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Shared Mar 4, 2013 comment

Early to Rise Challenge: Wake Up With a Plan for Your Day

Published: by Crystal Paine on March 4, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Welcome to the Early to Rise Challenge! Throughout the month of March, I’m challenging myself and my readers to make the most of their mornings. So every week day morning at 9 a.m. EST, I’m posting a short Early to Rise post. I’ll share a few of my thoughts on the day’s passage from Early to Rise, tell you what time I got up that morning, and encourage you to leave a comment to tell us what time you got up and how you’re doing on the challenge.

Wake Up With a Plan For Your Day

We’re skipping the weekends for this challenge because I’m all about giving yourself grace and breathing room while still challenging yourself. And also? I need to extend that same grace to myself. Which means that I typically sleep in until at least 7:30 a.m. on the weekends. Kudos to those of you who powered through and got up early the past two days, though! 🙂

Today, I’m catching up on the Early to Rise book by reading Days 2-4. There are a lot of excellent thoughts there, including making friends with Fred (your alarm clock — Andy recommends the Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock app. Have any of you tried it? I’d love to hear your thoughts.) and how you can “be selfish at 5 a.m.” since it’s not taking away from your family to do so — well, unless getting up early means you end up being a grump toward your family and everyone else the rest of the day. If that’s the case, you either need to go to bed earlier, or you need to rethink the wake-up time you committed to.

I was inspired by the Day 4 reading on how getting up early sets the tone for your whole day. I’ve certainly found this to be true! When I wake up with a plan and I execute that plan, my day goes so much better than when I sleep in late and spend the morning pretty much putting out fires and going around and around in circles.

Today’s challenge: make a plan for your mornings, if you don’t already have one. Think about three to five things you can do each morning to set your day up for success. Tell us what they are in the comments. I’ll be sharing a post tomorrow on things you can do each morning to set your day up for success.

What Time Did You Get Up This Morning?

Me? I got up at 5:33 a.m. to be exact.

What time did you get up? Leave a comment and let us know!

Join in the Chatter!

Want to blog about this challenge? If you’re blogging through this challenge with me, be sure to leave your link to your direct post for today below. Plus, if you’d like to post your daily posts to the Early to Rise Group Board on my Pinterest page, just shoot me an email (moneysavingmom @ gmail dot com) and I’ll invite you.

Want to follow along on Twitter or Instagram? Each week day morning on my Facebook Page, my Twitter account, and my Instagram account, I’ll be posting a picture of my alarm clock as public accountability. I’d love to have you do the same or join in the discussion on Twitter and Instagram. Just follow hashtag #EarlytoRise to see what others are tweeting and Instagramming about this challenge!

Shared Mar 2, 2013 comment

3 Tips to Save More

Published: by Crystal Paine on March 2, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post from Carrie of Pocket Your Dollars

For years I couldn’t save money – not wouldn’t — but actually couldn’t.

I tried. I knew it was important, I had a savings account, and I wanted to save.

Still, my savings balance rarely exceeded $1,000 — more typically, it hovered around $150.

Looking back, I realized the reason I continually struggled to build a nest egg was because I constantly sabotaged my saving efforts.

It seemed that one of two things always happened.

1. I’d move the money back and forth.

I’d transfer money out of the checking account, into our savings account. Then, something would come up and I’d find myself moving the money right back into the checking account.

It was never anything frivolous or extravagant, but we seemed to always have a pressing need for the money.

2. I didn’t have enough to save.

Some months, after I’d pay our bills, there literally wouldn’t be anything left over to move into savings.

Sure, we had a budget line item called “savings”, but the money we intended to save somehow disappeared during the month.

And then… I learned HOW to save!

It’s been several many years since I stopped sabotaging our savings… by simply doing these 3 things.

1. We adjusted our attitude.

The starting point for any lasting change is on the inside.

Yes, we ultimately need to modify our behavior and habits. However, until your desired behavioral changes flow out of a new mindset, they’ll be short-lived. Isn’t that why most New Year’s Resolutions fail too?

