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Shared Sep 2, 2013 comment

4 Tips for Thrift Shopping With Kids In Tow

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4 Tips for Thrift Shopping With Kids In Tow

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

Do you often go thrift shopping with kids in tow? These are some great tips, if so!

{Looking for more practical advice on thrift store shopping? Read this post for some great thrifting tips!}

4 Helpful Tips for Thrift Shopping with Kids

Guest post from Trina of TrinaHolden.com

It’s that time of year again — time to take stock of our closets and plan a shopping trip to bring our family’s wardrobes into the the cooler months. The best place to do this is frugally is at the thrift store!

But what to do with the kids?

Take them along! I’ll be the first to admit that thrifting with kids is not a walk in the park. But as a homeschooling mom of a 2, 4, and 6-year-old, I’ve had to embrace the challenge of bringing my kids with me on our shopping trips.

If you find yourself in a similar place, with the desire to clothe your family frugally, here are my tips for thrifting with kids in tow:

1. Bring Provisions

The quest to find a good deal can feel as epic as Lewis and Clarke looking for the Pacific ocean. Go ahead and carry the theme by putting ample thought into provisions for your journey. My kids enjoy the thrift store the most when they’re munching dried fruit, each from their own little plastic baggy.

Any kind of snack that won’t end up staining the clothes you’re trying to buy works great for happy distraction on the journey. Think cheese sticks, raisins, crackers, and nuts. Also, water bottles and sippy cups. And don’t forget wipers for little hands that might have been crawling around under the clothing racks just before being handed a snack.

If snack time isn’t a normal part of your daily routine — all the better! It will be one more highlight in their day, causing them to ask you when they get to go thrift shopping again!

2. Narrow Your Focus

It’s tempting to look at a giant thrift store as a one-stop-shop for all your wardrobe and houseware needs, because that’s often what it offers: from curtains to furniture, shoes to pots and pans, you can find it all!

But that doesn’t mean you should.

For the sake of you and your kid’s endurance, you will probably need to narrow the focus of your trip to one section of the store, or even one child’s clothing needs at a time. If this means you have to go back weekly until you’ve covered all the bases, that’s better than a 3-hour marathon, and dreading the idea of ever going thrifting again.

3. Pack Your Patience

More important than coupons, an organized list, or well-packed diaper bag, you will need your patience, mamma. Don’t head out unprepared for the fact you will have plenty of opportunities to grow in patience and unconditional love for your children. That’s why, in my list of thrifting tips in my book, I encourage you to “Pray — out loud!” as you embark.

Just as any challenge in parenting, God will use this to work beauty in you, if you let it. Keep in mind that our ultimate goal has nothing to do with a few cheap outfits, and everything to do with hearts — ours and our children’s.

4. Remember That It’s Not a Talent Show

One of the most challenging aspects of taking our kids with us to the thrift store, or any public place, is that people see when they misbehave. But seriously, mamma — is this such a terrible thing? Is the goal of your visit to the thrift store to have the best behaved children in sight? If it is, you’re putting way too big a burden on yourself.

On my last thrifting trip, I lost track of the amount of times I had to remind my 6 and 4-year-old to stay in the same aisle with me. If I had added shame at their poor behavior to the challenges I was facing on that particular day, it would have been a horrific experience indeed. Instead, I prayed for patience, hoping that if anyone was watching (and they weren’t, really), they might be impacted by a mother’s gentle demeanor under duress, not simply impressed by children so perfectly behaved they appeared to be drugged.

When we got home, it was definitely time to have a little talk about how we should obey mommy when we’re out and about, but that afternoon at the thrift store, I just had to let my pride go and embrace the fact that kids will be kids. The practically-new Bravado Nursing Bra I scored for $1.50 was totally worth any embarrassment I might have suffered at the hands of my babies. 😉

This post is an excerpt from Trina’s book, “Embracing Beauty: Practical Style for Every Shape and Season of Motherhood”, available in all electronic formats and paperback. Check it out for more tips on thrifting, defining your personal style, and finding beauty in the busy season of motherhood.

