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Shared Feb 3, 2012 comment

Reader Tip: Using Listia to Shop for Free

Published: by Crystal Paine on February 3, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Jane emailed in the following tip:

I recently came across Listia, an online auction site that uses points instead of money.

Listia works very much like Ebay, but you bid on auctions with points instead of money. You can earn points by posting things that you want to give away, and spend those points on things other people are giving away. Some auctions include free shipping or free local pick-up, while others charge for shipping.

As a buyer, Listia is very cool. I earned 600 points in the first half-hour just by signing up, watching a tutorial video, and listing an item for sale. There are many other offers you can do to get more points — like signing up for (and then immediately canceling) the free trial for Lumosity, or signing up for Spotify, which I’ve been meaning to do anyway.

If you are a parent or teacher, there are lots of items with free shipping that you can win for around 100 points, such as stickers and other small rewards.

For an extra 100 points, you can sign up here.

(Note: The links in this post are referral links. Read my disclosure policy here.)

Shared Feb 3, 2012 comment

Do-It-Yourself: Celery Stamped Rose Valentine’s Day Cards

Published: by Crystal Paine on February 3, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Thrice The Sprice shows you how to make homemade celery stamped rose Valentine’s Day cards. How cute is that?!

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.

Shared Feb 2, 2012 comment

Our current shoe organizational system

Published: by Crystal Paine on February 2, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

When the girls were little, we’d just keep their few pairs of shoes at the top of their dresser. It worked well for a few years.

But last year I realized that this set-up was no longer working: the girls have gotten older and their shoe collection has grown, too. Instead of a few pairs neatly lined up in the top dresser drawer, it had turned into a bunch of shoes stuffed to overflowing in the top dresser drawer. And trying to find matching pairs in the jumbled mess of shoes was becoming increasingly more time-consuming.

I could have pared down on the shoes they have, but both of my girls aren’t quite the minimalists that I am so I don’t want to try and stuff them into a mold they were not cut out for. So instead, we tried an over-the-door shoe organizer.

Much to my delight, we discovered that it was the perfect solution right now. Not only can we see all of the shoes at a glance–making it easy to get the pair they are looking for–but we can also tell instantly whether a shoe from one pair is missing.

Best of all, the over-the-door shoe organizer utilizes dead space, frees up their top dresser drawer, and is out of sight much of the time. Plus, so long as the shoes are returned to their proper slots, we don’t have mismatched shoes strewn about the house!

The only drawback is that the girls can’t reach some of the shoes right now and will often have to ask me to help them get a pair down or put a pair away. However, it sure beats having to dig through a bunch of shoes in the top dresser drawer to find a matching pair!

How do you organize shoes at your house? I’d love to hear!

Shared Feb 2, 2012 comment

We Paid Cash!:: Braces

Published: by Crystal Paine on February 2, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest Post by Liz from Wonder Woman I’m Not.

Braces are a dreaded necessary for many of us parents with pre-teen to teenage children. Fortunately our older child didn’t require them — but we knew early on that our younger child would need them.

Our daughter recently had her braces put on and I’m happy to say that we were able to pay for them with cash. Our ability to do so was the result of advanced planning, research and taking advantage of several programs.

Here’s what we did…

Start early:

Our daughter started to see an orthodontist when she was six (at our dentist’s recommendation). By starting early, we were able to proactively correct a problem without surgery or additional appliances adding to our bill. Most orthodontists do not charge for the preliminary appointments.

Get a second opinion:

We switched orthodontists half way through the preliminary treatment. Our first orthodontist wanted to start the braces before she lost all her baby teeth plus he wanted to remove four permanent teeth. Our current orthodontist is more conservative about removing teeth and advised us to wait. He would have put them on early but then it would cost us twice as much because they would have been on twice as long.

Research pricing:

Initially we went to the orthodontist closest to our house. Once we decided to switch we decided to make price as well as quality one of the key points. By asking around, I found a high-quality dental complex that offered supplemental insurance in addition to cheaper prices.

Pay Cash:

This orthodontist offered a 10% savings if we paid cash. If this isn’t offered up front I would definitely ask for it. By paying cash we saved a little over $300!!

