Saving Families Money Since 2007
Maximize your savings this month with this list of items that are best to buy during the month of October!
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 October!
Are you in a season of life that feels stretching, exhausting, or overwhelming? If so, today’s episode just might really encourage you!
I share 4 strategies for surviving stretching seasons that I’m currently implementing right now in the middle of morning sickness and a really, really full work schedule (gratefully, I’m finished with 3 of the biggest work weeks of my year and things are slowing down now!)
By the way, I intentionally use the word stretching not stressful… and I explain why on the podcast. This change in wording really has helped me to have a different perspective! And I talk about this as the first strategy on the podcast today.
I get really practical in this episode, including talking about why I decided to take medication for my nausea and what is working for me.
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[00:54] I start off by sharing a story of something I did last week that caused me to freak out and feel stressed. And then I share how I processed through this… and what I learned from it.
[07:35] What’s saving our lives: GOWOD app and the Preggie Pop Drops. (I’m pretty sure you can guess who chose which!)
[13:35] Jesse doesn’t have a book to share for this episode, but I have been reading The Choosing by Rachelle Dekker.
[16:11] Why I’m using the word stretching versus stressful to describe this season of life.
[19:03] Strategy #1: Change your perspective.
[19:43] Strategy #2: Focus on the barebones basics (we define this in the episode).
[21:42] Strategy #3: Prioritize rest!
[22:08] Strategy #4: Live one day at a time.
[23:09] I get really practical as I talk about doing your best and how your best is going to look different in different seasons.
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.)
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!
If you’re planning a Sam’s trip soon, be sure to check out this deal!
Sam’s Club is offering $15 off your first club pickup order of $50 or more when you add at least $50 worth of participating items to your cart and apply the discount at checkout!
This is for first time club pickup orders on SamsClub.com and you must have an active Sam’s Club membership. Please note that this is not valid on their mobile app.
Valid through October 20, 2019.
Thanks, Hip2Save!
Is it possible to live without paper towels? Yep, it is. In this post, I share why we stopped buying paper towels. I also share how we manage to live just fine without them.
“Where are your paper towels?”
I get this question so often from new guests who are at our house. They always look a little shocked when I say, “Well, actually, we don’t buy paper towels.”
As I’ve mentioned the fact that we stopped buying paper towels online, I’m always met with curious questions about how on earth we manage to live without paper towels.
The process was really just two simple steps…
You want to know how we’ve eliminated paper towels from our home? Well, here’s the answer: I just stopped buying them. Seriously, that was it.
Early on in our marriage, I realized that paper towels were one item I could never find that great of a deal on. I also realized that these were an item many people lived without for thousands of years, without any issue.
So I talked to my husband and asked him if I could do an experiment: could I just stop buying paper towels and see if we missed them?
You know what? We never really even noticed. When we needed to clean up a spill, we just used a towel. When we needed to wipe something up, we used a rag. It just wasn’t a big deal.
Honestly, the only times I’ve realized we didn’t have paper towels were when someone was at our home and they asked for a paper towel. I’d just tell them we actually don’t use paper towels, but the rags or towels are in the bottom drawer in the kitchen.
I keep a drawer full of towels and rags in the kitchen handy for spills and clean-up. The only time I’ve found that paper towels were really handy (and I did buy some) was for our camping trips and when we moved.
Otherwise, for everyday messes and spills, rags or old towels/washcloths have worked just great for us. We can always toss them, if need be, if the spill was really messy.
A number of people have asked what we use to drain bacon on, since that seems to be a very common use of paper towels. We actually cook our bacon in the oven on a cooling rack with foil on a pan underneath. So yes, we do throw out this foil once it has been used.
Now, please know, I’m not writing this to make the case that all of you need to quit buying paper towels. However, I share it as an example of how there are many things we’ve come to think are “necessities” in life which really aren’t.
How about trying to live without some of these things and see if it really is that difficult or earth-shattering? You might be surprised to discover you don’t even miss these once-considered “necessities”.
What about you? What simple things have you eliminated from your life and found you didn’t miss at all? Tell us about it.
I’ve been getting the itch to start sharing more personal posts on the blog — even if they aren’t necessarily money-related. I waffled on whether to post these here because I know that anytime I consistently post non-money-related posts, some people get annoyed by it and are very vocal about that.
However, I also know I’ve heard from many of you that you miss me sharing more of my life online (I do a LOT of life-sharing on Instagram so it feels like I share a lot of our life… but then I remember that not everyone follows my stories there so it probably does seem like I don’t share as much as I used to because I’ve been sharing it more on stories than on the blog!)
After a lot of thought, I decided that I would just go with my gut and begin sharing a regular weekly post here on the blog that’s part pregnancy update, part peek into our lives, part whatever else I want to share. If you’re not into these types of posts, you can just skip right on by on the weekends, no hard feelings at all! I truly mean that!
9 Weeks! We’re almost to double digits which means we’re getting ever and ever closer to the second trimester and a little less (hopefully!) morning, noon, and night sickness. (Missed my 8-week pregnancy update? See it here.)
HIGHLIGHTS: 1) Getting 9+ hours of sleep cumulatively on Tuesday night while I was staying alone in a hotel in Austin. (I rarely sleep well when I’m by myself in a hotel, but I guess I was so tired that I just slept and slept and slept. It was completely unexpected and totally amazing! 1) I felt well enough for an hour one morning this week that I actually made scrambled eggs and was able to eat them (I usually can’t go near anything related to food prep!)
NOTABLE THIS WEEK: I discovered that when I get more sleep, I don’t feel as sick. I didn’t realize how much nausea and tiredness were connected for me, so this was very helpful to discover. Also, I ordered a cast iron pan from Amazon (thanks to all of your recommendations!) and am hoping maybe it will help with my anemia. I’m still very out of breath and dragging much of the time, but I’m hopeful that eating as many iron-rich foods as I can stomach, a double iron supplement, extra Vitamin C when I have iron, and the cast iron pan will help my levels to improve before I’m tested in a week and a half again.
CRAVINGS: This week, much of the time, I struggled more to find things to eat that I felt would stay down. I did have cravings for carrots and dip one day — which was pretty exciting seeing as I have no wanted to go near a vegetable! And late one night, I had a desperate craving for Sonic tater tots. Jesse — kind and amazing husband that he is — went out and got me some at 10:45 p.m. at night!
WEIGHT GAIN: 3 pounds! My weight didn’t go up this week, but I feel like my “baby bump” got a little more pronounced and I’m starting to reach more and more for stretching pants and roomier tops. It will be interesting to see when I actually begin wearing maternity clothes. It was around 17-20 weeks with my other three, but I have a feeling it’s going to be sooner this time around!
(By the way, someone messaged me on Facebook last week to tell me that my “baby bump” was not, in fact, anything to do with a baby and was just all bloat. I had to laugh because, while some of it is likely some pregnancy-related bloat, since there’s a baby in there, we get to call it a “baby bump” regardless of what is causing it! :))
NOTE: I’ve never done weekly pregnancy or regular belly shots in the past before. I decided to do it this time because I wish I had documented my pregnancies better in the past. I plan to post these on Saturday each week.
