Money Saving Mom®

Guest post from Dawn of One Faithful Mom

A few years ago, I made a long list of goals for the year in January and divided them into different areas of my life.

• spiritual goals
• physical goals
• personal goals
• writing goals

By that summer, I had already failed at most of them.

So the following year, I knew that if I was going to be successful in making needed changes, I had to do it in a way that would suit my more Type B personality.

I decided to make just a few, simple goals. I focused on things that I knew would make a difference in my life, but that would not overwhelm me. Here are the four things I chose:

1. Wash and moisturize my face every morning and night.

I know, silly right? But I have never been totally consistent with this. My skin, at 45, is not like it was at 20, and it was beginning to show!

I was almost embarrassed to say this one out loud when our family shared our goals with each other because it kind of seemed ridiculous. But two of my teenagers made it one of their goals also! It helps that this goal shows very quick results. That motivates me in my other areas.

2. Plan out our evening meal.

What? A mother of ten has issues with planning meals?

Haha — yes!

I know that many of you have a working meal plan, and perhaps even shop according to that plan. But my Type B self just does not work that way. I’ve tried, I really have!

So, I set this goal to help me learn to be consistent in planning our meals, even if that means I just know what leftovers are available. This has relieved the 5:00 stress of wondering what’s for supper!

3. Spend time with my children every day.

Again, this seems obvious, but I have noticed that I am often distracted by other things. Every day, I want to take time to read a book, do a puzzle, sing, play, or even work together in the kitchen.

In the book How to Really Love Your Child, author Ross Campbell suggests three things parents should do every day: give focused attention, make eye contact, and show physical affection. Those are the three things I am working toward.

And again, this type of goal gives near-instant results. The smiles and laughter of my children tell me I am getting this one right!

4. Write.

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. I lie in bed at night with all these ideas swirling around in my brain for writing projects.

So this year, I decided to make it a goal to write something every day; even if it is just a couple of sentences. I have asked two of my writing friends to collaborate on some things. Bringing someone else into the goal keeps me accountable. I can’t be lazy about it when someone else is waiting for my part!

It has brought a spark back into my writing, and I am excited to see what I can accomplish this year.

Well, those are my four goals. You may be laughing right now at the sheer simplicity of them. Maybe you can’t believe that someone could be that undisciplined. Or maybe you are like me and need to hone in on the small things in your life.

When the small things are out of control, it seems like everything is out of control. And who knows…maybe next year I will be ready for some big, crazy, outrageous goal?

After I wash and moisturize, that is!

Dawn has been married to Andy, her high school sweetheart, for over 28 years. They have ten children, two beautiful daughters-in-love, and a precious grandson. She blogs over at One Faithful Mom, where she encourages mothers to be faithful in the everyday lives of their children.

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Guest post from Erin of ErinBrans.com

I was working full time in law enforcement on night shifts and rarely seeing my kids. I decided to work from home and just focus on my blogging.

It took about a year to work out the logistics, but my husband and I were able to pay off over $39,000 in debt in 13 months and move from Nebraska to Kansas to be closer to our family.

To say we feel blessed right now is an understatement!

There are many different ways to work from home. You can become a blogger or sell items on Craigslist, Etsy, or eBay. You can take surveys, become a mystery shopper, or even become a medical coder or transcriptionist. You can professionally organize, clean houses or businesses, or nanny. There are so many ways that parents can stay at home with our kids while earning an income.

Today, I’m not going to talk about the nuts and bolts of starting your own business. Instead, I am going to show you how I actually save money by working from home.

In my previous job, I used to earn approximately $2,200 a month after taxes. Now, by working from home, I am saving at least $2,750 a month. Not to mention my children have their mom at home — and that is priceless to our family!

Here are some of the areas we’re saving:

Transportation

Working from home saves you money on gas plus it doesn’t put as much wear and tear on your vehicles.

When I was working outside the home, we were paying $400 a month in gas (and that was with carpooling!). Now we are paying just $150 per month on gas. In addition, I’m also saving time because I no longer have to spend time driving to and from work.

Tax Write-Offs

Working from home offers tax write-offs on our internet, cell phone, business travel, mileage, and meals with co-workers to discuss business, etc. This alone saves us thousands of dollars a year.

No Daycare

This saves us $1,000 a month.

Food

I work from home so I can plan and cook more meals. By not going out to eat, we are keeping our grocery bill at $400 a month. In addition, because I’m not exhausted and too tired to cook like I used to be, we are also saving approximately $500 a month by cutting back how often we go out to eat.

Work Clothing

One of the great benefits of working from home is that I can work in my pajamas if I want to! Not buying work clothes for me saves us at least $600-$1,000 a year!

Do you work from home? How do you save money by working from home?

Erin Branscom is a wife and mother of 3. She is a blogger at ErinBrans.com. This year, her family was able to pay off over $39,000 worth of debt within 13 months. She was able to quit her full time job and work from home part time. Erin is passionate about helping other parents be able to pay off debt and work from home as well.

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Note from Crystal: After Rachel read my post on How One Word Can Change Your Life in 2013, she asked me if she could write a guest post. As she’s the co-author of My One Word, I was delighted to have her share from her experience here — especially since this is my first year to choose one word and she’s been doing this for years!

Guest post from Rachel of RachelOlsen.com

Have you ever notice how the start of a new year prompts us to make long lists of goals?

We promise things like:

• I’m going to exercise five days a week and lose weight.
• I’m going to get my entire house organized and keep it that way.
• I’m going to get up early and read my Bible every single morning.

