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Money Saving Mom

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Saving Families Money Since 2007

Summer Bucket List

Summer Bucket List.

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Shared Jun 6, 2013 comment

3 Ways to Prevent Summer Boredom

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3 Ways to Prevent Summer Boredom

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Summer is here. School is out. Schedules are often more laid back. And some days it can feel like there are a lot of hours in the day and you’re running out ideas to keep your children occupied.

If this is something you struggle with at your house, here are some ideas that we’ve implemented at our house:

1. Create & Follow a Routine

One of the things I love about a creating and following a routine is not only that it gives us order and structure in our day, but also that it keeps me from having to constantly be figuring out what everyone is going to do next. When there are set parameters for our day, we can just follow these and it nips a lot of possible boredom right in the bud.

In addition, a routine helps us to limit screen time. Our kids know movie time is from 5 p.m. until dinner time and only if you’ve done your chores, assignments, and had a good attitude during the day. Everyone knows these are the rules so people aren’t asking to turn on a movie earlier in the day since they know it’s not even an option.

Mom I’m Bored Jar (plus free printable!) from Somewhat Simple

2. Have Pre-Planned Options Available

We have a few hours of free time in the afternoons, but I don’t expect my children to automatically have ideas for filling this time. I want them to be creative, play make believe, do art projects, read, and build things. But if they are having trouble coming up with ideas on given afternoon, I always have a few suggestions and options available — books and audiobooks from the library, art projects, a game, an idea for something to play in the back yard, etc.

I don’t want my children to feel like they need to constantly be entertained, but I also have no problem with giving them a gentle nudge in a direction if they are lacking inspiration. I might say something like, “Why don’t you build a LEGO castle and listen to that new audiobook I got from the library?” Or, “Oh! I’ve got a great idea! Why don’t you pretend you have a restaurant and see what things from nature you can use for food in your restaurant kitchen in the back yard?”

Usually just a few ideas will get the wheels in their brain turning and pretty soon they are engaged in some project in their room or the back yard.

If you need some ideas and inspiration, check out my Fun & Frugal Summer Activities Pinterest Board. You can also look through my 4 Weeks of Frugal Family Fun series.

Making Homemade Flubber

3. Replace Discontentment With Gratitude

I want to raise children that understand how blessed they are. When they complain about being bored, I try to listen to their heart. Are they just communicating that I need to do a better job of investing in them or are the communicating to me that they are struggling with discontentment?

I don’t always hit the nail on the head, but I do try to ask some questions to probe a little deeper and see where their “I’m bored” statement is coming from. If your child is moping around regularly about how life is boring, it might be time to have a heart-to-heart discussion on contentment and to put forth some effort to teach and nurture them to develop more of a grateful spirit.

Maybe to have them think of three things they are thankful for every time they say they are bored… or to find a way a to bless someone else? You’re their parent so you know what’s best for your child and where their heart is, but it’s something to consider.

What are your best tips for busting summer boredom?

It's totally okay to break the blogging rules and NOT listen to the blogging experts. In fact, it can be a GREAT thing. And here's why!
Shared Jun 6, 2013 comment

Why I Think You Should Break the Blogging Rules

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Why I Think You Should Break the Blogging Rules

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

It's totally okay to break the blogging rules and NOT listen to the blogging experts. In fact, it can be a GREAT thing. And here's why!

A friend emailed me a few weeks ago distraught over what she should do as a blogger. She wants to write. She loves writing. But she was feeling so frustrated and stressed over all the stuff she felt like she “had” to be doing in order to keep up her blog.

She didn’t want to have to invest most of her time in updating Facebook, posting pictures to Instagram, interacting on Twitter, networking, writing guest posts, and trying to figure out Google+.

She just wants to write and live her life. I get that.

While I love my community on Facebook, have met incredible people on Twitter, and have recently discovered I really love Instagram, I’m not a rule-follower. I don’t want to be chained to a blogging and social media schedule.

I want to live my life and write as I’m inspired. Because if I spend most of my time trying to crank out posts and feed the social media beast, I have no life. Just a blog that rules my life.

I want this blog to be a blessing to my family, not a burden. I want my blog to be an outpouring of my life instead of blogging to be my life.

The only way I’ve found to do this is to break the blogging rules. Seriously.

Chuck them out the window and find the freedom that comes from not being tethered to your laptop. It’s a beautiful thing!

