- Your home is where you
spend majority of your time, and maybe your itching for something new, or you wanna update the one you have. Well, today's show is all about creating a home that you love, and to find out why
this little guy's here. He's so close. (lively music) Well, it's May. And if you're like me, you're seeing for sale signs in
people's yards everywhere, and it may be inspiring
you to make a change. But first, before you
get ahead of yourself, no matter where you are, remember to be grateful for the roof over your head, whether you wanna remodel your house, or even buy a new one,
remember to be grateful. Don't compare your house
to everyone else's. Be content. But no matter which lane you fall in, whether you wanna do some remodel, or maybe you wanna sell your house, we've got a great show for you today. We've got a couple that did something crazy to get out of debt. And you're gonna find out what
that is later in the show. I also stopped by the home of
an amazing interior designer here in Nashville, Flo Miklich. And she's giving us some great tips on how you can love the
home that you're in. I needed that, so good. But first, we're going
to talk about four ways that you can save money
in your current house. My Papaw always said, the cheapest day you'll ever spend on your
house is on closing day. It cost more to maintain it. Wise words from Papaw. So, if you're someone who
loves the home you're in, and you're like, hey, I
don't wanna sell or remodel, here are four things that
are so easy to neglect, but could end up saving
you money in the long run. Number one is pest control. It's like so gross to think about. 'Cause when I think of pest
control, I'm like, gross. Like ants in your house, or (fake crying)
these guys.` He's like looking at me. Oh, it's so gross. He poops in the cage too. You don't want that in your house. But the hard thing is too,
you may not see these things. 'Cause you do think about ants, and bugs, and like those guys. But I actually had a friend, and a snake got stuck
in their HVAC system, and it stunk up their house for days. Alright, pop quiz, if
you were on Fear Factor, and you were like in a big tub of snakes or these guys, which one
would you rather be in? Comment below. I'm so curious. Mine, snakes, for sure. Okay, so gross. Okay, let's go back to
talking about HVAC systems. HVAC systems, very
important to maintain these because this really can
extend the life of your unit. You need to treat your
HVAC system like your car. You go get your oil
changed on a regular basis. So this is the exact same thing. You need to get a professional to come out and check out your HVAC unit every year to make sure that it's running properly. So this'll cost you around $100 a year, but it's so much better than
spending thousands of dollars on a new unit all together. Winston's dad owns a
heating and air company. And so, I called him, and I
was like, I need all your tips. So he said, do that for sure, and also, change out your filters. If you do this every 90
days, every six months, it keeps it flowing easily as well. That's what I got from our conversation. I don't really understand how it works, but change your filters. Another great way to save money is to get a smart thermostat
that you can program. According to energy.gov
turning the thermostat back just seven to 10 degrees
while you're at work or on vacation, can save you
up to 10% on your energy bill. And last but not least, the
thing that's going to save you the most money is to
make sure that you're not overpaying for your home
insurance every month. Most people just put their
insurance on auto pilot, but it could be costing them. So if you're looking for
a quick way to save money, there are people on my website that I recommend in the insurance world, and they're saving their
customers, on average, $731 a year on insurance premiums. So to find one that I recommend, click the link in the
description to get a quote today. And make sure you have
these basics covered if you really wanna
save money on your home, and make sure that it's in
good shape over the long-term. I can't keep going with this thing. Oh my gosh. I'm sorry little mouse. I'm sure people love mice. I don't like them. Can you get this, sorry. Thank you.
(nervous laughing) Okay, let's go back and
talking about our home, because if you're like me, it may take something a little bit bigger than just calling pest control
or looking at your HVAC, to make your home a place that you love. So, like I said earlier, we have Flo, an interior decorator coming on the show. But first, I just hit
this moment, you guys, where I talk about like, don't
compare your life to others, if people are going on vacation. Be grateful for where you
are, your home, be grateful. I found myself in this comparison battle just a few weeks ago. Three of my best friends are all moving. (piano music) One of them is going like
the dream of a renovation. They're going in and like
gutting, and tearing down walls, and making a laundry room,
and all these things. And then my other friend
is upgrading houses, not like majorly. Like another bedroom and
a bigger living room. And then one of my friends is just getting this awesome house. And I was really happy for my friends. I mean, it's great. But I just got this itch of like, okay, it's been years since
we've been in our house, and like we just need to change something. Should we sell our house, Winston? Should we sell our house? He was like, no, we don't
need to sell our house. What are you talking about? But I just found myself being like, okay, I just need to
do something different. And so, what I realized is, okay, you can do something semi inexpensive to make your house feel
new and fresh, right? So I was cooking the other day. That's right, I was cooking. And I looked up, and I realized that the paint in our kitchen is
like a puke brownish green. And so, I realized, okay, I kinda want something
like light and airy. And so, we said, okay, we can
spend a little bit of money and paint our kitchen. So instead of selling the entire house, which would have been crazy,
and we didn't need to do that, I could actually paint it this color, and it could be beautiful and light. So we're doing it. That's why I'm so excited
for this next segment with interior design expert Flo Miklich, who's going to give us some tips on creating a home you love. (lively music) - This is Autumnflora. And she is an amazing
designer here in Nashville. And we're friends, actually.
