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Money Saving Mom
Shared Apr 9, 2012 comment

This week’s menu

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This week’s menu

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

We’re easing back into eating more normally after many weeks of eating gluten-free. One of our children is still eating gluten-free, dairy-free, but they have adjusted to just eating a bit differently than us and are completely okay with that. So, I’m excited to get to do a bit more regular baking again!

Breakfasts

Cereal
Strawberry Pineapple Smoothies
Scrambled eggs, fruit salad
Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Waffles, scrambled eggs, fruit
Healthy Homemade Poptarts, hard-boiled eggs, fruit
Carrot juice, Easy Whole Wheat Bread toasted, fried eggs
Oatmeal

Lunches

Leftovers
PB&J, carrot sticks, apples, granola bars
Snack-y lunch
Chips, refried beans, veggies, fruit
Rice & beans, carrot sticks, apples
Salmon, veggies, fruit, corn chips
Leftovers

Dinners

Dinner with extended family
Chicken Rice & Veggie Casserole, fruit salad, sweet potatoes
Barbecued Meatballs, Baked Potatoes, Broccoli, fruit salad, Easy Whole Wheat Bread
Parmesan Chicken, steamed veggies, fruit salad, Vegan Bite-Sized Pumpkin Brownies
Steak, sweet potatoes, fruit salad, steamed veggies
Dinner with extended family
Dinner out

Freezer Cooking/Make Ahead Projects

Chewy Granola Bars
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Vegan Bite-Sized Pumpkin Brownies
Healthy Homemade Poptarts

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

Money Saving Mom
Shared Apr 9, 2012 comment

15 Recommended Preschool and Kindergarten Resources

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15 Recommended Preschool and Kindergarten Resources

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15 preschool and kindergarten educational and learning resources

In recent months, I’ve gotten email after email after email from people asking for me to write more about our homeschooling. Truthfully, it’s a topic I don’t feel ready to broach much as my children are only 7, 4, and 2. Maybe in 10 years from now I’ll have a lot of words of wisdom to share, but for now, we’re just enjoying our journey and learning much along the way.

For those of you who have begged, though, I wanted to share 15 of our favorite preschool and kindergarten resources. These are things our family has especially enjoyed and found beneficial over the last few years. I can’t guarantee that any of these things will work well for your family or child as each child is unique and has different learning styles. However, these are all resources I would definitely recommend looking into if you’re thinking of homeschooling.

1. My Father’s World: Kindergarten

We absolutely loved this Kindergarten curriculum! It is very simple, fun, hands-on, and easy-to-use. There are 26 units and each unit covers one letter of the alphabet and corresponding Bible, Character Development, Art, Math, Creative Thinking, Reading, Phonics and Science lessons. We’ve used this with both of our girls and I’d highly recommend it, especially if you are looking for a Bible-based curriculum with a mix of a Classical Education and a Charlotte Mason approach.

 

2. StarFall

This is an entirely free website has lots of fun interactive educational games and teaching tools for preschoolers and kindergartners. We don’t allow a lot of computer time for the girls at our house, but Starfall is a special treat that our girls get to enjoy on occasion. There are a few minor things on the website which aren’t in line with a Christian worldview, but overall, we’ve been very impressed with Starfall.

 

3. Letter of the Week Curriculum

One of my very favorite homeschooling blogs, Confessions of a Homeschooler, has a fantastic Letter of the Week Curriculum that has lots of printable worksheets that we’ve used to supplement the letter we were studying each week in My Father’s World. The curriculum is only $10 and an exceptional buy for all the amazing downloads and helpful resources which come with it. If you can’t afford to buy the curriculum or would like to check out some of the printables before purchasing, there is a huge list of incredible free printables available here. You can also find many free preschool printables available here.

 

4.Wee Sing Bible Songs

The girls have loved listening to this CD before they go to bed or while playing together. And they’ve learned so many great children’s songs as a result!

 

5. Come Look With Me: Enjoying Art With Children

These are the best books I’ve found so far for teaching art appreciation to young children. Each book in the series introduces children to twelve works of art and engages the imaginations and interest of young children by asking thought-provoking questions about the picture.