In place of the long held rules, here are two of my mantras that you are free to adopt:

1. You Don’t Have to Do What the Experts Say

There are a thousand and one things you are “supposed” to do if you want to grow and monetize your blogging platform. These can be helpful. These can work well. But you are in no way under any circumstances obligated to do them.

And you know what else? There’s no stinkin’ way you can do them all — unless you want to drive yourself crazy and have a physical breakdown.

I think it’s easy to forget that the bloggers who blog often and have lots of different sections and tools on their blog didn’t start blogging yesterday. They’ve been at this for years (usually). They’ve put in a lot of hours, gradually added parts of their site, learned how to do things more efficiently, set up a lot of things that run themselves, and brought on people to help them with all the details that pertain to running their site.

So if you’re a newer blogger, please don’t let the seasoned bloggers intimidate you. Also, don’t compare your blog to theirs or feel like you have to be doing exactly what they are doing if you have a shot at succeeding.

Pick the things you love and that work well for you and stick with those. Leave the other things be. Your blog will be just fine without them. And I guarantee you’ll end up enjoying it a lot more, too!

2. You Don’t Have to Do What the “Cool Kids” Do

Can I just say this? I sort of despise Pinterest.

Back when I started blogging, I had a white background, a text header, and a free blog template on Blogger. My pictures — when I actually posted them — were atrocious.

But here’s the thing: nobody cared. I had thousands of readers on that plain white blog and they never complained.

Why? Because there wasn’t this almost-impossible-to-reach standard set up where you had to have a snazzy blog design, magazine-worthy photos, and maybe even a graphic design degree in order to blog.

You just wrote because you were passionate about your subject matter. And people listened.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m inspired by the mouthwatering photos and incredible ideas on Pinterest, but most of them are far beyond what I could accomplish myself. I pretty plain Jane and most days I’m doing well to get some posts written and a few photos on a few of my posts.

But people still come here and read. So I’ve come to the conclusion that while I won’t ever win Best Photography Award, it’s okay to be me.

It’s perfectly acceptable to write about whatever I’m passionate about. To share less-than-perfect posts and photos. To not always get my posts up in a timely manner because real-life trumped blogging.

Instead of having a perfectly timed post with an amazingly-put together photo shoot, people seem happy to read about what’s on my heart whenever it is that I get it posted. So I’ve stopped worrying about what the cool kids are doing and have just started being who God created me to be.

And I’ve been a whole lot happier that way. 🙂

Photo Credit: dearsomeone via Compfight cc

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Shared Jun 6, 2013 comment

We Paid Cash: Farm Operating Expenses

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We Paid Cash: Farm Operating Expenses

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We paid cash!
A testimony from Kristin

My husband, Chris, is a farmer. He has a job he loves as an agronomist for a large farm in Eastern Oregon, but he’s had a lifelong dream of being responsible for his own ground, of planning a crop from beginning to end, of making his own decisions and then seeing the results of those decisions.

Where we live, farm ground is rarely up for sale and, when it is, it is usually very expensive. So, honestly, my husband’s dream of farming his own ground seemed just like that, a dream.

Last fall, however, we learned that an acquaintance of ours had ground available for lease. Now, before any Dave Ramsey fans get concerned, let me explain that a farm lease is significantly different than a car “fleece.” A farm lease happens when a land owner doesn’t have the ability or desire to farm their own ground. So they contract with someone who does have that ability/desire.

The person who leases the ground is responsible for the cropping decisions, labor and other inputs. Then at the end of the season, the land owner receives some percentage of the harvest proceeds as a lease payment. There’s more to it, but you get the idea.

The first thing we did after we signed the lease was head over to the local Farm Service Agency office to talk about an operating loan. You see, we’d been told about the great programs the federal government has to help out new farmers.

My husband belongs to a demographic (people under 35) that doesn’t seem to be interested in farming anymore and so the government has assorted programs to encourage and help these new farmers out. And besides, you can’t farm without an operating loan, can you? There are a lot of expenses in farming before there is any income. These expenses are why so many people use operating loans.

But as much as we wanted to realize this dream, we didn’t want to go into debt to do it… and our previous experience with government loan programs (Sallie Mae) hadn’t been that positive anyway.  So we decided to just be weird and finance our own farm dream.

And that’s what we did!