Trina is a homeschooling mom of 3 who regularly schedules field trips to the thrift store to clothe her family frugally. You can find her wearing purple most days, jotting down words that beg to be written in between cooking, cleaning and laughter-filled phone conversations with friends. She blogs about true beauty, deep community, and real food at TrinaHolden.com.


Money Saving Mom
Shared Sep 1, 2013 comment

2013 Goals: July & August Update

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2013 Goals: July & August Update

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

July and August were good months, albeit full. A few highlights:

  • We took three different family road trips (Kansas City, Oklahoma, and Arkansas).
  • I was blessed to get to go to Colorado for 5 days to spend time with Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson.
  • We did swimming lessons for all three kids four days a week almost every week.
  • We got together with a number of out-of-town and local friends and did lots of fun activities.
  • Kaitlynn started gymnastics (she’s loving it!) & Kathrynne decided to continue swimming lessons during the school year & set a personal goal to make swim team within the next year (she has to complete 4 more levels — I’m so excited to see her enthusiasm and drive!).
  • I finished all the big edits on my next book, developed the marketing plan with Thomas Nelson, worked on some new projects, and hired on some new team members (so very excited about what all is in the works & so thankful for my amazing team!)
  • We had major storm damage and had to get a lot of work down on our house as a result (new roof, new garage door, some new windows/screens, and complete paint job — while it was a bit of inconvenience, it turned out to be a blessing because insurance covered every penny of all the home improvements!)
  • We started back to homeschooling and it’s my first year to have three grades simultaneously (4th, 2nd, K — I’m really loving our homeschooling schedule/curriculum this year so far!)

Needless to say, summer wasn’t calm and quiet. In fact, I think we may have only had one day the entire summer that we stayed home all day! But it was a good change of pace and we made lots of memories.

However, I’m so thankful that we’re now back into our usual routine again… I just love the quiet at-home days. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I’m an introvert who doesn’t like much spontaneity? (Well, I take that back, I do like spontaneity provided it is carefully planned! ;))

At any rate, I was thinking I probably didn’t accomplish anything much on my goals list with all the running around we did. But I was pleasantly surprised to realize that I did make some good progress on a number of different goals. And that I’m on track to complete almost all my goals for this year. Yay!

Here’s my list of 25 Goals for 2013 and an update on how I did in July & August:

Personal Goals

Read through the Bible in a year using this plan. {I’m on track with this so far.}
Run in at least one 5K race.
Complete the Couch to 10K program.
Memorize Romans 1 and 2 with Jesse. {I’ve made some really great progress on this in the past two months — yay!}
Wake up by 6 a.m. and exercise, shower, and dress by 8 a.m. every day. {I’ve done a lot better at this the past two months — it helps that I had to be out the door for swimming lessons pretty early in the morning!}
Read 150 books/ebooks {See my list of 48 books I’m for sure planning to read here — I’ve read 85 books/ebooks so far in 2013, so I’m on a good track to hit my goal!}

Marriage Goals

Read 3 marriage books.
Finish reading through the Psalms together as a couple.
Have overnight stay (sans children) at least every other month. {Done in August.}
Go on at least one date per month. {Done in August.}

Mothering Goals

Continue memorizing together from the Grace and Truth memory book.
Ice-skating lessons for all three children during the first quarter of 2013.
Swimming lessons for all three children during the summer. {We signed the kids up and they start next week.}
Finish at least 37 read-aloud books. {We’ve finished 30 books so far this year, so we’re on a good track here.}

Ministry/Friendships/Extended Family Goals

Weekly accountability meetings with a friend. {This has been SO helpful!}
Get together with friends for a playdate or lunch at least once a month. {Done multiple times in July & August.}
Continue being involved in our local church, couple’s group, and blogging accountability group. {Ongoing}
Continue with weekly get-togethers with both sides of our extended family. {Ongoing.}

Financial Goals

Use a portion of the proceeds from my next book project to fund a well project.
Fund our Child Survival Program for 2013. {Done — yay!}
Buy a new bedroom set.
Invest in another rental property.

Business/Blogging Goals

Release two new ebooks.
Attend one speaking conference. {I attended the She Speaks Intensive in January.}
Finish and submit the manuscript for my next book.

Did you set goals for 2013?

