Have you blogged about a Handmade Christmas idea? Submit the link through this form here and we’ll consider sharing it as part of this series during the next 4 weeks!
Published: by Crystal Paine on | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
Welcome to December’s series on 31 Days of Giving on a Budget. In this series, I’ll be sharing inspiring stories from my readers and posts with practical ways to give — even on a limited income.
Last year, I shared with you how my daughter Kathrynne taught me about giving through her Operation Christmas Child Project. This fall, as we were considering what giving project we wanted to do as a family this Christmas, our daughters challenged us to think big.
Once again, we’re touched, blessed, and challenged by my children and their giving hearts. I think you will be, too. Head on over to Keeper of the Home to read about our family’s Christmas Giving Project this year.
Here’s a snippet from the post:
“…We’ve sought to model giving before our children, encouraging them from a young age to earn money so they can pay cash for things they want, as well as have money to give to our local church, to those in need, and to bless others with gifts.
We weren’t sure if all of our teaching was really sinking in until last year when we were blown away when our then six-year-old daughter said she wanted to invest all of her savings to put together 10 Operation Christmas Child boxes. It was such a joy to see her find so much fulfillment in giving her money away to bless others. And her selfless spirit challenged and convicted us!
This fall, as we were discussing the possibility of what giving project we wanted to do as a family, my daughters hatched a plan — all on their own — to fund a project through Samaritan’s Purse. They looked through the Samaritan’s Purse Gift Catalog and debated which of the giving opportunities would have the most lasting impact.
After some discussion and number-crunching, they came to us and presented their idea for our family to fund a…”
It was fun to make — and the end result is delicious. It’s sweeter than the other recipe and doesn’t have as much of the sweet and salty flavor thing going that I love in my other recipe, but this recipe is fantastic in its own right.
Best of all, this is a recipe that can be made ahead of time and frozen… provided you can keep yourself from eating all of it straight from the freezer. 🙂
Chocolate Peanut Butter Holiday Bark
One sleeve of Saltine crackers (you can use an off-brand)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
2 1/2 cups semi-sweet chips
1/3 cup peanut butter
Chopped M&M’s (or other candies or nuts)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper and lay crackers on the the pan (make sure the cookie sheet has sides, otherwise, you’ll end up with sticky burned goo all over your oven!). Leave a small amount of space between the crackers (see an example of how these should look here).
Bring sugar and butter to a boil in a saucepan on medium heat. Turn down to medium low heat and boil for 3 minutes, without stirring.
Pour boiling mixture over crackers on the cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes.
Spoon the peanut butter on top of the crackers and bake for another minute. Spread melted peanut butter over the crackers with spatula and sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. Return to the oven and bake for another minute.
Spread the now-melted chocolate chips evenly over the crackers with a spatula. Top with M&M pieces and freeze until hardened (this will take 1-2 hours).
Once these are hardened, remove break into pieces and store in a ziptop freezer bag in the freezer for up to four weeks.
Published: by Crystal Paine on | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
Welcome to December’s series on 31 Days of Giving on a Budget. In this series, I’ll be sharing inspiring stories from my readers and posts with practical ways to give — even on a limited income.
One of our biggest frugal pleasures is sharing our home and food with others. I can almost always whip up a neighborhood coffee or deliver a meal during hard times.
But how are you supposed to budget for hospitality? Will your own family end up eating rice and beans because you sent too many chicken casseroles elsewhere?
I struggled with this question until I created a hospitality envelope. Using our Dave Ramsey system for cash, hospitality gets its own category. Because I know I have money just for this, I’m no longer afraid to spend it.
When you don’t budget for hospitality, money might always be your excuse for not sharing with others.
How I divide the money varies month to month. $50 could stretch to cover one big party, five $10 meal deliveries, or ten $5 muffin baskets. What we don’t use one month rolls over to the next.
How much you earmark is up to you. What I can tell you is that when I spend in a way that honors our budget, God has a way of multiplying His provision.
One day I raced through the grocery store, putting together a delivery for a sick family. Deals jumped out at me left and right, from super-clearance gourmet soup to Buy One Get One Free crackers and perfectly ripe pears. I ended up with a beautiful basket worth well beyond its $10 price tag.
Here are some ideas for hospitality on any budget:
Meet a new mother at the park. Bring the quilt, a jar of cold lemonade, and a listening ear.
Open your home to a group meeting. You provide a clean, welcoming space, hot coffee, and muffins.
Take a basket of sandwiches to the funeral home to help a family keep up their strength.
Offer to watch your friend’s children during her next doctor visit, serving up encouragement, quick pizza bagels and fruit.
Develop a repertoire of tasty but inexpensive meals for others and stock up when those ingredients go on sale.