 

6. BOB Books

I love these beginning readers – and so have the girls! Some early reading books can be frustrating, but not the BOB books. They introduce new phonetic sounds so engagingly and at a pace that wasn’t overwhelming so the girls rarely even noticed they were adding a new concept.

 

7. Homeschool Share

This free website has tons of great printables, educational resources and lapbooks. When planning our homeschool for the week, I often search for extra printables or fun activities we can supplement with which go along with our unit themes and have found all sorts of free goodies on this site.

 

8. Signing Time DVDs

Hands down, these are the one educational DVDs we’ve pretty much worn to a pulp. We got one as a demo a long time ago and enjoyed it so much that we asked Grandma and Grandpa if they’d buy the set for the girls for Christmas. Not only do I believe it is valuable to introduce your children to the deaf culture, but we’ve found that our children’s vocabulary has increased by leaps and bounds as a result of teaching them ASL.If you have a baby, I’d also highly recommend Baby Signing Time. Being able to communicate with your child at a young age makes life so much easier!

 

9. Explode the Code Series

We’ve fallen in love with the Get Ready for the Code and Explode the Code workbooks this past year. It makes learning phonics and practicing handwriting and spelling so much fun and the girls look forward to doing these books each day, often asking if they can go ahead and do more pages than what I’ve assigned them!

 

10. The Jesus Storybook Bible

We’ve searched high and low for quality children’s Bible story books — ones that are accurate, doctrinally sound, and not filled with nonsense and fluff are hard to find. I apprehensively ordered The Jesus Storybook Bible based upon the strong recommendations of friends I trust. It has since become our most treasured read-aloud. The girls would pick this over any other book any day.

11. PaperBackSwap

I know I’ve mentioned it over and over again here, but we love PaperBackSwap. We’ve basically built our entire children’s library through books from PBS and Grandparents. So we’ve ended up spending very little out of pocket to do so.

 

12. Magnet Boards

I don’t know that there’s an official name for these, but we call them “magnet boards” at our house. And they are one of the girl’s all-time favorite things to do! I got some cheap cookie sheets and these Power Magnets and we’ve used them for all sorts of educational activities.I often give the girls the Magnet Boards and a the magnet sheet from the Letter of the Week Curriculum (see an example below) and let them fill all the magnet holes on their board while I’m reading aloud to them. When they are finished, they can create shapes, letters or whatever else they’d like.

 

13. Read Alouds

Speaking of read alouds, books make up the core of our homeschooling curriculum. I think that there is so much value in reading a wide variety of books to your children. We’ve learned so many new things, explored so many fascinating cultures and time periods and had so many excellent discussions as a result of books we’ve read. You can see some of our favorite picture books here.

 

14. Do-a-Dot Art Markers

These markers are so fun. You can use them to create your own pictures, on the downloadable sheets in the Letter of the Week Curriculum (see #3 above) or there are also Do-A-Dot Coloring Books available. Just make sure to supervise the 2-year-old with them, unless you want Do-A-Dot Artwork all over the walls (ask me how I know!). These wash off of hands and clothing quite well. Walls, not so much.

 

15. ABC Scripture Memory Book

I used this for Scripture Memory as a young girl, so I especially enjoyed using it with the girls. We just read through it every day at breakfast for a number of months and the girls memorized the verses by that daily repetition. Plus, Kaitlynn (then 2) picked up on quite a few letters, too.

 

What are your favorite preschool and kindergarten resources?

Money Saving Mom
Shared Apr 9, 2012 comment

How to Save on Meals While Traveling

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How to Save on Meals While Traveling

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how to save on meals while traveling

Guest post by Jenifer.

When we made the long trek from Indiana to Estes Park, Colorado, packing everything we needed for our family of 7 was like an extreme sport. Even still, the thought of all the fast food and snacks that might hinder our tight budget was even more challenging.

I knew that we would not be able to eat “perfectly on budget” (it is a vacation after all), but I wanted to do the best that I could to save money and feed my family well. 

So I implemented a “Don’t-Go-Crazy-on-Vacation Challenge” armed with a notebook, a pen, grocery store fliers, and my computer!

Here’s how we managed to save on meals while traveling!