If so, tell us how you’re doing  in the comments or leave a link to your blog post update below. Let’s encourage one another to live lives of intention and purpose!

 

Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 31, 2013 comment

How Our Budget Changed After Our Income Doubled Overnight

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How Our Budget Changed After Our Income Doubled Overnight

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

Guest post from Ann of Modern Mrs Darcy

Last year, our household income nearly doubled overnight — that will happen if you pivot from ministry to tech, as my husband did.

We are both born savers and committed to living frugally. We caught up some long-deferred expenses (hello, retirement accounts) but didn’t start dropping cash on big-bucks purchases simply because we could.

However, we did make a new budget.

Now that we’re firmly settled into it, we’ve taken some time to reflect on what’s changed over the past year — and what hasn’t.

The changes:

  • We increased our giving.
  • We increased our savings. We promptly set up a twice-a-month automatic deduction from checking to savings, putting nearly all of the “extra” income towards our big financial goal.
  • We increased our grocery budget (again). This change didn’t happen in a vacuum: my four kids have gotten older (and hungrier!) But I also made the conscious decision to spend a little more for the sake of convenience (by choosing easy-to-prep meals and doing my shopping all in one place), and use the hours I’m saving to write and blog.
  • We spend a little more on childcare and household help. This was a practical move that feels like a luxury: having some help in our four-child homeschool helps me keep my sanity and frees up time for me to work. While hiring help made good financial sense, It was much easier to take the plunge once we had wiggle room in our budget.
  • Our transportation costs have gone down. My husband’s commute is much shorter, and we’re seeing the savings at the pump.

These changes are real, but my husband and I agree that the biggest change isn’t a line item on the budget: it’s our attitude.

Our budget worked before, thanks to foundational decisions we made a long time ago (small mortgage, old cars, modest lifestyle). But we didn’t have much margin for error. Now that things aren’t so tight, I’ve relaxed about the small stuff. I review receipts but I don’t scrutinize them. I don’t freak out when my husband makes a few impulse buys at Target.

To borrow Dave Ramsey’s terminology, we didn’t have an expense problem before, we had an income problem. Interestingly, now that our income is up, we’re just as committed to living frugally than we were before — perhaps even more so. We’re inspired by our rapid savings progress, and excited about what we’re able to give.

It’s definitely nice to not have an income problem at the moment, but I’m grateful for the many lessons we learned because of leaner times. Three of these stand out: to focus on the progress I’m making even when I feel stuck, that living frugally is worth it, and that even when I can’t change my circumstances, I can change my attitude.

Anne Bogel loves strong coffee, long books, and big ideas. She’s putting a timely spin on timeless women’s issues at her blog Modern Mrs Darcy. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, or with her nose in a new favorite book. 

photo source

Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 31, 2013 comment

Virtual Professional Transcriptionist Jobs Available

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Virtual Professional Transcriptionist Jobs Available

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

Rev

Melanie from Rev emailed me this week and said:

At Rev.com, we are growing fast and looking for dozens of work-from-home transcriptionists. Rev’s mission is to build an excellent online place for freelancers to work. If you have strong English skills and want a fulfilling work-from-home job, learn more and apply here.

Here’s how it works:

  • You transcribe English language audio and video from home
  • You choose your projects and work as much or as little as you want
  • You set your own schedule and can work flexible hours

Here’s what we do:

  • We pay $0.40 – $0.65 USD per audio minute. Average earnings are currently $241/month, with some earning over $1,000/month.
  • We pay you every Monday via PayPal. You have to have a working PayPal account to get paid (no exceptions).
  • We provide a website to find, claim, and submit jobs. We continually add tools and features to help you earn more money.

The details about the job are here.

For more work-at-home ideas, be sure to check out my series on 31 Ways to Earn Extra Cash.

Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 30, 2013 comment

How Costco Saves Us $2,000 Per Year

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How Costco Saves Us $2,000 Per Year

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

Creatively Cheap emailed me a link her post on how Costco saves their family $2,000 per year. Wow!

Here’s a snippet:

Before we started shopping at Costco, our grocery bill was around $130 a week for a family of four. That is my husband and I, a four year old, and a baby. We had a $520 monthly grocery bill. And that was way to much for me. We decided to give wholesale shopping at Costco a shot in hopes of saving us a little money each month.