Hospitality can be rewarding, but never more so than when you practice it with purpose. Here’s to sharing our blessings with those around us!
Published: by Crystal Paine on | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
Welcome to December’s series on 31 Days of Giving on a Budget. In this series, I’ll be sharing inspiring stories from my readers and posts with practical ways to give — even on a limited income.
Last week, I was excited to get a great deal on an item we needed. After I bought it, God strongly prompted me to give the item to a friend who is going through a difficult financial situation.
I struggled to follow the prompting as I knew this was an item we needed and I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to find a good deal on it again for awhile. But I gave it to my friend, because I just knew in my heart that was what I was supposed to do.
There was so much joy in giving this item to my friend and I realized that I could always pay full-price if I had to because following what God called me to do was more important than saving money, anyway.
In the mean time, I knew we could live a little while without the item, so I figured I’d hold off as long as I could and see if another great deal came along.
Well, not two days later, someone emailed me out-of-the-blue and said they had a package they wanted to send to me and could I please email them my new address?
Can you guess what arrived in that package yesterday? The exact same item I’d given to my friend — only this was a bigger and better version.
10. Work on the rough drafts for chapters three and four of my next book.
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!
Dinner with extended family
Ham & Beans, World’s Best Honey Cornbread, carrot sticks, grapefruit
Beef and Potato Pockets, grapefruit, tossed salad
Chicken Noodle Soup, Biscuits, raw veggies
Steak, mashed potatoes, Homemade Breadsticks in the Bread Machine, fruit
Church Christmas Dinner
Dinner out
What’s on your menu this week? Share details and/or your link to your menu plan in the comments.
Published: by Crystal Paine on | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
Welcome to December’s series on 31 Days of Giving on a Budget. In this series, I’ll be sharing inspiring stories from my readers and posts with practical ways to give — even on a limited income.
Recently my husband and I had the grueling task of revamping our budget. We had to make cuts across the board, due to an increase in one of our bills. As we went through the budget line by line, we began asking ourselves, “Do we really need this?”
One of the categories in question was our Gift Budget, which was taking $120 per month. We decided to drastically decrease this amount and implement creative ways to reduce spending for occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, special holidays, and various events.
We came to the conclusion that anyone can run to the store and pick up a quick gift and card. We wanted to show our recipients that we put extra effort into creating something unique and personal, especially for them, saving us money along the way!
1. Find your inner Betty Crocker!
Most people really enjoy receiving homemade treats. Get creative and bake up a small sample platter showcasing your favorite desserts, a simple batch of cookies, or homemade cake pops.
Baked goods make great gifts, especially when you have to give several gifts at one time. Give it that extra touch by purchasing an decorative platter or container at your local Dollar Store.
2. Recycle cards.
As you receive cards for all occasions throughout the year, place them aside. When a need arises, cut the fronts off with decorative scissors, leaving the back blank for a special note or make into a gift tag.
If you’re really creative, use sections of the cards to create a whole new card, using scrap-booking supplies you already have on hand. Plus, don’t forget to utilize the free card promo codes, often offered on online card sites!
3. Substitute gift wrappings.
Forget about buying wrapping paper and gift bags, I love to use my Sunday Comics as wrapping paper. Not only is it fun, it is free!
Forgo expensive gift bags and consider packaging your item in a basket, crate, mason jar, or bin, that you already have laying around the house. Also, save the ribbons and special embellishments from gifts you receive, and reuse them to decorate your gift.
4. Re-gift.
Okay, so I know this may be tacky to some, but don’t let a gift you received (and won’t use) go to waste. Place it aside for a future gift-giving occasion. Just make sure you remember who originally gave it to you!
A rule of thumb is not to re-gift anything that was especially handmade for you.
5. Give recycled gifts.
Your home is full of gift ideas, so before you throw items out, think of your possibilities! Turn an empty wine bottle into a elegant Tiki Torch, an old window shutter into a photo frame, or a small wooden crate into a beautiful planter.
6. Use those freebies.
Opportunities to receive free items are readily available these days — store promotions, giveaways and contests, requested samples, etc. When you get such items, set them aside. Use them later to create themed gift baskets for unexpected events such as baby showers, house warming, or get-well.
What are your favorite ways to give on a budget?
Jennifer Van Dahm is a stay-at-home mom, who knew there was more to life than laundry and dishes! Her motto, “Taking the ordinary out, of everyday living”, is shown throughout her website, When Pigs Fly. There, she highlights her passion for cooking and providing a healthy life style for her family, while saving money in the process. Her goal is to refresh families and help them get out of their rut– physically, mentally, and spiritually!