1. Pack Non-Perishable Foods

I knew that we would have a kitchen in our cabin in Colorado, so I planned our meals for each night and gradually filled two paper boxes with the dried goods we needed.

I also stocked what I could for breakfast, lunch, and snacks.

NOTE: I started planning about three weeks ahead of our scheduled departure and watched the sales over those few weeks.

2. Buy Fresh/Perishable Foods in a Non-Tourist Location

After I had our meal plan and non-perishable foods, I made a list of all the fresh or refrigerated items that we would eventually need to buy.

I wanted to avoid any higher costs of shopping in tourist areas, so I researched the grocery stores in the surrounding towns.

I decided on a Walmart (a gift card we had helped) and bought all of our fresh and refrigerated items there before heading into Estes Park.

You could also order your perishable foods online and have them delivered directly to your vacation home via one of the grocery delivery services.

3. Have a Plan for Meals on the Road

With the cabin meals tackled, I still had to consider the meals we’d need to eat on the road.

To help avoid fast food costs, we packed a picnic lunch for our first lunch. It ended up pouring rain, but a picnic in the car makes memories, right?

We visited family for the first night, and they graciously fed us homemade meals.

Our 2nd son had his 10th birthday while we were on the road, so before we left, I had him choose where he wanted to eat. He chose his favorite restaurant, Fazoli’s, so I looked it up online and found one on our route. I also checked out the menu and specials while I was there to help me estimate costs before we got there.

That left us with just a few fast food meals, which worked out fine, and we had mostly happy campers.

A Few More Tips:

  • Find a place with your own kitchen.
  • Plan meals ahead of time.
  • Stock/pack food in the weeks before you leave.
  • Watch sales and use that for your vacation stockpile.
  • Research restaurant menus and nutrition before you go.
  • Avoid tourist area grocery stores if prices are higher.
  • Pack picnic lunches for the road.
  • Have fun and don’t forget to treat yourself, too. It’s vacation after all!

What are your best tips for saving money on meals while on vacation?

Jen blogs at Fit 4 Miracles. She was a teacher in her “previous life,” but is now a stay-at-home mom of five children. She lives in West Lafayette, IN, where her husband runs a small business. They have always had to be as frugal as possible, but believe they are rich in faith, love, and family.

Money Saving Mom
Shared Apr 9, 2012 comment

10 Goals for This Week

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10 Goals for This Week

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Update: For those of you who have written in and asked: I’ll be speaking four times at the conference — twice on Friday and twice on Saturday. My workshop topics will be:

You can download a complete conference schedule and description of workshops here.

This week, my main goal is to keep up with our homeschooling, continue to work on my home organization plan, and get all the prep done for the Cincinnati Homeschool Conference next week.

For some reason, I thought the Cincinnati conference was going to be fairly small. Don’t ask me why, I just did. Well, I found out last week that they are expecting something like 10,000-12,000 people! So I have some extra work to do this week in order to prep things for our booth.

And I also want to practice my speeches at least three times each since I found out that I’ll be speaking in front of a lot more people than I was originally envisioning (one of the rooms I’m slated to speak in has a capacity of 1800! Did I mention that public speaking is still way outside my comfort zone?!) and some of these are new talks that I’ve not given before.

It should be an interesting experience — and another great opportunity to step outside my “safe” zone. But truthfully, I’m really excited about it, especially since I’ll get to meet some of you there!

Last week’s goals:

Family/Mothering Goals

1. Read five chapters of Quest for Truth:Taken aloud to the children. Finish reading Mountain Born.

2. Continue our Countdown to Easter study as a family.

3. Write a love note to Jesse.

4. Grow Easter Grass with children. {We never got around to this. Oh well! There’s always next year!}

Personal Goals

5. Finish reading One of Us Must Be Crazy and I’m Pretty Sure It’s You. Start reading The Three R’s.

6. Complete weeks 8 & 9 of the Couch to 5K program.

7. Listen to at least one more hour of The 10 Habits of Happy Mothers.

Home Management

8. Follow my Spring Cleaning plan & blog about it every weekday.

Business Goals

9. Host the live webcast on Thursday.

10. Continue working on my talks for the Midwest Homeschool Convention.

This 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.

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.

