Katie from Good Life Eats shows you how to make all-natural moisturizing hand scrub.
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.
Summer Bucket List
Classic View
Grid View
Turn a tissue box into a plastic bag dispenser
Finding Beauty in the Crags
A few weeks ago, when our family was in Colorado, we spent a day at Garden of the Gods.
It was our childrens’ first time to go to Colorado and they were so excited about getting to go “mountain climbing” (as they referred to climbing on the rocks at Garden of the Gods).
They had a blast and it was so fun to watch them all enjoying God’s creation and this free natural “playground.”
However, they were quite fearless, so it was a little unnerving for me as their mom!
At the same time, though, I was excited to see that my two usually more fearful ones were showing such bravery.
It made me realize that they are growing up and maturing and tackling adventures they never would have a year or two ago.
Silas was so determined to climb up the rocks himself. I loved seeing his perseverance!
The views were breathtaking–quite a contrast from the flat land in Kansas!
As we were getting ready to leave, I happened to notice these beautiful flowers growing out of a particularly rocky and barren area. As soon as I saw them, I knew I had to take a picture for myself–and for you all.
Many of you are going through hard, hard times right now. I read your emails and my heart breaks at the struggles and troubles you have on your plate. I can’t even bear to imagine some of your circumstances and the burdens you have weighing on you.
But I want you to look at these flowers and be encouraged. Even in the midst of the rockiest times, you can still bloom. When you just want to wither away because you feel dried up and exhausted, don’t lose hope!
This Week’s Menu Plan
Homemade Applesauce in the Crockpot
Breakfasts
Granola bars
Hard-boiled eggs, juice
Granola, fruit
Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Muffins (from the freezer), fried eggs
Steel Cut Oats, fruit
Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
Morning Glory Muffins (from the freezer), scrambled eggsLunches
PB&J, Apples
Macaroni & Cheese, carrot sticks, apple slices
Tossed salad with feta cheese and dried cranberries
Egg salad sandwiches, carrot sticks, apples
Cheese quesadillas, grapes
Leftovers x 2Dinners
Lasagna, toasted rolls, tossed salad, fruit
Macaroni & Cheese with Beef, frozen veggies, fruit salad
Lasagna (yes, we’re having it twice this week; my mom gave me a huge pan of it as a birthday present since it’s my favorite!), toasted rolls, frozen broccoli, fruit salad
Frito Chili Pie, tossed salad, fruit salad
Dinner with Extended Family x 2
Dinner outFreezer Cooking Session (I’ll share more details and pictures on how this goes on Thursday.)
Easy Crockpot Apple Butter
Cook up Pinto Beans to freeze, Make Frito Chili Pie
Macaroni & Cheese with Beef,
Homemade Applesauce (I’m going to do this on a separate day since I only have one crock pot.)
What’s on your menu this week? Share details and/or your link to your menu plan in the comments.
Reader Tip: Save Money By Bagging Your Own Snacks
Tip submitted by Heather from Creative Family Moments
Food goes fast at my house, especially handy to-go snacks. A bag of chips? Forget about it. It’ll be gone before I can sneak a handful.
A baked pan of brownies? The smell lingers but I think I only got a taste test.
Pistachios? The bag is left for me, full of shells.
Part of the problem is that we decided long ago that we wanted our house to be a welcoming place for the kids’ friends. We made that decision when they were preschoolers. It was a no-brainer then.
Now that they are teen, tween, and elementary, these kids and their friends can eat! Afternoons, weekends, and summer means I see many pairs of hopeful eyes looking up at me before they ask, “Is there something I can have for a snack?”
It was worth it though, for the relationships. Yet, packing cold lunches was my breaking point. Sending three kiddos and one husband off to school and work with a cold lunch meant I needed some handy to-go foods that would actually stick around long enough to make it into the thermal bags!
Snack bags came to the rescue! On sale (and/or with coupon!) I can get a pack of 100 snack bags for under two dollars. So when I bake brownies, I instantly cut them up, set aside a few for dessert, and store them in snack bags (Hide them immediately for later use!).
Find pistachios on sale? Sweet! I split up the serving portions and store them. Any special treat that goes on sale with a handy coupon (like the free Skittles I got awhile ago), I’ve learned to split up immediately so they’ll last.
