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Shared Jul 18, 2019 comment

Honest Kiwi Co Reviews (or Kiwi Crate Reviews) + 30% off your first box!

Published: by Crystal Paine on July 18, 2019 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Interested in KiwiCo reviews — or maybe specifically a Kiwi Crate review (since that’s the most popular box)? If you’re interested in trying a KiwiCo box for your kids, check out my completely honest thoughts below! And be sure to scroll to the bottom to get a promo code for 30% off your first box!

{Looking for more unique non-toy gifts for kids? Be sure to also check out our recommendations for the top 10 subscription boxes for kids, top 8 subscription boxes for toddlers, and top 13 magazine subscriptions for kids.}

What is Kiwi Co (formerly Kiwi Crate)?

If you’re looking for some really unique ways to keep your kids entertained, I highly recommend KiwiCo!

In case you’ve never heard of KiwiCo, it used to be called Kiwi Crate but after expanding and adding on so many different types of boxes, they rebranded to be called KiwiCo.

KiwiCo is a monthly subscription service that offers kid’s educational projects, crafts, and activities on different themes. Each box includes all the materials to make a fun hands-on project (or 2-3 simpler projects, depending on the box!).

What are the Kiwi Co age ranges?

The original Kiwi Crate was designed for kids ages 5-8, but they’ve now added on so many different options!

KiwiCo offers monthly crate subscriptions for various ages:

Panda Crate for ages 0-36 months (Explore & Discover)
Koala Crate for ages 3-4 (Play & Learn)
Kiwi Crate for ages 5-8 (Science, Art, & More)
Atlas Crate for ages 6-11 (Geography & Culture)
Doodle Crate for ages 9-16+ (Art & Design)
Tinker Crate for ages 9-16+ (Science & Engineering)
Eureka Crate for ages 14-104 (Engineering & Design)

The two most popular crates (at least in our house!) seem to be Kiwi Crate and Tinker Crate, but I love that they have choices for different ages and preferences!

My Honest KiwiCo Review

If you’re looking for completely honest Kiwi Crate reviews, I’m here to tell you that my kids have been using KiwiCo for years and absolutely LOVE it. They received it as a gift one year and loved it so much that they continued requesting it as a gift each year after that!

I have fond memories of them running to the mailbox in excitement and anticipation to see what would be in this month’s Kiwi Crate box.

I still remember how much Silas loved the very first Kiwi Crate box we received in the mail! He made a glow worm from a sock and named it “Billy Butler” after one of his favorite Royal’s baseball players.

Since we’re a family that has never had a lot of toys, the KiwiCo boxes have been a great fit for us. It’s really nice that they’re mostly consumable and don’t contribute to toy clutter around the house.

I also really love how hands-on, educational, unique, and entertaining they are. And they always have really great instructions for kids (and parents) to follow.

Even as they’ve gotten older, they still really enjoy getting the boxes in the mail. (And I love that KiwiCo has now added on some really cool boxes for older kids!)

In fact, we recently received a Kiwi Crate and Tinker Crate in the mail and ended up taking them with us on our family vacation in Utah.

Our nieces and nephews loved working on the projects together and all gave it a thumbs up! (How’s that for an honest Kiwi Crate review? 😉) It was so much fun and such a great way for them to all do a hands-on activity together!

How much is a Kiwi Crate?

The one negative thing I have to say about KiwiCo is the cost. (But be sure to scroll down for a coupon code to save on your first box!)

While my kids have absolutely loved their Kiwi Crate boxes, we’ve always received them as gifts from grandparents. And I do think that they’re a little bit on the expensive side — especially if you’re on a tight budget.

This is why I think a KiwiCo subscription is a GREAT idea for grandparents as birthday or Christmas gifts! And you can purchase different lengths of subscriptions, depending on your budget — one month, three months, six months, or an entire year.

Save 30% Off Your First Month of KiwiCo Crates!

If this honest KiwiCo review made you interested to try it, I’ve got a great deal for you!

You can get 30% off your first box as a MoneySavingMom.com reader when you shop through this link.

And there’s no obligation to continue with your subscription after your first box. Just log in to your account and cancel your subscription before it renews at the regular price.

This is a great way to try KiwiCo at a discounted price and see if your kids like it!

Go here to grab this great discount.

KiwiCo Crates FAQ

What is inside a Kiwi Crate?

Each box includes all the materials and instructions you need to make a fun hands-on project (or 2-3 simpler projects, depending on the box!).

How many different Kiwi crates are there?

They now have 9 different subscription lines for a large age range! Get Panda Crate for babies, Eureka Crate for 12+ to adults, and everything in between. There are SO many options now!

Is KiwiCo a good company?

Yes! Their subscription boxes are amazing and have been around for quite some time. They offer screen-free, engaging play for kids of all ages. And while their customer service used to be lackluster, it’s improved tenfold over the past couple years and is much better than it used to be. Managing your account online is super easy, too! You can find tons of great KiwiCo and Kiwi Crate reviews online!

Is KiwiCo easy to cancel?

Yes! You can cancel, pause, or skip at any time right in your online account. It’s super easy!

This Week’s $70 Grocery Budget

Published: by Crystal Paine on July 14, 2019 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Want to see what we bought for this week’s $70 grocery budget? I’m currently challenging myself to stick with a $70 budget for our family of five. This includes almost all of our breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners + most household products (toiletries, laundry soap, etc.).

For live updates, be sure to follow my Instagram Stories. See all posts on my $70 Grocery Budget here.

After three weeks of traveling, it felt good to be home all week this week and to be back into the swing of regular grocery shopping and menu planning again!

