Saving Families Money Since 2007
Are you tight on time or money but want to eat healthy meals at home on a regular basis? Consider starting a Freezer Club with your friends.
“A Freezer Club is a small group of friends (anywhere from 2-8 people) who commit to cooking freezer-friendly meals for one another each month.” ~Rachel at Thriving Home
Interested in learning more about starting a Freezer Club? Read more at the Thriving Home blog.
I was honored to get to do two interviews with Kat Lee recently! We did an interview for her Inspired to Action Podcast where we talked about my new book, Say Goodbye to Survival Mode, and on How They Blog where we talked about Keys to Successful Blogging.
On the Inspired to Action Podcast, we talked about:
- How to create and stick with your goals
- How to find margin in your life
- How a “best stuff” list will help you create margin.
- The importance of self care.
- How knowing your drainers and fillers will energize you.
On the How They Blog Podcast, we talked about:
- How I got started blogging.
- The importance of building relationships for blogging success.
- The first step toward monetizing your blog.
- How to find your voice.
- How to find your niche.
- How to know what to quit.
Guest post from Kim of Kimz Kitchen
My family and I are avid followers of MoneySavingMom.com and Dave Ramsey. When my husband and I graduated from college, the only debt we had were some (relatively) small student loans to pay off. Our plan was to knock them out before we started adding children to our family.
Things were going well, and though we got pregnant before they were paid off, we had every intention of being debt-free before our first daughter arrived.
A deer hit our car, and even with good insurance, we had to replace our car. Because it wasn’t worth much to begin with, and it was our only vehicle, we had to take out a small loan to pay for another used one. This put our debt payoff on hold.
Then our daughter was born with major health issues — which meant big medical bills to pay.
A couple years later, my husband was out of work for several months, so our debt snowball was put on hold again and I sold everything I could on Craigslist and Ebay. MoneySavingMom.com was such a huge help to us during this tough time.
The next few years brought on more high deductibles that had to be paid each year — our daughter was bitten by a copperhead one year, we had another beautiful little girl the next, we had three pregnancies that ended tragically (and with big medical bills), and then my husband was diagnosed with a large (benign) brain tumor that needed an eleven-hour surgery to remove.
So, while our debt was small and easily manageable in the beginning, we were being stalled every year by big bills that had to be paid first. I would hear the stories of others who were paying off smaller amounts of debt on smaller incomes in a quarter of the time we were and I would get SO discouraged!
Some of you may be in a similar situation to us. You have every intent to dump your debt quickly, but life happens, and sometimes it hits harder than you can imagine.
If you can relate, here are a 5 tips that helped us stay focused (and kept us from growing our debt):
1. We always paid ourselves first and made sure our $1,000 emergency fund was available for short term emergencies. This came in handy when our hot water heater started smoking and a pipe burst in our guest bathroom!
2. We started using the envelope system to pay cash for budget busters like groceries, eating out, and date nights. Anything left over went straight to our current outstanding bill.
3. We used coupons to save money on our grocery bills and played the drugstore game for toiletry items. CVS was our favorite. Many times we were getting our milk and diapers free! We would even use extra free items to make up small gift baskets for gifts for our families.
4. We paid our bills first to avoid more debt. Whenever the big medical bills came due, we put our debt snowball on hold until they were paid. In a sense, we were cash flowing those medical bills, using our debt snowball money to pay for them. While it was hard to lose the steam on my student loan, it was still something that had to be done, and we were grateful to have the means to pay them.
5. We simplified our belongings and made money by selling our excess belongings on our local Facebook Yardsale page, Craigslist, and eBay.
We stuck to our goal, and the day before my ten-year college reunion, we paid the final payment to my student loan!
While it took MUCH longer than I had anticipated, it was still worth the effort. Plus, the lessons we learned about saving, living on less, and paying cash for everything have been invaluable.
Kim is wife to a brain tumor survivor and mom to two girls here and three kiddos in Heaven. She blogs about her adventures in homeschooling, cooking, and helping young children deal with sibling loss at her Kimz Kitchen.
Are you joining us for the 12 Months to a Healthier You Challenge? If so, it’s Saturday and guess what that means? It’s time for our weekly check-in to post our progress.
We’re focusing on developing the habit of eating more fruits and veggies in February. I encourage you to set a simple and doable goal for exercise and to stick with it.