Flexible spending:

If your employer offers this option I would encourage you to use it. However keep in mind that if you don’t use it, you lose it. Money goes into the flexible account pre-tax so you will have a tax savings that you wouldn’t normally have unless your medical bills are large enough to claim on your taxes. Your savings would depend on the tax bracket you are in but could be 20% or more of your cost.

Here’s the final breakdown of what we spent:

Initial Cost =$6,100
Insurance Paid = $1,100
Insurance Group Disc = $460
Supplementary Insurance = $1,410
10% Cash Discount = $ 315
Total Out of Pocket- $2,815

I had about half stuck back in an ‘unexpected’ fund that I used for the down payment. I requested reimbursement immediately from my flexible spending account and used that money to pay the balance. I did make sure to replace the money from the ‘unexpected’ fund once I received the second reimbursement from our flexible spending.

Every time I see that shiny smile, I’m relieved to know that it’s all paid for!

In addition to being a wife and mother, Liz works outside the home and blogs at Wonder Woman I’m Not — a home management blog for the busy woman striving to find balance in their lives.

Shared Feb 2, 2012 comment

Synovate: Free full-sized samples and paid survey opportunities

Published: by Crystal Paine on February 2, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Synovate is currently accepting new members into their program. If you’re accepted you’ll have the opportunity to try full-sized products as well as take paid surveys.

Lori from Moms By Heart says:

Synovate sign up is FREE and you’ll get great paying survey and product testing opportunities each month. This one is famous for frequently giving free full size products! Most recently I’ve tested diapers (got a full pack for FREE), baby lotion and toothpaste (got three tubes!).

See more free paid survey and product testing companies you can sign up with here.

(Note: The links in this post are my referral links. Read my disclosure policy here.)

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

Click here to sign up!

Shared Feb 2, 2012 comment

How Being Organized Saves Me Money

Published: by Crystal Paine on February 2, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post by Kristen from Different Shades of Green.

Organizing our home has helped us reach financial goals and harmony. We weren’t always organized though!

Here’s how we started…

Before We Got Organized

Our spare bedroom was our office. I could toss papers in and close the door. I avoided that room, and the mess grew. When I needed to find something, I couldn’t. I missed payments and lost important papers. I had no idea how much money we had or owed.

Our office mess was causing a big financial drain. Interest rates rose, fees piled up, and expenses started climbing. This was compounded by the stress the mess caused. Feeling overwhelmed, I shopped to avoid reality, making the problem worse.

First Step Towards Organization

Finally, I got brave. I moved the office to the kitchen. It scared me to face finances every day! I examined every piece of paper, cleaning up piles and cleaning out drawers.

I downsized to a 2-drawer file and storage box. The file cabinet is now in the kitchen with my desk. When mail arrives, items that don’t require action are tossed or filed. Action items go to my inbox. Seeing the box daily means I maintain it, and things aren’t forgotten.

Benefits of Organization

Financially, we are stronger with an organized office. We haven’t had a late payment in years, and we paid off all our credit card debt! I’m motivated to work on our finances, because I have a visual representation of our success by looking at my tidy desk.

We’re also stronger emotionally. We’re more confident, knowing how much we have and how much we need. We spend less now, but enjoy more freedom.

Fine Tuning

Since that first step, we’ve fine-tuned the organization and expanded:

We keep a folder out labeled ‘monthly budget’. It’s an easy reference point for our goals. We update it monthly, creating harmony in our marriage.

Organizing the entire home helps us save too. Less stuff means less spending, and sometimes more earning. After many military moves, I dislike unpacking junk. We held 7 garage sales in one year, with the profits applied to debt. With less stuff, we can easily manage our belongings.

Organization empowers me. When my husband is deployed, I know where the tools are and can make minor repairs myself to save the cost of a service or handy man. Confidence adds incredible value to savings!

We created ‘stuff rules’. We only keep books we would recommend to friends. We decide on an item’s ‘home’ before we buy. If we can’t think of a home, it doesn’t come home! We have a ‘one in, one out’ rule for closets. Guidelines help us reduce impulse buying.

What matters most is this: with an organized home, I enjoy being home.