Here’s what we bought this week…

Kroger Shopping Trip #1:

2 bouquets of flowers — marked down to $1 each (this was one of my favorite deals!)
5 cartons of Almond Breeze — $0.99 each when you buy 5 participating items (got $0.25 + $0.75 back from iBotta)
2 bags of frozen peas — $1 each
1 bottle Eat Kansas City barbecue sauce — marked down to $0.69
2 boxes Honey Bunches of Oats — $1.49 each when you buy 5 participating items (got $0.50 each back from iBotta)
1 bottle of Simple Truth Marinade — marked down to $0.69
2 bags of Kettle Chips — marked down to $0.69 each
1 bag of Kettle Chips — marked down to $0.79
2 bags of peppers — marked down to $0.99 each
1 bag of Tortilla Chips — marked down to $0.79
Half & Half — $1.99
2 gallons milk — $2.79 each
Veggie Chips — $0.99 when you buy 5 participating items
Zevia — marked down to $1.25 (got $0.75 back from iBotta)
2 bags of avocados — marked down to $0.99 each
Kale Salad Mix — marked down to $2.99
2 Colgate toothpaste — $1.99 each when you buy 5 participating items, used $4/2 Digital Coupon = free
Total with tax: $35.45

Kroger Shopping Trip #2

5 bottles of Simply Lemonade — $0.99 each with Friday-Saturday Deal
5 packages Ballpark Buns — $0.99 each with Friday-Saturday Deal
Saltines — $1.29
4 bags of marked down produce — $0.99 each
Bananas — $0.70
Italian Meatballs/Brats — $1.99 each with Friday-Saturday deal
Total with tax: $27.41

Sprouts Shopping Trip

6 ears of corn — 6 for $1
Watermelon — $1.77
Total with tax: $2.96

Filling Up Our Freezer Again on Our $70/Budget

If you follow me on Instagram Stories, you know that while we were out of town, our freezer power went out and we lost everything in our freezer.

Gratefully, we had opened up our home a lot in the weeks prior and the freezer didn’t have that much in it because we’d eaten down a lot of the surplus (I had been thinking I really needed to replenish it!)

Also, we’re grateful that everything was stuff we’d gotten really inexpensively and that all of the packages stayed in tact so it was not a huge mess to clean up.

I thought it would be fun for you to watch me fill back up my freezer — while sticking with the $70 weekly budget. Here’s what it looked like after week 1. (The package of hot dogs and the buns/bread was in our fridge freezer — I moved it out here since that freezer was pretty stuffed.)

The chicken and ribs were from last week’s Friday-Saturday deals.

And here’s what it looks like as of this weekend. I’m excited because we not have 14 pounds of meat in there! (We usually eat 3-5 pounds of meat per week and I try to stock up on at least 4-7 pounds, so that we’re usually always putting a little more in the freezer than we’re eating.)

What We Ate On Our $70 Grocery Budget This Past Week

Note: When you see the meals below, please remember this: I buy ahead often. Which means that when I find a great deal on something I know we’ll use, I buy as much as I can afford in our budget to have on hand.

This means that you aren’t going to see all of the groceries my shopping trip that I used to make all of the meals we ate.

Please also remember that I’m putting this out there and it’s not a perfectly balanced menu. This is just really what we ate — and I hope that it encourages you to see the real-ness and lack of perfection here.

Our Menu Plan

Breakfasts:

Fried Eggs, Cereal, Pancakes, Apple Muffins, Banana Muffins

Lunches:

Leftovers, Salad, Mac & Cheese, Fruit

Snacks:

Fruit, Popcorn, Cookies, Peppers

Dinners:

Sunday — Pancakes, Scrambled Eggs
Monday — Barbecued Chicken, Corn, Fruit
Tuesday — Barbecued Chicken Pizza
Wednesday — Mac & Cheese
Thursday — Mac & Cheese, Marinated Chicken, Salad
Friday — Ribs, Corn, Peas
Saturday — Takeout from Chili’s

$70 Grocery Budget Totals

Total spent on groceries: $65.82

Cashback earned this week: 400 points for submitting my receipts to Fetch rewards + $3.10 for submitting my receipt to iBotta rewards.

Want to cut your grocery budget? Go here and sign up (it’s free!) I’ll send you my 10 Easy Ways to Cut Your Grocery Bill By $50.

Shared Jul 11, 2019 comment

7 Easy Ways to Earn Amazon Gift Cards

Published: by crystal on July 11, 2019 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Looking for easy ways to earn Amazon gift cards for FREE? Check out this list of fun ideas!

7 Ways to Earn Amazon Gift Cards for FREE

When you’re on a really tight budget, sometimes even $5-$10 per month can help stretch your budget so much further. And that’s why Amazon can be a budgeter’s best friend.

There are SO many different ways to earn free Amazon gift cards and Amazon carries just about anything you can think of!

So that means you can use Amazon gift cards to stretch your grocery or household supplies budget, to afford diapers, to buy gifts for others on a really tight budget, or even to just buy something nice for yourself that you’ve really been wanting and can’t make room for in the budget!

These are my favorite ways to earn Amazon gift cards. And while you may not earn hundreds of dollars from each, you’ll find that you can easily earn at least $5-$10 per month from each of these — and that really adds up if you try to regularly use at least 2-3 of these methods!

1. Swagbucks

Swagbucks is my all-time favorite way to earn Amazon gift cads and I’ve been using it for years now.

It is a site that rewards you for completing tasks and doing certain actions online. When you complete a task, you’ll earn points called swagbucks that you can cash in for free gift cards.

Some of the more popular ways to earn are doing online searches, signing up for offers, printing coupons, completing special offers, and taking polls.

Go here to read our complete guide on how to earn Swagbucks.

2. Ibotta

Ibotta is one of my favorite money-making apps, and it’s a great way to save money on groceries and more — without clipping coupons!

Simply look in the Ibotta app to find rebates for grocery items you’re buying and scan your receipts to get credit.

Earnings add up pretty fast and you can cash out at $20. It’s a super easy way to earn Amazon gift cards for your grocery purchases.

3. Coinstar

Do you have any loose change lying around? Gather it up and take it to your nearest Coinstar kiosk!

You can trade in your coins for Amazon gift cards without any transaction fee. It’s super simple.

I did this last year right before Christmas and had $208 in coins! I traded them in for an Amazon gift card and used it to buy Christmas gifts!

Go here to find a Coinstar location near you.