If you haven’t set your February Exercise Goal yet, be sure to do so and then leave a comment on this post telling us what your goal is. New to this challenge? Read more details on the plan for this year here.
My goal for February is to eat at least six big salads every week. I’m also hoping to keep up with January’s habit of doing P90X at least 4-5 times every week.
Yay! I hit my goal this week of eating six big salads plus exercising 4 times!
How Are YOU Doing?
Leave a comment telling us how you did on your exercise goals this past week. If you’re blogging about this challenge, leave the direct link to your blog post about the challenge below.
Are you on social media? You can also share your progress on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter by using hashtag #12MonthstoaHealthierYou.
Aldi
1 loaf Bread – $1.29
1 Pineapple – $1.29
1 Flour Tortillas – $0.99
1 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts – $4.21 (I was so excited that their chicken was marked 50% off!)
2 dozen Eggs – $1.59 each
1 Carrots – $0.99
1 Roma Tomatoes – $1.29
1 bag Cuties – $1.99
1 Blueberries – $1.79
1 can Pineapple Chunks – $0.89
1 Cream Cheese – $1.29
1 Chocolate Syrup – $1.49
1 bag Spinach – $1.69
1 Celery – $0.69
1 Cauliflower – $1.69
1 can Pumpkin – $0.89
1 Strawberries – $1.29
Total with tax ($1.99): $28.93
Dillons
1 gallon Milk – $2.78
1 gallon Chocolate Milk – $2.78
4 Totino’s Pizza Rolls – $1 each, used 4 $1.25/1 printable (no longer available) – Free plus overage after coupons
1 Annie’s Mac and Cheese – $1, used $0.75/1 catalina coupon – $0.25 after coupon
1.24 lbs Bananas @ $0.55/lb – $0.68
1 Cascadian Farms Granola – $2.50, used $0.75/1 coupon from the 1/5 SmartSource insert – $1.75 after coupon
1 Kroger French Bread – $1.99 (Requested by my husband…I prefer homemade bread, but I love spoiling him sometimes.)
3 Gluten Free Quinoa Pasta – Marked down to $0.99 each (We aren’t allergic to gluten but I have several friends who are, so I always keep my eye out for good deals on gluten free items.)
2 Nature Valley Granola Bars – Marked down to $1.99, used 2 $1.25/1 printable (no longer available) – $0.74 each after coupons
2 John Frieda Root Lift – Marked down to $1.59 each, used $3/2 coupon from the 1/19 SmartSource insert – $0.09 each after coupons
1 Hormel Rev Wrap – $1.99, used Free e-coupon (no longer available) – Free after coupon
1 Romaine Lettuce – $0.99 (I will get 20% back from SavingStar.com.)
1 Marshmallow Matey’s Cereal – $4.49 (My husband was shopping with me and put this in the cart! :))
1 Suave Lotion – $0.99, used $1/1 coupon from the February All You magazine – Free after coupon
2 Right Guard Deodorant – Marked down to $1.09 each, used $2/2 coupon from the 1/26 RedPlum insert – $0.09 each after coupon
1 Natural Cane Turbinado Sugar – Marked down to $1.89
Total before coupons and sales: $48.20
Total with tax ($2.67) after coupons and sales: $24.07
Total for all grocery items: $53
Cereal, Homemade Granola, Oatmeal, Toast, Homemade Juice (I’ll use various fruits and veggies.)
Fruit/Veggies & Cheese/Crackers, Mac & Cheese, Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches, Tossed Salad with Tuna, Egg and Spinach Quiche Cups
Baked Chicken Drumsticks, French Bread, Tossed Salad, Sliced Clementines
Hawaiian Haystacks, Steamed Cauliflower
Crepes, Sausage, Fruit Salad
Venison BBQ Brisket, Pumpkin Muffins, Steamed Broccoli, Baked Potatoes
Chicken Fajitas, Sliced Veggies
Lasagna (from the freezer – I made and froze this a couple of weeks ago), 30 Minute Rolls, Tossed Salad
Date night
Kimber emailed in the following tip:
I have a non-frugal confession: I am brand-loyal about pasta sauce and I really don’t like the generic stuff.
