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Shared Oct 13, 2014 comment

10 Goals This Week + an update on last week’s goals

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 13, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Last week’s goals:

Marriage/Mothering/Homemaking Goals

1. Finish reading Teddy’s Button aloud to the kids at lunch time.

~~2. Have a movie night with Jesse.~~

~~3. Write a love note to Jesse.~~

~~4. Write thank you notes for my birthday gifts.~~

~~5. Work on another craft/sewing project with Kaitlynn.~~

Personal Goals

~~6. Work on reviewing and memorizing Romans 1 and Romans 2:1-2.~~

7. Finish reading I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn’t), A Proper Pursuit, and ~~Love, Skip, Jump~~.

8. Run or exercise at least 5 times.

Business Goals

~~9. Work on chapters 8 and 9 of my book manuscript.~~

10. Work on draft of my first article for an upcoming magazine column.

Last week’s goals:

Marriage/Mothering/Homemaking Goals

1. Finish reading Teddy’s Button aloud to the kids at lunch time. {I’m determined to actually accomplish this goal this week! We’ve struggled through this book & it’s not been my kids’ favorite, so that’s contributing to how slowly we’re getting through it… and also we’re changing our read aloud time to breakfast because we recently added in extra swimming and ice skating lessons/practices for the girls that were cutting into our previous read aloud time.}

2. Have a movie night with Jesse.

3. Write a love note to Jesse.

4. Start a new sewing or handwork project.

Personal Goals

5. Work on reviewing and memorizing Romans 1 and Romans 2:1-3.

6. Finish reading I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn’t), A Proper Pursuit, and a few other titles that I’m still picking out and will share in my book post tomorrow.

7. Run or exercise at least 5 times.

Business Goals

8. Continue to work on chapters 8 and 9 of my book manuscript.

9. Write answers to questions for an upcoming online interview.

10. Finish my first article for an upcoming magazine column.

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.

Shared Oct 13, 2014 comment

Cutting Down on Caffeine (I survived another week!)

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 13, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Bulletproof Coffee

So, I’m working on cutting back on caffeine this month, as part of the 12 Months to a Healthier You Challenge. And while last week was harder, I was excited that this week wasn’t as hard. Yay!

This week, I cut back from 1 and 3/4 cups per day to 1 and 1/2 cups per day. And I didn’t really even notice that I’d cut back a little. I am drinking a few cups of herbal tea, too, and I think that helps.

I’ve already decided this may not be a habit I decide to stick with, but I’m committed to following through with cutting back for this month.

How are YOU doing on cutting back on caffeine?

Shared Oct 13, 2014 comment

5 Things to Remember When Bartering

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 13, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post from Meagan of More Than a Coupon Queen

Our family has lived on a tight budget for a long time. My husband works for a non-profit ministry and I homeschool both of our children.

I have always wanted my children to enjoy the things we couldn’t afford without breaking our budget. This is where the idea of bartering came into play. I may not be able to pay cash for something but I have a few skills I can trade.

If you’re interested in bartering, here are 5 things to consider…

5 Things to Remember When Bartering

1. Don’t be afraid to ask.

I have bartered with people I never would have expected to. Sometimes a Facebook question such as, “Looking for someone to help us with a stopped up toilet. Willing to do a photo shoot for you in exchange for your time” can end with a great partnership.

2. Make sure the value matches.

I have seen people trade services worth a lot for something small. Make sure your trade is even. Examples of this would include trading 1 hour of babysitting for a full photo shoot or trading 1 hour of yard work for 3 hours of house work.

The only way bartering will make you happy is by making sure that both people are getting the same value.

3. Put terms in writing before you start.

In order to avoid disagreements later, establish the terms of your trade before you start. You don’t need a lawyer and a contract but having something in writing will prevent either of you from feeling taken advantage of.

4. Put a timeline on your trade.

Don’t give someone something with the understanding that they will someday pay you back. Instead, say “I will do this for you by this date if you will do this for me by this date.”

Not only will this give both of you a clear deadline, it will remove a potential disagreement over when something should be done.

5. Realize your Strengths.

I went to school for photography, I work well with children, and I know how to do some basic business cards and branding. When someone is looking to trade with me I will offer these things as options.

What are you good at? Are you good with children? Do you know how to work with Photoshop or an excel spreadsheet? Are you good at cleaning? Knowing your strengths gives you something to barter.

