Saving for a first house, one quarter at a time
A small-town Missouri couple, a duplex with thin walls and a pickle jar of change on the counter. Our real numbers on bills, groceries, insurance and the house fund.
About Quarters in the Jar
Quarters in the Jar is a personal blog by me, Lindsey Calloway. I'm a pharmacy technician in Macon, Missouri, a town of about five thousand people where US-36 meets US-63.
My husband Tyler and I rent one side of a duplex with our big red hound, Moose. Since 2022 every loose quarter and every $5 bill has gone into an old pickle jar on the kitchen counter. In 2025 we decided the jar, and everything else, was going toward a house.
This is where I write down how it's going: the budget, the electric bill, the insurance quotes, the grocery receipts and the side money, with our real numbers.
Find out moreLatest Posts
Is a garage sale still worth it? Our fall sale numbers
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Twenty months of saving for a house: where every dollar came from
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Touring six houses around Macon in one weekend
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What it costs two people to live in small-town Missouri for a year
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A week of $5 dinners from the Walmart in town
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Getting pre-approved: what they asked for and what surprised us
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Getting homeowners insurance quotes before we own a house
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Our side income for the first year, every dollar
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Small-Town LivingCheap date nights in a town of 5,000May 3, 2025
Extra IncomeSix months of furniture flipping: profit by pieceMarch 7, 2026
Small-Town LivingWatching the small-town housing market for a yearApril 18, 2026
Extra IncomeTyler's mowing business: six yards and a used push mowerJune 21, 2025
Extra IncomeSide income and taxes: what we learned the first yearJanuary 31, 2026
InsuranceShopping our car insurance: four quotes and a $510 differenceApril 19, 2025Categories
The House Fund
A $1,380 truck repair and why the house fund didn't pay for it
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What a loan officer told us about buying a house in a small town
House fund year one: $4,200 to $16,600, month by month
Moving our savings to a high-yield account: what the interest is worth
Bills & Budget
Pay down the student loan or save for the house first?
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Raising our credit scores before applying for a mortgage
Our coldest month: a $246 electric bill and the heat pump lesson
The rent went up $35: renewing our lease and doing the math on moving
Insurance
Roadside assistance and gap coverage: what we kept and what we dropped
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Tornado season: checking our policies and packing a go-bag
Buying our first term life insurance at 31 and 33
Raising our car insurance deductible: the math we did
Groceries & Meals
Canning tomatoes with Tyler's mom (and whether it saves money)
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Cash-back grocery apps after a year: what they actually paid
Growing herbs and tomatoes in buckets on a duplex porch
A January eat-from-the-pantry challenge
Got a question or a tip?
Reader questions often turn into the next post. Drop me a line and I'll get back to you.
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