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Shared Apr 12, 2012 comment

Reader Testimonial: How Budgeting Has Changed Our Lives

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Reader Testimonial: How Budgeting Has Changed Our Lives

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

Guest post from Kaui of Thrifty Military Mommy

I grew up as a typical American who went to school but wasn’t taught basic budgeting skills. I can’t really blame my parents for this because they too were not taught how to budget by their parents.

“Go to school, get good grades, get a good job and you’ll be successful,” was the typical mentality. When I left the nest I found out pretty quickly that graduating from school and getting a good job did not make me successful.

Two Incomes Didn’t Solve Our Problems

When I got married, having two incomes didn’t help things out much. In fact, in many ways, things got even worse because there were two people who didn’t budget and spent their money on anything they wanted!

When we had our first baby we chose to go to one income so I could stay at home, which brought even more strain as we tried to figure out how to survive on one income. Everything changed when my husband got out of the Marine Corps and our daughter was one.

The School Of Hard Knocks

With no jobs and just a small amount of money coming in from my husband’s GI bill, we both kicked into survival mode, realizing that we had to get our finances in order now or we wouldn’t survive the year. We didn’t realize then that we’d be thanking God for allowing us to go through that temporary time of suffering, and if it weren’t for Him we would have self destructed for sure.

Thankfully, some friends of ours were excellent at budgeting so they taught us how to use the emergency budgeting technique since we had so little to work with. They also advised us to use the envelope system and only spend the cash that we had on hand until we could refill it the next month.

At the same time we were becoming familiar with MoneySavingMom.com and Dave Ramsey. Because of all the support we received online, the vast amount of education regarding budgeting, and the help of our friends, we were able to avoid more debt and live within our means.

Our Success Today

Now we are so much more successful with our finances than I ever could have imagined. I have come to love budgeting so much that I now have my own blog to help spread the word about finances and handling money properly. We have been blessed with another baby (boy), we own our own home, and we have more money left over in the bank at the end of every month than I thought we’d ever have… and it continues to grow!

We owe it all to budgeting!

Kaui is a proud army wife and mother to two very active children.  She saves her sanity by blogging about the military, saving and making money, investments, and her own struggles and triumphs as a mom to two military brats at Thrifty Military Mommy.  She is passionate about nurturing anyone else who has been through the same struggles she has and loves offering her advice and wisdom.

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Money Saving Mom
Shared Apr 12, 2012 comment

4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Assignment #9

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4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Assignment #9

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

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

Day 9 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 your light switch plates. You can use a damp rag with a little disinfectant on it or a cleaning wipe. If you have younger children, they’d probably enjoy joining you in tackling this project!

::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!

20 Chore Ideas for 7-Year-Olds -- Love these practical ideas for teaching your children to enjoy doing chores. Plus, some chore ideas you may not have thought of assigning to a young child. Great list!
Shared Apr 11, 2012 comment

20 Chore Ideas For 7-Year-Olds

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20 Chore Ideas For 7-Year-Olds

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

So many of you have loved the lists of chore ideas for toddlers and chore ideas for four-year-olds, so I finally made up a list with some of the chores that Kathrynne, our 7 year old, does or has done.

20 Chore Ideas for 7-Year-Olds -- Love these practical ideas for teaching your children to enjoy doing chores. Plus, some chore ideas you may not have thought of assigning to a young child. Great list!

Giving 7 Year Old Chores: Things To Consider

1. Children Need to Know What You Expect of Them

If you don’t show your children how to do a job well, you can’t expect them to know how to do it right.

Before asking them to do a chore on their own, work alongside them a few times showing them specifically how to do it.

2. Don’t Expect Them To Do It Well – Especially At First

It often takes a lot of repetitive teaching, gentle correcting, and practice before a child can do a job well. Don’t expect perfection – especially when they are young.

What matters is that they are putting forth effort and trying their best.

