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Shared May 26, 2012 comment

How Sticking to a Budget Transformed Our Life

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 26, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Testimony from Sue

When my husband and I got married over five years ago, we were a financial mess. We allowed bad habits to get worse by charging everything to our handy credit card.

Three years and two children later, a friend forwarded me an email about a website called MoneySavingMom.com. We didn’t know it then, but that email would change our lives.

I read Crystal’s blog faithfully each morning. She inspired me to read The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, and I was so excited that I read it in two days. My husband Ben read the book also and we dove head-first into creating a budget. These changes enabled us to live a comfortable, more budget-friendly lifestyle:

1. We stopped using credit cards and paid cash for everything.

Ben and I adopted the radical financial practice of paying cash-only. We found that we spent much less on average by using cash rather than using our debit cards. Although it took time to get used to, practice made perfect.

Our rule is once the cash is gone, it’s gone. No more spending.

2. We began shopping at discount and second-hand stores for everything.

Clothing, home decor, bread; we had to get creative! I found our local bread outlet to be a great deal. We stock up every few months and keep the excess in our chest freezer. Also, since our house is a “fixer-upper,” we found that shopping at our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore is a useful resource for supplies and hardware.

3. I couponed like crazy.

As a stay-at-home mom, couponing became a much like a part-time job to save money for our family. MoneySavingMom.com made this step so much easier by outlining the drugstore game, highlighting creative ways to get coupons, and listing store match-ups by region.

4. We learned to say “no.

Difficult as it was, we learned to say “no” to family and friends for restaurant outings or vacations in order to stick to our budget. We also learned to enjoy the art of entertaining from our home. It is a great way to spend time with others in a comfortable, budget-friendly environment.

5. We stuck to our convictions and tweaked our plan.

Throughout this change in our lives, Ben and I have relied heavily on God and his provision in our lives. We continued to tithe 10% of our income and manage our money the best we knew how.

Our plan to pay off debt has changed with our circumstances, but our budget has stayed the same. In the past three years of living on a budget, we have saved for an emergency fund, paid off one vehicle, and paid cash to complete my college education!

Living on a budget has not only blessed our family financially, but it has allowed us to live freely and peacefully within our means. We may not know what God has for our future, but we have found great joy in a simple life today.

Sue is a full-time mom, proud wife of a firefighter, and a recent college graduate. She has a passion for saving money and living simply. Sue and her family live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Shared May 25, 2012 comment

Ask the Organizer: Tips to Simplify Summer Schedules

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 25, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Earlier this month, I posed the question, What are your biggest challenges with organizing busy summer schedules? And today, I’m excited to read Andrea’s tips to help us simplify and organizer our crazy, busy summer months!

Summer is almost here… and I can’t wait! My husband is a teacher, so it’s no surprise that our summer days are a lot more relaxed than the busy school months. However, even with more time for relaxing, the “lazy days of summer” can often start to feel pretty hectic and disorganized if we don’t have some sort of plan

If you can relate, here are a few ways to get organized and still enjoy your summer.

1. Know your schedule.

Before you even start trying to simplify and organize your summer, you’ll want to take 20 minutes and look through your calendar for June, July, and August.

Are you planning any vacations?
Will you need to take time off work?
Do you have any weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, or baby showers to attend (and buy gifts for)?
Are you planning any home renovation projects that will take up lots of extra time?
Will your kids be going to summer camp, sports camps, music camp, Bible school, etc.?
Will your kids be participating in sports teams or in any sort of group projects?

Your answers to some of these questions will help determine how you spend a good chunk of your summer. And depending on how busy you want to be, you might decide to say no to some activities after looking over your schedule.

2. Decide on a summer routine.

No, I don’t think your summer days should be as structured as the rest of the year, but I can almost guarantee you and your children will be happier if there is some sort of daily/weekly routine you follow during the summer.

We all know that our homes will not magically clean themselves and meals won’t be prepared without some effort on our parts; so try making these events a family affair. Maybe you play inside during the morning, then everyone helps to clean up before lunch, and then you go out and do a fun activity in the afternoon.

Or maybe you can plan your weekly menu as a family and then let each child (age-appropriate, of course) help make the meal one night a week.

Here are a few more ways to implement a loose routine…

If your family loves sleeping in, allow everyone to sleep in five days a week, but then wake up “on time” the other two days. This will allow you get get a little more done on those days without spoiling all the fun.
If your family loves going to the beach, have a “beach day” once a week. You could even make this day a reward for cooperation throughout the rest week!
If you enjoy family BBQ’s or picnics at the park, plan your weekly menu accordingly and try to implement at least one picnic lunch a week.
Allow your children to plan an event one day a week. Of course, you’ll want to help them plan the details, but this will give them something to look forward to, and force them to be creative.

