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Shared Oct 8, 2012 comment

The Frugal Benefits of a Smile

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 8, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post from Heather of Creative Family Moments

We rarely go out for dinners or paid attractions, but when we do it’s because we have a coupon, deal, or special event. And when we do, I smile.

Not only at friends and people I know, though. I smile at everyone. Not like a “creeper” as my teenage daughter would say. Just a simple genuine smile that says, “Thanks for helping me.”

If we’ve never been to the particular venue (which is often the case when using coupons/deals), I always let the waitress or owner know that it’s our first time, cite the deal, and ask for their opinion on the best way to experience the place. In rare instances, I get a shrug. Most often, I get to hear what makes their place unique and find out their specialty. To me, this is part of the fun of going out.

I never really analyzed my behavior, until we celebrated the first day of school. I had a coupon for one large pizza at a location within biking distance. For a family of five, this isn’t much food but I promised the family we could eat more once we got home. It was a special treat, after all.

However, when the pizza was served to us, my husband pointed out that they gave us a much bigger pizza than a large. “It’s your first time!” the waiter explained with a smile.

Hubby sat deep in thought while the kids enjoyed their slices. “Do you realize that this always happens to you?” he asked. I turned to him. “What do you mean?”

He started citing instance after instance. Free appetizers, free desserts, free tours, free rides, amazingly attentive service, etc. “Businesses seem to go out of their way to make sure you get to experience the best of what they have to offer,” he concluded.

Thinking about it, I realized he was right! When I let businesses know how genuinely excited I am to experience their venue, most of the time (not all) I’m rewarded with a better experience than I initially imagined.

I didn’t realize the kids were listening until a few weeks later. We took the family out to a local burger joint after church (with coupons). My eldest daughter came to the table holding a giant basket of fries, much larger than the few fries each the rest of us had on our plates. She grinned. “I told the lady up front that you guys had been here before but that this was my first time.”

It was true. And they just made sure my soon-to-drive daughter will be a loyal customer for years to come. So remember to smile!

Heather blogs at Creative Family Moments. With plenty of embarrassing moments and funny kid quotes along the way, she hopes to inspire others to live a life of celebration as well!

photo source

Shared Oct 6, 2012 comment

Turning Scraps Into Cash

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 6, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post from Jan of The Nerdy Farm Wife.

A few months ago, my husband lost his job… a mere two days after I was laid off from my place of part-time employment. These two unfortunate events happened shortly after an eleven day power outage played havoc on our normal routine and budget, and wiped out our large supply of mostly home-raised foods stored in our chest freezer.

Talk about a scary time!

Being a man of action and not one to sit around and bemoan our losses, my husband immediately started the process of starting up his own masonry company and began securing small jobs that would payout within a few weeks. In the meantime though, we needed a source of quick cash in order to put enough food on the table to make it until income started trickling in again.

Fortunately, my brother just happened to be making his yearly run to the local scrap metal recycle center and dropped by to see if my husband wanted to ride along. We had vaguely paid attention to the fact that my brother collected soft drink cans every time there was a family function and had even laughed about the fact that he would rummage through the trash for them and how excited his four little girls would get when it was time for “beer can hunting walks with Daddy.”

Laughter quickly turned to admiration, however, once his 135 pounds of collected cans, combined with some ancient copper pipes, a few old radiators and an assorted pile of what could only be described as “junk”, ended up netting him almost $800.00, every bit of it paid out in cold, hard cash.

Inspired, we started scouring the house for items that we could take to the scrap yard, too! Our old stove had been sitting beside our shed, awaiting a trip to the landfill, which is where we normally took appliances once they were beyond repair. Into the truck it went along with our recently broken hot water heater, a badly bent aluminum badminton net frame, unusable scaffolding from my husband’s first home building business, a busted step-ladder, the frames from some ripped window screens and quite a few other odds and ends.

Our load, which was smaller and far less planned out than my brother’s, netted us $185.00. Not a bad pay rate for about five hours spent scouring the house and shed, loading the truck, driving to the scrap dealer, having everything inspected and weighed, getting paid and then driving back home with grocery money in hand!

To find a scrap metal dealer near you, try checking your phone book under “Scrap Metal Dealers.” What they accept will vary, but ours will take items such as: cast iron, motor blocks, air conditioner window units, radiators, broken appliances, copper pipes and wire, transmissions, anything aluminum, and car batteries.

So, check around your house for metal items that you no longer use. You just might find you’ve been sitting on an almost instant cash source!

Jan lives on a seven-acre hobby farm with her family and spends her days chasing chickens, homeschooling the kids, and experimenting with herbs & local plants to make jams, soaps and home remedies. She blogs about these things and more at The Nerdy Farm Wife.

Shared Oct 5, 2012 comment

31 Ways to Earn Extra Cash Before Christmas: Become a Virtual Call Center Agent (Day 5)

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 5, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Welcome to October’s series on 31 Ways to Earn Extra Cash Before Christmas. In this series, I’m highlighting simple and legitimate ways you can earn extra cash in the next three months for those of you who could use a little extra cash to help you pay for Christmas — or just for your living expenses if you’re in a tight spot right now.

If you’ve found a great way to make extra cash before Christmas that doesn’t require an outlay of cash upfront, please email me your tip. I’d love to hear it and possibly share it during this series!

The following is a guest post by Alaina Forbes from Telecommuting Mommies:

The holidays are a great time to get hired as a seasonal worker working as a virtual call center agent. Often times, there can be an opportunity to stay on with these companies after the holiday season, or at least return the following holiday season.

What Is a Virtual Call Center Agent?

Working as a virtual call center agent requires answering incoming phone calls that are routed to your home phone. Many of the virtual call center companies assign you to one specific client in order for you to become comfortable with that specific script and product.

Calls are mostly customer service based calls and may include helping people with their accounts or orders. Clients range from pizza delivery stores to credit card companies.

Some clients are more sales focused, and a few virtual call center companies also conduct outgoing calls. Read as much as possible about the company and the job description before applying and then choose one that you know you will feel comfortable doing.

What Equipment is Required to Be a Virtual Call Center Agent?

To get a job as a virtual call center agent, you must own your own computer and each company has specific technical requirements that your computer must meet. In most cases, as long as your computer is not ancient and you have a decent amount of memory, you won’t have too much of a problem meeting these requirements.

Almost all companies also require that you have high speed internet and a land line phone. Cell phones are not usually acceptable, and a headset is usually required in order to type and talk at the same time. You’ll want to check out the individual requirements on each company’s website before applying to be sure that you can meet them.

Are You An Employee or an Independent Contractor?

A handful of companies, including Teletech and Alpine Access, will hire you as an employee, but many take you on as an independent contractor. These two options lead to a lot of variables between companies.

How Many Hours a Week Do You Have to Work?

Being an independent contractor typically means less commitment as far as how much you are expected to work. Most allow you to log on and schedule yourself for shifts with only a very minimum number of hours required to stay on – sometimes as little as a shift a month.

Because of this, they usually have a lot of contractors employed in order to ensure they are always staffed, and this can make getting enough shifts more difficult depending on how much you want to work. Independent contractors are usually allowed to work for more than one virtual call center, so you may need to sign up for multiple companies in order to get steady work.

Conversely, companies that hire you as an employee will usually have a non-compete agreement and will not allow you to work with another virtual call center while employed with them. They may require you to commit to certain shifts each day of the week and work a minimum number of hours depending on if you are part-time or full-time.

This guarantees you plenty of work but may not have the flexibility some people — moms especially — may need. Evaluate what you really want out of this before applying. Can you commit to working full-time? Or do you just want some extra pocket money?

How Much Will You Get Paid Per Hour?

Another variable between companies is how the pay is calculated. Some call centers pay by the hour. These are usually the ones that hire you as an employee.

It is not uncommon, however, for some to pay by the minute of talk time – so if you happen to get a slow shift you may not make as much money as you were hoping. During the holidays this is usually not a problem, and most companies that pay by the minute make an attempt to not overschedule in order to keep everyone busy. You just want to be fully aware of all of these variables before you accept a position.

What Companies Are Hiring Virtual Call Center Agents Right Now?

VIP Desk is currently hiring for a number of positions with November training classes. They are filling both part-time and full-time home-based concierge positions, as well as what they call “brand ambassador” seasonal positions.

Convergys is filling multiple positions for both full-time and part-time customer service agents for multiple clients.

Teletech is hiring for their part time customer service and season customer service positions.

LiveOps is hiring for their emergency roadside assistance call center team.

Transcom, West, Alpine Access and Working Solutions are all currently accepting applications.

Another option is applying directly with some of the companies who are now hiring their own virtual call center agents including 1-800-Flowers and U-Haul.

Have you worked as a virtual call center agent before? If so, tell us about your experiences!

Alaina shares her twelve years of work from home experience at her blog Telecommuting Mommies. She also opens up her personal life as a homeschooling, blogging, work at home Mom of four at The Maestro Mom. Follow her on Twitter at TelecommuterMom.

Shared Oct 5, 2012 comment

Frugal Photo Friday: Kids and Bath & Beauty

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 5, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Welcome to Frugal Photo Friday! This month, I am partnering with Rebekah from SimplyRebekah.com. Each Friday we are sharing pictures of simple ways that we save money. This week’s themes are kids and bath & beauty.

We love the library! In fact, my kids would go there every day if we could!

We invest $25 per year to get the Gold Card to our local library so that we can have unlimited holds (they usually cost $0.25 per hold) and this is probably one of the best $25 we spend all year. Thanks to our local library, we have all sorts of adventures through books, make precious memories while cuddled up sharing a book together, and learn many new things each week — all for practically free!

{You can see the chapter books we’ve read aloud this year so far here. We also go through dozens of picture books each month, plus the girls and I check out lots of books to read independently.}

Cooking together is a such a fun way to get things done, while enjoying being together at the same time. Plus, I’ve found that it can double as math practice for youngsters: we count the cups and teaspoons of ingredients as we put them in and talk about simple addition and subtraction.

{Pictured: Making Homemade Pumpkin Spice Lattes with Silas.}

Who says you have to buy expensive toys to have fun? Our kids love playing with boxes, creating with paper, and pretending their playset in the backyard is their spy team headquarters. A little imagination and creativity can provide hours of free fun!

{Pictured: The Paper Doll Chains we made for our Early American History study recently.}

Kaitlynn made a picnic for us to enjoy outside on the deck while we worked on our homeschool lessons one day this week (she even put a fresh flower she’d picked on each of our trays!). Free Vitamin D, fresh air, and memories all while getting lunch and lessons in = score! 🙂

Um, I’ve got pretty much nothing on the bath & beauty part as that’s not really my cup ‘o tea. Unless you count the fact that I don’t use shaving cream or that I only have six mix and match outfits. 🙂

Head over to SimplyRebekah to see the savings that Rebekah is sharing today.

Now it is your turn to share the simple ways that you save. Share your link below or on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #FrugalPhotoFriday. All of the link-up details and themes for each week can be found here.

Shared Oct 5, 2012 comment

Reader Tip: Earn gift cards by clicking on emails!

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 5, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

While you might not be able to earn a gift card in time for Christmas, Katherine emailed in this simple way you can earn a few gift cards every year:

I use My Points to earn points towards gift cards by clicking on emails. My Points sends a few emails each day, which each get you 5 points for clicking through.

I have mine auto-directed into folders in my email and take about 5 minutes to click through them once a week or so. I have been a member of My Points for 6 years and I have earned several $10-$25 gift cards each year. Definitely worth the time investment for me! -Katherine

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

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

Click here to sign up!

Shared Oct 4, 2012 comment

31 Ways to Earn Extra Cash Before Christmas: Amazon’s Trade-In Program (Day 4)

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 4, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Welcome to October’s series on 31 Ways to Earn Extra Cash Before Christmas. In this series, I’m highlighting simple and legitimate ways you can earn extra cash in the next three months for those of you who could use a little extra cash to help you pay for Christmas — or just for your living expenses if you’re in a tight spot right now.