If you are sensitive to these types of post because of loss or infertility, I wanted you to know so you can avoid checking my blog/social media on those days. I don’t know that I’ll ever get to experience pregnancy again, so I’m documenting this primarily for myself and this child (Lord-willing! To get to read someday). I also know that a number of you have begged for me to share pregnancy updates, so if this if your thing, you can enjoy these posts each weekend.
I flew to Austin, TX on Tuesday for an SEO training with Everything Digital Marketing. Meg, who is our Director of Content Strategy, was able to attend, as well. (She is spearheading all of the changes we’re working on making for SEO on our site.)
The event was SO good and she and I came away excited and energized about how to organize all of our old content plus how to create better content for you all in the future.
Believe it or not, we’ve never really done much of anything with SEO in the past, so we have been working hard to learn everything we can and figure out how to implement it. Since we have thousands of posts in the archives, it’s a pretty mammoth task, but we’re working on learning and formulating a plan so we can serve you all better.
I got back on Wednesday late afternoon — just in time to head to the roller skating rink with our youth group (Jesse and I are both serving as small group co-leaders for our church youth group this year. It’s been a blast!)
One of the boys severely broke his wrist during the evening, so Jesse and I ended up spending some of the evening driving him to the ER to meet his parents and get medical attention. He was such a brave kid and I can’t even imagine how much pain he was in.
We got back just in time for the group picture. Can you spot me?? 🙂
We ended up taking Kaitlynn to Urgent Care, too, because her wrist was hurting her after she hit the wall really hard. Gratefully, she just had a bad sprain.
I guess it’s good that I had decided ahead of time not to skate! Yikes!
Reading right now: The Choosing
Watching right now: Three Identical Strangers
Listening to right now: Michael Buble Christmas (don’t judge! It made me happy when I was feeling yucky today!)
Loving right now: Preggi Pop Drops
2 large pkgs Fresh Chicken Thighs ($0.79/lb) – $10.72
1 16-oz pkg Deli Meat – $2.85
1 pkg Pepperoni – $1.99
2 bags Frozen Broccoli Florets – $1.90
1 Spaghetti Squash ($0.59/lb) – $1.94
1 Butternut Squash ($0.59/lb) – $1.53
1 Acorn Squash ($0.59/lb) – $1.06
2 bags Fresh Spinach – $1.98
1 bag Romaine Hearts – $2.09
1 3-ct pkg Fresh Garlic – $0.79
1 16-oz bag Mini Cucumbers – $2.09
1 10-lb bag Russet Potatoes – $3.49
1 2-lb bag Lemons – $2.79
2 pkgs Fresh Broccoli Crowns – $2.30
2 cans Green Beans – $0.76
1 large tub Organic Spring Mix – $3.69
1 head Cauliflower – $2.19
2 bunches Bananas ($0.36/lb) – $1.53
1 box Honey Nut Oats – $1.19
1 gallon 1% Milk – $0.97 (I’m not sure why the milk was so cheap this week, but I’ll take it!)
1 gallon Whole Milk – $0.97
2 64-oz cartons Orange Juice – $3.18
1/2 gallon Unsweetened Almond Milk – $1.79
1 32-oz carton Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt – $3.45
4 individual-sized Pumpkin Spice Greek Yogurts – $3.16
1 32-oz bag Shredded Mozzarella Cheese – $4.99
1 pkg Gluten-Free Pretzels – $1.89
1 loaf Sandwich Bread – $0.67
1 pkg Hamburger Buns – $0.73
1 bag Nacho Chips – $0.75
1 14-oz jar Organic Coconut Oil – $3.89
1 jar Spaghetti Sauce – $0.85
1 dozen Eggs – $0.78 (For whatever reason, we didn’t eat eggs last week. So we still have 4 dozen eggs in our fridge.)
Grocery Total for the Week: $74.95
Weekly Menu Plan
(We still have a lot of leftover fruit from the last few weeks. My goal is for it to be ALL gone by next week. Haha!)
Breakfasts
Everyone is responsible for making/cleaning up their own breakfasts. Choices include:
Oatmeal, Toast, Cereal, Fruit, Smoothies, Fried/Scrambled/Boiled Eggs, Veggies Omelets
Lunches
Pretzels with Peanut Butter, Oranges, Carrots
Deli Meat Sandwiches, Apples, Mini Cucumbers x 2
Baked Potatoes with Leftover Chili/Cheese, Mini Cucumbers, Bananas x 2
Leftovers x 2
Dinners
Biscuits and Gravy, Green Beans (This was on my menu for last week, but I didn’t end up making it)
Crispy Baked Chicken Thighs, Tossed Salad, Caramelized Butternut Squash
Spinach and Mozzarella Egg Bake (minus the onions :)), Grapes, Brown Sugar Biscuit Twists
Black Bean Chili, Cornbread, Tossed Salad
Homemade Pepperoni Pizza, Roasted Broccoli
Grilled BBQ Chicken Thighs, Baked Spaghetti Squash and Cheese, Steamed Broccoli
Date Night Out (leftovers for children)
Looking for some creative ways to cut your grocery bill? Here are 18 strategies from my followers that you might not have thought of doing:
I recently asked my followers to share some of their best creative ideas for cutting their grocery bill. Here are a few of my favorites that were submitted…
(Psst! Have more creative ideas to cut your grocery bill? Please leave a comment on this post and let us know!)
“Make homemade items instead of buying them in the store. Example: homemade taco seasoning. You probably have most of the ingredients in your pantry. Use less meat and more veggies in your recipes. You don’t have to use all the meat that comes in the package.
“Make homemade laundry detergent (for coloreds and darks). It doesn’t have to be a long term commitment just long enough to help you save money now. Almost anything you get at the store you can make at home. Think outside the box.” -Christine
“I always pretend our family is Little House on the Prairie and it’s a day’s horse ride into town to get groceries. So, once I have purchased groceries, I don’t go back to the store. I get clever about what I can make with what I have. Kind of my own version of Chopped.” -Kathleen
“One thing that helps us save money is to order groceries online. I can closely watch what is being spent.
Yes, that means I may give up my 25-cent-off coupon, but if I’m saving $5 because I bought something on an impulse, then I still see it as saving.
Or, I’ll order online and then shop my coupons in store. Saving money is hard, you always need to be watching, always counting, always scouring for the best deal. It’s a job all in itself. But when it pays off…boy does that feel great!” -Jessica
“If you don’t have it, you can’t spend it! We spend $100/week on food and toiletries for our family of 6. It’s hard but doable. The reality is, if you only have $150, you’ll only spend $150. Maybe working a zero-based budget will help you succeed more?!” -Alicia
“I buy big packs of chicken breast and can use 1 pack for 3 meals. I separate the chicken tenders from the breast and cut those into cubes for casseroles. Then, I place those pieces and seasonings/marinades in labeled freezer bags and freeze them.
The breasts, I fillet, turning one portion into two. These I season/marinade and place in bags or parchment lined tins and freeze — it just depends on how I plan to cook them.” -Jessica
Pro Tip: Check out this post on How to Stretch One Package of Chicken to Make 4 Dinners.