4. InstaGC

InstaGC is a site that is similar in nature to Swagbucks. I’ve tried it out a little bit in the past and liked it, and several readers have commented with rave reviews about it!

You can earn points for simple activities like taking surveys, watching videos, searching the web, and shopping online.

They have tons of gift cards you can trade in points for — including Amazon gift cards!

Go here to get started with InstaGC.

5. PrizeRebel

PrizeRebel is another site that seems very similar to Swagbucks. I’m actually testing this one out right now and plan to do a full review in the near future!

It’s mostly surveys and video based from what I can tell, but they also have opportunities to sign up for free offers and do special tasks to earn points.

I’d suggest focusing on watching videos and taking their longer surveys. I seem to be getting multiple opportunities per day to take surveys worth 77 points!

Go here to get started with PrizeRebel.

6. Survey Companies

While you won’t get rich or earn a full-time income from taking paid online surveys, it is a really nice way to earn gift cards on the side!

This was one of my favorite ways to stretch our financially lean budget when Jesse was in law school.

Go here to see my list of the top legitimate paid online surveys you can trust.

Never Miss A Hot Deal Again!!

Published: by Crystal Paine on July 11, 2019 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Worried you’re missing out on the hottest time-sensitive deals here at MoneySavingMom.com? Be sure to sign up for my new Hot Deals Newsletter!

I have GREAT news! We are rolling out a brand new Hot Deals Email Newsletter — just in time for Black Friday!!

When you sign up for this newsletter, you’ll receive 1-2 emails each day with the hottest deals hand-picked personally by me! Each email will get sent out as soon as the deal goes live so that you get notified right away and don’t miss out on deals before they expire.

{Don’t worry, though! I promise to respect your inbox and only send 1-2 emails per day with the hottest deals I see. The only exceptions to that might be on Prime Day and Black Friday. 😉}

I’m really excited, because this is something many of you have been begging for! Be sure to sign up soon so that you get my emails on Black Friday!

Go here to sign up for our new Hot Deals Email Newsletter!

Psst! Be sure to also join our exclusive Money Saving Mom Deal Seekers Facebook group where deals get posted right away! And follow our @AllTheBestDeals Instagram account to see the best 2-4 deals each day!

Shared Jul 9, 2019 comment

Raising Kids Who Want to Talk to Us

Published: by Crystal Paine on July 9, 2019 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

How do you get your kids to want to talk to you? How do you foster open communication and trust? In this episode, Jesse and I share some lessons we’ve learned the hard way when it comes to building trust with our kids.

Missed previous episodes of The Crystal Paine show? You can listen to them here.

Building Trust With Our Kids

“Do you feel like you can come to us and share your struggles honestly?”

We sat the girls down last week and asked them this question. I told them that someone had requested we do a podcast episode on building trust and open communication with your kids and we wanted to get their truthful opinion on whether they felt it was a topic we could tackle.

Four years ago, I was deep in the trenches of parenting for my own reputation. When a child was struggling or had made a bad choice, I approached it — unknowingly — from the perspective of, “What will make me look good as a parent?”

It’s hard to admit that out loud, but it’s true. I cared way more what people thought of ME than I cared about my kids’ hearts.

As a result of this, I wasn’t close with my kids. I didn’t truly know their hearts.

There wasn’t a trust relationship built up and they didn’t feel like they could honestly share how they felt — because I would probably snap at them if I felt like they weren’t approaching something maturely enough. (They’ve since told me this was how they felt.)

The Guilt I Carried as a Mom

There was very little grace in my parenting and I carried around a heavy backpack full of guilt… for how I was failing, for the ways my kids weren’t living up to my expectations of them. All of this was rooted in my unhealthy prioritization of what others thought of me.

In turn, I became my kids’ critic, nit-picker, and Holy Spirit. I struggled to see the good because I was constantly frustrated by how they were falling short.

And every day, I was driving a bigger wedge between my kids and me.

This week on the podcast — with the girls’ blessing and lots of their input and suggestions (!) — we share what has changed in the way we approach parenting. We talk about practical ways we’ve fostered trust and good communication with our kids (most of the ideas we share are suggestions the girls gave — and they did not hold back in their thoughts and opinions on this!)

In This Episode:

[00:57] – Jesse and I recap our travel adventures in Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho — including our thoughts on Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and Old Faithful.

[19:49] – Believe it or not, Jesse read more than me this past week! He shares the two books he recently finished.

[22:00] – Want your kids to keep reading over the summer? Check out this printable we created!

[23:41] – On this episode, we answer another one of our listener’s questions about establishing a trusting and open relationship with our kids. We talk about the importance of making time for one-on-one conversations, but not trying to force them. {Kathrynne’s advice!}

[29:19] – We also discuss how being willing to apologize and admit when we’re wrong can make such a difference. One thing that has made a big difference is us acknowledging with our kids that feelings are not wrong, but it’s how we act on those feelings.

[31:57] – Ask questions to open the doors of communication and listen rather than preach sermons! Step into your kid’s world and invite them to share in yours. Spend time doing things that your kids like to do!

[40:13] – We share ways we’ve let the kids make their own decisions in their lives, allowing us to build our trust.

Links and Resources:

Grand Teton National Park
Jenny Lake at Grand Teton
Jackson Lake at Grand Teton
Yellowstone National Park
Pike’s Peak
Yellowstone Lake
Old Faithful
Geyser Strokkur in Iceland
West Yellowstone, Montana
Hope Never Dies by Andrew Shaffer
The Operator by Robert O’Neill
Free Kid’s Summer Reading Printable Pack
Free 3-Month subscription for Kindle Unlimited – Valid through July 31st
Crystal’s Favorite Things on Amazon
CrystalPaine.com
MoneySavingMom.com
Crystal’s Instagram account (I’d love for you to follow me there! I usually hop on at least a few times per day and share behind-the-scenes photos and videos, my grocery store hauls, funny stories, or just anything I’m pondering or would like your advice or feedback on!)

