Money Saving Mom®

Classic View

Grid View

Try this one simple thing to lower your Christmas budget, reduce clutter, and create more family time this year!

Shared Jan 4, 2014 comment

How We Lowered Our Christmas Budget, Reduced our Clutter, and Created More Family Time!

Published: by Crystal Paine on January 4, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Reader testimonial from Tami

We are a family of 4 — me, my husband, and 2 kids (ages 13 and 7.5).

Recently, our income dropped significantly… and because of this, we made a few changes to how we do Christmas gifts. These simple changes helped eliminate the stress on our budget, reduce the amount of clutter in my kid’s rooms, and increase our time together as a family!

I created a “box of fun” for each child.

It took me all of 2013 to put these boxes together because I stretched the budget a little every month in order to buy all the gift cards, but it was so much fun and the kids loved it! This box has something fun for every month of the year in 2014:

January = $20 gift card for movies (for one child) — enough for 2 visits
February = $20 gift card for movies (for the other child) — enough for 2 visits
March = two $50 gift cards for a year-round sports park membership that offers snow tubing, go-karts, miniature golf, etc. I used income tax refund money to pay for this — which is why I was able to spend $100 this month.
April = $25 gift card for Barnes & Noble
May = $25 gift card for Barnes & Noble.
June = $20 gift card for a pedicure (for the girl)
July = $20 gift card for iTunes (for the boy)
August = $25 gift card for a pizza/arcade place
September = $25 gift card for a pizza/arcade place
October = $25 gift card for Sky Zone (trampoline place) — enough for 2 visits
November = $25 gift card for Sky Zone — enough for 2 visits
December = I bought “Santa gifts” (3 each)

This amounted to enough gift cards to give us 8 or 9 family activities throughout the year with the stipulation that they can only use 1 gift in a month.

We realized that by doing this, we would still need to pay for my husband and me to do the activities, however, when buying some of these gift cards for the kids, we also earned free gift cards for ourselves. In addition, when our family asked my husband and me what we wanted for Christmas, we requested gift cards to some of the same places — so that will help with the budget as well!

I also made up a coupon book for my kids and put that in the box, too.

For example, they both love baking and cooking with mom, so I made a few coupons for cooking a meal with me. They are able to pick a recipe, make a shopping list for that meal, and then help cook it.

Another one was for date night/day with mom and one with dad. We figure this is when they could use their movie gift cards. 🙂

Another one was for game night, movie, and popcorn at home, a family activity of their choice (such as going on a bike ride), etc. All simple things that they love to do and are essentially free for us.

We told them they could use 1 to 2 of these coupons per month.

In the end, we have the perfect reason to have our “family time” and most of it is already paid for, so we cannot use the excuse that there is no money in the budget.

I plan on doing the same thing in 2014 and have already adjusted our budget to cover the cost of buying a gift card once a month.

The best part about this was the fact that my kids seemed to love the “box of fun” and it was the first thing they mentioned whenever someone asked them what they got for Christmas. It really made me feel like I made the right choice by deciding not to give them just “stuff” for Christmas.

photo source

Shared Jan 3, 2014 comment

12 Months to a Healthier You: Week 1 Check-in

Published: by Crystal Paine on January 3, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

12-Months-to-a-Healthier-You

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.

January’s Challenge:

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.

12 Months to a Healthier You

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.

This Week’s Progress:

I started P90X on Wednesday. I’ve gone through the program before, but it’s been quite a while and the first day kicked my tail.

The second day wasn’t quite as bad. And today (the third day), I actually woke up excited to exercise. In fact, I rolled out of bed, changed into my workout clothes, and started exercising first thing!

I’m incredibly encouraged (albeit a bit sore!) because after just three days, I feel stronger and healthier. I am especially thankful because I’ve been feeling somewhat in a funk the past few weeks and I’ve felt so much more energetic the past three days. I really think it has to do with starting my day with strenuous exercise.

It’s amazing how much good exercise does for your overall well-being! I’m hoping my enthusiasm doesn’t wear off as the days go by! 🙂

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.

Shared Jan 3, 2014 comment

Reader Tip: Increase Email Productivity with Unroll.me

Published: by Crystal Paine on January 3, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Erin emailed in the following tip:

Email is often my worst enemy and it’s a close rival with Facebook as my biggest productivity killer. However, I recently discovered unroll.me, a service that helps manage your email subscriptions. I LOVE it!

Basically, it scans your inbox and gathers up all your email subscriptions in one place. You can then quickly unsubscribe via a screen in your unroll.me account — or you can choose to “roll up” the subscriptions in a daily feed-type email that gives a short snippet of all your subscriptions!

When you want to read one of the emails in your roll-up, you just click on the snippet!