“Take a look at what’s leftover at the end of the week from your most recent shopping trip. What meal(s) can you make out if it? Or snacks, treats, etc.? Every so often I have a “Waste Not Want Not Day” and I use up every odd/leftover food items I can find. Be creative.” -Helen
“Rethink how you use some items. Using too much laundry soap? Only use the bare minimum. And sometimes hand wash small batches! Shampoo? Wash your hair every 2nd or 3rd day, rather than every day.” -Sue
Pro tip: Read my post on How I Only Wash My Hair Once a Week.
“I try to break it down by cost per meal. Most meals (dinners) I make regularly can be done for under $10-12 for my family of 5… $4 or less worth of meat, a couple bucks in veggies, a couple bucks in carbs.
“I try to keep snacks under $0.30/each, at most $0.50, so I’ll break down the cost per item or estimate the number of snacks I can get from one box and divide.
“It really helps to see exactly what your meals are costing you, if the ingredients you use in your average dinner costs $25 to buy, you either need to reevaluate your menus or reevaluate your budget.” -Jessica
“A tip to avoid going over on groceries is IF you shop at stores like Safeway (Vons) or QFC (Kroger) that offer gift cards for purchase… load up a gift card each week for the dollar amount you have planned. Only use that gift card (as best you can) for grocery shopping.
“If your card doesn’t have enough to cover it at checkout, it’ll really make you have to think twice when you have to pull out your debit card to cover the difference.
“Also, shop with a calculator in hand. I’ve done that so many times during tight payday periods. Then you can re-evaluate what’s most important in your cart before you get to checkout.” -Helen
“I’ve recently been introduced to Dollar General brand of OTC meds. They actually seem to work better than most of the name brands.” -Alice
“Simplify your meals. Some nights we don’t do the traditional meat, starch, veggie. We hardly ever have a bread/roll or even dessert. We might have just a casserole or just spaghetti alone with no sides.” -Allison
“CVS is the best for personal care items. Although their regular prices are high, their deals can’t be beat.
One day recently, I walked out with 2 bottles of L’Oreal shampoo, 2 Pantene hairsprays, and 1 shaving cream for $0.53. I used the coupons at the kiosk, with manufacturer’s coupons on sale items. When I get an overabundance, I share with my daughter or donate to one of the local shelters.” -Kathy
“Making cleaning products with vinegar, baking soda, ammonia provides lots of savings. Also, we stopped using paper towels years ago. (You can even cut up old t-shirts for hand towels. I keep them in a basket by the sink.)
“Make convenience items from scratch. Or find homemade solutions for expensive items.
“When I had kids at home, I made lots of muffins, baked oatmeal, homemade frozen hot pockets, and frozen burritos. Hillbilly Housewife had a great basic muffin recipe and I made it with whatever I had for add-ins.
“Eating breakfast for supper saves lots and having things like pancakes, biscuits and gravy, or eggs and toast. Cooking once to re-use leftovers saves a lot also. Taco meat becomes chili, baked chicken becomes soup.” -Gina
“You can still go broke chasing a good deal! Former coupon instructor here. You can up the amount of your budget OR you can cut down on what you buy.
“Perhaps one week a month (or a quarter), do a spending fast and don’t shop. Use what’s in the pantry, and eat what’s in the fridge/freezer.” -Amanda
“Walmart Online grocery pickup has been great for me lately. You can see exactly what you’re spending before you get to checkout and you are only buying what you need for the week/two weeks versus buying things that you see that jump into your cart.
“I still have to supplement with trips here and there to our local grocery store, but knowing I can purchase the bulk of it for very low prices and control what I’m spending WHILE I spend it, has been a great thing for me.” -Susan
Pro tip: Did you know you can earn United Airline Miles by using Walmart Grocery Pickup?
“Bar soap is also a fraction of the price of liquid, one $2 bar of Dove lasts more than a month compared to a $6 bottle of liquid for 2 weeks!” -Marge
“I highly recommend the envelope system. Put your grocery money for the week envelope and only spend that amount (you might need to leave your credit/debit cards at home until you get the hang of shopping with a set amount of cash).” -Kathy
“Have you ever heard of a FOOD rescue organization? Google that for your zip code and see if there are any nearby. I have an active one near me in Baltimore and I go to their giveaways a few times per week My family are BIG veggie eaters. This easily saves me $75 per week.” -Kirsten
Have you tried any of these ideas? Did they work for you? What other creative ideas do you have for cutting your grocery bill?
Need to get a cheap hotel for an upcoming work trip or family vacation? In this post, I walk you through my best tips on how to get hotel discounts and give you some cheap hotel alternatives.
I’ll never forget the experience.
Jesse and I had only been married a few years and we decided to splurge on a “big family trip” to San Antonio, Texas for a conference. It was something we had planned for quite awhile and we had scoured the Internet to find deals.
We ended up finding a crazy good deal on a flight, hotel, and car rental package. It was dirt cheap and we felt like we had pretty much won the lottery! Even on our small budget, we figured out a way to make this crazy cheap vacation happen!
We were so excited about the deal that we didn’t really take the time to think through the fact that it was a one-star hotel. Ahem.
Well, fast forward to our trip. We flew to San Antonio, picked up the car, and met up with friends. Time got away from us and pretty soon it was after 1 a.m..
We realized we’d better head to our hotel… and that was when the whole reality of a one-star hotel began to hit us. The hotel was in a very sketchy party of town. We didn’t really even feel safe getting out of our car at 1 a.m.. But what other choice did we have?
We got checked in and got to our room to discover it was dirty and had roaches and the door barely locked because it was somewhat broken. Since we didn’t have the money to switch to another hotel, we decided to just suck it up and stay there.
We cleaned the room as best as we could, barricaded the door, and went to bed. It was a good thing that we barricaded the door because in the middle of the night, someone started trying to get into our room.
They jiggled the door handle multiple times and tried unsuccessfully to unlock it. It’s very possible that they were disoriented at 3 a.m. and thought it was their room, but it seemed pretty aggressive for someone who was just trying to get into their hotel room.
Gratefully, after a few minutes, they finally left and they didn’t come back. But you can imagine that we felt pretty shaken by it!
As you can likely imagine, after that, we decided we would do our research before jumping on some crazy cheap hotel deal again!
We also decided to never stay in a one-star hotel if we could at all help it! 🙂
Whether you have had a bad experience with a cheap hotel site, you’re nervous you might, or maybe you’re just looking for someone with lots of experience to be your guide, this post is all about helping you learn how to get discounts on hotels that are quality!
I’m going to break down my best advice for finding good deals on hotels, walk you through what you need to know to stay away from the scary one-star experiences, and help you save time and money on booking hotels.
So, let’s jump right to my top tips on how to get hotel discounts…
First things first, the best way to find a deal on a hotel is to travel off-season. I know this is not always possible, but if you can swing it, you’ll save so much money.
This doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t travel in the summer; it just means you should choose places to go in the summer that aren’t the vacation destination of everyone else!
I love to use the search feature on Skyscanner if we have somewhat flexible dates and locations. You can search by locations or by dates or by budget to find flights that are often incredibly affordable. I love to look on there to get ideas of the best times of year to travel where… because typically if flights are really inexpensive to a location, there’s a chance that hotels will be, too!