- Yes. - We've known each other for a while. - Long time.
- Yes. - It has been.
- I know. So I'm so happy to have her one, because I want you to give us some tips on when it comes to our house, how we can create really
a home that we love. - Thank you so much for having me here. - Yes. - This is really a treat
to be on the show with you, and to be able to give some
good tips and advice to people who aren't working with a designer. So one thing is, find out
what room you want to remodel. Do you wanna do a remodel? Do you wanna do a redesign? What's gonna make the biggest impact for your family in your life? - Okay, so to create a home that you love, you can either go do a remodel, right? - Right.
- Where you hire a contractor, - Yes.
- and like rip stuff out. You could hire a designer,
and just do a redesign. But, Flo, that's also so expensive. Like I hear that, and I'm like, oh my gosh.
- Yes. - How much is all that gonna cost? - Yes.
- So what do you do? - It can get really expensive, and you can do it on your own too. That's completely fine as long as you know what your budget is.
- Yes. - And if you're working
with a professional, make sure you give them your budget. They need to know what it
is they're working with, how much money you're
comfortable with spending, so they can stay within that. So really, you need to
focus on one or two areas. Start there.
- Okay. - A lot of times for people, it's their main living space.
- Yes. - So it's their kitchen,
and their great room. It's the two areas that, as a family, they spend time in, or they entertain in. - It's amazing. I've heard that whatever room
is connected to the kitchen is where most people congregate. - I can't tell you how many times I've had friends over, a party. Everyone is around the
island where the food is, where the beverages are. And then people will trickle
off into somewhere else. - Yes.
- But everyone ends up. You have 20 people in one space. - In the kitchen, yes. - No matter how big or small it is. - So if people don't have a huge budget, and they're not able to go and hire a Flo. (laughing) Go hire a wonderful designer
- Right. - To come in, what do
you suggest people do? - There's so many ways that
you can find inspiration that's not from designer instructing you. We have such great resources now online, or even still print. I still love all my magazines. - Yes.
(laughing) - So if you love magazines
out there, you're okay. So go through a design magazine. Rip out a photo that you love. Go on House, find some photos, create a mood board on Pinterest, find things that will
help you inspire yourself. - Yes. - And also give you a visual on what you're trying to achieve. - That's so good. So how do you find someone that you trust? Like who's a professional in your area that you know, okay, this
person's gonna be legit? - Good question. Obviously, if you're
in the Nashville area, I can tell a couple of great names to use. (laughing) But if you're not in the Nashville area, which not everybody watching
your show is going to be, - Sure. - There's some great websites to go to. Angie's list has been around for years. - Yes. - I know people who have
found great painters, even contractors on that website. So I highly recommend that. Another is House. A lot of people think
that it's just something where you go and find photos on there, and you can pull 'em in and have - Yeah, that's what I thought. - Kitchen inspiration, or
living room inspiration. But there are professionals
listed on there. I'm listed on there as well as a professional.
- Okay. - And another is Takl. There are some wonderful
services on there, from painters to somebody to
go pressure wash something. If you're looking at doing
at doing an outdoor area. - Yes. Okay, you mentioned the budget. - Yes.
- And I love a budget. - Thanks. - So for you all, I created a cheat sheet so that you can visualize your numbers, and it's broken down per room. So you can figure out
the money you've saved, how much you've spent, track it all. So make sure to click the link in the description below after this show. Okay, when I think about clothes, I think about having like
the investment pieces where you spend more money than you normally would on certain items. - It's funny that you say that. - Is it true?
- Yes. - In design.
- Yes, it is true. - Okay.
