I’m Kimberly—a web designer, author, and fellow traveler in my second act, sharing stories from the journey of money struggles, faith wrestling, and finding your footing in unexpected seasons. This is for women navigating life’s transitions with grace, whether that’s empty nests, financial stress, creative dreams, or simply learning to define success on your own terms.
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AI can be used for many terrible ideas, but I’ve found a pretty great way to use AI to help me out. I fed Claude AI my various non-identifying financial information, and I asked it a few questions to see where I can cut and how to optimize the family finances. Wait, what? Let’s get…
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The current economy has brought out a desire for frugal living wisdom. It has also brought out a lot of mockery of what I like to call “grandparent amnesia” where older folks give advice that hasn’t worked for 30 years. I’m 55, about to talk about frugal living, and hopefully I’m not going to act…
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When you find yourself in the credit card trap, where you want to pay your card off but don’t have enough to clear the entire balance. Add to that, you also use your card, you might feel frustrated and stuck. Maybe you don’t want to get rid of credit cards altogether, but you also don’t…
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So there’s this verse in the Bible, right in the middle of the “love” chapter in fact, where Paul says, “we see through a glass darkly”. The modern translation would be “We’re looking through a dirty window” or “We’re looking at a dirty mirror”. In other words, we don’t see clearly. Or as clearly as…
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I am, by nature, a sarcastic person. I try not to be the mean kind of sarcastic. I guess maybe the right term would be sardonic, but most people have even less of a clue about what that means. Witty. Yeah. I’m witty. I also wrestle often with the current advice to the poor (having…
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Does having good credit matter even if you are avoiding debt? The short answer, yes. Here’s why. Back when I was young and thought I knew everything, I was also a big fan of talking heads who also think they know the One Right Way to Do Everything. Looking at you, Dave Ramsey. Any Dave…
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This post is just a little more insight into who I am and where I’m coming from. It took me a while to put it into words, and to pare it down so it wasn’t 20,000 words long. I know it’s still long. But this is my story, at least the parts where money, passion,…
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Ever notice those who manipulate you to ignore your calling because some other activity is “more spiritual” are also usually the ones pursuing their calling and manipulating people to take part? Am I the only one who sacrificed my calling for someone else’s? I was just thinking about this. For YEARS…literal years…I was in churches…
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In a perfect world, I’d create the ideal daily schedule, full of all the productive things, and stick to it without a hitch. I’d fill each minute of each day with only good things that help me press forward towards my goals. …In a perfect world. Alas, the world is not perfect. I’m not perfect.…
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How much is “enough”? I often wrestled with knowing what I “Should” put into savings versus what I “Could” put there. I built a small but significant habit during our lean years that helped change everything for our family. I decided to start putting money into savings, no matter how small the amount, whenever I…