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Shared Jul 5, 2012 comment

4 Weeks of Frugal Family Fun: Homemade Oobleck (Day 14)

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

We made homemade Oobleck today — something I haven’t done since I was a child. It’s easier than making flubber and the ingredients are not toxic, so it’s a great project for younger children. Plus, it cleans up quite easily with warm water!

It’s fascinating stuff — and even more fascinating is the fact that it only cornstarch and water to make. It hardens up into a thicker dry paste, then softens up into a gooey liquid, and back again as you mess with it. It’s hard to describe with words how it feels the the different forms it takes, so I just encourage you to try it for yourselves and see what it’s all about.

I can almost guarantee you’ll have some fun with it! To read more about the science behind Oobleck or to get some more ideas of things you can have your children try with it, check out Science Bob’s Blog.

Homemade Oobleck

makes enough for one child — we made separate colors for each child

1/4 cup corn starch
2-3 Tablespoons water
2-4 drops food coloring of your choice

Put the corn starch in a bowl. Mix the food coloring into the water. Add water and stir until it forms a paste. Spoon onto foil or a cookie sheet or plate and let your child have fun playing!

Cleans off easily with warm water.

Did you do something fun and frugal as a family today? If you blogged about it, I’d love for you to leave a link to your blog post below. Or, you can just tell us what you did in the comments.

Note: Since the purpose of this series is to encourage you to be intentional about fun in your home this summer, please only link up posts showing pictures/sharing details of fun things you did as a family today (or within the last few days). Posts that do not adhere to these guidelines will be deleted in order to make it fair for those who are putting forth a lot of effort to participate in this challenge.

Shared Jul 5, 2012 comment

We Paid Cash: New-To-Us Volvo Wagon

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

A testimony from Suzi

We recently paid cash for a new-to-us Volvo Wagon! We are a family of 5 that realized we just didn’t need so much space or better yet…a car payment!

Financing a Van

Before relocating to a large city, we purchased a 2008 Honda Odyssey Van. At the time, our youngest child was transitioning from an infant car seat to a convertible car seat and it didn’t seem that our sedan would “cut it” anymore for our family of 5 + 1 large dog!

We wanted something that was bigger, more comfortable for everyone and “nice!” We found the van we loved, paid a bit of cash, and financed the remainder.

Our car payment was relatively low and for the short-term we were quite pleased with our purchase! It fit everyone (with lots of extra room), looked nice, drove well, and would last us a long time.

Simplifying & Realizing We Didn’t Need the Van

After making our big move and settling into a much smaller 990-square foot loft, we began to realize a lot about ourselves and our family.

We could live with a lot less!
We could save more.
We didn’t drive nearly as much as we used to.
Public transportation is cheaper, easier, and fun for the kids!
Walking is oftentimes better.
We didn’t really need so much extra cargo space in a van that we were rarely driving.
The cost of gas was rising.
We didn’t want to pay monthly payments on a van that was being parked on the street.

We had the van for about six months until one night it hit me: we didn’t need the van! I approached my husband with the crazy idea of selling it.

Within days, we had posted the van for sale.

Thankfully, we were able to sell the van for our asking price (the same as what we had paid for it six months prior) and deposit the money into our savings account. What a great feeling!

Focusing on Our Needs More Than Our Wants

We moved forward with the premise of casually looking for a replacement car. We weren’t in any rush since we knew we could manage without one. This time we had very different criteria for our family car.

We wanted to pay cash, while still leaving a substantial amount of money in savings.
We set a price of $3500 and we wanted to stick to it.
With the lower price point we we understood that we’d have to be flexible and really focus on our needs and not our wants.
We wanted something that was “good” based on the price range we were looking in.
We’d prefer something with lower miles, but we were realistic that we may not find it.
We were hoping to find something that would comfortably fit everyone, but not necessarily offer so much extra room that we’d repeat our first car buying mistake.
We wanted something safe.
We wanted to feel good about parking our purchase on the street.

After a couple months of looking and narrowing down our choices, we found a second owner, 1996 Volvo Wagon (with a 3rd row seat) with only 110,000 miles on it. It fit all the car seats and allowed room in the back for the dog!