Bartering is a great way to take care of your family without spending cash you don’t have. I highly recommend giving it a try!

Have you ever bartered for something you needed? Did it go well for you?

Meagan is a Sci-loving homeschool mom from Central Florida. She blogs with her husband at More Than a Coupon Queen. If you visit their site you are sure to find money saving tips, homeschool ideas, and Central Florida fun. Meagan hosts a weekly Science link up and offers a monthly Doctor Who inspired printable.

photo source

Shared Oct 12, 2014 comment

Weekend Giveaway: doTERRA Essential Oils Introduction Kit (Lemon, Lavender, Peppermint) 6 Winners

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 12, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I know that many of you are very interested in essential oils, so I’m excited to bring you another essential oils giveaway — this time for a doTERRA Introduction Kit courtesy of Stacia Stuart.

This is a great kit for beginners! It includes an introductory audio CD and booklet highlighting the uses of essential oils, and a 5 ml bottle of dōTERRA’s Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade® Lavender, Lemon, and Peppermint essential oils. There are also suggested uses for the oils included to help jumpstart you on your journey of using essential oils.

I’ve become a huge essential oil fan over the past year (my poor friends have been so patient with me as I’m often whipping out my travel oil bag and saying, “I have an oil for that! Here just try this!” ;)), but I’m not partial to any brand specific brand. In fact, I really like many of the oils from many different brands. However, since we’re talking about doTERRA for this giveaway, my favorite doTERRA oils are:

Elevation — I love to diffuse this oil when I need a pick-me-up.

Whisper — This smells like perfume to me and I wear it as perfume sometimes and people often ask me what brand I’m wearing! Such a great oil for having a calming affect.

OnGuard — Of all the doTERRA and other brands of oils on the market, this one is one of my very favorites and probably one of the ones we use most of all at our house. I never travel without it, either. I have prevented multiple illnesses by rubbing this on the bottoms of my feet when I felt like I was starting to come down with something. I’ve been amazed at how well it seems to work!

Deep Blue — This is a great oil to rub on sore and achy muscles.

DigestZen — This was the oil that turned my husband from essential oil cynic to essential oil convert. If you have an upset stomach or even just feel bloated, you can rub it onto your stomach and it works wonders!

Here are a few of our favorite ways to use essential oils:

Diffuse them — it’s so fun and mood-boosting to have them wafting through the house!
Rub them on our feet and then put socks on before we got to bed. I seem to sleep better every time I do this.
Put a few drops in our Homemade Foaming Hand Soap. Peppermint is especially fun around Christmas time!
Put a few drops into a warm bath for a relaxing at-home spa experience.

For more information on doTERRA essential oils, visit Stacia Stuart’s site here. If you’d like to purchase any oils, you can check out the option to purchase a wholesale doTERRA membership and get 25% off the retail prices for one year. Just click on join in the upper left corner for details. You can also follow Stacia on Facebook

Stacia is also offering anyone who signs up as a Wellness Advocate with an enrollment kit of 150 points value, a free Mini-Modern Essentials Usage Guide. Signing up as a Wellness Advocate gives you the opportunity to earn commissions and free products by sharing about doTERRA with others.

Would you like to win a free doTERRA Introductory Kit? Just click on the graphic below and type in your name and email address. 6 winners will be chosen and posted early next week. This giveaway ends Monday, October 13, at 11:59 pm, CST.

Shared Oct 12, 2014 comment

Healthy Blueberry Crisp Recipe

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 12, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I “Trim Healthy Mama-fied” the Blueberry Crisp recipe from Bread & Wine a few weeks ago. Since then, I’ve made it a few more times to tweak it and get it just right.

Many of you asked me for this recipe, so I’m happy to share it. Please note that if you’re not familiar with the Trim Healthy Mama way of eating, this recipe might just look really weird to you… and it might even have a few ingredients you’ve never heard of before.

I get that, because I was pretty cynical of the whole THM way of eating for a number of months. But now that I experimented with it, I’ve fallen in love with it. And seeing as it’s been going on five months of eating this way, I think it just might be a new lifestyle. 🙂

Healthy Blueberry Crisp

1 1/2 cups oats
1/2 cup oat fiber (non THM folks, you replace this with flour or almond flour)
1/2 cup xylitol (non THM folks: you could replace this with sugar)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup coconut oil, melted (non THM folks: you could replace this with melted butter)
1 1/2 to 2 cups fresh blueberries (can also use frozen or other types of berries)

Mix all ingredients together, except for the berries. Sprinkle half of the oat mixture on the bottom of an 8×8 pan. Sprinkle berries over. Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture on top.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubble and lightly browned. Serve warm or cold.

