Last night, my son and I went to the Chris Stapleton concert at Jiffy Lube Live. Technically. We sat in traffic for over two hours, in the rain, and unintentionally missed the entire opening act. We parked so far away from the stage that we had to walk nearly a mile in a wooded area…
🎙️ Blog
🪞 Why Revenue is a Vanity Number
Posted on Author Amanda PoffenbergerPosted in Entrepreneurship, Photography, Profit, Revenue, Side Hustle, Small BusinessLeave a Reply
For the first five years of my photography business, I had one goal: make more money than I did the year before. And I did. Every. Single. Year. I was ridiculously proud of that. There was just one little problem. I was really good at spending it, too. Revenue isn’t a meaningless number. But it’s…
🇺🇸 The Importance of Financial Independence in a Healthy Relationship
Posted on Author Amanda PoffenbergerPosted in Financial Independence, Relationships, Saving2 Replies
Early in my marriage, I looked to my husband when it came to paying for “things” outside of our normal monthly bills — things like vacations. So there I was, plodding along, paying my monthly bills, likely carrying some credit card debt, and hoping he’d have some magic pot of money somewhere so we could…
‼️ Your Credit Score Matters More Thank You Think
Posted on Author Amanda PoffenbergerPosted in Cars, Credit, Credit Score, Interest RatesLeave a Reply
I bought a new car this week. She is a gorgeous mid-life-momma metallic white. Her name is Pearl. Obviously. After negotiating the price, getting a fair value for my trade-in, and politely declining every add-on offered to me, we got to the next part of the process: Financing. The finance manager pulled my credit and…
🎄 The December Fund
Posted on Author Amanda PoffenbergerPosted in Birthdays, Christmas, Parents, Planning, Psychology of Money, SavingLeave a Reply
For years, December stressed me out. Don’t get me wrong. I love the holidays. I love giving gifts. I love making things special for my family. But December in our house isn’t just Christmas. My husband’s birthday is December 19. Christmas is December 25. And my son’s birthday is December 27. Every year, I went…
⏰ The Most Important Budget I Have Isn’t About Money
Resources are finite; that’s the basis of economics and, heck, even my full-time job. For years, I’ve worked hard to improve my financial health by being intentional about how I spend, save, and invest my money. But there’s something else I’ve come to understand as a recovering overachiever: time is also finite. We only have…
📈 Why I’m Choosing Not to Scale My Business
Posted on Author Amanda PoffenbergerPosted in Energy Management, Entrepreneurship, Scaling, Small BusinessLeave a Reply
As a small business owner, I get asked if I’m going to scale my photography business. Shouldn’t I want: More clients. More revenue. More employees. More automation. More volume. More types of photography? The short answer? Wait, What? So, this isn’t because my business hasn’t been successful. It has. I steadily grew it through the…
💥 When Action Jackson Marries Ebenezer Scrooge
Posted on Author Amanda PoffenbergerPosted in Decisions, Psychology of Money, Real EstateLeave a Reply
What do you get when you cross a doer with a thinker? While this sounds like a great setup for a joke, it describes my husband and me in a lot of ways — but particularly when it comes to money. I’m Action Jackson. He’s Ebenezer Scrooge. But before you judge either one of us,…
🎓 How Student Loan Debt Taught Me About Managing Money
I’d wanted to go to college for as long as I can remember. Seriously. Since kindergarten. I remember being in the basement level of Lykens Elementary and flipping through a book from Harrisburg Area Community College, mesmerized by all the different courses they offered. Going to college was never really a question in my mind.…
🐝 Stop Bumbling with Your Finances
For years, I thought I was pretty good with money. I balanced my checkbook every month. I never overdrew my account. I paid my bills on time. And beginning in the late 1990s (yes…I’m dating myself), I started tracking my spending in Quicken (I still do). Heck, I had both an actual paper checkbook and…
🏠 What 25 Years of Real Estate Investing Has Taught Me
Hubby and I have had quite the adventure in real estate over the years. What started as a simple rent-versus-buy decision in 2001 eventually helped us build wealth and create financial stability for our family. Grab some coffee, tea, whatever you’ve got, and buckle up, Gladys. Let’s talk real estate. House #1: Sterling, Virginia Hubby…
🚪 Should You Consider the Mega Backdoor Roth? Here’s How It Works
Several readers have asked me to explain the Mega Backdoor Roth strategy. I haven’t personally used it because most of my retirement savings went into my Traditional and Roth Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) accounts, and I later rolled my Roth TSP into a Roth IRA. When I worked for the federal government, employees had access…
📆 How My Federal Retirement Actually Unfolded
When I announced my retirement from the federal government, several people asked me what the process was actually like. Not just the paperwork, but everything that came with it. How long did it take? When did my pension start? What surprised me? And what did those first few months really look like? If you’re considering…
☀️ The Vacation Fund Changed Everything
For years, I thought the hardest part about vacation was getting time off work. Or finding the perfect place to go. It wasn’t. The hardest part was coming home. Coming home to the credit card bill after a week that was supposed to be relaxing. The stress started before we even got home. Every dinner.…