Money Saving Mom
Shared Apr 9, 2012 comment

4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Assignment #6

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4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Assignment #6

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Missed the first few days’ assignments? You can see all the posts in the 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home series here.

Did you enjoy your weekend “off”? I know I did. In fact, I even got in a two-hour nap yesterday afternoon!

And the good news is that the house doesn’t look like a “stuff bomb” went off today! 🙂 Sure, it’s a little messy, but nothing too overwhelming.

Are you ready to have another productive week? Here’s Assignment #6:

Day 6 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 create a list of weekly goals. I’ll be posting my weekly goals around 11 a.m. ET today along with a link-up so you can share yours, as well.

::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 run through your home quickly picking up everything that’s out of place and putting it away.

::Clean out the inside of your vehicle. Remove all trash and clutter. Use a vacuum attachment to vacuum all the seats and floors out.

::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!

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

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Money Saving Mom
Shared Apr 7, 2012 comment

Caring For Curly Hair on a Budget

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Caring For Curly Hair on a Budget

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Guest post from Randi of Caring for Curly Hair

I learned the art of couponing from a close friend when I was a young bride. This same friend also directed me to MoneySavingMom.com. We didn’t have much money, and when I discovered that I could get shampoo and conditioner for free or almost free, I was sold on being frugal. This worked great for us until we adopted our second daughter.

Alexis has very coarse, kinky-curly hair. I didn’t know much about African-American hair care, but I knew that her curly hair was going to need different products than my limp, straight hair. Unfortunately, all those products were expensive and didn’t have coupons.

When I first started out, I thought all the organic, expensive products were the only things that would work. I was shelling out over $30 a month on her hair care alone.

This was a far cry from the nearly free products I was getting for the rest of the family! I was conflicted with how much it cost, and I couldn’t help but wonder if there was an affordable way to properly care for her hair.

It took some time for me to understand my daughter’s hair care needs. Through the years I also have found ways make it more affordable. If you, too, are in position where you care caring for curly hair and wonder if you can do it frugally, you can!

Here are some ways to cut down your costs:

Research hair care.

Just because someone is African-American, doesn’t mean they have the same hair as other people who are African-American. Learning about hair will help you know what type of products you really need so you don’t waste your money on products you don’t need or products that won’t work.

Ask for samples.

Whole Foods, for instance, often has samples of products that you can take to try before you buy them full size.

Find products you like and join the mailing list.

Often, online companies like Darcy’s Botanicals or Curls will run sales and have promotional codes for 20% or more off their products. You will have a heads-up on these deals if you are on their mailing lists.

Wait for sales.

If you buy a product sold in stores, wait to buy the product until it is on sale. Products made by Organix, for example, often go on sale at Walgreens or other stores with buy one get one free offers. Stock up when these sales happen so you never have to pay full price.

Make your own hair products.

There are lots of natural ingredients, like coconut oil, that are great in curly hair. Websites like Derby City Naturals and Curly Nikki list recipes for frugal hair products that work and will save you a bundle.

While you might not be able to get the hair products for free, you don’t have to break the bank to properly care for curly hair.

Randi is just your average almost-thirty homemaker who loves the Lord. She is happily married to Robb, and together they have four young children. God has grown their family through the miracle of adoption and the miracle of pregnancy. Randi is also the author of the eBook Caring for Curly Hair: An Adoptive Parents Guide to African-American Hair Care. She has a passion to see other adoptive parents understand their children’s hair and learn to happily care for it.

Money Saving Mom
Shared Apr 6, 2012 comment

4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Assignment #5 Update

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4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Assignment #5 Update

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If you missed this morning’s assignment, you can find it here.

Today was such a good day. I slept in and woke up feeling quite out of it. It has been a full week and Jesse and I missed quite a bit of sleep due to a child that was up a lot at night coughing.

I was so thankful that I’d intentionally set aside today on my calendar as a laid back day. I’ve found that I need days like this every once in awhile, otherwise, I start feeling burned out.

So, knowing that it was going to be a laid back day, I just took my time getting around, sipping my coffee, reading my Bible, and writing a short to-do list.

I took the day off from running and took a leisurely warm bath instead (which sort of counted for my 15-minute rejuvenating activity!) and we had a lighter homeschooling day, too.

