Money Saving Mom®

Classic View

Grid View

Shared May 22, 2013 comment

Ask the Readers: Organic versus conventional groceries?

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 22, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Today’s question is from Carrie:

I’m a stay at home wife and my husband and I just started Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover this year (we’re on baby step 3). We’ve definitely become much more conscious of our spending now that we’re paying cash at the grocery store and I’m shocked to see that we’re spending about $600 a month on groceries for 2 adults (that’s strictly food not household stuff)!

We do meal plan and eat at home most meals, however I’d really like to bring that number down. How do you decide what’s worth buying organic versus conventional? And how do you decide what’s worth buying brand name versus store brand?

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

Shared May 21, 2013 comment

Perspective Changes Everything

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 21, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Sunday afternoon, a huge storm blew through Kansas. Our area got pummeled with hail up to the size of golf balls.

When the wind and hail finally subsided, we emerged from our basement to discover leaves and broken limbs scattered all over outside. Every home in our neighborhood suffered some kind of damage — whether it was siding that was punctured with hail marks, screens that were ripped up, windows that were broken, fences that were blown down, cars that were dented, or trees that were partially uprooted.

Our home was spared some of the worst, but our shutters and siding were pretty pummeled, our front garden looked trashed, and two of our windows were broken (we’re still waiting to hear whether our roof was damaged or not). In addition, our children were pretty shook up about the whole experience since the wind and hail sounded so ferocious.

However, in light of yesterday’s tornadoes and the destruction they left in their wake, the damage in our neighborhood is so inconsequential. Our lives were never in danger and while our house might be a little beat up, it is still standing strong.

No matter what you might be going through in life, no matter difficulties you might be experiencing, it likely pales in comparison to what those in Moore, Oklahoma are going through today.

My heart broke as we watched the footage last night. I couldn’t even begin to imagine.

Truly, perspective changes everything.

If you have a sturdy roof over your head, a closet with some clothes in it, a little food in your fridge, and family and friends to hug, you are very blessed today. Remind yourself of that the next time you feel like complaining or wishing you were in someone else’s shoes. I can almost guarantee you that someone wishes they were walking in your shoes.

Would you like to help those in Moore, Oklahoma? Check out this simple idea here and also click through for this long list of places to donate to here. If you know of other legitimate opportunities, would you email me or leave the details in the comments?

Shared May 21, 2013 comment

Help! How Do I Get This Pot Clean?

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 21, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I had a cold a few weeks ago and my nose was completely stuffed up one of the days. I was cooking up a big pot of something that day and got busy working on something else in the kitchen while it was simmering.

About 30 minutes later, Jesse arrived home from work and about choked when he walked in the door. He gave me a funny look and then looked at the stove and gasped, “How can you not smell that awful burning smell?!”

Then we both started laughing because we realized that I couldn’t smell a thing. Which was good — since the kitchen now reeked of burnt smell. But it would have never smelled like that had I been able to smell since my nose would have alerted me quite awhile before to turn the burner off. 🙂

At any rate, we aired the house out and have been working on trying to redeem the burned pot ever since. We’ve soaked it, scrubbed it, scraped it, run it through the dishwasher, and soaked it some more.

And it’s still a mess.

Anyone have some amazing tricks and tips for getting stubborn burned-on gunk off a pot? Let me in on your secrets in the comments and you’ll be my hero. 🙂 Thanks so much!

Shared May 21, 2013 comment

Today’s Health Food Store Shopping Trip

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 21, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I stopped by the health food store when I was out and about today and here’s what I picked up:

Health Food Store Shopping Trip

2 dozen organic eggs — marked down to $1.99 each
3 2-lb. bags of carrots — $0.99 each
5 grapefruit — $1.67
4 organic cucumbers — $1.58
1 tub of hummus — marked down to $0.99
1 loaf of Rudi’s bread — marked down to $0.99
Total with tax: $13.07

Shared May 21, 2013 comment

Donate 5 Free Box Tops for Education to Moore, OK Plaza Towers School

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 21, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Want to do a little something for those who were devastated by the tornadoes yesterday? Here’s something that everyone can do — even if you don’t have any extra money to give.

Head over to the Box Tops for Education Facebook Page and claim 5 free BoxTops for the Plaza Towers Elementary School (one of the schools that was destroyed by the tornado). Just enter zip code 73160 and choose Plaza Towers School.

Also, be sure to sign up for the Box Tops 4 Education email newsletter to be eligible for a free product sample every month.

Thanks, Family Savings!

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

Click here to sign up!

Shared May 21, 2013 comment

Clutter-Busting Challenge Day #16: Cleaning out my file drawer

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 21, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Every week day in May, I’m challenging my readers to try to find at least 7 things to get rid of. These can be big or small things, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you actually throw them out, sell them, donate them, recycle them, or find someone else who can use them. Think you’re up for the challenge?

I cleaned out my file drawer today and found a pile of different papers to get rid of. Plus, I found some plastic thing-a-ma-bob (not sure where it came from) and a bracelet to also donate to the Goodwill box.