Then we rush out and spend money on stuff we think we need to make these resolutions a reality. We buy new workout wear and join a gym. We buy 18 different organizing bins in four different sizes. We purchase a hefty new study Bible, highlighters, and a new journal.

What happens? After a couple weeks of effort, life interrupts or our will power fizzles and we discover these purchased items have no power to change us. We conclude that we just can’t change, and nurse our feelings of failure with some chocolate, or nachos.

What if I told you that what you need isn’t a bigger house, high-end running shoes, or an 8 lb.Bible? What if I told you all you really need is focus?

Here’s what I’ve discovered:

Change is possible; but focus is required.

You might be thinking that focus is something you either have or you don’t, but that’s not true. Focus is something you DO. And focus can come into your daily practice in the form of one single word.

For the last six years, my church and I have ditched our lists of resolutions in favor of choosing one word to be our focus for the year. Just one word that represents what we most hope will manifest in and through us in the year ahead. Thousands have since joined us in doing something about one thing via one word, rather than little about a whole list of resolutions.

Let me encourage you to replace of your list of promises to exercise more, read the Bible, and maintain an organized home — all great goals, by the way — and spend a year with the one word DISCIPLINED.

Got different goals? You could focus this year on saving money, paying down your debt, and learning to happily live within your means with the one word CONTENTMENT. Or you could focus on taming your tongue and cultivating loving relationships with the one word GENTLE.

Your one word is memorable and has a way of driving down to matters of the heart — and that’s where our behaviors ultimately flow from. That’s where our lives change.

So pick a word for 2013 and let your one word govern your actions and decisions. Let it be your focus and your daily prayer. Let it cast a vision for who you can become over the course of an entire year.

Resolutions can be broken. A single word cannot. Why not choose a one word for this year and see what changes a little focus can bring?

What is your one word?

Rachel Olsen is the co-author of My One Word: Change Your Life with Just One Word. She is also a national speaker on the subject of change, and a life coach. She blogs at RachelOlsen.com. And at www.MyOneWord.org, where you can post your one word.  

photo from Big Stock

Guest post from Tricia of TriciaGoyer.com

I’m an author, and I love readers (of course!). I get excited when I know someone out there is so engrossed in one of my novels that she misses sleep. However, I also love when readers don’t buy my books.

Do you have an author you love? Instead of buying the book ask your local library to purchase a copy… or two.

Here’s why I love my readers turn to their local libraries to get my books:

1. If the library has it, then checking it out tells the librarian it’s good. This means the library orders the next one I write.

2. If the library doesn’t have it, you can ask the librarian to order it. Most libraries have a system for recommendations. Libraries have a budget for books, and they are happy to oblige.

3. When you request a book it gets put on the shelf and others pick it up. If they read it—and love it—that means more fans for me!

4. And if you read a book that you really enjoyed, let your librarian know! Librarians are one of the greatest resources on the planet. They get asked daily for recommendations. If you have an author you love, spread the word.

5. Finally, when you’re talking to that librarian make sure you thank her (or him!) for buying all those books so you don’t have to! Just think of all the thousands of resources and literary adventures available to all of us for FREE!

How often do you frequent your local library?

Tricia Goyer wife, mom of six, author of 34 books… and a familiar face at her local library. You can read more about Tricia at TriciaGoyer.com or at at Mom Life Today.

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Guest post from Amy of Permission to Peruse

A year ago, I was running to the grocery store nearly every day. I panicked about dinner every afternoon. I’d run to the grocery store last minute, if I could even think of something to make. Many nights, we’d head for take-out.

Now, I’m grocery shopping once a week, making homemade meals nearly every night, and saving hundreds of dollars.

Here are 5 steps that worked for me:

1. Quit Assigning Meals to Days

On most traditional menu-planning posts, I see meals attached to days.  My Type A, literal self couldn’t handle the pressure of cooking exactly that meal on that day.

What if I didn’t have time? 

What if we didn’t “feel” like eating that meal that day? 

Would the menu-planning police come after me when I switched the days around? 

One thing my best friend told me last spring completely changed my view of menu planning. It’s so simple, it seems silly now. I plan out meals for the week but don’t assign days to them.

A light bulb went off!

Now, I choose an average of 5 meals for the week. I cook whatever strikes my fancy each day from that list. If I get down to the last meal and really don’t want it, I can resort to the breakfast-for-dinner trick and save the meal.

By not assigning days, I opened my Type A self to menu planning and that is the first and absolute key to shopping once a week.

2. Learn Your Regulars

The second step was to list our regular meals and learn the ingredients. I have a list of regular Crockpot meals on my blog with at most three ingredients.

Don’t feel like you’re failing if you’re having just a few of the same meals over and over. Many of us remember having the same meal every week growing up. It creates tradition, not boredom.

Once you have a database in your head of recipes, you’re one step closer to shopping once a week.

3. Quit Writing a Menu

Next, I quit writing a menu. I know, it goes against all menu planning rules, but it was key. You’ll see in the next step how I plan my meals.

4. Plan Meals Around Sales

At the store, I find what meats are on sale. I run through the meals I know and decide which I can make. I keep doing that until I get to 5 meals.

Once I have main courses, I spend the rest of the shopping choosing sides around sale items.

5. Choose One Shopping Day

The final step is to choose one shopping day — and stick with it. Saturday mornings work for me.

By carving out one day, I set family plans around shopping and know how long items need to last until the next week.

To you write-ahead day-assigning menu planners, absolutely keep doing what works! But if menu planning and shopping once a week have eluded you, perhaps these steps might help.

How do you handle menu planning and grocery shopping?

Amy is a work at home mom of two girls. She writes about faith, family, food and fashion at Permission to Peruse.