside for a rainy day, you’re going to want to open a savings account. Really if you’re a living, breathing human you’re going to want to open a savings account. Here’s a simple step-by-step on how to open one. 1. If you don’t already have a personal checking account, shop around on Google to see what bank offers the best savings account (preferably with no fees). 2. If opening a savings account with a physical bank (i.e. Bank of America, Wells Fargo, etc.) rather than with an online bank (i.e. Capital One, AMEX, Cit ..read more

Long-distance relationships are hard, I know this because I’m currently in one. When you really like someone, especially when they’ve become your best friend, it is practically torture to go weeks or even months without seeing them. So I’ve compiled a shortlist of some ways to make it easier, and hopefully a little better, while you and your S.O. are apart. 1. Take time to talk. This is probably the most important thing when it comes to relationships, period, but especially long-distance relationships where the other person isn’t involved in your day-to-day activities and community. Communicat ..read more

Let’s face it, some of us are taking isolation extremely well and others… well, we’re not. There are people taking advantage of all the extra free time by learning 12 new hobbies, reading 14 books, and doing tons of self-development during the stay at home orders. Then there’s those of us who binge tons of Netflix, drink (a-lot) more wine than normal, and have a hard time staying motivated for normal everyday responsibilities. For some of you, it may even be a victory to just get up and out of bed for the day. Regardless of where you fall on this spectrum, here are our favorite daily habits t ..read more

We’ve put together three ways to help you make the most of your relief check during the covid-19 pandemic. 1. Pay your bills (like rent!!). This check is meant to help us get through the current economic crisis, which means those of us who have been financially affected, specifically those of us who have lost our jobs, need this money to go straight towards paying rent, paying for groceries, and making ends meet until work starts again. We should use this money to our advantage rather than spending it on things we don’t need. 2. Save it for a rainy day. Everyone needs a solid rainy day fund ..read more

Over 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment last week. Nearly 10 million in two weeks.  Like many of you, my employment and salary was also affected by COVID-19. I can totally relate to how stressful these uncertain times can be. Especially when you are solely responsible for upcoming rent, student loan debt, credit card debt, and bills on bills to pay! Take a deep breath – you got this. Let’s create a plan. Taking action will help you feel like you have some control while you weather the storm. These are the steps I took the day I learned that I was being laid off temporarily ..read more