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Shared Apr 8, 2013 comment

This week’s menu plan {It’s the perfect week for some chocolate-themed baking!}

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 8, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I think I’m on a chocolate baking kick this week (what’s new?!) Can’t wait to get to baking — and eating. 😉

Here’s our plan for this week:

Breakfasts

Oatmeal, Cereal, Eggs, and/or Fruit

Lunches

Mac & cheese, fruit
Snack-y lunch
PB&J, carrot sticks, apples
Cheese quesadillas, carrot sticks
Leftovers x 3

Snacks

Fruit/veggies
Popcorn
Whole Food No Bake Cookies

Pinterest Experiment {I’ll share how this goes later this week!}

The Easiest Loaf of Bread You’ll Ever Bake

Freezer Cooking {I’ll share how this goes later this week!}

Whole Food No Bake Cookies
Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Bars
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Quick Bread
Freezer-Friendly Pizza Dough

Dinners

Dinner with extended family
Mexican Chicken Lime Soup, fruit, tossed salad
Bean & Cheese Burritos, fruit, veggies
Build Your Own Haystacks, fruit, rice
Black Bean & Corn-Topped Potatoes,
Homemade Pizza, fruit, veggies
Dinner out

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

Shared Apr 8, 2013 comment

10 goals for this week

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 8, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

It was so wonderful to meet many of you at the Cincinnati Homeschool Convention this weekend! Thank you for coming to my sessions, coming up to the booth, and taking time to chat with me. I was blessed by each of you who did!

Last week’s goals

Family/Marriage/Mothering Goals

1. Read 20 pages of Rascal by Sterling North aloud to the children. ~~Finish reading Paddington Abroad with Kathrynne, read three chapters of Life With Lily with Kaitlynn, finish reading The Adventure of Laura and Jack with Silas.~~

~~2. Write a love note to Jesse.~~

Personal Goals

3. Memorize Romans 1:9-10.

4. Exercise five times. {I failed miserably at this one!}

5. Finish reading ~~Uneclipsing the Son~~, A Charlotte Mason Education, ~~Sleep: It Does a Family Good~~, One Question, and ~~The Chance~~.

Homemaking Goals

~~6. Follow the 30-Day House Cleaning Challenge.~~

7. Work on embroidery project.

Business Goals

~~8. Tweak & practice my talks for the Cincinnati Homeschool Convention.~~

~~9. Speak at the Cincinnati Homeschool Convention.~~

10. Finish all my book edits per my editor’s suggestions.

This week’s goals:

Family/Marriage/Mothering Goals

1. Read 20 pages of Rascal by Sterling North aloud to the children. Read four chapters of Paddington at Large with Kathrynne, read four chapters of Life With Lily with Kaitlynn, read four chapters Little House Christmas Stories with Silas.

2. Write a love note to Jesse.

Personal Goals

3. Memorize Romans 1:9-10.

4. Exercise five times.

My book stack for this week

5. Finish reading: One Question, While We’re Far Apart, 24/6, Start, and When the Game is Over It All Goes Back in the Box.

Homemaking Goals

6. Follow the 30-Day House Cleaning Challenge.

7. Work on my embroidery project for at least 30 minutes.

8. Try three new homemade cleaning recipes.

Business Goals

9. Finish tweaking recipes for my new recipes page.

10. Finish all my manuscript edits per my editor’s suggestions.

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.

Shared Apr 8, 2013 comment

Free samples in my mailbox: Venus razor, Nescafe Memento samples, Gevalia K-cups, book by Randy Singer, plus more!

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 8, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

We got a few fun free samples in our mailbox last week:

::Free book by Randy Singer from points accredited through Tyndale Rewards

::Free Venus razor

::Free GUM product samples

::Free Nexcare samples and a coupon

::Free Nescafe Memento samples and a coupon

::Free Nivea for Men sample

::Free Gevalia K-Cup samples

What freebies have arrived in your mailbox this week?

By the way, if you want to start getting great freebies in your mailbox, just start signing up for the freebies I post every day that interest you. Within 4-6 weeks, your mailbox will start filling up with great freebies!