And being home saves money!

I don’t need to escape the house to have a good day. Getting organized changed our finances, changed our marriage, and changed our lives. My only regret is that we didn’t do it sooner!

Kristen is the “mom” of two dogs and wife to a sailor. She blogs at Different Shades of Green about the things that matter to her: living green, saving money, supporting American Manufacturing, supporting the Armed Services, teaching and practicing yoga, crafting, and just plain loving life.

Shared Feb 1, 2012 comment

4 Tips to Help Control the Magazine Clutter

Published: by Crystal Paine on February 1, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

We’re going to be focusing on getting our homes and lives in order around here in February. In addition to going through my home from top to bottom to clear out clutter (beginning next week), I thought I’d share some organizational tricks and tips that have been really helpful to me over the past few years.

If you’ve read this blog for any time at all, you likely have discovered that there is an abundance of free magazine offers available. It’s wonderful to get these great magazines for free, but if you’re not careful, they can start cluttering up your home and life.

Here are four tips to help you control the magazine clutter in your home:

1. Don’t Sign Up for Magazines If You’re Not Sure You’ll Read Them

I know how easy it is to sign up for free magazine subscriptions. There’s a rush and excitement involved with getting free stuff and I’m every bit as guilty as the rest for falling for something just because it’s free.

But if you’re not going to use something and it’s just going to clutter up your home, it’s not a good deal–even if it’s free. I’ve learned this the hard way when I’ve had all these freebies coming in that I didn’t really have a use for.

I’ve started asking myself before I sign up for a freebie: Am I sure I’ll use/read this? If not, I just pass on it and let someone else have the chance to sign up.

2. Have a Place to Put Your Magazines as Soon as They Come in the Door

As soon as magazines come in the door at our house, they either go in the recycle bin (if they are junk/catalogs, etc.) or our magazine bin. This bin is in my office on a shelf that has a door on it. Instead of having a stack of magazines here and there, they are neatly contained in this bin and the door is closed on them until I’m ready to pull some out to read.

3. Designate a Time When You’ll Regularly Read the Magazines

The bin of magazines behind a closed door works well, but it doesn’t do me any good to have the bin of magazines if I don’t actually read them. Personally, I don’t usually have time to read magazines throughout the course of a normal week, but I always grab a stack of them when I’m headed out the door for an appointment. I also take a big stack with me whenever I travel. I’m able to keep up with my magazine reading this way–and it’s a nice way to break up my normal book reading.

4. Pass On Your Magazines When You’re Through With Them

Instead of recycling your magazines, see if you can pass them on to someone else who might enjoy them. If you don’t have a friend who’d like them, you can consider donating them to a school, a community group, a hospital, or library (anyone else have other ideas for places to donate them?). When I take magazines with me to an appointment or when I travel, I always leave them behind when I’m done with them (make sure to remove your address label).

How do you control the magazine clutter at your house? I’d love to hear!

Shared Feb 1, 2012 comment

Stop Rushing, Start Living

Published: by Crystal Paine on February 1, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

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Shared Feb 1, 2012 comment

Renting Our House We Couldn’t Sell

Published: by Crystal Paine on February 1, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post by Erica from Ze Petite Mama

When a job changed forced us to move across country last summer, we needed to decide what to do with our home. Like many Americans, we were underwater on our mortgage, but we also wanted to be responsible homeowners and to do everything we could to avoid a short sale or foreclosure when we moved.

Through some hard work, and careful research we were able to rent our home in less than a week. Although we are not experts in being landlords or real estate, we feel like we learned some important lessons that helped us rent our home quickly to a quality renter.

Prepare Your Rental

Although we were not trying to sell our home, we knew that whoever rented it needed to be able to picture themselves living there long term. We de-cluttered, stored extra furniture in a friend’s basement, and deep cleaned every room.

Every person who toured our home commented on how clean and spacious it felt compared to other rentals they had seen!

Research the Market

Just as in selling a home it is important to know what your competition is. A clean and spacious overpriced home will not rent no matter how desirable it is. I researched online and found what other comparable properties in our community were being listed for. I added up our costs to maintain our mortgage, tax payments, and association fees. This gave us a baseline for what to charge for rent.