I have happy kids, and a happy husband, because they have treats and good snacks that are already in serving size bags and inhibit mindless eating. It helps food last much longer and thereby saves me money and sanity!
Heather loves to live life purposefully by celebrating the ordinary every day. Her family and their often bizarre celebrations can be found at her blog, Creative Family Moments.
Couponing Helps Save My Sanity
Guest post by Laura Ziesel
I’m not a mom, but I’ve been reading Money Saving Mom® for years because I care about being a wise money manager. Well, that and my husband is a graduate student and I’m a freelance writer and editor. We have to pay attention to every single dollar these days.
Sometimes I get discouraged when I read other people’s success stories at Money Saving Mom® because our family is moving in the “wrong” direction: our income has decreased every year that we’ve been married and we are acquiring more student debt as my husband earns his doctorate in psychology. Our retirement contributions have suffered, we’ve tapped into our emergency savings, and we are barely making ends meet.
Paying off debt is not in the cards for us at the moment. Because of our current financial situation, I catch myself wanting to give up frugality entirely. But I have to remind myself that even though our net worth is decreasing, being budget-minded now is paying off in many ways:
1) While we aren’t getting out of debt now, we are acquiring less debt because of our frugality. Less debt now = less debt to pay off later!
2) By learning to live on less now, we will be able to pay off our debt more quickly when the time comes. We now know how to live on very little money, so our “extra” income will be substantial later.
3) We have become content with the basics–food, clothes, shelter. Keeping up with the Jones’s is not an option, so we truly are not tempted to do so.
4) By keeping our costs low for food and household supplies, we have been able to maintain the amount of money we tithe and give to charities even though our income has decreased each year.
However, we have an additional complicating factor. Because I am a freelancer, I am always calculating how much I’m saving per hour couponing versus how much I could be making if I was writing or editing. I think, “Shouldn’t I simply work more to earn additional income instead of trying to save money?” You’d think.
But the other day, I had a reality check. After a full day of writing and editing, I was spent. My brain literally could not produce any more quality work, nor could I spend one more minute staring at a glowing screen.
So in those remaining hours of the evening, I had to do something away from the TV or computer that did not require deep thought. My husband was busy with school work, my apartment was clean, our meals were planned for the next few days, and we don’t have a yard or garden to work in.
Couponing was what I had left. Clipping coupons, organizing them, flipping through store circulars, and crunching numbers was exactly what the doctor ordered. I felt untaxed yet productive, and was able to give my eyes and mind a much-needed break. I’m not sure how much money I saved during that hour of couponing, but my sanity was saved.
So even though our net worth is decreasing and I might not be saving “enough” money for every hour spent couponing, I am sticking with it.
Laura Ziesel is a freelance writer and editor living in Azusa, California with her husband. She blogs on Following Jesus at LauraZiesel.com. She is also a contributing writer for The Redemptive Pursuit, a weekly devotional for women.
10 Weekly Goals
I fell off the self-discipline bandwagon last week. I stayed up way too late every night and then got up late every single morning. I only exercised twice, I didn’t stay focused, and I was completely off our usual routine.
So yes, it was one of those weeks where I felt like I completely bombed life. The good news? Today starts a fresh new week and, by the grace of God, I got up early, exercised, and feel much more back on track. Now here’s to hoping the momentum can continue…
Last week’s goals:
Family/Mothering Goals
1. Finish reading The Cabin Faced West aloud to the children.
2. Work on our current habit training project.
3. Take both girls out on individual “dates” with me.Personal Goals
4. Run 12 miles (total).
5. Finish readingWomanly Dominion. Still working on EntreLeadership and He Heard Hannah (advance review copy).
6. Listen to Poke the Box audiobook.7. Finish Rag Quilt.
Home Management Goals
8. Spend 10 minutes picking up/cleaning our bedroom/bathroom every day (I’ve really been working with the children on keeping their room/bathroom cleaned and I realized that I’ve not been setting the best example for them!).
Business Goals
9. Shoot video for 31 Weeks to a Better Grocery Budget series.
10. Get new business cards printed.
Here are this week’s goals:
Family/Mothering Goals
1. Finish reading The Cabin Faced West and Sarah Witcher’s Story aloud to the children.
2. Take the children to the pumpkin patch and the corn maze (Yay for Groupons!).
Personal Goals
3. Run 10 miles (total).
4. Finish reading Angel in the Rubble, EntreLeadership, The Rose Conspiracy, He Heard Hannah, and A New Kind of Normal. (Don’t ask me why I’m being so ambitious with my reading list. But I’m hoping maybe aiming high will help me get through my huge stack of books to read faster. I have no idea whether it will work, but we’ll see!)
