WANT TO WORK FROM HOME? CLICK HERE FOR THE STEP-BY-STEP PLAN!
Money Saving Mom

Money Saving Mom®

Saving Families Money Since 2007

Summer Bucket List

Summer Bucket List.

Summer Bucket List

Classic View
Grid View
Shared Jan 12, 2020 comment

Last week’s Kroger and ALDI Shopping Trips (+ re-organizing the freezer)

Read More

Last week’s Kroger and ALDI Shopping Trips (+ re-organizing the freezer)

Published: by on   |  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.

I felt like this was a really meh week when it came to grocery deals. I went to Kroger twice, and both times didn’t find that many good deals.

Because the deals weren’t that great and I still had money left in the budget, I decided to run by ALDI to see what deals I could find. Well, I felt like the deals were pretty non-existent at ALDI, too.

Oh well, not every week is a great deal week, right? And it makes me grateful for all the many deals that usually find!

Kroger Shopping Trip #1:

  • 4 packages of frozen veggies — $1 each
  • 5 packages of Eckrich sausage — $1.49 each when you buy 5 participating items
  • 4 bags of produce — marked down to $0.99 each
  • No Cow Protein Bar — free with Freebie Friday e-coupon
  • 2 boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats — marked down to $1.59 each
  • 1 dozen eggs — marked down to $1.79
  • Gallon of milk — $2.79
  • 3 organic Coconut yogurts — marked down to $0.24 each
  • 2 cottage cheese — marked down to $0.69 each
  • Total with tax: $26.85

Since I’m doing a lot of decluttering right now, I decided it was high time that I declutter the garage freezer, too. I only had about 20 minutes, so I did what I could with the time I had.

Not perfect, but so much better!

Kroger Shopping Trip #2:

  • HomeChef Mashed Potatoes — marked down to $1.29
  • Deli Chicken — marked down to $2.39
  • Milk — $2.79
  • Hummus — marked down to $0.99
  • Lettuce — $1.79
  • Frozen Green Beans — $1
  • Sugar — $1.59
  • Total with tax: $12.71

ALDI Shopping Trip

  • Frozen Broccoli x 2 = $0.99 each
  • Frozen Sweet Peas x 2 = $0.99 each
  • Macaroni & Cheese x 5 = $0.33 each
  • Garlic = $0.99
  • Frozen Berries = $1.95
  • Bananas = $0.59
  • 12-pack of Ramen noodles = $1.94
  • Dill Pickle Spears = $1.39
  • Avocados x 4 = $0.39 each
  • Refried Beans x 2 = $0.75 each
  • Green Beans x 2 = $0.49 each
  • Mozzarella cheese = $1.69
  • Cheddar cheese = $1.69
  • Lemon juice = $2.39
  • Chocolate milk = $1.59
  • Total with tax = $25.48

Overall Total: $65.04

Shared Jan 11, 2020 comment

Brigette’s $88 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan for 6

Read More

Brigette’s $88 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan for 6

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Aldi

1 bag Frozen Blueberries – $1.85

2 bags Frozen Mixed Vegetables – $1.14

1 2-lb bag Pazazz Apples – $2.49

1 2-lb bag Honey Crisp Apples – $2.49

1 16-oz bag Mini Cucumbers – $2.09

1 bag Baby Carrots – $0.89

1 large bag Organic Kale – $2.89

1 pkg Romaine Hearts – $2.39

1 Cauliflower – $2.29

1 Pineapple – $1.19

2 Avocados – $0.98

1 bag Mini Sweet Peppers – $2.39

1 bag Dried Cranberries – $1.19

1 tub Grape Tomatoes – $1.39

2 bags Red Grapes ($1.29/lb) – $4.97

1 large tub Organic Spring Mix – $3.49

1 pkg Turkey Bacon – $1.89

1 8-oz pkg Deli Sliced Cheese – $1.79

1 Goat Cheese Log – $1.55

1 pkg String Cheese – $1.99

1 16-oz carton Egg Whites – $1.69

5 dozen Eggs – $4.95

1 16-oz pkg Deli Sliced Meat – $2.85

1 jar Extra Virgin Organic Olive Oil – $3.59

1 24-oz jar Pasta Sauce – $0.85

2 cans Tomato Sauce – $0.38

1 box Honey Crunch Oats – $1.29

1 box Cinnamon Crunch Squares – $1.32

1 box Crispy Oats – $1.15

2 boxes Macaroni and Cheese – $0.66

1 gallon Whole Milk – $1.99

1 gallon 1% Milk – $1.99

2 64-oz cartons Orange Juice – $3.28

1 64-oz carton Unsweetened Almond Milk – $1.65

1 16-oz carton Heavy Whipping Cream – $0.99

1 32-oz carton Half and Half – $1.55

1 pkg Butter Quarters – $2.49

1 24-oz carton Cottage Cheese – $1.59

1 can Parmesan Cheese – $2.29

2 large cans Organic Diced Tomatoes – $3.18

1 large canister Old Fashioned Oats – $2.29

1 pkg Sliced Pepperoni – $2.19

1 bag Gluten Free Pretzels – $1.85

1 loaf Sandwich Bread – $0.67

Grocery Total for the Week: $88.07

Weekly Menu Plan

We have SO MUCH food in our pantry and freezer right now – 7 deer from my husband’s hunting season efforts, plus all kinds of foodie christmas gifts and leftovers. We will be working on eating it up over the next few weeks especially (although the venison will take the whole year ;)). Also, I got an Instant Pot for Christmas! So feel free to hit me up with your favorite recipes.