Want to earn some Amazon gift cards to help pay for Christmas gifts? You definitely must check out Amazon’s Trade-In Program. Here’s what reader Chelsea said:

Last week, I discovered Amazon’s trade-in store, and ended up having almost $400 worth of credit between six textbooks! After researching what the books were worth, I found that Amazon was offering me a very fair price. I was able to ship the books for free and quickly received the credit in my account.

Besides textbooks, Amazon also accepts electronics, movies and television series, video games, consoles, and accessories for trade. I would highly encourage MoneySavingMom® readers to check out this program. Paired with free shipping and price matching, the store credit could really come in handy. -Chelsea

Here’s how Amazon’s Trade-In Program works:

1. Gather Up Extra DVDs, Books, Video Games, and/or Electronics

Go through your home and find any DVDs, Books, Video Games, or electronics you no longer need or use.

2. Search For the Product on the Amazon Trade-In Store

Do a search on the Amazon Trade-In Store to see how much Amazon will pay you for a Trade In. If the price seems fair, click through to verify the condition, title, and price.

3. Print Your Shipping Label

Follow the steps to print the postage-paid shipping label. You can choose to go with free UPS shipping (you’ll need to drop your package off at the nearest UPS location) or shipping via the U.S. Postal Service (you can give your package to your mail carrier or drop it off at the nearest post office).

4. Ship Your Item

Ship out the item in a timely manner. Once it has been received by Amazon, they will check it to verify that it is eligible and in the condition you promised. Items considered to be not acceptable will be returned. Return shipping is free, but you will not receive any Amazon.com Gift Card amount for the returned items.

5. Once Your Item is Approved, Get Your Amazon Credit!

After your item has been received and approved by Amazon.com, they will issue your Amazon credit. You can use this credit to purchase anything on Amazon.com. I’d suggest hanging onto it and letting your credit build until you are ready to spend it on Christmas gifts!

It’s that simple! Here’s what Lydia from Five 4 Five Meals emailed into me:

Earlier this year I cleaned out our entire DVD collection by “selling” them to Amazon. In exchange for your DVDs they give you a gift card based on their resale value.

I made around $100 and decluttered our house. The bonus is you don’t pay shipping, Amazon does. -Lydia

Have you used Amazon’s Trade-In Program before? If so, I’d love to hear what your experiences — good or bad — have been with it.

Shared Oct 4, 2012 comment

4 Pumpkin Recipes You Should Try

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 4, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

We had our one-day, four-family garage sale today. And while everyone pitched in and helped a lot, I’m still wiped out tonight… so I’m skipping baking something with pumpkin and am instead going to share four pumpkin recipes I’ve posted here before. Enjoy!

These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins are a family favorite and one of the most popular recipes I’ve ever posted. If you’ve not tried them before, you really shouldn’t wait another day to whip this recipe up.

Switch out the sweet potatoes in this smoothie for pumpkins and you have a delicious Pumpkin Smoothie — perfect for fall!

Looking for an amazing scone recipe? Go make a batch of Pumpkin Scones. These are hands down the best scones on the planet, in my opinion. SO good!

These Pumpkin Carrot Cake Muffins freeze well and make for a nutritious and yummy breakfast or snack.

Have you made anything with pumpkin this week? If so, tell us about it — and share the link to the recipe, if you have one.

Shared Oct 4, 2012 comment

Ask the Readers: Is it worth it to be in a direct sales business?

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 4, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Today’s question is from Rachel:

I am thinking about becoming a rep for Thirty One products in order to make a little extra money. However, when I contacted some of my friends about whether they would host a party, many declined. Has anyone been successful in one of these direct sales lines? How do I go about lining up people for parties? Or should I just forget it and do something else? -Rachel

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

Shared Oct 4, 2012 comment

Reader Tip: Make money with Teachers Pay Teachers

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 4, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Natalie emailed in the following tip:

I know many of you have some experience with education — either a degree in education, a job in the education field, or homeschooling your own children. If this sounds like you, then I’m excited to tell you about a great way to make a little extra money on the side: the growing teacher-created materials websites, Teachers Pay Teachers.

