Intentional Living

To “live intentionally” means to live according to your values and beliefs.  I believe when we commit to being more thoughtful in how we spend our time and our money we can overcome the overwhelm, reduce financial stress, and live a more purposeful life.

Intentional living allows us to take better care of our minds and our bodies, and in turn, better care of those around us.

Here you’ll find content to help you spend less time and money on the things that matter less so you can create margin in your life and your budget to spend more on the things that matter most.

Friends fighting at the table

Her Friend Turned a Two-Person 50/50 Trip Into a Three-Bedroom Airbnb With a Boyfriend and an Overnight Guest and Still Expects the Costs to Split Evenly While Taking the Master Bedroom With the Private Bath for Herself

ByKristin Stones

She and her friend planned a trip to the Dominican Republic, agreeing to split the Airbnb, food, and alcohol costs 50/50. That arrangement was straightforward until her friend started adding people to the trip: her boyfriend staying the entire time, plus a local friend she wanted to include as an overnight guest too, which led…

Woman sitting on couch with her head in her hands

Her Mother Took Out $10,000 in Federal Student Loans Using Her Daughter’s Social Security Number and Personal Information, Registered the Account to Her Own Email, and Has Let the Loans Default

ByKristin Stones

She’d discovered roughly $10,000 in student loans tied to her name entirely by accident, noticing her credit score declining rapidly while checking details through a student credit card. Tracking down the source, she found three separate loans through a federal student loan servicer, loans she’d never applied for, never signed for, and had no prior…

Old man holding his hands on his cane

His New Young Wife Thought She Was Marrying Into Rental Properties and Substantial Savings But Didn’t Realize His Assets Were Already Locked in a Trust His Daughter Controlled

ByKristin Stones

Her sister and brother-in-law had been married roughly 30 years, raising five children together before eventually divorcing. About 20 years later, as her brother-in-law approached 80, he hired a young housekeeper who reportedly fell for him quickly and convinced him to marry her. By that point, her brother-in-law owned his own home along with about…

Woman looking down at her phone with a worried look on her face

She Inherited a Car Her Grandfather Specifically Named Her for in His Will and Her Brother With Three Kids Wants Her to Sign It Over To Him Because She Walks to Work and He Needs It Every Day

ByKristin Stones

Her grandfather passed away in February and left her his 2016 car with about 90,000 miles on it, an unremarkable vehicle worth roughly $6,000 in practical terms. What made the inheritance notable wasn’t the car itself, it was that he named her specifically in the will for it, a decision that surprised everyone in the…

Friends fighting at the table

Her Girlfriend Co-Signed a $90,000 Truck Loan for Her Father With $1,200 Monthly Payments Without Saying a Word Until It Was Already Approved, and She Lives Paycheck to Paycheck

ByKristin Stones

She and her girlfriend had been together for about two years, living together and relying on each other’s income, especially now given both a recent job funding loss and an ongoing move. Her girlfriend didn’t currently have a car, and getting her one had been an active, shared priority. Against that backdrop, she learned that…

Woman putting her hand up to refuse an engagment ring

He Wants to Buy a Lab-Grown Diamond That’s Chemically Identical to Natural and His Girlfriend Said No, Called Him Cheap, and Is Hinting at a $10,000 Ring That Costs as Much as a Used Car

ByKristin Stones

He’d been shopping for an engagement ring when his girlfriend accidentally came across pricing for affordable options online, likely from a retailer like Ritani, and had since started hinting toward a ring in the $10,000 plus range, roughly the cost of a used Honda. In response, he’d been researching lab-grown diamonds instead, drawn to the…