In the past, we waited, hoped, and even prayed that the next tax refund, pay raise, or Christmas bonus would bring financial change to our family. Our plan was always to “start saving” AFTER each refund, raise, or bonus. We constantly pushed change into the future, always believing it was just around the corner.

Finally, in June 2006 change did come. But, it wasn’t via a cash windfall. It came because we changed our attitude.

My husband and I finally realized that it doesn’t matter how much money you make. What makes the financial difference is how much money we kept.

We committed ourselves to building an adequate savings buffer no matter our income level, so we would never again incur new debt.

Over the years, we have continued to keep that promise!

2. We distanced ourselves from our money.

All of my past failed savings efforts included a savings account attached to a checking account.

Dangerous!

The money is so quickly and easily transferred between accounts that I viewed savings as an extension of the checking instead of something untouchable.

To distance ourselves from our money, we opened up two different savings accounts.

An Emergency Fund: we linked this account to our checking so we’d be able to transfer if necessary BUT, we chose a bank that required 4 days for all transfers. That meant no more spur-of-the-moment transfers to cover a potentially bounced check.
Non-Emergency Savings: we opened another savings account at a small local credit union to save for expected, non-emergency things like car repairs, medical bills and our next vacation. However, the credit union we chose has a limited number of branches, limited lobby hours, and very few ATMs — so we had limited access to our savings. We wanted to make it difficult, but not impossible, to get out money out. In fact, we didn’t even get a debit card when we opened the account, just an old-fashioned ATM card.

3. We set up an auto-transfer.

Once we’d sufficiently distanced ourselves from our savings, then we needed to fund those accounts. We set up recurring auto-transfers that happened on a set day each month.

Auto-transferring the deposits made a huge difference in our ability to actually save the money we intended.

Setting up recurring transfers was relatively easy. We could configure one of our accounts online. And we had to complete a form at our credit union. The transfers were unstoppable without going into a branch and signing a cancellation form.

I knew that if we didn’t have sufficient funds in the bank account then those auto-transfers would result in an overdraft charge. I didn’t want that, so I earmarked those designated amounts and made sure they were always available.

Doing these three things has enabled my family to save significantly more money, even on a limited budget!

What savings tricks have been effective for you?

Carrie Rocha blogs at Pocket Your Dollars. She’s also author of Pocket Your Dollars: 5 Attitude Changes That Will Help You Pay Down Debt, Avoid Financial Stress, and Keep More of What You Make (Bethany House), which helps readers make lasting financial change from the inside out. She lives in Minneapolis, MN.

Shared Mar 1, 2013 comment

Good Reads: Character Trails by Marilyn Boyer

Published: by Crystal Paine on March 1, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

If you’re a mom of young ones and you’ve been over to my house in the past few months, you’ve probably heard me talk about Marilyn Boyer’s Character books. I can’t help myself; I love them.

And it’s just not me who loves them. My children adore these books.

We read Crossroads of Character last year and Silas (only two and a half at the time) begged for me to keep reading another story and another story. I’ve never had the children all be so engaged in our morning devotional as they were with Crossroads of Character.

What they loved was that Crossroads of Character taught character lessons with stories and full color pictures. All of the children in the stories are Marilyn Boyer’s grandchildren. My children loved following along with the antics of each of the children in the book. Since there were children each of their ages, they especially got excited about the stories.

We were all so sad when we finished Crossroads of Character, so I was thrilled to discover that there was another book in the “series”. Character Trails is similar to Crossroads of Character, but it’s geared for a little bit older age level (I’d say 5-10 year olds).

There are 12 different character qualities covered. For each character quality, there is a Bible story, a story from history, and a story from Marilyn’s grandchildren that exemplifies that character quality.

Once again, my children were completely engaged. Some of the Bible stories and stories from history were ones they were very familiar with. But there were others that were new to them.

Character Trails provided a springboard for many great discussions. And, once again, we were sad when we were finished with the book. I think my children are very hopeful that Marilyn continues to release these books so that they can follow along as her grandchildren grow up!

