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Money Saving Mom

Money Saving Mom®

Saving Families Money Since 2007

Summer Bucket List

Summer Bucket List.

Summer Bucket List

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Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 14, 2011 comment

Super Savings Saturday: Dillon’s, Aldi, Health Food Store

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Super Savings Saturday: Dillon’s, Aldi, Health Food Store

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

After tackling an enormous pile of post-trip laundry, I headed out for a fun shopping trip by myself this afternoon. (I know I might be weird, but grocery shopping is something I really enjoy–especially when I’m not rushed!)

Here’s what I ended up buying:

Dillon’s Shopping Trip

Organic lettuce — $1.99

Cilantro — $0.99

Cheese — $1.79

I also used my free coupons to get the Pantene, Aussie, Skintimate, Herbal Essence, and Playtex products for free.

Total after coupons with tax: $6.69

Health Food Store Shopping Trip

Organic Clearanced Bananas — $0.39/lb. = $3.53 total

Apples — $0.99/lb. = $3.15

Wheat — $1.29/lb. = $2.49 (I ran out of my bulk wheat and need to buy another bag, but had to buy some to tide me over until I can get it in bulk again.)

Stonyfield Yogurt — Reduced to $1.99

Sprinkles — Reduced to $0.99

Total with tax: $12.98

Aldi Shopping Trip

Chicken — $5.49

2 bags of peas — $0.99 each

2 limes — $0.35 each

2 cans of black beans — $0.55 each

5 packs of strawberries — $0.99 each

Grapes — $1.58

Raisins — $1.69

Nectarines, Peaches, Plums — 15 total — $0.19 each

Total with tax: $21.82

Did you snag any great deals or bargains this week or save money in other ways? If so, be sure to post about them on your blog and leave your link below. Please remember that this weekly round-up is to share deals you personally got and/or money you were able to save this week. In order to keep this weekly round-up focused on helping and inspiring others in their efforts to save money, links which have little-to-no content other than promoting affiliate links, etc. will be deleted. Also, to make it easy for everyone to navigate quickly through the links, your link must link directly to your Super Savings Saturday post.

Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 13, 2011 comment

Monthly Financial Check-up

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Monthly Financial Check-up

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

Remember how I said last month that we’d decided to wait to replace our van for awhile in order to put that money towards our children’s educational savings instead? Well, I’m not so sure that was the most brilliant decision ever.

For starters, I was heading out with all the children one day a few weeks ago and noticed that one of the van tires was low. Upon investigation, we ended up finding out there was a screw in the van tire wall (don’t ask me where that came from!). So we couldn’t just patch the tire, we had to replace the whole tire.

Then, a few days later, I was driving home and all of a sudden there was a very loud buzzing noise coming from the back of the van. Come to find out, the rear blower motor went out. Considering that it’s been over 100 degrees almost every day for weeks, we decided we’d better fix it ASAP.

Next, we had to get extensive front suspension work done on the van, which was quite costly. Finally, it seems like our transmission might be going out.

So maybe my idea to hang onto the van for a few more years wasn’t so bright? But the decision has been made, so we’ve decided to just fix the issues and hope that it extends the life of the van for at least another year or two–if not more.

I’m grateful that we have an emergency fund so we can cover these types of unexpected expenses and I’m grateful that we live on a strict budget and try to plan for the unexpected. This makes situations like flat tires, rear blower motors and transmissions going out a lot less stressful. As Amy said, “Being intentional with our money turns emergencies into inconveniences.”

We were able to set aside some money for Silas’ educational savings account, but it’s not as funded as we’d hoped to have it at this point. Oh well, moving forward in the right direction is always better than standing still or going backwards!

Here’s our current goals list:

Our Family’s Financial Goals for the Summer of 2010 through December 2011

1. Significantly increase our giving to needs in our community and around the world.This is an ongoing goal, so we’re keeping it uncrossed off from the list.