This website allows teachers/educators to post lesson plans, tests, worksheets, activities, clip art, room decorations, etc. for other educators to use (either for free or for profit). You must post at least one free sample item, and then after that, you may post additional items for a fee.

For example, if you have lessons that have worked very well in your classroom, a homeschooling lesson that was a hit, or you just really enjoy making clip art, you can simply upload a computer file (Word document or PDF) to your Teachers Pay Teachers account, or you can choose to list physical goods to ship out to buyers.

You may start with a basic free sellers account, which allows you to keep 60% of your earnings, minus a transaction fee. Or there’s a paid account option, where you pay a set fee for the year, but keep a larger percentage of your sales. There is also a section where people post requests for items and what they are willing to pay.

I am a school speech-language pathologist, and have been posting some of the items I created to use with my students. I’ve had my Teachers Pay Teachers account since August and even with my basic seller account, I will receive a check at the end of September for a little over $100! -Natalie

Shared Oct 4, 2012 comment

Do It Yourself: Homemade Nursing Balms

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 4, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

TheNerdyFarmWife.com shows you how to make three different homemade nursing balms.

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.

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

Click here to download!

Shared Oct 3, 2012 comment

31 Ways to Earn Extra Cash Before Christmas: SuperPoints (Day 3)

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 3, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Welcome to October’s series on 31 Ways to Earn Extra Cash Before Christmas. In this series, I’m highlighting simple and legitimate ways you can earn extra cash in the next three months for those of you who could use a little extra cash to help you pay for Christmas — or just for your living expenses if you’re in a tight spot right now.

If you’ve found a great way to make extra cash before Christmas that doesn’t require an outlay of cash upfront, please email me your tip. I’d love to hear it and possibly share it during this series!

Update on November 8, 2012: Unfortunately, it looks like Superpoints is no longer in operation, per a notice posted on their site.

I’ve been hearing a lot about SuperPoints recently and I finally jumped on board with them after getting an email from Carrie who blogs at Recipe For Life who said she’d earned $100 from it in the last year, mostly just by logging in and spinning the SuperPoints button every day.

I signed up and discovered that it’s similar to Swagbucks, except instead of earning Swagbucks by online searching, you earn points with SuperPoints by spinning the SuperPoints button. You’ll randomly be awarded points when you spin. I’ve been awarded an average of two points each day by spinning.

In addition, there are many other ways to earn — from clicking on links that they email you, taking surveys, watching videos, printing coupons, completing offers, or referring friends. You can cash in your points for Amazon gift cards, Paypal money, and many other rewards.

How Do You Sign Up for SuperPoints?

Just click here to sign up for SuperPoints. Once you sign up, just click on the link in your email to validate your account, and you can start earning points.

How Do You Earn Points?

The easiest way to earn points is by clicking on the SuperLucky button. When you first sign up, you’ll automatically get five clicks per day. However, if you take a minute to update your profile with your name, email address, and some other basic information, you’ll up your daily SuperLucky click limit to 25.

I earned 12 points just by doing this while we were watching the debate tonight. This might be something fun to have your kids do every day!

You can also earn points by clicking on the daily email that they send you. The daily email will typically award you between 2 and 25 points.

Plus, just like Swagbucks, you can also earn points by completing offers, watching videos, or referring friends. You’ll also have an option to unlock more earning opportunities when you refer more friends.

How Much Can You Earn?

By just clicking on the SuperLucky button and clicking on the daily email each day, I think you should come fairly close to earning a $5 Amazon gift card every other month, with the potential to earn more like $10 to $20 per month in Amazon gift cards if you refer a few friends who are active with SuperPoints (you’ll earn 25 points for every friend who signs up through your link and then matching points up to their first 1000 points earned).

What Can You Cash In Your Points For?

