Saving Families Money Since 2007
Today’s question is from Vicki:
I commute to my college and need some ideas easy, cheap, and healthful ideas for me to bring for sack lunches. I don’t have access to a fridge/freezer or microwave. Also I’m getting bored of PB&J and lunch meat wraps. Any suggestions? -Vicki
Do you have a question you’d like to ask Money Saving Mom® readers? Read the submission guidelines and submit it here.
We’re leaving early tomorrow for Cincinnati so today will be a busy day of last-minute preparations. However, don’t feel like that means you get off the hook. 🙂
I actually worked ahead a little bit and have done most of the next few days’ assignments already so that I can continue posting this challenge when I’m gone. Yes, you all can thank me right now for making you work while I’m on “vacation”.
(I’m not sure that I’m ready to call speaking in front of thousands of people a “vacation”, but getting to meet many of you all in Cincinnati will make it worth dealing with my stage fright! And honestly, I’m learning that the more I just face my fears, jump out and do this stuff that used to scare me to death, the more I’m actually enjoying it — which is something I never dreamed I’d say about public speaking!).
At any rate, I’m hoping for a productive, focused, and calm day. And an early bedtime. 🙂
Day 13 Assignment
::Get dressed in something that makes you feel great {there’s something about dressing in clothes that make you feel great that just gives you more energy and zest for life! Get your free copy of SarahMae’s ebook, Frumps to Pumps, if you need more motivation in this.}
::Sit down with a cup of coffee or tea, refer to your list of weekly goals, and make a list of no more than 5-7 specific things you want to accomplish today.
::Complete your morning routine {if you don’t have a morning routine, take some time to create one today! Read my How to Develop a Routine That Works–And Stick With It series for step-by-step help.}
::Set the timer for 15 minutes and do a quick-clean of your bathroom. Need specific directions? Read this article on How to Clean Your Bathroom in 15 Minutes.
::Clean the top of your kitchen cupboards (if there is space between them and the ceiling) and the top of your refrigerator. If you have clutter on the top of your refrigerator, go through it and see if you can get rid of it or find a new home for it. Wipe down the outside of your kitchen cupboard doors.
::Find 7 items to get rid of today. Throw them out, stick them in a donate or garage sale box, give them to a friend who can use them, or list them on Craigslist or eBay.
Note: If you work outside the home or have a really busy week with little time for extra projects, just do the bolded project above.
At around 9 p.m. EST tonight, I’ll be posting my progress and pictures, along with a link-up for you to share your progress and pictures, too. Here’s to our productivity today!
If you missed this morning’s assignment, you can check it out here.
So, do you all want to know the truth? I haven’t cleaned my oven since we moved to this house. I’ve wiped up a few spills, but haven’t given it a serious scrubbing since we moved in almost two years ago (wow, has it really been that long?!).
Some of you are probably reeling from shock just thinking of how horrific that is that I wouldn’t clean my oven on a weekly basis.
And maybe others of you are breathing a big sigh of relief that you’re not the only one? 🙂
At any rate, I got out the baking soda and started scrubbing this morning.
Honestly, it wasn’t that bad at all.
But I did find some burned on gunk on the racks that was very persistent. I finally gave up on getting it completely off (anyone have suggestions for how to miraculously take stubborn stuff off oven racks?!).
I also discovered this at the bottom of the oven. It appeared to be some kind of hard plastic. I’m not sure what it is or how long it’s been in there but you would think that if it were plastic, it would have smelled like plastic every time I used my oven recently, right? So I have no idea, but I’m glad to have it out of there.
I also cleaned out the drawer underneath the oven while I was at it. It was in dire need of cleaning as it seems to be one giant crumb catcher!
And finally, I tackled the stovetop and the microwave, neither of which were too bad since I do clean those on a regular basis.
My pile of 7+ things to get rid of today — mostly well, well used foil pans I found stashed in the drawer under the stove and decided were well past their prime.