This afternoon, I left the children with a sitter for a few hours and went to Panera to work on outlining my workshops for the Cincinnati Homeschool Conference. Since I was in no rush, once again, I just took my time to think and write, all the while listening to music I love in my headphones.

It was so relaxing — and I got a lot of writing and processing done, too, in a short amount of time. Often, I think that being more relaxed lends itself to being more productive. Don’t ask me why, but it just seems like that’s the way it is for me.

I came home to find these beautiful flowers from Jesse waiting for me, along with a really sweet love note. It was so random and meaningful to me. {Jesse isn’t big on celebrating “Hallmark holidays”, as he calls them, but instead loves to surprise me with flowers when I’d least expect them!}

This evening, our family went out to the new Chick-fil-A that just opened in town. We’re so thrilled that we finally have a Chick-fil-A here!

When we came home, I tackled the cushions. Honestly, I was a bit scared as to what I might find lurking underneath them — especially after yesterday’s pretty horrific results.

It was surprisingly clean! In fact, the only thing I discovered was a lone bobby pin! So it took me all of about five minutes from start to finish.

Thanks so much for joining me in this challenge this week. It was a great week and my house and life feels much more clean and organized going into the weekend. Have a wonderful weekend off — and we’ll resume our daily challenges on Monday!

How did you do on Assignment #5? 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.

Money Saving Mom
Shared Apr 6, 2012 comment

Punching Debt in the Face

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Punching Debt in the Face

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Guest post from Rebecca of Change Your Life in 100 Days

I can’t believe how naive I have always been about money my whole life. That just goes to show how much parents need to be teaching their kids about spending, saving, and earning money. I didn’t have any education at all about finances and I am definitely paying for it now.

I also strongly believe every student who starts their freshmen year of college should be required to sit down with a financial adviser provided by the campus. College students need to be taught about school loans, interest, planning for their financial future and paying loans back later when they graduate.

I, again, didn’t have this knowledge presented to me so I was the typical college student who took out more than necessary because it seemed great at the time. Now this, too, is a tremendous issue in my financial life.

Fact: I paid $240.91 last month for just one of my student loans.

Fact: Only $27.78 went to principal.

This makes me want to punch my debt in the face.

The positive is that I am still in my late 20’s and I am finally figuring out how to face this debt head on and trample it out as fast as I can. All my thanks goes to Dave Ramsey for being such an amazing educator on financial freedom. My hope is to be able to say I have financial “freedom” as well in the coming years.

Here is my family’s plan for getting out of debt:

  • Use our tax return this year to pay off a consolidation loan (and tax returns in the future to pay off student loans).
  • Use my husband’s bonus this year to pay off our last credit card (and bonus in the future to pay off student loans).
  • Use all of this year’s extra summer income (tutoring, nannying, part-time side job) to pay off one of three student loans.
  • Lower our cable bill by $30 a month by switching to satellite TV (I wish we could only purchase ESPN…if it wasn’t for that for my husband we wouldn’t need cable at all).
  • Stop going out to eat unless it is a very special celebration. We’ve learned to love cooking at home together so this eliminates the desire to want to go out for dinner.
  • Stop shopping. We buy all our son’s toddler clothes either on sale or at consignment sales. Why would we pay full price for something he’ll grow out of in two months?
  • Stop traveling on the weekends. We have saved so much money every month by staying home. If we are home we don’t spend the necessary money on gas, food, and shopping.
  • Learn to say no. If your friends are really your friends they will understand when you say you can’t go to dinner, get your nails done, or on a weekend trip because you’re trying to get out of debt.

The one thing we will not stop paying is our monthly 10% tithe. God has shown us in the past two years just how much he blesses us when we tithe. We will continue to tithe diligently and honor Him with our firsts because He deserves all the glory.

One day I will be debt-free and be able to scream from the mountain tops “I am free!”

Rebecca is a wife, new mother, full time teacher, mentor, and runner. Her goal is to be more intentional with every aspect of her life –  her relationship with God, her family and friends, her job, her time, her finances, her workouts, her eating habits, her relaxing time, etc. She wants to live an intentional, purposeful life that follows God’s plan. Follow her blog at Change Your Life in 100 Days.