Breakfasts

Everyone is responsible for making/cleaning up their own breakfasts. Choices include:

Oatmeal, Toast, Fried/Scrambled/Boiled Eggs, Veggie Omelets, Cereal, Fruit, Cottage Cheese, Smoothies

Lunches

Deli Meat/Cheese Sandwiches, Apples, Cucumbers x 2

Pretzels and Peanut Butter, Cheese Sticks, Grapes

Baked Potatoes with Shredded Cheese/Cottage Cheese, Grapes Mini Peppers

Leftovers x 3

Dinners

Pancakes, Eggs, Turkey Bacon, Roasted Parmesan Broccoli (breakfast for dinner)

Instant Pot Pot Roast with Potatoes and Carrots (I’ll use a Venison Roast and my variation of this), Tossed Salad

Homemade Pepperoni Pizza, Steamed Mixed Vegetables, Kale Craisin Salad

Taco Salad (using ground venison), Spanish Rice, Oranges

Chili with Shredded Cheese, Homemade Cornbread, Raw Carrots/Ranch Dip

Date Night Out (Kids eat Mac and Cheese at home)

Leftovers

Shared Jan 10, 2020 comment

My Honest Butcher Box Review

Read More

My Honest Butcher Box Review

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Looking for really honest ButcherBox reviews or searching for ways to save money on high-quality meat? This is a really comprehensive post on what you can expect from Butcher Box and how to get the best deal when ordering. And don’t forget to check out the latest ButcherBox discount code to save on your first box!

{Note: This post was sponsored by ButcherBox, but all opinions are my own. Read our disclosure policy here.}

Psst! See all my other honest product reviews here.

ButcherBox Reviews

Have you wanted to try ButcherBox but wish someone would do an honest review for you beforehand? Well, I got ya covered today!

ButcherBox reached out and asked if I’d be willing to try out the service and write an honest review of my experience.

As you well know with my honest review posts, I try to do my very best to give you a comprehensive overview of the product and service and my truthful thoughts on whether it is a good deal.

For those who might be unfamiliar with Butcher Box, they are a subscription service that sends a box of high-quality meat to your door every month.

ButcherBox Reviews: How Does It Work?

When you first sign up with ButcherBox, you can choose what kind of box you’d like for them to send. We’ve tried out a few different boxes in order to get a good feel for the type and quality of meat they offer.

You can choose between five different types of boxes:

I recommend doing a custom box because it allows you to customize the meat that they send and you are able to get exactly what you know you will use.

Once you choose which box you’d like, then you pick your monthly box size. You can choose between a Classic Box ($169/month) or a Big Box ($306/month). The price varies depending on which type of meat box you chose.

ButcherBox meat quality

After you’ve chosen your box size, then you can customize exactly what they will send you. I like that you can see exactly what your options are and you can figure out how to get the best bang for your buck!

Then, just input your payment information and you’re done. (Psst! You might wait a bit on the payment page, because an offer should pop up to add free bacon to your box if you do!)

reviews of ButcherBox meat

 Is Butcherbox Meat High Quality?

ButcherBox is very committed to offering some of the highest-quality meat on the market. They pride themselves on having some of the highest standards for sourcing, sustainability, and taste.

No meat from Butcher Box will ever have added hormones or antibiotics. (Note: Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones in pork and the use of hormones or steroids in poultry.)

In addition, ButcherBox animals are only humanely raised. Here are some more details on the packaging in our latest box…

ButcherBox reviews and quality of meat
Alaskan Sockeye Salmon
ButcherBox Wings
grass-fed beef labeling

Is Butcherbox Meat Fresh?

I have gotten three different boxes from ButcherBox and, each time, the box has shown up in good condition and the meat is still frozen almost solid when it arrives.

As you can see from the box below, ButcherBox sends their meat in very sturdy boxes and it’s packaged well with dry ice.

ButcherBox High Quality Meat
ButcherBox is eco-friendly
empty cardboard box

My Butcher Box Review

We really loved the meats we tried from ButcherBox and were very impressed with our experience. We especially thought that beef seemed much tastier than store-bought beef.

That said, we typically buy our meat at Kroger when it is on a great sale and/or is marked down. And, as you likely know, we currently only spend $70/week on groceries for our family of 5.

Is ButcherBox a good deal?

From our vantage point, the price of ButcherBox is really expensive for us compared to what we typically pay for meat. However, we also usually stick with very inexpensive meat cuts that are definitely nowhere near the quality of ButcherBox meat.

Is Butcher Box worth it?

While ButcherBox is much more expensive than buying meat when it’s marked down at the grocery store, the overall quality is much higher. If you are looking for a source of quality, humanely-raised meat, ButcherBox might be a good option for you to consider.

salmon and meat in a box

Is it Easy to Cancel ButcherBox?

If you want to cancel your subscription or pause it, you can easily do so at any time.

You don’t need to call or email them about it. You can just go into your account and do it — easy-peasy!

What are the ButcherBox negative reviews?

After digging around a bit on the internet, I found a few complaints about some meat juices leaking out in a box, as well as a couple of the items being defrosted when they arrived. Although the article didn’t say how long the box was left on the homeowner’s front porch.

There were also the typical complaints about individual’s food preferences and their apparently dislike of certain ButcherBox meats.

However, it took me a while to find those complaints so I don’t believe they are a common occurrence.

If you do have a negative experienc with ButcherBox, I encourage you to reach out to their customer support immediately as they will likely remedy the situation for you!

ButcherBox Reviews FAQ

Is ButcherBox high quality?

ButcherBox offers a range of fresh and frozen cuts of meat, fish, and poultry. The items are high quality, including grass-fed beef, organic chicken, heritage-breed pork, and wild-caught seafood.

Is ButcherBox a reputable company?

Yes, ButcherBox is totally trustworthy. If you’re looking for high quality meat that is organic, grass fed, and antibiotic free – I completely trust their sourcing process. They work with amazing farmers to find great quality meat!

How much is ButcherBox monthly?

Depending on what type and size of box you order, it will range from $146 – $306 per box — but you don’t have to get a box every month. You may start and stop your boxes at any time.

Do you have to get ButcherBox every month?

No. You can set your orders to come every 2, 4, or 6 weeks. You can also skip an order or pause your subscription for several months.

Does ButcherBox meat come frozen?

The meat does arrive frozen in vacuum-sealed packages.

Where does ButcherBox beef come from?

Their pasture-raised, 100% grass-fed & grass-finished beef comes from Australia.

ButcherBox Discount Code

If you’re looking for a ButcherBox Discount Code, be sure to head over here to this post where we update the page any time there’s a new deal!