Something lovely has happened as a result: we are learning to trust God even more deeply than before. Every time we write a check for seed or chemical or equipment we pause and ask God to bless this crop. Every time we take the kids out to “our” field we pray and ask for God’s protection and provision for the barley that is growing there.

Right now, as I am writing this, rain is pounding on the window and my kids are antsy at another day inside but I’m thanking God for watering our field. And later this summer when we harvest that barley and there is some income from this venture, we will stop and praise God for His abundant favor.

Kristin loves Jesus. She is wife to Chris and mom to 6-year-old Helen and 4-year-old Patrick. She looks forward to a summer of peas fresh out of the field, combine rides, and watermelon seed-spitting contests.

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

Money Saving Mom
Shared Jun 5, 2013 comment

How to Get Your Family on Board This Summer (6 Do’s & Don’ts)

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How to Get Your Family on Board This Summer (6 Do’s & Don’ts)

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

You’ve set your priorities and cleared the calendar clutter. You’ve set up a realistic summer routine.

You’re pumped, excited, and ready to have an amazing summer. There’s only one problem: your family doesn’t have a clue that you’ve got their summer all lined out for them! And if you approach them in the wrong way, it could completely ruin your plans for a summer success.

Tonight, we’re going to be talking about the Do’s and Don’ts for getting your family on board this summer. Let’s dive right in…

1. Don’t Become a Drill Sergeant

The worst thing you can do is take your summer mission statement and routine and start barking orders at everyone. I promise that’s only going to make your troops want to rebel.

Chore Charts by Stephanie from Totally Together

2. Do Be Enthusiastic

Instead, call a family meeting — or whatever it is that you do at your house when breaking big news — and enthusiastically let them know that you’ve got some great ideas for summer you want to talk to them about. You set the tone for how they are going to receive things and your excitement will invariably be contagious.

3. Don’t Forget to Listen

Share some of your ideas and then ask for their input. Listen to them and take their suggestions to heart.

Your plan is a great starting place, but it’s by no means set in stone. In fact, I encourage you to make some adjustments to it based upon the input of your family. They probably have some great ideas you wouldn’t have thought of on your own.

Chore Chart from ThermoWeb

4. Do Communicate Your Expectations

Once you’ve all signed off on your summer plan of action, make sure that everyone clearly knows how it’s going to work and what is expected of them. If a routine is something new to your kids, review and practice how it’s supposed to go. Don’t expect that they’ll know how to follow a list or complete a project if you haven’t shown them how.

And don’t be discouraged if it takes awhile for the new routine to stick — or if you end up needing to tweak it after a few days. That’s totally okay!

5. Don’t Get Hung Up on the Details

Don’t become obsessed with following your routine or plans to a tee at the expense of your relationships with your children or husband. Some days, you just need to throw the routine and to-do list out the window so you can care for a sick child or do something spontaneous. That’s real life, not something to be frustrated by!

6. Do Remember What It’s All About

Remember your summer mission statement? Don’t lose sight of that this summer.

And at the end of the day, if you made memories as a family, invested in things that matter, and haven’t completely exhausted yourself, you should be encouraged and happy. Your kids are going to remember the memories made much more than they are going to remember how well you stuck with your plan.

The plan is only there to help facilitate more intentionality. If it starts to get in the way and becomes a burden rather than a blessing, it’s probably time to tweak it or toss it altogether and go back to the drawing board!

photo credit;

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Shared Jun 5, 2013 comment

5 Ways to Slow Down & Savor the Summer

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5 Ways to Slow Down & Savor the Summer

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Want to slow down and savor this summer? Here are five tips:

1. Stay Home More

A few weeks ago, our second car was in the shop. I was amazed at how much quieter and calmer our life was that week because we had no choice but to stay home all day for most of the week!

Some families find it helpful to get out and go somewhere every day, but don’t feel like you have to just because that’s what other people do. I love staying home and we aim to stay home all day at least 2-3 days per week. When we are running, running, running, and going, going, going, it makes us all feel tired and cranky.

Try staying home more and see if it allows you to have calmer, more organized days. You can’t say it won’t work if you haven’t tried. 🙂

2. Allow Two Hours of Margin

A lot of our feelings of busyness come from trying to pack 32 hours’ worth of projects and to-do’s into a 24-hour day. No wonder we feel so overwhelmed and worn out!