Have feedback on the show or suggestions for future episodes or topics? Send me an email: [email protected]

How to Listen to The Crystal Paine Show

The podcast is available on iTunes, Android, Stitcher, and Spotify. You can listen online through the direct player we’ll include in the show notes of each episode. OR, a much easier way to listen is by subscribing to the podcast through a free podcast app on your phone. (Find instructions for how to subscribe to a podcast here.)

Ready to dive in and listen? Hit the player above or search for “The Crystal Paine Show” on your favorite podcast app.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission — at no additional cost to you. Thank you so much for your support!

WANT TO SAVE $100 FAST?!Join the FREE 14-Day Savings Challenge!

Click here to sign up!

Shared Jul 8, 2019 comment

Easy Vacation Meals to Feed a Crowd

Published: by Crystal Paine on July 8, 2019 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Need some easy meals for 20 people… or maybe just some easy recipes for large groups? Here’s how we fed 28 people on our recent family vacation, including the meals we made + how we divvied up the responsibilities.

Be sure to also check out these Recipes for a Crowd of People on Vacation and these Cheap Meals for Large Groups!

Easy Meals for Large Groups

We recently went to Utah with my entire extended family (parents, 3 brothers, 3 sisters, and their spouses and kids). My dad rented a huge cabin for us to stay in and we all pitched in and helped with the food.

I thought it would be fun to share what we ate and how we planned and divided up the responsibilities. This might give you some inspiration in case you need some suggestions for easy meals for 20+ people!

How We Planned Easy Vacation Meals for Family

My sister planned the menu with easy meals that would feed a crowd and sent out a sign-up form using Perfect Potluck (it’s free and so easy to use!). Each family signed up for the main dishes and side dishes they wanted to be in charge of.

(A screenshot of the sign up form on Perfect Potluck.)

Whatever meals or parts of meals you signed up for, you were in charge of bringing the ingredients for and cooking/baking.

This time around, we also had a sign-up for kitchen clean-up, too, so that my dad wouldn’t spend the entire trip doing dishes. (He’s always working in the kitchen, it seems! He says he loves it, but 28 people make a LOT of dishes!)

easy meals for 20 people: baked oatmeal for a large family

easy recipes for large groups: pancakes and bacon for breakfast

Breakfast Meals for a Crowd

When you’re serving meals for 20+ people, breakfast is the simplest meal (in my opinion)!

Here’s what we served for breakfast:

Pancakes, Bacon, Scrambled Eggs, Orange Juice
Baked Oatmeal (my sister made the mix of the dry ingredients ahead of time for this), Sausage, Orange Juice
Cereal, Fruit, Leftover Pancakes & Eggs

Food for a crowd: Lunch Ideas

For lunch, we had a huge Build-Your-Own Salad Bar (most all of my family loves salads!). We also had bread and meat/cheese for sandwiches for the kids and any adults who didn’t just want a salad. In addition, we set out any leftovers from breakfast or dinner.

Having a Build-Your-Own Salad Bar is such an easy meal for 20+ people — and frugal, too! All the ingredients can be stretched a really long way, since you’re only using a little bit of each ingredient on your salad.

Build-Your-Own Salad Bar Ingredients: A variety of Greens and Lettuce, Canned Tuna/Salmon, Boiled Eggs, Raisins, Seeds/Nuts, Avocados, Bell Peppers, Cucumbers, Chickpeas, Cherry Tomatoes, Dressings

easy meals for large groups: hot dogs and hamburgers

easy recipes for large groups: preparing vegetables for a big dinner

easy meals for 20 people: hawaiian rolls, chicken, and fruit

easy meals for 20 people waiting to be served dinner

Easy Vacation Meals: Dinner

If you’re looking for some really easy recipes for large groups, here’s what we made for the dinners:

Build-Your-Own Haystacks, Homemade Guacamole, Rice
Grilled Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Salad, Fruit, Green Beans, Homemade Rolls
Hamburgers/Hot Dogs, Tater Tots, Corn on the Cob, Watermelon, Veggie Tray, Steamed Broccoli

budget grocery shopping for large groups

Here’s what our family contributed contributed (I went to Smith’s — a Kroger affiliate — and was able to get all of this for around $50!) + I brought some salad toppings, canned tuna and salmon, and some extra snacks in our luggage.

Easy Meals for Big Groups: Snacks and More!

Of course, everyone always seems to be hungry ALL the time (especially the kids).

Here are a handful of frugal snack ideas for big groups:

Popcorn, kettle corn, caramel corn, etc.
Trail mix (use your favorite sweet/salty ingredients)
Chex Mix or Snack Mix
Grapes, bananas, apples, clementines
Baby Carrots and dip
Granola bars (or you can buy big packs at Costco and Sams for a good deal
Energy Balls (make them ahead of time and freeze them)
Hard boiled eggs (you can also make these a couple days in advance)

It’s amazing how it’s not too much work on any one person to feed 20+ people if we all pitch in and help!

What other ideas of easy meals for 20+ people or easy recipes for large groups do you have? I’d love to hear!

Want to cut your grocery budget? Go here and sign up (it’s free!) I’ll send you my 10 Easy Ways to Cut Your Grocery Bill By $50.

Shared Jul 8, 2019 comment

Get the Money-Making Mom eBook for just $2.99!

Published: by Crystal Paine on July 8, 2019 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

If you’ve been wanting to read Money-Making Mom, you can get a great deal on the Kindle version right now!

WooHoo! Right now you can get the Kindle version of Money-Making Mom for just $2.99!

Here are more details on the book:

Money-Making Mom is packed full of brand-new stories and information — details that you’ve not read here on the blog before. I had so much fun digging deep, writing from my heart, and writing new material that has come from years of having my own business and making many mistakes.

I think you’ll enjoy getting a closer look at the behind-the-scenes of what has made MoneySavingMom.com successful, as well as hearing about many, many failures I’ve made along the way.

Best of all, this book doesn’t just share my story, but there are dozens and dozens of success stories from many different women who are in different seasons and who have a wide variety of different businesses and income-earning ventures.

Money-Making Mom is not a book about about making money as a blogger or even just about making money online. Instead, it’s a hands-on manual to help you discover your passions and talents and turn those into a profitable business — whether online or offline.