Have you tried ButcherBox before? If so, I’d love to hear your ButcherBox reviews in the comments below!

Shared Jan 9, 2020 comment

How to Get Your Kids to Help Around the House

Read More

How to Get Your Kids to Help Around the House

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Welcome to my weekly post where I answer one of your questions you’ve submitted. This week’s question is on how to get your kids to help around the house. Here are five strategies that have worked for us…

how to get kids to help around the house

“How do you get your kids to help around the house?”

This is a question multiple people asked when I shared pictures and videos of our family working together to declutter last week.

Honestly, I had to think about that one for a bit because it feels like it’s been so long since it’s something we’ve worked on intentionally — it just sort of happens now that our three oldest are almost 15, 12, and 10.

But in the earlier years, here were some things that I feel helped pay a good foundation:

1. Model It.

Don’t just ask your kids to help or work; set an example for them of a strong work ethic. “More is caught than taught.”

2. Teach It.

Don’t expect your kids to just automatically know what “clean your room” or “do the dishes” or “sweep the floor” means. Take the time to really show them how to do it — and give them lots of grace and patience in the learning process.

I give a lot of practical ideas for this in my post on How to Get Your Kids to Stop Whining and Help with Chores.

3. Inspect It.

Follow up after you’ve given a task to make sure it was completed and done well. Oftentimes, this has helped me realize areas where I still need to go back and do some more hands-on teaching.

4. Expect It.

“We all work together to make our home run. Everyone is an asset.”

This is one of our family mantras and it’s something we often remind ours kids about.

Need some age-appropriate chore ideas? Check out this post with some chore ideas for kids of different ages. (Keep in mind, though, that each child is different. What might be simple for one 4-year-old, could be utterly overwhelming to another.)

5. Praise It.

It’s easy to focus on what our kids are doing wrong, where they’ve missed the mark, or where they need to improve. But I think it’s important to make sure we’re praising 10 times more than we are correcting.

I talk more about the importance of this in my post on How to Get Your Kids to Help With Chores More Willingly.

6. Reward It.

We all work hard, but we also play hard, too. For instance, we did fun things together last week when the decluttering was done.

I often tell the kids, “When we get this work done, then we’ll do xyz (something fun)!” It inspires and motivates all of us (including me!) to finish the work so we can enjoy something fun together.

How do you encourage your kids to help? What has worked well for your family?

P.S. Have a question you’d love for me to answer in a future Q&A post? Send me an email through the contact form here.

Shared Jan 9, 2020 comment

4 Courses, 4 Days, $4 Each!! {Don’t Miss This!}

Read More

4 Courses, 4 Days, $4 Each!! {Don’t Miss This!}

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

We are doing something this week that we’ve never done before — we’re retiring 4 of our courses.

Wait, what?!?

Yes, after Thursday of this week, we’re discontinuing selling four of our popular digital courses. (If you’ve already purchased them, you’ll still have lifetime access in your account to them. We just won’t be selling them anymore.)

Why? Well, these are courses that have all sold well, but we have a lot of new product ideas for the future and we want to make space for being able to launch those. So we decided that in order to clear out some room, we needed to pare down the courses we currently sell.

One Last Chance to Buy These — At CRAZY Low Prices!!

Before we completely retire these 4 courses and discontinue selling them, we’re going to offer one last chance opportunity to grab these popular courses at a HUGE discount!!

Through Thursday only, we’re offering the following 4 courses for just $4 each. Yes, you . read that right! Here are the 4 courses you can get for just $4 each:

As a reminder, these products will no longer be able for sale after Thursday, January 9, 2020. So this will be your last chance to get these!

Go grab these courses at this insanely low price while you can!

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

Click here to sign up!
Shared Jan 8, 2020 comment

4 Books I Read This Past Week (+ the classic movie we watched)

Read More

4 Books I Read This Past Week (+ the classic movie we watched)

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Welcome to my weekly book update post where I share what books I read this past week + my honest thoughts and star ratings of them.

In 2020, I decided not to put together a list of all the books I plan to read like I did the past few years. In the spirit of keeping my goals smaller and in bite-sized chunks, I decided to just pick the next few books I’m planning to read instead of trying to sort of plan out the whole year!

And then I’m planning to do a book update post every week or every other week here with reviews and thoughts on the books I finished. It’s very possible that some weeks I won’t finish any books, so I’m giving myself permission to skip a week here and there if I don’t have anything to report! 🙂

Full disclosure, I did pick out a bunch of books I really would love to read this year and put them on three of the shelves in our library. And I plan to mostly pick the books I’m reading next from those shelves.

I also picked out about 25 books on parenting that I plan to read while I’m writing my book. (My manuscript is due in July 2020 and I am hopeful that I’ll be able to read one parenting book per week. I’ve been reading 1-2 chapters every morning on the treadmill while I’m walking and, at that rate, it’s pretty easy to get through a book per week. We’ll see if I can keep it up!)

If you want to see what I’m currently reading or what I’ve read so far this year, you can check out my GoodReads account.

A Word on My Star Ratings

The star ratings I give the books I read are based on a 5-star rating system. I rarely will ever give a book a 1-star rating (maybe never?), because my philosophy is that if a book is only worthy of one star, I’m more than likely going to quit reading it. 🙂 In the same vein, you’ll also notice that I’ll rarely give a 5-star rating as I reserve those for only my very, very favorite books.

Here are the books I finished last week:

1. An Invisible Thread

This book was recommended to me twice in the same week by people I respect, so I figured I should get a copy and read it! An Invisible Thread is the story of a seeming chance meeting between an 11-year-old pan handler and a busy executive and how it changed both of their lives.

This book is written from the perspective of the busy executive, Laura Schroff, and her thoughts on how this young boy impacted her life in ways she couldn’t have dreamed. I thought it did a good job of fleshing out some of the very real problems and struggles with children born into poverty.

I think so many of us live very sheltered and safe lives that it’s hard to imagine what it would be like to grow up and never know where you’ll be living, to have to figure out how to fend for yourself from a young age, to always be hungry, and how hard it would be to break the cycles of poverty and drug addiction when that’s all you know.

