Jenae from I Can Teach My Child has a great list of 67 Ideas for Fun & Learning This Summer.
LITE Feed (non-deal) Posts
Testimony from Rachel of Intentionally Simple
A few years ago, my husband and I started a car savings account. Our cars were both approaching 10 years old and we wanted to have some money set aside for repairs as well as have enough money saved to pay cash for our next vehicle.
We saved for a few years, and during that time, paid for routine maintenance, repairs and new tires for one of the vehicles out of our car savings fund.
A few months after the birth of our second son, we started talking about purchasing a mini van. We had around $5,000 in savings for a new vehicle and we had the luxury of time to look for a good deal since we didn’t truly need a van at this point.
We decided to put most of our tax return into car savings. The plan was to use the money in car savings (around $8,000) plus the sale of the truck (we were hoping to get around $3,500 for the truck) to pay cash for a new vehicle. We set our budget at $12,000 or less and started researching vans.
We had been researching a few months when my father-in-law told us that a neighbor had a van for sale. The van was a 2004 Nissan Quest with 88,000 miles. It was in wonderful condition and had features like heated leather seats, power sliding doors and lift gate, and a DVD player. The best part about this van, it was well under our budget!
We paid cash for the van without even selling my husband’s truck!
A few weeks later, we sold the truck for $4,500 ($1,000 more than we were hoping, apparently trucks hold their value!) We then put all of the money from the sale of the truck back into the car savings fund so we’re nearly half way to paying cash for our next vehicle.
And, those power sliding doors really are amazing!
Rachel is a wife and mama of two boys. You’ll find her at Intentionally Simple where she blogs about choosing a life of simplicity. Her family lives minimally in a small home and lives debt free.
Have you saved up and paid cash for something — large or small? Submit your story for possible publication here.
Every week day in May, I’m challenging my readers to try to find at least 7 things to get rid of. These can be big or small things, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you actually throw them out, sell them, donate them, recycle them, or find someone else who can use them. Think you’re up for the challenge?
I flew into Nashville today to speak at the Teach Them Diligently Conference this weekend. Both my flights were delayed about an hour each. But it all worked out and I got to spend the evening with a friend of mine, Angie Smith.
I was reminded all over again why I love her so very much! (If you’ve not read her books and don’t follow her blog, you should! She’s hilarious and inspiring!)
Before I left this morning, I cleaned out my sample tub. I use almost all the free samples that come in the mail, but I find that there are a few I think I’ll use that then just end up hanging around in there forever and just take up space. So I cleaned these out and came up with eight samples to get rid of. Yay!
How did your clutter-busting go today? Link up your blog post and/or Instagram pictures below. Or, leave a comment telling us how many things you got rid of. Let’s clear our homes of clutter so we can be more productive and efficient!
I’m excited to be speaking at the MOPS National Convention in Kansas City in October.
As part of their promotional campaign, they asked me to shoot a quick video with a money-saving tip. I thought some of you would enjoy watching this video with two quick ways to save at least $5 to $10 on your grocery bill in less than 10 minutes.
Links mentioned in the video:
Local Store Deals & Coupon Match-ups
What’s your best tip for shaving $5-$10 off your grocery bill in 10 minutes or less?
I really enjoyed reading The Pursuit of Elizabeth Millhouse. It’s a well-written novel that tackles a lot of issues many of us have battled with.
Here’s the description:
Spanning the calamitous turmoil of a World War and the deadly Influenza plague of 1918, The Pursuit of Elizabeth Millhouse is a spellbinding portrait of a young girl’s struggle against the travails of modern loss and faithlessness.
Born to privilege and wealth, Elizabeth Millhouse is the only child of a tense and loveless relationship. Sequestered to a boarding school at a tender age, Elizabeth is ordered to stay at school even through holidays. When she is finally allowed home for the first time, it is only to visit a newly-affectionate father on his death bed.
After prayers for her father’s recovery are denied, she rejects God and determines to live her life without reference to Him. Left alone with a cold and distant mother, Elizabeth seeks to forge her own path, searching for permanence and love in a world where circumstances shift like quicksand beneath her feet.
Personal loss and the revelation of her own history build to a sudden understanding—in closing herself to God, she has denied herself the very love she craves.