🏝️ What Happened After I Retired from the Government
Peeps, Besties, Gladys and Brutus – It’s been a wild ride for the past nine months since I retired from the federal government. Last May, I made the decision to take advantage of an early retirement program. That’s still a little crazy to say out loud because I always assumed I would work for 35…
🤨 I Had No Idea How to Invest
When I started working for the government in 2000, I was 21 years old and had no idea, at all, how to invest money in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), the government equivalent of a 401(k). I knew two things: I didn’t grow up in a family that talked much about money. And 401(k)s weren’t…
🏢 The Best College is the One You Can Afford
In Northern Virginia, college admissions can feel like a competitive sport. Parents compare acceptance rates. Students compare rankings. Social media fills up with announcement posts. And somewhere along the way, it’s easy to forget one important question: What can we actually afford? Senior Year is an Olympic Sport Our son had taken several Advanced Placement…
💡 What I Learned During the Seven Weeks I Had No Paycheck
In September 2025, I retired from the federal government after 25 years of service. I had already accepted a position with Markon and planned to continue working as a government contractor. There was only one problem. I had absolutely no idea when I was going to start. Because of a government shutdown, the process of…
💍 The Day My Engagement Ring Was Stolen
In 2003, my engagement ring was stolen from my own home. I was on work travel at the time, and because I was worried I could lose it – or worse, get mugged while traveling – I left my ring at home in its box on the dresser in our bedroom. During my trip, my…
📸 How I Became an Accidental Entrepreneur
Posted on Author Amanda PoffenbergerPosted in Business, Entrepreneurship, Photography, Side HustleLeave a Reply
What starting a photography business taught me about confidence, pricing, professionalism, and building something real. In 2019, I bought a camera because I wanted better football pictures of my son. I accidentally built one of the highest-rated photography businesses in Ashburn, Virginia instead. And along the way, I learned a lot about running a profitable…
🧐 What is Good Debt?
Posted on Author Amanda PoffenbergerPosted in Debt, Good Debt, Interest Rates, Mortgage, RefinanceLeave a Reply
Did you know there’s such thing as “good debt?” I’ve got a low-rate (2.45%) mortgage and 0% car loan at the momentito, and we’re going to dive deep into why this is to my advantage. 📌 TLDR Situation Typical “Pay It Off” Instinct What “Good Debt” Means Why it Can Be Smarter 2-3% Mortgage Throw…
🧮 Elder Care Finances: When Simplifying Makes Sense
With the unexpected passing of my mother in April 2025, my siblings and I went into full crisis mode for my then-85-year-old father, who was living with both advanced heart failure and lung disease/fibrosis. My father was a retired Marine who served in Vietnam as a radar technician, by the way. He was an amazing…
🔑 My Five Key Personal Finance Lessons
Posted on Author Amanda PoffenbergerPosted in 401(k), Key Lessons, Personal Finance, Psychology of Money, Saving, WealthLeave a Reply
I started my adult life in debt, and turned it around to build enough wealth so hubby and I can both retire by 55. Here’s what I’ve learned. TLDR: Let’s Begin at the Beginning After my father lost his job in the 80s, my mom needed to stop being a stay-at-home mom and (re)enter the…
👶🏻 How to Raise Financially Literate Children
As a mom, I am incredibly proud of teaching my son financial literacy. As Chief Engineer of the Hot Mess Express in my 20s, I overcame debt and a near total lack of financial literacy to build enough wealth so hubby and I may be able to retire when we’re both 55. In today’s fast-paced…
🔎 What to Look for in a Financial Advisor
Do you have a financial advisor? That’s not ChatGPT? Hubby and I have had a financial advisor in our lives for over ten years, and I’m telling you, it’s made such a huge difference for us. Until that point, we were barreling through life saving here and there, but without someone to confirm we were…
⚕️ What’s an HSA?
A couple years ago, I decided to switch from a standard healthcare plan to a High-Deductible Healthcare Plan (HDHP) with a Health Savings Account (HSA). Why? I was the only one in my family (out of my husband, son and me) really using our standard healthcare plan, and felt like we were overpaying. The more…
🤖 A ChatGPT Retirement Analysis Prompt
Most people don’t actually know if they can retire when they want—they’re guessing. This is the exact prompt you can use to start getting real answers. I recently created this for my husband and me, and it was incredibly helpful as we’ve entered a new phase of life. I retired from the federal government and…
😵💫 The Psychology of Money
When I was about 8 years old, my father lost his job. It was devastating for my family. We struggled financially, though my parents did an incredible job shielding us from the worst of it. We had a roof over our heads, food in the fridge, clothes on our backs, and we were safe. But…
🐝 Welcome to the Budget Bee!
Are you hungry for some sweet financial perspective that makes you giggle a bit? I’m Mandy, and I’ve learned a thing or two about personal finance, retirement, and even elder care finance management. I’m here to share what I’ve learned with you, and I hope you giggle a bit along the way. Thanks so much…