Woven through the pages is my heart to inspire women to uncover their gifts, use their talents, and make a difference in this world! Because you have a story. You have a message. You have gifts and talents. And the world needs your story, your message, your gifts, and your talents!

Go here to download the Money-Making Mom eBook for just $2.99.

Shared Jul 6, 2019 comment

2019 Goals: June update

Published: by Crystal Paine on July 6, 2019 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Did you set goals for 2019? Here’s an update on how I did on my 2019 goals in June.

It’s July 6, 2019. And it’s time to check in on our goals! How are you doing on the goals you set for 2019?

I spent some time today reviewing June and reflecting on the blessings of the past month and the lessons I learned. I also looked at my goals and how I was doing in each area. (If you missed My Goals for 2019 post, read it here.)

In order to keep myself accountable (and because I know some of you really enjoy these posts) I’m sharing a goals update post at the beginning of each month. I hope that this will not only motivate me to be focused and intentional this year, but I hope it might also inspire you in the goals you set for 2019.

So here’s my goals update for June 2019:

Personal Goals

1. Read 40 books I already own. (I’m using GoodReads to track my reading this year!)

Update: I finished 6 books in June — and one of them was from my list of books I already own and wanted to read this year. Look for a Book Update in the next week!

2. Slowly read through the New Testament using the She Reads Truth Bible reading plans at the beginning of each chapter.

Update: I finished Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians in June.

3. Listen to 2 audiobooks per month. (I use the Libby app to get these for free.)

Update: I finished to 2 audiobooks in June.

4. Complete all of the Organize in 5 Diary tasks to get our home more organized and set up better organizational systems. (Psst! Did you get yours? It’s just $9 right now.)

Update: I have been keeping up with this. (You can see two posts I did on some of my organizing projects in January and February: Cleaning Out the Cookbooks & Organizing My Purse & Bathroom.)

5. Stay offline for 4 hours per day, 5 days per week. (I share more about why I chose this goal here.)

Update: I did a pretty good job of this in June.

6. Leave my phone in the basement every night. (I talk more about what inspired me to make this goal here.)

Update: So, honesty here: Ever since I took email off my phone at the beginning of May, I haven’t really felt such a need to not have my phone by my bed and I’ve sort of slipped out of this habit. But I want to get back to it!

7. Go to bed before 10:30 p.m. 5 days per week. (I’m using this little spreadsheet I made to track most of my personal goals)

Update: I bombed this goal in June. But we traveled a lot and were in different time zones + it’s summer, so I’m not beating myself up over it. But I do want to get back to this in July!

Marriage Goal

~~8. Go on an overnight trip with Jesse without the kids.~~

Update: We went on an incredibly fun trip to Destin, FL! Jesse and I drove by ourselves to FL and then we met up with two other couples there. We stayed in an AirBNB and split the cost three ways. Since it was off season, it made for a very inexpensive trip and we had the BEST time!

Motherhood Goal

9. One-on-one time with each child at least 3 times per week. (I am planning to dedicate 40 minutes per child after dinner each evening at least three nights per week to hang out and spend time with each child individually.)

Update: I spent a lot of time with the kids in June because of all of our traveling, but I didn’t spend as much one-on-one time with them. It was a lot of all together family time. I’m looking forward to getting back to this in July.

Family Goal

10. Take the kids to at least two continents and 4 states we haven’t traveled to. (We’re hoping to travel to Europe in the summer and South America at some other point during the year.)

Update: We went to Iceland (Europe) in June and Utah to meet up with all of my extended family at the very end of June. I’m not sure if we’re going to be able to cross another continent off our list this year… I’m still hoping to find a really good deal on flights/travel, but we’ll see.

Financial Goals

11. Pay cash to redo our room and renovate our bathroom (we have to pull out the shower and put in a new one because it was installed incorrectly and is leaking and ruining the floor/wall and we want to do a few renovations while we’re at it + we want to finally decorate our room — we left it really bare when we moved in and decided to wait to prioritize it in the budget).

Update: We started on the bathroom renovation at the very end of June.

12. Pay cash to paint the walls in the main floor of our home.

~~13. Fully fund our Emergency Fund.~~

Update: This is DONE! YAY!

Business Goals

14. Redo/set up a much more intentional customer acquisition experience for all three of our email newsletters.

Update: We’ve been hard at work behind the scenes working on this and made some BIG progress in June.

15. Finish launching the rest of our beginner Your Blogging University courses. (If you want to start a blog, be sure to check out my other site, Your Blogging Mentor.)

Update: I’m working on my next course, Monetize Your Blog, and it’s going to be a bigger/more comprehensive course than I’ve ever done but I’m continuing to make good progress.

~~16. Launch a Blog Coaching/Accountability Group membership. (I’ll be opening this up to a very limited number of people in January of 2019. Stay tuned!)~~

Update: We opened this up to new members in April and I’m just loving leading this! Interested in being the first to find out when we open up to new members again? Be sure to join the waitlist!

How are YOU doing on your goals for 2019? I’d love to hear about your successes and struggles. Tell us in the comments!

Shared Jul 3, 2019 comment

10 Simple Ways to Cut Your Grocery Bill

Published: by Crystal Paine on July 3, 2019 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Need some practical ideas to cut your grocery bill? Here’s a list of 10 simple ideas to shave money off your grocery budget.

Looking for more tips? Check out my post on 25 Ways to Save Money on Groceries and my $70 Grocery Budget posts.

Guest Post by MaryEllen from Centsible Savings

While picking up my milk for the week, I stopped to consider how many people might wonder why I was digging all the way to the back of the refrigerated section. Then I started thinking about how easy it is for anyone to reduce their grocery budget just by following a few simple guidelines.

I’m not talking about spending hours every week clipping coupons and scouring the sale papers for deals.

These are 10 simple strategies that everyone can use to help keep their food costs down:

1. Look toward the back of the refrigerated section for the latest-dated milk, cheese, meat and other perishables. It certainly won’t help you cut expenses if your food goes bad and you have to throw it out and buy more.

2. Buy whole milk and mix it with water. It will taste different at first, but you’ll get used to it after a while. If you can bring your taste buds to agree to mixing your milk half and half with water then you’re getting two gallons for the price of one! (Note: Keep in mind that if you have young children, watering down your milk will affect the nutrition of it.)

3. If you’re buying individual fruits (e.g. apples, oranges, etc.) by the pound, pick out the smallest ones. The total weight will be less, and therefore you won’t pay as much, but you won’t notice the difference when you’re eating your apple.

4. Shop early in the morning if at all possible. That is when you’ll find most of the marked down produce, meat, and bread. Even if you can’t shop in the morning, be sure to still keep an eye out for products that have been marked down.

5. Don’t buy too much produce at one time. Produce (especially if it has been shipped a long distance) will not last very long before it has to be thrown out. Try to buy only enough for about one week at a time.

6. If you find a good sale on something you normally buy that has an extended shelf-life or freezer life, stock up. Why wait until later and pay full price when you can buy several now at a much lower price?

7. Be creative and cook with what you have on hand. Make your weekly menus based on what is already in your pantry or freezer. Then you’ll just need to buy a few ingredients to fill in the gaps.

8. Make a list and stick to it when you shop. Unplanned “extras” add up very quickly.

9. Consider how badly you really need something. For example, it doesn’t really take any longer to make pancakes or biscuits from scratch than from a box mix. Yet those box mixes often quite a bit more than just buying the ingredients would cost. (Cooking from scratch is much better for your health, too!)

10. Use coupons. Like I mentioned earlier, I’m not talking about spending hours each week on clipping coupons and scoping out deals. But if something is on your list, you should at least check to see if there is a coupon out for it. A good place to check is the coupon database. You’ll be surprised at the difference fifty cents here and a dollar there can make!

What other tips or strategies for cutting your grocery bill would you add to this list?

Psst! Looking for more tips on how to cut your grocery budget? Sign up for my FREE cheat sheet on 10 Easy Ways to Cut Your Grocery Bill By $50.

Shared Jul 2, 2019 comment

Some of our very favorite things

Published: by Crystal Paine on July 2, 2019 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Want to know what some of our favorite things are? In this episode, Jesse and I share about our favorite books, movies, podcasts, and much more.

Missed previous episodes of The Crystal Paine show? You can listen to them here.

Some of Our Very Favorite Things

We’ve had some pretty heavy topics on the podcast recently, so we decided to do something fun and more lighthearted for this week’s episode of The Crystal Paine Show.

I asked on Instagram for your best ideas for a lighthearted podcast topic idea and many of you requested that Jesse and I do a Favorite Things episode.

So pretend you’re sitting down at the table with us having coffee (or tea!) and let’s talk about some of our favorite things. We tell you our favorite:

Book
Movie
Season
Place We’ve Lived
Bible Verse
Color
Podcast
Place We’ve Traveled To
Fruit/Vegetable
Thing We Love About Each Other

A Note On This Recording

We recorded the first half of the episode right before we left for our Foster Care licensing training (our last training session! Yay! Now we start our home study!). We didn’t have enough time to get it all recorded, so we ended up recording all of the Favorite Things section after 10 p.m. — which would have been 3 a.m. Iceland time (we had just gotten back from Iceland the night before).

So if you listen closely and are confused as to why we mention it being late and us being tired in the second half, that’s why! I should have done a better job of explaining this in the episode since we start out the episode talking about recording it in the late afternoon. 🙂

In This Episode:

[01:53] – If you want to know what NOT to do when going to Iceland, we’ll give you the scoop on that + some of the highlights from our trip!

[07:31] – Every time I share about this tip, people have all sorts of questions. But it truly has been saving my life recently!

[12:04] – I finally got to finish Digital Minimalism while we were on our trip!

[14:41] – Thanks to our followers on Instagram for today’s topic: Our Favorite Things! We start off by discussing our favorite books, music, and season.

[20:35] – Then we move to talking about our favorite place we’ve lived, movies we’ve watched, Bible verses, colors, and podcasts.

[29:57] – Finally, we end with our favorite places we’ve traveled to in the US and internationally, our favorite fruit and veggie, and we end a little on a sappy note — with our favorite things about each other.

Links and Resources:

Crystal Paine on Instagram
[email protected]
MoneySavingMom.com
Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
Episode 27 of the Crystal Paine Show: Digital Minimalism (with Cal Newport)
The Scott Harvath Series by Brad Thor
Abandoned to God by David McCasland
What If by The Ball Brothers
The Patriot
Me Before You – (the book)
Air Force One
Froning and Friends podcast
Team Never Quit podcast
The Trim Healthy Mama Podcast
Crystal’s Favorite Things on Amazon
CrystalPaine.com
MoneySavingMom.com
Crystal’s Instagram account (I’d love for you to follow me there! I usually hop on at least a few times per day and share behind-the-scenes photos and videos, my grocery store hauls, funny stories, or just anything I’m pondering or would like your advice or feedback on!)

Have feedback on the show or suggestions for future episodes or topics? Send me an email: [email protected]

How to Listen to The Crystal Paine Show

Ready to dive in and listen? Hit the player above or search for “The Crystal Paine Show” on your favorite podcast app.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission — at no additional cost to you. Thank you so much for your support!

OVER-SPENDING EVERY SINGLE MONTH?Grab these FREE Budgeting Sheets!

Click here to download!

Shared Jul 2, 2019 comment

The Best Things to Buy in July

Published: by crystal on July 2, 2019 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Maximize your savings this month with this list of items that are best to buy during the month of July!

Did you know you can save quite a bit of money if you wait to buy certain items during certain months throughout the year? Check out this list of the Best Things to Buy in July!

Shared Jul 1, 2019 comment

Grocery Shopping in Iceland

Published: by Crystal Paine on July 1, 2019 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Want details on grocery shopping in Iceland? We went to Bonus — a discount grocery store — on our trip to Iceland. Here’s a little peek into our shopping trip and what the prices were.