Please note: This has a higher fat content than a typical THM E meal. You can either eat just a small amount for a meal, eat it as part of a Crossover meal or snack, or use twice as much fruit to the crumb topping ratio.

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

Click here to sign up!

Shared Oct 11, 2014 comment

How I Saved Today: Making do instead of buying new

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 11, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

This whole week has been full from start to finish. As a result, I’ve been just focusing on one day at a time. Today we had to get up early to drive quite a ways to be at an early swim meet for Kathrynne. {Most of you parents are so used to this kind of routine… but for us, this whole arena of sports and activities and competitions is very new.}

So we made it through the morning and early afternoon and then I realized: We were supposed to go to a friend’s 30th birthday party tonight and I kind of forgot to actually plan a side dish to bring tonight nor had I bought ingredients for it.

Since it’s been a week since we last went grocery shopping, I kind of panicked, thinking we probably wouldn’t have enough ingredients to actually make anything presentable. And I considered just running by the store on our way to the party and picking up a veggie tray.

But then I decided to see what I could scrounge up with the odds and ends of veggies we still had on hand. I surprised myself that we had more than enough to make a veggie tray!

This was a good reminder to me to challenge myself to always try to make do with what I already have instead of rushing out to buy something new.

~~Share How You Saved & You Could Win a $50 Starbucks Gift Card!~~

~~Who wants to have some coffee dates on me? Leave a comment on this post telling us how you saved today — either in a big way, a small way, or multiple ways.~~

~~I’ll choose one winner on Monday and will send them a $50 Starbucks gift card!~~

This giveaway is over with. The winner is: Becky {t_3_st@}

The winner of yesterday’s $50 Amazon gift card is: nktimmerman@. You should have received an email with details on claiming your prize.

Shared Oct 11, 2014 comment

Gretchen’s $31 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 11, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Homeland

1 Herbal Essence Bodywash – $2.49, used $1/1 printable (doubled) – $0.49 after coupon

1 Herbel Essence Conditioner – $2.49, used $1/1 printable (doubled) – $0.49 after coupon

2 Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal – $2.29 each, used $1/2 printable (doubled) – $1.29 each after coupon

1 Hiland Cottage Cheese (24 oz) – $1.99, used $0.50/1 coupon from the 8/10 SmartSource insert (doubled) – $0.99 after coupon

1.05 lbs Tomatoes @ $0.89/lb – $0.93

1 Nestle Pure Life Water Bottles – $2.99, used $1/1 printable (doubled) – $0.99 after coupon

10 Red Gold canned Tomatoes – $0.69 (Buy 10, Get $4 off instantly), used 2 $0.55/3 printable (one of them doubled) – $0.12 each after coupons (I’m stocked up for fall soups and chili!)

Total before coupons and sales: $43.47

Total with tax after coupons and sales: $7.72

Dillon’s

Pssst Sugar – $1.99

1 Kroger Just Fruit Jelly – Marked down to $0.99

2 cans Beans – $0.60 each

1 Cucumber – $0.89

1 Lettuce – $0.99

1 pkg Kroger Bacon – $2.88

1 pkg Pork Loins – Marked down to $3.65

1 bag Potatoes – $2.69

1 bunch Bananas @ $0.52/lb – $0.72

1 bunch Asparagus @ $1.99/lb – $2.38

1 pkg Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs – $3.97

1 Milky Way Bites – Free with Free e-coupon (no longer available)

2 heads Broccoli @ $0.99/lb – $1.28

Total after coupon and sales: $23.63

Total for all both stores: $31.35

Menu Plan for this Week

Breakfasts

Cereal, Scrambled Eggs & Bacon x 2, Toast with Jelly, Oatmeal

Lunches

Peanut Butter & Jelly on Rice Cakes, Tossed Salad with Cottage Cheese, Baked Potatoes & Broccoli, Cheese Quesadillas, Leftovers

Dinners

Chicken Fajitas, Homemade Applesauce

Mexican Casserole, Steamed Peas

Steak, Biscuits, Tossed Salad

Meat Potato Quiche, Pumpkin Bread, Steamed Broccoli

Black Bean Quesadillas, Tossed Salad

Crock Pot Pork Loins, Homemade Bread, Mashed Potatoes, Asparagus

Chicken & Rice Casserole, Steamed Broccoli

Shared Oct 11, 2014 comment

9 Ways We Cut Back to Afford More on One Income

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 11, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post from Jennifer

After being a stay-at-home mom for almost 2 years, my husband and I had to make a decision of where our first child would go to school. Although we were excited about sending her to a private school, we were also a bit overwhelmed wondering if could afford it on one income.