Two things that have really helped me feel less schedule overload the past year are to plan out the time blocks of my day each night before I go to bed (watch the video where I talk more about this here) and also to allow at least two hours of margin in my day. These are buffer hours where I don’t have any projects planned.

Most days, there will be interruptions and unexpected things that come up and these two hours of margin time allow you to be able to deal with the interruptions without your whole day being thrown off course. And hey, if you have a rare day without many interruptions, you can use the two hours to catch up on other projects, to do something spontaneous, or even to catch up on sleep!

3. Take One Day Off

Setting aside Sundays as our “off” day has been one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. In fact, I would say it is almost the number one key to my productivity and efficiency. I look forward to Sundays as the weekly 24-hour period to rest, refresh, and recharge.

Not only is taking one day off good for your physical health, I believe it is imperative for your mental health and well-being long-term. You’ll quickly wear out of you just charge through life and never take time to refuel. Sundays are the day when my spirit breathes and my creativity tank is refilled for the week ahead.

I dare you to try taking one day off from work, media, and your normal life and see what you think. You might find you quickly realize you can’t imagine life without it!

4. Focus on the Best Return on Investment

There are many good things in life that you can invest your life in, but you can’t come close to trying to do them all. Figure out what the best things are for YOU and wrap your life, time, and energy around those things.

For me, that’s my marriage, my kids, my health, and the blog. I say “no” to a lot of other things because they are the best things for me to invest my time in at this season of life.

5. Choose Quality Over Quantity

When considering the multitude of opportunities that constantly present themselves for activities, ministries, service projects, and more, I try to first ask myself, “Will this matter in 25 years from now?” This helps me weed through a lot of things that just aren’t the best things for me to be devoting time and energy to right now.

After paring down my list based upon that question, I then try to focus on quality versus quantity. I’d rather do a few things really well, than a hundred things pretty poorly.

What things help you to slow down and savor life? I’d love to hear your suggestions and input!

photo credit; photo credit; photo credit

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Shared Jun 5, 2013 comment

Why I Gave Up Trying to Be a Perfect Mom

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Why I Gave Up Trying to Be a Perfect Mom

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Why I Gave Up Trying to Be a Perfect Mom

For years, I had visions of the type of mom I would be. Calm, quiet, organized, patient, loving, creative… I was going to be all those things and much more.

Then I had kids. And very quickly, I realized I was not at all as patient as I thought I was! 🙂

Motherhood has shaped me, broken me, changed me, humbled me, and caused me to rely upon God more than ever before. And one of the most important lessons I’ve learned so far is to give up on perfect.

It’s fantastic to want to be the best mom I can be. I want to love my children well. I want to set a good example before them. I want to invest in them, love them, and nurture them.

But it’s impossible to do a perfect job. I will make mistakes. I will lose my temper. I will get frustrated.

Things won’t be all neat and orderly all the time. I will have days when I feel overwhelmed. I will have days when life feels hard.

My Non-Perfect Motherhood Mantras

Instead of getting frustrated over the mess, I want to embrace it realizing that messes mean little people are exercising their creativity — a skill that will take them far in life, no matter where they end up.

Instead of feeling disappointed in myself for losing my patience, I want to admit I was wrong and ask forgiveness of my children realizing that this probably speaks volumes more to my children than being a perfect mom ever would.

Instead of focusing on the hard and difficult things, I want to soak up the beauty in each moment realizing that a grateful attitude is one of the greatest gifts I can give my family.

Trying to be a perfect mom only set me up for frustration. Giving up on perfect has brought much more peace and joy — to our whole family.

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Shared Jun 5, 2013 comment

Reader Tip: How buying used helped me become a stay-at-home mom

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Reader Tip: How buying used helped me become a stay-at-home mom

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Cheryl emailed in the following tip:

When I told my husband I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, he was very skeptical about living on one income. I was very passionate about this however, so after a hesitant “yes” from my husband, I was determined to make it work.

One of the major ways I keep our costs down is by utilizing thrift stores and garage sales.

First of all, some of you may be thinking gunky, funky, and skunky. Usually, thrift stores don’t keep those kind of donations anyway.

Some things may be too worn, but I don’t buy that stuff. I’ve trained my eyes to look for the good condition, quality items. I’ve found plenty.