If you’re looking for a quality book on character for younger children, I’d definitely recommend Crossroads of Character and Character Trails. We read one story every day at breakfast and it was the perfect length for the current ages of my children.

Shared Mar 1, 2013 comment

Spaghetti Pizza Recipe

Published: by Crystal Paine on March 1, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

This budget-friendly, freezable recipe is a favorite at our house! It’s a unique twist on pizza and spaghetti that’s simple to put together and can be made up ahead of time.

Guest post from Brigette Shevy.

Why we love Pepperoni Spaghetti

I often serve this when we invite families with small children over for dinner… it always goes over well!

When I got married, I was given a copy of the family cookbook from my husband’s family – with all kinds of relatives contributing their favorites. This is my version of a recipe I discovered in that collection.

It’s an easy recipe to be creative with. Try using different cheese combinations, switching out the spaghetti noodles for another kind of pasta, or adding your favorite pizza toppings in place of the pepperoni.

I’ve also made this with brown rice pasta to make it gluten-free. It just depends on what you like and what you have on hand.

Since I started having my children take turns planning and helping me make dinner on Friday evenings, Spaghizza shows up quite regularly at our dinner table on Friday nights.

If you’re looking for a new recipe that’s made from staple ingredients, is simple to make, and picky-eater-appealing… here you go!

Pizza Baked Spaghetti Ingredients

8 ounces spaghetti noodles
3 eggs
¼ cup milk
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 ½ cups spaghetti sauce (one 23.5-ounce jar)
8-12 ounces (2-3 cups) shredded cheese (all mozzarella, or a mixture of your favorite pizza-friendly cheeses)
3.5-ounce package of sliced pepperoni or any of your favorite pizza toppings

How to Make Pepperoni Spaghetti

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.

2. Generously grease a 9″ x 13″ pan and set aside.

3. In a large pot, bring water to a boil and cook the spaghetti noodles according to the package directions until al dente.

4. Immediately rinse cooked noodles in cold water until cool. Drain well.

5. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk eggs, milk, parmesan cheese, and seasonings.

6. Toss cooked noodles into the egg mixture and transfer to a greased 9×13 pan.

7. Pour the spaghetti sauce on top of the noodles.

8. Place half of the pepperoni on top of the sauce followed by the shredded cheese and then the remaining pepperoni.

9. Sprinkle with additional parmesan cheese if desired.

10. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.

11. Let stand for at least 5 minutes before cutting.

How to Serve this Spaghetti Pizza Recipe

As with all pasta dishes, it pairs well with garlic bread, salad, roasted vegetables, and fresh fruit. It also tastes fantastic as leftovers later in the week (although you may want to add a bit more sauce when reheating it).

How to store Pizza Baked Spaghetti

If you have leftovers, simply store them in a covered food storage container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

You can also free individual portions (with a little extra sauce) for quick lunches.

Pizza Spaghetti FAQs

Is spaghetti sauce and pizza sauce the same?

They are very similar and could easily be substituted for one another if you run stuck. However, pasta sauce is usually chunkier than pizza sauce, and can sometimes have additional ingredients like cheese, or more spices.

Can you overcook baked spaghetti?

Yes — you can burn the cheese and pepperonis if you bake it for too long. If you’re worried about this, simply cover the dish with aluminum foil to prevent the top from burning and the noodles from drying out.

Why is my baked spaghetti dry?

The most likely answer is you simply needed more sauce (maybe your noodles were undercooked so they soaked up too much sauce during the baking process). Feel free to add more sauce (even after you bake it) if the noodles seem dry.

Recipe

Baked Spaghetti with Pepperoni

Author Brigette

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

If you’re looking for a new recipe that’s made from staple ingredients, is simple to make, and picky-eater-appealing… here you go!