Published: by Crystal Paine on | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
It’s almost the end of 2012. How are you doing on your goals for this year? Here’s my update on what I’ve done so far this year… I’ll post a final 2012 update at the end of December. And then it will be time to start with a fresh, clean slate for 2013!
Personal
Read through the Bible in a year. {I’ve been keeping up with this faithfully.}
Read through the 24 books on my 2012 booklist. {Almost finished through December. I have also read quite a few other books!}
Listen to 12 audiobooks. {I’ve gotten a little behind here, but I’m plugging away at it!} Run in at least one 5K race. {You can see a picture and read more about my experience here.}
Complete the Couch to 10K program. {Started this in October.}
Tackle 12 Do-It-Yourself Projects. {So, I’ve been doing some DIY projects, but not the ones on my list — bad me.}
Focus on one habit per month. {Totally bombed this one this month.}
Learn to use my new DSLR camera (huge surprise Christmas present from Jesse!!) & improve my photography skills. {I’m excited to be seeing some improvement and progress with this! And I’m also excited that I’m beginning to feel more and more comfortable using my camera!}
Take at least one photo a day and put together a page every week for my Project Life album. {Made some progress on this one in November.}
Memorize Colossians using the plan and free download here. {I didn’t do very well on this one this past month; must make this more of a priority!}
Marriage Go on the Love Like You Mean It Cruise. {Done–read my recap here.} Go on two Marriage Retreats.{Went to Cincinnati together in April & Pennsylvania in October.}
Have monthly date nights. {We had one date in November.}
Read four books together. {We’ve done two books so far this year and we’re working on a third.} Read at least 3 books on marriage.
Children/Homeschooling
Continue regular dates/outings with each of the children individually. {Done for November.}
Continue Grace and Truth memory book. {The children memorized a few verses and worked on a hymn in November.} Ice-skating lessons for all three children. Swimming lessons for all three children. Finish second grade, begin third grade with Kathrynne. Finish kindergarten, begin first grade with Kaitlynn. Start preschool with Silas.
Go on at least one field trip every month. {We went on one field trip in November.} Go on at least one family vacation. Finish at least 15 read-aloud books. {We’ve finished 27 read-alouds so far this year!}
Ministry/Friendships/Extended Family
Write at least two handwritten notes every month to encourage someone. {I wrote two handwritten notes in November.}
Continue being involved in our local church, homeschool group, young couple’s group, and blogging accountability group. {Ongoing}
Continue with weekly get-togethers with both sides of our extended family. {Ongoing}
Business/Blogging
Continue to take Sundays off from blogging/business work. {Ongoing}
Continue keeping strict Office Hours for the business/blogging time each day. {Still plugging away on this!}
Switch to a paperless planning system. {This is the one goal I think I’ve officially decided to drop this year as it just wasn’t working for me. Back to the paper.}
Follow my weekly blogging plan. {I mostly stuck with my blogging plan in November!}
Plan blog posts out at least a month in advance. {I’ve been doing much better about this — yay!}
Write and schedule blog posts at least a week in advance. {I’m doing somewhat better on this.}
Financial
Continue to tithe 10% of our income. {Ongoing} Give generously to needs in our community and around the world, as God prompts us. {Ongoing} Pay cash for a new-to-us vehicle to replace our family’s van. {We bought a new-to-us vehicle in July — yay!} Finish saving for and purchase a rental property with cash. {We signed a contract on a rental house and are set to close in a few weeks!}
How Are You Doing on Your Goals for 2012?
If you’ve posted goals for 2012, I’d love for you to post an update on how things are going and share your link in the comments. If you don’t have a blog, feel free to just leave your update as a comment. Let’s encourage one another to live lives of intention and purpose!
Published: by Crystal Paine on | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
Tosh at Super Coupon Lady makes it Easy for you to Save lots of money! She is a full-time blogging mom of two adorable kiddos. You will love all the deals, freebies and giveaways she spoils her readers with daily. In celebration of the upcoming holiday season you will want to be a part of the 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway!
Kristie from Saving Dollars and Sense has been passionate about sharing the tips and tricks she has learned along the way on her journey to live a fuller more abundant life on less. She shares everything from the practical How to Create a 30 Meal Plan Rotation to her more personal Story of Grace posts where she bears her heart. You’ll also love the freebies, deals, and giveaways that she offers to her readers daily.
Great Homeschool Conventions is hosting two huge homeschooling events in 2013! March 14–16, 2013 will be the SouthEast Homeschool Convention in Greenville, SC, at the TD Convention Center and April 4–6, 2013 will be the MidWest Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati, OH, at the Duke Energy Center There will be lineup of incredible speakers (including Crystal Paine from MoneySavingMom.com!), hundreds of workshops, and a wealth of exhibitors!