The subscriptions still come to your inbox — they will just be filtered into a special “unroll.me” folder. So, if you can’t wait for your daily roll up, you can always look for your subscriptions in that folder. But, that might defeat the purpose. 😉

Alternately, if there are some emails that you absolutely do not want to miss or wait for them in your roll-up, you can always opt to leave them in your inbox.

You can choose to receive your roll up in the morning, afternoon, or evening. I chose evening so they hopefully won’t distract me until I have finished my work for the day! -Erin

Shared Jan 3, 2014 comment

Taco Pie with Bisquick

Published: by MSM Team on January 3, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

If you need a super easy, quick dinner recipe that everyone will love, this Taco Pie should do the trick. Oh, and it’s freezer-friendly and tastes great as lunch leftovers later in the week!

Bisquick Taco Pie

Guest post from Brigette Shevy

This twist-on-a-taco recipe has always been a hit at our house!

The original recipe came from the Once-A-Month Cooking cookbook – a resource my mom, sisters, and I often relied on during one of our marathon freezer cooking days.

Why You’ll Love this Taco Pie Recipe

If you like making up meals ahead of time, this is a great one to have in your collection since it requires only minimal last-minute preparations!

Of course, you can also just make it and bake it immediately, which is what I normally do these days.

Feel free to experiment by adding other taco toppings such as salsa, onions, or black olives. If you like your Mexican food spicy, sprinkle in some cayenne pepper, or add some jalapenos on top! Yum!

Bisquick Taco Bake Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 4-ounce can diced mild green chilies, drained
1 cup milk
1 cup Bisquick
2 eggs
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tomatoes, thinly sliced (I only use 1)
8 ounces sour cream (or plain greek yogurt)
1 chopped tomato
Shredded lettuce

How to Make Taco Pie with Bisquick

1. In a large skillet, cook and stir the ground beef and onion until beef is brown. Drain.

2. Add drained beef mixture back to skillet and mix in taco seasoning.

3. Spread mixture in a 9-inch pie plate.

4. Sprinkle with chilies.

5. In a medium bowl, beat milk, baking mix, and eggs until smooth.

6. Pour milk mixture over beef.

(NOTE: If you want to freeze it, cover the pie plate with foil and freeze at this point.)

7. Bake uncovered in a 400º oven for 30-35 minutes.

8. Top with sliced tomatoes, sprinkle with cheese, and return to oven.

9. Bake an additional 8 – 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

10. Top with sour cream, chopped tomato, and shredded lettuce.

11. Serve immediately.

Bisquick Taco Pie Recipe Substitutions

If you don’t have any Bisquick in the house, you can substitute the following mixture:

1 cup flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon oil

You can also use ground turkey instead of ground beef, and any of your favorite cheeses should work.

Feel free to add spicier seasonings if your family can handle the kick, and top with any of your favorite taco toppings!

Bisquick Taco Bake Tips

Make sure you mix the Bisquick batter well so there aren’t any dry clumps.

It’s also wise to make sure the Bisquick topping is fully baked through before adding your tomatoes and cheese — otherwise the finished casserole could be soggy.

How to Store this Taco Pie Recipe with Bisquick

These leftover reheat wonderfully for lunch later in the week! Refrigerate it in portion-size containers and reheat in the microwave.

You can also freeze this recipe BEFORE you bake it — simply cover the pie plate with aluminum foil after step 6 and freeze. Whenever you’re ready to bake it, defrost on the counter for a few hours and bake.

Recipe

Bisquick Taco Pie Recipe

Author Brigette

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
4 ounces diced mild green chilies drained
1 cup milk
1 cup Bisquick baking mix
2 eggs
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tomatoes thinly sliced (I only use 1)
8 ounces sour cream or plain greek yogurt
1 tomato chopped
Shredded lettuce

Instructions

In a large skillet, cook and stir the ground beef and onion until beef is brown. Drain.
Add drained beef mixture back to skillet and mix in taco seasoning.
Spread mixture in a 9-inch pie plate.
Sprinkle with chilies.
In a medium bowl, beat milk, baking mix, and eggs until smooth.
Pour milk mixture over beef.
Bake uncovered in a 400º oven for 30-35 minutes.
Top with sliced tomatoes, sprinkle with cheese, and return to oven.
Bake an additional 8 – 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
Top with sour cream, chopped tomato, and shredded lettuce.
Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Love this recipe?

Make sure to share and save it on your favorite platform below!

Pin Recipe

Brigette is a full-time wife and mother who is blessed with three amazing bundles of energy and another on the way. She enjoys music, experimenting in the kitchen, homeschooling her children, finding great deals, long-distance running, and anything chocolate.

