Saving Families Money Since 2007
After I posted the guest post on Why I Like My Smaller House, Roni left a comment talking about how their family of 4 lives in a 650-square-foot home. I was intrigued and asked if she’d do a post on it sometime.
I loved the post she put together giving us a very thorough walk-through of their small home and how they make it work. It’s inspiring and if you are currently living in a small space or you are thinking of downsizing to a smaller space, be sure to read it here.
Kimberlee over at The Peaceful Mom is doing a 30 Days to an Organized Life series starting today. Sign up here for free to receive daily emails to help you get your home and life in order.
When you sign up, you’ll also receive a customizable Daily Planner and a free The Best Times to Buy Everything printable.
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Guest post from Madison:
If I had to come up with a title for kids in general, using one simplistic term, I’d call them munchkins with a short attention span.
Let’s face it, sometimes it’s hard to teach lessons and even harder to get those lessons to stick. However, when it comes to the importance of saving money, there are no excuses to take on the teacher role.
Teaching kids to save will set a precedence for their entire financial future, so I’ve compiled a few things to remember when you start.
Kids are visual learners, and concepts like saving money will come a lot easier if you demonstrate.
Give your kids an object lesson on patience. Whether it’s candy, ice cream, or a different treat, tell them that if they don’t eat it within a given time-frame, then they’ll get another one afterwards. It’s a simple yet effective way to teach them how to save.
The next step is to move on to money so they can understand and put the concept into practice.
Kids pick up on a lot more than you think. They are constantly learning by example, so why not set a good one?
Show them how you save money for big purchases and openly communicate with them what it takes to do so. If you’re constantly buying brand new, unnecessary things, they will think that’s the norm and grow to do it themselves.
A lesson on saving money is only effective if you keep teaching days, weeks, and months afterwards. Don’t let it be a one time event. Consistently ask your kids if they’re saving their money and go over ideas on what they can save for.
As a child, I thought saving money was hard and in all honesty, boring. I was constantly thinking about everything I couldn’t buy at that specific moment because my money was locked away in a piggy bank. (I’ve always been an impatient person!)
Make the process of saving fun by putting up a sticker chart in the office where the kids can have a little healthy competition with one another. You can even give them small prizes for each benchmark they hit.
The reward is sweet, but your kids will never realize it if they don’t make it to the end.
I once started saving up for a bike, but kept spending my quarters on candy and jewelry and lost sight of my goal. Instead of paying for a bike with my own saved money, my parents got me one for Christmas a year or two later.
Not to discredit Christmas or birthdays, but I would have learned a lot more about saving had my parents made me buy it myself.
Teaching your kids to save isn’t too hard when you put these ideas into practice. Before you know it, they’ll become money-saving moguls and who knows? Maybe they’ll save enough money to give you a nice retirement when you’re old. If that’s the case, let the teaching begin!
Madison is a Community Relations Specialist at an accounting software company. She enjoys running, sewing, marketing, and fashion illustration.
Yesterday started bright and early. I’d planned to get up, run, take a shower, and get dressed for the day first thing in the morning. But some unexpected things came up needing my immediate attention and that got pushed to the back burner.
I finished those pressing things and my morning blogging and while Kaitlynn made eggs for breakfast and I started the laundry.
Kathrynne had made a pan of Energy Bars this weekend, so she opted to have that for breakfast instead. She made a case for why it was a healthy way to start the day and the nutrition that was in this recipe and her case was so solid that I gave in and let her eat “dessert” for breakfast.
{Considering that I eat Chocolate Cake for breakfast sometimes, I can’t really protest too much!}
While the kids finished breakfast, I cleaned up the messy kitchen (you can’t see it from this vantage point, but there were some pots and pans in the sink with crusted on food… just lovely! :)) and went over our plans for the day with the kids.
Silas couldn’t WAIT to start in on his math. He’s been itching to do the Monarch Online School that the girls do, but since he’s still learning to read, it starts at a 3rd grade level, and he’s only 5, we’ve been holding him off. However, recently, we decided that it wouldn’t hurt to let him at least try the math, since that’s such a strong subject for him.
Well, what do you know? The kid is whizzing through the lessons — often doing 8 or 9 a day! And he’s getting an average of 90% to 95% on all of the lessons and quizzes — all with very little help from us!
He absolutely loves it and we just keep laughing at how much he surprises us with his math skills, especially since it’s not something we’ve worked on really hard, just something he’s learned by asking lots of questions from all of us.