We negotiated the price to $3200 and paid cash. Changing the way we thought about transportation, our family, city living, and the direction we wanted to go with saving money, allowed us to find the perfect car for this stage of our lives!

Suzi is a former elementary school teacher turned stay-at-home mom to 3 little girls (5, 3 1/2 and 20 months). She spends her days homeschooling and exploring the city with her husband and girls.

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

Shared Jul 5, 2012 comment

Do-It-Yourself: Homemade Geode

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

CreativeFamilyMoments.com shows you how to make a homemade geode.

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.

Shared Jul 3, 2012 comment

4 Weeks of Frugal Family Fun: Red, White, & Blue Waffles (Day 13)

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

For our Frugal Family Fun project today we made Red, White, & Blue Waffles. It was so simple to do — and a fun way to be a little patriotic.

If you need an easy and festive breakfast for the Fourth of July, you could adapt this idea for tomorrow morning — or any morning of the year. It’s especially nice to make in summer, because the waffle iron doesn’t heat up the kitchen like the stove and oven do.

Red, White, & Blue Waffles

Makes 4-6 Belgian waffles

Waffle Batter:

1 3/4 cups flour (whole-wheat, white, or a mixture of both)
2 Tablespoons sugar (or raw sugar)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup milk (You can use half milk/half water, if you prefer.)
1/2 cup oil or melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Toppings:

Yogurt Sauce (6-ounces of yogurt or Greek yogurt mixed with 1-2 Tablespoons maple syrup) or whipped cream
Blueberries
Strawberries

Mix together dry waffle batter ingredients in one bowl. Lightly beat together wet waffle batter ingredients in another. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Pour batter onto lightly-oiled or buttered waffle iron and bake until done.

Top with chopped strawberries, blueberries, and yogurt sauce or whipped cream and serve.

Did you do something fun and frugal as a family today? If you blogged about it, I’d love for you to leave a link to your blog post below. Or, you can just tell us what you did in the comments.

Note: Since the purpose of this series is to encourage you to be intentional about fun in your home this summer, please only link up posts showing pictures/sharing details of fun things you did as a family today (or within the last few days). Posts that do not adhere to these guidelines will be deleted in order to make it fair for those who are putting forth a lot of effort to participate in this challenge.

Shared Jul 3, 2012 comment

MoneySavingMom.com will be undergoing maintenance tomorrow

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

Just a note: MoneySavingMom.com will be undergoing to major maintenance tomorrow, thanks to the skillful hands of Joy from FiveJs.com.

We had a custom theme built earlier in the year, but have been waiting for a good day to install it — and we decided on July 4, since most people will be enjoying fireworks, family, and good food — not worrying about checking blogs! 🙂

However, if you stop by tomorrow, I just wanted you to be aware that you may not be able to access the blog for part of the day, or things may look weird or not work. It should all be back in much better working order by early Thursday morning.

We’re excited about the updates and possibilities that this custom WordPress theme will allow us to implement. But we first just have to get it installed!

Because of the update, I won’t be blogging at all tomorrow. Instead, I’ll likely be enjoying a completely unplugged day in the middle of the week: sleeping in, drinking free Starbucks coffee, reading a good book, catching a free family movie at our local movie theater (yes, they are still open tomorrow!), making a Layered Nacho Dip to take to a family gathering, hanging out with my family, grilling out, and shooting off a few firecrackers.

I’ll also be thinking about how blessed I am to live in this wonderful country — where the American Dream is still possible! {A big thank you to all of you wonderful military families who sacrifice so much for our freedoms here. We owe so much to you all!}

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

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Shared Jul 3, 2012 comment

How To Teach Children To Be Effective Yard Sale Shoppers

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

photo via BigStock

Guest post from Victoria of Snail Pace Transformations

For years I have shopped yard sales alone while my husband watched the kids. Then one year, a little voice said to me, “Mommy, I want to come, too”. I answered, “Not yet. You’re not old enough”.

But soon, I realized she was old enough. My daughter was old enough to count money, old enough to carry a purse, old enough to walk on her own from sale to sale, and old enough to learn how to be an effective yard sale shopper.

I will be honest, at first it was tough for me to adapt. I was used to jumping from sale to sale at my own pace. However, after just a few weekends of slowing down to train my daughter to make wise purchases, I now miss her when she doesn’t tag along!

If you’d like to try taking your children along, here are a few tips that will hopefully help your experience to be a success.

1. Teach them to consider their purchases.

When my daughter first started yard-saling with me, she wanted to buy everything. Each time she held up an item I would say, “What will you use it for?” “Where will you store it?” “Do you already own something similar?” If she gave me good answers she could buy it; if not, she couldn’t.

Now I rarely have to speak these questions out loud as she has internalized them and answers them herself.

2. Teach them how to ask for a discount.

I have taught my daughter what the average yard sale prices are for things she is interested in. If the item is higher than average, I have taught her that there is no harm in asking for a lower price.

In the beginning, she was too nervous to do this, but now I hear her say, “Would you take…?” before I even have a chance to tell her I think the price is too high!

3. Teach them to set a budget.

Each Friday morning, before my daughter and I headed out yard sale shopping, I began asking her how much money she had and what her budget was. After just a few times of suggesting perhaps it was not wise to blow all of her money on yard sales, she now brings along just a small portion.

4. Teach them the value of their finds.

My daughter was shocked the first time I showed her the retail value of her yard sale finds on-line. Now she stands in the toy aisle and says, “I could just wait and get that at a yard sale for much less”.

Yard sale shopping with my daughter was a little bit of work at first, but it was worth it because now I have the reward of a great yard sale partner!

Do you shop yard sales with or without your children?

Victoria blogs at Snail Pace Transformations where she shares her adventures in inching forward in all areas in life. When Victoria isn’t blogging, homeschooling or cooking she loves running, biking and swimming.

Shared Jul 3, 2012 comment

Red, White, and Blue Smoothie Recipe

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

Looking for a fun, festive and healthy way to kick off a patriotic holiday? You can’t go wrong with this colorful smoothie!

Guest post by Brigette Shevy

Even though this red, white and blue smoothie can be enjoyed all year round, there’s no better time than during the summer months, at the peak of berry season.

I prep the fresh fruit and stick it in the freezer overnight so that it’s all ready to go in the morning.

Not a breakfast person? Try it as a refreshing afternoon treat, or even as a dessert!

Ingredients for Patriotic Smoothies

1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup frozen strawberries, sliced
1 large frozen banana, cut into thirds
1 cup milk (any kind will work.)
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (Plain yogurt will work, too, but you may want to add additional sweetener, depending on your taste preference.)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon fresh squeezed lime juice

How to Make these Red White and Blue Smoothies

1. Blend all ingredients together in a high-powered until smooth (we use a Vita-mix).

2. Pour into 3 glasses and garnish with yogurt, whipped cream, and/or additional berries (if desired).

NOTE: This recipe has a thicker, shake-like consistency. If you prefer more of a drink, use fresh instead of frozen strawberries.

Recipe

Red, White, and Blue Smoothie

Author Brigette

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5

Equipment

Vita-mix

Ingredients

1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup frozen strawberries sliced
1 large frozen banana cut into thirds
1 cup milk any kind will work
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon fresh squeezed lime juice

Instructions

Blend all ingredients together in a high-powered until smooth (we use a Vita-mix).
Pour into 3 glasses and garnish with yogurt, whipped cream, and/or additional berries (if desired).

Notes

This recipe has a thicker, shake-like consistency. If you prefer more of a drink, use fresh berries instead of frozen.

Nutrition

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More Smoothie Recipes You’ll Enjoy!

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

Shared Jul 3, 2012 comment

Do-It-Yourself: Water Table or Sandbox

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

MomsByHeart.net shows you how to make a homemade water table or sandbox.

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.

Shared Jul 2, 2012 comment

4 Weeks of Frugal Family Fun: Library Reading Program (Day 12)

Published: by Crystal Paine on July 2, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

We signed up for our library’s reading program for the first time this year. I read a lot of picture books to Silas each week, so it wasn’t much of a challenge for he and I to reach his goal, but the girls have been very motivated to read in order to reach their pre-set reading goals.