In addition, if you plan your trip during the middle of the week, you’ll often find cheaper hotel rates than if you are booking your stay on a weekend. Again, this isn’t always feasible, but it’s something to consider — especially if you have a bit of flexibility.
There are a number of places online where you can find cheap hotel deals. Some of our favorites to use are: Groupon, Hotels.com, Travelocity, Hotwire, Expedia, and Priceline.
If you’re willing to be adventuresome, you can purchase your hotel “blind” through Expedia and get a great deal. You’ll save at least $15 or $20 — often more! — if you’re willing to purchase the hotel room without knowing what hotel you are staying at.
You can search by lowest price and star rating to see what prices are for the area you’ll be traveling to. We are typically able to find a three-star hotel for around $50-$60 per night this way.
Note: Because of our awful one-star hotel experience, I wouldn’t suggest getting anything less than a three-star hotel. Two-star hotels can be hit and miss and, in our experience, one-star hotels should be avoided altogether. 🙂
If you want to get to pick your hotel before you purchase or be able to get a refund if your travel plans change, I’d recommend going through Orbitz to find cheap hotels. They have great deals, they show you the price including fees, and they do not charge you if you cancel your reservation. Usually, their prices are a little higher, but it might be worth it to pay a little to know what hotel you’re reserving ahead of time, and to not be charged if you cancel your reservation.
Pro Tip: Check Out Express Deals From Priceline
Jen shared this in a comment on a post not too long ago:
Priceline offers “Express Deals” which provides basic information about a hotel – neighborhood, amenities, star level, and guest rating (in most cases). They also tell you the percentage discount you’ll get by using the Express Deal, plus the price you will pay for it.
Most people don’t take advantage of Express deals, because they don’t like not knowing which hotel they’re booking. (And once you purchase an Express Deal, there is no backing out. You get what you get at that point.) With the information they provide, however, you can filter hotels offered by Priceline to figure out what hotel you are going to get!
As an example: a hotel is listed as three star, in Times Square, offers free Internet and a gym, has a 7+ rating by guests, and is available for $145 (a 39%) savings. To figure out what this deal is, you back out of Express Deals and go back to the section that lists all of the hotels on Priceline.
You filter your search to only show hotels in Time Square which are 3 star and have free internet and a gym. It might pull 4 matches, so you next look at which hotels are rated 7-7.9 by guests. Let’s say there are two hotels left at that point. Then it’s simple math to figure out which hotel is a 39% savings from the price listed on the screen.
Make sense? Hopefully! It takes a little practice, but with this method I’ve always been able to figure out what hotel I will get (and usually at a huge savings!). I have successfully done this over three dozen times.
Many cheap hotel sites regularly offer coupon codes for even bigger hotel discounts. These coupon codes usually have some restrictions, but it’s still worth checking to see if they have a coupon code that will work on the hotel you’re wanting to book.
Cash back sites are one of my favorite ways to score hotel discounts!
Once you find a cheap hotel deal and have decided which travel site you’re booking through, I highly recommend purchasing through a cash back site. You’ll typically earn somewhere between 4% to 10% cash back on your purchase.
All you have to do is sign up for the cash back site (if you’re not already signed up) and then search for the online travel site you’re purchasing through. Click through and find the deal you were planning to purchase and purchase it.
Within 30-60 days, your account will be credited with the cash back! Since booking travel plans online typically means you’re spending at least $50 to $150, if not more, that 4% to 10% cash back can end up being a fairly significant amount — especially if you book a few trips online per year!
My Favorite Cash Back Sites:
#1: Rakuten (formerly Ebates) — One of the oldest cash back sites, Rakuten has an easy-to-navigate website and, in my personal view, is the best cashback program. You only have to earn $5.01 in rebates in order to get a check or Paypal payment. You get a $10 welcome bonus when you sign up and make at least $25 worth of purchases within the first 90 days, so you’ll reach your first payout very quickly!
#2: TopCashBack — TopCashBack is another site I’ve used for quite a while. I really like them, because they offer cash back at over 4,000 stores, have guaranteed highest cash back rates, and are really customer-friendly. If you find a higher cash back rate anywhere else, they will match it for you. They also allow you to receive a payout at any time (no minimum required!) and offer five different payout options.
#4: Swagbucks — If you’ve read my blog at all, you know I’m a HUGE fan of Swagbucks. And you probably signed up a long time ago and have been earning gift cards ever since. But did you know that you can earn swag bucks on many of your online purchases in the form of cash back? Make sure you’re logged in to your Swagbucks account each day when you shop online, and then activate the Swagbucks cash back button when it pops up! This one is a little bit different than your typical cash back site, since your earnings are in the form of swag bucks. But it adds up quickly over time, and you can trade those earned swag bucks into gift cards!
If you’re more on the adventurous side, you can get creative in how to get hotel discounts by experimenting with some cheaper hotel alternatives!
Morgan says: “We avoid the hassle of looking for hotel discounts by just using Airbnb or VRBO. I have never had a bad experience! Read reviews, ask the owners questions. Use common sense. I have rented 3-bed, 2-bath condos at wonderful resorts for less than $600/week in Orlando. Same for cabins in Tennessee. And book as early as possible for the best prices.”
Erin said: “We are renting a house at the ocean this summer through VRBO. It was much cheaper than a hotel, we have a fenced yard and a nice deck and it’s 5 minutes from the beach. We thought about camping, but this was a better option for our family. We are also going during the week so it was less per night.”
Patricia: “We have had really good luck with renting the smallest AirB&B that will fit our crew and cooking our own meals. The fact that we don’t eat out, unless there is a restaurant we really want to try, just about pays for the lodgings.”
Tip: Read my post on Our Experience Staying in an AirBNB in Rome.
Jessi said: “Depending where you live, off-season state park cabin rentals can be economical. You’ll often save way more than any hotel discount! Here in Virginia, you can rent a furnished, heated 2-bedroom cabin (with two sets of bunk beds in one of the rooms) with a full kitchen (apartment-size refrigerator, range, pots, pans and utensils) and full bathroom for $84/night (or $506/wk) if you reserve off-season. During prime season, the same cabins would be $112/night. They don’t tack on expensive excess fees on top of the rental fee, like some cabins you can rent on HomeAway do.”
Angela: “We love staying in camping cabins at state parks and KOA campgrounds. You have to bring your own linens and use the bath house, but for $40-$60/night you can’t beat it. Plus, they have amenities like pools and playgrounds and we love that the kids can run around outside and not be cooped up in a hotel room.”
Angela said: “If you’re really adventurous, try tent camping! We did a 12-night vacation and every night was in a tent (4 different campsites). Can’t beat D.C. lodging for $34/night and the city bus came right to our campground. We didn’t have to drive for 3 days! No hotel discount can beat that price!”
For more tips, read my posts: How We Prepared For Our Very First Camping Trip, My Master List of Things to Take on a Camping Trip, and 5 Important Lessons We Learned On Our First Camping Trip.
Sara: “My best advice on how to get hotel discounts? Stay with a friend or family member! I have friends living all over and plan my vacations with people I can stay with! Lodging and food is the most expensive part of any vacay!”
Angie: “I get great deals on eBay from people who don’t want their timeshare points at resorts so they sell days to people. Ask around, sometimes friends or family members have condos or vacation homes that they’ll give you a discount on instead of them having to rent it out through VRBO, because there are lots of fees when they do it that way for the renter and the owner.”