We had guessed that he was probably at a 3rd grade level in math, but we didn’t really think he could actually do the 3rd grade computer school lessons without a lot of help from us. Clearly, he has proven us wrong! We’re curious to see how long this pace and enthusiasm keeps up!
Now, if he could just learn how to read well, he’d really be whizzing through lessons! 🙂
These flowers on my kitchen table brightened up my morning! Such a fun and cheery color!
While Silas was working on math and the girls were working on their Daily Lists, I tackled the fridge. Yup, it looks like it needed some help!
When I actually dove in, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. About 10 minutes later, it was squeaky clean!
I finished up the last of the dishes and wiped down the counter tops and smiled to see a clean kitchen. I love a clean kitchen. Even if the rest of the house is messy, having the kitchen clean makes me feel like half the house is clean!
While I was finishing up the kitchen, the girls came back down and we got engrossed in an in-depth conversation about business ideas they had and how to best launch them. I love seizing these everyday opportunities to teach and talk through real-life stuff, to weigh pros and cons, to ask them questions, to help them think through outcomes, and to inspire them to exercising their entrepreneurial muscles.
We came up with some new ideas today that I’m actually thinking they might carry out. We’ll see, but I love to see them thinking and pondering and asking questions with long-term goals and dreams in mind.
As we were finishing up our conversation on business ideas, Jesse came home bringing this for me. Yes, folks, with much reluctance, I finally upgraded.
I have been due for a free upgrade for quite some time, but I always hold out as long as I possibly can. But because I’d been having some issues with my phone and because Jesse was really anxious to go ahead and upgrade, I finally bit the bullet and said, “Go for it!”
I feel like my new phone is some foreign object invading my life, but I’m sure I’ll get over it soon enough. 🙂
Jesse also came home bringing the mail… which had some fun surprises for me — including my new She Reads Truth study pack and some goodies I bought for myself off of Amazon using my free gift cards from Swagbucks. I can’t wait to watch Habits Workshop with Jesse and try out the Sweet Blend that I’ve heard so many rave reviews of!
These fun review products also showed up in the mail… look for some great giveaways coming soon! I love getting to offers giveaways for great (and useful!) products.
After we went through the mail and got things put away, the girls told Jesse all about their new business ideas and then we sat down to finally have Morning Time. We’re going through this Holy Week devotional from our church this week.
By the way, have I mentioned how much we love our church?? We are so grateful for how intentional they are about encouraging families to spend time in God’s Word together and the practical helps they provide to us parents to help us teach the truths of Scripture to our kids.
After Morning Time, I had planned to leave and head to the office space, but I still hadn’t had a chance to run and take my shower and I really had some pressing projects I needed to finish and I wanted to also take some time to read my Bible and journal.
So instead of leaving, I just made myself a cup of coffee and a snack and spent some time reading and journaling and then headed up to my room to knock out my afternoon blogging list while Jesse oversaw lunch, the rest of the Kid’s Daily Lists, and school work for the day.
After Kathrynne was finished with her list and school, she spent some time working on her latest Lego machines. I’m hoping I can get her to put together some tutorials for me to share on the blog soon as I think some of you might have Lego-lovers in your house who would have fun making the Lego Candy machines and puzzle boxes that she creates.
We got a box of clothes from Schoola with some new-to-us clothes for the kids for the warmer weather.
So Kaitlynn asked Kathrynne if she’d do a photo shoot with one of her new outfits.
I was quite impressed with how the pictures turned out!
Around 5:30 p.m., I finished up my blogging work and we all ate some of the delicious homemade Chicken Nuggets that Jesse made for dinner. And then I — finally! — headed to take a shower and get dressed since friends were coming over for Dessert Night (just keeping it real here!).
There was water in the tub from the kid’s baths much earlier in the day and when I went to pull the plug on that, instead of draining out like usual it backed up into our shower and flooded the shower and the bathroom floor!
As I realized what was happening, I quickly mopped up the water flooded out on the bathroom floor and hollered to Jesse to come figure out how to drain out the shower. He finally got it drained by using a snake down the drain. We hoped we had prevented anything from leaking through the ceiling by catching it quickly enough and mopping it up right away.
Once that crisis was diverted, I finished getting ready — just minutes before our friends arrived.
Shortly after they got to our house, we noticed the ceiling in the living room/kitchen bubbling up. And then it started dripping — right where we were all sitting!
At first it was just a slow drip, but then it started dripping at a faster rate. Pretty soon, we had to get towels and buckets to catch the water. Jesse even stood on a chair and held one up on the ceiling for awhile to catch a lot of the water dripping down.