Shared Jan 2, 2014 comment

My Top 10 Favorite Books from 2013

Published: by Crystal Paine on January 2, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I read 106 books total in 2013 (see the full list of titles here). Do you know how hard it is to pick my top 10 from that long list? Very hard!

I ended up going with the titles that most impacted me… that I gleaned from, that changed the way I thought about life, and/or that inspired me as a person. So here they are, in no particular order:

Daring Greatly — This book impacted me deeply and my life will never be the same as a result. In fact, I was so challenged by it that I had a necklace made that I wear almost all the time as a reminder.

Two caveats: the book is not written from a Christian perspective and has a lot of fairly strong language in it. However, it messed with me in such a good way and motivated me to confront the shame in my own life that I didn’t even realize I was there. Powerful stuff that has forever changed how I think and live.

What’s So Amazing About Grace? — I believe every Christian should read this book. It caused me to step back and examine what grace means to me and how I’m displaying that grace to others. It’s a very thought-provoking read — even if you don’t agree with all the conclusions.

One Thousand Gifts — I feel like I was the last person on planet earth to read this book and, after reading it, I know why it’s been recommended so highly to me. I love Ann to pieces. She’s so heartfelt, deep, and Jesus-filled. This book is a little piece of her soul… and it’s beautifully inspiring.

I didn’t expect to be so moved by the book, but I was. It challenged me to slow down, savor, and count the gifts that God has given me. And to be a noticer of the little things that we often fail to see as we rush through life.

Wild Goose Chase — Mark Batterson (the author) has a way of writing that powerfully challenges complacency. And this book is no different. I think my biggest takeaway was that we often put God in a box and believe He’s only capable of doing what seems possible to us. But He’s the God who delights to do the impossible — that way He gets the credit and glory! This book really inspired me to pray big prayers and believe God for big things in my life.

Loving the Way Jesus Loves — This book takes 1 Corinthians 13 and walks you through how Jesus exemplified each verse in His own life. The section on how Jesus loved Peter in spite of how Peter denied Him, walked away from Him, and turned his back on Him was so convicting to me in my own relationships with people in my life. It’s easy to love those who love us back, but I want to love like Jesus and love those who hurt or mistreat me.

Embracing Beauty — I royally surprised myself. Because I loved this ebook! It was breath of fresh air for me. I loved Trina’s perspective on beauty from a Christian standpoint in the beginning chapters. In fact, it really challenged some of my preconceived ideas and beliefs–which I appreciated.

This ebook inspired me to break out of some of my same-old, same-old ruts in what I wear and try new colors, styles, and looks. And believe it or not, I’ve actually found some new styles that I love — and I never would have tried them had I not read this ebook! (Read my full review of this ebook here.)

Sleep: It Does a Family Good — I was fascinated by the research in this book and it really inspired me to make sleep a higher priority in my life. My favorite part? Reading about how your body runs on a 7-day cycle and how you can make up for a bad night’s sleep by sleeping extra on another night or during the day — so long as you make it up within 7 days. I’ve been trying to go to bed early and sleeping in and napping on the weekends as a result of reading this book. (Looking for more ideas on how to get a better night’s rest? Check out this post.)

Early to Rise — I was so inspired by this book that I did a month-long challenge here based upon it. If you want to develop the habit of early rising, I think you’ll find this book to be very beneficial and helpful. Andy’s ebook is not for someone who isn’t willing to endure some discomfort and put forth some effort. If you’re happy with how your life is and you’re satisfied with your mornings and your productivity, then you probably don’t need Early to Rise.

Or, if you’re a mom who has young ones and you’re thankful for every second of sleep you can get, you also probably don’t need to read this ebook. {The last thing you need is to feel guilty for getting sleep that your body desperately needs!}

However, if you struggle to get up in the morning and you struggle to be productive during the day wish you could regularly get up earlier and get more done in the mornings, Early to Rise will challenge and motivate you. It’s broken down into easy, manageable steps to get you started on the path to consistent lifelong early rising. Even though I typically get up fairly early, I was re-inspired by it to make early rising even more of a priority in my life.

The Myth of Multi-Tasking — This book is a really simple and quick read, but it’s very thought-provoking. I always thought I was a pretty good multitasker. Now I’m not so sure. You see, according to the book — and I’m beginning to be persuaded it’s true — there is no such thing as true multitasking.

Instead, the author makes the case that what we call “multitasking” is really just an inefficient way of switch-tasking. When we are trying to do two things at once, we’re really just switching back and forth between two different things — taking a much longer time to do both.

The author does say that there’s such a thing as background tasking, where you are listening to music while cleaning, etc. But when it comes to tasks that require concentration, he makes a strong case that multitasking is a misnomer.