However, I discovered a great use for the cheaper, store-brand pasta sauce… it’s a frugal replacement in recipes that call for a tomato sauce. Not only is it usually much cheaper than tomato sauce, the jars of pasta sauce contain more ounces than the cans of tomato sauce!
This might not be news to anyone but me, but I thought I’d pass it on anyway. I have some lentil soup simmering right now (using this tip) and just tasted it — fabulous!
So next time you see a great deal on store-brand pasta sauce, scoop it up and try using it in your other recipes that call for tomato sauce.
If you’re looking for a quick, simple and frugal meal that everyone will love… Spaghetti Pie is it! Not only can you make it ahead if you’re short on time, you can also make several at a time and freeze them for later!
Guest post from Brigette:
Spaghetti pie has been one of my Mom’s go-to recipes for as long as I can remember (so long that none of us can remember where the original recipe came from).
And it still is!
Any time we visit my parents for more than a few days, Spaghetti Pie will most likely be on the menu at some point. It’s another one of my Mom’s crowd-pleasing recipes that can be made up ahead of time and frozen – perfect for company!
Although Spaghetti Pie is similar to lasagna in taste, it’s cheaper to make and quicker to assemble!
My Mom usually serves this with a tossed salad, a fruit salad, and fresh homemade bread (Dill Bread is especially yummy with this!)
Yes, any type of pasta could work for this recipe — however, it’s easiest to form a “crust” with spaghetti, fettuccini, or angel hair pasta noodles.
Gluten-free noodles could also be substituted.
Certainly! You can substitute any of your favorite store-bought (or homemade) pasta sauces in place of the dice tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, oregano, and salt. You may choose to still add the cooked ground beef and onion mixture to your store-bought sauce.
You could even try store-bought pesto or alfredo sauce to mix up the flavors a bit.
Yes! Simply omit the ground beef and sautee some mushrooms or additional veggies of choice to add to the sauce. You could also add in more cheese to increase the protein.
Most Italian herbs, like parsley, basil, and oregano, will boost the flavor of your pasta sauce. Also, make sure you add enough salt — along with a little sugar to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes.
This is probably a personal preference more than anything else. Ricotta cheese has much smaller “curds” and a smoother texture. Cottage cheese is usually less expensive, lower in calories, and higher in protein.
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
2. Cook spaghetti al dente and drain.
3. Stir butter into hot spaghetti; stir in beaten eggs and parmesan cheese.
4. Press this mixture into a greased 9 or 10-inch pie pan to form a “crust.
5. Spread cottage cheese over spaghetti crust.
6. In a skillet, cook the meat, onion, and green pepper until meat has browned and vegetables are tender.
7. Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, oregano, and garlic salt. Heat through.
8. Spread meat mixture over cottage cheese.
9. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
10. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese melts.
If you boil the noodles and cook the ground beef ahead of time, you can dump all the ingredients into a slow cooker and cook on low for 4 hours or until all the cheese is melted. It will not resemble a “pie” but the flavors will still be delicious!
This recipe is so delicious, you’ll want to make a double batch! You can either use 2 pie pans or put it all in a 9″x13″ pan (with the “crust” on the bottom). You’ll probably want to increase the baking time by 5-10 minutes as well — just keep watching so the cheese doesn’t burn!
It works best to freeze this recipe after you assemble the pie but BEFORE you bake it. When you want to serve it, simply defrost it overnight in your refrigerator and bake as directed in the recipe.
Make sure to share and save it on your favorite platform below!
Done-For-You Dinner Recipes With Simple Ingredients and a Grocery Shopping List!
We’re excited to have ListPlanIt as one of our sponsors. We had the opportunity to interview them and get to know their company a little more recently:
I had the idea for ListPlanIt in that chaotic week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. I had three young children, aged 2 to 6, and while I had always been a list maker, I was desperate for a simple way to keep track of and help manage the myriad of details that are involved in running a family and home. ListPlanIt has grown from 200 downloadable lists when it first launched in May 2007 to what it is today.
ListPlanIt is your complete resource with hundreds of lists all geared toward helping you get and stay organized. You’ll not only find downloadable lists, inventories, schedules, and to dos, but members now have the ability to create and store lists right in their ListPlanIt account and then access those lists from any device whether at home or on the go.