We were able to list our property for $100 less a month than other rentals, and still meet our baseline needs. This gave us a small profit, and guaranteed that we not only had the nicest home on the rental market, but also the cheapest. It was tempting to charge more in an attempt to make more money, but we knew that increased our chances of our home sitting empty.

Advertise

Once we had our home in rental condition, we began to advertise. I used our camera to take pictures of each room. I then typed up a flier about the house. I not only included the facts such as square footage and number of rooms, but also pointed out the upgrades in the house, such as the location in the neighborhood and the gas fireplace. Highlighting what you love about your home will pique renters’ interests, and helps them move from simply viewing your ad to scheduling a showing.

We chose to advertise on two websites — one was free, and the other charged a fee per month. We found that the investment in the website designed specifically for renting homes provided us with the highest quality applicants.

We are so thankful that we were able to navigate this process of becoming landlords. It has truly freed us to follow our passions and opportunities even when the economy seemed to have us stuck.

Erica blogs at Ze Petite Mama. Her blog has always attempted to be a place where she can not only celebrate the fun, happy, and precious of parenthood, but also be brutally honest about the really hard “I don’t like my kids right now” moments as well.

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Shared Feb 1, 2012 comment

40 pounds of beef + 7 hours = 40 freezer meals

Published: by Crystal Paine on February 1, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Heather from Queen Bee Coupons shows how she took 40 pounds of beef and spent seven hours turning it into 40 meals for her freezer. Here are the meals she made:

10 taco meat meals (1 pound each x 10 = 10 pounds)
6 Italian mozzarella meatball meals (1 pound each x 6 = 6 pounds)
6 sweet and sour meatball meals (1 pound each x 6 = 6 pounds)
6 meals of Kalamata/olive burger patties (18 patties, 3 per meal = 6 pounds)
6 meals of burger patties (18 patties, 3 per meal = 6 pounds)
6 meals from lasagna dishes (6 pounds)

Head on over to her blog for pictures and details on she pulled this off!

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

Click here to download!

Shared Feb 1, 2012 comment

Ask The Readers: How do you organize photos online?

Published: by Crystal Paine on February 1, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Today’s question is from Amy:

I always love seeing all the freebies and discounts for photo gifts and books. My problem is I never have enough to time get them done because my pictures are not organized online. How do other people manage this? -Amy

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

Shared Jan 31, 2012 comment

Achieving My Audacious Goal: My First Novel

Published: by Crystal Paine on January 31, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post by MK Jorgenson, author of Regardless

I have a distinct memory from when I was five. There are no images or places or events attached to it, but the memory is strong: it was the moment I decided that I would write a book someday.

The planted seed of that dream remained buried during my growing-up years, building deep roots as I wrote essays and stories for classes and poetry in my spare time. My dream lay dormant during the busy days of college, the blur of getting married, moving to a new state, setting up a home, and welcoming our first precious baby.

Then it crept up on me, a tiny bud pushing through the soil of my new life, whispering that it was now or never: “The baby naps so well, you have an encouraging husband, you have a plot…”

It’s been nearly a year in the making, but it’s finished! Though the process was sweet and life-changing, there were some very practical steps that made this possible:

I created stakes. November is National Novel Writing Month, in which aspiring authors can sign up, post their daily word count, and “win” a certificate if they write 50,000 words during November. The website has forums where writers can connect locally and by genre. Going after a prize (even one as silly as a print-yourself certificate) helped spur me on to “win”.

I set daily goals. Crystal talks often about breaking big goals into smaller ones, which I found crucial during NaNoWriMo. To reach the 50,000 word count goal, I had to write 1,667 words a day—more than that to avoid writing on Sundays. Knowing I had to hit that number within my writing time helped a lot.

I made the time. Not everybody’s in the place to write a novel; I was fortunate to have a newborn who napped very well and at predictable times, so I knew when I could work. Now, she is fourteen months old but still takes one big nap, so I can still write every day.

I made myself accountable. Every day when I finished writing, I posted my word count on Facebook. People were very supportive, which only spurred me on all the more.