How did your clutter-busting go today? Link up your blog post and/or Instagram pictures below. Or, leave a comment telling us how many things you got rid of. Let’s clear our homes of clutter so we can be more productive and efficient!

Shared May 21, 2013 comment

Do It Yourself: Sandbox out of a Storage Bin

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 21, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

KaylaAimee.com shows you how to make a sandbox out of a storage bin.

Do you have a fun and frugal DIY idea to share? I’d love to hear about it! Read the submission guidelines and submit it here.

Shared May 20, 2013 comment

This Week’s Menu {Week #4 of no sugar, no coffee, and no gluten}

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 20, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Waffle recipe

Breakfasts

Oatmeal, Cereal, Eggs, and/or Fruit

Lunches

{I’ll be eating a salad with chicken/tuna, etc. on it every day}

Brown Rice for Breakfast
Snack-y lunch
PB&J, carrot sticks, apples
Cheese quesadillas, carrot sticks
Leftovers x 3

Snacks

Fruit/veggies
Popcorn
Healthier Dark Chocolate Muffins
Boiled eggs
Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Waffles

Freezer Cooking {I’ll share how this goes later this week!}

Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Muffins
Healthier Dark Chocolate Muffins
Chocolate Power Balls

Dinners

Slow Cooked Cheeseburger Casserole, veggies, fruit
Chili Tortilla Egg Bake (using gluten-free tortillas that I got marked down to $0.99!), fruit
Oven-Baked Tacos, fruit, tossed Salad
Build-Your Own Haystacks, fruit
Dinner out
Dinner with extended family x 2

What’s on your menu this week? Share details and/or your link to your menu plan in the comments.

Shared May 20, 2013 comment

Gretchen’s Walgreen’s Shopping Trip

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 20, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Walgreen’s Shopping Trip

Transaction #1

1 iChill Liquid Sleep Aid – $4.99

2 Irish Spring Body Wash – $3.50 each
Used 2 $1/1 coupon from the 5/19 SmartSource insert

Used $5 Register Rewards from previous shopping trip

Total with tax (7.3% pre-coupons): $5.87, Received $8 Register Rewards ($5 Register Rewards for buying iChill and $3 Register Rewards for buying 2 Irish Body Wash)

Transaction #2

2 Neosporin Ointment – $3.99 each
Used 2 $2/1 printable

1 Cottonelle Toilet Paper – $5 (some regions are priced at only $4)
Used $1/1 Walgreens coupon from the May savings booklet (there is also a $1/1 coupon from the 5/12 SmartSource insert but we didn’t get it in our newspaper since it was regional)

4 Dove Chocolate Singles – $0.95 each (I needed filler items and didn’t realize until after I was home that there is a in-ad coupon that would have made these $0.59 each. Oh well!)
Used 2 $0.50/2 printable

Used $5 and $3 Register Rewards from Transaction #1

Total with tax (7.3% pre-coupons): $3.98, Earned 2000 (like $2) Balance Rewards (for buying 2 Neosporin)

Total with tax before coupons, Register Rewards and Balance Rewards: $30.85

Total with tax after coupons, Register Rewards and Balance Rewards: $7.85

Thanks to Passionate Penny Pincher for the scenario ideas!

Shared May 20, 2013 comment

Clutter-Busting Challenge Day #15: I’m starting to have to dig pretty deep!

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 20, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Every week day in May, I’m challenging my readers to try to find at least 7 things to get rid of. These can be big or small things, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you actually throw them out, sell them, donate them, recycle them, or find someone else who can use them. Think you’re up for the challenge?

I’m starting to have to dig pretty deep to find things to get rid of — I think that’s a good problem!

Today’s things I got rid of:

1 battery
1 hanger
1 toy dinosaur
2 pieces of blue tube
1 activity book that has been all used
1 box with cologne my husband doesn’t like (he’s been a little inspired by my purging!)

How did your clutter-busting go today? Link up your blog post and/or Instagram pictures below. Or, leave a comment telling us how many things you got rid of. Let’s clear our homes of clutter so we can be more productive and efficient!

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

Click here to download!

Shared May 20, 2013 comment

10 Goals For This Week

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 20, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I had a great time at the Nashville Teach Them Diligently Conference. It was so fun to meet some of you there!

While it’s been a wonderful few months, I’m also excited that my spring conference season is over, my book editing is done, and summer break is almost here! We’re looking forward to a time to regroup, refresh, and recharge. And I’m also looking forward to having some “lazy” and quiet summer days without looming deadlines. 🙂

Here’s an update on my goals:

Last week’s goals:

Family/Marriage/Mothering Goals

1. Finish reading Spiderweb for Two aloud to the children. Read three chapters of The Hardy Boys Book #1 with Kathrynne, read three chapters of Life With Lily with Kaitlynn, read a few picture books with Silas.