Being organized means saving money. Whether using a list at the grocery store, packing for a trip, planning a birthday party, or preparing for any of life’s events, having a list means that you get what you need and not a lot of stuff that you don’t need. It means not running out at the last minute because you’ve forgotten something, which will now cost a premium. Lists mean saving time and anxiety, as well as money.
A few years ago, I wrote an eBook called 100 Days to Christmas that tied in with the vast number of holiday planning lists available at ListPlanIt. 100 Days to Christmas starts on September 16 and counts down the 100 days that lead up to Christmas day. The idea is to start planning early so that you can enjoy December to the fullest.
The following year, I wrote 100 Days of Summertime, which journeys from about Memorial Day to Labor Day and gives a reminder, task, or activity to help make the most of your summertime fun.
Last year, I wrote 100 Days of a New Year, which was just newly updated for 2014. You can currently get the 100 Days of a New Year, which includes 75 lists and planning pages to help set goals for 2014, for just $5!
Members to ListPlanIt.com can view some of our tutorials on how to get the most out of creating and managing lists as a ListPlanIt member. Your lists can be shared with friends and family on pinterest, Facebook, twitter, and via email so that next time there is a potluck or a wish list, sharing makes it easy. Members should subscribe to our weekly newsletter (The L.I.S.T.) to get tips and ideas delivered right to your inbox to inspire you to get the most out of your lists.
While new members to ListPlanIt automatically get a free 30-day trial to see if our lists are right for you, I’d like to share a coupon code exclusively for the MSM community for $1 off the monthly membership fee! Use the following coupon code at checkout: MSM20LISTS and you’ll get $1 off the monthly fee.
Interested in becoming a monthly sponsor or advertising with us? Find more details here.
Note from Crystal: Mandi asked me if she could blog through my new book, Say Goodbye to Survival Mode. She’ll be sharing one post per chapter per month. I know many of you are reading through the book right now and I thought you’d enjoy hearing her thoughts — and joining in the discussion to share your thoughts, as well.
Guest post by Mandi Ehman from Life Your Way
My one word for 2014 is LIVE.
Like Crystal, I’ve spent many years building a business, saying yes to every opportunity and making sacrifices. While many of those choices have been worth it, since it allows our family to live and work from home together and gives us plenty of flexibility for traveling, etc., I’ve realized that somewhere along the way I decided that being busy and productive was the ultimate goal.
In short, I’ve accepted the Survival Mode mindset and made it my own, and I’ve let the best things in life — reading with the girls, cooking together, saying yes to an impromptu play date or coffee date — get pushed aside.
After taking two months off for maternity leave after the birth of our fifth baby, January was a month of new beginnings — a chance create new habits and get back into the groove of working without falling into all of those bad habits once again.
When Say Goodbye to Survival Mode arrived (I was fortunate to get a preview copy at the beginning of January!), I knew it would become my manual this year as I discover what it’s like to homeschool with a baby in our home (our four girls were born within five years, so I’ve never had to juggle school and a baby before!) and as I look for ways to continue doing my job (which I love and which supports our family) without letting it become the focus of my life.
I read it straight through the week it arrived but decided that I wanted to work through it one chapter at a time this year — along with Hands Free Mama by Rachel Macy Stafford and Notes from a Blue Bike by Tsh Oxenreider — to create a life of abundance rather than one characterized by stress.
This month, I started with the first chapter from Say Goodbye to Survival Mode: Stop Trying to Do It All.
The truth is I’m pretty good at saying no…to all of the wrong things. I say no to playing games, to going on field trips, to spending quality time with the people who are most important to me, all while saying yes to the tyranny of the urgent: emails demanding my attention, yet another business idea, self-imposed deadlines, exhaustion, etc.
In order to make time for the important stuff, though, I first have to learn to say no to the rest of the things that divide my attention and steal my time.
The hard part is that many of those things are good things themselves; but they’re not the best things.
To help us differentiate between the two and make time for the things that really matter, in her book, Crystal offers The Four C’s to Creating Margin, which I have been practicing this month:
Create a Personal Priorities List
My personal priorities in 2014 are to:
“Just because we are spinning our wheels, rushing from one commitment to the next, doesn’t necessarily mean that we are doing anything worthwhile.”
These words from Crystal cut straight to the chase and made me take a hard look at where I spend my time. What I realized was that I create a lot of extra work for myself.