5. Finish Rag Quilt and knitted dishcloth.
6. Go to bed by 10 p.m. every night. (If I follow through with this simple goal, my whole week should be incredibly improved!)
Home Management Goals
7. Spend 10 minutes picking up/cleaning our bedroom/bathroom every day (I’ve really been working with the children on keeping their room/bathroom cleaned and I realized that I’ve not been setting the best example for them!).
8. Do one load of laundry from start to finish every day.
Business Goals
9. Shoot video for 31 Weeks to a Better Grocery Budget series.
10. Outline our workshop for the Relevant conference with my husband.
How did you do on last week’s goals? What are your goals for this week? If you feel comfortable doing so, I’d love to have you share your progress on last week’s goals and your goals for this coming week in the comments. Let’s cheer each other on to live purposeful and productive lives!
You can download a free customizable weekly goal-planning sheet here.
How I “Professionally” Cleaned My Carpet for $5
Guest post by Melinda from eBay Selling Mom
I was in a jam. I needed to have my living room carpet professionally cleaned, but it was not in our budget.
There was only one thing I could think to do: I had to stick to my guns and stay frugal by using some good ol’ elbow grease, carpet cleaner (I bought it from the Dollar Tree), three large sponges, and a bucket of hot water. Thankfully my living room is not enormous!
I started out by getting the entire carpet wet with very hot water. (If you try this, be sure to wear a pair of rubber gloves so you don’t burn yourself!)
After the carpet was wet, I scrubbed very hard with my carpet cleaner and back and forth motions. Then I went over the carpets again with a sponge and some hot water to make sure the cleaner was pretty much of out the carpet.
I decided that I wanted to make sure the carpet smelled nice and pretty so I sprayed my Homemade Febreeze all over the carpet. (By the way, I actually think my homemade version smells better than real Febreeze!)
Next, I opened all of my windows to bring in the fresh summer air and waited for my carpets to dry.It took about a day for them to dry completely. Once they were dry, I vacuumed up all of the loose dirt and crumbs.
My husband said they looke and smelled better than if they had been done professionally! Even though it was hard work to clean my carpet by hands, it was worth it to save the $150 I would have paid for a professional cleaner.
Melinda is a stay-at-home mom to three beautiful children: Madeline, Micah, and Benjamin. She’s married to her wonderful husband Matthew. In her spare time, she enjoys blogging at eBay Selling Mom.
Shared Oct 6, 2011
comment
Why running out of money was the best thing that happened to us!
Why running out of money was the best thing that happened to us!
Guest post by Elise Adams from Adams Organizing
Four years ago this August, I was rescued from a life of homelessness and violence when my daughter’s father was arrested. So when I came back to my hometown and began rebuilding my life, I was relieved to get on government assistance. A full fridge and a safe house felt luxurious to me.
After living in hotels, I was quickly content with a subsidized apartment, food stamps, and a little money to pay my utilities. I felt blessed to stay home with my children.
Fast forward a few years… I’m married to the man God picked for me (since my “picker” was obviously broken!) and we have a baby boy. After a job loss and a year on unemployment with a lot of bad decisions in between, we arrived at the the worst day of our life together just four weeks ago. I was getting ready to leave a business trip and we were counting on our IRS tax refund check to catch us up on bills. But it didn’t arrive on time.
I will never forget that night! I cried myself to sleep wondering, “How could I be back in such a desperate place?”
Then something twisted deep inside my stomach. I promised myself that we’d never be in such a desperate situation again. No matter what it takes, I told myself, we will not ever run out of money so completely that we are afraid that we won’t have enough to pay rent.
For some of you this is a shocking story. How can anybody allow themselves to sink to such desperate situation? Didn’t we know any better? Are we crazy? Or maybe we’re lazy?
Yes, in some ways, to all of those questions. Yet, what I believe kept us stuck in a situation that most of you would find unthinkable is the very same reality that keeps Dave Ramsey’s listeners leasing cars and using credit cards: Denial.