For example, I have name brand clothing in my closet that I normally would have never bought even if I was working, such as Banana Republic and Anne Taylor. But I found them at the thrift store.

A new article of clothing with the tags still on is, at the most, $4. Usually I find things for $2-3, and an even better day is when they have 50% off all items in the store.

I also find great books. I try not to buy books for myself anymore, however, I like my children to have good books on their shelf. I’ve found books such as: Corduroy, Black Beauty, Hardee Boys, Little House on the Prairie, I Spy, and Berenstain Bears all in excellent condition.

I also find good quality educational toys, board games, movies, office supplies… and even a Hunter ceiling fan with a baseball theme for my son. I just checked the price of the fan online. The lowest price was $90. I got it for $12. There is nothing cosmetically wrong with it. If I discover that it doesn’t work, the store has a 30-day return policy for store credit.

We live in Florida, so I love sandals. I would like a pair of leather Reef sandals, but they are so expensive. I figured I would ask for them as a birthday present, but I recently found my size at a local garage sale. They were worn, but not too much — and they were only $1!!! Sold. -Cheryl

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Shared Jun 5, 2013 comment

Gretchen’s $37 Grocery Shopping Trip and Menu For This Week

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Gretchen’s $37 Grocery Shopping Trip and Menu For This Week

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Dillons

1 Romaine Lettuce – $0.99

1.22 lbs Roma Tomatoes @ $0.99/lb – $1.21

2.21 lbs Bananas @ $0.35/lb – $0.77

Kroger Jelly – $2.45

Kroger Flour – $1.69

Pepsi Next – $1, used Free coupon – Free after coupon

2 Ronzoni Pasta – $1 each, used $1/2 printable – $0.50 each after coupon

1 Boulder Canyon Chips – $1.99, used $1/1 printable – $0.99 after coupon

8 Crest Toothpaste – $1 each, used 8 $0.50/1 coupon from the 5/8, 6/2 P&G insert, printable, and e-coupon – Free after coupons

1 Kroger Frozen Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts (3 lbs) – $6.98

1 lb Simple Truth Ground Beef – $5.99, used $1/1 Dillons mailer coupon – $4.99 after coupon

2 Kroger Shredded Cheese – $1.67 each

1 Kroger Marshmallows – $1.10

1 Kroger Cotton Swabs – $1

1 Kroger Butter – $2.59

1 Kroger American Cheese – $1

1 gallon Dillons Milk – $2.98

2 Hormel Pepperoni – $1 each, used $1/2 printable – $0.50 each after coupon

Total before coupons and sales: $76.63

Total with tax after coupons: $37.71

Menu Plan for this Week

Breakfasts

Cereal, Oatmeal, Toast, Bananas

Lunches

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches, Baked Potatoes, Leftovers, Turkey Sandwiches

Dinners

Hamburgers (we had leftovers from last week that I froze to use again this week), Chips, Baked Beans

Chicken Noodle Casserole, Rolls, Steamed Carrots (I stocked up on carrots a few weeks ago and we still have some left), Strawberries (from our garden)

Pancakes, Eggs, Hashbrowns

Cheese Pizza, Breadsticks, Tossed Salad

Chicken with Cream of Mushroom Soup, Biscuits, Green Beans

Pepperoni Rolls, Tossed Salad, Fruit

Dinner with parents

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Shared Jun 5, 2013 comment

25 Goals for 2013: May Update

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25 Goals for 2013: May Update

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I didn’t officially cross off any goals in May, but I made some good headway on many of them. And I’m reminding myself that slow and steady progress is how you change your life and habits. Even if I don’t have a lot of amazing progress to show for May, that day in, day out chipping away is going to add up over time.

If you’re brand-new to goal-setting, be sure to read my post on How to Change Your Life By Setting Goals.