On the flip side, I cringed at some of the decisions Laura made and how hurt this young boy — often with her being completely oblivious. It made me examine my own life and thought processes over things and decisions, especially in light of fostering.

One of the parts of the book that I didn’t expect was that it wasn’t wrapped up in a neat bow and it didn’t have a perfect Hallmark movie ending. But I appreciated that it was real and gritty and the author was honest about her struggles.

That said, I felt like the author shared a lot more about her background and life than maybe was necessary and sometimes it felt more like her memoir than the story that is promised in the subtitle. In some ways, it felt like she was trying to fill a word count for her manuscript. And yet, some of her story was very interesting and insightful.

Verdict: 3 stars

2. The Rock, The Road, and the Rabbi

I had seen this book advertised or mentioned so many different places, but I had no idea what it was about. I was looking for some new books to listen to on my Libby audiobook app and it was available to borrow from the library, so I started listening to it.

Honestly, it seemed a little dry in the beginning and the introduction was kind of long and drawn out. But I’m glad I kept listening, because I learned so much and it opened so many passages in Scripture in a new light.

Kathie Lee Gifford shares her journey of traveling to Israel and learning under a Messianic Rabbi. He helped her write many parts of the book and, as someone who has read the Bible from cover to cover many times in my life, I couldn’t believe how much I learned.

I think that it helped that I visited Israel a few years ago and had gone to many of the places mentioned in the book so I could picture them in my mind as I was listening. And it made me anxious to go back again!!

If you haven’t been to Israel, I think you’ll still find this book insightful, it just might not come alive as much if you can’t picture the sites and places in your mind. (However, this book might make you really want to visit there!)

Verdict: 4 stars

3. Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family

I can’t tell you how many times people have recommended this book to me! Since I’m working on a book on the topic of parenting right now, I figured I should really read it.

It was interesting to me how much of the book mirrored some of the lessons and journey God has had me on as a parent in the last 3 years. Much of it was refresher type of encouragement, but it was so good to read.

I appreciated the author’s strong emphasis on the Gospel as that is often missing in parenting books. It’s so easy to focus on prescriptive parenting tactics instead of getting to the heart — pointing our kids to Jesus.

In addition, I loved the underlying message that we won’t doing this parenting thing perfectly and that’s the point. If we were perfect parents, we wouldn’t need Jesus!

While I didn’t agree with every tiny little thing in the book and I truly was irritated by the layout of the book, I am very glad I read this and think it’s a worthwhile read for every Christian parent!

(A note on the layout: I think it needed more spacing and better breaking up of paragraphs, maybe some callout quotes, and possibly a different font? Yes, I’m weird in that book layouts can really make or break my reading experience. I’ve even been known to not read a book just because I felt like the layout was so poorly done!)

Verdict: 4 stars

4. A Single Shard

We’ve had this book on our shelf for a few years and I finally picked it up to read aloud to the kids. It’s the fictional account of a master potter, a homeless boy, big dreams, dashed hopes (literally), and how perseverance pays off.

Truth be told, I really enjoyed the story and found it pretty engaging (even though I had mostly guessed what the ending was going to be!),  but the kids didn’t enjoy it. They said it was hard to follow and not super engaging.

I think some of the was likely due to the fact that we’ve gotten way out of the habit of reading aloud (should I confess that it’s been almost two years — I think! — since we’ve read a book other than a devotional or the Bible out loud together??) and it’s going to take some time to get back into it. I also think that they’ve changed so much in the few years since we stopped reading aloud, that it’s going to take some trial and error to figure out what kinds of books will engage them now that they are older.

Regardless of it not being a big hit, I’m going to celebrate that we read it, finished it, and learned some things about potters and ancient pottery and 12th century Korea. That’s a win, right?? 🙂

Verdict: 3 stars

Classic Movie We Watched This Week

The kids decided — all on their own — that they want to start watching one old classic movie per week together as a family in 2020. They are helping me choose the list of movies and I’ll be reporting here what we watch each week and their thoughts on it.

I plan to do a big classic movie round-up post at the end of the year with their verdict on the best and favorites of the ones we watched. (If you have suggestions of must-watch classic movies, leave them in the comments!)

This week, we watched the 1960’s version of Swiss Family Robinson. I hadn’t seen it in a long time, so I wasn’t sure if it would stand up to my childhood recollection of it being a great movie. And I had no idea what the kids would think since it definitely doesn’t have all the modern technology of big budget films now.

Well, we all really enjoyed it! The kids laughed a lot through it and we all decided it’s definitely one of the classic movies worth watching!

Note: Silas (10) was a little scared in a few parts and covered his eyes with the blanket. I told him that the ending was sort of like Home Alone, only pirate style, and that helped him enjoy it more to know that was coming. He ended up really liking it overall and said it helped that I gave him a little taste of what was coming. (It’s funny, because I do not like to know how a movie is going to end up. He, on the other hand, prefers to know that everything is going to be okay and then he can enjoy it a lot more.)

What did you read this past week? Any books you think I really need to add to my long to-read list??

Shared Jan 7, 2020 comment

Our Journey to Becoming Foster Parents

Read More

Our Journey to Becoming Foster Parents

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Our Journey to Becoming Foster Parents

“What’s your plan for foster care? How many kids are you planning to accept at a time? What ages of kids are you planning to foster? Are you hoping to adopt from the foster care system?”

These questions and many more have been asked by very well-meaning, caring people over the last few months as we’ve shared the news that we were becoming foster parents.

If you know me, you know I’m a planner. I’m a to do list queen. I love having order and organization in our lives. I’m a big proponent of setting goals.

And yet, when it comes to foster care, I don’t have a pre-determined plan or fill-in-the-blank answers. In fact, my answer to pretty much every question is, “I don’t know. We’re open to how God leads.”

That might seem vague or even like a cop out. But it’s the truest answer I have to give right now.

Why We Said Yes to Foster Parenting

You see, we aren’t saying yes to foster care because it fits into a grand plan we’ve written out for the next 10 years of our life. In all honesty, saying yes to foster care feels pretty crazy with our current workload and responsibilities and season of life.