You might also like my post: Grocery Shopping in South Africa.

Grocery Shopping in Iceland

One of the things I heard over and over again as I researched how to save money when visiting Iceland was that the price of food was really high. So we prepared accordingly by bringing an entire suitcase of packaged food with us (you get a free checked bag per person when you fly internationally).

This suitcase of packaged food saved us at least $700 to $1000 in food costs while we were in Iceland because we only ate a few meals out (and we went to really inexpensive places). We also booked an apartment instead of a hotel so we could cook our own food.

Shopping at Bonus

On the first day we got there, we walked to Bonus — a discount grocery store in Iceland. I had heard that this was one of the best and cheapest grocery stores to shop at there.

This store was located in a pretty touristy part of Reykjavík and was a smaller store. It kind of reminded me of a mix of Aldi + the Indian grocery stores I went to.

They had a lot of American brands — especially when it came to cereal. And there were a lot of things written in English, too, which made it really helpful when shopping! 🙂

One of the coolest features was that all of the refrigerated items were in a big refrigerated room. (You can see a video of it if you look on my highlights on Instagram stories.)

Were the Prices Really High?

Well, compared to paying for a meal at a restaurant, it was much cheaper to go buy groceries and make your own food. However, compared to what I am used to paying at a discount grocery store (or by combining coupons with sales), most things were at least 2-3 times the price I would typically pay.

Here’s what we ended up buying:

1 dozen eggs
Loaf bread
Head lettuce
Bunch of bananas
3 bottles of Coke (the kids get to drink soda pop once a week on Saturdays and we were there on a Saturday, so you better believe they bought their Coke! ;))
1 large bottle of water (for my sinus rinse)
12-pack of bottled water (you can drink the tap water in Iceland, so we bought these to just refill throughout the week)
1 carton cream (for my tea)

Our total was 2,997 ISK — which is around $24 USD.

What We’d Do Differently Next Time Around

If you ever head to Iceland, I highly recommend bringing a lot of your own snacks and food. I also would recommend shopping at Bonus.

We brought trail mix, nuts, dried fruit and veggies, granola bars, beef jerky, and some protein bites and bars. So we had toast and eggs and bananas for two of our meals and I made salads with the lettuce and topped with a little trail mix and beef jerky. And we ate a lot of jerky and trail mix and dried fruit for snack-y meals.

If we did it again, we would definitely bring oatmeal packets and a few other types of things that we can add hot water to in order to make hot food. The kids got pretty tired of cold packaged food after two days! 🙂

Shared Jun 27, 2019 comment

Free Things to Do in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Published: by Crystal Paine on June 27, 2019 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Looking for free things to do in Minneapolis, Minnesota? Here are some places our family visited and did on a recent road trip there.

Want more free and cheap road trip ideas? Check out my 14-day series on our East Coast Road Trip. Also, check out my post on Free Things to Do in Madison, Wisconsin.

Free Things to Do in Minneapolis, Minnesota

If you missed yesterday’s post about our impromptu road trip a few weeks ago, check it out here.

On Day 2 of our impromptu road trip, we had planned to spend the day in Minneapolis. Many of you had given us suggestions and we were so excited to explore this area.

Only, we woke up to cold and rain. So, we came up with Plan B — which involved spending most of the day at the Mall of America.

Mall of America

We’ve always wanted to visit MOA and we really loved our experience there. Someone commented online about how that was the least frugal place to go and I had to laugh!

You see, MOA is only expensive if you actually buy stuff at it! If you just walk around and look at the stores and displays like we did, it’s a completely free thing to do in Minneapolis, Minnesota!

Fun fact from their website: “MOA does not use a central heating system; instead, 70 degrees is maintained year-round with passive solar energy from 1.2 miles of skylights and heat generated from lighting, store fixtures and body heat.”

Our kids’ favorite stores were the Crayola stores and the LEGO stores.

Silas and Kaitlynn decided to use some of their money to buy a Pick a Brick Bucket.

We had fun at Five Below — and can you believe I’d never been in that store before? I was definitely impressed. We did end up buying a few cool travel games for the kids for the long car drive home.

We also went to the Gucci section at one of the stores and just about fell over when we saw the prices. No offense to anyone who wears Gucci (though I’m guessing if you read here, you likely don’t!), but, to me, the clothes looked like something I would find at an outdated thrift store.

Clearly, I’m very hip and up with the times! 😉 But basically, you could buy a decent used car for the same price of most of the clothing items!!

BurgerBurger

We wanted to get a late lunch, so I got out my phone and searched, “Cheapest places to eat at Mall of America.” One of the places it pulled up was BurgerBurger. We discovered they had a Happy Hour from 3-6 p.m. where you could get $2 off burgers.

It was getting close to 3 p.m. at this point, so guess what we did? Of course we waited until 3 p.m. You had to order from the bar to get the Happy Hour prices, but we asked and they said you could order anything off the menu and did not need to order alcohol to get the Happy Hour prices.

The wait was a little long to get our food, but it was worth it because the burgers were truly amazing!

IKEA

There is an IKEA right across from MOA and none of us had ever been before. So, once the rain let up, we decided to walk over and check it out.

Since I’d heard so much about IKEA for so long from many, many people, I think I had set the bar really high for what it was going to be.

Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed with it because of my very high expectations. I have been told that this IKEA is small and not as great as other IKEA stores, though. So maybe that was it?

The kids had fun pretending to sleep on the beds and I loved looking at the small space setups (I dream of someday living part-time in an RV.)

We were all hungry again, so we got some food at IKEA. I’d say that the food was probably the most impressive part! 🙂 We all loved it and the prices were quite good, too.

Minnehaha Falls

One good thing about the rain? It meant that we got to see Minnehaha Falls when it was raging. And I do mean raging!

This was the highlight of the day — and maybe even the trip!

If you get a chance to check out Minnehaha Falls, definitely do so — especially if it’s on a day when it has rained!

We met a local who told us that the river leading to the Falls was higher than he’d ever seen it. And he told us it was 2 inches lower than the highest it had ever been recorded!