Shared Apr 8, 2013 comment

30-Day House Cleaning Challenge: Project #8

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 8, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

During the month of April, I’m encouraging my readers to participate in a 30-Day House Cleaning Challenge (read more here, if you missed my announcement about this challenge last week). Every week day morning at 9 a.m., I’ll post the daily project and every evening around 6 p.m. EST, I’ll post an update and link-up.

April 8, 2013 Project

Today’s project is to sweep and vacuum all floors in your house.

If you have family members who can help, divide this up so that it’s a bit more manageable. If you don’t have anyone who can help out with this and you’re short on time today, just focus on sweeping and vacuuming the most trafficked areas of your home.

Come back here at 6 p.m. EST and I’ll show you pictures of my cleaning accomplishments and have a linky so you can link up yours, too!

Join in the Chatter

::Want to blog about this challenge? If you’re blogging through this challenge with me, be sure to leave your link to your direct post on the daily check-ins. Plus, if you’d like to post your daily posts to the 30-Day House Cleaning Challenge Pinterest Group, just shoot me an email (moneysavingmom @ gmail dot com) and I’ll invite you.

::Want to follow along on Twitter or Instagram? I’ll also be sharing some of my cleaning pictures on my Facebook Page, my Twitter account, and my Instagram account. I’d love to have you do the same or join in the discussion on Twitter and Instagram. Just follow hashtag #Cleanin30 to see what others are tweeting and Instagramming about this challenge!

photo credit

Shared Apr 6, 2013 comment

How to Save Money on Music Lesson Curriculum

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 6, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post from Rachel from RachelWojo.com

Keeping fresh and interesting music in front of my piano students has been very important to me over the years because it keeps them interested in playing. I believe this is true for any instrument.

As a veteran piano teacher of 20 years, here are three ways I’ve recommended to families to save money on music:

1. Recycle books.

If you have more than one child taking lessons, holding on to books and using them over again is a great way to save money. The average cost for the curriculum I typically use is $20 to $24 per curriculum level. Theory or notespeller books cannot be used over again, but it is a great savings to reuse lesson, performance, recital, or any other extracurricular books.

Another tip for book recycling is to check with other parents and students to see if they have the book you need. Some communities will hold music book swaps in their local libraries and this is a great way to get new music or the lesson books you need.

One more tip in book recycling, perhaps you have two children in the same level at the same time. Instead of marking in the book, use a simple $0.99 notepad to record each student’s lesson assignment. This practice enables two students to use the same book without confusion. The assignment book can also serve as a practice journal.

2. Inquire about any discounts for which you may be eligible.

Many curriculum companies offer discounts to teachers when they purchase music. Also music stores often offer a discount to teachers or parents of students in certain qualifying programs. It is important to ask retail companies about their policies and be sure the cashier knows you are a teacher or parent.

Sometimes publishers offer special programs or incentives — like an 80% discount on Christmas music after Christmas. Be sure that you have entered your name on their mailing list as a teacher or parent so that you can receive up-to-date information.

3. Download free sheet music.

Though copyright laws dictate the freedom of publishing music, many people do not realize that there is some music considered to be “public domain” and therefore, free for distribution.

One of my favorite free level-appropriate piano music websites is Gilbert Benedetti’s site at the University of Pittsburgh. His site also contains free theory lessons and free guitar music.

Another great free easy music site is EasyByte.org, though you will need to have a basic understanding of skill levels for this site as the levels are not marked on the PDF files.

What tips do you have for saving money on instrument lesson music?

Rachel Wojnarowski is a wife, mom to 7, blogger, and piano teacher. She and her husband, Matt, enjoy caring for their busy family, whose ages span 22 months to 21 years and includes a special needs daughter. Rachel leads community ladies’ Bible studies in central Ohio and serves as an event planner and speaker. She enjoys running and she’s a tech geek at heart. Reader, writer, speaker and dreamer, you can find Rachel on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and of course, on her blog!

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Shared Apr 5, 2013 comment

30-Day House Cleaning Challenge: Project #5 Update

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 5, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

During the month of April, I’m encouraging my readers to participate in a 30-Day House Cleaning Challenge (read more here, if you missed my announcement about this challenge last week). Every week day morning at 9 a.m., I’ll post the daily project and every evening around 6 p.m. EST, I’ll post an update and link-up.

