Saving Families Money Since 2007
This morning, Crystal was on Good Morning America talking about Pinterest Money Saving Tips.
It was super exciting and a great way to kick off the week! In case you missed it, here’s the clip from earlier today.
Your support and enthusiasm means everything!
Thank you,
Joy G. from the Money Saving Mom® Team
This past weekend, I had the amazing opportunity to film a segment with Good Morning America! (It airs at 8:35 a.m. your local time this morning.)
I talked about how we use ideas I find on Pinterest to save hundreds of dollars a year. If you’re not following me on Pinterest, I’d love to have you check out my Freezer Cooking board, my Money-Saving Ideas board, and my Do It Yourself Board.
This was one of my first times to ever do something like this and it was a great experience. I’m so thankful for all of your support and encouragement on Facebook the last few days. It means so much!
Recently, someone emailed in and asked if I died tomorrow would I regret the frugal choices I’ve made?
It was an excellent question and one that gave my husband and I pause — and produced a great discussion for us as a couple. Both of our answers were a resounding “No. We would absolutely not regret the frugal choices we’ve made.”
While we’ve made plenty of mistakes individually and as a family, we have zero regrets that we’ve chosen to live beneath our means, make sacrifices, delay purchases until we can pay cash for them, and live on a strict written budget.
To some people, not getting what you want right away or doing without might seem like a miserable existence. But truthfully, we’ve found it to be just the opposite: we live very fulfilled lives and we wake up excited about each day.
However, we both believe that the reason we feel fulfilled and passionate about life — even though we’ve made counter-cultural choices that some would balk at — is because frugality is a means to an end for us. If we were just frugal for being frugal’s sake, we’d likely quickly burn out or give up.
It’s not about saving money so we can continuously upgrade our lifestyle and always be buying bigger and better things. We want to live beneath our means so that we are able to give generously to others.
There’s a world of need around us. The more we steward our money well, the more abundance we will have to meet those needs. The more we save, the more we have to give.
Your efforts and my efforts might seem like a drop in the bucket when compared with all of the need that’s out there. But collectively, we can make a huge impact.
Let’s live simply so that others can simply live. Because truly, there is nothing more fulfilling than living a life with outstretched arms.
reposted from the archives
Welcome to the 7-Day Say Goodbye to Survival Mode Challenge. Each day this week, I’ll be blogging through the 7-Day Challenge. If you’ve not signed up yet, enter your name and email in the orange sign-up box at the top of the page here and you’ll get the daily emails and challenge in your inbox.
If you want to be successful at anything in life, having an accountability partner will highly motivate you and keep you inspired when you don’t want to stick with it.
You can’t build good habits and discipline in life alone. Well, you can, but I guarantee you it will be a lot harder to keep at it if you don’t have anyone encouraging you along the way.
Whenever I run by myself, I’ve found that I tend to go easier on myself and stop earlier than I planned. If my side starts hurting or I have a long to-do list, I use that as an excuse for a short run. However, when I run with someone else, I’m always motivated to push a little harder, go a little faster, and not give up when I feel winded and tired.
It’s the same with life: when you feel like you’re going it alone, it’s harder to keep on when the going gets rough. But when you have others around you who are encouraging you, checking up on you, or texting you to make sure you’re following through with your morning run, you’re much more apt to actually stick with your goals.
You might be thinking, “I wish I had an accountability partner, but I don’t even know where to find one.” Well, it might not be as hard as you think. Start with your local friends and family and see if anyone would like to join you in keeping each other accountable to one specific goal on a regular basis.
If you can’t find anyone locally, ask friends on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, or other online groups you’re a part of. Or, search and see if there’s already an online support group of some sort (such as the Good Morning Girls or Hello Mornings Challenge, if you’re working on getting up early).
This Weekend’s Challenge
You can’t live a purposeful life on your own. Find a friend who is willing to keep you on task.