This is your last chance to sign up for my FREE blogging class! I’m teaching it live one more time tonight! I don’t want you to miss out!
If you are a new blogger or a longtime blogger who still hasn’t figured out how to really make money from blogging, don’t miss this class on How to Make Your First $100 From Blogging.
In this free class, you’ll learn:
P.S. If you can’t make it to the live class, still go ahead and sign up because I’ll be sending you a replay of the class once it’s finished.
Every month in 2019, I’ll be sharing a photographic peek into the previous month. I thought this would be fun to give you a behind-the-scenes look at our month and recap some of the highs and lows and special memories of the month.
August started out with a fun lunch at The Dotted Lime in Columbia, TN to celebrate my friend Lauren’s birthday. I was so impressed with the restaurant and would highly recommend it — especially if you have food allergies.
This note on their water cracked me up and I had to share it! 🙂
We always take a second trip with my entire extended family (thanks to my dad’s generosity to pay for it!) and we have always gone to Bull Shoals Lake in Arkansas. However, the place we usually stay at had gone out of business and my dad couldn’t find a good alternative at Bull Shoals Lake.
So instead, he found this really unique place on Table Rock Lake called Caboose Junction. It was a place that had 6 caboose + a main house. While the caboose were a little on the rustic side, the area was beautiful and it worked at really well for all of us to stay there!
See what I said about beautiful? We had a private dock and swimming area and the kids couldn’t get enough of the water!
As usual when we’re all together, we divvied up the cooking and clean-up. I shared our large group menu plan.
And of course, we did lots of eating! I think one of our favorite new large group meal ideas was the Baked Potato Bar.
Guess what I finished while on this trip?? The 21-Day Squat Challenge. As I’ve written about, I used to truly detest squats. But this challenge changed my mind and I felt so accomplished to not miss one single day!
These three loved soaking up the sun and every last bit of summer!
One of their favorite things on the trip? Jumping off the high dock! (Jesse and I even did it a few times — evidence is here.)
On the trip, every afternoon, my mom read to the kids and did different activities and then the older girl cousins were in charge of games, crafts, and snacks.
We played lots of different fun games on the trip, including Apples to Apples.
One of the highlights of the trip: Kathrynne became proficient in slaloming (water-skiing on one ski).
Here’s a little look at two of the caboose.
On our way home from the lake, we stopped at Lambert’s.
Silas would just sit and catch rolls all day at Lambert’s if I let him! (I told him I thought he had enough after 4!)
We also stopped by Christian County Discount Freight & Grocery. (I did a full post on our experience there.)
I loved this photo I took on the way home from our trip.
As soon as we got home, it was time to jump back into school for the year. I posted this caption on Instagram with this first day of school photo:
“How are you?” She asked as I opened the door to welcome her into our home.
“Well, I just had an argument with my husband and my day didn’t go at all like I had planned.” I sighed.
(Please note the irony that this was the very same day — Monday — I had posted about communicating well with your spouse. Yup.)
She was there to do our foster care interviews and inspect some things in our home as part of our licensing process.
I had a neat little plan at the beginning of the day as to how everything was going to get done. I pictured greeting her at the door with Jesse, both of us genuinely beaming, maybe with soft music and candles in the background.
Instead, Jesse wasn’t home yet and I was frustrated with him and my neat little plans had gone out the window. (I hadn’t accounted for having a sick child, a doctor’s appointment that went way long, a car that wouldn’t start, and having to change plans at the last minute to try to get people multiple places at the same time with only one car.)
As she inspected the things in our house, I wanted to apologize for the unmade beds, the unwashed dishes, and the items we had to skirt around to get downstairs, but I didn’t.
This is real life. I want her to know who we are.
Yes, I try to have a clean and neat house. Yes, I try to stay on top of the dishes. And yes, I do believe in making beds (well, at least in theory! 😉)
But oftentimes, my best intentions don’t happen — and that’s okay!
By the way, we passed the interviews and inspection, the car got fixed, the child got well, and Jesse and I worked through our differences. See? Like I said, it was okay!
If you’re looking for perfection, you won’t find it at our house. But I hope you do find a family who is sometimes behind and sometimes messy, but who loves Jesus and loves other people — and who are committed to keep showing up for one another and working through their misunderstandings. And who at least occasionally make the bed. 😉
P.S. This photo was taken on the first day of school. Kaitlynn was sick, but she still wanted to be in the picture, so she cane up with the idea to pose with a thermometer in her mouth.🤣
Kaitlynn and I flew to Maine for me to speak at Fab Blog Con.
The food blogger conferences have the BEST gift bags — this one was full of Enjoy Life products!
We got to go and see one of the light houses. I posted this picture on Instagram with this caption:
She came into my room a little while ago and said, “Mom, do you want to come out and eat breakfast with me?”
The last 20 minutes, the two of us just sat at the table together and talked while the rest of the family was still asleep. (We’re both the early risers!)
Recently, my nights have been pretty short because of staying up talking to my night owl child and getting up early talking with my early riser. But I wouldn’t trade any amount of sleep for this. For the opportunity for my kids to share their hearts, tell me what they are thinking and feeling, and *want* to hang out with me.
Two nights ago, I met a father who had just dropped his youngest child off at college. He looked me square in the eye and said, “Cherish every moment. Take advantage of every opportunity to be with your kids.”
It might sound cliche, but it wasn’t. And I want to want take his words to heart.
With me working full-time, extracurricular activities and ministry we’re involved in, plus the kids’ homework load, many days I only get to spend 15-30 minutes one-on-one with each of the kids on week days. But instead of lamenting that or wishing for a different life (because I know clearly that we are right where God has us), I’m learning to look for pockets of time each day and make myself available to them.
That might mean late at night, early in the morning, or inviting them to ride with me when I go run an errand. And then I try to give my all to them during those small windows of time.
We can’t do everything, but we can do something. Let’s stop focusing on trying to do it perfectly and instead focus on just showing up — even if it’s a simple 20-minute impromptu breakfast together.
Kaitlynn took this photo on the plane!
We spent one Sunday afternoon hiking at Evins Mill.
We had the entire waterfall to ourselves.
It was SO beautiful!
I got a GREAT deal on toilet paper — that a bunch of you ended up getting, too!
I loved getting to sit down with Rebekah Lyons and record a podcast episode on The 4 Rhythms You Need in Your Life.
And on the same day, I also got to record a podcast episode with Kristin Maher on Helping Our Kids Overcome Shame.
At Home was running some great deals on rugs and we finally got a rug for our library!
Silas started flag football!
All in all, it was a good month! How was your August? Any highlights?
Can you believe that I was working every single day of the week most weeks so far in 2019? Yes, it’s true, even though I’m a little embarrassed to admit it. In this week’s podcast episode, I share why I thought this was necessary and why I decided to try taking Sundays off.
Missed previous episodes of The Crystal Paine show? You can listen to them here.
When Jesse and I first got married, we always took Sunday offline. It was a day for us to just enjoy going to church, resting, and being together as a family.