Our first trip went ok, but it wasn’t as good as I hoped. We spent $500 on what we planned on lasting the entire month. Okay, so we saved $20…Not really that great! To our surprise, the meat we bought to last the whole month, lasted two months! And we had other items last a lot longer than we planned, like peanut butter, frozen fruit and veggies, and butter.

The next trip I had a new plan: Don’t buy everything we needed. Some things are cheaper elsewhere and we really didn’t need everything we bought last time.

The second trip we only spent $280 (I planned on only $160, but my husband put some extra stuff in the buggy!). And we got the necessities to last an entire month. I plan on spending about $15 a week (or less if I can) at a near buy grocery store to get things like milk and fresh fruit and veggies (stuff that’s hard to buy in bulk). So, if you add that up, we will spend $340 this month on food. We will save $180! And honestly, I think we can get out of Costco for less than $280, so next month my goal is to save at least $200.

You do have to pay a membership fee to shop at Costco or Sam’s Club, but ours was only $55 for an entire year. If we save $180 a month on groceries, that adds up to a total of $2,160 that we would save for a whole year! The $55 seems worth it!

Read the whole post with all sorts of great tips and price comparisons here.

I was very interested to read this article because we’re supposed to be getting a Costco in our city in the not-too-distant future.

What do you think? Does shopping at Costco save you money?

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Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 30, 2013 comment

Reader Tip: How we’re saving on our cell phone bill

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Reader Tip: How we’re saving on our cell phone bill

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Erin emailed in the following tip:

My husband and I are both teachers for a public school district, and in our state (Minnesota), Verizon gives state employees a discount on our cell phone bill (12%, I believe), just for bringing in a pay stub one time. As you can imagine, this has saved us a lot of money in the past three years!

If you’ve never tried asking your cell phone company (or any other utility company) if they give discounts to certain types of employees or union members, you might consider giving it a try… Who knows? You might save big! -Erin

photo source

Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 29, 2013 comment

What 4-Year-Old Joe the Garbage Man Has Learned From His First Job

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What 4-Year-Old Joe the Garbage Man Has Learned From His First Job

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Joe-and-James

Guest post by Jill Jarvis who blogs at BigKidSmallCity.com

When our son was 4 years old, we decided to start a Garbage Can Curbside Service where Joe could his neighbors trashcans out and back in on trash day for 25¢ per can.

The business was started in lieu of an allowance, as a way to teach Joe about money but also to avoid a situation where he felt entitled to it. The work was easy enough for a 4-year-old, but just hard enough to create learning opportunities.

Over the last 1.5 years, Joe has learned a lot of valuable life lessons! Four of the lessons are:

1. Responsibility

Joe was excited to start this service, to help the neighbors and earn money for Legos. But there have been many weeks when Joe has not wanted to do his work.

However, he learned that his neighbors would be stuck with stinky trash cans if he did not show up, so he went to work anyway. He may grumble about it some weeks, but he always gets it done.

2. Self-Reliance

Joe gets to make all the decisions related to the Garbage Can Service. He gets to decide on expanding the business or quitting it. He also gets to spend the money.

When the decisions are bad, like he spends all the money on candy and cannot afford a special toy, he learns. When the decisions are good, he also learns. He then understands what good and bad decisions feel like and is able to self-correct as he goes.

3. Independence

By making his own money, Joe is somewhat financially independent and is able to make some purchases on his own. Joe buys Legos but also chooses to donate money to US Soldiers through the USO.

Also, by making his own business related decisions, with guidance from his parents, Joe has become more confident in his decision making ability. I’m hoping this 2nd skill will prove useful on the playground, in middle school and beyond.

4. Understanding the Value of a Dollar

As soon as he started collecting money, Joe began to understand what money is worth. He quickly learned that there are 4 quarters in a dollar and that it takes 6 quarters to buy an ice cream and 200 quarters for a fancy Lego set.

Joe has also learned that if he is saving up for something, he must do his job a set number of weeks before he will have the money. So, if he wants a simple Lego set, he will need to work less than if he wants the deluxe set.