It was such a good day here in Cincinnati at the Midwest Homeschool Convention! I’m loving having my family with me on this trip and it’s been amazing to get to meet so many of you. {See a picture from this morning’s session here.}

Before I left, I cleaned my bathroom… which was in great need of some cleaning. 🙂

(I really need to come up with a good solution to having a big gallon jug on the countertop that I use for my twice daily saline rinse. I welcome any suggestions or ideas you all have. I’m sure there’s a great solution, I just have yet to figure it out!)

Love this verse taped to my mirror from Ann Voskamp and Holly Gerth. Such a great reminder!

Looking in my shower, it looks like I might be a shampoo hoarder. Don’t ask why there were two empty bottles of shampoo/body wash at the bottom of our shower.

So much better!

Join in the Chatter

::Want to blog about this challenge? If you’re blogging through this challenge with me, be sure to leave your link to your direct post on linky below. Plus, if you’d like to post your daily posts to the 30-Day House Cleaning Challenge Pinterest Group, just shoot me an email (moneysavingmom @ gmail dot com) and I’ll invite you.

::Want to follow along on Twitter or Instagram? I’ll also be sharing some of my cleaning pictures on my Facebook Page, my Twitter account, and my Instagram account. I’d love to have you do the same or join in the discussion on Twitter and Instagram. Just follow hashtag #Cleanin30 to see what others are tweeting and Instagramming about this challenge!

Shared Apr 5, 2013 comment

4 Ways that Being Organized is Helping Me Save Money

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 5, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Post written by Carrie

I think it was the time I went to the store and realized I left my coupons at home. Or maybe it was the day that I paid my bill late and incurred a late charge. Maybe it was mailing a present in the mail and having to pay extra to get it shipped in time. Whenever it was… I finalized realized I was throwing money out the window by not being organized.

It is amazing how much money we can let slip through our figures by not being organized. So, my goal is to plug up these holes and start saving money — here’s how I’m planning to do just that:

1. Get a good system for paying your bills.

I now do my bills once a week. I do automatic bill-pay which lets me choose the day to pay them. All my bills are listed on a spreadsheet.

I sort them by which paycheck or child support payment the bills will be paid with. I keep a full year on my spreadsheet so I can look back and see what expenses I had last year at this time.

2. Get control of your coupons.

I love to coupon. It is a huge rush to get to the check-out and realize that I’ve saved over $50, and it’s great to come home with free food.

But I needed a system that would work better. I had the big binder, but it was just too cumbersome. I decided to try switching to the envelope system. I keep the labeled envelopes in my tote bag.

No longer do I have to worry if I forgot my coupons. And if things get too stressful, I give myself some grace and just shop at Aldi.

3. Keep track of appointments, birthdays, holiday gifts, etc.

This is another area in which I struggled. I have always had a calendar book which I used to keep my appointment. The problem was I didn’t look at it every day.

Now, before I go to bed, I check it over to see what the next day will bring. Then if I need a form filled out for the school, I have it ready. If I need to go to the doctor’s office, I make sure I have my list of medications updated and in my wallet.

4. Streamline your life.

I’ve been reading a lot of great books on streamlining your life, saving money, and organizing. It is amazing how all these areas can tie together.

If you streamline your life, you will be more focused and organized. You won’t waste money buying things you already have.

For example, I have five boys and I spent hours sorting through all their old shoes. I have over 40 boxes of shoes!

Now when one of the little ones needs a bigger size shoe, I just go the closet and retrieve it. It saves me a trip to the store, which streamlines my life, it saves me money by not buying another pair, and it makes it easy to find the shoes in one quick look. This is just one area in which I’ve been working and I have many, many more to go.

Carrie is a single, working mom of five wonderful boys who lives in Pennsylvania.

photo source

Shared Apr 5, 2013 comment

30-Day House Cleaning Challenge: Project #5-7

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 5, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

During the month of April, I’m encouraging my readers to participate in a 30-Day House Cleaning Challenge (read more here, if you missed my announcement about this challenge last week). Every week day morning at 9 a.m., I’ll post the daily project and every evening around 6 p.m. EST, I’ll post an update and link-up.