It was easier to pretend that we aren’t really poor. As long as the lights stayed on and we weren’t evicted we could pretend we were safe and secure.
This is why I am so thankful that we ran out of money that day four weeks ago. I am so glad that I cried myself to sleep that night, promising my own soul that we’d do whatever it takes to climb all the way out of poverty.
Today, just four weeks or so later, we have made huge changes:
- My husband is working 42 hours a week now and he is taking a full class load toward his nursing degree.
- I’ve totally re-focused my blog on this whole area of personal responsibility.
- We’ve changed how we budget–using only cash for everything after bills.
No matter where you find yourself today financially, might you still be indulging in a bit of denial? Are there areas that you let slide because it’s easier? Maybe you are struggling with unemployment or are taking government assistance to get by? I’d love to hear your stories!
Elise Adams is an author, motivational speaker, and radio personality who is determined to help everyone she meets ‘survive, thrive and get on with their lives’. She blogs over at AdamsOrganizing.com where she openly and candidly attacks the tough topics of addiction, chaos, and homelessness from a personal recovery perspective. Her latest project is a Free Video Class she calls ‘How to survive ANY crisis without Losing your Sanity’. Elise, her husband, and three toddlers (three other kids live with their other parents–can you say ‘blended family’?) live in the Pacific Northwest.
My Crock Pot and Oven Pumpkin-Cooking Experiment
For the last few years, I’ve always just purchased canned pumpkin at Aldi or on clearance after Thanksgiving. And I’ve always had a decent supply of it on hand by buying extras when I found a good deal.
Recently, however, my supply was dwindling and, since our Aldi doesn’t have canned pumpkin in stock yet, I’ve been having trouble justifying spending almost $2 a can for pumpkin. But Fall isn’t the same without baking pumpkin recipes, so what was I going to do?
My friend tipped me off to a sale Walmart was having on pie pumpkins last week so we bought five with the intention of cooking them and pureeing them for the freezer. I decided to do a little experiment and compare how much time and effort was involved in cooking them in the crock pot versus the oven.
How to Cook Pumpkins in the Crock Pot
(original recipe from The Happy Housewife)
I sliced the softer pumpkins (leaving the harder ones to bake whole so that I didn’t cut off my finger in the process of trying to saw into them!).
Then de-seeded them with an ice cream scoop.
What a mess!
Finally, I put them in the crock pot with a cup of water and turned it on high for four hours.
For much more detailed instructions, see The Happy Housewife’s post on how to cook a pumpkin in the crock pot.
How to Roast Pumpkins Whole in the Oven
For the pumpkins that I cooked whole, I just washed them off and coated them with coconut oil and stuck them on a baking sheet and roasted them for a little over an hour at 400 degrees.
See more detailed instructions on how to roast a whole pumpkin without cutting it here.
The Final Results
The oven pumpkins were much easier to do (no cutting involved and they were ready a lot more quickly). The seeds and pulp came out easily and I just scraped out the pumpkin with the ice cream scoop.
The crock pot pumpkins were a little more time-consuming upfront because you had to mess with cutting and scraping out the hard pulp. They also took longer and I felt like they weren’t as sweet and well-cooked when finished. (Of course, maybe they just weren’t as good of pumpkins, either?)
After scooping out the fruit, I pureed it in the Vita-Mix for a minute and then scooped one-cup servings into individual baggies and froze them in a big ziptop bag.
Well, I didn’t quite freeze all of it since I used some right away in the Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal–a recipe we’re looking forward to having for breakfast tomorrow!
All totaled, I got nine cups of pumpkin from the five pie pumpkins, plus seeds to roast. I’m not sure that the time involved made it worth the small savings, but it was a fun project to tackle anyway!
OVER-SPENDING EVERY SINGLE MONTH?Grab these FREE Budgeting Sheets!
Click here to download!
8 Ways to Be a Better Mom to Young Children
The children and I at Garden of the Gods in Colorado
I don’t know about you, but I’ve struggled with a lot of mommy guilt over the past seven years I’ve been a mom:
“Am I doing enough?”
“Are my children eating right, getting enough sleep, getting enough fresh air and exercise?”
“Am I spending enough quality time with them?”
“Should I be doing more of X with them and less of Y?”
And then I’ve felt like a bad mom for having so much mommy guilt. Yes, I know, I’m hopeless!