I gave myself grace. 50,000 words does not a novel make; after the NaNoWriMo challenge was over, there was still more work to be done. Then there was editing, formatting, and artwork. Plus there was a grad student husband who needed encouraging, a baby girl who needed loving, and a house that needed cleaning. If I had kept up my NaNo pace, I would have published six months ago, but I am truly loving the balance I’ve struck between my “work” (which is my passion) and my “job” as mother and wife (which is my greater passion).

So a seedling dream becomes a reality, and now that I’m pre-writing my next novel, it might become an entire orchard.

MK Jorgenson is a first-time author, wife, mother, and Jesus follower. When she’s not frantically typing during naptime, she loves walks to the park and reading story after story with her daughter. Her debut novel, Regardless (inspired by events in the book of Acts), is available on Kindle, Nook, and in paperback through Amazon. She can also be found blogging at mkjorgenson.blogspot.com.

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Shared Jan 31, 2012 comment

Video blog: January’s hymn of the month

Published: by Crystal Paine on January 31, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

We set a goal as a family to learn one hymn every month in 2012 during our evening family Bible Time. The children are loving this and have learned almost all of the words to two verses of this month’s hymn. It’s so fun to hear them singing together.

We tried to capture them singing the hymn on video a few times last night and found that it’s near impossible to get a good take of three children singing at once. But just for fun, I thought I’d share one of our takes!

Silas also learned Jesus Loves Me this month and Kathrynne wanted to take a video of him singing it with her.

I feel so blessed and unworthy to get to nurture, love, and mother these three precious children. I truly want to soak up every moment.

Shared Jan 31, 2012 comment

Where do you want to be financially five years from now?

Published: by Crystal Paine on January 31, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

If you’re joining in The Money Saving Mom®’s Budget Book Club, you’ll want to hop on over to Amy’s post on creating big goals and breaking them down into bite-sized pieces.

Shared Jan 31, 2012 comment

Graduating Debt-Free!

Published: by Crystal Paine on January 31, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post by Anne Jisca

My husband and I met in college and got married after our 2nd year. He went on with his studies, pursuing a Master’s degree part-time while working.

Now, after six years of marriage, he will be completing his degree this spring. Throughout those years, we have learned to make do with little, and to keep our student loans to a minimum.

This past summer, we set ourselves a high goal of doing whatever it takes to pay off our student loans this year, so that he can graduate debt-free. It seemed unrealistic on my husband’s salary (I’m a stay-at-home-mom), but we sat down and determined how much we would need to pay into the loan every month to have it paid off, and found ways to make that happen:

We contacted the loan agency and applied for interest relief, for a period of six months. That means six months of saving the interest to apply to the principle!

We’ve lowered our grocery budget. We were already eating inexpensively, but we lowered it even more. What that means is mostly eating less meat and replacing it with beans and legumes that I soak and cook myself.

We’re purging our house of unused items and selling them through a yard sale and on the internet.

We had bake sales, and I continue to sell baked goods from home.

We minimized our spending money, and find cheap or free ways to make memories as a family.

Any extra money we get, however small the amount, goes towards our student loan.

While not every way of making and saving money has panned out, we are still making progress that we would not have made otherwise. It’s not always easy or fun to limit ourselves in this way, but the anticipation to be debt-free (aside from mortgage) by graduation is worth every effort!

Anne Jisca is a wife, and a Mom to two little boys. She loves to cook and bake, seeking to feed her family healthy (but yummy!) foods. She shares her recipes at Anne Jisca’s Healthy Pursuits.

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Summer Bucket List

Summer Bucket List

FREE Summer Bucket List!!

Start early:

Get a second opinion:

Research pricing:

Pay Cash:

Flexible spending:

Here’s the final breakdown of what we spent:

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

Before We Got Organized

First Step Towards Organization

Benefits of Organization

Fine Tuning

1. Don’t Sign Up for Magazines If You’re Not Sure You’ll Read Them

2. Have a Place to Put Your Magazines as Soon as They Come in the Door

3. Designate a Time When You’ll Regularly Read the Magazines

4. Pass On Your Magazines When You’re Through With Them

Prepare Your Rental

Research the Market

Advertise

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

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