For a first-time author, I was very impressed blown away by the depth and quality of this story. It pulled me in and I had trouble putting down — which means that I considered it a good read. 
In addition, I was blessed and challenged by the message of God’s faithfulness woven through the pages.
This book is available via Amazon, Kindle, or Barnes & Noble. Follow author Amanda Barber on Facebook to keep up with her latest projects.
Click on the graphic below to enter to win one of 10 free copies of The Pursuit of Elizabeth Millhouse. This giveaway ends Friday, May 17, at 11:59 pm, CST. 10 winners will be chosen and posted on Tuesday.
Every week day in May, I’m challenging my readers to try to find at least 7 things to get rid of. These can be big or small things, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you actually throw them out, sell them, donate them, recycle them, or find someone else who can use them. Think you’re up for the challenge?
Confession time: I completely forgot to post this earlier! I had my items set out, I took the picture of them, and then I promptly forgot about posting it!
In my defense, I was gone almost the entire afternoon and evening running errands, having a date with Silas, and then attending a family activity evening at church.
But still… I’m sorry if you were anxiously waiting on this post — and had to wait half the day for it!
Today’s things I got rid of:
- 2 bags
- 1 pair of shoes
- 3 kid’s books
- basket
How did your clutter-busting go today? Link up your blog post and/or Instagram pictures below. Or, leave a comment telling us how many things you got rid of. Let’s clear our homes of clutter so we can be more productive and efficient!
We’re big Adventures in Odyssey fans here so I told them we would be happy to participate in their summer A Call to Serve challenge designed to challenge your children to serve others.
Here are the details:
This summer, Adventures in Odyssey is joining with Christian bookstores across the country, inviting kids to participate in a Summer of Service. They’re promoting the biblical message, “When you serve, everybody wins,” encouraging kids to serve their families, their communities, and their world.
Whether it’s baking cookies for an elderly neighbor or putting together a care package for missionaries overseas, kids will discover that serving can be a blast!
How the A.C.T.S. (A Call to Service) challenge and contest works:
Kids who join A.C.T.S. can pick up a service log and collect fun character stickers for hours served at participating bookstores throughout the summer, or download a serving log online at whitsend.org. At the end of the summer, kids can record and upload a short video telling how they serve and why they’d like to become an Adventures in Odyssey Ambassador.
A hundred winners will get the brand-new AIO Album, and after online voting, two grand prize winners (one boy and one girl) will get to travel on an exciting Good-Goers Mission Based Adventure trip to another country with a parent!
The out-of-country destination will be announced on a live podcast May 22—hosted by AIO actors Katie Leigh (Connie) and Chris Anthony (Chris)—which you can watch at whitsend.org/acts. You don’t want to miss it!
To kick things off, they are offering a free Adventures in Odyssey episode and a free downloadable PDF with service ideas for kids.
Be sure to check back next week because I’ll have an Adventures in Odyssey giveaway for you all!
Of the 4,092 entries, the winners of the Swarovski Crystal Drop Earrings from Bee’s Knees Gems are:
Lori (lmerk@)
Crisanne (crisanne.triplett@)
Kristin (kzug22@)
Angela (angelabifferato@)
Jane (bvclc@)
Of the 3,403 entries, the winner of the Original Painting by Carmen Guedez is:
Jennifer (Wishbone317@)
Of the 2,773 entries, the winners of the $50 Store Credit to Marie-Madeline are:
Melissa (Fourniertrio@)
Danielle (gespenshade@)
Kary (karylanek@)
Marcy (emmel@)
Debra (maidenfine@)
Of the 1,998 entries, the winners of the We Choose Virtues Family Kit are:
Leslie (leslieedens@)
Kimberly (Kimberlymichelle9@)
Susan (shgroseclose@)
Stacy (Stacylwhitaker@)
Each of you should have received an email with further instructions on claiming your prize.
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Are you giving something away on your blog this week? If so, post your link below and let all the readers here know so they can get in on the action! Your giveaway must be family-friendly and no-strings-attached. In addition, to make it easy to navigate, your link must go directly to your giveaway post. Links going to the homepage of your blog or any other part of your blog besides the direct link to your giveaway post will be deleted. Links left solely for the purpose of promoting an affiliate link will also be deleted.