Contact them by email or phone today and present your proposal. If they accept, schedule a start date for regular check-ins, whether online, in person, or over the phone. Share ideas on how to practically engage in an accountability relationship.
No more excuses! It’s time to hold yourself accountable!
Your Turn: Who is your accountability partner? If you don’t have one already, think about who you are going to ask today to become your accountability partner.
I’ve been having so much fun doing more handwork recently!
I’ve been working a little on an embroidery block for my sister’s baby quilt. My mom always makes a baby quilt for each of her grandchildren when they are born, and I sometimes help with a few blocks.
I took this Simple HeadWrap project idea and changed it up a little to make an ear warmer to replace mine that has gone missing.
I still want to make the Simple HeadWrap exactly as the pattern states and hope to do that soon. I’m really happy with how the ear warmer turned out and it’s going to come in handy during these cold days we’ve been having!
I also completed another dishcloth.
This pattern is so easy to make and since I’ve gotten quicker at knitting, I can finish one of these in a few days — just in the little snippets of time and as we’re reading the Bible together as a family in the evenings.
And finally, this cup cozy is my favorite project of the week. I took this DIY Cup Cozy Pattern and changed it up a bit. I’m not completely happy with the buttons and botton-holes.
So I’m working on perfecting that with a second cup cozy project and will hopefully show that to you in next week’s handwork post.
(And I also want to actually follow the DIY Cup Cozy pattern exactly as written — but I fear I’m starting to follow knitting patterns about as successfully as I follow recipes… or don’t follow them! :))
Did you complete any handwork projects this week? If so, I’d love to hear about your projects. And if you blogged about them, leave your links in the comments.
Guest post from Jessica of Homemaking Through the Church Year
If there’s anything sure beside death and taxes, it’s life itself. Life goes on despite tragedy and misfortune, and so ordinary people find themselves in need of counseling in order to deal with life’s bumps and bruises — and such help usually comes with an expensive price tag.
However, counseling doesn’t necessarily need to be a budget breaker.
Tough economic times might prompt people to deal with common stressors (depression, divorce, or parenting difficulties) on their own, but the truth is that counseling sessions don’t have to cost half as much as your weekly grocery bill.
If you find yourself in the market for expert assistance in psychological matters, consider these resources for finding top-notch care without paying top-of-the-line prices.
Some health insurance plans cover psychotherapy as such, but even if yours doesn’t, make an appointment with your primary care physician. He or she can either refer you, or possibly offer some treatment themselves.
(If the psychological problem is treatable with medication, some physicians are comfortable prescribing it. This is completely dependent on your situation, of course, but it’s worth making an appointment in order to find out.)
You may be allowed to set aside part of your salary, pre-tax, to pay for counseling sessions. Check with your human resources department for more information.
Institutes of higher education with counselor-training programs often offer counseling at a reduced price so that their students can learn their trade. Don’t worry about receiving inexpert help: in clinical psychology programs, quality control is assured by overseeing doctors who are licensed and experienced.
Don’t dismiss an expensive-looking clinic right away. Many clinics have sliding scales based on income, and if you qualify, you can get $100 an hour help at a much cheaper price. Make sure you call around too as prices vary by clinic.
On top of regular, for-profit counseling centers, many communities have counseling centers clinics that are intentionally set up for low-cost care. Straight Talk in the Los Angeles area is just one example of such an institution. To find such a clinic in your area, check:
Pastors regularly provide counseling for couples with marital difficulties or parents who need a little guidance.
It takes a bit of legwork, but help for mental health issues doesn’t have to be an impossible dream — and the benefits can greatly outweigh the up-front expenses.
Jessica Snell is a mom of four who makes her home in sunny Southern California. She loves celebrating the traditional Christian feasts and fasts, and helping others do the same! She’s the editor of “Let Us Keep the Feast”, and blogs at Homemaking Through the Church Year.
Someone asked me the other day, “If you’re feeling overwhelmed and discouraged by everything in your life, what is the one of the most important things you can do to change your life?”