I just stood there and smiled, laughed, and encouraged Jesse… because what else can you do when your ceiling is raining while you have company over and you’re not handy at all??! (Thanks to Tam Hodge for documenting some of the crazy of the evening in pictures for us!)
Gratefully, there was a handy woman in our midst. For those of you who don’t know, Jenny Acuff not only helps Jon write amazing books, she’s also incredibly handy. She climbed up and ripped down the tape on the sheet rock to let the water drain out more quickly. 🙂
We eventually got it to stop dripping and then went back to our chatting, laughing, and dessert-eating. 🙂
And now today, in addition to our A/C not working upstairs and our hot water tank going out (nothing like ice-cold showers to wake you up in the morning!), we need to figure out what this plumbing issue is.
The good news? This house has given us lots of opportunities to learn patience, flexibility, and adaptability. Plus, there’s rarely a dull moment around here or a few weeks that go by where we don’t have some kind of repairmen in our home working on some new problem. 😉
How was YOUR day yesterday? Tell us about it in the comments.
Ever have weeks when you feel like you’re failing at everything? Here’s hope and practical help!
This past week felt like one fail after another.
I had some pressing deadlines, we’re in the midst of some fairly big business decisions, some things I poured a lot of effort into sort of just fell flat, our child who is usually obedient and cheerful was the exact opposite this week, and, ahem, there’s this thing called PMS rearing it’s ugly head.
So it was kind of the perfect storm this week. And I got sucked right into the vortex and let it bring me down.
I yelled at my kids (I know, I know — I need to read and heed my own advice there), I was irritated at my husband, I was short with some of my team members, and I did a lot of personal beating up of myself.
In fact, one child brought me this oil and kindly suggested I try rubbing some of it on, as they said, “You could really use it.”
I think that was code for, “We’d really like a peaceful and calm mom instead of the grumpy, frustrated mom who has been hanging out at our house a lot this week.”
As I thought back over last week and what I could learn from it, here are six things I’m working on implementing into my life to help me pull out of the “failure slump” and begin this next week with fresh resolve:
I am not and can not be a perfect mother. I will mess up and fail.
When that happens, I have a choice: I can beat myself up over my short-comings and sulk in shame over my inadequacies or I can ask forgiveness of my family and the Lord and ask God for His grace and enabling to have a quiet and loving spirit toward those closest to me.
These opportunities to humble myself and ask forgiveness can be powerful examples to my children — and something I hope they remember when they make mistakes and mess up.
It’s easy to get bogged down and overwhelmed by everything going on around us. Life is full of hard things, tough decisions, and difficult people.
Last week, I let outside stress impact my inner peace. Instead of choosing to focus on all of the amazing blessings in my life, I let a compilation of a lot of small things press in and frustrate me.
As I often say, “You can’t always change your circumstances, but you can always choose your attitude.” This coming week, I want to remind myself often to pay attention to the many blessings in my life and live my days in gratefulness for those.
Sometimes, you just need some fresh perspective on life. Whether that’s doing something to serve someone else, getting out of the house, doing something you’ve never done before, or taking a break from a project or situation that is causing you to feel anxious.
This weekend, I chose to “check out” of a lot of business stuff and move some self-imposed deadlines to later and instead spend a lot of extra time hanging out with my family, serving at church, spending time with friends, grocery shopping, and just soaking up some breathing room. It’s amazing what this little “vacation from the obligations” did for my soul.
I’ve become such a firm believer in getting enough sleep. It makes such a difference in just about every area of our lives.
If you’re feeling uptight or stressed or want to pull your hair out over a hard thing in your life, stop and do a sleep check. Have you been getting adequate sleep most nights this week? If not, do all you can to make it a priority over the next few days — even if it means you have to let some other things in your life slide.
When you are operating on a “full tank of sleep”, you are much more apt to feel calm and peaceful and cheerful — even in the middle of a lot of stressful situations. Sleep is something I’m going to make a high priority this week and I’m guessing that doing so will make a big difference for me.
Don’t try to pretend that you have it all together. When someone asks you how you are, if you’re not doing so well, be honest.
Let them know that it’s been a hard week, that you’re struggling with something, or that you’re feeling discouraged over something. Don’t carry all the weight of these burdens on your shoulders and then just answer “fine” or “good” when someone asks you how you’re doing. Authenticity and vulnerability breeds some of the deepest, most beautiful relationships.