3. Praise 10 Times As Much As You Correct

It’s easy to want to focus on pointing out all the things a child does wrong and where they need to improve.

Instead of dwelling on what they didn’t do right, focus most of your energies on praising those things they did well. Encouragement and affirmation go a very long way!

The Importance of Chores For a 7 Year Old

Chores are a great learning tool for children — even young children.

They are often more competent than we give them credit for. It’s surprising what children can do when they are taught well and allowed space to make mistakes (because they will make mistakes!)

It’s often thought that children who do chores have higher self-esteem (especially if parents praise them for their efforts) and are more responsible (from being entrusted with more responsbilities).

The skills they learn doing basic household chores can eventually lead to success in school, work, and relationships.

Plus it’s just really nice to have a few extra sets of helping hands around the house!

20 Chores for 7 Year Olds

1. Pick Up Their Room — Make sure you show your child exactly what a clean room looks like. And if their room is really messy, I’d suggest working with them to clean it and giving them a few specific projects to work on at a time. Children at this age are often still learning the concept of staying on task, so you want to make sure you don’t overwhelm them by giving them too many tasks to accomplish at once.

2. Make Bed — 7-year-olds can usually do a pretty good job of making their beds, especially if they are not sleeping on the top bunk of a bunk bed (I still have trouble making the top bunk of a bunk bed!)

3. Vacuum – Kathrynne often helps by vacuuming two rooms in our house. Two rooms seem to be a great number for her age and ability — not too much to overwhelm her, but it’s still a big help to me. And if she vacuums two rooms each weekday, I don’t have to do much vacuuming myself! She also enjoys using the attachment on the vacuum to vacuum cracks and crevices.

4. Water Plants and Gardens — A milk jug watering can is perfect for 7-year-olds. Just the right size — and it makes watering the plants and gardens fun!

5. Sort, Start, Switch, Fold, and Put Away Laundry – I recently taught Kathrynne how to sort and start the laundry. She still needs a little help with figuring out whether some things qualify as lights, darks, or colors, but she can do most of the sorting and starting of the laundry herself. She also often helps to fold and put away her clothes.

6. Clip Coupons — Kathrynne does a great job of clipping coupons for me — and it saves me a lot of time, too! I pay her for the amount of coupons she clips for me so it’s a win-win for both of us.

7. Take Care of Pets — Kathrynne is in charge of most of the care for our bunny from feeding her and keeping her water fulled up, to cleaning out the cage and making sure there’s enough hay in it. Jesse helps her out, as needed, but she’s almost entirely responsible for Fawn. It’s been a great learning experience for her and a great opportunity for her to show maturity and responsibility.

8. Dust/Wipe Down Surfaces — 7-year-olds are great at cleaning baseboards, small floor areas, wiping down cupboards, or dusting surfaces. If you have a feather duster, they might have fun trying that out, too!

9. Wipe Down Sink/Toilet — Cleaning wipes work especially well for younger children to use. Or, you can spray some nontoxic cleaner onto a rag and let them wipe down the sink, toilet, bathtub, shower, or floor in the bathroom.

10. Empty Trashes — 7-year-olds can usually handle tying up the trash bag and hauling it out to the garage or back door — or even hoisting it into the dumpster.

11. Wipe Down Door Handles/Light Switches — Give your child a cleaning wipe or a damp rag and have them wipe down all the door handles. This is a favorite chore at our house!

12. Clear the Table – Teach your children to clear their plates after each meal (our children are still working on doing this without needing to be reminded!)

13. Rinse Dishes/Load Dishwasher –A 7-year-old is usually old enough to stand on a stool at the kitchen sink and rinse nonbreakable dishes (be sure to remove the knives and other sharp or dangerous objects before letting them do this). They can also help to load silverware, plastic cups, and other nonbreakable dishes into the dishwasher.