In recent years, I’ve fallen out of that practice (I’m not even exactly sure why, but I did). In addition to going to church and volunteering at church, Sunday became a day for me to also play catchup on a lot of blogging work and emails.
This meant that I was usually working at least some hours every single day of the week. Which I don’t recommend and am a little embarrassed to admit… because it meant I rarely had a stretch of offline time for more than a few hours at a time.
I could make a lot of excuses and seemingly valid reasons as to why I “needed” to work on Sunday, but I realized that working 7 days a week wasn’t good for my soul or body or family, so I decided to try something different and make a 4-week commitment to unplug and go offline on Sundays.
In today’s podcast episode, I share really candidly the surprising results of my experiment and how much it has changed my life. (Oh and Jesse also shares about his current morning routine and a type of chair we love. I talk about a book I finished recently and the one food I’ve been loving in my first trimester.)
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[02:14] Listen in as Jesse shares about his morning routine and an outdoor chair that we love.
[06:13] I tell you about a book I recently finished that goes along so well with this podcast episode.
[09:26] Let’s talk about my Unplugged Sundays Experiment.
[09:59] For years, I justified working on Sunday for a variety of reasons.
[11:30] … but really it was a lack of trust in God and trying to control things in my own strength.
[13:03] Rather than making a big longterm commitment, I did a four-week-long trial of not working on Sunday.
[16:31] The benefits of the time off have been incredible. I share the different surprises that have happened along the way.
[18:06] Why I now feel so much more productive in the 6 days I do work.
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.)
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 know what books I finished in August? In 2019, I’m sharing the books I read each month and what my honest thoughts were on those books. If you love books, you don’t want to miss this post! (You can see all of my book reviews for this year here.)
I set a goal to finish 80 books in 2019 and a second goal that 40 of those books will be books I already own. (You can see which books I picked to read from those I already own here).
By the way, I’m truly loving using GoodReads to track my reading. You all were right! It is really motivational to see my progress! And I’ve been ahead on my goal for the last month!
I finished 7 books in August —- yay! Here’s what I read + my honest thoughts on each of the books:
I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed Killing Lincoln and Killing Kennedy. Honestly, I was expecting for there to be a lot more in the book about the assassination attempt. As it was, it felt like that was a very small part of the story and the bulk of the book was devoted to Reagan’s earlier years.
That said, I did find it fascinating to hear that there is belief that the assassination attempt contributed to Reagan’s Alzheimer’s disease and that his Alzheimer’s disease was already beginning to show up during his presidency. I had not heard either theory before and found that part of the book very interesting and intriguing.
Verdict: 3 stars
I loved this book enough to ask Rebekah Lyons (the author) to join me on a podcast episode! (Listen to that episode here.)
In this book, she shares 4 rhythms she believes everyone should prioritize in their life, why they should prioritize them, and practical ways to make them a reality.
In a world where “hustle harder” can often seem the over-arching message, this book is a welcome message to make time for play, rest, creativity, savoring, and more.
Verdict: 4 stars
This book was sent to me by its author and she had kindly mentioned my courses, Make Over Your Mornings and Make Over Your Evenings in it.
While it had a lot of good suggestions and ideas, I didn’t find a lot in it that was new to me — maybe because I’ve read a lot of similar books in the past?? 🙂
If you are someone who feels overwhelmed with life or is struggling through a health crisis, though, I feel like there could be some helpful and encouraging information in it. The author’s story is moving and she definitely has lived out what she encourages in the book!
Verdict: 2 stars
If you listen to our podcast, you know that Jesse loved this book and encouraged me to read it. I found that I could download it for free on Libby so decided to try it out.
Let’s just say, Jesse’s taste in books and my taste in books are VERY different, I quickly discovered. This is a thriller, supposedly, but to me it seemed more like a “Let’s kill as many people as possible all while using a lot of bad words” book. Which is not really my type of book, ahem.
But hey, I read it. I finished it. And I survived. And now I know that when Jesse recommends a book, it’s probably safe to say I can steer clear of it. 😉
Verdict: 2 stars
I truly loved this book. I shared this quote from the book and posted this on Instagram:
It’s easy to talk about ideas. It doesn’t take a lot of work to criticize systems. It’s pretty simple to point fingers.
It’s a lot harder to get in the game and do something to actually make a difference… but that’s what’s going to change our world.
Smile at that person. Befriend the neighbor who is struggling. Show up for someone who is lonely.
Lean in and love those who are hard to love. Choose kindness instead of condemnation.
Don’t stay where it’s safe and comfortable. Step out and offer a hand. Open your door and your heart. Listen more than you talk.
Don’t just surround yourself with people who are similar to you or who believe exactly what you do or who think just like you do. Love and befriend those who come from very different backgrounds, beliefs, and political parties. If you’re anything like me, you’ll discover you have a whole lot to learn from them!
Instead of giving out lofty-sounding solutions, let’s go start being the solution — one person at a time. Let’s be hope-givers with mud on our shoes.
Verdict: 4 stars
I had big hopes for this book. What’s not to love about a book set in Paris with the subtitle, “One woman’s journey from the fast lane to a slow stroll in Paris.” And while there were a few parts of the book that I thought were insightful, most of it fell flat for me.
Verdict: 2 stars
I’d wanted to read this for a long time, so when it came available to download for free on Libby, you better believe I downloaded it.
It was very thought-provoking in parts and I had fun trying to figure out which tendency I am. I went into it thinking I was a questioner, but of course I had to question that for the entire book… because, hello, I’m a questioner! 😉
I did feel like some parts were redundant and that I would prefer to read this book over listening to it because I think I’d get more out of it by reading it (I’m more of a visual learner). But I do feel like it was valuable to listen to and I’d like to go back and read it in the future.
Verdict: 3 stars
Dillons
1.84 lbs Red Grapes – $1.78
1 Krusteaz Pancake Mix – $3.49, used $2.50/1 e-coupon AND $1.50/1 Ibotta rebate – Free plus $0.51 overage after coupon and rebate
2 bags Kroger Shredded Cheese – $2.99 each
3 pkg Goldfish – $0.97 each
2 boxes Mom’s Best Cereal – $1.99 each, used 2 $1/1 printable – $0.99 each after coupons
1 box Kellogg’s Peanut Butter Corn Pops – $1.79, used $1.50/1 e-coupon – $0.29 after coupon
2 Cascadian Farms Cereal – $1.99 each, used $1/2 e-coupon – $1.49 each after coupon
1 Simple Truth Tortilla Chips – $0.97, used $0.50/1 e-coupon – $0.47 after coupon
1 Breyer’s Ice Cream – $2.49
2 boxes Barbara’s Cereal – $1.99 each, used 2 $1/1 printable – $0.99 each after coupons
2 bags Frozen Veggies – $1 each, used $0.50/2 mailer coupon – $0.75 each after coupon
1 Kroger Ice Cream – $2.50, used $0.45/1 mailer coupon – $2.05 after coupon
2.96 lbs Bananas – $1.45
1 pkg Oreo Cookies – $1.99
5 Hormel Snacks – $1.67 each, used 5 $1.50/1 Ibotta rebates – $0.17 each after rebates
1 Green Leaf Lettuce – $1.29
1 bag Flour – $1.59, used $0.40/1 mailer coupon – $1.19 after coupon
Used $0.10 Ibotta rebate for any receipt
Total after coupons and rebates: $30.48
Aldi
1 box Spaghetti – $1.39
1 pkg Applesauce Cups – $1.25
1 bag Frozen Peas – $0.79
2 bags Frozen Broccoli – $0.95 each
1 bag Oyster Crackers – $0.79
1 bag Shredded Cheese – $2.69
1 bag Frozen Tilapia – $3.79
1 bag Chocolate Chips – $1.69
1 loaf Bread – $0.99
1 lb Frozen Ground Beef – $3.39
1 lb Sausage – $2.29
1 Unsweetened Applesauce – $1.95
1 bag Tortilla Chips – $0.89
1 box Fruit & Grain Bars – $1.39
1 jar Pasta Sauce – $0.85
2 cans Green Beans – $0.49
2 Half & Half – $1.55 each
1 lb Butter – $2.89
1 bag Apples – $1.99
1 pkg MooTubes – $1.55
1 bag Baby Carrots – $0.89
2.53 lbs Peaches – $2.50
1 bag Mandarins – $2.69
1 Honey Bear – $2.89
5 lbs Baking Potatoes – $2.19
1 gallon Milk – $1.49
1 bag Frozen Chicken Breasts – $5.85
1 Deli Cheese Pizza – $4.99 (We just recently discovered these and are hooked! They are SO yummy and large enough to feed our entire family. You can’t beat “eating out” for only $5!!)
