Kristin Stones holding a cup of coffee

Hi, I’m Kristin

And I want to welcome you to my site, Cents + Purpose, thanks for being here.

I help people learn how to love life on a budget…it’s possible, I promise! 

This is where I share all my best tips and tricks that helped us pay off over $54,000 of debt in under 20 months!

I have a heart for helping women take back control of their finances and live a more purposeful life.

I’m a recovering people-pleaser with a penchant for run-on sentences, home decor, self-development, and trashy reality TV.

You can usually find me happily working at home while listening to audiobooks and daydreaming about moving to the West Coast.

I spent my life with money burning a hole in my pocket. 

Much to my bank account’s disappointment, I married someone with the same affliction.

One day, we woke up and found ourselves almost $55,000 in debt and living basically on one income… (read more about how we got into debt here.)

I felt so hopeless.   

I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit and had left my previous full-time job to pursue my dreams of owning my own business. 

But it wasn’t working…we were incurring more debt, and I wasn’t increasing my income. 

The business pursuits that I was once so passionate about were draining my spirit and my bank account…

One year ago, I made my obligatory New Year’s resolution to get out of debt, save money blah, blah, you’ve heard this one before, right? 

Then I got word of a personal finance class being held at a local church. 

Through divine intervention, my husband agreed to join me and we made the decision to finally commit to fixing our finances once and for all. 

The course completely changed the trajectory of our lives! 

Over the next (almost) two years, we paid off a total of $54,500 of debt, got through the holiday season without having to use our credit card, and saved an emergency fund!

Does My Story Sound Like Your Own?

I GET IT.  I have been there.  I know how hopeless you feel because I felt the same. 

I want to help you take the necessary steps to turn your life around!

I want to walk with you and encourage you on your journey to financial freedom. 

I know it might seem impossible that you could pay off your debt and live a life free of money stress and fear.

But you can do it, trust me.

If you will just make the commitment to yourself and your family…

If you will just take action

I believe in you!

Our personal financial journey has felt like a miracle to us, and I believe I was called to pay it forward and share the lessons we learned with you.

This site is my passion project. 

I began initially to give back – my attempt at blessing others since we’ve been so greatly blessed!

I had a blog years ago and always thought of possibly starting another, but never felt passionate enough about any other topic to devote so much time because writing a blog is truly a labor of love.

I’ve always wanted to earn a living by helping other people in some way. 

One of my favorite quotes says “Service to many leads to greatness.” this was spoken by the late Jim Rohn who believed that we become successful when we help others become successful.

I’m finally feeling successful with my finances but it took a long time to get here and while there is still a lot of work to be done, I am confident that the changes we’ve made and the new habits we’ve formed are here to stay and I want to help you be successful as well!

It quickly dawned on me that I could earn money through my blog as well.

So that is why I’m here.  To increase my income by spending my days pouring into my passion for finances and helping others.

I believe there is no greater – or more fulfilling – way to earn a living than by helping others improve their lives in some way!

This site is where I break down every step we took to get our lives on track, financially speaking. 

I want this to be a resource for you to find the tools you need to make some major changes in your life and find some financial peace.

The very best place to start is with a budget. 

These posts will help you learn how to create a simple (yet functional) monthly budget you can actually stick to.

Debt payoff image

C+P is Here to Help

This site is where I break down every step we took to get our lives on track, financially speaking. 

I want this to be a resource for you to find the tools you need to make some major changes in your life and find some financial peace.

The very best place to start is with a budget. 

These posts will help you learn how to create a simple (yet functional) monthly budget you can actually stick to.

Once you have your budget set up then you will want to start saving money and paying off your debt.

These posts will help…

Want more great content?

Follow me on InstagramYouTube + Facebook for more money tips and a peek behind the scenes you won’t find on the blog.

Questions? Contact me