Kaitlynn was so motivated, in fact, that she read 10 easy readers the very first day and then recorded all of their names on her little reading record. I’ve never seen her quite so driven to reach a goal — and it was fun to watch!

Today was the first day that we could go and pick up the prize bags, and the girls were SO excited. They’d been talking about this day for weeks, literally.

Truth be told, I was a little concerned that maybe the prize bag wouldn’t be much and it might be a disappointment.

Boy, was I ever wrong!

Not only did each child get to choose a free book to take home, they also got a bag stuffed with great coupons and offers from local businesses — things like free Kid’s meals, free miniature golf, a free smoothie at McDonald’s, free baseball game tickets, free ice skating passes, and more.

They were beyond thrilled — and I was totally impressed with the coupons and freebies. Some of them required an additional purchase (like an adult entree purchase in order to get the free kid’s meal), but some of them were completely free — such as the free McDonald’s smoothie coupons, free tickets to an indoor kid’s play center with inflatable slides, etc.

Once again, I’m so thankful for the free service that libraries provide. Not only do they allow us to read hundreds of free books each year, but then they offer amazing programs like the summer reading program — for free.

If you aren’t utilizing the resources at your local library, I encourage you to check into it and see what all they have available. It just might save you a lot of money — and provide hours of frugal fun!

Did you do something fun and frugal as a family today? If you blogged about it, I’d love for you to leave a link to your blog post below. Or, you can just tell us what you did in the comments.

Note: Since the purpose of this series is to encourage you to be intentional about fun in your home this summer, please only link up posts showing pictures/sharing details of fun things you did as a family today (or within the last few days). Posts that do not adhere to these guidelines will be deleted in order to make it fair for those who are putting forth a lot of effort to participate in this challenge.

Shared Jul 2, 2012 comment

10 Weekly Goals

Published: by Crystal Paine on July 2, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

This week’s goals:

Family/Mothering Goals

1. Read at least a few chapters of The Railway Children aloud to all the children, read a few chapters of The Missing Video (reading to Kathrynne), and read at least two chapters of Little House in the Big Woods (reading to Kaitlynn).

~~2. Start swimming lessons for all three children.~~

~~3. Write a love note to Jesse.~~

Personal Goals

~~4. Finish reading Choosing Gratitude plus one other book~~.

5. Run at least five times for 45 minutes each; ~~do weight-training program at least four days~~. {I ran five days, but I did shorter runs two of the days because I was short on time two of the mornings.}

~~6. Listen to 2 hours of Stop Acting Rich.~~

7. Sleep for at least 8 hours every night. {So, I totally bombed this at least four of the nights — mostly because of going to bed too late and then still getting up early. Yep, totally my own fault. I’m going to work on being more disciplined about going to bed early this week.}

Home Management

8. Make Homemade Wheat Thins

~~9. Make Homemade Toothpaste.~~

Business Goals

~~10. Continue blogging the 4 Weeks of Family Fun series.~~

This week’s goals:

Family/Mothering Goals

1. Finish reading Snow Treasure aloud to the children. Read a few chapters of The Missing Video (reading to Kathrynne), and read at least two chapters of Little House in the Big Woods (reading to Kaitlynn).

2. Continue swimming lessons for all three children.

3. Write a love note to Jesse.

Personal Goals

4. Finish reading Building Her House plus one other book.

5. Run at least five times for 45 minutes each; do weight-training program at least four days.

6. Listen to 2 hours of Stop Acting Rich.

7. Sleep for at least 7 hours every night.

8. Start the Choosing Gratitude 30-Day Devotional.

Home Management/DIY Projects

9. Make Homemade Wheat Thins

Business Goals

10. Continue blogging the 4 Weeks of Family Fun series.

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.

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Shared Jul 2, 2012 comment

This week’s menu

Published: by Crystal Paine on July 2, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Homemade Hawaiian Pizza — I made this on Sunday and it was so good! Recipe coming soon!