14. Dry/Put Away Dishes — Children can also help with drying dishes (if you handwash dishes) or putting dishes away from the dishwasher. We’ve found it seems easiest to start with silverware and then work up from there.

15. Simple Meal Prep — Kathrynne can pour her own cereal, make toast, crack and cook scrambled eggs (with my supervision), flip pancakes, make 3-ingredient recipes, pop popcorn, make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and do a number of other simple meal prep things. It’s a big help to have her take care of making breakfast, lunch, or snack, on occasion.

16. Set the Table — Teach your children how to set the table correctly from the time they are young–it’s a skill many adults still don’t know!

17. Sweep — 7-year-olds are usually capable of using a broom and dustpan. You may start your child out by having them just sweep up your dirt pile and then teach them how to use the broom to sweep the whole floor.

18. Mop — My dad got the girls child-sized mops for Christmas and they love them. Kathrynne can do a pretty decent job of mopping the kitchen floor by herself and she enjoys trying her hand at it!

19. Clean Out/Organize — Kathrynne has recently started helping me with cleaning out and organizing — especially when it comes to her things. I’ll assign her to go through a basket of books or a pile of toys or clothes and have her pick out those they are no longer using/wearing. While I sometimes have to help a little, she does a pretty good job.

20. Sorting — I’ll often have Kathrynne sort books, DVDs, or other items and get them in order by kind, size, etc.

Looking for other age-appropriate chore ideas? You might find these chore lists helpful:

Share your ideas for Age Appropriate Chores for 7 Year Olds!

Money Saving Mom
Shared Apr 11, 2012 comment

4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Assignment #8 Update

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4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Assignment #8 Update

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

So today’s assignment was much easier than yesterday’s — and judging from the comments, it sounds like you all felt the same way!

I got a great night’s sleep (so thankful that we’ve not been up with a coughing child the last few nights — Vick’s with socks works wonders!), had an early morning radio interview, and then got going with my usual morning routine.

We had a great homeschooling day today and we finished Kathrynne’s history book for this year — yay! It’s always fun when the girls are excited about learning and beg if we can go ahead and do extra pages of some of their subjects.

The doorknobs took me all of five minutes to do. The girls have been doing them almost weekly, so they weren’t really dirty. But I did them anyway since I knew so many of you would be counting on me to actually follow through with the assignment and all. 🙂

My dresser didn’t take me too much time at all since I had just cleaned it out about four weeks ago. I did decide to get rid of an extra pair of glasses and a few other things I had kept the first time around.

(Zenni Optical lost my order the first time around so they sent a second pair. Then they found my order and sent it, too. So I ended up with a free pair of glasses that I’ve just hung onto for two years. I only wear them occasionally since I usually wear contacts. The frugal person in me has hung onto them thinking that my other pair might break, but the minimalist in me won over today!)

I also went through the girls’ shoes today and we weeded out a few extra pairs that they can no longer fit into. And when I was doing the laundry, I found that one of Silas’ shirts was hopelessly stained with something pink down the front (I have no idea what!) so I stuck that in today’s get-rid-of pile. And finally, I went ahead and got rid of a pair of adorable sunglasses that are now too small for Silas. So we ended up with nine things for our get-rid-of pile today.

How did you do on Assignment #8? 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 11, 2012 comment

Reader Tip: Saving Money on Meat

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Reader Tip: Saving Money on Meat

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Carrie emailed in the following tip:

Recently, I bought two whole chickens for $0.98 per pound and was able to feed my family (three adults) four meals! I took three of the breasts off of the bone to use for a future meal. I used two thighs, two wings, four legs, and one breast to make fried chicken. I took two thighs and all of the meat/bones from the back and breast to freeze for a later use.