Every week in 2013, I’m sharing a different way you can save $100 this year. If you do all of these things, you’ll be able to save over $5,000 this year alone! Many of these things will likely be things you’re already doing, but hopefully all of you will pick up at least a few new ideas or some inspiration from this series.
You can save at least 20% off the price of many staple products by buying them in bulk. If you’re going to be using the bulk amount of something over the course of a year and it can be stored for a long period of time, you might as well purchase it in quantity at a discount, right?
Where To Find Bulk Deals
There are many places to check for bulk deals, here are a few of the best places to look:
1. Warehouse stores
This is sort of the default, but it’s worth mentioning. I save around $27 per year by buying yeast from Sam’s Club instead of at the grocery store. However, I don’t find it is worth it to pay for the membership. Instead, I just go in on the get in free days that they have a few times per year.
Be aware that not all warehouse packages are a good deal. In fact, many times, you’ll pay more per ounce for buying the large package than you’d pay if you bought multiple smaller packages when they are on a great sale at the grocery store.
2. Local farms
You can often purchase large quantities of produce seconds for great prices from local farms (check LocalHarvest.org to see if there are farms near you that sell to the public). And if you like high-quality meat, you’re almost always going to save at least $1 per pound by buying it in bulk.
If you don’t have freezer space for large amounts of meat or products, consider splitting a bulk order with a few friends. That way, you all get the discount, but none of you have to buy a new freezer to store it in!
3. Azure Standard or Other Health Food Co-ops
If you grind your own wheat or eat a lot of oats, rice, beans, or other staple ingredients, check into the prices of nearby health food co-ops or Azure Standard.
3. Health food stores and grocery stores
If don’t find great sources for buying in bulk from health food co-ops and Azure Standard doesn’t deliver to your area, check and see if your health food stores or grocery stores would give you a discount for buying in bulk. It never hurts to ask!
You might also just buy in bulk by practicing the Buy Ahead principle — buying multiples of items at your grocery store when they are at their rock-bottom prices!
What To Buy in Bulk
What you should buy in bulk will vary from family to family. I recommend looking at what you already purchase a lot of that has a long shelf life or would keep in the freezer for six months and see if you can find sources for purchasing it in quantities at a discount.
These will usually be things like grains, beans, canned goods, and meat. But it could also include other items like toilet paper, diapers, or cleaning supplies.
When Not to Buy In Bulk
You can save a lot of money by buying in bulk, but there are a few pitfalls you want to be aware of:
1. Don’t buy things you won’t use up in time
There’s no point in buying a big bulk package of something if you’re just going to end up throwing it out because it goes bad. Kind of like my cappuccino mix. Ahem.
If you want to buy a big bulk purchase but you’re not sure you’ll use it all up, see if a friend or two will split the order with you.
2. Don’t buy things you don’t already know that you love.
If you aren’t 100% sure your family loves it, don’t buy a bunch of it. Because no matter how inexpensive it was, if you’re not going to use it, it wasn’t a good deal for you.
3. Don’t store your bulk items carelessly.
If you buy grains, make sure you store them properly and check them often. The last thing you want to do is find your big bag of oats is bug-infested!
And do not make the $614 mistake we did and buy a bunch of grass-fed meat from a local farm, stick it in your freezer in the garage, and then leave town for two weeks. That is a lesson we hope we never have to learn again!
Do you buy in bulk? If so, what do you buy and where do you but it from?
Target Shopping Trip
1 Organic Carrots – $1.09, used $1/1 Target mobile coupon – $0.09 after coupon
1 Cauliflower – $1.99, used $1/1 Target mobile coupon - $0.99 after coupon (I could have bought something closer to $1, but I needed cauliflower so I used the coupon to get a great price!)
1 Van’s Frozen Waffles – $2.50, used $2/1 printable - $0.50 after coupon
2 L’Oreal Shampoo/Conditioner – $0.97 each, used 2 $1/1 printable (no longer available) - Free after coupons (I finally found these by the regular-sized bottles of shampoo versus the trial section of the store!)
2 Green Works Toilet Bowl Cleaner – $2.29 each, used $1.50/2 Target mobile coupon AND used 2 $0.75/1 printable - $0.79 each after coupons
2 Market Pantry Spaghetti Sauce – $1 each, used $1/2 Target mobile coupon – $0.50 each after coupon
Total before coupons: $15.10
Total with tax after coupons: $5.87
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