Published: by Crystal Paine on | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
Guest post from Brigette Shevy
To be perfectly honest, I’ve never been a fan of sugar cookies. However, these sugar cookies are an exception!
Soft and buttery, these melt-in-your-mouth goodies are the perfect accompaniment to a steamy mug of cocoa, or a good book by the fireplace. They also make an attractive (frugal!) addition to a plate of Christmas treats.
They will keep for weeks in the freezer (probably longer than that, but I haven’t tried), and you can freeze them before or after baking.
This recipe is one my husband grew up on, and one of those I had to get from his mom when we got married. I’m pretty sure it’s one my children will want to take with them as well someday.
My husband says they are in a category of their own – somewhere between a sugar cookie and snickerdoodle. I don’t try to categorize them; I just know they are good!
If you’re looking for a classic all-around holiday cookie that uses basic ingredients, here it is!
Angel Face Cookies
Makes 5 dozen cookies.
1 cup softened butter
1 cup shortening
1 2/3 cups sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, beat together shortening, butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla with an electric mixer.
In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Stir into wet ingredients and mix well. Shape into balls.
Moisten the tops of the balls slightly with water, and dip them into sugar. Place sugar-side-up on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.
Brigette is a full-time wife and mother who is blessed with three amazing bundles of energy (ages 5, 3, and 1). She enjoys music, experimenting in the kitchen, homeschooling her children, finding great deals, long-distance running, and anything chocolate.
Have you blogged about a Handmade Christmas idea? Submit the link through this form here and we’ll consider sharing it as part of this series during the next 4 weeks!
Published: by Crystal Paine on | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
Guest post from Carrie
As the holiday season approaches and you think of giving charitable gifts and donations, please don’t forget single mothers.
Many of us single moms have a job outside the home. While we get a paycheck, it is often used up with the necessities of the day… food, mortgage, car, child care, etc. And if we are fortunate enough to get child support, it usually ends up going for expenses.
For all the other single moms out here, here are some of the ways I’ve been able to stretch our Christmas budget:
Start early by shopping clearance racks, dollar stores, and garage sales. You should start shopping for the next year’s Christmas right after the current Christmas ends. A gift storage area in the house, hidden from little ones, can be a huge help to prepare for the holidays.
Start a small savings account and have money taken out each pay, or sell items to add to the account.
Keep a list of people you need to buy for, what you’ve bought, and how much you’ve spent.
If people offer to help, take them up on it. You don’t have to be supermom.
Start with simple Christmases right from the beginning. It is hard for children to not be disappointed when you’ve gone all out for the holidays and then scale back to very little.
Mass produce inexpensive gifts for friends and family. There are hundreds of websites with ideas for inexpensive Christmas gifts. Many people appreciate family pictures, homemade candies and cookies, and craft items more than the store bought items.
Scale down on your holiday expectation. A perfectly decorated house with an abundance of presents and homemade feasts may not be attainable. Good enough is good enough.
For those of you that would like to help single moms, here are a few ideas:
Offer to babysit so we can go shopping. Not all single moms have an ex-husband that is willing to take the children, and she may not have family to help either.
Gift certificates are a wonderful gift. I really appreciate the fast food gift certificates for those nights after work when I am exhausted. A movie ticket, a movie rental, or a day at the YMCA is also a special treat.
Offer to help with the holiday decorations, setting up lights, and bringing items out of storage.
Give a monetary gift. This will help with expenses, special food items, or last minute gifts for the children.
Include the single parent and children in holiday events. If you are going to the movies or out sled-riding, ask them to go along.
Invite the single mom and children to your church service and offer to help them at church with the children.
Share your baked goodies or extra food. You never know how many times that may be just what the mother needs to stretch out her food budget.
These are just a few of my ideas, feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments!
Carrie is a single working mom with five handsome and energetic boys who lives in Pennsylvania.
Have you blogged about a Handmade Christmas idea? Submit the link through this form here and we’ll consider sharing it as part of this series during the next 4 weeks!
Published: by Crystal Paine on | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
Today’s question is from Amy:
We have some friends that live across the country from us and every year, they send us Christmas gifts — and always include gifts for each person (my husband, our daughter and myself).
We also send them a gift, but the past few years we have sent “family gifts”, like a movie and popcorn night (Christmas movies, candy, popcorn, etc.). We can’t afford to send them a gift for every member of their family because they have 4 kids (ranging from 6-13), plus mom and dad, which is why we try to stick to family gifts.
However, I’m running out of ideas. Do you have any frugal gift ideas for a family this large (keeping in mind that the items will have to be shipped as well)?
Do you have a question you’d like to ask Money Saving Mom® readers? Read the submission guidelines and submit it here.
Homemade Breadsticks in the Bread Machine
Today’s question is from Amy: