Saving Families Money Since 2007
Kimber emailed in the following tip:
I have always purchased mild cheddar cheese, and I go through it fairly quickly, especially when I am using it to add flavor to a dish. Recently, I discovered that if I buy sharp cheddar instead, I only use about half as much, and still get great flavor! I have tried it in casseroles and in potato soup, and the results are wonderful. -Kimber
Today’s question is from Jennie:
I know Christmas is several months off, but I am considering making some or even most of the gifts we give to our extended family this year. I would love to have your readers’ suggestions for gifts that would be inexpensive to make but greatly appreciated by the recipients. Ideas for men would be especially welcome! -Jennie
Do you have a question you’d like to ask Money Saving Mom® readers? Read the submission guidelines and submit it here.
Guest post from Mandy White
Now that you have all your necessary supplies, the next step is to start gathering all your information. Today, we’ll start with the first section of your binder: Family and Personal Information. This includes everything from phone numbers, to birth certificates, to estate documents. It is a lot of gathering and typing, but it is crucial to have this information readily available.
This is also the section to put any priceless letters or documents. I have a letter from my mom that she wrote to me when I was two years old. She died a few years ago, and this is a priceless treasure to me, so I keep it in my personal section.
NOTE: Please be sure to use a secure computer, or even hand-write things, as this is very sensitive information!
Marriage Certificate
Phone Numbers and Addresses
Note: Include any anyone that you frequently contact or would need to contact in an emergency. I split ours into two pages. The first is phone numbers that are important to our household (schools, doctor’s offices, etc.). The second is a sheet of extended family phone numbers and addresses (limited to our siblings and parents). I printed a second copy of both pages for the side of our refrigerator.
Master Page: Create a master page for each family member that includes his or her full name, birth date, social security number, driver’s license number, and passport number. File each person’s individual documents in sheet protectors following the master page.
Birth Certificate
Social Security Card
Copy of Driver’s License
Passport
Any other individual documents (adoption records, military papers, transcripts, certifications, etc.)
Medical, dental, and vision insurance information
Copies of insurance cards
Contact information for medical professionals, urgent care, hospital, and pharmacy
Master Page: As before, create an information page for each person that includes his or her full name, birth date, medical conditions, drug allergies, and major surgeries/medical events. File individual medical documents in sheet protectors following each person’s master page.
Immunization Records
Any other medical papers or records
Estate documents (wills, trust, etc.)
Note: We keep all of our estate documents together in a separate binder. If you choose to do the same, simply put a note in this section stating where the information can be found. Remember, this section isn’t for you; it is for those that will be left behind if something should happen to you.
Life Insurance
Life Insurance policy
Agent/company contact information
Due dates and amount due
Receipts
Funeral information, deeds for burial plots, etc.
Veterinarian contact information
Pet medical and vaccination records
Pet license and registration information
If you like, you may download a printable version of this index (for personal use only).
Come back tomorrow for the next section: Finances!
Mandy White is blessed to be a stay-at-home wife and mother. She and her amazing husband have three amazing kids. She loves to serve others, and her favorite time of year is fall. Unfortunately, in Arizona, fall doesn’t start until November!
Well, it’s been three weeks that we’ve been focusing on making the most of our mornings. I’ve developed some good habits, been challenged to implement more self-discipline in my life, and been so encouraged by those of you who have left comments or sent emails sharing about the progress you’re making!
In this final post, I want to talk about the why behind making the most of our mornings. Because if we don’t have a reason for doing what we’re doing and making big changes, it’s a lot harder to find the motivation to stick with them.
Throughout this series, I noticed that many people equated “making the most of your mornings” with getting up early. While I’m a fan of early rising, I don’t think you need to get up early in order to make the most of your mornings.
Sure, many people (myself included) have found that the day is much smoother and more productive if you get an early start. But honestly, what time you get up is not the point. In fact, some of you have said that your mornings go better when you sleep in.
Find out what works for your family, your body’s clock, and your season of life — and then run with that!
Getting more stuff done should be a means to an end, not the be all, end all of life. On my deathbed, it’s not going to matter how many hundreds of things I crossed off my list if I ran everyone over and ran myself ragged for the sake of productivity.
The reason for using our mornings well is so we have time for what matters most. If I can work toward more order in our home and more self-discipline in my personal life, it frees me up to have more time to invest in serving and loving other people, more time to savor the beauty of nature, more time to spend enjoying my family and friends, more time to stop and share a kind word with a stranger or someone in need, and more time to make a difference in someone else’s life.
Making the most of our mornings doesn’t always mean we add more to our plate, become a powerhouse of productivity, or cross more things off our to-do lists. But my hope is that some of the things you’ve learned from this series and some of the habits you’re working on developing will allow you to be able to have time and energy each day to focus more on doing what matters most.
Final Project
1. Think back over the last three weeks and leave a comment telling us what you learned and hope to carry with you as a result of this challenge.
2. Consider what matters most in your life and contemplate how you can cut back on the unimportant to make room for the important. I’ve found that it’s helpful to routinely step back and ask myself, “Is this going to matter in 25 year from now?” This simple question helps me gain clarity when I’m struggling with prioritization.
Last week’s goals:
Family/Marriage/Mothering Goals
1. Finish reading Missionary Stories From Around the World. Finish Little House in the Big Woods (reading aloud to Kaitlynn). Continue reading one chapter of The Borrowers aloud at dinner each night.
2. Write a love note to Jesse.
3. Read together with Jesse before bed at least three nights.
Personal Goals
4. Finish reading Running For My Life and Eats, Shoots, and Leaves. Start and finish reading Now, Discover Your Strengths, Unglued, Abundant Simplicity, Happier at Home, and
Every Now & Then. {Started or read some in all of these. Only finished one, though. Gotta work on finishing books before I start any new ones… even though I’m itching to dive into some of the others that are calling my name on my book shelf!}5. Listen to two chapters of Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard. {Only listened to about one chapter.}
6. Exercise goals: Follow P90X workout schedule (Jesse and I are doing this together — so much fun!)Homemaking Goals
7. Try at least two new recipes.8. Finish at least half of the scarf I’m working on knitting. {Didn’t get half done, but I am at least 1/8th of the way done… hey, progress is progress, right?! :)}
Business Goals
9. Write at least two articles for other blogs/sites.
10. Do the final edits to my new ebook on self-discipline.
This week’s goals:
Family/Marriage/Mothering Goals
1. Start reading A Way Through the Sea aloud to the kids. Continue reading one chapter of The Borrowers aloud at dinner each night.
2. Write a love note to Jesse.
3. Read together with Jesse before bed at least three nights.
Personal Goals
4. Finish reading Running For My Life, Eats, Shoots, and Leaves, Now, Discover Your Strengths, Unglued, Abundant Simplicity, and Happier at Home.
5. Listen to two chapters of Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard.
6. Exercise at least five times.
Homemaking Goals
7. Try at least two new recipes.
8. Finish at least 25 rows on the scarf I’m working on knitting.
Business Goals
9. Write at least two articles for other blogs/sites.
10. Prep for my speaking engagement in Bloomington, IL on Saturday.
How did you do on last week’s goals? What are your goals for this week? I’d love to have you share your progress on last week’s goals and your goals for this coming week in the comments. Of, if you’ve blogged about it, leave your direct link below. Let’s cheer each other on to live purposeful and productive lives!
You can download a free customizable weekly goal-planning sheet here.
Making Brown Butter Banana Waffles last week
One of our children is having outpatient surgery this week and I’m also flying to Bloomington, IL to speak at the Living Well Women’s Expo on Saturday (I’d love to get to meet you there, if you live in the area!), so we’re keeping meals pretty simple this week…
Breakfasts
Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets, Cereal, Toast, Eggs, and/or Fruit
Lunches
Spaghetti, Bread Machine Bread Sticks, Green Salad, Fruit
Snack-y lunch
Cheese quesdillas, carrot sticks, apple slices
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches from the freezer, veggies, apple slices
Mini Deep Dish Barbecue Chicken Pizza Muffins, raw veggies, peaches
Leftovers x 2
Snacks
Fruit/Veggies
Brown Butter Banana Waffles
Crunchy Peanut Butter CupsFreezer Cooking in An Hour (I’ll post details and photos on how this goes on Thursday.)
Homemade Bagels
Homemade Wheat ThinsDinners
Dinner with extended family
Breakfast for Dinner: Brown Butter Banana Waffles, scrambled eggs, fruit
Sausage, steamed veggies, toast, fruit
Spaghetti Pie, Bread Machine Bread Sticks, Steamed Veggies, Fruit Salad
Baked Potato Bar with Outback Steakhouse Baked Potatoes
Jesse and the kids have dinner out while I’m in Illinois
Dinner with extended family
What’s on your menu this week? Share details and/or your link to your menu plan in the comments.
Written by Mandy White
The need for knowing exactly where your important papers are, and having them organized and easy to locate, can’t be overstated. A friend of mine lost her husband to cancer, and said that one of the best things he did for her before passing away was to put together a notebook of all of the papers and accounts she would need.
So, what constitutes an “important document”, anyway? I look it as anything that:
a) Would be a big problem if it were lost, stolen, or destroyed
b) Would be a huge pain-in-the-neck to replace, or is irreplaceable
c) Would need to be found quickly in the event of an emergency
There are many places online to buy ready-made binders or kits for your important documents, but it is actually really simple, and a lot less expensive, to create your own.
Two years ago, for Christmas, I mass-produced these binders for my and my husband’s siblings. I gave ours the name “The Brain Book” because it is everything that’s in my brain that my husband would need to know if something happened to me, or that I simply can’t remember all of the time.
You can name yours whatever you like! So, let’s jump in!
A large, heavy-duty notebook (at least two-inches, though three-inches would be preferable)
A large pack of plastic sheet protectors
Stick-on divider tabs (they will stick onto your sheet protectors and can be written on or have a label inserted)
Paper
A fire-proof safe (These are exactly the types of documents you want to protect from fire or theft!)
Cardstock (for the section dividers)
A second, smaller notebook (I use a two-inch one) for bulky items
Clear, three-ring zippered pouches to hold bulky items
A large-memory flash-drive, or travel hard drive for backing up your computer
Multi-page sheet protectors (they hold up to 50 pages each) to hold things like Life Insurance policies (I had to order mine off of Amazon.)
A scanner or copy machine (don’t go out and by one if you don’t already have one, but see if a trusted family member or friend has one you might be able to borrow for a day)
A shredder (You can get a small, fairly inexpensive one at Target or Wal-Mart.)
That’s it! Gather your supplies, and we will get started assembling your binders tomorrow.
Mandy White is blessed to be a stay-at-home wife and mother. She and her amazing husband have three amazing kids. She loves to serve others, and her favorite time of year is fall. Unfortunately, in Arizona, fall doesn’t start until November!
StayAtHomeMadeMom.com shows you how to make homemade wrinkle release spray.
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.
Guest post from Maya of Great Living Now
My family is moving halfway across the continent. So instead of paying ridiculous shipping fees, my husband and I decided to de-clutter our house — we’re getting rid of everything that we don’t use on a regular basis.
We put together huge boxes of books we don’t re-read, toys our son doesn’t play with, and clothes we don’t wear. Then, a crazy idea occurred to me: “Why don’t I estimate how much money we spent on all this stuff?”
I did a quick estimate: about 200 books, each at approximately $15, gives $3000. Three thousand dollars! I was stunned. That’s just for books!
Now, I consider myself very good with finances. I am very careful with large purchases, and I stopped living paycheck-to-paycheck years ago. But here were piles upon pile of small things that nobody uses, and it all adds up fast.
Then I noticed one other thing. My piles of junk had little variety. Books. Dresses. Toys.
That’s when I knew I was onto something. I had discovered my financial sinkholes.
What are financial sinkholes? They are the small stuff we buy, and keep buying, that nobody really uses.
I am not here to tell you to stop buying books, dresses, or toys. However, I would like to help you identify your own unique financial sinkholes, so that you can use your money towards things that will actually get used.
Here are three signs to help you identify financial sinkholes:
Whether it’s shoes, toys, books, or skincare products, in order to qualify as a financial sinkhole you should already have a lot of it.
Of course, you probably don’t buy exactly the same pair of shoes twice. But if shoes are a sinkhole for you, then you probably have many pairs of shoes just sitting in the back of your closet.
Take a look around your house. What do you see a lot of?
The primary feature of a sinkhole is that nobody really uses them, except perhaps for very few times right after the purchase.
If shoes are a sinkhole for you, then you don’t wear most of your shoes. You might have 2 or 3, or even 5 pairs of shoes that you wear regularly, but there are 15 more sitting in your closet that never see the light of day. But, if you have 20 pairs of shoes and actually use all of them regularly, then they are not a sinkhole by my definition.
One of the best ways to tell if something is a sinkhole is how much pleasure you derive from buying it. I love trying on dresses. Apparently, I also enjoy buying them. So, I have a couple dozen dresses just sitting in my closet.
The problem is that I like trying them on a lot more than I like wearing them. I’d wear a dress once or twice, and then I go back to the more practical pair of shorts. That’s how dresses became a financial sinkhole for me.
When it comes to financial sinkholes, knowing is more than half the battle. Once you become aware of them, it is a lot easier to put a stop to it.
Now, when I consider buying a book, I first check whether the library has a copy. When I consider buying a dress, I think long and hard how often I will actually wear it. Before buying a new toy for my son, I ask myself, or him if he is with me, whether he will actually play with it.
Putting a stop to financial sinkholes is very effective, as these sinkholes use up hundreds or even thousands of dollars without us realizing it. But more importantly, eliminating financial sinkholes leads to saving without any self-deprivation, because you are cutting out that which does not get used anyways.
Maya Ackerman divides her time between research, writing, teaching, and spending time with her family. To read her other work, check our Maya’s blog, Great Living Now.
Guest post from Heather of My Mothermode
After years of living, um, a little spoiled, I had to face being a stay-at-home mom in the current economy. MoneySavingMom and other financial gurus have been life changers for my family. We are, finally, using a cash system and paying off loans like crazy.
We now have three children, and there is no way I’m letting them coast into the big world with no guidance in money management. From toddlerhood on, here are the steps we have taken to teach them the value of a dollar.
As soon as they began feasting their bright eyes on colorful trinkets at the checkout, we began to divert their attention. If they do not expect something each time we shop, it makes errands much easier.
We only allow a free sample if the store offers them, and sometimes a quarter machine visit on our way out for good behavior — and the money comes from their own wallets.
Our three-year-old recently began insisting, “I want pennies!” My prompt response? To provide him with opportunities to earn pennies!
He was happy to fold towels for his small fistful of pennies. Around age three or four, we introduce a chart with both commissioned and non-commissioned chores. Commissioned chores are for pay; non-commissioned chores are done simply because we should all contribute to the household.
Examples of our commissioned chores are: water the flowers, vacuum, fold towels, and the like. Our non-commissioned chores are: keep your things picked up, help with dinner, care for the animals, and so on.
A small portion of birthday and Christmas money is for their Give, Save, and Spend jars. We explain that many people give 10%, and we let them make the final decision which is usually more like 20-50% for them!
Saving towards a big, but attainable goal is encouraged (such as the guitar my seven-year-old is working toward.) The remainder of the gift funds they receive is put towards sports and other activities.
They have a vested interest in their activities of choice and know that “money doesn’t grow on trees!” We also put their sports uniforms and gear needs on their wishlists to guide family members towards useful presents rather than a load of soon-forgotten toys.
We find enjoyable frugal activities to do almost every day. Church activities, library visits, crafting, cooking together, and freebies in our mailbox are just a few ways to have tons of fun on a dime.
Lessons learned? Time management, spirituality, creativity, and resourcefulness, to name a few.
Instruction in money management is confidence-boosting and rewarding. It helps our little ones hone the skills of earning, saving, spending, and giving. These life skills will be priceless, so to speak, as they venture out in the world as young adults.
You can find more frugal adventures at My Mothermode, a place where Heather blogs on parenting, saving money, and more.
CelebrateEverydayWithMe.com shows you how to put together a fun and frugal Teddy Bear Picnic — in just 20 minutes or less!
Here’s a yummy, simple, in-season recipe that will satisfy your sweet tooth without heating up your house.
This easy dessert is perfect any time of year, but especially in late summer when the peaches are ripe. It easily adjusts to be dairy-free/vegan – just use coconut oil in place of the butter. And you can swap oat or almond flour to make it gluten-free too!
Either way, it’s delicious.
1. In a 3-4 quart slow cooker, combine peaches with maple syrup, lemon juice and vanilla.
2. In a medium size bowl, mix flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmet, and salt.
3. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
4. Sprinkle oat mixture over peaches in crock pot and press down slightly.
5. Cover the crock pot with a paper towel. Put the lid over the paper towel.
6. Cook on HIGH for two hours.
7. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
Make sure to share and save it on your favorite platform below!
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.
Meal time just got so much easier!
Last night, I went to a ladies’ get-together and then had an 8 p.m. dinner meeting with some folks from a company in California that I work with. I knew that it was going to be a late night and I knew there was going to be no way I’d be able to get my evening routine done and get to bed on time.
And I didn’t.
In fact, I didn’t get home until 10 p.m. and then I couldn’t fall asleep until 11:30 p.m. — thanks to the extra cup of coffee I had in the afternoon to try and help me be alert for the meeting! As a result, I got up late this morning (well, “late” is a relative term, but it was quite a bit later than I usually get up) and I started the day tired and behind.
So what do you when you fall off the bandwagon?
Life happens, things come up, and things are never going to go along perfectly smoothly all the time.
When you hit a rough patch, have a disruption to your normal schedule, or you’re up all night with a sick child, don’t beat yourself up or feel all frustrated that you got off track. This won’t do anything to help you — and it will likely only make matters worse.
You’re going to have disruptions. That’s life. Whenever possible, though, plan ahead for them.
Since I knew that I wasn’t going to get home until late last night, I went ahead and planned that I would be getting up late. Knowing that this was part of the plan helped me to not feel so off-track when I got up “late”.
When things are out-of-sorts or your schedule gets thrown out the window, just focus on doing the best you can do. For instance, I simplified my usual morning schedule today, made sure my to-do list wasn’t too long, and just prayed for God’s grace to help me go through today even when I was tired and feeling behind.
It wasn’t the best or most productive day, but I got the main things accomplished, and I’m going to bed with the house in fairly good shape and things mostly back on track.
Falling off the bandwagon can be a great reminder of why you’re making the changes you’re making. I realized last night that staying up until 11:30 p.m. felt like I was staying up until 2 a.m. My internal clock is getting re-adjusted back to a schedule that works better for our family — and that is encouraging!
When you fall down or hit a bump, don’t let it throw you off course. Just dust yourself off and keep moving forward.
Don’t give up! Tiny steps in the right direction are always better than standing still or moving backward.
Day 14 Project
1. Did you determine your bedtime and 5 Evening Must-Do’s? If so, leave a comment telling us how you did on them last night.
2. Did you determine what time you’re going to commit to waking up every morning for the next three weeks? If so, leave a comment telling us how you did this morning!
3. Did you get in some exercise yesterday and eat a nutritious breakfast? If not, make a commitment today to a specific way you’re going to incorporate exercise and a nutritious breakfast into your day.
4. Did you create a morning plan of action? If so, tell us how it went this morning! If you haven’t created one yet, go ahead and create one and tell us about it in the comments.
I did another freezer cooking in an hour session today. I had to split it up before and after swimming lessons (our kids have swimming on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons after school this Fall).
So I mixed up the dry ingredients for the Brown Butter Banana Waffles and put together the Pancake/Waffle Mix before we left.