Breakfasts

Oatmeal x 5 (We’ve been having this every weekday morning before swimming lessons, by request of the kids as it’s something hearty to fill them up before swimming!)
Scrambled eggs, toast, fruit
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes

Lunches

Red, White, and Blue Waffles, scrambled eggs
Baba Ganoush, Homemade Pita Pockets, raw veggies and fruit
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches from the freezer x 2, veggies, apple slices
Leftovers x 2
Quesadillas x 2, raw veggies

Snacks

Chocolate Protein Truffles
Healthful Chocolate Freezer Fudge
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes
Fruit/Veggies

Dinners

Dinner with extended family
Grilled Ham & Pineapple Kabobs, grilled corn on the cob, Easy Dinner Rolls, peaches, green salad
Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken served over rice, fruit salad
Grilled steak, grilled sweet corn, fruit salad, Easy Dinner Rolls
Crockpot Rotisserie Chicken, Easy Dinner Rolls, peaches, steamed veggies
Chicken Lime Tacos, fruit salad
Dinner out

What’s on your menu this week? Share details and/or your link to your menu plan in the comments.

Shared Jul 2, 2012 comment

2012 Goals: June update

Published: by Crystal Paine on July 2, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

How are you doing on your goals for 2012? I’m excited about the progress I made in June…

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. {I’m finished with June’s books and have read quite a few other books!}
Listen to 12 audiobooks. {I skipped June’s audiobook because I discovered it wasn’t available as a downloadable audiobook, but I listened to July’s instead!}
Run in at least one 5K race. {I’ve been running at least a few 3.1+ mile runs on the treadmill each week and am slowly working on getting my time down. I’m hoping to sign up for an official race soon, just need to get over my fear of signing up for a race as it’s something I’ve never done in my adult life! Yes, I know, I need to totally just get over it and sign up already. :)}
Complete the Couch to 10K program.
Tackle 12 Do-It-Yourself Projects. {I didn’t get the homemade crackers made last week like I’d hoped — mostly because it was too hot to turn on the oven on the days when I had time to make them! I’m hoping for a cooler day this week so I can make them!}
Focus on one habit per month. {We really, really intentionally worked on getting places on time in June — and we actually pulled it off most of the time! I discovered that we really have to plan to leave 45 minutes early in order to make it places on time. Crazy, I know, but when we do that, we’re getting places on time — yay! This month, I’m going to continue working on getting places on time as well working on getting things done early — another area I really struggle with.}
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. {This is caught up since last month, I just need to write notes in some of the pages!}
Memorize Colossians using the plan and free download here. {I’m almost caught up with this.}

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).
Have monthly date nights. {We had one date in June.}
Read four books together. {We’ve done two books so far this year.}
Read at least 3 books on marriage. {I’ve read two so far this year.}

Children/Homeschooling
Continue regular dates/outings with each of the children individually. {I went on at least one outing with each child individually in June.}
Continue Grace and Truth memory book. {The children memorized one verse plus one verse of a hymn in June.}
Ice-skating lessons for all three children. {The children finished up their third round of ice-skating lessons and we’re taking a break while we do swimming lessons!}
Swimming lessons for all three children. {We started a two-class these last week and the children are loving it!}
Finish second grade, begin third grade with Kathrynne. {Kathrynne finished second grade in May — woohoo!}
Finish kindergarten, begin first grade with Kaitlynn. {Kaitlynn finished Kindergarten in May and is excited about beginning first grade soon.}
Start preschool with Silas. {Started this in April.}
Go on at least one field trip every month. {We went on one field trip in June.}
Go on at least one family vacation. {We have one planned for July.}
Finish at least 15 read-aloud books. {We’ve finished 14 read-alouds so far this year and we’re on track to finish at least three more this month — so we’ve almost completed this goal!}

Ministry/Friendships/Extended Family
Write at least two handwritten notes every month to encourage someone. {I wrote & mailed four 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 stuck with my blogging plan all month in June, if I’m remembering correctly — woot!}
Plan blog posts out at least a month in advance. {I made some great progress in this area in June!}
Write and schedule blog posts at least a week in advance. {I’m not a week ahead yet, but I’ve been blogging ahead a lot more recently and am excited to be making some progress 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’re still looking and haven’t found anything we love in our price range yet!}
Finish saving for and purchase a rental property with cash. {We’re in the process of investigating our options in our price range right now and deciding if we want to go ahead and purchase something or continue saving. At this point, it’s looking like there’s a good possibility we might be purchasing something very soon. 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 Jul 2, 2012 comment

10 Ways My Life Has Changed Since I Made a Budget

Published: by Crystal Paine on July 2, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post from Chelsea of Stay-At-Home{MADE}Mom

Before I got married (or cared much about my where my money went), I was a financial disaster. There were many times when I didn’t have money to pay my basic bills, overdrew my bank account on senseless purchases, and stressed about how I was going to make ends meet.

I had no excuse. I worked full-time and had no credit cards or loans. And even though I was paying my own bills (including rent and college expenses) my problem wasn’t a lack of money, it was poor stewardship.

I started dating my now-husband who was going to school (debt-free) for accounting. If anyone could zoom in on my financial blunders, it was him. Around this time, I also started reading MoneySavingMom.com and I learned about a very handy tool: a budget!

I’ve had a very different life since. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it.

Here are ten ways my life has changed since I learned to budget my money.

1. I no longer wonder if I will eat.

This isn’t as bad as it sounds. Even on my lowest days, I could have easily afforded beans and rice. I simply chose otherwise.

2. I pay my bills on time.

I rarely paid my bills on time before. Whether I lost track of due dates or was short on money, it just didn’t happen.

3. I no longer incur late or overdraft fees.

These add up so quickly, it’s insane. Thankfully, it’s been awhile since I had to pay one.

4. I no longer pay full price for groceries.

I used to walk into a store with no plan or budget and buy whatever I wanted. The bill was huge and the groceries short-lived.

5. I no longer get harassed for money.

If you don’t pay your bills, eventually people will start calling, sending letters, or even knocking on your door to get what’s owed.

6. I can afford what I truly want.

If I want something, I’ve learned it is attainable with hard work and saving. Just two years after setting up a budget, my husband and I were able to pay cash for our entire wedding.

7. I can freely give.

Christmastime isn’t stressful, tithing is a priority, and I can give to those in need without hesitation.

8. We have a back-up plan.

It’s called an emergency fund, and it rocks.

9. We can live on one income.

Because of our current lifestyle, our family of 3 can comfortably live on $500 a week.

10. We are now asked for financial advice.

Woah! Never saw that one coming six years ago!

It’s scary to think of where I might be today, financially, if I had not chosen to quit messing around with my money. If you regularly experience any of the hardships I did, I would encourage you to take an honest look at your spending and set up a budget.

Trust me, you can do it! Living in the bondage of poor financial decisions is no way to live.

Chelsea is a 24-year old stay-at-home mom and wife. She is passionate about living simply and debt-free while encouraging others to do so. She blogs at Stay-At-Home{MADE}Mom about being a mommy, creations she makes by hand, and how she does both on a budget.

photo source

Shared Jun 30, 2012 comment

Today’s shopping trip: Dillon’s and the health food store

Published: by Crystal Paine on June 30, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Dillon’s Shopping Trip

18 candy bars — $0.50 each, used 9 $0.50/2 coupons = free after coupons {Don’t freak out — I promise we won’t be eating all of those this week and I promise we’ll be sharing them with others! 😉 I just bought that many because I had 9 coupons and they were free. I’m also thinking I might freeze some of the candy bars to use chopped up in chocolate chip cookies.}

5 Silk single-serve milks — $1 each, used 2 $2/2 coupons and 2 $1/1 coupons = free after coupons

2 KC Masterpiece barbecue sauces — $1 each, used $0.75/2 coupon (“Doubled” to $1 off) = $0.50 each after coupons

14.3 pounds of red-taped bananas at $0.39/lb. =2.84 + 2.74

1 bottle of Old Orchard Juice — used free Old Orchard Juice coupon

Total with tax: $7.06

This shopping trip was a great example of how hanging onto a coupon and waiting for a really good sale can pay off. I had pick up a number of candy bar coupons a few months back from a display at Dillon’s. The coupons were for $0.50/2. I knew that these candy bars occasionally go on sale for $0.50 each and that would make them free after the coupons doubled.