By having some sort of general plan, everyone will be a bit less restless during the long summer days.

3. Plan ahead to avoid boredom.

It’s almost inevitable that your children will get bored at some point during the summer.

To avoid the constant “what can we do now” questions, plan ahead and create a list of things they can do if they get bored. Some examples might be:

Play outside
Read a book
Watch a movie
Play a game with siblings
Ride their bike around the neighborhood
Go on a scavenger hunt and look for ________
Make an obstacle course in your backyard

Try to put at least 20-30 items on your list and you might want to make separate lists for different age children.

Then (this is important so listen up), at the bottom of the list, put “Ask mom if she needs help with anything”. That way, if they complain they’re bored and have already done everything on your list, you can say, “well, you haven’t asked me if I need help with anything, so why don’t you go __________”. Fill in the blank with any number of household chores.

This way, if your kids continue to complain about being bored, you’ll at least get a clean house out of the deal!

4. Keep your vehicle packed.

Even with a general routine to your day, summer is the time for spontaneous beach trips, picnics in the park, or fun outings with friends.

However, if you need to take the time to pack and worry about forgetting something at home, you’ll waste lots of valuable time. Instead, keep your vehicles packed with summer essentials:

Suntan lotion
Sunglasses
Beach towels / beach toys
A cooler (obviously, you’ll have to add ice and food at the last minute)
Extra water bottles
Extra diaper bag — if applicable
Restaurant, fast food, and ice-cream coupons (just in case!)
Park passes
Non-perishable snacks
Stroller or even small bikes

Keeping these essentials ready and waiting will save you lots of time and allow you to literally drop everything and do something fun.

5. Don’t forget yourself.

See if you can swap babysitting services with a friend, relative, or neighbor, hire a house-cleaning service for the summer months, or implement other ideas to make sure you have some margin in your schedule and are not running yourself ragged. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but if you schedule in time for things that energize you, you’ll most definitely be a better parent to your children for the rest of the summer.

What are your tips and suggestions to keep things calm, organized, and simpler this summer?

Andrea Dekker is a wife, mom, blogger, organizer, speaker, and founder of Simple Organized Living. Her goal is to motivate and encourage others to “create their best life” through simplicity and organization.

photo source; photo source

Shared May 24, 2012 comment

Morning Glory Muffins Healthy Recipe

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 24, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

These Morning Glory Muffins are super easy to make and are a great healthy breakfast recipe! Whip up a batch ahead of time to have on hand for a quick on-the-go breakfast idea!

Why You’ll Love These Healthy Morning Glory Muffins

These muffins are delicious and nutritious. When my friend, Angie, brought us some one day, I took one bite and knew they were winners.

They are packed with fruits and veggies (yes veggies!) and have some good healthy fats too. Plus, they are delicious!

Morning Glory Muffin Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour (can also use white flour or a mixture of whole-wheat and white flour)
3/4 to 1 cup raw sugar (or sugar)
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded carrots
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
1 apple, peeled, cored, and shredded (or chopped)
3 eggs
1 cup coconut oil, melted (or melted butter)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

How to Make Healthy Morning Glory Breakfast Muffins

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.

2. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

3. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

4. Stir in the carrots, raisins, coconut, and apples.

5. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, coconut oil, and vanilla.

6. Stir egg mixture into the carrot/flour mixture, just until moistened.

7. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.

8. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

9. Eat and enjoy!

Morning Glory Muffins Healthy Tips

I’d recommend using muffin liners as they seem to help these be a bit more moist.

Also, make sure your oven is fully preheated before baking the muffins.

Morning Glory Muffins Recipe Variations/Substitutions

As always, try to use what you have in the house before going out to buy a specific ingredient just for one recipe.

For example, I used pureed carrots instead of shredded carrots this time around as that is what I already had in the freezer. Shredded carrots probably would have worked better as the batter wouldn’t have turned out so orange, but they tasted fine and I saved myself a trip to the store!

You could also likely sub applesauce for the shredded apples, but you wouldn’t get that nice burst of flavor when biting into a chunk of apple.

Feel free to mix up the spices (nutmeg might be nice!) and you could even try subbing out some of the sugar for a bit of honey.

How to Serve Healthy Morning Glory Breakfast Muffins

These muffins are a great mid-morning or afternoon snack and they pack really well in school lunches.

They are also a fantastic side dish (or even dessert) for almost any meal.

And of course, they would make a quick and easy breakfast, especially if you paired them with a fried egg or some fruit.

How to Store Whole Wheat Morning Glory Muffins

Let muffins cool completely before putting them in an airtight food storage container or ziptop bag.

Store at room temperature for 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

To thaw: Pull out the desired number of muffins and thaw at room temperature for an hour or so. You can also warm them in the microwave.