I thought of a lot of different practical things I could encourage someone to do, but at the heart of your success in anything in life is your attitude. If you have a can-do, creative, committed attitude, you’ll go far in life. If you have a can’t do, won’t do, too hard, whiny attitude, you’ll probably never go anywhere.
Change your attitude and you’ll change your life. This goes either way. You can choose to look at a situation with positivity or negativity.
The choice is yours. But your choice will have a ripple effect.
For instance, when Jesse started law school and we committed to stay out of debt during his three years of law school, I won’t pretend that it was an easy choice. Because it wasn’t.
We knew that the road ahead of us was going to be rocky and rough. We have a choice to feel discouraged and disheartened or we could approach it with all the courage and heart we could muster up (with God’s help).
We chose the latter, seeing the law school journey as an opportunity to learn, to make short-term sacrifices, to get wildly creative, and to look for the blessings along the way.
There were many days when it wasn’t easy. There were many set backs, curve balls, and disappointments. But we kept choosing to make the most of the experience. To do the best we could with the time and resources we had.
Looking back, every single one of those years of struggle and working so hard to try to make ends meet was worth it. Oh so worth it!
And it’s because of those lessons, that I started this blog. Writing books, speaking, growing as a person, and meeting so many, many dear people who are a part of the MoneySavingMom.com community… none of this would have happened without those lean law school years.
When the road ahead of you looks bleak, don’t give up.
When it feels impossible, keep going.
When you want to throw in the towel, hang on.
You never know what the struggles and difficulties you are going through might be preparing you for in your future. Don’t lose heart!
Are you joining us for the 12 Months to a Healthier You Challenge? If so, it’s Friday 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 exercising more in January. I encourage you to set a simple and doable goal for exercise and to stick with it.
If you haven’t set your January 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 Exercise Goal for January
My goal for January is to consistently exercise at least 5 times per week. I plan to follow the P90X workout schedule except for the days when I’m traveling/out of town. On those days, I plan to stick with cardio/running.
It’s Week 2 of P90X and I’m still loving it. Although I have to admit that I was happy when my rest day rolled around on the schedule. But then I missed exercising and was excited to get back to it the next day.
I’m already seeing more muscle definition and toning… and I’ve only been at this for a 10 days. So that’s truly encouraging! Plus, I really can tell a difference in my energy levels! Yay!
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.
Welcome to the 7-Day Say Goodbye to Survival Mode Challenge. Each day this week, I’ll be blogging through the 7-Day Challenge. If you’ve not signed up yet, enter your name and email in the orange sign-up box at the top of the page here and you’ll get the daily emails and challenge in your inbox.
As you probably already know, I’m not really into clutter. In fact, I’m positive that some people would come to my house and think it’s entirely too empty! But we love the uncluttered look. Here are four reasons we don’t have a lot of clutter:
1. It simplifies things because I have less to clean up. The less stuff you have, the less stuff you have to take care of.
2. It makes things easier to find. When you don’t have as much stuff, it’s easier to put things away.
3. It provides breathing room. I love wide open spaces — they allow my soul to breathe and make life feel calmer.
4. It saves money. The less you buy, the more you usually save. Plus, the less you have, the less you have to pay to maintain.
Here are some things that help me stay on top of clutter:
We have a designated spot in our home for garage sale boxes. In our current home, this is in the garage. As I find things we no longer need or use, I start filling up a box. When one box is full, I fill up another. And so on.
Instead of moving an item around from one room to the next when we aren’t using it anymore, I pitch it in the garage sale boxes and it’s out of our way. This method makes preparing for a garage sale quite simple since I already have a huge head start on collecting stuff to sell.
Thinking of having a garage sale? Check out my 10 tips for having a successful garage sale.
Once or twice a year, I go through my home from top to bottom and am ruthless about eliminating clutter. Every nook and cranny is cleaned out and every item is evaluated.