You can cash in your SuperPoints for Amazon gift cards, Paypal payments, restaurant gift cards, or even electronics. 600 points will earn you a $5 Amazon gift card. 689 points will earn you a $5 Paypal payment. However, please note that if you do not have any active referrals, you won’t be able to cash until for gift cards until you have a higher number of points.

Do You Need To Have Referrals To Really Earn Anything?

If you have a few referrals, it will help you unlock some additional earning opportunities and make it easier (and quicker) to cash in for gift cards. So I’d encourage you to invite your friends or post about it on your blog or social media outlets. If you have a few dozen active referrals, you can likely earn significantly more.

Have you tried SuperPoints before? I’d love to hear about your experiences with it and any inside tricks or tips you have.

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

Shared Oct 3, 2012 comment

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 3, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I’ve tried a few recipes for Pumpkin Spice Latte in the past, but I’ve never been too thrilled with the outcome. All the recipes I’ve tried were time-consuming, tedious, and not very tasty.

But that all changed when I made A Farmgirl’s Dabbles recipe for making a Week’s Worth of Pumpkin Spice Latte base. It’s so easy to make a batch — and then even easier to make a single cup.

But it’s not only easy, it’s delicious. In fact, this is the first recipe I’ve found that actually seems to pretty closely mirror Starbucks.

And I’m guessing it’s quite a bit healthier for you than Starbucks, too! I think the Starbucks version might be a tad sweeter, but you could always add more sweetened condensed milk or sugar to the base batch or stir in some extra sweetener or coffee syrup to your cup when you make it.

By the way, when I told my husband that I was making this yesterday, he asked me all on his own if he could stop after work and get some dark chocolate for chocolate shavings on top. I kid you not. I love that man!

I followed the recipe exactly as written on A Farmgirl’s Dabbles. (Can you believe that? I actually followed a recipe. I need to print and frame the recipe and hang it on my wall or something as it just might be the first time ever!).

What are you waiting for? Head on over to her blog to check it out. It’s a winner!

Want something a little healthier, try this Real Food version of Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Shared Oct 3, 2012 comment

2012 Goals: September Update

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 3, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

How are you doing on your goals for 2012? September was a hard month for us on a lot of fronts, so I didn’t make as much progress on my goals I would have liked to, but at least there was some progress. I’m trying to remind myself that progress in the right direction is always a good thing — even if I’m going at it a lot slower than I’d hoped!

Here’s my update for the progress I’ve made so far this year on my 2012 goals:

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. {Finished through September. I have also read quite a few other books!}
Listen to 12 audiobooks. {I’m still finishing up listening to August’s audiobook — hoping to finish that this week & start on the next audiobook.}
Run in at least one 5K race. {This goal has really been hanging over my head the past few months & I’m really, really hopeful to have it crossed off the list this month!}
Complete the Couch to 10K program.
Tackle 12 Do-It-Yourself Projects. {Still behind on this one, but I did make some progress in September!}
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. {I’m behind on this one, too. But maybe I’ll catch up this month, maybe?}
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 & we’re headed to Pennsylvania in a few weeks!}.
Have monthly date nights. {We had one date in September.}
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. {I didn’t do so well with this in September, but that was mostly due to the fact that my usual babysitters were out of town & Jesse had to work long hours.}
Continue Grace and Truth memory book. {The children memorized a few verses in September.}
~~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. {Jesse took the kids to the fair while I was out of town one weekend.}
~~Go on at least one family vacation.~~
~~Finish at least 15 read-aloud books~~. {We’ve finished 23 read-alouds so far this year!}

Ministry/Friendships/Extended Family
Write at least two handwritten notes every month to encourage someone. {I wrote & mailed six handwritten notes this month.}
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 September!}
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 not getting the posts fully written, but I’ve been at least briefly outlining things a good week in advance.}

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 looked at rentals this past month and have one picked at that we’re planning to put an offer on this week, provided the inspection goes well. We’re doing an inspection before the offer since you have to buy the house as is. I’ll keep you posted!}

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!

Shared Oct 3, 2012 comment

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chip Muffins

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 3, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

These pumpkin pecan chocolate chip muffins are absolutely delicious — and perfect for anyone you know with a gluten or dairy allergy!