I know there are many families out there living on one income and “affording more” of what’s important to you because of budget cut-backs in other areas of your life. And after looking at our own budget, we found several areas we could cut back to make a private school tuition work on one income:

1. Debt:

We had already purposefully eliminated all credit card and car loan debt, so we only owe money on a reasonable mortgage.

2. Entertainment:

We use a TV with bunny ears, so we do not pay for cable, Netflix, etc.
We check out movies and books at the local library for free!
We do cheap dates (sometimes sharing an entrée at a restaurant to be able to eat out).
We are blessed to have grandparents in town who babysit for free.
We limit our eat-out budget, and drink water when we go out.
We only have one smart phone in our family.
We called our phone company to get a promotional rate on internet.

3. Clothing:

I shop for my kids’ clothes at garage, consignment, and thrift store sales. I also buy ahead for the next size up at the clearance racks at the end of a season.
I consign my kids’ clothes (and old toys) at a local sale three times a year. I price the clothes and make 70% of what they sell for and they do the work of selling them.

4. Groceries:

I shop primarily at Aldi, with some items bought at Dillon’s with sales and coupons.
I have started making more things from scratch, and I love using my bread machine (inspired by this blog!). My kids love “Mama Jenny’s Pizzeria”.

5. Gifts

I make many gifts (birthday cakes, burlap wreaths, bracelets, baby blankets).
I shop for gifts year round.
I recycle all old gift bags and tissue paper that are in good condition.

6. Gas

We buy gift cards at Dillon’s for specific purchases and get fuel points to get discounts on gas.
We fill up both cars at once to take full advantage of fuel discounts.

7. School Credit for Reloadable Gift Card:

Our school offers credit towards tuition for purchases bought with a reloadable Dillon’s gift card, including money spent on gas. We make about $3.75 for each $100 spent and every little bit adds up!

8. Hair:

I highlight my own hair and cut all four of our hair.

9. Home repairs:

I am blessed to have a handy husband who can do most home repairs and lawn maintenance with only a few trips to Home Depot.

I realize that all of these tips will not work for everyone, but I hope this is inspiring to many readers who read MoneySavingMom.com for more ideas to cut back to afford more!

Jennifer is a stay-at-home mom of two children, 6 and 3, whose mom, out of necessity, taught her to be frugal growing up. She enjoys looking for more ways to save money, crafting, reading, teaching children at church, and spending time with her family.

photo source

Shared Oct 10, 2014 comment

How We Saved Today: Watching baseball games without cable!

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 10, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

We are staunch Kansas City Royals fans… and have been for years. So we are thrilled that they have made it this far into the post-season!

There’s only one problem: the post season games aren’t on non-cable TV. So we’ve had to get creative. 🙂

Jesse purchased a subscription to MLB.com at the beginning of baseball season, so he was able to hook the video feed from that up to our TV. Then, he was able to get the audio feed from cable TV through MLB.com, too. The video and audio feed don’t match, but between the two of them, it’s almost like watching it live on cable.

It’s so fun to come up with creative solutions like this. Okay, so it’s not quite as great as watching the actual TV coverage — especially because the camera angles aren’t as great — but it works and it’s a lot less expensive than paying a cable bill every month. 🙂

This has nothing to do with saving money, but this was our excitement for the day…

We noticed our ceiling was all bubbled up and wet last night. We weren’t sure what was going on, but we discontinued using the bathroom/shower/tub right above that spot and called our landlords.

They sent a handyman out to investigate today. He checked our shower, our tub, and cut into the ceiling to see what was going on up there.

He ruled out some possibilities, but we still aren’t sure what’s up as nothing was conclusive. However, we’re watching it carefully and hoping to get to the bottom of things soon.

We’ve had so many interesting house issues recently: earwig infestations, drainage issues, pipe issues, caulking issues, refrigerator issues, and now this leak. Between all of this, it’s almost becoming abnormal to not have some repair person working at our house on any given day!