By doing this on a regular basis, no area of our home ever becomes unmanageable. Rooms or closets might be messy or unkempt at times, but they never get so overwhelming that I can’t deal with them.
Except for my husband’s dresser and our laundry basket, we try to strictly adhere to a no-pile rule. I’ve found that a small pile quickly grows–without any effort. So if you don’t start a pile in the first place, you can avoid a lot of disorganization.
{Confession time: I have a few small piles in my closet right now… I’m tackling those as part of today’s project. :)}
Instead of piles of paper around from place to place until you have time to deal with them, take care of them immediately. When the mail or other papers come into our home, I go through it right then and there and throw out everything that we don’t have to keep.
Bills go on my husband’s dresser, magazines go in the magazine basket, coupons go in my coupon box, and junk mail goes in the trash. Within just a few minutes, the mail is completely dealt with!
I’ve found my utilitarian nature helps avoid heaps of clutter. How? Because we don’t have a lot of furniture that tends to be clutter hot-spots for others. I’ve found that when there’s no place to collect piles, you are much less apt to make them.
For more ideas and suggestions, check out these links:
If you feel overwhelmed with clutter, don’t panic. Pick one space in your home to declutter as soon as you can today. This can be a drawer, cupboard, closet, medicine cabinet, your nightstand, or if you’re feeling overly ambitious, the pantry or refrigerator.
Ruthlessly clear out any and all clutter and unnecessary items you find. Consider passing on extra food and household items to friends or donating these to someone in need. Start with this one small space and I promise you will feel a sense of accomplishment right away.
Today’s Project
1. Read Day 5 of the 7-Day Say Goodbye to Survival Mode Challenge (type in your name and email address in the orange box at the top of the page here if you haven’t signed up yet).
2. Leave a comment telling us what area of your home you are planning to tackle today for at least 15 minutes and clear out the unnecessary clutter. Remember, keep it simple and don’t bite off more than you can chew!
My project: I’m planning to tackle our bedroom closet. It seems to be the space in our home that can always use a little TLC and it has a few piles of mine in it that need to be dealt with. 🙂
Crystal, I’m curious if you worked out as regularly as you do now with young children? How did you manage your time when your kids were in a more time-demanding stage? I am pregnant and have a 2-year-old at home — the former keeps me up all night with dance parties in my stomach & the lovely toddler still doesn’t sleep through the night.
I’m working 2 days a week now (down from 5-7 in residency… hooray!), but still can’t manage to pull myself out of bed before my child wakes up (usually 5:30-7:30 a.m. time range) after being up 2-3 times a night. I’m just wondering if you have any tips on how to fit it “all in” when exhaustion & time aren’t on my side right now? -JLyn
I thought this was a great question to address as exercise is the focus for January as part of the 12 Months to a Healthier You Challenge. Here are some of my thoughts:
If you don’t make exercise a priority, there’s a very good chance it’s not going to happen. It takes dedication, motivation, and commitment to stick with consistent exercising. But it is so worth it — not only because you’ll probably feel better, but you’ll also have more energy!
When I had young children, I found that I had to exercise first thing in the morning or it just seemed like it wouldn’t happen. Before I knew it, the day would be over with, I’d be exhausted and ready for bed, and I hadn’t exercised yet again.
Now that I’ve given you some ideas that worked for me, I want to leave you with this reminder: give yourself grace in this season, JLyn. You have your hands full — and you are nurturing a baby inside of you.
If you’re exhausted, sleep. If you only have energy to do a 10-minute workout DVD or play with your child at the park, that’s okay.
Don’t beat yourself up over what you can’t do. Just do the best you can do and be free from guilt!
Target Shopping Trip
Transaction #1
2 Little Critters Gummy Vitamins – $3.99 each, used 2 $1/1 coupon from the 1/5 SmartSource insert – $2.99 each after coupon (On Sale Buy 2, Get $5 Target gift card)
Total with tax ($0.21): $6.19, Received $5 Target gift card
Transaction #2
(All the Christmas stuff was marked 70-90% off at my store. I picked up a few that were great deals!)