Here’s my list of 25 Goals for 2013 and an update on how I did in May:

Personal Goals

Read through the Bible in a year using this plan. {I’m on track with this so far.}
Run in at least one 5K race. {Jesse’s running in one on Saturday and I was supposed to run with him, but I’ve stopped running for the time being as it seems like this was the major culprit of my recent neck/back issues.}
Complete the Couch to 10K program.
Memorize Romans 1 and 2 with Jesse. {This has been slow going, but I have the first half of Romans 1 almost all memorized.}
Wake up by 6 a.m. and exercise, shower, and dress by 8 a.m. every day. {Still working on this!}
Read 150 books/ebooks {See my list of 48 books I’m for sure planning to read here — I’ve read 63 books/ebooks so far in 2013, so I’m on a good track to hit my goal!}

Marriage Goals

Read 3 marriage books.
Finish reading through the Psalms together as a couple.
Have overnight stay (sans children) at least every other month. {Done in May.}
Go on at least one date per month. {Done in May.}

Mothering Goals

Continue memorizing together from the Grace and Truth memory book.
Ice-skating lessons for all three children during the first quarter of 2013.
Swimming lessons for all three children during the summer. {We signed the kids up and they start next week.}
Finish at least 37 read-aloud books. {We’ve finished 21 books so far this year, so we’re on a good track here.}

Ministry/Friendships/Extended Family Goals

Weekly accountability meetings with a friend.
Get together with friends for a playdate or lunch at least once a month. {Done once in May.}
Continue being involved in our local church, couple’s group, and blogging accountability group.
Continue with weekly get-togethers with both sides of our extended family.

Financial Goals

Use a portion of the proceeds from my next book project to fund a well project.
Fund our Child Survival Program for 2013. {Done — yay!}
Buy a new bedroom set.
Invest in another rental property.

Business/Blogging Goals

Release two new ebooks.
Attend one speaking conference. {I attended the She Speaks Intensive in January.}
Finish and submit the manuscript for my next book.

photo credit

Did you set goals for 2013?

If so, tell us how you’re doing  in the comments or leave a link to your blog post update below. Let’s encourage one another to live lives of intention and purpose!

Money Saving Mom
Shared Jun 5, 2013 comment

Ask The Readers: How do you manage to shop at multiple stores?

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Ask The Readers: How do you manage to shop at multiple stores?

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Today’s question is from Story:

I used to have a good plan for my drug store and grocery shopping, but since I had my second baby (5 months; I also have a 2.5 year old), I haven’t been able to get back into a good routine. I’d love to know how other moms manage to get to multiple stores each week.

Do you do it all in one day, or do you do it throughout the week? Do you take your kids with you?

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

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Shared Jun 5, 2013 comment

Gretchen’s CVS Shopping Trip: Spent $7.83, Saved $14.98

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Gretchen’s CVS Shopping Trip: Spent $7.83, Saved $14.98

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

CVS Shopping Trip

Transaction #1

1 Physician’s Formula Cosmetic or Skin Care – $7.49

Used $1 ECBs from last week’s shopping trip

Paid $7.04 out of pocket, Received $7 ECBs

Transaction #2

1 CVS Body Wash – $3.99
Used free coupon from promotion

1 Oral B Cross Action Power Brush – $5.99
Used $3/1 coupon from the 6/2 P&G insert

1 Tena Liners – $3.79

Used $7 ECBs from Transaction #1

Paid $0.79 out of pocket, Received $2 ECBS (for buying Oral B) and $3 ECBS (for buying Tena)

Total before coupons and ECBs: $22.81

Total with tax after coupons and ECBs: $7.83 plus $5 ECBs leftover

See more deals at CVS this week here.

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Shared Jun 4, 2013 comment

How to Set Up a Successful Summer Routine

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How to Set Up a Successful Summer Routine

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.


I know, I know… summer is supposed to be the time when you throw the schedule out the window. But here’s the thing: if you have no plan for your summer days, your summer days will slip by with nothing to show for them. And before you know it, summer will be gone!

In addition, without a plan for the summer, you’ll likely feel like your life is chaotic, disorganized, and out of control. That’s why you need a plan.

Summer Schedule from I Heart Organizing

You Need a Routine Not a Schedule

I’m a big fan of a routine instead of a rigid schedule — especially in the summer. A routine allows you to have a plan and some order, but it doesn’t become a straightjacket with very little wiggle room for spontaneous fun.

Your routine can be really simple and loose, with a few hours of the day completely unscheduled. But I encourage you to at least have a morning routine and an evening routine as these bookends to your day will provide enough structure and order to keep you on pretty good track. (You can print a free morning and evening routine checklist for kids here.)

Free printable and customizable Morning, Afternoon, and Evening Routine cards.

How to Develop a Realistic Routine

A routine is just that, a routine. It is not a spreadsheet with every 15 minutes of the day mapped out. And it doesn’t even need to have times if you find that works better.