Money Saving Mom
Shared Apr 6, 2012 comment

4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Assignment #5

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4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Assignment #5

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If you missed some of the first posts in this series, you can read through the entire 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home series here.

It’s Friday! We’ve worked hard this week and I’m going to go easy on you today. In fact, you even get a fun assignment. 🙂

Day 5 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.}

::Remove your couch cushions and clean out any crumbs, toys, or other miscellaneous items you find. Use an attachment on your vacuum to vacuum the cushions, underneath the cushions, and all crevices of your furniture. Spot clean the fabric, if needed.

::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. 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!

Money Saving Mom
Shared Apr 5, 2012 comment

4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Assignment #4 Update

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4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Assignment #4 Update

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If you missed Assignment #4, you can read it here.

So, um, I had all these grand ambitions that I was going to get this post up before 7:30 p.m. EST tonight… and instead, I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get the last minute technical stuff taken care of for the webcast.

But, it all got done in time, the webcast went well (despite some technical issues — thanks for your patience and for all of you who took time out of your busy evening to show up!) and I’m finally able to post my update on my home organization today.

My day started out like usual with my early morning coffee, Bible reading, and to-do list writing.

After that, it was blogging, running, homeschooling, and a radio interview (I’ve been doing a lot of interviews recently and this is how my office looks when I do one — I spread out all my notes and sit in the middle of them and use them for reference depending upon which questions are asked!)

Then it was more homeschooling and just keeping up with everything and everyone here. I finally got to jump in the shower mid-afternoon. And then I tackled the home organization projects.

My bedroom was first on the list. It wasn’t too bad and was quickly whipped into shape. {I didn’t get an after photo, but it looked like this.}

Next up, I tackled the bathroom — which was still a mess because I’d just finished my shower and getting ready for the day {nevermind the fact that I got “ready for the day” at 3:00 p.m. Hey, better late than never!}

Ah, so much better!

And then I braved cleaning out underneath the couches.

Truthfully, I was horrified at what I found underneath our basement couches. {Can you tell this is the couch we sit on when we have snacks and watch movies? Maybe we need to stop that ritual!}

Yes, this entire handful of miscellaneous food items was stashed underneath one couch. {I can’t believe I’m posting these photos. But maybe they’ll make you feel better about how clean your couches are!}

Here’s the final stash of stuff collected from underneath all the furniture. {Why yes, that’s a shriveled up carrot. You mean you don’t store carrots underneath your couches?! Yikes!}

And here are the 7 items I came up with to get rid of today — including two earrings without matches. Don’t ask me why I’ve hung onto them. I guess I figured that maybe the matches would turn up or something? After six months, I say it’s high time I let ’em go.

How did you do on Assignment #4? 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.

OVER-SPENDING EVERY SINGLE MONTH?Grab these FREE Budgeting Sheets!

Click here to download!
Money Saving Mom
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Ask The Organizer: Clothes Clutter

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Ask The Organizer: Clothes Clutter

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Many, many of you have written in or commented in the last few months that you are really struggling with home organization. So I’m excited to let you know that I’ve teamed up with Andrea Dekker from Simple Organized Living to bring you a monthly feature called called “Ask the Organizer“.

Each month, we’ll feature one organizing question and let you weigh in your thoughts, answers, and opinions. Then later in the month, Andrea will pick one or two of the most popular responses and share her tips, ideas, and suggestions for dealing with those issues!

This month’s question is:

What is your biggest problem or issue when it comes to clothes clutter?

Leave your answers below and then check back in a couple weeks for Andrea’s expert organizing advice!

Money Saving Mom
Shared Apr 5, 2012 comment

We Paid Cash: Our Nursery

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We Paid Cash: Our Nursery

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

We paid cash!

A testimony from Jaime who blogs at Busy Mom on the Go

When my husband and I found out we were expecting our first baby (a girl!) I decided that this would be a great opportunity to use the cash system. I tend to use the cash system for purchases that have a likely chance of going over the budget and preparing for a baby girl easily fit into that category!