When I posted about my mom fails on Instagram on Friday, I was amazed at how many moms were feeling the same way and how me just being open about it gave them a safe place to share their own struggles, too.
No matter what you’re going through, know this: you’re not alone. You’re not the only one who is struggling or feeling like a failure.
You’re not the only one who has yelled at your kids this week, gotten somewhere incredibly late, looked in the mirror and felt discouraged by what you saw looking back at you, had an argument with your husband, wanted to just go disappear for a few hours and find this thing called peace and quiet, felt out of place, received devastating news… or whatever else it was that happened to you this week.
You aren’t alone. And that’s one reason I love this community here — and the overflow on Facebook and Instagram. It gives us a place to be honest and to share our heartaches and hurts and to hear that others are dealing with some of the same things, too.
Are you struggling right now, too? Tell us about it in the comments. We’re here for you and we’d love to listen, encourage, and pray for you.
And if you’re not struggling right now, maybe you could take a moment to share some words of encouragement in the comments for those here who are struggling? There’s no such thing as too much encouragement!
Want some practical help with setting up your day for success? It all starts the night before! Be sure to grab a copy of my brand-new online course, Make Over Your Evenings.
This 14-day online course includes videos, a workbook, and step-by-step projects and is designed to help you maximize your evenings in order to experience more success in your life, more order in your home, and more joy in your soul.
It’s time to stop sleep-walking through life and wake up to the amazing excitement and fulfillment that comes when you follow my simple plan to Make Over Your Evenings.
It’s Monday and guess what that means? That means it’s time for our weekly deep-cleaning project! Every Monday morning this year, I’ll be assigning us all a deep-cleaning project to tackle (well, that is, if want to join us!)
Today’s project is to deep clean your refrigerator. I’m headed to the grocery store later today and know our fridge could use some deep-cleaning before I put the new groceries in it.
This evening, I’ll share a post about how my morning well and give you an update (with pictures) on how my fridge-cleaning project went.
Need some motivation? Check out my post on 10 Ways to Make Cleaning More Fun.
Want to join me? Leave a comment to let us know you’re participating! If you have time, tell us what your morning plan is, too.
Last week was full and there were some hard days (I have a blog post coming later today on those!), but the weekend ended on a high note, so that was a blessing.
Saturday morning and afternoon was pretty packed — I had two coffee dates, Silas had his first baseball game, and we had to go get a bunch of supplies for our church’s café.
{Silas at his first baseball game. His little 5-year-old heart couldn’t be happier. After talking about it for months and counting down the days for weeks, the day of his first baseball game finally arrived. My mama heart wanted to burst seeing his joy, passion, enthusiasm, and focus at bat and on the field.}
Jesse and I were planning to have our date night on Saturday night and had childcare lined up for it, but a few hours before, we decided to cancel so that we could get to bed early instead. We had a very full day on Sunday and needed to all be at church early and then would be gone most of the day.
While we were sad to miss our date, we both feel like it was a good decision because it allowed us to be able to have a relaxing family evening and then a calm Sunday morning. And the fact that we all showed up at church by 8:20 a.m. with all the supplies we needed to bring for the café and everyone with teeth brushed and hair fixed is pretty much a Christmas miracle. {Those of you who know our family and our “issues” with getting out the door — especially early in the morning! — will be able to appreciate that even more!}
Next week, we get to put our early Sunday morning skills to an even bigger test: our church is having 3 services for Easter — with the first one being at 8 a.m.! So that means we’ll all need to be out the door by around 7 a.m. with everyone dressed and presentable and all the supplies + extra supplies for the Easter crowd. It should be an adventure. 🙂
Here’s a run-down on how I did on my goals last week:
Marriage/Mothering/Homemaking Goals
1. Write notes of encouragement to all three kids.
2. Write a love note to Jesse.3. Have a date night with Jesse.
Personal Goals
4. Exercise at least 5 times.
5. Finish at least two books.
6. Work on the Cosy Posy Ear Warmer. {By the time I get this done, it’s going to be summer! I guess I can save it for next winter!}
Local Ministry/Hospitality/Friendship Goals
7. Clean out and organize all the cupboards at our church’s café.
8. Invite a family who just moved to Nashville to have a meal with us.Business Goals
9. Outline/write 3 substantive blog posts for next week.
10. Finish getting all the permissions for stories used in my manuscript.
Marriage/Mothering/Homemaking Goals
1. Decorate Easter eggs with the kids.
2. Write a love note to Jesse.
3. Continue working on developing the habit of obedience in our home (I attended the Laying Down the Rails workshop at the recent homeschool conference and it’s really motivated and inspired us in our parenting. We’re choosing the habit of obedience to implement in our home for the next 6-8 weeks. Just a week of working on this and it’s already made a big difference. Watch this video here for a snippet of the workshop.)