If you have no routine at all right now, start out small — with just 3-5 things that you do every morning when you get up. Focus on these 3-5 things and do them every single morning for 3-4 weeks until you really feel like you are cementing the habit.

Don’t add new things to your routine until you’ve got a solid morning routine going. It’s better to start little by little and stick with it than to try to overhaul your life overnight and crash and burn!

For more step-by-step help, read my series on How to Develop a Routine That Works — And Stick With It!

Consider Having Theme Days

It’s fun to have some variety in your week and theme days are the perfect way to pull this off! Basically, this just means that each day of the week you have a different focus or project.

I’d recommend making sure you have a two or three hour time blocked off in your day for the daily theme. Don’t just try to squeeze it into your busy day somewhere — as that’s just setting yourself up for frustrating and feelings of failure!

Summer Themed Days from Somewhat Simple

Our Summer Routine

To give you an example, I thought I’d share our summer routine. We’re doing swimming lessons at the swim club all summer in the mornings instead of our usual homeschooling time. Then, we’re just having a short homeschool time when we get home. This will allow us to (hopefully) continue working on learning throughout the summer but will provide a nice change of pace.

5:00 a.m. — Mom up
8:30 a.m. — Kids up/Breakfast/Bible time/Scripture memory
9:00 a.m. — Kids get ready for swimming lessons/chores
10:15 a.m. — Swimming lessons
12:15 p.m. — Home — lunch/read aloud/clean up
1:15 p.m. — School with Kathrynne
–Kaitlynn read, Silas watch Leapfrog
1:45 p.m. — School with Kaitlynn
–Kathrynne read to Silas
2:15 p.m. — School with Silas
–Kathrynne/Kaitlynn do computer school on separate computers
3-6 p.m. — Free time
6 p.m. — Dinner/family time/reading

Do you typically have a routine during the summer months? Why or why not?

Make-Over-Your-Evenings_300x250

Want some practical help with setting up your day for success? It all starts the night before! Be sure to grab a copy of my brand-new online course, Make Over Your Evenings.

This 14-day online course includes videos, a workbook, and step-by-step projects and is designed to help you maximize your evenings in order to experience more success in your life, more order in your home, and more joy in your soul.

It’s time to stop sleep-walking through life and wake up to the amazing excitement and fulfillment that comes when you follow my simple plan to Make Over Your Evenings.

Find out more about it here.

Money Saving Mom
Shared Jun 4, 2013 comment

52 Different Ways to Save $100 This Year: Refinance Your Mortgage {Week 22}

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52 Different Ways to Save $100 This Year: Refinance Your Mortgage {Week 22}

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Note from Crystal: This guest post was originally published in 2011. I wanted to re-post it as part of this series since it’s something I think everyone who has a mortgage should consider. This idea might not actually save you $100 this year — as your mortgage rates could actually end up increasing a little bit if you refinance — but over the course of the life of your loan, it could end up saving you thousands of dollars!

Guest post by Megan

“Will I ever pay off my mortgage?”

This question has taunted every mortgage holder in America at one point in time or another. My husband and I have been blessed to have a decent amount of equity in our home, and yet the thought of shelling out hundreds of dollars a month for another 28 years has still sent quivers through me a time or two — at least until recently.

I had purchased a house in 2007 before my husband and I were married. I grew up flipping houses (buying, fixing and then reselling) with my family. This instilled in me a desire to try my hand at one myself. I thought it would be an excellent way to get ahead and that I may as well start knocking out mortgage payments sooner rather than later. So with a 30-year, $80,000.00 mortgage at a 7% interest rate, I started doing just that.

Thanks to the help of friends and family, I completed the necessary renovations on the home I purchased and then proceeded to rent out my house while I continued living at home. Even after getting married a year later, my husband and I decided that, for the time, we would continue to rent the house I owned out. For us, it made more sense to let someone else pay our mortgage while we lived in an inexpensive apartment.

The arrangement was working nicely, but it still seemed as though we could be doing more to manage the finances that were tied up in our rental investment. We started looking into refinancing options and were very surprised by the numbers we discovered.

What does it mean to refinance?

Simply put, refinancing is paying off your current loan with a new one to reduce the term of the loan. This in turn saves you a good deal in mortgage interest. We were so excited to find this silver lining in our current economic cloud!

