This year has been defined by the word: Reinvent.

I attribute my new attitude toward life and money in part to the major breakthroughs I had while writing heal your relationship with money (you need a copy in your life!!) and lecturing about how to… well,  heal your relationship with money, lol.

Inspired Action

While writing the book, I was reminded of something that I really wanted to do. For the longest time, I’ve lived feeling meh about my home. We bought our place when I was heavy pregnant and I was too busy trying to breathe and keep my lunch down. But that was two years ago and everything in my money mindset and spirit was telling me that this was the time.

I asked my friend Norissa (y’all know her as Dr. Norissa Williams on the site and her BOMB book on setting and slaying goals) to help me pimp my small space.

This was a huuuuugggeee step for me: taking off my Strong Black Woman mask, asking for help and letting someone see a not-so-put-together part of me. But I realized that if I wanted to live exactly how I wanted in the energy that I wanted, I had to take emotional risks—big ones and small ones.

After I created a home video of my “before” space and sent it to Norissa, we went to work.

In addition to being a professor at NYU, Norissa is a low-key interior designer. I told her that she really has no business living in her house because I felt it was really mine and she was blockin’ my blessings. ☺

She asked me,  “How do you want to feel when you come home or enter your home?”

I told her that I wanted to feel pride, a sense of coziness with a hint of low-chic and glamour.

Within a few days, homegirl texted me a whooollleeee list of what I needed to buy and this one suggestion that revolutionized how I shopped for refreshing my space.

In a word: EBATES

(don’t forget to read to the end to see how you, too, can make coins for shopping the way you normally do AND get $25 for referring your friends to it, too.)

Frugal Feministas, EBATES totally helped me get my life when I was shopping for items for the house.  If you were living under a rock, right next to me, Ebates is where you can get Cash Back for shopping at over 2,500 stores. Becoming a member is free! Stores pay Ebates a commission for sending you their way, and Ebates shares the commission with you as Cash Back.

We envisioned a living space that had a romantic, barnyard appeal with elements of industrial luxury.

Dreamy, right?

The Budget

Since I never interior decorated or even redecorated, I really didn’t know what to set as a budget, but since it was just my living/dining room place and I planned on keeping the couch, which was can be costly to replace, I figured I would put $3,000 aside for this project.

When I told Norissa this number, she said, “Girl, you won’t even need that, especially if you use shop at Overstock and Wayfair through Ebates.”

Sidenote: I’ve bought most of the new items through Overstock, Target, and Wayfair. I also used Facebook Marketplace for secondhand items. I even sold my living room table on Facebook Marketplace in order to reduce the overall costs of the refresh project. #winning.

Below is a screenshot of my total savings with Ebates. Check it out and refer a friend. For each friend you refer from your Ebates account, you get $25 when they save money, too!

Until next time,

Kara