Personal Goals
4. Exercise at least 5 times.
5. Finish at least two books.
6. Listen to at least two inspiring audios/podcasts while working/driving (I’ve recently been challenged to do a better job of using those little cracks of time throughout the day to fill my mind up with good things and things that make me think and analyze life.)
Local Ministry/Hospitality/Friendship Goals
7. Research how to make the best coffee with the new commercial coffee machine we got for our church’s café.
8. Host a Dessert Night at our house.
Business Goals
9. Outline/write 3 substantive blog posts for next week.
10. Finish all final edits for the Makeover Your Mornings course.
How did you do on last week’s goals? What are your goals for this week? I’d love to have you share your progress on last week’s goals and your goals for this coming week in the comments. Of, if you’ve blogged about it, leave your direct link below. Let’s cheer each other on to live purposeful and productive lives! You can download a free customizable weekly goal-planning sheet here.
Heather from Queen Bee Coupons and her family embarked on a Pantry & Freezer Challenge this past month. And they ended up only spending $185 on groceries!
See what they bought, the meals they ate, and the price breakdowns over here on her blog.
2 cartons Strawberries – $1.29 each
1 pkg Celery – $0.69 (Price matched to Aldi)
1 Cantaloupe – $1.29 (Price matched to Aldi)
1.03 lbs Asparagus – $0.71 (Price matched to Aldi’s $0.69/lb)
Total with tax ($0.40): $5.67
Homeland1 Bar Keepers Friend – $1.50, used $0.75/1 printable (doubled) – Free after coupon
1 Glad Cling Wrap – $2, used $1/1 printable (doubled) – Free after coupon
2 Lance Cracker Packs – $1.67 each, used $1/2 printable (doubled) – $0.67 each after coupon
2 Rosarita Refried Beans – $1 each, used $0.40/2 printable (doubled) – $0.60 each after coupon
2 Kellogg’s Cocoa Rice Krispies – $2.50 each, used $1/2 printable (doubled) – $1.50 each after coupon (Buy 2, Receive Free Jet Puffed Marshmallows)
1 Jet-Puffed Marshmallows – $1.50, Bought 2 Cocoa Krispies – Free after sale
6 Hiland Yogurts – $0.44 each, used $1/6 printable (doubled) – $0.11 each after coupon
2 Red Bell Peppers – $0.33 each, Received $0.25 back from Checkout 51 – $0.20 each after rebate
1 Sargento Shredded Cheese – $2, used $0.50/1 printable (doubled) – $1 after coupon
Total with tax ($1.10) after coupons, sales and rebate: $8.67
2 gallons Dillons Milk – $1.99 each
1 bag Kroger Spinach – $2.50
1 Jello Pudding – $0.89
2 dozen Dillons Eggs – $0.99 each, received $0.50 rebate from Ibotta – $0.74 each after rebate
1 Kroger Dishwasher Detergent – $3.49, used $2/1 mailer coupon – $1.49 after coupon
1 Dishsoap – $0.99, received $0.25 rebate from Ibotta – $0.74 after rebate
1 Romaine Lettuce – $0.99
1 bag Kroger Flour – $1.49
1 Turkey Hill Ice Cream – Marked down to $1.92
2 Cucumbers – $0.50 each
2 Green Peppers – $0.50 each
1 Kroger Applesauce – $2.19
Items a part of the Mega Sale (Buy 10, Get $5 off):
1 Fritos Chips – $1.49
2 Bic Razors – $2.49 each, used 2 $3/1 coupon from the 3/8 SmartSource insert – Free plus overage after coupons
2 Prego Spaghetti Sauce – $1.49 each, used $0.40/2 coupon from the 3/1 SmartSource insert – $1.29 each after coupon
2 half gallons Kroger Orange Juice – $0.88 each
1 Nature Valley Loaf Bread – $1.49
2 Kroger Cottage Cheese – $0.88 each
Total with tax ($2.59) after coupons, sales and rebates: $30.15
Total for all grocery items: $44.49
Menu Plan for This Week
Breakfasts
Toast & Eggs x 3
Cereal x 2
Cinnamon Pecan Coffee Cake, Orange Juice, Fruit
Oatmeal with Strawberries
Lunches
Baked Potatoes, Oranges
Turkey/Cheese/Crackers/Veggies x 2
Peanut Butter Quesadillas, Celery
Lunch at our friend’s house
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches
Leftovers
Tossed Salad/Spinach Smoothies x 5 (for me)
Dinners
Bean and Rice Soup, Biscuits
Venison Roast, Carrots, Potatoes, Banana Fudge Muffins
French Toast, Eggs, Bacon, Juice
Chicken Noodle Casserole, Tossed Salad, Peas
Chicken Fajitas, Fruit
Date Night (We’re celebrating our 6-year engagement anniversary this week!) 🙂
I’m SO excited that this gem showed up in my mailbox this week! Rachel’s book, Hands Free Mama, was a game-changer for me as a wife and mom and I can’t WAIT to dive into this pre-release copy of her brand-new book. I’m prepping myself to be highly challenged and convicted again!