Here were the four meals I made from two whole chickens:

Meal 1 = Fried Chicken
Meal 2 = leftover fried chicken for lunch
Meal 3 = General Tso chicken with the three breasts
Meal 4 = Chicken and noodles using the thighs and all of the little bits of meat off of the bones

I also bought a whole ribeye the other day for $4.29/lb, and, with a little time and planning, we were able to eat several high-quality beef meals for a very low cost. We cut our ribeye into: 14 steaks, 1 lbs. of scraps for three steak sandwiches, and .75 lb. scraps for stir-fry

When I buy pork butts I will usually have the butcher cut off a three pork steaks for me and then I take rest of pork butt and braise it for more meals. You can braise pork and freeze it in small cooked portions with some of the broth for future meals like: Pork and rice, BBQ pork, and Chinese food. Depending on the size of the pork butt I can get anywhere from four or five meals!

I have been able to reduce the cost of the meals in my house by almost half with a little planning and work on my own part. -Carrie

Note from Crystal: If your family is willing to have less meat at each meal, Laura posted about how she stretched one chicken into six meals for her family!

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Money Saving Mom
Shared Apr 11, 2012 comment

Ask the Readers: Is it worth it to pay for an Amazon Prime membership?

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Ask the Readers: Is it worth it to pay for an Amazon Prime membership?

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


Today’s question is from Julie:

Is an Amazon Prime membership worth the cost?

I live in an extremely rural community and initially decided not to purchase it the membership after my one-year free trial expired. But, I now really miss the two-day free shipping (with no minimum purchase), along with some of the deals available with Subscribe & Save.

I know these aren’t comparable to some deals other readers find, but for someone living in a rural area, the deals are great (especially when you factor in the increasing cost of gas).

What do you think — is it worth the $6.58 a month to purchase an Amazon Prime membership? -Julie

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

Money Saving Mom
Shared Apr 11, 2012 comment

4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Assignment #8

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4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Assignment #8

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


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

Day 8 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 go through your dresser drawers. Remove items you no longer love, need, and/or wear. Quickly organize the remaining items.

::Wipe down all the door handles in your home. You can use a damp rag with a little disinfectant on it or a cleaning wipe. If you have younger children, they’d probably enjoy joining you in tackling this project!

::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. 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 10, 2012 comment

4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Assignment #7 Update

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4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Assignment #7 Update

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

If you missed today’s assignment, you can read it here.

We had a good day today. It was full and the children seemed to have an extra dose of energy, but we survived — and God gave me grace to not lose my patience, even though I was really tempted to a few times! 🙂

We’re loving reading Crossroads of Character at breakfast right now.

After homeschooling and chores, we headed to the park in the afternoon for a play date with friends. It was the perfect weather — not too hot, not too cold. I love spring!

I scrapped my original plans for dinner at the last minute and made a sort of hamburger, potato, and vegetable hash for dinner.

I also whipped up a loaf of Easy Whole Wheat Bread. It was very easy — and it turned out beautifully!

Before dinner, the girls helped me tackle the baseboards.

I discovered one thing in the process: I have a lot more baseboards than I realized I did! Whew!

Now I know why some of you were saying this was not an “easy” project. It definitely took more time than I was expecting! But we finally finished and it felt so good to know that all the baseboards in the whole house are clean.

Today’s 7+ things to get rid of: odds and ends I found around the house while cleaning the baseboards. I wondered if I was going to be able to keep finding 7 things to get rid of every day, but so far, it’s not been too much of a challenge, unfortunately! 🙁

How did you do on Assignment #7? 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 10, 2012 comment

8 Make-Ahead Breakfast Ideas

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8 Make-Ahead Breakfast Ideas

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

You can save a lot of money and feed your family more wholesomely if you ditch breakfast out of a cereal box. However, much of the time, mornings can be busy and there’s not a lot of time to spend making breakfast from scratch.

What’s the solution? Try make-ahead breakfasts!

Here are eight of my favorite ideas:

1. Pancakes and Waffles

Pancakes and waffles can be made ahead of time and frozen. Just whip up a batch of pancakes or waffles, let cool, and then stick in airtight freezer bags. When you’re ready to serve, you can warm them in the oven, microwave, or toaster oven.