Total: $60.62
Total for both stores: $91.10
Cereal, Eggs, Toast, Oatmeal, Granola Bars, Fruit
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches, Hormel Snack Lunches, Cheese/Fruit/Crackers, Cheese Quesadillas, Mac & Cheese, Lunch at my in-laws, Leftovers
Deli Pizza from Aldi, Fruit Salad (We are also hosting game night later this night and are serving Ice Cream, Brownies, Chips/Salsa and Oreos.)
Grilled Tilapia/Chicken, Rolls, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
Spaghetti, Steamed Okra, Homemade Bread
Taco Bar
Snacky Dinner/Leftovers
Pancakes, Eggs, Fruit Salad
Chicken & Rice Bowls, Steamed Broccoli
My older sister, Brigette, shares her shopping trips and menu plans every week! You can go HERE to see all of her weekly menu plans and you can go HERE to read all about her family!
1 gallon Whole Milk – $1.49
1/2 gallon 1% Milk – $0.70
1/2 gallon Unsweetened Almond Milk – $1.49
1/2 gallon Ice Cream (not pictured – already in freezer!) – $1.99
1 16.9-oz jar Organic Olive Oil – $3.79
4 pkgs Frozen Broccoli Florets – $3.80
3 pkgs Fresh Zucchini (@$0.89/lb) – $3.96
2 pkgs Fresh Broccoli Crowns – $2.38
1 pkg Romaine Hearts – $2.09
1 pkg Baby Carrots – $0.69
2 bags Fresh Green Beans – $2.58
1 large tub Organic Spring Mix – $3.39
1 bag Mini Sweet Peppers – $2.49
1 bunch Bananas – $0.59
2 2-lb bags Honey Crisp Apples – $3.98
1-lb Sausage – $2.29
2 pkgs Fresh Boneless Chicken Thighs (@$1.19/lb) – $8.84
1 pkg 73/27 Fresh Ground Beef, reduced ($1.69/lb) – $3.84
1 pkg Turkey Franks – $1.89
1 16-oz pkg Deli Meat – $2.85
1 8-oz pkg Sliced Cheddar Cheese – $1.79
1 24-oz carton Cottage Cheese – $1.79
1 16-oz bag Shredded Cheddar Cheese – $2.09
1 16-oz bag Shredded Mozzarella Cheese – $2.09
1 jar Garlic Powder – $0.69
1 tub Baking Cocoa – $1.49
1 jar Baking Powder – $0.69
2 boxes Macaroni and Cheese – $0.50
1 bag Pecan Halves – $4.29
1 bag Nacho Chips – $0.75
1 loaf Sandwich Bread – $0.65
1 bag Hot Dog Buns – $0.65
1 pkg Rice Cakes – $1.45
2 dozen Eggs – $1.52
Total: $75.46
4 cans Green Beans – $1.33
1 Cauliflower – $1.99
2 boxes Mueller’s Pasta – $1.60, used $0.55/2 SS 09/08 (doubled) – $0.50/2 after coupon
1 box Special K Cereal – $1.97, used $0.50/1 printable (doubled) – $0.97 after coupon
1 bag Red Grapes (@$0.99/lb) – $3.23
1 box Texas Toast – $2.00, used $0.75/1 printable (doubled) – $0.50 after coupon
2 cans Cinnamon Rolls – $1.94 (I’m trying not to be offended that my almost 11-yr old requested these for his birthday breakfast instead of my homemade cinnamon rolls. Ha!)
Total after Coupons: $10.46
(Our Neighbor dropped off the above at our house. He had some extra things he couldn’t use – and we can ALWAYS use peanut butter, cereal, and fresh fruit!)
Grocery Total for the Week: $85.92
Weekly Menu Plan
Breakfasts
~ Cinnamon Rolls, Scrambled Eggs (birthday breakfast request)
Everyone is responsible for making/cleaning up their own breakfasts. Choices include:
Oatmeal, Cereal, Scrambled/Boiled/Fried Eggs, Veggie Omelets, Toast, Cottage Cheese, Fruit, Smoothies, Oven Roasted Veggies
Lunches
Sliced Turkey Sandwiches, Carrots, Apples
Peanut Butter Rice Cakes, Bananas, Peppers
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Mini Sweet Peppers, Grapes (birthday lunch request)
Leftovers, Fruit x 4
Dinners
Grilled Hot Dogs, Grilled Zucchini, Cheesy Hashbrown Potatoes, Tossed Salad
Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Texas Toast, Broccoli, Ice Cream Pie with Pecan Crust (birthday dinner request)
Chicken Noodle Soup, Tossed Salad, Breadsticks
Biscuits and Gravy, Sliced Plums, Green Beans
Date Night Out (kids will eat macaroni and cheese, green beans, apples at home)
Baked Chicken Thighs, Roasted Cauliflower, Tossed Salad, Biscuits (double batch)
Venison Roast, Creamy Milk Rice, Green Beans, Leftover Biscuits
Yes, you can make money from blogging! In this post, I share my story — and I tell you how you, too, can start making money from blogging!
In 2005, I started this thing called a “blog” — something that most people in my circle of friends and family had never heard of before. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing, but I had a big dream: I wanted to find a way to earn enough money from home so I can supplement our meager income to allow me to be able to stay home with our baby girl, Kathrynne.
In addition to my big dream, I also had perseverance — something I was going to need in big supply over the next few years. I was very, very determined and that determination drove me not to give up even during the many, many times when I wanted to.
That little blog had a few readers. Then a few dozen. I kept blogging, kept commenting on other blogs, kept writing articles for other sites and linking to that blog, and kept networking with other online entrepreneurs.
Over the course of many months, that little blog grew a tiny bit and then a tiny bit more. Pretty soon, I woke up one day and realized that I had a few hundred readers. That idea just blew my mind.