Guest post from Michelle.

There is very little introduction that I need to do for today’s pumpkin recipe, except one. “Oh my!”

Cooking gluten-free, particularly if you have to substitute other allergens, can be a lot of trial and error. But once you have some base recipes that work time and time again, you have a good hold on gluten-free baking.

I have finally reached that point and you can too!

These Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chip Muffins are winners!

We were so delighted at how these turned out and how similarly they taste to regular pumpkin muffins.

This recipe will be my go-to pumpkin muffin recipe from now on!

Ingredients for Pumpkin Pecan Muffins

Wet Ingredients

1 cup pumpkin puree
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup milk (cow, almond, rice)
3 eggs or EnerG egg replacer (4 ½ tsp powder + 6 Tbsp water)
¾ cup oil (I used grapeseed oil)
½ cup raw sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Dry Ingredients

1 ¼ cup brown rice flour
½ cup white rice flour
½ cup tapioca flour
½ cup oat flour
¼ cup ground chia seed or flax meal
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp allspice
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp black pepper

Optional Mix-Ins

¾ cup chopped pecans (optional)
¾ cup chocolate chips (Enjoy Life is dairy, gluten, & nut free)

Streusel Topping (optional)

¼ cup oat flour
¼ cup raw sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp non-dairy margarine or coconut oil

Chocolate Drizzle (optional)

1/4 c. chocolate chips

Ingredient Notes:

I use my own gluten-free flour blend because I find it cheaper than a pre-packaged blend. I buy many of my flours at an Asian grocer, like white rice flour, potato starch, and tapioca flour.

I do splurge on Bob’s Red Mill Brown Rice Flour from Amazon. I resisted this higher priced flour for a long time, but it really is a great gluten-free staple flour.

If you’d rather use a pre-packaged flour blend, simply substitute 2 3/4 cups flour for all the flours listed in this recipe, except the chia meal.

This recipe is also made without other allergens – dairy and egg being the prominent ones. If you do not need to avoid those ingredients, just sub its “real” counterpart back into the recipe.

Pecans are listed as an ingredient, but they aren’t a necessity. If you have a treenut allergy or simply don’t like them, leave them out or use another ingredient like coconut or raisins.

How to Make these Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the wet ingredients.

3. In another bowl, combine dry ingredients

4. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until well combined.

5. Optionally add in pecans and/or chocolate chips.

6. Fill muffin cup to 2/3 full.

7. Add optional streusel topping (see directions below).

8. Bake muffins in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with dry crumbs.

9. Remove pans from oven and allow to cool 10 minutes before removing muffins from pan to cool completely.

10. Once muffins have cooled, drizzle on melted chocolate if desired.

Directions for Optional Streusel Topping:

1. In a small bowl, mix together oat flour, raw sugar, and cinnamon.

2. Cut in margarine until crumbly.

3. Sprinkle evenly across muffins before baking.

4. Bake as directed.

Directions for Optional Chocolate Drizzle:

1. Put chocolate chips in a Ziploc bag.

2. Microwave the UNZIPPED bag for 15 seconds.

3. Flipped it over and microwaved for an additional 15 seconds.

4. Cut a slit in the corner and pipe onto each muffin.

I hope you give these easy muffins a try, and enjoy them over coffee with a friend.

You can even freeze them to enjoy another time!

Recipe

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pecan Muffins

Author Crystal Paine

Course Bread, Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 22

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

1 cup pumpkin puree
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup milk cow, almond, rice
3 eggs or EnerG egg replacer (4 ½ tsp powder + 6 Tbsp water)
¾ cup oil I used grapeseed oil
½ cup raw sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Dry Ingredients

1 ¼ cup brown rice flour
½ cup white rice flour
½ cup tapioca flour
½ cup oat flour
¼ cup ground chia seed or flax meal
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp allspice
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp black pepper

Optional Mix-Ins

¾ cup chopped pecans optional
¾ cup chocolate chips Enjoy Life is dairy, gluten, & nut free

Streusel Topping (optional)

¼ cup oat flour
¼ cup raw sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp margarine or coconut oil

Chocolate Drizzle (optional)

1/4 c. chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners.
In a large bowl, mix together the wet ingredients.
In another bowl, combine dry ingredients
Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until well combined.
Optionally add in pecans and/or chocolate chips.
Fill muffin cup to 2/3 full.
Add optional streusel topping (see directions below).
Bake muffins in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with dry crumbs.
Remove pans from oven and allow to cool 10 minutes before removing muffins from pan to cool completely.
Once muffins have cooled, drizzle on melted chocolate if desired.