- It's funny that you say that because that's how I reference
something for my clients. If they're saying, well, I
don't now how much to spend. I don't know what my budget is. I think about when
you're going to a store, and you're going to an event, how much do you have to spend? In your kitchen, you wanna
invest in your cabinetry, and your countertops. So those are gonna be your
two big ticket items in there. A back splash, even
faucets, even lighting. Those are things that you can find online and be able to save some money, or go to a Home Depot or a Lowe's. Upholstery, your sofas can take up most of your living room or chairs. So for different people,
they're gonna have different wants, different needs. If you have pets, you're
gonna wanna have something that's going to stand up to
the test of time with them. - Yes.
- If you have children, and you're thinking about
markers and crayons, you're gonna wanna get a Crypton fabric. - Okay.
- You're going to want to get something that has some scrub-ability, some wash-ability, something that's not gonna
have to be dry cleaned. - Okay, so what are the best places for me to buy the more expensive things? Like what are those expensive things that is worth buying.
- Exactly. Let's talk about just a redesign. - Okay. - Cause if you're not wanting to get into all the structural changes and all that, most people are wanting to
just refresh with fabrics and furnishings.
- Yeah. - So when I'm thinking
about investment pieces, one thing that I highly recommend is always investing in your
main upholstered pieces. But you want to not spend money that you're just gonna end
up throwing away later on. - That's right, that's so good. Okay, so those are like the pieces that, okay, we're gonna invest heavily in. - Right.
- So what are the things, let's say just like accessories, like more inexpensive things?
- Right. - Where are your favorite
places to get those? - Hands down, Home Goods. If you have a Home Goods in
your town, go to Home Goods. - I love Home Goods. - They're wonderful. It's always changing. So no matter if you need
something that's seasonal, they have it. If you want something that is
with your own color scheme, it's color coordinated. It's not hard to do by yourself. So go, go there and look through the blues if you have blue in your house. And you can find things that are gonna be inexpensive enough. I like to change things
out with the seasons too. - So good.
- Yeah. - I love it.
I want this. Flo, thank you. - You're so welcome.
- Seriously, so helpful. - You are so welcome.
- I mean, to create a home. 'Cause home is a place
that you're gonna be all the time, right?
- It is. - Before you leave work, after work.
- Yes. - With the kids,
- Yes. - Your family. I mean, it's a home
you really wanna create something that you love. Okay, I'm gonna take your tips, use them in my life.
- Good! - When I get my kitchen.
- Good. - A beautiful white.
- Good. A beautiful white. - So, thank you so much for coming on. - You're so welcome. (engine running) (lively music) - Guys, let's be real. Being a parent is hard work. Now that I have two daughters of my own, it's feels like the to-do list never ends. And as every parent knows,
your priorities change, and you have to make important decisions for your child's future. That's why Term Life Insurance
is a must for every parent. It's so easy to get, and it's affordable. What you're looking for is 10
to 12 times your annual income to make sure everyone in
your family's taken care of. Winston and I use Zander insurance. They do all the work for you to find the best prices and options. So go to Zander.com to get
started on a quote today, because that's who we trust
to take care of our family. (upbeat music) Next, is an amazing story about a couple who did something radical, you guys. They sold their house to pay off debt. So let's take a brief look at their story before I have them come on. - [Steph] We were poor
when we were first married. - My card got declined at a
fast food restaurant one day. So we met in college. - Got married in October 10th, 2009. I didn't really have knowledge about what that meant to have student loans. So we lived off of student loans. - We went through
Financial Peace University within six months of being married. So we finally got on a budget, and we've been budgeting for seven years. Well, one of the things
we never talked about was how much debt we had. And I would try and present it to Steph, and she just brick wall.
- Yep. - Just, no, I don't wanna know the number. - I felt a lot of shame, because I was the one that
carried the bulk of this debt. - With student loans we had $137,000. And then last Fall, our daughter was having trouble breathing. We ended up being a three night
stay in the Vanderbilt ICU. And so that racked up about
$5,000 worth of medical debt. - Even though I was obviously
very present with my daughter, in the back of my mind,
I was still thinking, oh, no, I know this is
going to be an expense, and we already have this
huge amount of debt. - A couple months later,
we were looking at how we were gonna debt
snowball this thing, and what could we sell? What do we do? And then she came to me. - I just had this, I don't
know if it was vision, or what it was, but just this thought of, what if you sold the house? - That'll leave us with
like $35,000 in debt. We could snowball that quickly. And that presentation of the question was what got me on board. - Wow, what an incredible story. I love these kinds of stories where people do something
that's so difficult, and so different than what
the world says they should do, and it pays off, literally. So here I brought in
Taylor and Steph to join me because I just wanna dive
more into their story. So thanks, you guys, for being here. - Yeah, you're welcome. - Seriously, I mean, y'all sold your house to get out of debt. - It's crazy.