And yet, to the deepest part of our core, we know this is God’s call on our life and we know that He has a plan for our future that is greater and bigger and crazier than what we could dream up.

So we’ve jumped off the cliff of our comfort and plunging into the unknown in full confidence that God’s got this. He knows what the future holds and He’s the One Who holds the future — and we can trust Him to carry us, even on the really hard days.

In this week’s episode of the podcast, Jesse and I share in-depth how we ended up on this journey (it wasn’t one we ever anticipated being on!), why we made the decision to pursue getting licensed, what the licensing process was like, and what we’ve learned along the way. We also answer some of your most often-asked questions regarding foster care.

In This Episode: 

[01:23] My exercise ball and cleaning out our closets have been saving our lives. We share why.

[06:38] I just finished reading Parenting and wanted to share a few of my favorite quotes.

[10:56] Jesse is reading Hunter Killer.

[12:40] The unexpected path that led us to become foster parents. 

[19:37] We talk about what the classes and certification were like. 

[26:00] After finishing all the classes, we moved on to the home study.

[29:18] What the best step to start with to look into fostering?

[32:21] Why we decided to actively involve our kids in the decision-making process.

[34:51] What are some of the best ways others can come alongside and help foster families? 

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 here. 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.

Shared Jan 7, 2020 comment

Get 4 Weeks to a More Productive Life for just $4!

Read More

Get 4 Weeks to a More Productive Life for just $4!

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

In the hustle and bustle of daily life, it is easy to mistake busyness for productivity.

In my course, 4 Weeks to a More Productive Life, I help you systematically break down the most common barriers keeping you from really improving your productivity and help you put in place proven, effective strategies to help you accomplish more while stressing less.

This program will give you the tools and cheerleading you need to:

  • Stop the excuses and get up and change your life — one baby step at a time.
  • Get hands-on help to know what you need to do over a 4-week period to start doing less and getting more done.
  • AND have time, energy, and breathing room to invest your time and life into the people you love and the things you are passionate about.

When you sign up for 4 Weeks to a More Productive Life, you’ll get:

  • Lifetime access to 4 30-minute pre-recorded coaching sessions with me! 
  • Weekly lessons with tips, strategies, and additional resources and encouragement to go along with that week’s coaching video!
  • Hands-on projects to complete each week to practically apply what you are learning!

Through Thursday, January 9, 2020, you can get this course for the crazy low price of $4 (regularly $17). Go purchase it here.

You can also get these three courses for just $4:

Go grab these courses at this insanely low price while you can!

Shared Jan 6, 2020 comment

My Goals For This Week (+ details on my baby to do list)

Read More

My Goals For This Week (+ details on my baby to do list)

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

As I told you last week, I’m doing weekly goals in 2020 instead of yearly goals. We’re only a week into the new year, but I can already tell you that I am loving this approach and couldn’t believe how much I got done last week.

(Okay, it probably helped that the kids were out of school, we had very few extra commitments, and it was an overall quiet week. We’ll see how it goes this week when we’re back to our usual schedule and pace and we have commitments and plans every evening!) 

Before I share this week’s goals, here’s an update on how I did on last week’s goals…

Last Week’s Goals (progress update)

Personal Goals

1. Get in 50,000 steps total.

2. Finish reading Parenting and An Invisible Thread.

3. Get up at 5:30 a.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. (I hit this goal every day but Monday.)

Home/Family Goals

4. Declutter the entire house. (See the pictures of our progress here. (Note: We did all the big projects this week, but I came up with a list of little areas I want to declutter and I’m planning to tackle one small project every week day fo

r the next few weeks.)

5. Finish reading aloud A Single Shard together.

6. Start a new family devotional book together. (We decided to go with The Ology since we already had it and had been wanting to go through it.)

Work/Blog Goals

7. Spend 12 hours on my manuscript outline. (My outline is done — yay!! This next week I get to start writing!)

8. Open up the blogging Mastermind to new members.

9. Get everything ready for our big $4 course sale next week.

Word of the Year Goals

10. Pop popcorn and watch a movie as a family. (We watched Swiss Family Robinson and the kids really enjoyed it!)

11. Take Kaitlynn out shopping. (See details on our shopping trip here.)

12. Make tea, light a candle, and write thank you notes.

I was SO excited to see all those things crossed off the list! YAY!!!

A Word About My Baby To Do List

You’ll start to notice baby items on my goals list each week. A few weeks ago, I sat down and made out a list of everything I needed to do/buy/get before the baby is born (I’m due April 30).

I divided this list up into weekly tasks so that I could slowly chip away at it instead of waiting until the last few weeks and feeling overwhelmed by everything I needed to do. This makes the countdown more exciting and it also is in line with my word for the year — because it’s going to let me savor this special time even more instead of feeling sort of rushed with to-do’s.

2020: Week 2 — Goals

Personal Goals

1. Get in 52,000 steps total. (I use the FitBit Ulta HR to track my steps every day.)

2. Finish reading Romancing Your Child’s Heart and Awful Beautiful Life and listening to the Killing Patton audiobook.

3. Get up at 5:30 a.m. every week day.

Home/Family Goals

4. Decluttering: Garage freezer, bathroom closet, attic area, laundry room, car.

5. Start a new read aloud book together as a family. (Any great suggestions??)

6. Inventory what baby clothes we need to buy and purchase these.

Work/Blog Goals

7. Finish the introduction and write chapter 1 of my manuscript.

8. Write an in-depth honest review of Butcher Box.

9. Run our $4 course sale.

Word of the Year Goals

10. Pop popcorn and watch another classic movie as a family.

11. Go out to dinner with Jesse for our anniversary.

12. Make tea, light a candle, and write a card to Jesse.

What are YOUR goals for this week? How did you do on last week’s goals? Tell us in the comments!

Shared Jan 5, 2020 comment

Life Update: Pregnancy (week 23), Goal-Setting, Decluttering, Birthday Parties, and a fun girls’ night

Read More

Life Update: Pregnancy (week 23), Goal-Setting, Decluttering, Birthday Parties, and a fun girls’ night

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Welcome to my weekly life update where I share about my pregnancy & give you a peek into our life this past week. If you want to follow a lot more behind-the-scenes and real-time updates every week, be sure to follow my stories and posts on Instagram.