Directions for Optional Streusel Topping:

In a small bowl, mix together oat flour, raw sugar, and cinnamon.
Cut in margarine until crumbly.
Sprinkle evenly across muffins before baking.
Bake as directed.

Directions for Optional Chocolate Drizzle:

Put chocolate chips in a Ziploc bag.
Microwave the UNZIPPED bag for 15 seconds.
Flipped it over and microwaved for an additional 15 seconds.
Cut a slit in the corner and pipe onto each muffin.

Notes

I use my own gluten-free flour blend because I find it cheaper than a pre-packaged blend. I buy many of my flours at an Asian grocer, like white rice flour, potato starch, and tapioca flour.

I do splurge on Bob’s Red Mill Brown Rice Flour from Amazon. I resisted this higher priced flour for a long time, but it really is a great gluten-free staple flour.

If you’d rather use a pre-packaged flour blend, simply substitute 2 3/4 cups flour for all the flours listed in this recipe, except the chia meal.

This recipe is also made without other allergens – dairy and egg being the prominent ones. If you do not need to avoid those ingredients, just sub its “real” counterpart back into the recipe.

Pecans are listed as an ingredient, but they aren’t a necessity. If you have a treenut allergy or simply don’t like them, leave them out or use another ingredient like coconut or raisins.

Nutrition

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What are your favorite allergy-friendly recipes?

Michelle is blessed to stay home with her three children. She loves experimenting with allergy-friendly meals.

Shared Oct 3, 2012 comment

Hoping to be a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom in the future? Here’s some advice…

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 3, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I’ve come to the place where I really dislike “labels” — you know “stay-at-home mom” versus “working mom” and such. Honestly, I think that the so-called “Mommy Wars” really do nothing profitable and serve to just divide and frustrate women, rather than building up and encouraging women.

That said, I know some of you have written in recently asking about how to make the jump from work-outside-the-home mom to stay-at-home, homeschooling mom. So, I wanted to pass along this post I wrote in response to a question that my friend Tricia received recently on how to prepare financially to be a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom in the future. If this is a subject you’re currently considering, I thought you might find this post helpful:

Considering make the switch from a working woman to a stay-at-home homeschooling mom? While it might seem daunting, it can be done — if you’re willing to get creative, put forth some effort, and think outside the box:

1) Get on a Written Budget

This is vitally important. If you don’t tell your money where to go, it will just slip through your fingers like sand.

A written budget puts you in control. No longer is your money just slipping through your fingers like sand. Instead, you are telling it exactly where to go.

The beauty of a budget is that it gives you freedom. You don’t have to worry that by paying one bill, you’re not going to be able to pay another important bill. Why? Because you’ve already allotted enough money to cover both bills in your written budget.

Read the full post here.

If you’ve made the leap from working outside the home to staying home, I’d love to hear your advice and thoughts on this. Any words of encouragement or counsel for other moms considering making the switch? How have you pulled it off financially?

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These Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chip Muffins are winners!

Ingredients for Pumpkin Pecan Muffins

Ingredient Notes:

How to Make these Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pecan Muffins

Ingredients 1x2x3x

Wet Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

Optional Mix-Ins

Streusel Topping (optional)

Chocolate Drizzle (optional)

Instructions

Directions for Optional Streusel Topping:

Directions for Optional Chocolate Drizzle:

Notes

Nutrition

Love this recipe?

What are your favorite allergy-friendly recipes?

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1) Get on a Written Budget

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Ingredients