How did you do on Assignment #12? I’d love to have you share your progress and success with us so we can be inspired. Either post a link to your blog post below or leave a comment with your update.
I am single and have about $30 per week for groceries which I find hard to do and get a balanced diet. I do go to multiple stores to get the best prices and use coupons the best I can. The thing that bothers me, is when a staple item I use is on sale, I normally don’t have an extra $5 (let alone more) to spend to purchase it. How can I stock-up on sale items when I have such a little bit to get by with anyways? -Renee
Contrary to what many people may tell you, I think you can definitely eat well on $30 per week — and you can find a little wiggle room to buy ahead, too.
My husband and I both lived on a $30 per week grocery budget when we were first married. This included all the ingredients to make 21 meals for both of us each week, plus all household products.
Don’t let yourself think, “There’s no way I can eat on this small of a budget.” Instead, decide that you’re going to do the best you can with the resources you have.
Make it a game, of sorts, to see how well you can do on a little. By challenging yourself to exercise creativity and think outside the box, you’ll enjoy it a lot more. And when you’re enjoying something, it no longer seems so difficult.
In order to be able to scrape together enough money to start buying ahead and building up your stockpile, I’d encourage you to commit to eating really simply for a few weeks. Cut your grocery budget back to $25, and save the extra $5 to invest in those rock-bottom, can’t miss deals — or to purchase almost-free toiletries and household products.
If you’re thinking there’s no way you can eat on $25 per week, here’s a grocery list and menu plan I came up with:
Sample $25 Grocery List and Menu
Prices are approximate and will likely vary a little by area. You may be able to beat these prices with great sales and/or coupons.
Regular Grocery Store, Aldi, or Walmart
1 canister of oatmeal –$2
1 gallon milk — $2.50
1 bag of apples — $3
1 bag of carrots — $1.50
4 bags of frozen vegetables — $4
1 bag of frozen chicken breasts — $7Dollar Store
1 loaf of bread — $1
1 jar of peanut butter — $1
1 jar of jelly or honey — $1
1 bag of dried beans — $1
1 bag of rice — $1Breakfasts:
Oatmeal with milk (add in some chopped apples, honey, or peanut butter to change things up a little)
Lunches:
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, apples, carrots
Dinners:
Beans and rice with steamed veggies on the side
Chicken, rice, and carrot soup
Baked chicken breast on a bed of rice, steamed veggies
Rice, chopped chicken, and steamed veggies mixed together and sprinkled with salt
Homemade refried beans, baked chicken, steamed veggies
Chicken and veggie stirfry served over rice
Leftovers
Yes, this isn’t a very exciting menu. But if you’re willing to scrimp for a few weeks and eat very simply, it will free up that extra $5 or so each week to start buying a few extra things that are on a great sale (like a bag of flour, like that incredible deal on strawberries — some to eat now, some to freeze for later, or that fantastic special on beef).
As you invest some of your grocery money in the rock-bottom specials and deals, this helps you to build up more of a stockpile so that, over time, you’ll be able to have more and more variety without increasing your budget.
Want to cut your grocery budget? Go here and sign up (it’s free!) I’ll send you my 10 Easy Ways to Cut Your Grocery Bill By $50.
Guest post from Tiffany of Don’t Waste the Crumbs
Do you have a planner? I do.
Actually, I have a pretty incredible planner (that I saw here on MoneySavingMom.com) and I write just about everything in it: meals, birthdays, to-do lists, chores, grocery lists, appointments, things not to forget. That is, unless I forget to write them down.
And in that case, nothing gets written in it, and then my planner isn’t so incredible after all. But I can’t really blame the planner now, can I? 🙂
Today is 2012 Tax Day. I celebrated by getting our taxes done. I know — nothing like waiting until the last moment, right?
Actually, I’m ahead of the game. I got our taxes done on Monday.
No need to remind me, I know I’m cutting it close. But at least I’m not late! (And yes, this is a reminder in case any of you forgot!)