Morning Glory Muffin FAQs

What is the secret to moist muffins?

Using enough oil and sugar is key to keeping muffins moist and tender. Also, make sure your oven is hot enough, and try not to over-mix the batter.

What not to do when making muffins?

These muffins are very sticky, so don’t forget the liners! Also, try not to over-mix the batter as that can cause tough muffins. Make sure all your ingredients are fresh, and if you have time, let them all sit at room temperature before mixing them together.

Should you let muffin batter rest?

While it’s not essential (especially if you’re short on time) letting muffin or quick bread batter rest for 15 minutes or so will allow the flour to absorb more moisture from the eggs and liquid in the batter, resulting in a thicker batter that produces “higher” fluffier muffins.

Recipe

Healthy Morning Glory Breakfast Muffins

Author Crystal Paine

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour can also use white flour or a mixture of whole-wheat and white flour
3/4 cup raw sugar or sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups carrots shredded
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
1 apple peeled, cored, and shredded (or chopped)
3 eggs
1 cup coconut oil melted (or melted butter)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
Stir in the carrots, raisins, coconut, and apples.
In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, coconut oil, and vanilla.
Stir egg mixture into the carrot/flour mixture, just until moistened.
Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

Nutrition

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Shared May 24, 2012 comment

We Paid Cash: A Living Room Set

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 24, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

We paid cash! A testimony from Amanda

My hubby and I recently paid off our mortgage — YAY!

We had planned to use our first month of post-mortgage “payment” to purchase a couch to replace the very loved, mostly broken, and odd-smelling couch currently in our living room. As we headed to the various furniture stores to scout out our potential new furniture (a first-time experience for us since we generally purchase used), we finally settled on a two-piece set that was a floor model.

Because it was a floor model, the store was offering a 50% “buy now” discount. We headed up to purchase our furniture only to be told that our set would be available for pick up or delivery for nearly two weeks. Confused about why we couldn’t take home our “buy now” discounted furniture when we had cash in hand for the total amount, we asked for another sales representative. And she gave us the same odd story.

This time, she added that we couldn’t remove the furniture until the new floor model was in, assembled, and ready to take its place. Out of desperation, we sought the help of a manager, who listened intently to our dilemma.

His reply? “These people have CASH…take their money and give them their furniture!”

We backed up our trailer, loaded our couch and loveseat, and chuckled the rest of the way home!

Amanda lives in rural central Nebraska with her hubby of 15 years, nine kids, and one spoiled schnauzer.

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

Shared May 24, 2012 comment

How I Reduced Our Grocery Bill By $80 In One Month

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 24, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post from Rebecca of D & R Tabb

For the past year or two, I have regularly spent $80 per week on groceries (not counting household items) for our family of two (that recently became of family of three!)

The only preparation beforehand included menu planning. I did minimal coupon-clipping and only occasionally price matched on milk.

I decided to spend four weeks trying to reduce my grocery budget — just to see if I could save money without a huge investment of time.

Here’s what happened:

My totals before and after looked like this:

Before

$80 week x 4 = $320/month on groceries

After

4 weeks of shopping sales = $240/month on groceries

Savings: $80

Here’s how I did it:

I switched stores.

I was a loyal Walmart shopper, not because I liked shopping there, but because I was convinced it was the cheapest option. A friend of mine told me she saved money shopping at Kroger. After shopping there for four weeks I believe this made a big impact in my savings, but only if I shopped the sales.

I used the ads.

Every week I got out the circular and looked at it before planning my dinner menu. This forced me to plan recipes based on ingredients that were marked down that week.

I stopped being brand loyal.

I started buying a different brand of chicken that is regularly on sale for $0.99/lb for split, bone-in breasts, or $1.99 for boneless, skinless breasts. When it was on sale, I bought several packages to last me until it was on sale again.

I used the sales.

I only bought produce that was on sale, usually for $0.99/lb. I have occasionally even found organic produce on sale for less than regular produce. For example, this week organic oranges are on sale for $0.99/lb. I had to laugh when I saw regular oranges listed at $1.29/lb. just a few feet away!
I bought the side items for our dinners (i.e. corn and other vegetables) that were on sale.

I have been very pleased with the impact I have been able to make on our grocery budget with minimal changes. I am planning to put the money we save on groceries toward paying down our mortgage debt. Having this goal gives me an even greater incentive to spend a few hours each week mapping out our grocery trip and meal plans.

I know many people have been able to reduce their grocery budget by much more than this, but I am very pleased to see that little changes can produce big results!

Rebecca is a former educator turned stay-at-home mom. She enjoys exercising, reading, and blogging about her life as a wife and new mom at D&R Tabb.