Ingredients

8 ounces spaghetti noodles or any other noodle
3 eggs
¼ cup milk
½ cup parmesean cheese
1 tsp Italian seasoning
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp pepper
2½ cups pasta sauce 23.5 ounce jar
3 cups shredded cheese mozzarella or any other favorite
3½ ounces sliced pepperoni

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375ºF.
Generously grease a 9″ x 13″ pan and set aside.
In a large pot, bring water to a boil and cook the spaghetti noodles according to the package directions until al dente.
Immediately rinse cooked noodles in cold water until cool. Drain well.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk eggs, milk, parmesan cheese, and seasonings.
Toss cooked noodles into the egg mixture and transfer to a greased 9×13 pan.
Pour the spaghetti sauce on top of the noodles.
Place half of the pepperoni on top of the sauce followed by the shredded cheese and then the remaining pepperoni.
Sprinkle with additional parmesan cheese if desired.
Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.
Let stand for at least 5 minutes before cutting.

Nutrition

Love this recipe?

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

Shared Mar 1, 2013 comment

Taking baby steps: I set a goal to save $10 this month with coupons

Published: by Crystal Paine on March 1, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Carla emailed in the following tip:

I am one of those people who cut out all kinds of coupons, only to let them expire and end up throwing them away. At other times, my piles of coupons look like clutter so I recycle them all. I just have never had the motivation to keep on top of my coupons, thus I have too often just given up my quest to save (at least with coupons) at the grocery store.

This morning I was thinking about the new month starting and of ways, once again, to try to cut my budget a little. My immediate thought was “no coupons” but I reconsidered. Now, my goal for the entire month is to save $10.00 on my groceries using coupons. I know that I could probably save more, but I think I will have better success with baby steps!

This will not include any discounts I get with my shoppers card, just coupons. It will also not include any money I may save using coupons at restaurants. I am hoping to see this work, and if so, next month I will try to up my amount of savings by using more coupons. For this next month, I will be keeping good track of my saving and will be thrilled to reach my goal of $10.00.

I thought I would share this idea with you all, in case you are a beginner at trying to save with coupons, or you are like me, discouraged due to my lack of having a previous method that worked. I think it will all come down to baby steps! -Carla

Note from Crystal: If you’re brand-new to using coupons, be sure to check out my 31 Days to a Better Grocery Budget series. Also, find your store deals listed in the Store Deals section of our site. And finally, don’t forget to use the Coupon Database to print coupons for items you’re already planning on buying.

photo source

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

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Shared Mar 1, 2013 comment

Early to Rise Challenge: Day 1 (Your Mindset Matters)

Published: by Crystal Paine on March 1, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Welcome to the Early to Rise Challenge! Throughout the month of March, I’m challenging myself and my readers to make the most of their mornings. So every week day morning at 9 a.m. EST, I’m posting a short Early to Rise post. I’ll share a few of my thoughts on the day’s passage from Early to Rise, tell you what time I got up that morning, and encourage you to leave a comment to tell us what time you got up and how you’re doing on the challenge.

Woohoo! It’s Day 1 of the Early to Rise Challenge and I am so stoked about how many of you are committed to participating in this challenge.

If you haven’t done so already, be sure to stop over here and leave a comment telling us what time you are committing to get up every week day morning in March. Please remember to be realistic. This is not a contest to see who can get up the earliest or who can survive on the least amount of sleep. On the contrary, this is about making the most of your mornings — whether you get up at 4 a.m. or 9 a.m.

Also, you’ll want to grab a copy of Early to Rise by Andy Traub if you haven’t already done so. He’s offering it at the discounted price of just $4.99 through the end of the day today (March 1, 2013). You can read my review of Early to Rise here.

Your Mindset Matters

I love how Andy begins his book with challenging us to stop thinking negative thoughts. That’s the best way to set yourself up for defeat.

If you read about this challenge and started shaking your head saying, “I can’t wake up early” you’ve already gotten yourself headed in the direction of failure. If however, you commit to a realistic time to get up and then you approach it with confidence and a can-do attitude, you’re much more likely to actually follow through.

You can do it, I know you can! So believe it and then follow through with it!