As I was attempting to do them myself last week, I realized that I could have done them so much faster, with so much more information, and so much more accurately (and in turn, not needing to go have them done by someone else) if I had only kept up with my planner!
You see, I do write down a lot of information in my planner, but apparently, there’s a lot of information that I didn’t write down.
This is just a glimpse into some of the thoughts that were spinning in my head, while seeking comfort in a bag of left-over Easter jelly beans last week.
I had a revelation: my planner was good for more than just properly managing my household day-to-day. Using my planner to its fullest could actually save me money.
Suddenly, I have a renewed interest in my planner and will do my best to do a better job of writing more details down in it to save me time and money come Tax Day 2013.
Tiffany is a full-time mom who teaches part-time and blogs at Don’t Waste the Crumbs, sharing ideas on kids, food, frugality, and making the most out of the small pieces of life.
ItsGravyBaby.com shows you how to make edible finger paint.
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.
Day 12 Assignment
::Get dressed in something that makes you feel great {there’s something about dressing in clothes that make you feel great that just gives you more energy and zest for life! Get your free copy of SarahMae’s ebook, Frumps to Pumps, if you need more motivation in this.}
::Sit down with a cup of coffee or tea, refer to your list of weekly goals, and make a list of no more than 5-7 specific things you want to accomplish today.
::Complete your morning routine {if you don’t have a morning routine, take some time to create one today! Read my How to Develop a Routine That Works–And Stick With It series for step-by-step help.}
::Set the timer for 15 minutes and vacuum the main living areas of your home.
::Clean your microwave, stove top, and/or oven.
::Find 7 items to get rid of today. Throw them out, stick them in a donate or garage sale box, give them to a friend who can use them, or list them on Craigslist or eBay.
Note: If you work outside the home or have a really busy week with little time for extra projects, just do the bolded project above.
At around 9 p.m. EST tonight, I’ll be posting my progress and pictures, along with a link-up for you to share your progress and pictures, too. Here’s to our productivity today!
Okay, so I have a confession to make: I never made it out of my PJs today, nor did I exercise. I think that sort of means I failed today’s assignment–at least when it comes to the first project on the list.
I had every intention to run and take a shower, but after reading my Bible, making a list of goals for the week, making a to-do list, blogging, homeschooling, having a radio interview, more blogging, and taking care of a bunch of little details in prep for our trip, I finally decided late in the afternoon that it just wasn’t happening today.
The good news? I had a productive day.
I told you that my house was a mess this morning.
Why yes, that’s a box of Annie’s mac & cheese on our bedroom floor. You mean you don’t store those on your bedroom floor?? Ahem. I’m not sure how it got there!
And I certainly wasn’t kidding.
But it’s clean tonight — thanks, in part, to my husband and children pitching in to get it all picked up.
So. much. better!
And I also got the silverware drawer cleaned — though it wasn’t too messy to start with since it had been cleaned out not too long ago. But I found a few things to get rid of and some crumbs to wipe out.
My 7+ items to get rid of — mostly from the silverware and utensil drawer.
Tomorrow, I promise I’ll make getting out of my PJs a priority — especially since I really want to head to Target to buy some Starbucks coffee before our store is cleaned out. 🙂
How did you do on Assignment #11? I’d love to have you share your progress and success with us so we can be inspired. Either post a link to your blog post below or leave a comment with your update.
Last week was a good week and it was encouraging to realize just how much was accomplished today when I went to update my goals list today. Yay for productivity!
Since we’re traveling to the Cincinnati Conference later this week, my big focus this week is to rest up and prepare for a few whirlwind days of speaking, meeting many people, and running our booth. Now that most of prep work is done for the conference, I’m getting really excited about it — especially since so many of you have written in to say you’ll be attending!