Joe has also learned about loans. We have been out when Joe really wanted to make a purchase, but did not have his quarter jar. He has had to decide if he would take money from his parents, and then pay it back, or wait to buy his treasure. It turns out that he thought loans were just free money. When he discovered he had to pay the money back, he opted to wait.

As his parents, my husband and I have had to put in effort to help supervise Joe in rolling out trash cans each week, but these four life lessons are well worth the minimal time and energy.

And the best part about starting the Garbage Can Business is that the lessons have been automatic. We have not had to stage discussion; we just do the weekly work.

Jill is an engineer for a telecommunications company and a mom to the Jarvis family. She likes the first job but loves the second. Jill and the kids explore Houston and blog about the adventures, along with lunch box ideas and Joe the Garbage Man stories, at BigKidSmallCity.com.

Shared Aug 29, 2013 comment

Kindergarten on a Budget: Making Salt Letters

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Kindergarten on a Budget: Making Salt Letters

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

Silas is studying the letter “S” in his My Father’s World Kindergarten curriculum this week. Since I’m a big fan of hands-on learning, we’re having fun practicing making the letter in different forms.

Yesterday, we made “Salt Letters”. Otherwise known as: dumping salt on a baking sheet and drawing in it. 🙂

Silas thought it was the best! The salt feels interesting on your fingers and it’s fun to draw in. Kathrynne had to try it out, too!

They got so engaged in drawing in the salt that I ended up reading some of the read alouds while they were drawing names, letters, and pictures in salt.

Looking for more fun letter ideas? Check out my post on Pudding Finger Paint or Pancake Letters and Numbers.

Shared Aug 28, 2013 comment

52 Ways to Save $100 Per Year: Strategically Use Daily Deal Sites {Week 26}

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52 Ways to Save $100 Per Year: Strategically Use Daily Deal Sites {Week 26}

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

Every week in 2013, I’ll be sharing a different way you can save $100 this year. If you do all of these things, you’ll be able to save over $5,000 this year alone! Many of these things will likely be things you’re already doing, but hopefully all of you will pick up at least a few new ideas or some inspiration from this series.

One way we stretch our dollars is by buying deals from daily deal sites. They can be a way to get amazing deals on restaurants, local attractions, family fun, local stores, and more!

Here are three things to keep in mind when shopping through daily deal sites:

1. Stick With Your Budget

I don’t care how good the deal is, if you can’t afford it, it’s not a good deal for you. Daily deal sites only save you money when you actually buy deals that are for things you will use and have room in your budget for.

For instance, if you allot a $50 monthly budget for eating out/family fun, you can stretch those dollars much further by buying Groupons or AmazonLocal vouchers for restaurants, bowling, and local attractions. But you still have to stick with the $50 budget.

No cheating is allowed just because it’s a “great deal.” Otherwise, you’ve defeated the purpose and it’s not saving you money but encouraging you to spend more money.

How to Save $100+ Per Year

If you want to guarantee that you save $100 per year by using daily deal sites, cut your current eating out and entertainment budget by $10 per month for the next year and try to make the lower budget stretch with vouchers from deal sites. Unless you live in small town or you are really particular about what types of restaurants you’ll eat at or things you like to do as a family, I bet you can make the reduced budget work just fine!

2. Read the Fineprint

Always, always, always read the fineprint carefully before purchasing a voucher. Check the details on whether there’s a purchase minimum. Be sure that the voucher is good at your local store. And double-check that you’ll actually use the voucher before it expires.

One good thing about Groupon is that they have amazing customer service and money-back guarantees. So if you do end up accidentally buying something that isn’t what you thought it was, you can usually get your money back. But I still recommend reading the fineprint with a fine-toothed comb and then taking a little time to think through the purchase and make sure it’s a good use of your money.

3. Shop Through Rakuten (formerly Ebates)

Once you’ve determined that the voucher is, indeed, a good deal for you, be sure to purchase it through Rakuten. If you’re unfamiliar with Rakuten, basically it’s a site that rewards you with a small percentage of cashback on your online purchases. All you have to do is sign up for an account and then go to Rakuten.com, search for the online store you’re planning to purchase from, and click through to the site to make your purchase.