2. Pay cash for a replacement washer and dryer for our very used set.

3. Pay cash for a replacement for Old Blue Van.

4. Pay cash for a couch for our basement family room.

5. Pay cash for bunk beds for the girls.

6. Fully fund our IRAs.

7. Bump up our retirement savings to 10% of our income.

8. Fund our children’s educational savings. Kathrynne and Kaitlynn’s are done, now we’re working on Silas’.

9. Double our Emergency Fund Savings (Instead of having around six month’s worth of expenses set aside, we’re planning to set aside a year’s worth of expenses.)

10. Save 40% towards our real estate investing goal.

We’d love to hear about your recent financial goals and successes! You can post about it on your blog and leave your link in the comments. Or, just share about your progress/goals in the comments. Let’s all keep each other accountable to be better stewards of our resources!

Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 12, 2011 comment

Freebies in My Mailbox

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Freebies in My Mailbox

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

We arrived home from our trip to Arkansas tonight and found some fun freebies awaiting us in the mailbox:

::Free Weight Watchers, Parenting, and Martha Stewart Living magazines

::Free Shout Wipes sample

::Free Avery PocketTabs sample

::Free Playtex and Skintimate coupons (not sure where these came from, has anyone figured out yet?)

::Free $10 Kohl’s gift card (they sent these out to a bunch of households this week)

::Free $10 Starbucks gift card and $15 iTunes gift card earned from Swagbucks

::Free Fresh Express Salad coupon

What freebies have arrived in your mailbox this week?

By the way, if you want to start getting great freebies in your mailbox, just start signing up for the freebies I post every day that interest you. Within 4-6 weeks, your mailbox will start filling up with great freebies!

Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 11, 2011 comment

How to Boost Your Vacation Budget with Groupon

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How to Boost Your Vacation Budget with Groupon

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

boost your vacation budget with groupon

Guest post by Kelli.

As an MSM reader, there is a good chance you already enjoy the benefits of using Groupon. But have you considered using it to save money while on vacation?

Our family recently planned a vacation and my cousin happened to send me a link to a mini-golf Groupon for one of the cities we’d be staying in. That got me thinking… What if I signed up for the Groupon e-mails for those cities just until our vacation was over?

I am so glad we did!

How Groupon Boosted Our Vacation Budget:

Restaurants: We love to eat out while we are on vacation and it is usually our main expense besides lodging. We like to try local places, and not stick with the chains. Groupon is great for that!

Grocery Stores: In addition to buying vouchers for several local restaurants, we also found a Groupon for a small local grocery store where we were able to get ingredients for a few homemade meals.

State Parks: We found a Groupon for admission to a state park that saved us around $20.

Entertainment: We purchased a Groupon for an Imagination Movers show — which saved us $84 on our 4 tickets, and the kids loved it.

How to Use Groupon To Save On Your Next Trip

1. Sign Up For All Cities You’ll Be Vacationing In

Go to Groupon and see if the cities you’ll be vacationing in are listed. If so, sign up to receive daily email reminders of the deals available. Some will have no relevance at all to your trip (e.g. deals for lawn care or gutter cleaning) but you should be able to find some deals that will be useful.

2. Plan Ahead

Some Groupons require that you wait a day or two before using. You will also want to see what is in the area that piques your interest and see if a Groupon appears for that particular attraction.

3. Don’t Go Overboard

My hubby had to rein me in a bit (on restaurants, anyway) because I wanted to buy a Groupon for every day we would be on vacation. But that would not allow for any flexibility should plans have to change.

4. Always Check the Expiration Dates

Check the expiration date on the Groupon before purchasing! If you plan to travel in November, but the Groupon expires in September, your money is sadly wasted.

Kelli Hays is a small-town girl slowly figuring out the big-city life. She is the wife to a church planter, mom to three amazing kids, and lover of books.