We’re so grateful for our kind and gracious landlords. They are certainly getting their money’s worth on the home warranty they purchased for this rental house. Yikes!

We feel so badly that we keep having to call them with another issue. And yet, we know it’s better to take care of things right away than to let them fester or grow worse.

~~Share How You Saved & Win a $50 Amazon Gift Card~~

~~How did YOU save today? Share a way that you saved money today and you could win a $50 Amazon gift card. Just for fun, I’ll choose one winner from the comments and will post that winner tomorrow.~~

This giveaway is over with. The winner is: nktimmerman@. You should have received an email with details on claiming your prize.

Yesterday’s winner was Sally {sallycoupons@}. You should have received an email with further details on how to claim your prize.

Shared Oct 10, 2014 comment

This Week’s Amazon Order: Pumpkin & Foil

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 10, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

As I’ve mentioned before, we usually make a few bulk purchases on Amazon each week using gift cards earned through Swagbucks. This week, I bought a box of canned organic pumpkin and two rolls of foil.

I’m guessing that the pumpkin should last us through the Fall baking season. And the foil will probably last us for months.

I love being able to use my Swagbucks credit to buy quality items from Amazon. And it’s so nice to make bulk purchases of things we use often so that I don’t have to worry about replenishing my supply as often!

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

Click here to download!

Shared Oct 9, 2014 comment

This Week’s $130 Grocery Shopping Trip & Menu Plan

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 9, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

So, I told you last week that we’ve recently more than doubled our grocery budget. Here’s a picture of what $130 in groceries looks like for us.

We shopped at Aldi and Harris Teeter this week. And I somehow misplaced the Aldi receipt (dug through the trash and everything to try to locate it) and it’s nowhere to be found.

So I’m not going to give the break down of prices, because I’m not completely sure what they were. But I will try to do a better job of saving the receipt (maybe I’ll snap a photo of it as soon as I get home?) this coming week so that I can give you a detailed description of everything we bought and what we paid for it.

I also downloaded the Snap App and got $1.75 in cashback for these purchases. I loved that the Snap App gives you cashback for items purchased at any store — including ALDI — unlike some of the cashback apps that require you to purchase at a specific store. Plus, I got $1.75 back from Checkout 51 for the above purchases. Yay!

This Week’s Menu Plan

Breakfasts

Bacon & Eggs or Oatmeal

Jesse also made Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Eggs & Cheese one morning. It was a new recipe and it was SO good. It might sound weird, but it was amazing!

Lunches

Sandwiches or Leftovers

I also made a Healthy Blueberry Crisp that I ate as lunch two days (recipe coming on the blog tomorrow — hopefully!)

Snacks

Popcorn
Fruit/Veggies
Cheese
Apples with Almond Butter
Snacks sent to us from Wild Oats Organic
Protein Shakes
Healthy Cake in a Mug

Dinners

Crustless Quiche
Crockpot Triple Cheeseburger Creation
Crockpot Stuffed Peppers with Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Chicken Pineapple Kabobs
Stuffed Chicken
Italian Sausage with Potatoes and Vinegar
Dinner with friends (we’re bringing a side dish — probably a veggie tray)

What’s on your menu this week? Leave a link to your menu plan or tell us in the comments.

Shared Oct 9, 2014 comment

How I Saved Today: Mending My Favorite Green Sweater (and share how you saved today and you could win a stack of books I loved!)

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 9, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

See my green sweater above? I ordered it sweater awhile back — I can’t even remember from where. I think it was from credit I’d earned by sharing a really hot deal to ThredUp?

At any rate, I’ve fallen in love with it. I love the color green, it fits me perfectly, and it’s a great way to add pop to a few of my outfits.

Well, we went on a double date with some new friends of ours here the other night and I wore it with my navy and white polka dot dress. I thought it looked so cute.

Then I got home and discovered that the sweater sleeve had a huge hole in it. And I’d worn it like that the whole night long. Yes, I’m such a fashionista. 😉

Even though I have limited sewing skills, I decided to try to mend it. I didn’t have any green thread, so I just used the grey thread I had on hand.

I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. It only took me about 10 minutes total to fix (and I played Swagbucks videos and earned some Swagbucks while doing so because I’m all about multi-tasking like that!)