You’ll usually receive anywhere from 3% to 8% cashback on each purchase. It might not seem like much, but I think it’s worth earning a few dollars in cash back for taking an extra 30 seconds to click through to Rakuten.

Each quarter, Rakuten will send you a check for your accumulated cashback amount earned over the past quarter. It’s always a fun little bonus — and it’s FREE money that you’re earning for making a purchase you were already planning to make!

My Top 4 Favorite Daily Deal Sites

What are your favorite daily deal sites? What tips and tricks do you have to add to my list?

(Note: The links in this post are my referral links. Read my disclosure policy here.)

Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 28, 2013 comment

Gretchen’s $39 Weekly Grocery Shopping and Menu Plan

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Gretchen’s $39 Weekly Grocery Shopping and Menu Plan

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Aldi

1 Red Grapes – $1.58

1 Celery – $1.29

1 Tortillas – $0.99

1 Strawberries – $0.99

1 Cauliflower – $1.69

2 Cantaloupe – $0.99 each

1 Roma Tomatoes – $1.49

1 can Crushed Pineapple – $0.89

1 Italian Dressing – $1.29

1 gallon Milk – $1.99

Total with tax ($1.01) – $15.19

Dillons

2 Chobani Champions Yogurt – $2, used 2 $1/1 printable – $1 each after coupons

1 Breyers Ice Cream – $2.99, used $1.50/1 e-coupon (no longer available) – $1.49 after coupon

1 lb Simple Truth Ground Beef – Marked down to $2.99

2 Imagine Organic Chicken Broth – $2.50 each, used 2 $2/1 printable – $0.50 each after coupons

1 Kroger Unsweetened Coconut – $2.19

1 Kroger Brown Rice – $0.89

1 Kroger Chow Mein Noodles – $1.15

3 Navel Oranges – $0.69 each

0.77 lbs Broccoli Crowns @ $0.99/lb – $0.76

$0.93 lbs Red Plums @ $0.99/lb – $0.92

1 Romaine Lettuce – $0.99

1.82 lbs Organic Bananas @ $0.67/lb – $1.22

4 cans Kroger Green Beans – $0.39 each

2 Moms Best Cereal – $1.99 each, used $0.75/1 e-coupon (x2) – $1.24 each after coupon

2 Brut Deodorant – $1 each, used 2 $1/1 coupon from the 8/11 SmartSource insert – Free after coupons

2 Ramen Noodles – $0.20 each

Total before coupons and sales: $49.63

Total with tax ($2.15) after coupons: $24.26

Total for all grocery items: $39.45

Menu Plan for this Week:

Breakfasts

Cereal, Homemade Bread, Bananas

Lunches

Leftovers, Fruit, Tossed Salad, Scrambled Eggs, Cheese & Crackers, Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches

Dinners

We ended up having leftovers once and also went to my parents for dinner last week, so I’m using 2 meals from last week’s menu for this week.

Pop-Up Pizza Casserole, Steamed Broccoli, Cantaloupe

Spaghetti with Garlic Gravy and Lemon Chicken, Gluten-Free Oatmeal Spice Muffins, Green Beans

Italian Chicken Drumsticks, Biscuits, Tossed Salad

Pancakes, Scrambled Eggs, Fruit Salad

Taco Beef Skillet, Cornbread, Steamed Cauliflower

Hawaiian Haystacks, Bran Muffins

Out to eat

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

Click here to download!
Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 28, 2013 comment

We Paid Cash: TWO New-To-Us Cars

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We Paid Cash: TWO New-To-Us Cars

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

We paid cash!A testimony from Cristina

My husband and I were married in 2012 and decided to take Financial Peace with Dave Ramsey beforehand. It was one of the best decisions we made! It helped us get on the same page for budgeting and made us realize our goal of living as debt-free as possible. We immediately paid off the credit card with wedding gifts and stuck to paying cash for everything else from then on.

Other than school loans, we had no other debt and thought we were off to a good start. No sooner had we breathed a sigh of relief when a major car repair made it clear my husbands 2002 Corolla would need to be replaced.