April 5, 2013 Project

With the weekend coming up tomorrow, today you get to choose your project from the list. You can either surface clean the living room and kitchen, clean a bathroom, or clean your interior windows.

Or, if you have a lot of extra time and energy, you can choose more than one project. Just promise me you won’t aim too high and then end up feeling disappointed with yourself if you don’t get it all done, okay?

I decided to clean our bathroom, since I didn’t get to it on Tuesday. {I already did my project on Wednesday as I’m at the Midwest Homeschool Convention today!}

You can see step-by-step instructions on how to surface clean your living room and kitchen here. Or, step-by-step instructions on how to clean the bathroom here.

Come back here at 6 p.m. EST and I’ll show you pictures of my cleaning accomplishments and have a linky so you can link up yours, too!

What project are you planning to tackle today?

Join in the Chatter

::Want to blog about this challenge? If you’re blogging through this challenge with me, be sure to leave your link to your direct post on the daily check-ins. Plus, if you’d like to post your daily posts to the 30-Day House Cleaning Challenge Pinterest Group, just shoot me an email (moneysavingmom @ gmail dot com) and I’ll invite you.

::Want to follow along on Twitter or Instagram? I’ll also be sharing some of my cleaning pictures on my Facebook Page, my Twitter account, and my Instagram account. I’d love to have you do the same or join in the discussion on Twitter and Instagram. Just follow hashtag #Cleanin30 to see what others are tweeting and Instagramming about this challenge!

photo credit

Shared Apr 4, 2013 comment

30-Day House Cleaning Challenge: Day #4 Update

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 4, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

During the month of April, I’m encouraging my readers to participate in a 30-Day House Cleaning Challenge (read more here, if you missed my announcement about this challenge last week). Every week day morning at 9 a.m., I’ll post the daily project and every evening around 6 p.m. EST, I’ll post an update and link-up.

Well, we had a last-minute hiccup with all our technology before my talk tonight and while I was supposed to be writing this post, I was instead frantically try to get my Powerpoint to work and notes to pull up on my iPad. The mic also wouldn’t work.

It was just one of those nights. But regardless, the talk went well and I loved getting to meet so many of you.

And now I’m finally back in my hotel room getting to this post! 🙂

Clearly, my laundry room needed some work. Oy!

I’m not sure I want to know what dripped down from the dryer onto the floor there.

I had the “brilliant” idea to vacuum up all the lint with the vacuum. But that did go so hot since our vacuum isn’t the best (our Dyson finally bit the dust awhile back and we replaced it with something cheap for the time being. I think you get what you pay for when it comes to vacuums!)

Ah, so much better!

Join in the Chatter

::Want to blog about this challenge? If you’re blogging through this challenge with me, be sure to leave your link to your direct post on linky below. Plus, if you’d like to post your daily posts to the 30-Day House Cleaning Challenge Pinterest Group, just shoot me an email (moneysavingmom @ gmail dot com) and I’ll invite you.

::Want to follow along on Twitter or Instagram? I’ll also be sharing some of my cleaning pictures on my Facebook Page, my Twitter account, and my Instagram account. I’d love to have you do the same or join in the discussion on Twitter and Instagram. Just follow hashtag #Cleanin30 to see what others are tweeting and Instagramming about this challenge!

photo credit

Shared Apr 4, 2013 comment

How I’m Earning $80 in Free Gift Cards Every Month

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 4, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

By Laura from Our Coupon Adventures

I’ve been earning $80 in free gift cards every month. How? Well, here are the four ways I’m doing it:

1. Viggle

This is the easiest and most rewarding way that we earn money from home. All you do is simply download the Viggle app on your smart phone and start checking into your favorite shows!

My husband and I “Viggle” everyday and we earn about $40-$45 in CVS gift cards each month (Although you can also earn Starbucks, Old Navy, Barnes and Noble, and many more…).

If you have more smartphones in your household, it will be easier to earn even more gift cards each month.

2. Swagbucks

Swagbucks are another easy way to earn gift cards for doing things you already do: Searching the web, shopping online, printing coupons, etc. Use the Swagbucks search engine when online to easily rack up points.