Last week’s goals:
Family/Mothering Goals
1. Read five chapters of Quest for Truth:Taken aloud to the children. Start Thomas A Edison: Young Inventor.
2. Write a love note to Jesse.
3. Meet friends at the park for a playdate.Personal Goals
4. Finish reading One of Us Must Be Crazy and I’m Pretty Sure It’s You. Start reading The Three R’s.
5. Complete week 10 of the Couch to 5K program.6. Finish listening to The 10 Habits of Happy Mothers.
Home Management
7. Follow my Spring Cleaning plan & blog about it every weekday.Business Goals
8. Finish & practice my talks for the Midwest Homeschool Convention.
9. Finish & print handouts for the Midwest Homeschool Convention.
10. Create Powerpoints for my talks for the Midwest Homeschool Convention.
This week’s goals:
Family/Mothering Goals
1. Read five chapters each of Quest for Truth:Taken and Thomas A Edison: Young Inventor aloud to the children.
2. Write a love note to Jesse.
Personal Goals
3. Finish reading One of Us Must Be Crazy and I’m Pretty Sure It’s You and The Three R’s.
4. Run at least two times.
5. Finish listening to The 10 Habits of Happy Mothers. Start listening to Integrity: The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality.
Home Management
6. Follow my Spring Cleaning plan & blog about it every weekday.
Business Goals
7. Continue practicing my talks for the Midwest Homeschool Convention.
8. Attend and speak at the Midwest Homeschool Convention.
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.
Missed some of the first assignments? See the links at the bottom of this post for Assignments 1-10.
It’s Monday and that means we’re back to cleaning and organizing our homes again. And boy does our home need some cleaning and organizing!
It was a bit of a crazy weekend around here — especially with all the stormy weather and tornadoes. In light of the tornado damage and destruction others experienced this weekend, I can hardly complain about a messy house.
But I still need to whip this place back into shape. I think it may look worse than these mess house photos I posted last month!
Day 11 Assignment
::Get dressed in something that makes you feel great {there’s something about dressing in clothes that make you feel great that just gives you more energy and zest for life! Get your free copy of SarahMae’s ebook, Frumps to Pumps, if you need more motivation in this.}
::Sit down with a cup of coffee or tea and make a list of weekly goals. I’ll post my goals along with a link-up around 1 p.m. ET this afternoon.
::Complete your morning routine {if you don’t have a morning routine, take some time to create one today! Read my How to Develop a Routine That Works–And Stick With It series for step-by-step help.}
::Set the timer for 15 minutes and quickly pick up your house and put things back into order after the weekend. If your house looks like mine, you might need to spend longer than 15 minutes. 🙂
::Clean out your silverware drawer. Remove all items, vacuum out the crumbs with your vacuum’s attachment, wipe down the drawer with a damp cloth, get rid of anything you don’t need or no longer use, and then put everything you’re keeping back into the drawer in an organized manner.
::Find 7 items to get rid of today. Throw them out, stick them in a donate or garage sale box, give them to a friend who can use them, or list them on Craigslist or eBay.
Note: If you work outside the home or have a really busy week with little time for extra projects, just do the bolded project above.
At 9 p.m. ET tonight, I’ll be posting my progress and pictures, along with a link-up for you to share your progress and pictures, too. Here’s to our productivity today!
Guest post from Rachel who blogs at RachelWojo.com
As mother to a child with a long-term, life-threatening illness, innovative methods of securing medical supplies have been crucial to our family’s financial sustainability. Obviously the following list is not comprehensive, but perhaps you will get a fresh idea or two that can practically assist you during high-demanding medical crises.
1. Use your private health insurance for every doctor’s visit, prescription, and therapy.
This point may seem like a no-brainer, but often consumers will forget to provide current information, especially at the beginning of a calendar year, or insurance plan year.
2. Take advantage of Flex Spending Plans.
If your employer has a medical flexible spending plan available, be sure you take advantage of this avenue to save from paying taxes on your necessary medical supplies. There are guidelines and restrictions as to the covered items, so be sure to identify the items and coverage you need from the flexible spending plan before you commit to it.