This was looking down onto the Falls from the top. I couldn’t believe they didn’t have it fenced off or something! It was rushing at such a ferocious speed it was pretty breath taking and mesmerizing!

What are your best tips and suggestions for free things to do in Minneapolis, Minnesota? Let us know in the comments!

Shared Jun 27, 2019 comment

Become a Postmates Driver to Earn Money!

Published: by crystal on June 27, 2019 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Looking for ways to earn extra income on the side? Become a Postmates Driver!

{Psst! Looking for other ways to earn money? Check out our huge list of Over 40 Income Earning Ideas!}

What Is Postmates?

Postmates is a delivery company that originally started in 2011 in San Francisco.

Their goal is to be an on-demand delivery service for customers to locally order restaurant food, groceries, and more.

Customers simply order what they want through the Postmates mobile app and a Postmates delivery driver picks it up and delivers it to the customer.

Where is Postmates available?

Postmates encourages people to shop locally by partnering with local businesses.

Postmates is more popular in larger urban areas, such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, Seattle, New York City, Atlanta, Denver, Chicago, Las Vegas, and more.

But they have expanded to include smaller areas, too! You might be surprised to find that this service is available where you live! (I just checked and saw all kinds of restaurants available for delivery in my area!)

How Much Can You Earn as a Postmates Driver?

It’s really easy to earn with Postmates!

You get paid for the pickup, delivery, and wait time on each order. And you get to keep 100% of what you earn from each completed delivery.

You can easily earn up to $22-$25 per hour as a Postmates driver, and that’s not including the tips you earn on top of your delivery earnings!

The best part? Being a Postmates driver is really flexible and you can set your own hours.

How Do You Become a Postmates Driver?

If you’re interested in earning some extra cash with Postmates, it’s super simple to become a Postmates driver!

Just go HERE and scroll down to click on the “Get Started” button.

Complete the simple sign-up process. There are only a few basic requirements:

Be at least 18 years of age.
Pass a basic background check.
Have a driver’s license and have access to an insured vehicle (or bicycle, if you prefer).

Once your identity is verified, you’ll be sent a Postmates delivery bag to get started right away!

Go here to sign up!

Shared Jun 26, 2019 comment

Reader Tip: Stretch Your Gift Budget with the Clearance Aisle

Published: by Crystal Paine on June 26, 2019 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

The following reader tip was submitted from Krystal of Rebel With A Good Cause:

Sometimes the clearance aisle is a forgotten treasure trove — I always keep a small amount of the budget to use in this aisle!

It does take a bit more planning to shop clearance items, for instance, I think about stocking stuffers all year long and keep a box in the closet just for these items (which I then get out during the holidays). I buy things like Legos, puzzles, fun jewelry, jump ropes, and slime that can be put be put into a stocking or as part of a larger gift. The stockings end up being unique during the holidays and are always a big hit.

After Easter, our clearance aisle had baby animal board books for $0.10 each! I have 3 coworkers who are currently expecting and these board books will make great baby gifts. I will add a new blanket and probably check for a nice second-hand sleeper. The whole gift will cost less than $10 and I will be able to bless them more than if I went straight to the baby section.

Our clearance section often has really fun candy bouquets after holidays too — these make great party gifts (this year I got them for $0.09 each!!!) You can pair a candy bouquet with other clearance items like bath bombs or slime kits and have a perfect gift for a middle schooler.

You can’t always predict what will be on the clearance aisle but with a little creativity, you can put together some fantastic (and frugal) gifts!

Krystal Strickland is a wife, mother, and nurse who enjoys blogging at Rebel With A Good Cause.

photo source

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Kroger Shopping Trip #1:

Kroger Shopping Trip #2

Sprouts Shopping Trip

Filling Up Our Freezer Again on Our $70/Budget

What We Ate On Our $70 Grocery Budget This Past Week

Our Menu Plan

Breakfasts:

Lunches:

Snacks:

Dinners:

$70 Grocery Budget Totals

7 Ways to Earn Amazon Gift Cards for FREE

1. Swagbucks

2. Ibotta

3. Coinstar

4. InstaGC

5. PrizeRebel

6. Survey Companies

Related Links:

Can you think of any other creative ways to earn Amazon gift cards? I’d love to hear in the comments!

Building Trust With Our Kids

The Guilt I Carried as a Mom

In This Episode:

Links and Resources:

How to Listen to The Crystal Paine Show

Ready to dive in and listen? Hit the player above or search for “The Crystal Paine Show” on your favorite podcast app.

WANT TO SAVE $100 FAST?!Join the FREE 14-Day Savings Challenge!

Easy Meals for Large Groups

How We Planned Easy Vacation Meals for Family

Breakfast Meals for a Crowd

Food for a crowd: Lunch Ideas

Easy Vacation Meals: Dinner

Easy Meals for Big Groups: Snacks and More!

What other ideas of easy meals for 20+ people or easy recipes for large groups do you have? I’d love to hear!

Go here to download the Money-Making Mom eBook for just $2.99.

Personal Goals

Marriage Goal

Motherhood Goal

Family Goal

Financial Goals

Business Goals

How are YOU doing on your goals for 2019? I’d love to hear about your successes and struggles. Tell us in the comments!

What other tips or strategies for cutting your grocery bill would you add to this list?

Some of Our Very Favorite Things

A Note On This Recording

In This Episode:

Links and Resources:

How to Listen to The Crystal Paine Show

Ready to dive in and listen? Hit the player above or search for “The Crystal Paine Show” on your favorite podcast app.

OVER-SPENDING EVERY SINGLE MONTH?Grab these FREE Budgeting Sheets!

Grocery Shopping in Iceland

Shopping at Bonus

Were the Prices Really High?

What We’d Do Differently Next Time Around

Free Things to Do in Minneapolis, Minnesota

What are your best tips and suggestions for free things to do in Minneapolis, Minnesota? Let us know in the comments!

What Is Postmates?

Where is Postmates available?

How Much Can You Earn as a Postmates Driver?

How Do You Become a Postmates Driver?

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