With little effort, it is easy to earn $5 a month in Target, Wal-Mart, or Amazon gift cards. If you shop online, take surveys, and watch the videos, you will earn even more points. Also, when referring friends, you will earn points when they search online, so the more friends you refer the easier it is to earn more gift cards!

3. Shopkick

Shopkick is a great app if you are regularly at Target, Wal-Mart, or even the mall. All you have to do is download the Shopkick app and start earning points!

When you walk into stores, open you app and you can earn points just for being in the store. You will have a list of products available to scan at the stores, and each item will be worth a specified amount of points.

Also, if you link your debit card to Shopkicks, participating stores (like Toys “R” Us) will reward you points for each dollar spent. When you reach 500 Shopkick points (which is very easy to do), you can redeem a $2 target gift card. You can continue to do this every time you’re at the store, and the gift cards will add up pretty quickly!

4. Jingit

Jingit is great because you earn actual money (that can be added to your Jingit debit card). Simply download the Jingit app on your smart phone and log in on your computer.

You can earn money from watching ads, scanning products at Walmart and even for buying those items. It is easy to transfer the money from Jingit to your debit card, and can be used anywhere a credit or debit card is accepted.

By doing these little things each day, I am able to earn money that goes towards groceries, lunches out, and even gifts!

I like these apps because I honestly don’t have to put in a whole lot of effort to these four sites as they are things I am already doing (searching online and walking into stores!). Free money, why not?

Do you have any other tips or ideas for earning free gift cards?

Laura is a military spouse and a stay at home mom of 2 little girls. Her husband is currently deploying for a year, so Laura and her girls live with Laura’s sister and her family. She and her sister run a blog (Our Coupon Adventures) that discusses their efforts to feed both their families while staying on a budget.

Ready to stress less about money?Start with our FREE 5-Day Budget Makeover!

Shared Apr 4, 2013 comment

30-Day House Cleaning Challenge: Project #4

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 4, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

During the month of April, I’m encouraging my readers to participate in a 30-Day House Cleaning Challenge (read more here, if you missed my announcement about this challenge last week). Every week day morning at 9 a.m., I’ll post the daily project and every evening around 6 p.m. EST, I’ll post an update and link-up.

April 4, 2013 Project

Your project for today is to surface clean extra rooms (laundry room, office, etc.)

I decided to clean my laundry room and worked on cleaning the washer & dryer, floor, walls, and door. {I already did my project yesterday since I’m headed to the Midwest Homeschool Convention today!}

Come back here at 6 p.m. EST and I’ll show you pictures of my cleaning accomplishments and have a linky so you can link up yours, too!

What room are you planning to tackle today?

Join in the Chatter

::Want to blog about this challenge? If you’re blogging through this challenge with me, be sure to leave your link to your direct post on the daily check-ins. Plus, if you’d like to post your daily posts to the 30-Day House Cleaning Challenge Pinterest Group, just shoot me an email (moneysavingmom @ gmail dot com) and I’ll invite you.

::Want to follow along on Twitter or Instagram? I’ll also be sharing some of my cleaning pictures on my Facebook Page, my Twitter account, and my Instagram account. I’d love to have you do the same or join in the discussion on Twitter and Instagram. Just follow hashtag #Cleanin30 to see what others are tweeting and Instagramming about this challenge!

photo credit

Shared Apr 3, 2013 comment

30-Day House Cleaning Challenge: Project #3 Update

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 3, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

During the month of April, I’m encouraging my readers to participate in a 30-Day House Cleaning Challenge (read more here, if you missed my announcement about this challenge last week). Every week day morning at 9 a.m., I’ll post the daily project and every evening around 6 p.m. EST, I’ll post an update and link-up.

How did your Day 3 Project go?

I’m a little late in getting this posted because I had a doctor’s appointment this afternoon that was supposedly at 2:45 p.m., but ended up being quite a bit later than 2:45 p.m. 🙂

And I’m a little embarrassed to show you my pictures for today because our room is in need of a makeover. However, I’m all about keeping it real, so here goes…

What it looked like when you walked into our room. Yikes!

And the other side of the room. Yes, we have a young child who has taken up temporary residence in our room right now. 🙂

Recently, before I leave on a trip, I’ve started piling together things I want to take and need to take. This chair has become the catch-all for my next trip pile. Not sure that this is the most organized method out there, but it’s been working pretty well — even if it looks rather messy!

