Insider experts select the best products and services to help you make smarter decisions with your money (here’s how). In some cases, we receive commissions from our partners, but our opinions are our own. Terms apply to offers listed on this page.

Welcome to Personal Finance Insider. Our bi-weekly newsletter provides the stories, strategies and tips you need to manage your money well.

Here’s What: Spending $150 A Month Cleaning My House Is Worth Every Penny

Earlier this year, in the throes of new motherhood and postpartum depression, I looked around the house — dust bunnies, piles of unpacked moving boxes, spills on the stove — and cried.

After having a baby, selling my house, buying another, and six months before we moved, working all day and taking care of my son cleaning the house, I had absolutely no energy left.but of course it is requirement clean. It was horrible and I had a newly mobile baby and a dog that tracked things with its paws.

A few weeks ago, I began frantically cleaning one place, one room, one place at a time. If she has five minutes a day, she vacuums her son’s bedroom downstairs with her husband. Another day she spends 10 minutes cleaning the stove and wiping down the kitchen counters. But by the time I got to the next cleaning “window”, what I had already swept, mopped and scrubbed was dirty again. I had to start the piecemeal journey all over again.

So I cried.

Of course, it wasn’t just the house, it was everything. I was overwhelmed with my many responsibilities and new identity as a mother, and postpartum depression made me feel like I was wearing a robe of molasses from head to toe. It doesn’t help that visual turmoil and domestic turmoil are associated with anxiety and stress, it was just one big stress snowball for her.

I had to give something away, so I started looking for a solution.

Is spending money useful?

I’m not one to “throw money at a problem” easily — I feel too much guilt for it — but I’ve finally realized that there is at least part of this problem that money can solve. .

I checked my budget and found that due to inflation, I didn’t have much to spare. Yes, I could have cut my subscription here and cut my takeout meals, but it didn’t get me the $150 I needed for monthly cleaning. So I decided to cut my savings.

I kept over $500 a month in various piggy banks for travel, medical expenses, etc., most of which was left alone and rarely used. I decided I could easily cut some of it down to provide for us in the present without jeopardizing my family’s financial security.

And so it did. And over the last few months, a team of very nice women have come to my house every few weeks to make the house shine.

I appreciate it very much. And I couldn’t be happier to be able to pay that monthly bill.

—Stephanie Hallett, senior editor at Personal Finance Insider

Stories you may have missed

3 side jobs you can start today to make more money at your full-time job

If your full-time job doesn’t offer professional development, learning new skills through a side hustle can be a wise way to earn double the extra money, once at a side job and once with a promotion. It’s the method.

How to Buy Tesla Stock: A Step-by-Step Guide

With Elon Musk’s Twitter deal back in the news, many investors are clamoring for Tesla stock. Here’s what you should know:

When I asked my grandmother for money once, I was sent to my room. That reprimand as a child has shaped my finances for decades.

Writer Pascal Duguey’s grandmother used to give her a quarter every time she visited. When she forgot her once, Duguay reminded her. Her grandma didn’t care, but Duguay’s mother certainly did.

American Express cardholders get 4 months of complimentary unlimited coffee, tea, lemonade and more at Panera. Here’s how to sign up:

Complimentary drinks at Panera. Need I say more?

Enjoyed this newsletter and would you like to recommend it to a friend? Here is the sign up link.

Have any feedback about this newsletter? We’d love to hear from you! Please contact [email protected]