How Do I Get It All Done? And Still Have Time to Enjoy It? — This was not an “I have it all figured out, come learn from me” book, but a “Come learn alongside me as I’m figuring it out” kind of book. And I found it inspiring and thought-provoking.
It’s a quick read and there are some typos in it, but overall, it’s a great book if you’re struggling with prioritizing and time management. Lots of great refresher ideas and motivation. I especially loved these three quotes:
So the first step in getting it all done is to define ‘it all’. This is the act of very purposefully defining your priorities, as well as discovering your unique gifts and talents and how God wants you to use them. It’s all too easy to get distracted into doing those things that are not for you to do. You must know what it is that you are to be about in order to do those things well.
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When God gives you an assignment, he doesn’t leave you alone, he equips you with whatever you need to accomplish what he had called you to do.
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Whenever you choose to do something, you choose not to do something else.
Lizzy & Jane — I really enjoyed this book. It was well-written, engaging, and just an all-around great read. It makes you want to read Jane Austen and become a better cook!
Speaking of which, I’m not a foodie and have only read a little bit of Jane Austen, so if I enjoyed the book, I think those of you who love Austen and/or food-related books will especially find this a good read.
As I’ve just walked through Michele’s cancer journey with her, I found the sections on chemo and the losses and grief related to cancer to be very authentic and real — and something that would be helpful to those who are trying to understand what it’s like to go through chemo treatments and to experience the heavy losses and hard burdens that cancer can bring.
11 Books I’m Reading This Week:
The Green Ember — This read aloud has come highly recommended to us by multiple sources and, so far, we’re really enjoying it. It is well-written and keeping all of my kids on the edges of their seats.
Dear Mr. Knightley — My friend, Lisa-Jo, says that I must, must, MUST read this book. And considering how much I enjoyed Lizzy & Jane (by the same author), I’m pretty positive she’s right. 🙂
The Meaning of Marriage — I’m reading through this with my friend, Allison, as part of our weekly accountability meetings. We’re aiming for two chapters every week and then we’ll discuss it when we meet.
Galatians for You — And another Tim Keller book! This one is what we’re going through in our new Community Group. Again, we’re doing just a few chapters every week and discussing them when we meet. So far, it’s been really good.
Their Lives and Your Life — This is a devotional I’m currently reading with the kids. My mom gave it to me awhile back, if I’m remembering correctly.
Parenting the Wholehearted Child — Can I be really honest with you? Parenting books aren’t my favorite genre. In fact, I typically steer clear of them.
I was raised in an age and culture where many families followed parenting books and discipline plans to a tee and, well, much of the fruit from all that didn’t turn out so great. It left a bad taste in my mouth for the whole “follow steps A, B, and C as a parent and you’ll be a Godly family/good parent” etc.
So yes, I kinda prefer to stay far away from anything that remotely resembles a system or method of parenting. Because I truly have come to believe that there are no one-size-fits-all plans.
At any rate, I was hesitant to start this book because it fell under the “parenting book” genre. But I’m so glad that I did. I’m two chapters in and it is honestly turning out to be one of the best non-fiction books I’ve read in a long time.
I just want to sit and read the whole thing in one sitting. But on the other hand, I want to process it slowly so that I can take it all in!
She Reads Truth Lent Study/Bible — I am loving the Lent study so far… as I have loved all the She Reads Truth studies. Seriously, one of the best things I’ve invested in for my personal spiritual development and relationship with God ever.
Stepping Heavenward — My friend, Allison Burr, loaned me this book and said it was one of her very favorites ever. Can you believe I’ve never read it? I’m working on remedying that stat.
Love Without Limits – For years, Nick Vujicic has been a huge inspiration to me. I was excited to see that he had gotten married and is a dad now and am looking forward to reading this book from he and his wife.