After some cleaning and straightening, things looked much better. And we have promised ourselves we’ll be buying a new bedroom set sometime in the next year since we still have the free bed frame we were given when we got married. It just keeps getting shelved for higher priorities.

The trip pile has now been moved to the suitcase. 🙂 And yes, we do plan to do something more organized about the TV situation… I don’t usually realize what a mess of cords it looks like until I post pictures on my blog for everyone to see. Ahem.

Join in the Chatter

::Want to blog about this challenge? If you’re blogging through this challenge with me, be sure to leave your link to your direct post on linky below. Plus, if you’d like to post your daily posts to the 30-Day House Cleaning Challenge Pinterest Group, just shoot me an email (moneysavingmom @ gmail dot com) and I’ll invite you.

::Want to follow along on Twitter or Instagram? I’ll also be sharing some of my cleaning pictures on my Facebook Page, my Twitter account, and my Instagram account. I’d love to have you do the same or join in the discussion on Twitter and Instagram. Just follow hashtag #Cleanin30 to see what others are tweeting and Instagramming about this challenge!

photo credit

Shared Apr 3, 2013 comment

52 Different Ways to Save $100 Per Year: Rent Movies for FREE {Week 13}

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 3, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

At the beginning of every week in 2013, I’ll be sharing a different way you can save $100 this year. If you do all of these things, you’ll be able to save over $5,000 this year alone! Many of these things will likely be things you’re already doing, but hopefully all of you will pick up at least a few new ideas or some inspiration from this series.

One of the ways my husband and I have saved a lot of money over the years is by having at-home movie nights instead of going to see a movie at the theater. On the rare occasions when we do go see a movie, I always choke at the prices they charge.

$8+ per ticket? That adds up quickly!

We love a good movie as much as the next person, though, so we’ve found creative ways to enjoy the occasional movie on the cheap. Here are some of those ideas:

The Library

When Jesse was in law school, we lived in Topeka, KS, home to one of the best libraries in the U.S. (yes, I’m a little biased and oh how I miss that library!). Not only did we check out dozens of books each month, we also frequented the DVD section for our at-home movie dates. You can’t beat FREE DVD rentals!

Not all libraries offer free DVD rentals, but if your library does, take advantage of it! Our kids especially love checking out old TV series to watch during movie time each day.

Redbox

Sometime near the end of law school, Redbox came to town and we switched to getting most of our movies from the Redbox kiosks. Back then, they gave away free movie codes like they were going out of style so whenever we wanted to get a free movie, we’d just check Inside Redbox for a valid code.

Now, the codes are a little less frequent, but they still release them on occasion. Coupon Dad keeps a running list of free Redbox rental codes and I also post any that I find as they are valid. (There’s a free Redbox code available through May 8, 2013).

You can use one free code per card, so if you have multiple cards, you can use the free codes more than once. If you have a texting plan, you can text SIGNUP to 727272 and you’ll get a free rental code the first Monday of every month, plus Redbox coupons and occasional free rental codes throughout the month.

Amazon Instant Video Rental

Thanks to Swagbucks, Amazon is becoming more and more our go-to place for renting movies. The Amazon Instant Video library contains thousands upon thousands of movies, TV shows, and more.

They occasionally release free Instant Streaming credits that we use to download movies and they also often have $0.99 rental specials. The thing I love best about the $0.99 rental offers is that you have 30 days to start viewing them. So I can purchase one and save it for a movie night later in the month. Once you start viewing the video, though, it’s only available in your account for 48 hours.

I use a few of the Amazon gift cards I earn through Swagbucks each month to pay for some Instant Video library purchases from Amazon. We’ve been very happy with Amazon video rentals and we love that we don’t have to mess with going out and getting a video or the possibility that they might be all rented. In addition, if we’ve had any connectivity issues with a movie playing, Amazon has always refunded our money all on their own — even when the connectivity issues weren’t anything major.

There are also other options like NetFlix, Hulu, and watching shows online, but the library, Redbox, and Amazon Instant Video are our top three favorites.

How Much Can You Save?