Shared Aug 10, 2011 comment

3 Tips for Staying on a Budget While Running a Home Business

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3 Tips for Staying on a Budget While Running a Home Business

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

Note from Crystal: While I’m on vacation, I’m taking a break from writing a post for the How to Make Money Blogging series this week. I’ll be back to it next Wednesday. In the mean time, here’s a guest post on staying on budget while running a home business that I thought some of you might find very helpful.

Guest post by Angie from The Work At Home Wife

As home business owners, we quickly find that working from home means we are bombarded all day long with things that promise to improve our businesses. Some are going to teach us new skills. Some are going to share insider secrets to success. Others are not quite clear on what they are guaranteeing, but we must buy it now and we can figure that out later.

There truly are some great products out there that can improve our bottom lines. Many of us go through the stages of buying nothing, buying the right things, and then buying everything whether we truly need it or not. Those latter times can break the bank, if you let them.

Here are three tips for staying on a budget while running a home business:

1. Invest only in what you need.

When another home business owner asks me what products they should purchase, my typical response is “Where do you need help?” If your response to that question is “Everywhere” or “I really don’t know,” it may not be the time to invest in anything until you figure that out.

If you invest in the latest snazzy social media product that comes into your inbox when you really need help with your SEO, you just threw your hard-earned money out the window. Take some time to find out what improvements are truly needed before jumping on the latest recommendation.

2. Do not impulse buy.

That should go without saying, but even I often need a reminder. It is one reason I don’t keep my purse in my office.

If I’m taking a five minute break to read my emails and read a limited time sale on something “new, improved, and guaranteed”, it is too tempting to reach over and grab that wallet before I can think twice. If it is not something you were already planning on purchasing, mull it over.

3. Always check for coupon codes.

We should always be savvy self-employed shoppers, and those discounts can add up quickly on big items. If it is something that ships, you may be able to find several ways to save. Check out sites like RetailMeNot.com or CouponCabin.com for discount codes. Use a rebate site like Rakuten.com (formerly Ebates) to stretch those dollars a little further.

Every little bit counts these days, home business owner or not. And we always want to avoid buyer’s remorse when possible.

A little additional perk from savvy shopping is that what you save on one purchase, or eliminate altogether, can be moved over to something that may not have otherwise been within your business budget. Sometimes you really can buy more and still spend less.

Angie is a Virtual Assistant and founder of The Work at Home Wife where she provides home business solutions and internet marketing tactics for home business owners on a budget.

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Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 10, 2011 comment

Ask the Readers: Grab-N-Go Meal Ideas

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Ask the Readers: Grab-N-Go Meal Ideas

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

Today’s question is from Lyss:

I’m in need of ideas for grab-n-go meals for my husband. He is a very busy man and rarely eats with us during the week. Leftovers and sandwiches aren’t cutting it, but I’m stumped for much else! He would eat frozen pizzas, burritos, etc., but I don’t like buying processed foods. Anyone have healthy, make-ahead, individual meal ideas or recipes? -Lyss

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 Aug 10, 2011 comment

3 Encouraging Posts You Should Read

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3 Encouraging Posts You Should Read

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

Here are three posts I read in the last day that I really enjoyed and wanted to pass along:

::How a Nagging Thought Left Me $15 Richer — “Just because it’s an amazing deal…doesn’t mean it’s the best choice for me.” Excellent words of advice from JessieLeigh.

::Turning Failure to Your Advantage — Michael Hyattshares five components for turning failure to your advantage. I loved his last paragraph: “…failure is inevitable if you are going to tackle significant goals. You have to learn to make it work for you. In doing so, you are planting the seeds of your eventual success.”

::There’s Beauty in Your Ugly Stroller — “Managing our money well to gift our family a debt-free life is a choice that has us frequently asking ‘How ugly is it?’. It’s a choice that encourages us to swallow our pride, look past the ugly, and see the beauty.”Amy’s post was spot-on.