Long Walk to Freedom & Kaffir Boy — I’m slowly working through these as I seek to understand more about South African history.
What did you read this past week? Any must-read book recommendations?
1 head Cabbage – $1.29
2 4-lb bags Oranges – $4.98
2 12-oz bags Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips – $3.18
2 16-oz cartons Egg Whites – $3.98
1 2-lb bag Lemons – $2.29
2 3-ct pkgs Romaine Hearts – $3.98
1 2-lb bag Tilapia Filets – $5.49
1 bag Mini Sweet Peppers – $1.39
1 24-oz pkg Zucchini – $1.99
2 dozen Eggs – $3.50
1 16-oz bag Wild Caught Salmon – $3.89
Total: $35.96
10 boxes Mom’s Best Cereal – $10.00
4 Up & Up 2-ct pkgs Cleaning Sponges – $4.16, used $3/4 Up & Up Cleaning Products/Tools printable – $1.16/4 after coupon
4 bags Market Pantry Frozen Broccoli – $3.84, used $1/4 Target Mobile coupon, plus 5% off Market Pantry Frozen Vegetables Target Cartwheel Offer – $2.69/4 after coupons
2 12-oz cans Nestle Evaporated Milk – $1.92, used $0.55/2 printable, plus $0.50/2 Target printable, plus receive $1 back from Checkout 51 – $0.13 MM after coupons and rebate (these got put in the Harris Teeter picture accidentally – I will blame it on multi-tasking and having my children help me with unloading groceries/taking pics :))
2 15-ct pkgs Juicy Fruit Starburst Gum – $1.98, used 2 $1/1 Target printable – FREE after coupons
Used a $5 Gift Card
Total after Coupons, Taxes, Gift Card and Rebate – $8.77
3 bottles Pantene Shampoo – $10.00, used $5/3 Pantene Products, exp. 4/30/15 (P&G 03/29/15), plus $5/3 Harris Teeter evic – FREE after coupons
2 boxes Betty Crocker Cake Mix – $2.00, used $0.75/2 printable (doubled), plus $0.75/2 Harris Teeter evic – $0.25 MM after coupons, plus receive $0.75 back from SavingStar
3 jars Skippy Natural Peanut Butter – $6.00, used 3 $0.55/1 printable (doubled) – $2.70/3 after coupons, plus receive $0.25 back from Ibotta
2 15-oz cans Dole Sliced Pineapple – $2.00, used $0.50/2 Dole Canned Fruit, exp. 5/31/15 (SS 03/22/15 R) (doubled) – $1.00/2 after coupon, plus receive $1 back from Snap by Groupon
1 McCormick Grill Mates Hamburger Seasoning – $1.39, used $0.75/1 McCormick Spice, Herb, Extract or Food Color, exp. 4/19/15 (RP 03/15/15) (doubled) – FREE after coupon
1 2-ct package Hass Avocad0s – $1.67
2 8-oz bags Sargento Artisan Blends Shredded Cheese – $4.00, used 2 $0.50/1 printable (doubled) – $2.00/2 after coupons
2 32-oz containers Sorrento Ricotta Cheese – $5.49, used 2 $1/1 printable – $3.49/2 after coupons
1 gallon Milk – $2.99, plus receive $0.25 back from Ibotta
Total after Coupons, Taxes, and Rebates – $8.95
2 5-lb bags Flour – $2.98
1 5-lb bag Golden Delicious Apples – $2.99, plus receive $0.25 back from Checkout 51 – $2.74 after rebate
1 5-lb bag Granny Smith Apples – $2.99
Total after Rebate: $8.71
3.56lbs of Ground Beef (@$2.49/lb) – $8.86 (also pictured is 5lbs of ground beef given to us this week by our retired butcher friend!)
Total: $8.86
Weekly Menu Plan
Breakfasts
Cereal x 3
Easy Whole Wheat Muffins/Toast and Eggs x 2 (Veggie Omelettes for me)
Apple Baked Oatmeal x 2
Lunches
Stir Fried Veggies over Rice, Apples x 2
Build-Your-Own-Tossed Salad Bar x 2, Crackers
Baked Potatoes with Cheese, Oranges, Carrot Sticks x 2
Leftovers
Dinners
Pan Fried Tilapia, Crispy Carrot Fries (substituting carrots for the sweet potatoes), Steamed Broccoli, Homemade Freezer Biscuits (Easy Paleo Biscuits for me)
Chicken Gravy over Brown Rice, Tossed Salad, Steamed Peas
Meat Potato Quiche (using leftover ham from the freezer), Steamed Broccoli, Easy Whole Wheat Muffins (I will make a double batch to have leftovers for breakfasts)
Venison Roast in the Crockpot, Sliced Baked Potatoes, Tossed Salad, Easy Homemade Whole Wheat Bread (recipe coming soon!)