~~Share How You Saved a Win Some Books!~~

~~How did YOU save today? I recently cleaned out my books and came up with a stack of books I have duplicates of or have gotten through PaperBackSwap that I’d like to pass onto a good home.~~

~~In this stack of books:~~

~~The Saturdays~~

~~Rhinestone Jesus~~

~~The Mouse and the Motorcycle~~

~~Mom’s Night Out~~

What’s In the Bible? DVD #12

In This House, We Will Giggle — I ordered a copy of this book and then the publisher sent me one, too! I haven’t read this yet, but am looking forward to soon!

Say Goodby to Survival Mode — This is an extra copy I had that is a little scuffed up.

~~Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook~~

It Will Be Okay — We love this book!

~~So, just for fun, one person who leaves a comment sharing how they saved today will win the stack of books shown above. I’ll choose and post a winner tomorrow.~~

This giveaway is now closed. The winner is Sally {sallycoupons@}

Shared Oct 9, 2014 comment

Why You Should Stop Saying “I Can’t Afford That”

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 9, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I loved this post from Andrea Dekker and thought it was so thought-provoking:

About 2 months ago, I shared a post about one of my pet peeves — when people complain about “not having enough time” for various activities.

The point of that post (which you can read in its entirety here) is that I almost never say “I don’t HAVE time for ______” because I know that if I really wanted or needed to, I could MAKE the time for that activity.

Instead I say, “I’m choosing not to MAKE the time for ___________ right now as I have other priorities.”

By simply changing the way I phrase things, I feel much more empowered, more in control of my time, and less defeated by everything I don’t get done each day. I know that I made the choice to do something else — whether it was tending to a sick child or taking advantage of really nice weather instead of doing my work or opting to make a big fancy meal instead of enjoying more free time — it was my choice.

Similarly, I almost never say, “We can’t afford that.”

This is not because we are “loaded” or have unlimited financial resources. It’s simply because I know that in almost every situation…”

Read the full post here.

Personally, I think that while there are legitimate things we cannot afford and in the early years of our marriage, there were many things we didn’t have room for in our budget, we’ve found that saying “We’re choosing to spend our money differently” helps us to remember that these are choices we are making based upon priorities we’ve pre-determined. And this causes you to approach your finances with a completely different mindset.

In addition, I agree with Andrea that it makes you feel empowered. Your money is not in control of you; you are in control of your money. You are choosing how to spend it. Even if you only have a little bit of money to spend, you still can choose to spend that little bit as wisely as possible.

Do you agree with this article? Why or why not?

Shared Oct 8, 2014 comment

How I Saved Today: A Laundry Party while listening to the free Psalty album!

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 8, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

This was actually from last night, but I wanted to share it anyway. 🙂

Remember the free Psalty album download I posted earlier this week? Well, we downloaded it and listened to it during last night’s Laundry Party. It was so fun to introduce my kids to songs from when I was a little girl.

Also? Laundry parties are one of my secret house-cleaning tips. We have so much fun and get so much done when we all work together. And when Mom’s excited about it, the attitude is usually contagious! 🙂

Want to see a video clip of my girls jammin’ and foldin’? Here you go. Notice their outfits? Cracks me up how two girls in the same family can be so, so different from each other! 🙂

Oh and thanks for your Swagbucks tips yesterday. I was excited that we earned 55 Swagbucks today — with very little extra time or effort. I scored 11 Swagbucks on my first search try and that helped bump up our total!

How did YOU save today? Did you have any frugal fun at your house?

Shared Oct 8, 2014 comment

Costco Price Comparison List

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 8, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Want to know what the Costco prices are to decide whether it would be worth it to have a membership or purchase items at Costco? Queen Bee Coupons has compiled a list of 850+ items at Costco and how much they cost per ounce to help you out.

Summer Bucket List

Summer Bucket List

FREE Summer Bucket List!!

How are YOU doing on cutting back on caffeine?

5 Things to Remember When Bartering

Healthy Blueberry Crisp

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

Share How You Saved & You Could Win a $50 Starbucks Gift Card!

Homeland

Dillon’s

Menu Plan for this Week

Breakfasts

Lunches

Dinners

Share How You Saved & Win a $50 Amazon Gift Card

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

This Week’s Menu Plan

Share How You Saved a Win Some Books!

Similarly, I almost never say, “We can’t afford that.”

Do you agree with this article? Why or why not?

How did YOU save today? Did you have any frugal fun at your house?

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