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Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 9, 2011 comment

Do-It-Yourself: Homemade Febreze

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Do-It-Yourself: Homemade Febreze

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

Fake-It Frugal shows you how to make your own Febreze.

Should I confess that I’ve never even used Febreze before? I just skip buying/using fabric softener*–and no one knows any differently (well, I guess that’s because they’ve never known any differently!)

*Update: Thanks to all your comments setting the record straight! I’m cracking up that I thought Febreze was fabric softener, not fabric refresher. Yes, apparently I know absolutely nothing about it! 🙂

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

Click here to download!
Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 9, 2011 comment

3 Posts on Blogging You Should Read

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3 Posts on Blogging You Should Read

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

Here are three posts related to blogging that I’d encourage you to read:

::How Do You Not Get Discouraged By the Success of Others? — A fantastic post by my friend, Amy, from BloggingWithAmy.com. Whether you’re a blogger or not, you’ll be blessed and challenged by this post. I know that I was!

::140 Character Friendships — So true! {Okay, so this wasn’t really about blogging, but the sentiment could also be applied to blogging relationships, as well as Twitter relationships.}

::How to Make Money Blogging — Connie shares specific details on how she made $1,200 by blogging last month. If you’re considering earning money through blogging, you’ll find lots of helpful ideas and information in her post.

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Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 9, 2011 comment

Free ebook: Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life

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Free ebook: Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life

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

Download a free copy of the ebook Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life from Simply Charlotte Mason.

Thanks, Ecomomical Me!

Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 8, 2011 comment

Failure is an option

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Failure is an option

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

Our family is enjoying our annual vacation at the lake in Arkansas with my extended family this week. We always rent a boat and spend many hours on the water.

Most of my family members are adept at skiing–my dad started water-skiing when he was four or five years old and, over fifty years later, he’s still amazing on skis. My brother is a wakeboard whiz. And pretty much everyone else in my family makes water-skiing look like a piece of cake.

Everyone, that is, but me.

I can get up on two skis alright. It’s not pretty, but I can get up and stay up, go over the wakes, and do a decent job of it. But, try as I might, I’ve never been able to slalom.

And today was no different. After watching my brother, dad, and mom all successfully slalom, I jumped out into the water for my turn–determined that I was going to get up on one ski this year.

However, it seems all the determination in the world couldn’t lift my body out of the water to stand up on that one ski. I tried and fell ten times before finally calling it quits for the day (I figured all the patient cheerleaders in the boat probably would like to do something other than start and stop the boat all afternoon!).

Was I discouraged? Yes. I really wanted this year to be the year that I successfully slalomed.

Was I defeated? No. I know I did my best and tried my hardest. I listened to the instructions from my dad and brother. I tried different things to make it work. I gritted my teeth and hung on even when it hurt.

Most of all, I made myself do something hard and kept trying even when I fell down.

Maybe I’ll never be able to get up on one ski. Perhaps tomorrow will be the day it happens. I don’t know. But one thing I do know is this: if you never jump out into the water in the first place, if you never step out of your comfort zone, if you never try hard things, you’ll always be in the same place in life.

Success never comes to people who sit and do nothing. Even if you try something and end up falling flat on your face, you’re still farther ahead than the person who never begins in the first place.

And even if you never get to where you hope to go, I promise you’ll be stronger for trying.

Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 8, 2011 comment

This Week’s Menu Plan: The We’re On Vacation Edition

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This Week’s Menu Plan: The We’re On Vacation Edition

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

We drove to Arkansas yesterday afternoon to spend a few days on the lake with my extended family. This is our annual get-together and it’s something everyone looks forward to each year.

We share all our meals together and cook/bake all the food in the kitchen in my parent’s cabin, taking turns helping with the meals and clean up for each meal. My parents provide a lot of the food and the rest of us pitch in by bringing what extras we already have on hand (we’re all couponers so we typically raid our pantries and incorporate the excess items into the menu plan for the week!).