1 Carter’s Baby Outfit – Marked down to $0.99 (Normally $10! I’m always on the lookout for inexpensive baby shower gifts!)
3 Reese’s Candy Canes – $0.30 each (I’m sending a belated Christmas box to my niece and nephews and these will be perfect.)
1 Hershey’s Whoppers – $0.30
1 Ornament Hooks – $0.10 (We’ve used paper clips for all our ornaments ever since we got married 5 years ago…I’m so excited to finally have real ornament hooks for next Christmas.)
3 Ornament Sets – $0.50 each
2 GoGo Squeeze (12 ct) – $6.97 each, used 2 $0.75/1 Target printable AND 20% off Cartwheel coupon – $4.82 each after coupons
1 Fast Fruit (4 ct) at $3.49 – Free (if you bought 2 GoGo Squeeze, this was free)
Used $5 Target gift card from Transaction #1
Total with tax ($1.07): $9.50
Total for both transactions before sales, coupons and gift card: $55.84
Total for both transactions after tax with sales, coupons and gift card: $15.69
See more deals at Target this week here.
Welcome to the 7-Day Say Goodbye to Survival Mode Challenge. Each day this week, I’ll be blogging through the 7-Day Challenge. If you’ve not signed up yet, enter your name and email in the orange sign-up box at the top of the page here and you’ll get the daily emails and challenge in your inbox.
If you want to be more productive, you need to become the master of your minutes. Do you ever find yourself with short five-minute windows of time here and there? Our schedules are so jam packed, but there always seem to be those little niches of time that pop up throughout the day.
It’s easy to mindlessly pick up your phone, browse the web, or check your Facebook news feed for the tenth time. Sometimes, we’re not even aware that we’re spacing out. But consider what you can actually accomplish in a few minutes of time. For example, you can do the following:
There are a thousand other ideas for how to use wisely the little slots of time that show up throughout the day. Don’t let these golden nuggets slip by unproductively! They can quickly add up in your favor. In fact, if you pay attention and make purposeful choices, you may find they add up exponentially.
Today’s Project:
Look for little pockets of time throughout the day that you can use to accomplish some of the tasks above — or other small tasks. I bet you’ll find that you have at least 5-10 of these pockets throughout your day (maybe more!) and if you put them to work for you, you’ll end the day feeling much more accomplished!
Your turn: Tell us 1-3 things you accomplish or plan to accomplish today in the little pockets of time. Also, if you have time, I’d love to hear what ideas you have to add to my list of things you can accomplish in a few minutes.
Crystal, when do you fit in personal reading into your daily schedule? -Brenda
Ever since posting my 12 Books to Read in January post, I’ve been getting asked this question. And it’s a very valid one since I used to wonder how on earth people could manage to finish more than a few books per month.
However, I found that when I stopped saying, “That’s not possible!” and started looking for opportunities to fit more reading into my life, there were many nooks and crannies where I could fit more reading in.
Here’s how I’m currently finding time to read in the midst of a full schedule:
The first thing I do in the morning is to spend time reading my Bible, praying, and journaling. I also read a chapter or two of a devotional book of some sort.
I’ve found that by reading a chapter or two of a devotional book every morning, I can usually finish one book per week just in this early morning time. The thing I love about reading first thing in the morning is that it starts my day off on a great foot and it also guarantees that I always get a little reading in every day.
When I walk or run on the treadmill, I often read. I can’t hold a book while running, but I discovered I could prop my iPad up on the treadmill, make the text larger, and read while running. Yes, I don’t speed read, but it’s a great way to get through some of the free ebooks I download and I can usually read at least one ebook per week if I run 3-4 times in a week.