If you go to a theater once a month and spend and average of $20 (two movie tickets + popcorn), you’ll save around $240 per year by having at-home movie nights. That’s fairly significant!

Plus, you don’t have to mess with finding a sitter and you can make your own snacks — which are much better than most of those icky movie theater options (can you tell I’m not a soda pop and candy bar girl?!).

Do you like at-home movie dates? What are your favorite alternatives to paying for movie tickets?

photo from Big Stock

Shared Apr 3, 2013 comment

Ask the Readers: Help me stretch our $200 per month grocery budget!

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 3, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Today’s question is from Kari:

My husband and I recently started the Dave Ramsey program and we are halfway through baby step #2 (the debt snowball). I’m having a hard time with how much I should budget for grocery — and making that stretch for the whole month.

Can any of your readers share some ideas and/or cheap recipes for a family of 4 (our boys are 3 and 5) with a $200 monthly budget? I am doing a lot of freezer cooking, making a lot of rice meals, and using my bread machine like crazy, but I am having trouble with wanting to use meat but just cant afford it. We are already doing some meatless meals and I am buying my flour in bulk at Sam’s Club. -Kari

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

Shared Apr 3, 2013 comment

30-Day House Cleaning Challenge: Project #3

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 3, 2013 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

During the month of April, I’m encouraging my readers to participate in a 30-Day House Cleaning Challenge (read more here, if you missed my announcement about this challenge last week). Every week day morning at 9 a.m., I’ll post the daily project and every evening around 6 p.m. EST, I’ll post an update and link-up.

April 3, 2013 Project

Your project for today is to surface clean your bedroom(s).

If you have multiple bedrooms in your house, you can choose whichever one most needs a good surface cleaning. I’m planning to do our room (I’ll save the girls’ room for later this month, because it definitely needs a good cleaning!).

Here’s what I’m planning to do:

Set the timer for 20 minutes and pick up and put away all items that are out of place. (Bonus: find 7 items to get rid of.)

Pull out any items under the bed that don’t below under the bed and make the bed (wash sheets/bedding, if needed).

Vacuum/sweep the room. (Bonus: use an attachment on the vacuum to vacuum around the baseboards and vacuum under the bed.)

Clean fingerprints on the windows.

Bonus: Spot-clean the carpets and walls.

You’re done!

You can follow along with my list — or do whatever constitutes “surface cleaning the bedroom” to you. There is no one right way to do this. 🙂

Then, come back here at 6 p.m. EST and I’ll show you pictures of my cleaning accomplishments for today and have a linky so you can link up yours, too!

Are there any bedroom-cleaning tasks that you’d add to my list? Let us know.

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::Want to blog about this challenge? If you’re blogging through this challenge with me, be sure to leave your link to your direct post on the daily check-ins. Plus, if you’d like to post your daily posts to the 30-Day House Cleaning Challenge Pinterest Group, just shoot me an email (moneysavingmom @ gmail dot com) and I’ll invite you.

::Want to follow along on Twitter or Instagram? I’ll also be sharing some of my cleaning pictures on my Facebook Page, my Twitter account, and my Instagram account. I’d love to have you do the same or join in the discussion on Twitter and Instagram. Just follow hashtag #Cleanin30 to see what others are tweeting and Instagramming about this challenge!

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Breakfasts

Lunches

Snacks

Pinterest Experiment {I’ll share how this goes later this week!}

Freezer Cooking {I’ll share how this goes later this week!}

Dinners

April 8, 2013 Project

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1. Recycle books.

2. Inquire about any discounts for which you may be eligible.

3. Download free sheet music.

Budget-Friendly Gift GuidesGift Great Gifts Without Overspending!

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1. Get a good system for paying your bills.

2. Get control of your coupons.

3. Keep track of appointments, birthdays, holiday gifts, etc.

4. Streamline your life.

April 5, 2013 Project

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1. Viggle

2. Swagbucks

3. Shopkick

4. Jingit

Ready to stress less about money?Start with our FREE 5-Day Budget Makeover!

April 4, 2013 Project

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The Library

Redbox

Amazon Instant Video Rental

How Much Can You Save?

Do you like at-home movie dates? What are your favorite alternatives to paying for movie tickets?

April 3, 2013 Project

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