In talking to other moms, I know I’m not alone. If you’re a young mom who is feeling discouraged in your mothering today, I wrote an article over on MomLife on 8 Ways to Be a Better Mom to Young Children. It shares some of the things I’ve learned–mostly through error–as a young mom.
I hope it can be a blessing to some of you who are exhausted and overwhelmed in your mothering!
Related Articles:
Cardboard Dollhouse-Making Trumped My To Do List
Training Requires Repetition
18 pounds of apples for $3.54!
I had all three children when I went out shopping today, so I almost didn’t make the extra stop at the health food store. But since I was going to be driving right by it and I’d not been there in a week, I decided to go ahead and stop and unload everyone and see if there were any markdowns or other bargains to be had.
Well, imagine my surprise and excitement when, as soon as I walked in the door, I found 3-lb. bags of apples on sale for $0.99! I had to read the sign three times before I was sure that’s what it said.
I got ready to load up my cart, but then I saw the crate where they put marked down produce. Guess what it was full of? 3-lb. bags of apples marked down to $0.59 per bag!!!!
You can just envision my happy dance, can’t you?! I restrained myself and only bought six bags as I didn’t want to take all of them and I also wanted to make sure I didn’t buy more than I can use.
Without a doubt, this is the best deal I’ve ever scored on apples. I’m having visions of apple butter, Homemade Crockpot Applesauce, Slab Apple Pie, Mini Apple Pies, and so much more!
What are your best suggestions for using up a bunch of apples? I’d love to hear!
Repurpose a t-shirt into a knit bracelet
Have an old t-shirt you no longer want but that still has some life left in it? Repurpose it into a knit bracelet.
These are so cute and easy that I’m thinking maybe even I could manage to make one!
Reader Tip: Amazon’s Trade-In Program
Chelsea emailed in with the following tip:
Last week, I discovered Amazon’s trade-in store, and ended up having almost 400 dollars worth of credit between six text books! After researching what the books were worth, I found that Amazon was offering me a very fair price. I was able to ship the books for free and quickly received the credit in my account.
Besides text books, Amazon also accepts electronics, movies and television series, video games, consoles, and accessories for trade. I would highly encourage MoneySavingMom® readers to check out this program. Paired with free shipping and price matching, the store credit could really come in handy.
Want to review a pre-release copy of my book?
As most of you know, my book, The Money Saving Mom®’s Budget, is releasing in January 2012. It’s the culmination of years of personally living frugally and simply and teaching others how to have a paradigm shift about money.
I’m more than a little excited about it (more like crazily ecstatic about it!) because I believe its message is direly needed, especially right now as so many people are struggling to make ends meet. I believe this book has the potential to radically change your budget–and your life!
The Money Saving Mom®’s Budget is a comprehensive step-by-step plan to take you from financial mess to financial success. In this straightforward book, you’ll learn:
::How to set big goals and break them down into bite-sized pieces.
::How to prioritize your time and life in order to live intentionally.
::How to streamline your home and life in order to have breathing room to work toward your financial goals.
::My three-step plan for going from no budget at all to a full-fledged, realistic, written budget.
::How to make a cash envelope system work for you.
::How to cut your grocery bill in half (including 25 ways to save money without using coupons!).
::How to save big on restaurants, travel, clothing, utility bills, prescription glasses, gym memberships, and much more.
::And finally, how to cultivate contentment, embrace today, and live a rich and full life, no matter your income.
You know what I’m most thrilled about in publishing this book? That all of my profits are going to Compassion International–an organization that helps to feed and clothe needy children around the globe.
Knowing that this book has the potential to not only change lives in our country, but to also give food, clean water, shelter, and clothing to those who are living in unimaginable circumstances, gave me so much purpose and excitement while writing. I’m humbled to be partnering with Compassion’s ministry to the poorest of the poor.
Would You Like a Free Pre-Release Copy of The Money Saving Mom®’s Budget?
Update: Thank you for your interest! The submission form is now closed.
We are sending out a limited number of pre-release copies for free to bloggers and other media outlets. Would you like to review the book and publish your thoughts? If so, please fill out the questions below.
Please note: Filling out the below form does not guarantee a few review copy or giveaway, but we will do our best to accommodate as many requests as we can. Your information will not be sold but will only be used to contact you about the book and media opportunities with the book.
Having trouble seeing the form? Go here!