Since everyone splits up the cooking and clean up duties, it makes mealtime pretty simple to pull off and keeps it a laid back week for all of us. This not only saves a lot of money, but it gives us more time to spend enjoying the lake and a break from the normal busyness of life.

Silas “driving” the rental boat with my dad

Since I’m not in charge of planning the menu, I’m not exactly sure what all is on the menu this week. So far, we’ve done spaghetti (last night’s dinner) and hamburgers (tonight’s dinner). Breakfast was French Toast, bacon and eggs, smoothies, and juice this morning. Lunches have been sandwiches both days.

We have somewhat of a plan for the rest of the week, but we’ll also wing it some and probably create some new recipe creations using odds and ends of things we brought, too.

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

Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 8, 2011 comment

Teaching Your Tot Without Breaking the Bank – Part 2

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Teaching Your Tot Without Breaking the Bank – Part 2

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

Guest post by Jenae from I Can Teach My Child

Teaching your little one doesn’t require fancy curriculum or gobs of materials. As we discussed in my last post, hands-on structured activities for your toddler and preschooler can easily be created by simply using items from around your home. Just keep in mind, however, that young children learn best through play. Give them plenty of opportunities to play with various items by themselves and with you!

When creating a structured activity for your young child, it’s important to keep it short and simple. If an activity takes more than 15-20 minutes, it will probably lose your young child’s attention. Make sure to also keep it upbeat and don’t let your time together be tainted with power struggles. If your child has no interest or refuses to cooperate with an activity, just put it away for another day.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when teaching your child various “subjects”:

Early Math Skills

  • Number Recognition: Recognizing and identifying numbers 1-10 is an important skill for any preschooler to learn in order to be prepared for kindergarten. Even though eventually your child will need to automatically recognize these numbers, resist the temptation to use flashcards or rote memorization. Hands-on experiences and repetition are the best way to teach numbers, whether you’re looking at addresses on mailboxes or pointing out the letters on a calendar.
  • One-to-one correspondence: This is basically just a fancy term for your child being able to recognize that the number seven relates to seven objects by counting them. There are ample opportunities to encourage this skill in your daily life! Try counting kisses or sorting small snacks into a numbered egg carton! Counting songs such as “Five Little Ducks” and “Five Little Monkeys” are also great!

Language Development

  • Reading: Reading to your child is one of the single most important things you can do for developing language skills, starting at infancy!  Although it’s nice to own a few favorites, it is unnecessary to spend a fortune on books.  Most local libraries have a great selection of children’s books, including board books. Another great option is using PaperBackSwap!
  • Letter Recognition: Just like number recognition, teaching your child capital and lower-case letters should not be a tedious or monotonous task.  Alphabet Crafts are a great way to make learning letters fun and interactive. My 3-year old knows how to spell his name simply from his interest in the wooden letters that spell his name on the wall in his bedroom. Go on “hunts” for letters when out running errands or reading books. Learning baskets are also a great way to incorporate letter recognition while still being fun and hands-on!
  • Handwriting: The web is abuzz with tons of printables for teaching your child how to write capital and lower-case letters (go here and here). Prior to using a pen and paper, though, try making letters in shaving cream or forming them with feathers! Keep in mind that printables are great — in moderation. Children retain information better when multiple senses are incorporated into a learning experience.
  • Art: One of the best things we can do for our children is give them opportunities to just be kids…which, of course, includes getting messy! Allowing them to explore and be creative helps them learn about textures, colors, and the world around them. Sensory tubs are also great for toddlers and preschoolers. Did you know you can make almost all the art supplies you need at home? Here are just a few recipes:

Parent-directed activities are great for young children, but kids need time to just be kids. Pretend play is also such an important developmental part of the learning process in preschoolers — and even Mom can join in every now and then!

Jenae is a Master-degree holding former first grade teacher turned stay-at-home Momma. She loves finding creative ways to save money, spending time with her family, and sharing fun activities on her website I Can Teach My Child.

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