After we got home, I finished the waffles and baked them. They were more time-consuming than most waffle recipes I’ve made and I didn’t feel like they were worth the extra effort — but I really think it’s because I decided I didn’t love the flavor of bananas in waffles. But don’t worry, with plenty of butter and syrup, we’ll have no problem eating them. 🙂
Since I didn’t have any muffin tin liners, I just made the Crunchy Peanut Butter Cups into bars. I think it was easier to do so and the bars turned out beautifully. Now if I can just have the self-control not to eat half of the pan in the next few days.
I’m going to cut up the Crunchy Peanut Butter Cup Bars and freeze them. And I’m thinking having one of these will be a perfect little pick-me-up at the end of a long homeschooling day. Peanut butter and chocolate… it doesn’t get much better than that! 🙂
Have you done any cooking or baking for your freezer this week?
Testimony from Carolynn of My Little Bit of Life
We took Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University in January of 2007 and are very pleased with our efforts. We have finished Baby Step #3 and are currently working on saving up for a down payment on a bigger house.
However, I was thinking the other day of how my mindset has changed over these past five years.
Our Old Mindset: Buy Whatever We Want or Think We Need
Appearances used to mean a lot more to me. I do still care, but in different ways… and honestly, not as much.
I did not grow up with good financial role modeling. Growing up, if I wanted something, I usually got it. If my mom thought we needed it, we got it. It didn’t matter if it was really a need or even if there was money for it.
After I got married, I brought this mindset with me. If I wanted new workout shoes, I bought them. I spent tons of money on groceries for two people and we ate out a lot more than we should have.
When we got pregnant, we bought a house (I wanted to get a house for the amount that the bank would loan to us. Thankfully, my husband put this foot down, and we got a house that was $55K less than what the bank would loan us!), and of course when the baby came, he had to have everything.
Before long baby #2 came along and I was close to having to buy groceries using a credit card. That’s when we went to Financial Peace University and started turning our lives (and little did we know, our minds and values, too!) around.
Our New Mindset: Consider Whether Each Purchase is Truly a Need
Now, before we make a purchase — especially a big purchase — we think about if it’s really a need and if it’s really worth it to us to part with our hard earned money. For example, my husband got into a car accident and the car got banged up pretty bad (the hood was bent up). My husband got home, hooked the car to our tow hitch and pulled the hood back down, then took a piece of wood, placed it in certain spots on the car, and used a hammer to even out the rest.
There is also a hole in the front. This happened about six months ago, and we still haven’t gotten the car fixed. It works just fine, it just doesn’t look pretty! (Five years ago, I would have been very adamant about getting it fixed right away!)
Having pictures taken of my kids and family is very important to me. I sometimes go overboard when it comes to pictures and it can add up fast; not only on the pictures themselves, but the outfits that the pictures are taken in.
This past Christmas, we were getting our family picture taken. I had already bought all of the outfits for my children. I found a shirt for me that I really liked and that went perfectly with the other outfits. I also found a sweater for my husband that was a perfect match to one of our son’s outfits.
The only problem: This sweater was over $50. My husband hates sweaters, he never wears them, and I have to bribe him to wear them for pictures. He also had another sweater (that he had only worn once), up in the closet that would work for our family picture. As much as I really wanted to buy him the sweater, I didn’t.
I didn’t want to spend that much money for something that he’d never wear again, that would be stashed in the back of the closet, when I could just go to the back of his closet and get another sweater that would suffice. (This also would not have happened five years ago. I would have just bought the sweater!)
The Irony: Now That We Have More Money, We Spend Less
I find it ironic that when we didn’t have the money, these things were so important and I would have gone ahead and bought them. Now that we have the money for these things, we didn’t buy them.
I find it amazing how much I have changed in five years when it comes to finances. I no longer agonize about money, I handle it. I no longer check how much money we have in our checking account five times a day (as if it gets updated that often, I know, but I did it).
Now do I wish we had more money? Honestly, yes, I do. But money is no longer as stressful as it used to be.
I find it funny that now that we have a savings, we don’t want to part with that money. If something comes up that’s not in the budget, we usually will cut other areas before dipping into our savings. We have a goal of a bigger house and we are being very careful to stay on track.
Carolynn is a former teacher turned stay at home mom of four: ages 6, 5, 4, & 2. She blogs about parenting and life at My Little Bit of Life.