{My first official professionally done website header — added when I switched from Blogspot to Typepad.}
I started watching what other successful people were doing, read books and blog posts on monetizing a blog, and jumped out and experimented with a number of things.
Pretty soon, there was a little trickle of income coming in from that blog. When I say “trickle”, I truly mean it. It started with $10 per month, then $20 per month, then $50 per month.
If you would have divided my blogging income by the hours invested in blogging, I was probably making what would amount to a few nickels per hour. However, I was learning, the blog was slowly growing, and I was truly enjoying the process of writing and interacting on a blog.
Speaking at my first blogging conference — I was a scared, insecure mess inside and I can see it written all over my face in this picture.
As time marched on and I kept plugging away, I found other creative ways to make money blogging — like selling ebooks and then an online course on cutting your grocery bill. I went from making $50 a month to a few hundred dollars per month.
I started to see the potential. And I began to believe that it truly would be possible to earn a part-time income from blogging someday.
My husband and I began talking about adding a niche blog dedicated to frugal living. There was a lot of interest in the topic, it was something I was passionate about and experienced in, and I was pretty sure I could do some specific things to monetize a frugal living blog that I couldn’t do on the blog I currently had.
My second blogging conference — I was still nervous and scared, but I felt more myself and more whole and I can see it in my face here.
It took about a year from the time the initial idea was birthed to when the final product, MoneySavingMom.com actually happened. But in the fall of 2007, I announced the launch of MoneySavingMom.com on the other blog I had.
I still remember the post where I let the world know MoneySavingMom.com was official. I said that I was probably going to blog on MoneySavingMom.com “about 3 times per week”. {Yes, 3 times per week. That still cracks me up!}
The first version of MoneySavingMom.com was on Blogspot. It was an all white background with capital letters at the top of the page that said MONEY SAVING MOM. {Clearly, I was very into bells and whistles. ;)}
I had spent $10 to buy the website URL and that was all I could afford. Later, I paid $25 to have the teen daughter of a mom I knew design a header for me. But those were the very humble beginnings of something that I could have never imagined…
My first radio interview — again, this was a completely unnerving experience for shy me. I felt like just going back to my hotel room and crying when it was over because I was sure I had totally bombed it.
Since I’d already put in countless hours to build an online platform over the two previous years, knew how to run a blog, and had a pretty good grasp on what topics people were interested, jumping in with MoneySavingMom.com was much easier than it would have been had I been starting from scratch.
I also was at the right place, at the right time, because the economy was beginning to tank, coupons were becoming popular, and the media started to do a lot of coverage of money-saving ideas and frugal living topics.
My initial readers told their friends who told their friends, people found me from random searches and stuck around, and within a few months, MoneySavingMom.com had grown to 14,000 to 16,000 pageviews per day.
It. was. mind-blowing!
I didn’t really know what to do, but I knew that I needed to continue to produce good content and continue to do all I could to help people save money. I also continued to learn all I could about win-win ways to make money blogging.
My first book: basically an exercise in how to do everything wrong! I learned so much, and wished I could have done it all over again because there would be so much I would change!
Within a few months, I was making $800 to $1200 from MoneySavingMom.com. And the income just kept increasing. By the end of the first year, I was making the equivalent of a full-time income from blogging.
All of a sudden, I woke up and realized that not only was I living my dream, it was a LOT more work than I could have ever imagined — especially as the blog continued to grow!
The past 14 years have been a journey… one riddled with many ups and downs. I’ve made many mistakes, let people down, and sometimes posted things before taking time to really think through what I’d written.
Over the years, I’ve also been arrogant, said and written hurtful things, and taken on too much and stretched myself too thin. Many times, I’ve had my priorities out of whack and given my family the leftovers instead of my best.
Through it all, I’ve grown, matured, been humbled, had to ask forgiveness, and learned a great deal about my own limits. I’ve gone from a very black and white person who thought she had everything figured out and thought she should share her very legalistic, dogmatic views with everyone, to discovering this beautiful thing called “grace” and realizing that there are very few hills worth dying on.
My first TV interview — I was a complete nervous wreck. Literally shaking from head to toe!
I’ve grown up a lot, faced a lot of fears, and done things I never thought I was humanly capable of.
In addition, I’ve confronted many of my long-held insecurities head on. And I’ve had many opportunities to work through my long-held tendencies to be a people-pleaser.
You see, as the blog took off and became something more than a little mommy blog, I struggled a lot. Part of me was so excited about the growth and the possibilities. The other part of me wanted nothing more than to just run away from it all and go back to being a stay-at-home mom.
As a normally private person, I hated having my life scrutinized by people I didn’t know. I was scared to come out and talk much about the business side of my life — the meetings, the responsibilities, the opportunities — because I knew some people wouldn’t be happy and would criticize the fact that I was making a good income, was running a thriving business, and was no longer just the frugal stay-at-home mom blogger struggling to make ends meet that I had been when I started blogging.
I love being a wife and mom, managing my home well, saving money, and getting great deals. I’m also a business woman who loves marketing, entrepreneurial ventures, and strategy and monetization.
It took me awhile to be brave enough to say that I am both out loud. But once I did, it has freed me up to make decisions that were best for our family.
Knowing who I am and embracing that has been so freeing for me. Yes, I still regularly get emails and comments from people who wish I was different. However, for the most part, this community has rallied around our family. You have no idea how much you bless us.
My 4th(?) blogging conference: This time, I went with the sole desire to pour into others and look for other people to bless. Guess what? I completely forgot about my usual insecurities and ended up having a blast!
Looking back over the past 14+ years, I never would have imagined what my life would look like today. I never would’ve pictured myself running a business with multiple team members, speaking at events, working with brands, teaching people how to blog, doing media interviews, or being a New York Times bestselling author.
Nor would I have pictured that this blog would be the catalyst for our family to get in a much better position financially. I never, ever envisioned blogging would allow us to no longer live on a beans and rice budget.
And I couldn’t have dreamed that blogging would allow us to could pay cash for a house and give generously. Or, that it would open the door for Jesse and I to work together from home.
I’m so thankful for the opportunity to get to work together with my husband and best friend! While we have our disagreements and struggles, we are a definite team. I wouldn’t be who I am today without him encouraging me, supporting me, and being my biggest cheerleader.
You all have been a big part of this journey. This blog would never have grown like it has nor would the doors of opportunity have opened without you. I am forever humbly grateful for each of you.
While the income from this blog has been a blessing, the community I’ve found in you all has been priceless. You’ve supported us, loved us, prayed for us, and cheered us on — through thick and thin. And you’ve forgiven me when I’ve made mistakes and you’ve been incredibly loyal.
I don’t know what the next 14 years of my life will hold. Right now, I’m just focusing on living one day at a time!
I want to live each day that I’m given to the best of my ability. As long as I’m given the privilege of blogging here, I want to use this platform to make an impact.
Blogging has broken me. Blogging has healed me. And, more than anything, blogging has taught me that perseverance pays off.
So no matter where you are in life right now, I want to encourage you: Keep on. Press forward. Keep learning, keep experimenting, and keep holding onto hope. And most importantly: don’t give up! The best is yet to come!
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