- We did. - It's crazy, yes. Okay, I wanna dig into that,
'cause that's just huge. But first, majority of your
debt was student loans, right? - Yes. - Okay, and how much total again? - 137. - $137,000. So when you signed up for student loans, I'm just curious, what was your thought as you're going into it? Did you have any idea the
repercussions later in life? - Yeah, so the majority of
those student loans were mine. (laughing)
And I- - It's okay, Steph. You came through it.
(laughing) - Yes. I chose to go to private schools for my Bachelor's and my Master's degree. And my parents owned a farm and just couldn't afford to pay for that. So that was the majority of our debt. I didn't understand. I mean, your brain's not
even fully formed at 18. Let's be honest.
(laughing) - Right, right, I've heard that. - So I didn't even understand what that looked like later on in life. Once we got married we had to live off of some of those student loans. - Yes, yes. - So we took out even more than actually what was paid for just through education. - Yeah, totally, which is so normal. I'm hearing that more and more
that people are doing that, and the repercussions of
it, they don't know at 18. You guys were great, because
you guys budgeted together pretty early on, right? - Mm-hm. - So, were y'all always on the
same page, do you feel like? - No.
(laughing) My card got declined. We had no idea what we were gonna go. So we called my parents, and they bought us a Financial
Peace University kit. Sent it to us.
- Yeah. - It took me a while still
to kind of get into it. - So you guys have been married
a little over eight years. - Yes. - So what year was this? - This was six months in.
- Within six months. - Okay, so you're newlyweds. - Yes, yes.
- Yeah. We're newlyweds, don't have any money.
- It's 2010. - Have no idea how we're
gonna pay for anything. - And did you guys start
budgeting more together after Financial Peace University? - I did it after Financial
Peace University. I am the, let's see, he's the free spirit, - Yes.
- and I am the planner. Like I did a lot of the budgeting - Yes.
- at the beginning. We had some conversations,
but not until fairly recently did we get really serious
about where we were at far as debt snowballing goes. - Yes, 'cause you guys budgeted together, but you weren't necessarily
talking about the debt, which I think is so interesting. Okay, so what prevented both of you? 'Cause I heard a little bit of like shame, 'cause you're like, all the
student loans were mine. Like you already like
just confessed to that. So was that a lot on your part, or like why didn't you
guys talk about the debt? - Any time I would bring
it up debt snowballing and kind of starting
to tackle that amount, I would go to tell Steph the amount, and she would shut it down. Didn't wanna even know
what the number was. - Because why? 'Cause it was so overwhelming? - It was so overwhelming. And I'm the type that I want to achieve, and I was afraid, I
just didn't see an end. I didn't see an end, and
if I can't see an end then I don't even wanna know what it is. - Yeah. - I just didn't wanna know the number. And there was a lot of shame associated - Yes, yeah.
- with that amount for me. - So you guys shifted though,
the conversation, obviously. And so, when that shift happened, it really was a cause
because of your daughter being in the hospital, right? So tell me a little bit about that. - Well, Annabelle got really sick, to the point where she
was struggling to breathe. - Which is so terrifying anyways. - Yes, it was awful. - And how old was she? - She was 15 months, I believe. - Okay. - So, we I took her to the pediatrician. Pediatrician sent us to hospital. And then we eventually got transported through ambulance to Vanderbilt. - All of these things were happening. And we had started the
discussion at that point of - Okay.
- Selling the house. - Yeah. - Just came to the point
where we were like, we have to do something. We have to do something. We can't just sit here
with this mountain of debt. - Yes, okay, so the discussion
of selling the house came up. Which is like, A, amazing,
of what you guys did, but it's extreme, like right? Like a lot of people, you may
be watching thinking like, I'm not gonna sell my
house to get out of debt. But talk about the benefits of it. I mean, talk about like, okay,
when you first had the idea, I know one of you was not on board, right? You weren't, right? (laughing)
- No. - Because it was so extreme
in your mind, or what was it? - Yeah, so the first time
she asked the question, she asked, do you wanna sell the house and move to an apartment? - You're like, and, no. (laughing)
- No, absolutely not. - 'Cause y'all have
two kids at this point. - Yeah.
- Yes, yes. - Yeah.
- Mm-hm. - So we just didn't even talk about it. I shut it down. That's not even something
that we're gonna talk about. - Yeah.
- Mm-hm. - So a few months went by, and she asked it again.