The more I’ve been testing this theory out in real-life, the more I’m beginning to believe that it’s true. And reading this book has caused me to step back and evaluate how I’m spending my time and how I can be more productive by not trying to multi-task but instead just concentrate completely on one task at a time.

Bread & Wine — I loved reading Bread & Wine. It moved me. It inspired me. It challenged me. And it made me want to spend more time in the kitchen and around the table.

However, the phrase that stuck out to me most was: Present Not Perfect. Shauna shares how we can get so wrapped up in trying to make life perfect — to get all our ducks in a row and keep them that way — that we miss the present.

We rush through life with our plans, our goals, and our lists. We check things off. We pat ourselves on the back for being a powerhouse of productivity. And we forget to breathe. To slow down. To soak up the moments. To savor the here and now.

Present not perfect. That’s how I want to live.

photo credit: DaySpring

What were your top reads from 2013 and why? I’d love to hear!

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

Click here to sign up!

Shared Jan 2, 2014 comment

How to Make Vinegar Pie

Published: by Crystal Paine on January 2, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Vinegar Pie is a deliciously frugal dessert every money-saving mom should know about — you can make it when the cupboards are nearly bare!

Guest post from Carissa.

You will love this vintage Vinegar Pie recipe!

I’m not sure what it was about this recipe that grabbed me as I thumbed through the hundreds in my Grandma’s recipe book. Maybe it was the odd name, Vinegar Pie. (Who ever heard of such a thing?) Or maybe it was the first ingredient listed: a quart of water!

Could Grandma Montgomery be serious? How could this recipe produce an actual, edible pie? An edible puddle maybe… but surely not a pie.

So in the hopes of resolving some of my confusion, I did what any respectable child of the internet-age would do… I posted a pic of the recipe to my Instagram account and asked people to enlighten me!

I was astonished to learn that this recipe was, in fact, legitimate.

One friend even told me that she and her children had recently read in Little House in the Big Woods that Laura Ingalls’s “Ma” would make vinegar pies at Christmastime. They were a perfect dessert for poor farming families who didn’t have access to fancy ingredients. Eggs, water, vinegar, and sugar were always on hand!

That solidified it for me. I love the Little House books, so I had to find out what this pie would taste like! Besides, what did I have to lose? A few eggs and a quart of water weren’t going to break the bank if the recipe failed.

So I tried out the recipe, and color me shocked when this humble method turned out one of the creamiest, most luscious custard pies I’d ever tried! In my opinion, it rivals any custard or cream pie I’ve tasted. And the maple flavoring makes it especially cozy for wintertime.

What does vinegar pie taste like?

Contrary to what you might think, vinegar pie doesn’t taste sour or bitter — it’s actually quite sweet, with a little citrus vibe.

The texture is silky-smooth and so creamy.

Here is a recipe with a little more explanation than dear Grandma Montgomery gave me in the little slip of paper above.

I hope you enjoy making it and feeling like “Ma” Ingalls, one of our country’s earliest money-saving moms!

Old Fashioned Vinegar Pie Ingredients

1 pie crust (homemade or store bought)
1 quart water (or 3 cups, to shorten boiling time)
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
Pinch salt
3 Tablespoons cold white vinegar
1 teaspoon maple extract (If you don’t have maple extract vanilla, lemon, or coconut extract will also work)
¼ tsp. cinnamon

How to Make Vinegar Pie

1. Well ahead of time, prepare a pie dish with a single crust and pre-bake according to recipe instructions. Allow the pie shell to fully cool.

2. In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil.

3. Meanwhile, combine the eggs, sugar, flour, salt, and vinegar in a mixing bowl and use a whisk to combine.

4. Pour the filling mixture into the boiling water and continue to boil, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens. (6-12 minutes, depending on amount of water.)

5. When mixture thickly coats the back of a spoon, remove the pan from heat.

6. Add in the cinnamon and maple extract and stir to combine.

7. Pour mixture through a sieve into each pie crust to prevent any curdled egg from ending up in the finished pie.

8. Refrigerate for 4+ hours (preferably overnight) before serving.

Vinegar Pie Recipe Variations

You can try different different type of vinegar for a slightly different flavor. You can also swap out the maple extract for vanilla, almond, or even lemon extract.

How to serve this recipe for Vinegar Pie

This pie is fairly thin, so you can cut generously sized slices.

It tastes wonderful plan, or you can serve it with a scoop of vanilla or cinnamon ice cream, or a bit of homemade whipped cream.

Storing Vinegar Pie

Cover leftovers with plastic wrap or place in a food storage container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.

In general, cream pies like vinegar pies don’t freeze well.

Recipe