I realized that I get the same questions over and over again about who I recommend and what products I use… to make it easier, I figured I’d stick all of them here for you to see easily. Likely if you came here looking for one thing, you’ll leave with three or four more. You’re welcome. 🙂
My goal with Busy Budgeter is to always serve you in giving you the best advice to take control of your money and home. Products that are featured are only chosen if I believe that they help me in that mission despite any affiliate commission.
Every product or service featured has been field tested by me. 🙂
While there are products and services featured here that have no affiliate partnership, it should always be assumed that any link on busybudgeter.com is an affiliate link as we constantly seek to create partnerships where one isn’t currently offered with products or services that I recommend to you.
Do you use a product or service not mentioned that saves you time and money? I would LOVE to hear about it! You can email me at [email protected] to tell me about it!
Rosemarie’s Recommendations
(If you’re a blogger looking for recommendations… skip to the next section).
90 Day Budget Bootcamp
This free program helps walk you through the steps needed to get a budget started and worked. If you’re trying to get your money under control, you NEED this.
Programmable Slow Cooker
This well rated slow cooker can switch itself to warm so it can be ready for dinner after a long day at work.
Happy Planner or Living Well Planner
If you’re looking for a usable planner for a budget price- you’ll likely love the Happy Planner. If you’re looking for a top of the line planner, then you’ll want to consider the Living Well Planner.
Frixion Pens
When someone introduced me to these pens they called them life changing and I rolled my eyes. 2 years of exclusive use later, I actually agree with that assessment. These brightly colored planner pens are reasonably priced, comfortable to use and ERASE COMPLETELY. As in, they erase better than a pencil. They’re amazing and they’re all I use. You can find them in Target sometimes, but they’re usually cheaper on Amazon.
*Pro tip- If the paper gets extremely hot (think blow dryer or left in a car all day in Texas) then the ink completely dissapears… to get it to come back, just stick your notebook in the freezer for 20 minutes. I know… it’s weird. But it’s worth it.
Grove Collaborative
I use Grove to buy organic household supplies cheaper than I can get them from Target. I get face cleansing wipes and Method hand soap there much cheaper and auto delivered.
Shipt or Aldi
The absolute best prices you can find in groceries is going to go to ALDI… I love them. I still shop there. If you have an Aldi within a one hour drive, it’s usually worth a stock up trip. If you’re budget can afford the convenience though, then Shipt is AMAZING. They deliver groceries to your door, picked out by an actual person (who lets me know if she sees a better deal and can sub things out for me) for a flat rate of $99 a year. The best part is that I can use this not only for groceries but also for Target if needed.
Target Red Debit Card and Target Subscribe
The Red Card really confuses people but it’s a great deal if you understand it. It’s a debit card, but think of it more like a check you can only use at Target. You sign up for the Red Debit Card and they give you 5% back on every purchase at Target (you can only use the card at Target). You can use this online and combine it with the 5% savings you get for subscribing to auto shipments of your home staples online.
This combination is how I get everything I need to run our house shipped to my door every month and spend less than if I were to go to Target.
Freezeasy
This drag and drop meal planning service lets you make 10 freezer meals in just an hour and was a big part of us slashing our grocery spending.
Liberty Health Share
I use Liberty Health Share as an alternative to health insurance and have been a super fan since I started. It saved us almost $700 a month from our former plan and we pay over $11,000 less out of pocket. It’s not a perfect fit for everyone though, it’s likely only appropriate for you if you don’t have preexisting conditions.
Make Money at Home Master Plan
If you’ve always wanted to work from home but have no idea what options you have or where to get started, this course is a gold mine of knowledge. It uses your personality, natural abilities and unique skill set to find a work at home job that you would love.
Ibotta
This free app that gives you rebates for generic brand purchases at the grocery store is a no-brainer (and how I paid for Christmas while I was paying off debt!)
Credit Sesame
This free app not only gives you insight to your credit score and gives you free copies of your credit report, it also gives you a FREE $50,000 identity theft insurance policy. This is a phone staple for me.
Groupon
I use Groupon to get great deals at local restaurants, events and experiences. It’s been powering date night for a few years now. 🙂
Walmart Pick Up
Another no brainer- but if your trip total is more than $35, Walmart will pack your order for you and load it into your car for free. No dragging kids through the store begging for Pokemon? #sold. You can order through their app and reserve a time to pick up. You stay in your car and they load you up.
Blogging Recommendations
Blog Starter Workbook
This easy step by step workbook gets you up and running the right way so you avoid critical mistakes and actually get it done.
Bluehost
This budget friendly host is what I used to start and build my blog. They were super helpful giving me tech answers and their one click install was something even I could manage. They made the tech aspect of blogging much easier.
Elite Blog Academy
It took me 12 months of blogging before I reached a full-time income. Many bloggers take longer (although some hit the mark faster than I did too). One of the biggest game-changers for me was a class called Elite Blog Academy. EBA took me from “hobby blogger” to professional blogger, step-by-step.
Elite Blog Academy taught me how to make a full-time income from blogging, every step of the way. The biggest drawback of Elite Blog Academy is that it only opens for registration 5 days a year, so unless you have perfect timing, it’s unlikely you’ll get in unless you join the waiting list here.
First 10 Steps to a Profitable Blog Cheat Sheet
This free cheat sheet walks you through each of the critical points of building your blog to make sure that you don’t miss a crucial step.
Grammarly
I use Grammarly as a free app to check basic spelling and grammar on every post I write.
Liberty Health Share
As a full time blogging family, we went from paying over $1,200/month for health insurance to $550/month with Liberty for much better coverage conditions. While this isn’t a great deal for everyone since they exclude coverage of preexisting conditions, this is the service that most professional bloggers I know use.
Convertkit
This email delivery system has all of the power you’ll ever need as a blogging business, while still being easy enough to use it yourself without help. I’m completely tech challenged, and even I can use Convertkit easily. 🙂
Quickbooks Self Employed
For $7.99/month, this service made my first year of taxes a BREEZE. Everything can be run right from the app and it takes all of the guesswork out of how much you should be paying.
Date Your List
If you know you should be sending a newsletter, but have no idea what to write in it then Date Your List is exactly what you need.
Core Affiliate Strategy
If you have an email list over 200 people, but haven’t made any money from your blog, then the Core Affiliate Strategy teaches you how to increase both your income and your trust with your readers using the limited resources you have.
10 Hour Time Block Strategy
If you need to build your blog and have limited time to do it, then this strategy is a life saver. It’s what I used to grow my blog from $18/month to full time income in just 10 months!
Send Owl
This digital product delivery system lets you easily sell your own products by taking orders, taking payments through Paypal and then delivering the products to you.
Boardbooster
This lets you automate pinning to make Pinterest management easier.
Frixion Pens, Highlighters and Markers
Colored pens that erase better than pencil and write like a dream. This is all you can find in my house any more.
Adobe Stock
A reasonably priced stock photo site with a great selection.
PicMonkey
What I use to create graphics and pinnable images.
Trello
The BEST organizational and planning website. Seamlessly tracks your own projects or lets you plan with a team.
Focus@Will
This is pricey at $9.99 a month, but I’ve used it for almost 2 years now and can’t imagine working without it. It plays “brain sounds” in the background on a timer to keep you focused during time blocks.
Profit First
I’m a huge fan of this way of personal accounting for a business. If you’re trying to juggle your business budget and need help… this will be the best money you’ve ever spent.