3. Determine if the prescription or therapy is truly medically necessary.
Often something as simple as the location of therapy changes the cost dramatically (such home versus facility). Get a second opinion if you are not confident.
4. Use a medical supply mail-order company for long term prescriptions.
Purchasing a 90-day supply over a 30-day supply will usually save money in the long run. Many companies have free shipping and you save time and money on pickup and gas.
5. Ask for samples.
When looking at medical supplies, weigh both quantity and quality. Ask for samples and test them before committing to a box of 500.
6. Use generic.
Ask the doctor for a generic brand prescription instead of the brand name.Whether the item is medication or testing supplies or whatever, often the generic will serve the same purpose while saving money.
7. Be proactive in asking others about their medical/financial strategies.
Social workers, clinical workers, nurses, fellow parents…you never know who has information about a program or benefit of which you are unaware.
8. Don’t be afraid to ask for a payment plan.
If you owe a medical bill you cannot immediately pay in full, make payments. Most medical billing companies try to prevent turning the bills over to collections as long as the consumer is faithfully making payments, regardless of the size.
Many people encounter serious financial difficulty due to unexpected medical issues and it can be discouraging. My hope is that this list will promote new ideas that evolve into long-term solutions for you or your loved one’s continual medical care.
Rachel Wojnarowski is originally a small town country girl who converted to a suburban mother of seven by way of life happening. She and her husband, Matt, enjoy caring for their busy family, whose ages span 9 months to 21 years and include a special needs daughter. She loves to inspire others through her blog by sharing faith, family, and fun.
Guest post from Lucky of Making My Own Luck
This is the life-cycle of a cardboard box in our very frugal household!
The Amazon deals posts on Money Saving Mom have turned me into a fan of the Fisher Price Happy Days and Happy Nights diapers. I used to love Pampers but my baby’s chubby thighs fit in the Fisher Price diapers better. I order them through subscribe and save, and they come every month like clockwork in a great big box.
I’m working from home when I hear the delivery truck chugging up the hill and the telltale thud of the box on my door step. I lug the box into the house, take the diapers out of the box, and put the diapers away — leaving the box in the middle of the living room floor.
The baby plays on the floor while I work in the kitchen. I look up. Where’s the baby? Inside of the box, laughing happily.
My 3-year-old wakes up at the crack of dawn asking to paint something, play with play dough, go to the park, wash the car, and make a birthday cake all at once. I ask him if he would like to color on this nice box instead.
He claps and gets to it. The box has now been transformed from a low budget play pen to a race car. I enjoy my coffee while helping him draw racing stripes on the side.
Later, he asks me to ride in the car with him. While he’s pretending to strap me into my car seat, I crash through the back of his race car/cardboard box. He gets out his play tool box and spends a long time with his saw and a roll of tape playing auto mechanic. The race car is as good as new.
That night as I’m getting ready for bed, I see that the cat has decided to take over the box and is curled up in a big gray lump, and dreaming kitty dreams.
The kids have moved on to playing with canning rings and empty milk jugs. As usual, most of their actual toys go unused. It’s my turn to use the box and I stuff it with outgrown clothes for next spring’s consignment sale.
I challenge you to find me any “real toys” that could have this many uses!
Lucky is the mother of two young kids and a carb-intolerant kitty. Read about her adventures of balancing kids, work and life with making her own bread at Making My Own Luck.
If you missed this morning’s assignment, you can find it here.
It was a pretty typical morning here: Bible, blogging, morning routine, running, radio interview, and homeschooling. I took a quick shower and then Kaitlynn and I headed out for a fun afternoon “date” together.
And then I came home and cleaned light fixtures and ceiling fans:
The kitchen
The girls’ room {and the are we done yet look?!}
I couldn’t reach the living room ceiling fan… so Jesse and I devised a way to pull it off without a ladder. I got on his shoulders, he stood on a chair, and then I could reach it. Of course, I was freaking out that I was going to fall the whole time and he was having a grand time laughing at me. But I was mostly just being my crazy self and playing it up so he could get a kick out of me (though I really did think I was going to fall a few times!)