23 weeks!! And I officially “popped” this week.

I kept waiting for it to happen and this week it totally did. In fact, Jesse walked in while I was walking on the treadmill and took one look at me and said, “Whoa!” when he saw my belly. And then he realized that he had said it out loud… and I started dying laughing, because it’s exactly what I feel every time I look down or look in the mirror.

Highlights

We cleaned out our master bedroom closet to make space for the baby’s things (we’re planning to have the baby sleep in our room for the first months, possibly longer). It’s getting real now that we have baby blankets and baby things sitting in our closet!

Notable

This was a rough week. I struggled with a lot more nausea and had a lot more fatigue than usual. In fact, at least half of the day most days, I could only manage to be up for 5-15 minutes at a time and then needed to lie down.

I think I maybe overdid it the last few weeks (+ I was sick) and we were traveling and I think my body just got completely worn down. I tried to take it really, really easy the past few days and I’m feeling a lot more energetic. I’m so grateful!

It was a good reminder to me that this is a season to make sure to really pace myself and take time to rest.

Cravings

Very little this week, since I was nauseous most of the time. But I’m so grateful that the nausea isn’t anywhere what it was like in my first trimester. Also, I keep thinking about so many people who feel sick all the time and it’s not for a good cause nor does it have an end in sight.

Weight gain: 15 lbs.

This Week at Our House

We drove back from Kansas last weekend (it’s about an 11 to 12-hour drive). Silas asked if he could wear his jammies on the drive… he is such a PJ-lover and I wonder if he’ll ever grow out of loving wearing PJs as often as possible! 🙂

On the drive home, I worked on planning for 2020, including planning out my Weekly Goals for this past week. (Did you see my post on why I’m not setting yearly goals and am setting weekly goals instead?)

Last week, I asked for ideas on Instagram to help with my lingering hacking cough that was keeping me up at night. I got so many great ideas!

As a result, I started taking elderberry syrup (thank you, Four Mothers Elderberry!) and putting Vick’s on my feet with socks every night and it’s really made a difference. I’m still not 100%, but I’m so much better than I was last week! You all are the best!

One of our biggest projects for the week was decluttering all the majorly-neglected spots in our home. (You can see all of the before and after pictures here.)

We had multiple birthday parties to attend this past week (I guess it’s a popular week for birthdays??). I loved the way my friend, Fran, chose to celebrate her birthday — with a TAK PAK Party.

We all brought specific items and then packed backpacks with these items for teen girls who are entering foster care. (Read more about TAK PAKS here.)

From My Heart…

“I’m at my wit’s end! I can’t seem to connect with my daughter at all! It’s like she just doesn’t want to have a relationship with me!” A distraught mom confided this to me recently.

My heart went out to her and I asked some more questions about the situation. Two things I asked were, “What does your daughter like? What is she interested in and passionate about?”

After the mom listed off some things, I said, “What would it look like for you to step into her world and be interested in those things with her?”

The mom abruptly responded, “Oh! I couldn’t do that! That’s just not me!”

Here’s the thing I’ve learned from doing it all wrong: We can’t expect our kids to love all the same things we love and get excited about all the same things we get excited about.

I used to get frustrated because my kids were so different than me. But then, I began seeing that their wildly different interests were an opportunity for me to learn and grow and expand my world.

My kids have taught me so much about so many subjects that I used to have zero clue about. They have helped me develop new interests and new skills. And they’ve stretched and pushed me outside my comfort zone.

And it has made my world so much richer and interesting!

Want to Deepen a Relationship?

For instance, Kaitlynn absolutely adores Bath & Body Works, so she’s teaching me all about how to get the best deal there. I’ve learned all about their scents and sales and money back guarantee. And she and I went one night this past week with her well-researched list and gift card and $10/$40 coupon and she floored me by getting two bags full of stuff for only $10.80 out of pocket — and saving $98!!!

As I watched her strategically shop last night, I thought: 1) She needs to start her own blog (but she’s not interested in blogging, and that’s okay!) and 2) I would have missed this had I not been willing to get out of my little, “I don’t like to shop or go to the mall” mentality and jumped in and embraced something my daughter loves.

Want to deepen a relationship with someone? Care about what they care about. Be interested in what they are interested in. And let them open up a whole new world of ideas and insights and inspiration to you!

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

Click here to download!
Shared Jan 4, 2020 comment

Decluttering Our Home (before and after pictures)

Read More

Decluttering Our Home (before and after pictures)

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Need some motivation to declutter your home? We’ve been working on decluttering our home this week and I wanted to share the progress we’ve been making:

As I shared in my Weekly Goals post, this week, my goal was to declutter the house from top to bottom. I decided to focus on the biggest problem areas in our home for this week — namely the storage room, the Master Bedroom closet, the library, my bedside drawers, and my purse.

The Storage Room

I’m pretty embarrassed to show you these photos because this room has been neglected for so incredibly long. In fact, when we moved to this house — almost two years ago — we never unpacked or organized a lot of the boxes in here.

We just stuck stuff in here and I hoped to eventually get to it. Obviously, it took quite awhile to get around to that “eventually” plan!

There were hundreds and hundreds of school papers in here. I didn’t want to throw anything out  since this was theirs… so since they were on Christmas break, this was the perfect time to tackle the boxes of school papers.

They pared them down to a few small tubs and recycled a TON of old papers! In the process, they loved getting to look back on how far they have come academically in the last few years!

Jesse also went through a lot of his old law firm stuff and so many different old tech things. He ended up finding quite a few things he had forgotten we had or that he had wanted to find — including one item he’d been looking for for 4 years!

The three pictures above show the final results. It took hours of work, but it was SO worth it!

Our Master Bedroom Closet

So our closet wasn’t near at all as messy as the storage room, but it still needed quite a bit of TLC.

Both Jesse and I got rid of quite a few clothes, we pared down some other things, we moved some items to other parts of the house where they really belong, and we cleared out a space for the baby’s stuff.