You see, my desire for excellence in my work can border on perfectionism, and I’ve had to practice taking a step back and reevaluating the way I do things. What I’ve realized is that too often I do things the hard way in my quest for excellence when really no one else will notice and I’m just making more work for myself.
We all have time and energy suckers in our life, and I am no exception. While I love Facebook for staying connected to friends and family, it’s too easy to get sucked down a rabbit trail. I know I’m not alone in suddenly realizing that I’m spending time reading someone’s profile that I don’t even know just because I’m being nosy.
In addition, when I’m tired or overwhelmed, it’s easy for me to get sucked into the internet vortex (not to be confused with the time I actually set aside to read articles and blog posts, which I consider a fun and important part of my job!). I end up just clicking around aimlessly, and the more I do it, the worse I feel.
Acknowledging my tendency to do these things is at least half the battle, but I’m also consciously practicing closing the window or — better yet, getting up from the computer altogether — when I find myself doing one or the other so that I can reset my focus.
And finally, in order to make time for social activities, field trips, coffee dates with friends, etc., I’ve had to count the cost of each and every commitment:
Taking on an extra project means eliminating the time in my week that I could use for an outing instead. Saying yes to X means saying no to Y. Every decision in life is like that — we only have so many hours to work with each day, after all — and it’s simply a matter of acknowledging what the cost is before you make the decision so that you know you’re truly choosing the best.
This chapter’s Get Practical tip is easier in theory than it is in practice, but it’s worth the effort: Practice saying no.
While I don’t need to practice saying no to social activities (since one of my goals in 2014 is to actually say yes to more of those), I do need to practice controlling my daily commitments and expectations when it comes to my to-do list, so I’ve been taking Crystal’s advice to “immediately eliminate three things from [my] list” seriously.
I love this practice because it acknowledges that my want-to list is longer than practical and helps me prioritize what I can actually get done in a day right from the start.
Sometimes I move things to later in the week…and sometimes I decide they just don’t need to be done at all!
In January, I focused on saying no and being realistic about the amount of time I actually have, and in February I’ll be moving on to Chapter 2 — Say Good Say Yes to the Best and practicing that very important skill. I’m looking forward to sharing my successes {and failures} with you next month!
Mandi Ehman is an entrepreneur, online publisher and author who is passionate about encouraging other women to live intentionally. She’s the blogger behind Life Your Way, the author of Easy Homemade and the founder of BundleoftheWeek.com. Mandi and her husband have four spunky little girls plus one baby boy, and together they live, work and homeschool on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia.
When I saw the Little House Inspired Molasses Snow Candy recipe on ThricetheSpice, I knew my kids would want to try it.
And this week was the perfect week to try it — since we got over 8 inches of snow! The recipe was really easy to make, though it seemed like we had to stir the mixture on the stove for a long time.
It was finally ready to pour over the snow and it worked just exactly like I had pictured it would when we had read about it in Little House in the Big Woods. (We did have a little trouble getting it to drizzle and it clumped up — as you can see from the pictures.)
While the Molasses Candy didn’t taste all that amazing, it was such a fun project to do together!
A testimony from Jessica
Our “We Paid Cash” victory this past year came in the form of a baby!
I know, it’s a little odd for a “We Paid Cash” story, but as many other moms know, having a baby can be expensive! With no health insurance, and as a stay-at-home mom, we knew from the beginning that our 4th baby would be a stretch for us financially.
We were able to utilize a health discount program available in our state, with the only contingency being that all fees (doctor, hospital, lab work, etc.) were paid in advance. This meant that we needed to come up with roughly $5000 for my 4th c-section, in just 9 months, on an already very tight budget!
Here’s how we did it:
We worked hard at keeping our eating-out down, our spending minimal, and our grocery bill at $350/month for our family of 5.
I did a lot of freezer cooking and stock piled great deals from my local grocery stores.
I sold old books and children’s clothing on Craigslist and eBay. While it didn’t amount to a ton, it was something!
My husband was able to perform about 2 weddings each month. This money went straight to the hospital, and also gave us some built-in date nights as we celebrated with the lovely couples getting married!
I used Swagbucks to earn Amazon gift cards to pay for diapers, which freed up my diaper budget to go towards the new baby.