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Shared May 23, 2012 comment

Q&A: How do you stay motivated to get housework done?

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 23, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

How To Stay Motivated to Get & Keep Your House Clean - with free printables!

You are always so motivating that I am hoping you can help me. It seems like I try and try to get my “chore list” done each day and it just doesn’t happen. I used to be motivated by my checklist method and I spread the tasks over several days, but that’s just not working anymore. Thoughts? -a reader

1. If It’s Not Working, Change It

At the end of last year, I switched over to a paperless planning system. I really, really wanted to make a paperless system work, as it works so well for my husband and it seems like it’s the “smart” thing to do when you’re running a business. But, after five months of really trying to make it work, it just wasn’t working.

My motto is “Do what works for you”, and while it seems like a paperless planning system works well for many people, it was pretty obvious it wasn’t working for me. So, earlier this month, I gave up on the paperless planning system (at least for now!), pulled out my homemaking binder, downloaded the Motivated Moms Printable Chore List, and started in afresh.

I’ve been amazed at how this changed has re-ignited my love of cleaning! Sometimes, a fresh change of scenery is just the boost you need to get inspired to clean again.

If your current cleaning system isn’t working, try implementing another cleaning system. If you don’t want to start from scratch, at least rotate things around a bit so that it feels new and different.

4 Different Cleaning Systems

1. A Cleaning Schedule for People Who Hate to Clean — A weekly task list you can pick and choose from depending upon your time and motivation each day.

2. 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home — 20 days of simple cleaning tasks to whip your house into shape. You can download a printable list or sign up for daily email reminders.

3. Motivated Moms — A year-long printable list of chores and home management tasks. I just started this two weeks ago and am loving it so far! They also recently released an app, if you’re more of the paperless type than me. 🙂

4. FlyLady — Daily email reminders and tasks to help you get rid of clutter and find more order and peace in your home.

2. Get An Accountability Partner

It’s amazing how effective regular accountability can be! Find a friend or neighbor who is struggling to stay on task with keeping their home in order and ask them to be your accountability partner. Check in daily or weekly via text, email, over the phone, or in person.

Don’t know anyone locally who will be your accountability partner? There are many different online groups you could join to help you stay on task. Or, you could blog, Facebook, or tweet on a daily basis about your successes and failures.

3. Reward Yourself

Set up a reward system to celebrate your success. I’m always much more motivated when there is something to look forward to at the finish line!

My reward for accomplishing my tasks is often relaxing with a good book for 30 minutes at the end of the day. For some of you, that might not sound too exciting, but it’s something I love to do. And I can enjoy it even more when I know that my tasks are caught up!

Shared May 23, 2012 comment

4 Weeks to Fill Your Freezer: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (Day 16)

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 23, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Frozen chocolate chip cookie dough can be a bit dangerous to have on hand as it’s really yummy to eat straight from the freezer… but if you can have a little self control and wait for the cookies to bake, you’ll see that they taste just as delicious as if you made the dough fresh that day!

Cookie dough is SO easy to make ahead of time and freezer for later! And you'll always have cookies ready to pop in the oven when company comes over!!

My sister concocted this recipe many years ago and it’s long been our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. It definitely wouldn’t win the prize for being a low-calorie cookie, but it’s a delicious and hearty cookie recipe.

If you’re not a fan of most freezer meals, can I encourage you to try making cookie dough and freezing it? I can almost guarantee you won’t be able to tell a difference between frozen cookie dough and fresh cookie dough.

Frozen cookie dough makes it so easy to make a batch of freshly-baked cookies when you have drop-in guests or need to bring a dessert or snack to some event at the last minute.

It’s also very handy for those times when you get a late-night craving for chocolate. Oh wait, I may be the only person who has that happen to them. Ahem. 😉

1 cup butter or shortening (softened)
1/3 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup brown sugar (or raw sugar)
3/4 cup granulated sugar (or raw sugar)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (you can also use half or all whole-wheat)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups oats (rolled or quick oats)
1 12-oz. package chocolate chips

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.

2. Add in eggs and vanilla and whip until very smooth.

3. Add in flour, baking soda, salt, and oats. Mix well.

4. Stir in chocolate chips.

5. Roll dough into 1-1 1/2-inch balls and place on a cookie sheet (either to freeze or to bake.)

To freeze:

1. Place cookie dough balls on a cookie sheet (they can be quite close together) and freeze for one to two hours.

2. Remove from cookie sheet and place in an airtight freezer bag.

3. Freeze for several months (if you have enough self control!)

To bake:

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.

2. Put desired number of cookie dough balls on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, approximately 3 inches apart.

3. Let sit while oven preheats.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes or until done.

5. Transfer warm cookies to cooling rack.

6. Eat and enjoy!

Recipe