(We’re planning to have the baby sleep in our room for at least the first few months, probably longer. So I wanted to have the three drawers on my side of the closet plus some of the shelves available for the baby things.)

I couldn’t believe how much stuff Jesse got rid of — including shirts that he’d had for 8-10 years!!

My Bedside Drawers

Next up, my bedside drawers. This has become a catchall for all sorts of random odds and ends. (Can you believe all of that was in there! Yikes!!)

I thought about what I actually want to keep in my bedside table and couldn’t come up with much when it really came down to it! So here’s what it looks like now!

The Library

Okay, so the before and after pictures of the library aren’t as impressive, but this was a BIG project that I’ve been wanting to tackle for months.

I finally took all of the books off the shelves and re-organized them in a really systematic way. And now we know where to put new books when they come in and where to re-shelf books when we put them back! It feels so amazing to have a system!!

My Purse

And last but not least, I went through my purse. I started by dumping all the contents out — yep, ALL of that was in my purse!

Then, I threw out a lot of stuff, put some other things that didn’t belong in my purse away, and only put back what I really want and need in my purse.

Now, every time I go to take my purse with me somewhere, it makes me smile to see how clean and organized it is! Let’s see if I can keep it this way!

Did you do any decluttering this week?

P.S. I love my purse! A number of people reached out via messages and asked where I got it. It’s from Amazon and it’s around $35-$37 there. I use it pretty much every day and have had it for almost a year. Other than a little wear and tear on the strap, it’s held up really well! Here’s the link to it.

Shared Jan 3, 2020 comment

3 FREE Things You Can Do This Weekend to Change Your Year

Read More

3 FREE Things You Can Do This Weekend to Change Your Year

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Want to set yourself up for success in the New Year? Here are three things you can do this weekend to have a happier, healthier, and more joy-filled new year! Best of all, these are all free!

Change Your Year

The New Year is upon us and it’s the perfect time to be intentional and strategic to set yourself up for success and peace this year! I’ve got three suggestions of things to do this weekend to help you have a better year…

1. Do a Budget Audit

The new year is a great time to sit down with your budget and really analyze every penny you spend. If you are married and share the budget with someone else, be sure to do this as a joint audit! (Here’s a post on How to Have a Budget Meeting.)

As you go through each budget category, ask yourself:

  • Do we need to spend this?
  • Is this budget category still serving us well?
  • Is there a way we could decrease this expense category?
  • Do we need to tweak this category at all?

Jesse and I use the YNAB software to track our personal and business expenses. We love it and highly recommend it. It especially makes it easy to see all your expenses and income at a glance so you can easily do a budget audit together.

Note: If you don’t have a zero-based budget in place, this weekend is the perfect weekend to set one up! I highly recommend reading The Total Money Makeover to help with this (your library should have it!). But for this weekend, you can start with this article on How to Make a Zero-Based Budget.

2. Declutter Your Space

What areas of your home are particularly cluttered or disorganized right now? This weekend would be a great time to spend some clearing out the clutter and making more breathing room in your home. (Need some motivation on what you should declutter? Check out my post on 5 Questions to Ask Yourself About Clutter.)

We’ve been working hard at decluttering our home from top to bottom this past week. We’ve been amazed at how much happier and simpler our life feels now that our closet and storage room and library are pared down and much more organized (pictures coming tomorrow to share the progress we’ve made this week!

By the way, I highly recommend that you go ahead and get rid of what you declutter. Go drop it off at a donation center this weekend. No need to lug it around in the back of your car for weeks. Or worse, to have it sit by your back door for the next two months!

While you’re decluttering your home, think of other areas you might need to declutter:

  • Can you delete some emails from your inbox?
  • Should you unsubscribe from email lists that are no longer serving you?
  • What about Instagram accounts or Facebook Groups that aren’t bringing joy and life to your life?

3. Downsize Your Commitments

Don’t just do a budget audit or declutter your home, if you want to have a great year, it’s time to take a hard look at your calendar and commitments and see if any of them need to be pared down, too.

Look at your calendar for January. Does it feel overwhelming or doable? Does it feel life-giving or life-draining?

Now take a hard look at the rest of the year and see how it feels. Are there weekly commitments you have that are sucking the life out of you? Are you doing anything just because you feel you have to or because you feel obligated to do so?

Could you cut back, tweak, delegate, ask for some help, lower some expectations, or just say no to something (or many somethings)? There’s no point in running yourself ragged and not having any time to breathe and love the life and people right in front of you!

There you have it. Three FREE things you can do this weekend to set yourself up for success this year!

I challenge you to pick one (or ALL!) of these things and commit to making it happen this weekend. If you plan to do so, leave a comment below and let me know.

Not only will it provide a little extra accountability for you, but I’d love to cheer you on in your endeavors!

photo credit; photo credit; photo credit

Shared Jan 2, 2020 comment

5 Things You Should Never Do If You Want to Save Money on Groceries

Read More

5 Things You Should Never Do If You Want to Save Money on Groceries

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Are you trying to save more money on groceries and stick to a grocery budget? NEVER do these five things!

Psst! Looking for more ways to cut your grocery bill? Check out my FREE cheat sheet on how to cut your grocery bill by $50 this week!

Guest post from Katrina of Frugal Fun Mom

If you’re a busy mom, I’m sure the last thing you want to do is go to the grocery store — let alone go to the grocery store with cranky kids and still try to find ways to save money on your groceries.

I get it. I feel the same way!

While I do enjoy saving money on groceries, the actual process can be daunting — especially when time is limited and you have kids who would rather be doing anything but grocery shopping.

If you’re looking to get the most bang for your buck when it comes to saving money on groceries, my advice is to never do these 5 things…

1. Never Use Grocery Delivery or Pick Up Services

I can hear the gasp – yes, I said it. You should never use grocery delivery or pick up services.

What?! Yes, never… at least not if your goal is to save money on groceries!

While these services are super convenient, they come at a cost and some of these costs are hidden. While a lot of grocery or delivery services are free, most are only free if you buy a certain quantity of items – which can mean you overspend just to make sure you don’t have to pay delivery fees.

