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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!

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

Click here to sign up!

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.

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

Click here to download!

Shared May 18, 2013 comment

New cashback offers on Jingit

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

There are some new Jingit offers to check out:

$0.25 cash back when you purchase ANY bread at a participating retailer (Target and CVS came up when I clicked it)

$0.25 cash back when you purchase ANY Hot Dogs at a participating retailer (idea: combine with new $0.75 off Ball Park Lean hot dogs coupon to get a great deal!)

$0.25 cash back when you purchase ANY Ketchup at a participating retailer

$0.25 cash back when you purchase any Lysol Disinfectant Wipes at Target

$0.25 cash back when you purchase Any Paper Towels at a participating retailer

$0.25 cash back when you purchase Any Potato Chips at a participating retailer

$0.25 cash back when you purchase Any box of Trash Bags at participating retailers

$0.25 cash back when you purchase Any Fabric Softener at participating retailers

$0.75 cash back when you purchase Wisk Deep Clean at Target, CVS, or Publix

$1.00 cash back when you purchase a RC TEN 12-Pack, Sunkist TEN 12-pack, Canada Dry 12-Pack, A&W TEN 12-Pack, or 7-Up TEN pack (these are a specific stores as well-so be sure to check first).

$1.00 cash back when you purchase 4- 2 Liters of TEN calorie Beverage (Canada Dry, A&W, 7-UP, Sunkist, or RC)

If you’re new to Jingit, check out this post to see how it works.

Thanks, Our Coupon Adventures!

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

Shared May 18, 2013 comment

We Paid Cash: A Minivan

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

Testimony from Rachel of Intentionally Simple

A few years ago, my husband and I started a car savings account. Our cars were both approaching 10 years old and we wanted to have some money set aside for repairs as well as have enough money saved to pay cash for our next vehicle.

We saved for a few years, and during that time, paid for routine maintenance, repairs and new tires for one of the vehicles out of our car savings fund.

A few months after the birth of our second son, we started talking about purchasing a mini van. We had around $5,000 in savings for a new vehicle and we had the luxury of time to look for a good deal since we didn’t truly need a van at this point.

We decided to put most of our tax return into car savings. The plan was to use the money in car savings (around $8,000) plus the sale of the truck (we were hoping to get around $3,500 for the truck) to pay cash for a new vehicle. We set our budget at $12,000 or less and started researching vans.

We had been researching a few months when my father-in-law told us that a neighbor had a van for sale. The van was a 2004 Nissan Quest with 88,000 miles. It was in wonderful condition and had features like heated leather seats, power sliding doors and lift gate, and a DVD player. The best part about this van, it was well under our budget!

We paid cash for the van without even selling my husband’s truck!

A few weeks later, we sold the truck for $4,500 ($1,000 more than we were hoping, apparently trucks hold their value!) We then put all of the money from the sale of the truck back into the car savings fund so we’re nearly half way to paying cash for our next vehicle.

And, those power sliding doors really are amazing!

Rachel is a wife and mama of two boys. You’ll find her at Intentionally Simple where she blogs about choosing a life of simplicity. Her family lives minimally in a small home and lives debt free.

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

Shared May 16, 2013 comment

Freezer Cooking in an Hour — or not!

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 16, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I had planned to get up early and do my Freezer Cooking in an Hour session this morning before I headed to the airport to fly to Nashville.

But, um, I made it as far as the taco meat and ran out of time.

Such is life, eh? I promise — barring some unforeseen events — that I’ll make the muffins next week. Because I really, really want to try them myself. And I know some of you are anxious to hear whether I like them or not. 🙂

By the way, thank you so much for how you all have been patient and forbearing with me as I’ve navigated this new season of life where I’m traveling and speaking more. It’s been a new adventure — and there have definitely been growing pains as a result.

We’ve put a lot of prayer and thought into the direction it seems God is leading us, and we’re excited about what the future holds. But in the process, I’m still working on finding a good balance so that I’m keeping up with the blog (which is a significant priority for me), while also making sure that my family is my most important priority — and that I’m taking care of my health, too. 🙂

I’m nowhere near doing a perfect job (and I don’t ever expect to figure out what anything near “perfect” looks like!), but I feel like we’re really starting to fall into a healthy groove and I’m so thankful. Thank you, each of you, who are sharing in this journey with us and are so patient and understanding. I appreciate you all so very much!

Shared May 16, 2013 comment

Clutter-Busting Challenge Day #13: I found 8 samples to get rid of!

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 16, 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 flew into Nashville today to speak at the Teach Them Diligently Conference this weekend. Both my flights were delayed about an hour each. But it all worked out and I got to spend the evening with a friend of mine, Angie Smith.

I was reminded all over again why I love her so very much! (If you’ve not read her books and don’t follow her blog, you should! She’s hilarious and inspiring!)

Before I left this morning, I cleaned out my sample tub. 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!

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 16, 2013 comment

Two ways to save $5-$10 on your grocery bill in less than 10 minutes!

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 16, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I’m excited to be speaking at the MOPS National Convention in Kansas City in October.

As part of their promotional campaign, they asked me to shoot a quick video with a money-saving tip. I thought some of you would enjoy watching this video with two quick ways to save at least $5 to $10 on your grocery bill in less than 10 minutes.

Links mentioned in the video:

Coupon Database

Local Store Deals & Coupon Match-ups

What’s your best tip for shaving $5-$10 off your grocery bill in 10 minutes or less?

Summer Bucket List

Summer Bucket List

FREE Summer Bucket List!!

Breakfasts

Lunches

Snacks

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

Dinners

Walgreen’s Shopping Trip

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

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

What’s your best tip for shaving $5-$10 off your grocery bill in 10 minutes or less?

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