I just sat in the “would-be nursery” room and started imagining all of the ways I could dress it up. My imagination was running wild with ideas of a small chandelier with crystals hanging down, a Princess style crib with the matching changing table, a plush glider in the corner with a little end table adorned with light purple handles… and as you can see I needed to reel myself back in with a cash-based budget approach.

Set Limits

I needed a way to set limits. The cash system lends itself so easily to situations like this one. I could see myself buying a cluster of small items spread out over about seven months and not keeping an accurate track of each item and before too long we’re over the budget.

My husband and I sat down and discussed what we wanted for our baby’s nursery, researched the costs, and then set our cash budget.

Prioritize, Prioritize, Prioritize

After we’d set limits, we had to prioritize our nursery room by creating two categories: needs and wants. As the months passed, we started out with our “necessary” remodel of the room itself.  This included re-painting, installing new carpet, and replacing the old hollow wooden doors with new ones.

Afterward, we knew exactly how much we could spend to start the fun shopping by dressing up the room!

Ask for Help

As a budget conscious initiative I strongly encourage asking family and friends to go in together on baby shower gifts. If it’s appropriate, ask them to help you by buying the larger items off of your list first. My grandmother-in-law had provided us with a new crib and then my mom and sisters went in together to buy us the bedding.

Stay Realistic

Having a baby is such an amazing gift and as parents, we only want the absolute best for our kids. I thought about this when I asked myself initially why I was setting a budget in the first place because, after all, my baby is priceless. 

Realistically though, everything needs a budget. It’s just a matter of determining if the situation best fits into the cash system or not.

Emily was welcomed into this world on Easter Sunday 2011. We brought her home to a beautiful nursery room all while keeping our budget in tact thanks to the discipline of the cash system.

Jaime Pyles is a full-time retirement planner during the day and co-editor of Busy Mom on the Go in the evening. She enjoys sharing her ideas and tips on personal financial management alongside her journey as a blessed mom. She says, “Emily has taught me more in 10 months than I would have learned in a lifetime without her. I love motherhood.” 

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

Money Saving Mom
Shared Apr 5, 2012 comment

Join us for the live webcast at 8 p.m. EST tonight & you could win one of 40 great prizes!

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Join us for the live webcast at 8 p.m. EST tonight & you could win one of 40 great prizes!

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

As you’ve probably heard, I’m doing my first ever live webcast tonight (Thursday, April 5, 2012) at 8 p.m. EST.

What Is A Live Webcast?

The live webcast tonight will be an opportunity for you to kick back, relax, chat with other frugal readers around the country, and watch live (and some pre-recorded) video feed from my husband and I as we share money-saving tips and encouragement and answer your questions. Some of it will be sharing our own personal experiences and thoughts, some of it will be really practical ideas, and some of it will just be plain fun!

Since we can’t have a big nationwide gathering of all of us, the live webcast is an opportunity for all of us to come together — without leaving our living rooms! — and interact with each other in more of a real-time environment than we get to do every day on the blog. My goal in hosting this is to inspire and motivate you in your frugal journey, as well as to remind you that you’re not alone: there are thousands of us around the country who are also seeking to be good managers of our resources.

You can come and chat in the chat box with all the others who will be attending. Or, you can just sit at your computer and watch the live video feed and read the comments from others who are interacting. It’s up to you!

How Do I Watch the Webcast?

To watch the webcast, just visit the Live Webcast Page here at 8 p.m. EST (5 p.m. PT/7 p.m. CT). We should be live right at 8 p.m., if not a tad bit before.

I’ll start off by sharing some practical advice on ways women can contribute to their family’s finances. Then, my husband and I will share our pre-recorded Q&A, and finally, I’ll take questions from you all. Come prepared with any burning question you’d love to have me answer on any subject and I’ll answer as many questions as I can with the time we have left. 🙂

Will There Be Prizes?