We knew a car payment was not an option and would go against our goal of living debt free. We also had no idea how we would have enough time to set aside enough cash to purchase a reliable vehicle before his current one died.

We started immediately by cutting back on anything extra. We worked on saving gas money and conserving electricity at home. Instead of budgeting $40 for a date night we found more creative ways to spend time together. I found cleaning jobs in our neighborhood and did these after my regular job in the evening. We learned to enjoy the company of friends in public without always buying food to go along.

With much prayer, research, and careful planning, we were able to purchase a 2007 Toyota Yaris with 32,000 miles on it about 6 months later — for $8000 in cash!

It was the best feeling ever as we drove off the lot and still had our grocery money set aside to pick up food after.

Ironically, a short time after this my 2001 Celica began having issues as well. We knew my car would need to be replaced soon, but we did not know it would be that soon! Long story short, we started the saving process over again and in less than one year, we purchased another new-to-us cars in cash and avoided a car payment. We are creatures of habit and bought another Yaris, a year newer 🙂

Looking back, we were so blessed to have had the means to do this. We stuck with our way of life even after the cars and now have the cash to pay for the delivery of our first baby, which we are expecting any day!

Striving to live debt-free has brought us closer together as we focus on things more important in life than possessions.

Cristina and her husband live in Cleveland, OH. They are soon-to-be parents and are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their baby girl.

Have you saved up and paid cash for something — large or small? Submit your story for possible publication here.

Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 28, 2013 comment

Gretchen’s CVS Shopping Trip: $30.90 worth of products for $1.16 out of pocket!

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Gretchen’s CVS Shopping Trip: $30.90 worth of products for $1.16 out of pocket!

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CVS Shopping Trip

I made a mistake today when I ran into CVS to pick up a few sale items, saw the mouthwash on sale and thought the Crest and Colgate were part of the same sale (Buy $10, Get $5 ECBs). I was in a hurry so I just used ECBs to pay for it and I’m hoping to go back later this week and finish the deals so I can get my $10 ECBs.

2 Charmin Basic Toilet Tissue – $0.99 each
Used $1.50/2 CVS coupon from the in-store coupon machine
And used 2 $0.25/1 coupon from the 7/28 P&G insert

1 All Laundry Detergent – $3.99
Used $0.75/1 coupon from the 8/25 SmartSource insert

1 Stayfree Pads – $2.99
Used $1/1 coupon from the 8/25 SmartSource insert

1 CVS Cotton Balls – $1
Used $1/1 CVS coupon from the in-store coupon machine

1 Colgate Mouthwash – $4.39
Used $1/1 coupon from the 8/11 SmartSource insert

1 Crest Mouthwash – $7.99
Used $1.50/1 coupon from the 7/28 P&G insert
And used $2.50/$12 CVS coupon from the in-store coupon machine

Used 25% off CVS coupon from my email inbox (My cashier took off $5.58 and even though I questioned her on this, she insisted that is how much she was supposed to take off.)

Used $3 ECBs from my email inbox and $4 ECBs from my last CVS trip

Total before coupons, sales and ECBs: $30.90

Total with tax ($1.13) after coupons, sales and ECBs: $1.16, Received $1 ECBs (for buying 1 Stayfree) and $1 ECBs (for buying 1 All Laundry Detergent)

Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 28, 2013 comment

Ask the Readers: Is it possible to go to Disney without spending a fortune?

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Ask the Readers: Is it possible to go to Disney without spending a fortune?

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Today’s question is from Peg:

I’d like to take my two youngest (8 & 14) to Disney this fall without spending a fortune. I was thinking two parks in two days would be enough. If you’ve recently been to Disney, I’d love to know what parks your kids enjoyed most and how to get the best bang for our buck. -Peg

Do you have a question you’d like to ask Money Saving Mom® readers? Read the submission guidelines and submit it here.

Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 28, 2013 comment

Gretchen’s Target Shopping Trip: $18.40 for just $6.37 out of pocket

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Gretchen’s Target Shopping Trip: $18.40 for just $6.37 out of pocket

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

Target Shopping Trip

1 Milky Way Bites – $2.66, used $1/1 Target Mobile coupon AND $1/1 coupon from the 7/28 RedPlum insert – $0.66 after coupons

1 Market Pantry Cookies – $1.63, used $1/1 Target Mobile coupon – $0.63 after coupon

1 Market Pantry Juice – $1.89, used $1/1 Target Mobile coupon – $0.89 after coupon

1 Laura’s Lean Ground Beef – $4.89, used $1/1 printable AND $1/1 Target Mobile coupon (text FRESH to 827438 – expires 8/31!) – $2.89 after coupons

6 Gillette Shave Gel – $1.99 each, used 2 $6/3 coupon from the 8/11 RedPlum insert – Free after coupons

Total before coupons: $18.40

Total with tax ($1.36) after coupons and sales: $6.37

Shared Aug 27, 2013 comment

Q&A Tuesday: Advice for a first-time mom?

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Q&A Tuesday: Advice for a first-time mom?

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I’m pregnant with my first child (just found out yesterday) and I really don’t know the next step. What do I need to eat, when to start buying clothes, diapers for the baby to save money, how to prepare for the baby, child care, what are the essential things to have for the baby, how much will a baby cost, how many clothes does a baby need, how many diapers they need, etc. I’m overwhelmed. Can you please help me find answers? -Uma

Congratulations, Uma! What an exciting time!

One wonderful thing about pregnancy is that it’s nine months long (give or take a few days or weeks). While sometimes it seems like a very long time — especially during the last few months! — it can also be a blessing because it gives you time to prepare for having a baby.

Take a Deep Breath

So my biggest piece of advice would be to take a deep breath and don’t stress over things in the future. You can only live this moment right now, today. Worrying about tomorrow or eight months from now (or three years from now!) won’t change or help anything.

Find a Good Care Provider

Find a good care provider, be that a midwife or doctor. They will be able to answer many of your questions on what you should be eating and all your other pregnancy-related questions. I’d encourage you to look for a care provider who you feel like really cares about you, listens to you, and connects with you. This can make such a huge difference during your pregnancy and delivery!

What Baby Really Needs

Since I’m all about keeping it simple, we didn’t have a lot of non-necessities. In fact, here’s my list of baby must-haves:

–Clothes (For starting out, I think you can get by just fine with around six onesies, six sleepers, a few pair of socks, a few hats, and 4-6 blankets.)

–Bed

–Car seat

–Stroller

–Diapers/wipes (either cloth or disposable)

(And if you are unable to nurse–as I know happens on occasion, or if you are adopting, you would also need to add formula to this list.)

**For more on baby essentials, read this post.

If someone is planning a baby shower for you, there’s a good chance that you’ll get most of these things on this list. We were blessed to be given three different baby showers with our first. As a result, we didn’t even up buying anything but one or two items!

Diaper Stockpiling

I’d recommend starting to watch for diaper and wipe sales now — especially if you’re not planning to cloth diaper. If you find a great deal ($5 per package or less) and you have the wiggle room in your budget, go ahead and buy them. (For a good gauge on how many diapers to buy in which sizes, read this post.)

However, be sure to tape the receipt to the outside of the package. Not all brands work for all babies and all babies grow a different rates, so you may need to return some of the packages and if they have the receipts taped to the outside, it makes it extremely easy to make the return/exchange!

The Best Gift You Can Give Your Baby

Each and every baby is different, but the best gift you can give every child is love and nurturing. When I was pregnant with our first daughter, Kathrynne, we didn’t have money to buy basically anything since we were living on our beans and rice law school budget.

Even though Kathrynne had a very simple wardrobe and few things, it didn’t seem to hurt her in the least. We loved her, cherished her, talked to her, spent time with her, read to her, laughed with her, listened to her… and she’s now grown into a very active, athletic 8-year-old who excels in school (especially history, science, math, and reading) and can engineer all sorts of amazing things with a simple set of LEGOs.

I don’t know what the future holds for her, but her humble beginnings haven’t seemed to hold her back at all. And I think it truly exemplifies the truth that love and nurturing go far, even when your pocketbook is nearly empty. 🙂

For more advice and ideas, be sure to read my series on Having a Baby Without Breaking the Bank.

What advice, suggestions, tips, and encouragement do the rest of you have for Uma?