Taco Salad, Best Spanish Rice, Oranges
Fried Egg and Cheese Sandwiches (meatless), Homemade Applesauce, Green Beans (from the freezer)
Leftovers
Snacks
Protein Smoothies or Muffin in Mug (for me), Popcorn, Chewy No-Bake Granola Bars
Guest post from Rachael of Mumbling Mommy
I had a strange dream after my husband and I signed paperwork to buy our first house. I dreamed I was standing in our new master bathroom and the walls began closing in on me. In reality, it IS a small bathroom — my dream only exaggerated that fact.
When my mom came to visit and first saw the bathroom, she wondered if it had originally been a closet (it hadn’t.) However, despite its diminutive dimensions, our master bathroom works for us.
The rest of our house isn’t big either. At approximately 1,050 square feet, some people might consider our house to be on the small side, but we don’t plan to upsize. Our house served us well when we were a young couple with no children, and it has accommodated our growing family, with adequate space for our two daughters. We are happy at the prospect of spending our retirement years here, too.
I like my house so much that I sometimes feel sorry for friends who live in larger houses.
Here are the top reasons why I like small houses:
Everything about smaller houses is smaller, like mortgages, heating and cooling bills, electric bills, and taxes.
We were able to pay ahead on our mortgage and refinanced so our home will be paid off in 15 years, which wouldn’t be possible if we lived in a larger, more expensive home.
We also only need one furnace to heat our home, compared to larger homes that function most efficiently when they have separate furnaces for lower and upper floors.
I recycle, compost, and try to leave a small carbon footprint. I like smaller houses because they are built with fewer natural resources like wood, and they require less electricity and gas to heat, cool, and cook with.
You need less paint and carpet and fewer wall cabinets in smaller houses. When we had ceramic tile floors installed in our bathrooms, we saved on labor costs because the rooms were small. I can paint a bedroom with only one gallon of paint and still have paint left over.
We need less furniture and fewer things like decorations and curtains to fill our space.
Small houses also are motivation to pare down excess belongings. We keep only what we need and are less tempted to buy toys or gadgets that would clutter our home.
I feel less pressure to “keep up with the Joneses.”
Our open floor plan, which makes our house seem bigger than it really is, allows me to stand in my dining room and see almost every room in our house. I can cook in the kitchen and keep tabs on my children playing in the living room or their bedrooms.
If my children wake at night, I don’t have to walk down a long hall or up or down stairs to their bedrooms.
The bathroom is never far away during potty training, and when accidents happen, the laundry room is nearby, too.
This is my favorite part about my small home! Less square footage means less space to clean.
Our bathrooms are so small my children frequently stand in the hall while brushing their teeth, but that also means I can clean our bathrooms in a short time.
We have friends who have two or three times as much house to clean, and some of them hire house cleaners, which brings us back to my first point about all the ways smaller houses save money.
For our family, having less space is a good tradeoff if it means we save money and sanity.
What do you like about smaller houses? On the other end of the spectrum, have you experienced benefits from living in a large house?
Rachael is a wife, mom of two daughters, and associate editor for Mumbling Mommy, a blog about the challenges, pitfalls, and triumphs of parenting. In her spare time, she can be found gardening, cooking, singing with ladies from church, or reading Charlotte Bronte novels.
Target Shopping Trip
Transaction #1
4 Suave Men’s 3-in-1 Wash – $2.89 each, used 2 $3/2 coupon from the 3/8 RedPlum insert – $1.39 each after coupons
Total after coupons: $5.56, Received a $5 Target gift card (for buying 4 Suave)
Transaction #2
2 Juicy Fruit Starburst Gum – $0.99 each, used 2 $1/1 Target printable – Free after coupons
3 Glade Plug-Ins – $1.37 each, used $2/3 Target printable AND 3 $1/1 coupon from the 2/8 SmartSource insert – Free plus overage after coupons
8 boxes Mom’s Best Cereal – $1 each, used 20% off Cartwheel coupon – $0.80 each after coupon
Used $5 gift card from Transaction #1
Total after coupons and gift card: $0.51
Total for both transactions: $6.07