I waited and waited and waited — and finally the sale happened this week!

Health Food Store

4 lbs. of pears — on sale for $0.99/lb.

1 dozen farm-fresh eggs from a local farm — marked down to $1.99 (my brother’s hens aren’t laying much right now so we’ve been buying eggs from the health food store instead. Once you get hooked on farm-fresh eggs it’s pretty near impossible to use non-farm-fresh eggs!)

Total with tax: $6.38

Shared Jun 30, 2012 comment

Surviving and Thriving When We Shouldn’t Be Breaking Even

Published: by Crystal Paine on June 30, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

A testimony from Beverly who blogs at Grace For Seven

From the beginning of our marriage, my husband wanted us to solely rely on his income. It was fine with me: I wanted to stay home with my babies.

We were living paycheck to paycheck. We had one credit card and a home equity line, but we found out quickly we weren’t a credit kind of family.

We were a little irresponsible. Credit companies kept upping our limit because we were such good customers. Year after year was the same: we always had enough to make ends meet and to have a little fun. We were able to live within our means.

Cutting Everything We Could to Pay Off Our Debt

A couple of years ago, I heard about Dave Ramsey from MoneySavingMom.com. We read his book. We were so excited to make a difference in our finances, we had Gazelle Intensity.

We only had $10,000 in debt and our mortgage. We looked for services we could give up to payoff the debt quickly. We turned off cable and paid off our smallest bill. The Christmas bonus and tax refund paid off the rest.

We were able to save our $1000 emergency fund and a little extra. Our eyes were on the prize of funding a 3-month emergency fund, but we were still living paycheck to paycheck.

I went over our statements and financial reports and there was nothing else to cut. I looked for things to sell in a yard sale or on eBay and make a couple hundred dollars, but I couldn’t find anything.

Our Budget Doesn’t Make Sense on Paper

We made a few decisions after reading Dave’s book. We decided that “Cash is King” and we were going to live like no one else.

Then, some dental work was needed, the van needed work to pass inspection and I just sat back and watched our savings dwindle. I didn’t see how we were going build it back up.

I looked over the The Total Money Makeover again, thinking I missed something. We spent time budgeting everything. We were cutting coupons and using the cash system and I was just not seeing the Gazelle Intensity gain I should have been seeing. Our budget was not making sense on paper.

Thriving When We Shouldn’t Even Be Breaking Even

What we did notice is over the years we have continually tithed 10% and God has faithfully met all our needs. No budget can explain the fact that we were able to break even.

On paper, if I start with my husband’s salary, subtract all bills and necessities, we would have nothing left for saving or fun. However, at the end of the pay period we were able to pay our bills, put a little in savings, and go on a date.

We want to be good stewards of what God puts in our care. We are still working on completely funding our emergency savings. I know that whatever amount we are able to save for retirement or our children’s education, that God will help us and always supplies our needs.

Beverly is a homeschooling mom of 5. She has just recently taken the plunge into blogging and shares her struggles and victories of a life filled with grace at Grace For Seven.

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1. Teach them to consider their purchases.

2. Teach them how to ask for a discount.

3. Teach them to set a budget.

4. Teach them the value of their finds.

Do you shop yard sales with or without your children?

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Red, White, and Blue Smoothie

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How Are You Doing on Your Goals for 2012?

1. I no longer wonder if I will eat.

2. I pay my bills on time.

3. I no longer incur late or overdraft fees.

4. I no longer pay full price for groceries.

5. I no longer get harassed for money.

6. I can afford what I truly want.

7. I can freely give.

8. We have a back-up plan.

9. We can live on one income.

10. We are now asked for financial advice.

Dillon’s Shopping Trip

Health Food Store

Cutting Everything We Could to Pay Off Our Debt

Our Budget Doesn’t Make Sense on Paper

Thriving When We Shouldn’t Even Be Breaking Even

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