With my husband working 5 minutes from home, and with me homeschooling our children, we figured we didn’t presently need to be a two-car family.
This sale gave us cash in hand, as well as cut our monthly car insurance bill by $25.
Sigh. This one was a little harder… BUT, the day after he decided he would sell his guitar to help pay for the baby, he was gifted another one that he really loves!
By the time our fourth child was born, we had paid off the doctor, the surgical assistant, the anesthesiologist, the hospital, all lab fees, two unexpected hospital visits, and the pediatrician!
The financial freedom after our little Levi was born was SO nice, and now we get to enjoy and love on the very best thing we could’ve ever “paid cash” for… our son!
Jessica is a wife and homeschooling mom of four children under 7. She blogs regularly about parenting, homeschooling, crafts, DIY, and yummy recipes at Mothering With Creativity.
Have you saved up and paid cash for something — large or small? Submit your story for possible publication here.
Each week for 52 weeks, I’m 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 great way to save a significant amount of money is to use a programmable thermostat. Here’s what Melody emailed in and said:
We save quite a bit of money by using my programmable thermostat wisely!
They say you can save about 10% off your heating bill by lowering the temp 3-4 degrees (this applies to your cooling bill in the summer, too). Of course, we keep our programmable thermostat cooler at night and during times we are out of the house, but I also have another trick I use for all day when I’m home. I keep the thermostat set for 62 degrees and then give myself permission to bump it up if I’m too cold.
I find about half the time I don’t even notice that it’s set so low, and if I do, it’s often in the afternoon so it’s only set higher for an hour or two. By starting at 62 degrees instead of 68 degrees I estimate that in our cold climate we save well over $100 a year! -Melody
Want to lower your house temperatures, but don’t want to feel freezing all the time? Here are some simple suggestions:
Clean your house, chase your kiddos around, do some jumping jacks, or walk up and down the stairs a few times. Get your heartrate pumping and you’ll forget that you turned the thermostat down!
Door Sixteen shows you how to make a homemade door stop to keep the draft out.
I love a cup of hot tea with a splash of milk and honey! And it’s a great way to warm your insides up on a cold day.
Spend some time baking something yummy in your kitchen and you’ll warm yourself — and your house! — up in the process. Plus, you’ll have some delicious, fresh-from-the-oven food to eat, too! 🙂
Anytime we’re cold, my first suggestion is to put some socks on. If your feet are warm, it usually helps the rest of your body to stay warm.
Instead of turning the thermostat up, put another layer on. We all have hoodies that we wear in the winter — often over another two layers — and it’s amazing how warm these keep you!
I loved this idea from Jody who blogs at Because I’m Me:
For a long time, I’ve been on my kids to turn the lights off, unplug things we’re not using, close the doors, take shorter showers, etc. They were tired of hearing it and weren’t listening.
One day a light bulb went on in the brain and I presented my children with the following offer: Each month the electric bill was below $190 they’d get the dollar amount the bill was below $190 (i.e.: if the bill were $180 they’d get $10). That money would go towards a party, be it candy, ice cream, cake, pizza, chips, whatever they could buy with that money. I never buy food like that, so it would be a real treat for them.
The first month the bill was still up there around $200, an encouraging improvement but not what they needed.
By the second month, the bill was only $162. Yup, almost $65 less than usual! Not too shabby. And it gave them $28 to blow on junk food. I never expected them to get it as low as that!
In addition to a lower electric bill, my children were able to learn valuable lessons. For example, how to budget that $28 to get the best bang for their buck while pleasing all six kids.
They opted to purchase store brand soda, inexpensive ice cream, lots of buy one, get one free items, use coupons, and to pass on some items that were just too expensive. When all was said and done they managed to have enough junk food for one fine party and many days of treats afterward, and they contributed $10 to a dinner of Chinese take-out!
Last week one of my sons said he wished we’d get an electric bill every day so he could keep track of the amount of the bill throughout the month. I wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity for a “teachable moment”, so out came the electric bill, an explanation of how to read the meter and a brief “field trip” to the side of the house where the meter is. Now he can check every day, do the multiplication and addition and see if we’re staying on track.
We are now four months into this deal and the interest has not waned! –Jody
Related: 7 Tips to Reduce Your Heating Bill
How do you keep your heating bills lower? What are your best tricks for staying warm without turning up the heat?