How Much We Saved By Refinancing:

Before Refinancing:                                      After Refinancing:
$80,000.00 loan                                                $80,000.00 loan
30-Year Note                                                       15-Year Note
7% Interest ($112,168.12 )                                 4.25% Interest ($28,330.41 )
$811.00 Monthly Payment                                $846.00 Monthly Payment

Note: In the process of refinancing, my husband and I recently decided to move from our apartment into our rental, as residential loans offer lower rates than investment loans.

As you can see, our return on two months’ worth of paperwork has been $83,837.71 in interest savings and 15 years off the life of our loan!

I was, and am still floored at the savings in interest alone. You may have noticed our monthly payment increased by $35. For us, this is an overage my husband and I are willing to make up in other areas of our budget. We believe it will be worth every penny in the long run!

If you are interested in pursuing the option of refinancing your home, here are a few tips to get you started:

1) Calculate Your Current Mortgage Information

Before you start shopping for a better interest rate, you’ll want to know what percentage you’re trying to beat. Pull out your latest mortgage statement and input the information into Dave Ramsey’s Mortgage Calculator. This is my favorite tool for tracking our mortgage, as it is very simple to use.

With it, you can see how a lower interest rate can affect your loan, or you can calculate how much you would save by simply paying a little extra on your monthly payment. This tool can even help you calculate how much you could save by simply cutting a few restaurant visits and coffee stops each month!

2) Start Shopping For Rates

It is a good idea to start with the company who currently holds your loan. Although this was not the case in our situation, often your mortgage holder will offer you a better rate so they may keep your loan, thus keeping your business from moving to their competitors.

Once you have their rate quote, ask for rate and payment quotes from one or two additional banks before making a decision. Don’t be afraid to let each company know what the others are offering you as they will want to know what would be necessary to acquire your business.

3) Recalculate Your Proposed Refinance Information

Now calculate your proposed rate, payment and loan term information in the Mortgage Calculator to see if refinancing will incur a savings for you and your family. If it does…

4) Act Fast!

Quickly contact the company that gave you the best rate quote. Although interest rates may be low now, there is no guarantee they will stay that way in our ever-fluctuating economy. In fact, we took our time during a certain portion of our refinance, during which the rates jumped on us by 0.75%. Believe it or not, this “little” jump cost us a savings of nearly $5,000.

It is likely that few of you will have the exact scenario we had, but if this information helps you save even a few thousand dollars and a couple years from the life of your loan, I wish you Godspeed!

Megan is a wife and mom who desires to be a good steward of the earthly possessions God has blessed her family with.

photo credit

Money Saving Mom
Shared Jun 4, 2013 comment

Cherishing the moments

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Cherishing the moments

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Yesterday, we were driving to an appointment when one of my children piped up from the back seat, “Is it okay if I start calling you Mom instead of Mommy?”

The question caught me a little off guard.

It reminded me, yet again, how much my babes are growing up. I told the child that yes, they were more than welcome to start calling me “Mom” if that was what they felt most comfortable with.

Much as I wish I could, I can’t keep them little. As I read in a book recently, “Parenting is one of the few jobs where you work to make yourself obsolete.”

I’m excited to see each of my children growing, maturing, and learning so much. Their excitement about life blesses and inspires me.

And even on the difficult and exhausting days of motherhood, I’m so thankful to be their mommy… er, mom. 🙂

Money Saving Mom
Shared Jun 4, 2013 comment

Gretchen’s Target Shopping Trip: Spent $6.12, Saved $14.35

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Gretchen’s Target Shopping Trip: Spent $6.12, Saved $14.35

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Target Shopping Trip

2 Hormel Natural Choice Lunchmeat – $2.41 each, used 2 $0.50/1 coupon from the 5/19 SmartSource insert AND 2 $0.50/1 Target printable – $1.41 each after coupons

2 Almay Cosmetics – $4.99 each – used 2 $4/1 coupon from the 6/2 SmartSource insert AND 2 $1/1 Target printable – Free after coupons

1 Market Pantry Ice Cream – $2.99 – used $1/1 Target printable – $1.99 after coupon

1 Market Pantry Bread – $1.29 – used $1/1 Target catalina coupon – $0.29 after coupon

Total before coupons: $20.47

Total with tax after coupons: $6.12

See more deals at Target this week here.