I pretty much always a book with me just in case there’s a little pocket of time that opens up while I’m waiting somewhere, riding in the car, waiting for the water to boil on the stove… you get the picture. 🙂
If I’m not really tired at night when I crawl into bed, I’ll often read a chapter or two of a book. I so try to limit my reading to something that’s not so interesting that I have to read “just one more chapter” and then end up staying up until the wee hours of the morning to finish the book! Been there, done that and it doesn’t work out so well if you want to be coherent the next day! 🙂
One of my very favorite times to read is on the weekends — especially on Sundays. We take Sundays “off” from our normal routine and I usually am completely offline. So Sunday afternoons are the perfect times to curl up with a good fiction book and read for a few hours.
For more ideas and suggestions, here are a few posts from the archives:
This week, I’m trying to make meals based on what we have in our cabinets and freezer. I mainly just stocked up on snack items this week since they were having some great sales.
Aldi
1 Green Onions – $1.19
1 gallon Milk – $2.49
1 Butter – $2.49
1 Flour Tortillas – $0.99
Total with tax ($0.51): $7.67
Dillons
2 Bamba Snacks – Marked down to $0.29 each
1.96 lbs Grapes @ $2.49/lb – $4.88 (I should have purchased these at Aldi…)
1 Jeno’s Frozen Pizza – $1, used Free e-coupon (no longer available) – Free after coupon
3 Ramen Noodles – $0.20 each
1 Turkey Hill Ice Cream – $3.99
1 Kroger Cottage Cheese – $1.25
1 Kroger Marble Cheese (24 oz) – $4.99
1 Kroger Frozen Onions – $1
1 Kroger Marshmallows – $1
2 Yoplait GoGurt Yogurt – $2 each, used 2 $1/1 printable – $1 each after coupon
5 Dole Fruit Squish’ems (4 pk) – $2 each, used 5 $1/1 printable and coupon from the 1/5 SmartSource insert – $1 each after coupons
Total before sales and coupons: $43.28
Total after sales and coupons: $25.29
Total for all grocery items: $32.96
Cereal x 3, Oatmeal, Toast and Eggs, Homemade Granola
Leftovers, Cheese & Crackers, Fruit/Veggies, Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Macaroni and Cheese
Lasagna Casserole, 30 Minute Rolls, Steamed Broccoli
Meat Potato Quiche, Banana Muffins, Tossed Salad
Apple Turkey Picadillo, Peas
Cheesy Hamburger Soup, Homemade Bread, Sliced Oranges
Braided Pizza Bread, Tossed Salad
Barbecue Sandwiches, Chips, Steamed Cauliflower
Italian Chicken, Green Beans, Baked Potatoes
Would you like to become disciplined, but you just don’t know how to go about developing good habits into your life? My ebook, 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life, is here to help you!
In this ebook, you’ll learn:
Through tomorrow only (January 9, 2013), if you pre-order a copy of my new book, Say Goodbye to Survival Mode, you’ll get a free PDF download of 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life! Plus, you’ll also get a free Motivated Moms Printable Planner and other fun freebies and discounts!
If you’ve already pre-ordered a copy of my book, you can fill out the form below to get your FREE ebook, planner, and other discounts!
Here’s How to Get a FREE copy of 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life, the FREE Motivated Moms Planner, + More Discounts & Freebies From Companies We Love:
1. Pre-order a copy of Say Goodbye to Survival Mode from any retailer. It’s available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, ChristianBook, iBooks, and Mardel. (You can pre-order the ebook here or read a sample chapter if you’d like a sneak peek.)
2. Once you’ve done that, just click this link and fill out the form.
3. That’s it! As soon as you submit the form and verify your email address, you will get an automated email giving you access to your free copy of 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life, the Motivated Moms Printable Planner, plus exclusive coupon codes and freebies from other companies we love.
Psst! Want to buy a copy of Say Goodbye to Survival Mode for a friend? You can pre-order the book for them and gift them the ebook + the planner + the discounts package!
Note: This offer for a free copy of 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life is only available through January 9, 2013.