Also, most of these services do not allow you to use coupons. I think we can all agree that coupons are like free money, so you always want the option to use them when you shop. Yes, you can choose to buy only those items which are on sale, but you still can’t use coupons – your free money – to buy those items.

If I haven’t convinced you already, the main reason I don’t use grocery delivery or pick up services is that I miss out on all the hidden deals inside the store. I’m talking about the deals you find in the clearance bins, discount section, or the manager’s specials aisle. Plus, when you find a great deal in clearance and can use a coupon on top of the deal, you have just scored yourself an even better deal than you never would’ve found using grocery delivery or pick up services.

2. Never Go to the Grocery Store Without a List

Make sure you always go to the grocery store with a list of stuff you need – don’t go into the store blind! If you do, you will overspend and most likely buy things you don’t need.

Make a list of the things you need and try your best not to deter from your list while shopping.

3. Never Go to the Grocery Store Without Looking Over the Weekly Ad

Always look at the weekly ad before you head to the grocery store! Make sure you know what is on sale, and what is not.

If you have multiple grocery stores in your area, compare prices and deals by looking at the weekly ads.

If you don’t have a newspaper subscription and don’t receive the ads, you can always find the weekly ads online or by downloading the grocery store app to your smartphone.

4. Never Go to the Grocery Store Without Your Coupons

This one should be a no-brainer, but just in case you forgot – make sure to always take your coupons with you when you go shopping. You never know when you will come across an unexpected or unplanned deal at the store. Especially when you’re digging through the clearance or markdown bins.

I like to take my big coupon binder that holds all my coupons, as well as my mini organizer, with me every time I shop. I put specific coupons in my mini organizer that I know I will use at the grocery store based on their weekly ad. Then, when I bring my big coupon binder along with all my other coupons, I make sure to get maximum savings at the store when I find that unexpected deal because I have all my coupons with me.

5. Never Go to the Grocery Store Without a Budget

My final tip is to never go to the grocery store without a budget.

Why, you might ask? Again, because you will overspend. Even if you do find a good deal on an item, it’s not a good deal if you don’t have the money to buy it.

Make sure to have a grocery budget and stick to it.

If you have extra money after you buy all the things you need, then go ahead and buy those unexpected deals you find in the clearance bin that you can add to your home stockpile – but don’t overspend!

If you can stick to these 5 guidelines, I guarantee you will save money on groceries.

Remember that saving money on groceries is not always easy, otherwise everyone would be doing it. It takes a little work, but saving money for your household is so worth it!

You can do it, momma!

Katrina Rauch is a full-time blogger and a mom of three. Her blog, Frugal Fun Mom, is dedicated to helping moms discover practical ways to save money, find encouragement for everyday mom chaos, and be inspired with frugal fun ideas to enjoy their kids.

Cut your grocery bill!

Looking for more grocery savings tips?

If you’re looking for more ways to cut your grocery bill, be sure to sign up for my FREE cheat sheet on 10 Easy Ways to Cut Your Grocery Bill by $50!

Plus, check out the links below for more grocery saving tips:

Productivity Bundle 2020
Shared Jan 2, 2020 comment

Trying to be more productive in 2020? Grab this $2800 bundle of eResources for just $47!

Read More

Trying to be more productive in 2020? Grab this $2800 bundle of eResources for just $47!

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Is one of your goals this year to be more productive and use your time intentionally? If so, you’ll definitely want to grab this productivity bundle that’s on sale right now!

Productivity Bundle 2020

Did you set a goal to use your time more wisely in 2020?

This Productivity Bundle has everything you need to conquer your to-do list, be more productive, free up more time for yourself, and reach your goals — and you can get it for just $47 right now!!

It contains $2837.06 worth of eBooks, printables, eCourses, and membership sites…and all you pay is $47 for all 73 resources!

Productivity Bundle Products

These resources are designed to help you:

  • Set clear goals and priorities so you’ll use your time wisely
  • Create routines to help you be more productive so you won’t fall behind
  • Get started with tasks instead of procrastinating
  • Deal with distractions instead of getting sidetracked
  • Find the energy to be productive all day instead of burning out

If you feel overwhelmed or stuck when it comes to your productivity and time-management, this Productivity Bundle will help give you the practical tools and tips you need to take that first step!

Ultimate Productivity Full Bundle

Go here to grab your Ultimate Productivity Bundle for just $47.

Shared Jan 2, 2020 comment

Want to make a difference in the lives of kids in South Africa in 2020?

Read More

Want to make a difference in the lives of kids in South Africa in 2020?

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

As you likely well know, our family holds a very special place in our hearts for South Africa. We are so honored to get to partner with Take Action Ministry to impact the lives of hundreds of vulnerable children there every day. (If you’re new here, you can read more about our family’s involvement in South Africa here.)

We often hear from you all asking if there are specific ways that you can help. I wanted to let you know of one very specific and practical need right now that you can help out with!

Many of the preschool and grade school aged children in the Hammanskraal area will not be able to afford school supplies to begin their new school year in January (the school year runs January to December in South Africa).

Want to help provide school supplies to help these young kids be able to not only feel much more confident going into school (because they will have supplies) but also to have the tools they need to learn and practice their writing skills?

It costs just R80 to provide school supplies for one child. That’s about $8 USD.

Here’s what your $8 donation will cover (depending upon which grade of student it is for):

  • Preschool and Kindergarten: Crayons, Glue stick, Scissors (blunt nose), Craft paper, Pencil bags
  • Grades 1-3: Pencil HB, Sharpener, Glue stick, Scissors, Coloured pencils, Pencil bags
  • Grade 4 and up: Pen (blue), Pencil, Sharpener, Ruler, Exam pad, Coloured pens, Pencil bags

Want to donate to help provide school supplies for kids in South Africa?

To donate, just go here and type in the amount you’d like to give. Remember, it’s only $8 per child to provide them with supplies for the school year. (Be sure to designate in the notes section that this is for the Stationery Drive so that your donation will go straight to school supplies!)

P.S. You can read more about the work Take Action Ministry is doing over on their Facebook Page here.