- Yeah. I think it was just the presentation of, hey, we have this much in equity. We had about $100,000 in equity. - Yeah. - We have 100, and at that time, $37,000 in student loan debt. So if we sell the house, I mean, we still would have some to pay off, but that is a ginormous mountain that we would have conquered,
and we can rent a place. And that's when the wheel started turning, and I could tell Taylor was like, okay, you know what? You might be onto something here. - So when it came to actually selling, I'm just curious, did it sell quickly? - Yeah. - Yeah.
(laughing) He's like, yes. - We were under contract in 30
hours for 5,000 above asking. - Oh, my goodness. Okay, so when that happens,
and you get the offer in, you're like, okay, we're
about to sell our house. Emotionally, like is that sad for you? 'Cause I always think about
moving out of the house that you brought your babies home to. Is that the same place? - Yes.
- And it's like, all these memories, and you know you're about
to do this amazing step, but it's an emotional
thing to sell your home. So how was it? Were you guys just like,
gung-ho about it, or what? - We had to find a place to live. - Yeah.
(laughing) - We didn't have anything lined up. - I had an emotional moment
after we accepted the offer. - Yes. - But it was a moment, because I knew just what
the ending would look like. And I knew, at that point, that we just had so many
confirmations of peace throughout that process that that's exactly what
we were supposed to do. - Okay, so what what have been like the biggest changes so far? - Well, on March 7th we walked out with a check of over $100,000,
and that was incredible. (laughing) For a while we like would
check our bank account and be like, oh my gosh. This is awesome. We have so much money.
(laughing) We're like, yeah, this probably
will never happen again, but, well, maybe it will.
- Yes. - So we paid off a substantial amount. We completely paid off
Annabelle's medical bill. - Wow. - Which was over $4,000. And then we put up how
much in student loans now? Probably $100,000 in student loans. - We've paid off $105,000 total. - Okay, so I have to ask. Was it worth it? - Absolutely, 100%
- Yeah, 100% - And the relief you felt, is it everything you thought it would be? - I think it's been more. - Yeah, we were looking at
20-30 years of being debt free. And now, we should be totally debt free within a couple of years. - I mean, absolutely incredible. I'm not kidding you. The amount of sacrifice you did, and just to think of how quickly you're gonna get out of debt, and your kids lives, everything around it, it's really a decision that not a lot of people wanna make
because they're scared, and probably intimidated by the idea, and you guys stepped into that even with a little bit of fear, and maybe even a little bit of uh. And you did it. And for you guys out there watching, maybe some of you are
hundreds of thousands in debt, and you're sitting there thinking, it's gonna take us 20-30
years to pay this off. And maybe you choose to make a decision from being inspired by
their story of like, hey, we are gonna sell
our house to do this. Or maybe some of you, it's
just sacrificing lifestyle. But no matter who you are, if you're looking to sell your home, make sure you find someone
in your area that you trust. And I have agents all over
the country that I recommend. And these agents could get you close to $5,000 more at closing, and your home is only on the
market for 10 days on average. I mean, seriously, these
people are amazing. So make sure to click the
link in the description below. Well, thanks, you guys,
again, for being here and sharing your story. I mean, absolutely incredible. (upbeat music) Alright, it's the best part of the show. My fave, she works hard saving money. FrugalFreeGal, great name, says that we paid cash for
a popup camper last year. We already have taken it out several times as a family in Washington. Love it. Angela said, took down two walls, hardwood floors installed
through the whole house, stoned the fireplace,
and stained the cabinets. Amazing. And we cashed flowed it all with no debts. Way to go Angela. Gobudgetgirl, like that name too, said, little patio haven. Under $100, made possible
because I'm debt free. I plan to do yoga and drink
a lot of coffee out there. Kelly said, over $4,000
to replace this stained and gross carpet that we hated and lived with for four and a half years. Gross and stained carpet had to live with, yeah, we're all feeling ya. So I'm so happy that you
have new and clean carpet. Amazing. Hey, you guys, what's
so fun is all of these came from Facebook,
Instagram, and Twitter. So remember, you can
use all those channels, and take a picture, tweet
it out, whatever it is, and use the hashtag, she
works hard saving money. It's my favorite thing in the world. She works hard saving money. So fun because we wanna
celebrate with you guys. So thanks again to Taylor and Steph for sharing their story. And thanks to Flo for all
the amazing home tips. Join us in just two weeks. I've got some incredible guests coming on. May or may not be my dad, Dave Ramsey, and parenting expert Dr. Meg Meeker. You won't want to miss it. Well, thanks again, you guys
for watching this episode, and remember to take control of your money and create a life you love. (upbeat music)