~~2. Write a love note to Jesse.~~

Personal Goals

3. Memorize Romans 1:14

~~4. Exercise five times.~~

5. Finish reading: 24/6, ~~Start~~, Unstoppable, and When the Game is Over It All Goes Back in the Box.

6. Get at least 7.5 to 9 hours of sleep every night. {Um, I totally bombed this one.}

Homemaking Goals

~~7. Continue on with the Clutter-Busting Challenge.~~

8. Work on my embroidery project for at least 30 minutes.

Business Goals

9. Practice the tweaked talk for the Teach Them Diligently conference this weekend {I overhauled one of my talks recently and this conference will be the first conference I’m giving it at. Excited to see how the changes work from stage!}

~~10. Finish magazine article.~~

This week’s goals:

Family/Marriage/Mothering Goals

1. Start reading The Trumpet of the Swan to the children. Read three chapters of The Hardy Boys Book #1 with Kathrynne, read three chapters of Life With Lily with Kaitlynn, read a few picture books with Silas.

2. Go on a date with Jesse.

3. Start Library Reading Program with kids.

Personal Goals

4. Memorize Romans 1:14. Review Romans 1:1-13.

5. Exercise five times — start Pilates program.

6. Finish reading: 24/6, Unstoppable, Operation Dinner,Candle in the Darkness, and When the Game is Over It All Goes Back in the Box.

7. Get at least 7.5 to 9 hours of sleep every night.

Homemaking Goals

8. Continue on with the Clutter-Busting Challenge.

9. Work on my embroidery project for at least 30 minutes.

Business Goals

10. Photo shoot for book cover.

How did you do on last week’s goals? What are your goals for this week? I’d love to have you share your progress on last week’s goals and your goals for this coming week in the comments. Of, if you’ve blogged about it, leave your direct link below. Let’s cheer each other on to live purposeful and productive lives!

You can download a free customizable weekly goal-planning sheet here.

Shared May 20, 2013 comment

18 DOZEN Butterhorn Rolls — just $0.15 each!

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 20, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Emily from Our Frugal Happy Life emailed me this morning and I just had to share her email (she gave me permission):

Over the weekend, our church had a Pork Chop dinner and somehow I ended up making the homemade rolls (my husband is the pastor…that explains it! :)). My husband absolutely loves your Make-Ahead Butterhorns, so that’s what he thought I should make.

Little did I know, I needed to make 18 DOZEN Butterhorn rolls for this dinner! I did it over the course of three days using my bread machine (thank goodness for that!).

The rolls were a huge hit at the dinner; everyone was raving about them! There were some leftover, but people were buying those up very quickly because they loved them so much!

The most ironic part? I can’t even eat Butterhorns because I am gluten-free. I have actually never tasted one!

I thought you would get a smile out of this – thank you for such a great recipe! It is well-loved in our small town here in Wisconsin.

P.S. I did a bunch of math to figure out how much these cost me and based on my prices for the ingredients, they are about $0.15 each. Super frugal! (That’s the reason I made them for the dinner…buying rolls from the bakery would have cost significantly more!) -Emily from Our Frugal Happy Life

Shared May 20, 2013 comment

Reader Tip: Earn $5 for watching a video on Jingit!

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 20, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Here’s a hot tip from Jenna:

The first time I did one of the new Jingit offers, I bought paper towels at CVS. After I submitted my receipt scan to Jingit, I got a message that said it would be reviewed and I would be notified when it was approved. Well, the next day, I got the message that it was approved.

I logged back into my Jingit app to check and see if I had, in fact, been paid. There was a new video to watch about the new Jingit offers.

I watched it and was paid $5! YES, $5!

I told my parents and my husband, and they all did an offer and they got the $5 video offer, too! Not sure how long this will last, so you might want to hurry! -Jenna

(Note: The link in this post is my referral link. Read my disclosure policy here.)

Shared May 19, 2013 comment

Clutter-Busting Challenge Day #14: I found some more samples to get rid of!

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 19, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Every week day in May, I’m challenging my readers to try to find at least 7 things to get rid of. These can be big or small things, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you actually throw them out, sell them, donate them, recycle them, or find someone else who can use them. Think you’re up for the challenge?

It’s been a fantastic, but very full weekend at the Teach Them Diligently Conference. Not only did I speak four times, but I also got to attend a few sessions, and had a wonderful time getting to hang out with Todd and Angie Smith.

I’m late in getting this posted since I was offline so much this weekend, but I did collect another pile of samples earlier this weekend to get rid of. (I use almost all the free samples that come in the mail, but I find that there are a few I think I’ll use that then just end up hanging around in there forever and just take up space. So I cleaned these out and came up with eight samples to get rid of. Yay!

Shared May 18, 2013 comment

67 Ideas for Fun & Learning This Summer

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 18, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Jenae from I Can Teach My Child has a great list of 67 Ideas for Fun & Learning This Summer.

2hr Cleaning Checklist

2hr Cleaning Checklist

FREE DOWNLOAD: 2-Hour Cleaning Checklist!

Health Food Store Shopping Trip

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

Breakfasts

Lunches

Snacks

Freezer Cooking {I’ll share how this goes later this week!}

Dinners

Walgreen’s Shopping Trip

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

Footer

Sign up for myHot Deals Newsletter