{By the way, I wouldn’t recommend trying this at home, but it produced a lot of laughter and provided a fun memory! :)}
Lookie who lost her second tooth today?!
And for my “assigned” 15-minutes of relaxation, Jesse and I are having an at-home movie date tonight once the children are in bed. I’m excited to set the to-do list aside and just kick back and enjoy a relaxing evening!
I hope you had a great day today! Thanks for joining me in all these projects this week. Be sure to come back on Monday morning for your next assignment!
How did you do on Assignment #10? I’d love to have you share your progress and success with us so we can be inspired. Either post a link to your blog post below or leave a comment with your update.
Guest post from Katie of Along For The Journey
Do you have trouble saving money? I know, at times, I certainly do.
I set ambitious saving goals, only to have my ambition slowly dwindle down. However, I have learned that if you are determined to meet your savings goals, creativity can help you get there. Here are a few ideas to get you thinking:
When you purchase something with a debit card, round up the purchase to the next dollar and transfer the extra change to your savings account. There are some banks that will automatically do this for you. If you use a cash system for purchases, then throw your change in a jar and let it add up.
I am currently saving all of my online earnings for Christmas. I have set a Christmas budget of $500 and a goal to earn that $500 online. By doing this, I will also be able to take advantage of great deals all year long.
Note from Crystal: Check out this list of Legitimate Survey Companies to Sign Up With, as well as my 15 Ways to Earn More Swagbucks series for more information on how you can earn money by taking surveys and searching the web.
Find a way you can make some extra cash by doing something you already love doing. Here are a few ideas:
These, of course, are just generic ideas. We all have different talents and interests, recognize your talent and think about how you could utilize that talent to earn some extra money.
If at all possible, set up an electronic transfer from your paycheck or checking account to your savings account. It’s much easier to save money that you never see. Even if you can only afford to save $5 out of every paycheck, do it. Small amounts add up quite nicely over time!
Some of the things on this list may look insignificant, but it might surprise you how fast they add up. If you are having trouble saving money, remember to stay positive and think outside the box.
Katie is a mother of two beautiful girls. She currently works part-time as a bookkeeper and goes to college full-time pursuing an accounting degree. She enjoys blogging about personal finance at Along For The Journey.
Can you believe we’ve been at this 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home Challenge for two weeks now? I’m so proud of all of you for the progress you’re making and the hard work you’re putting in to make your homes more of a haven.
Your posts and comments have been a huge inspiration to me! Keep them coming!
Day 10 Assignment
::Get dressed in something that makes you feel great {there’s something about dressing in clothes that make you feel great that just gives you more energy and zest for life! Get your free copy of SarahMae’s ebook, Frumps to Pumps, if you need more motivation in this.}
::Sit down with a cup of coffee or tea, refer to your list of weekly goals, and make a list of no more than 5-7 specific things you want to accomplish today.
::Complete your morning routine {if you don’t have a morning routine, take some time to create one today! Read my How to Develop a Routine That Works–And Stick With It series for step-by-step help.}
::Dust all ceiling fans and clean all light fixtures in your house. Check for burned out light bulbs and replace.
::Set the timer for at least 15 minutes and do something you really enjoy and that relaxes and rejuvenates you. If you need ideas, here are a few: read, write, call a friend, pray, exercise, bake, play with your children, laugh with your husband, stop by the bookstore and browse the book selection, work in the garden, or take a nap! Take some time to just stop and enjoy life today!
Note: If you work outside the home or have a really busy week with little time for extra projects, just do the bolded project above.
At 9 p.m. ET tonight, I’ll be posting my progress and pictures, along with a link-up for you to share your progress and pictures, too. Here’s to our productivity today!