If your family prefers fresh pancakes or waffles, you can save time by mixing up the batter the night before and then just cooking the waffles or pancakes in the morning. Or, you can mix up a quadruple batch of the dry ingredients together, divide into fourths, and freeze in freezer bags to make pancake and waffle prep a snap.

A few of our favorite freezer-friendly recipes: Whole-Wheat Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Whole-Wheat Chocolate Pancakes, Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Waffles, and Carrot Cake Waffles.

2. Homemade Breakfast Burritos

Breakfast burritos are a hearty grab-and-go food that teenage boys and men seem to especially love. Make a big batch on the weekends, freeze individually in foil, and then they can just be pulled out and microwaved before heading out the door in the morning. (Be sure to remove the foil before microwaving!)

3. Muffins

We love muffins at our house! To make them ahead, just bake your favorite muffin recipe, let them cool, and stick them in an airtight freezer bag or other container. When you’re ready to eat them, just pull out however many you need and microwave or let them thaw for 15 or 20 minutes and they are ready to eat!

Recipes to try: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins or Pumpkin Carrot Cake Muffins

4. Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets

Love oatmeal? Make your own instant oatmeal packets! They are quick and easy to make, very inexpensive, and you can get creative adding in a variety of mix-ins.

5. Smoothies

If your family loves smoothies like we do, but want to speed up your prep time in the mornings, try your hand at making Homemade Smoothie Kits with some of your favorite smoothie recipe ingredients. Or, Jessica just cuts right to the chase, makes her smoothies, and then freezes them for later use.

Some of our favorite smoothie recipes: Pick-Me-Up Smoothies and Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothies

6. Homemade Granola

Homemade granola is such a delicious and filling breakfast. You can eat it like cereal with milk or you can layer it with yogurt and fruit to make a parfait. One of our family’s favorite quick and easy granola recipes is this Peanut Butter Granola.

7. Homemade Egg McMuffins

Why stop at McDonald’s when you can make your own Homemade Egg McMuffins for half the price — or less? These can be made ahead and frozen and just pulled out and microwaved or baked when you’re ready to serve.

8. Baked Oatmeal

We’re big fans of Baked Oatmeal around here! You can make it up the night before and refrigerate to bake in the morning or you can freeze it to thaw and bake later.

What are your favorite make ahead breakfast ideas?

Money Saving Mom
Shared Apr 10, 2012 comment

Do It Yourself: Cherry Pie Lara Bars

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Do It Yourself: Cherry Pie Lara Bars

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Creative Juices Decor shows you how to make homemade Cherry Pie Lara Bars.

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.

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

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Money Saving Mom
Shared Apr 10, 2012 comment

4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Assignment #7

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4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Assignment #7

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

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

Day 7 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.

::Wipe down all the baseboards in your home. If you have children who can help, you might divide your home up into sections and have everyone take a section so you can get this job done quickly!

::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. 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 9, 2012 comment

4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Assignment #6 Update

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4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Assignment #6 Update

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

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

Truth be told, I was kind of wishing I hadn’t assigned this project today when it came time to do it. 🙂

Especially when I found what looked like a popcorn party in the van. I’m not sure what it is with us and popcorn strewn everywhere. I guess it’s because popcorn is one of the childrens’ favorite snacks? But man is it messy!

After I was finished vacuuming the van out, I was so glad I’d followed through with this project. It felt so good to have the van all nice and clean again! And it only ended up taking me about 20 minutes from start to finish.

The seven things I found to get rid of today. Well, eight, actually. Two reusable bags, two books, and 4 bibs. I loved these bibs that a reader made for us when our girls were little, but I realized that it was probably time to part with them seeing as Kaitlynn is almost five! 🙂

How did you do on Assignment #6? 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 9, 2012 comment

This week’s menu

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This week’s menu

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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

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

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.