You know I love to give stuff away, so I’ve put together 40 different prizes that will be up for grabs tonight. Here’s what you’ll have a chance to win:

5 $100 gift certificates to Vitacost.com
1 $75 L.L. Bean e-gift card
2 $10 Amazon.com gift cards
1 $25 Starbucks gift card
2 $10 Starbucks gift cards
3 $15 iTunes e-gift cards
1 $10 Papa John’s e-gift card
2 Burt’s Bees gift packs
5 copies of The Money Saving Mom®’s Budget Audio book
5 copies of From Dust and Ashes by Tricia Goyer — a book I read recently and loved!
2 copies of By the Light of the Silvery Moon by Tricia Goyer
10 copies of Life on Planet Mom by Lisa Tawn Begren

And we will also be announcing the winner of the iPad 2!

To be eligible to win a prize, you’ll need to attend the live webcast and participate in the chat. We’ll be sharing details throughout the webcast on how to enter to win each prize.

I’m looking forward to chatting with you in real-time tonight! See you at 8 p.m. EST!

Shared Apr 5, 2012 comment

8 Ways to Save Money on Children’s Clothing

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8 Ways to Save Money on Children’s Clothing

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post from Brandi

Clothing doesn’t have to be expensive. Many options for children’s clothing are free, and others that aren’t free can be very frugal! Here are my top tips for saving money on children’s clothing:

1. Accept Freebies

Always say yes when someone offers you free clothes, even if you aren’t sure you can use them. If a friend or family member with a slightly older child wants to pass down clothes, you should take advantage of the offer.

You may think you’re all set for a certain size next season but you never know what they may have in their bag. The last time I said “yes”, I got a lovely Easter dress for my daughter!

2. Shop at Consignment Stores

Once Upon a Child features children’s clothing and may have a branch near you. They’re very selective with what they buy back and they run seasonal clearance sales where you can fill an entire bag full of clothing (bag provided by them) for only $10. Best of all, you can often sell your clothes back at the end of the season and recoup some of your money.

3. Frequent Yard Sales

Yard sales can be great places to find children’s clothing. I have better success finding baby and toddler clothes than bigger boy and girl sizes, but I always check just in case!

4. Shop Department Store Clearance Racks

Departments stores often have excellent prices on their clearance racks. Just this weekend, I picked up two pairs of $26 fleece pajamas for next year at the rock bottom price of $1 each. By matching coupons with clearance items, you can actually get things for free!

5. Ask for Clothes for Birthdays and Christmas

Ask family for gifts of clothing instead of toys. I put new tennis shoes on the grandparents’ list each Christmas and occasionally coats, too, if I haven’t found good deals on used ones. My kids enjoy clothing with popular characters on them, and they’re always excited to receive them as gifts.

6. Swap with other moms

A children’s clothing swap can make for a fun mom’s night out even with a homeschool co-op or church group. Moms can bring bags of clothing they don’t need and leave with sizes they do need.

7. Make your own

Sew clothing instead of purchasing it. Something like a little girl’s pillowcase dress is simple enough for a beginner, and there are countless sewing projects to found be online for novices and veterans alike. To save on fabric, look for great deals on tablecloths, shower curtains, or bed sheets to use as fabric.

8. Save clothing and pass it down 

Even if you think seasons won’t match up, you can always layer a hand-me-down short-sleeve top over a long-sleeve one you purchased. You especially may want to save “classic” items that aren’t prone to fashion trends… pajamas, blue jeans, cardigans to wear over dresses, and simple church dresses don’t change much from one year to the next.

I hope this inspires you to find creative ways to save money on clothing — for free or very cheap! And I hope this shows you how doable it is. My children have lots of clothing from Gymboree, Baby Gap, Old Navy, and the Children’s Place, almost none of which came directly from the store.

How do you save money on children’s clothing?

Brandi is a stay-at-home mom of three homeschooled children. She loves whole foods, crafts, frugality, family, and faith.

Money Saving Mom
Shared Apr 5, 2012 comment

4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Assignment #4

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4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Assignment #4

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Missed the first few days’ assignments? You can see all the posts in the 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home series here.

After a sort of “off” day yesterday, I’m hoping to have a more productive day today — and hopefully get everything on this list done, plus my bedroom cleaned since I slacked on that yesterday. I’ll be posting my re-cap at 7:30 p.m. EST tonight since the live webcast is at 8 p.m. EST.

Day 4 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 out underneath your beds and furniture. Remove clutter and trash and put it away or throw it away. Move the furniture (if possible) and vacuum underneath.

::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 7:30 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!