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Money Saving Mom

Money Saving Mom®

Saving Families Money Since 2007

Summer Bucket List

Summer Bucket List.

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Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 19, 2011 comment

Freezer Cooking in an Hour: Homemade Pizza, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins, Taco Chicken Bowls

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Freezer Cooking in an Hour: Homemade Pizza, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins, Taco Chicken Bowls

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

I started my planned freezer cooking session yesterday earlier than usual because I had some packing and other loose ends to tie up before my trip to Indy today. Here’s the play-by-play:

12:30 p.m. — Lunch is done and the children are busily occupied with arranging the new dollhouse furniture a friend is letting them borrow, so I start making the Taco Chicken Bowls. The only problem is, I can’t find the frozen corn that I know I have. I scour both freezers in earnest and finally find it. The search was worth it, though, because I also turned up a bag of whole-wheat flour I didn’t realize I had. Yay, I don’t have to grind any wheat to make the muffins today.

{And yes, I need to get some better freezer organization in place! Anyone have an incredible system they want to share with me?}

12:45 p.m. — I finish up the Taco Chicken mixture in the crockpot and turn it on low and head over to my trusty laptop for the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins recipe. In the process, though, I get distracted with something on my computer (I can’t even remember what it was. Probably drooling over something or other on Pinterest.)

1:00 p.m. — Um, wait, wasn’t I supposed to be making muffins, not just looking at pictures of recipes I want to make?? The clock jolts me back to reality and I start in on the muffin recipe. I decide to make a few adjustments using all whole-wheat flour, peanut butter instead of peanut flour, eggs instead of flax, coconut oil instead of olive oil, and raw sugar. Okay, so the final recipe may have ended up being nothing like the original recipe, but it still looked (and tasted) good!

1:15 p.m. — As soon as the bag of chocolate chips comes out, all three children magically appear and want to “help”. I let them sprinkle the muffins with chocolate chips and then they lick the bowl while I put the muffins into the oven. By now, my kitchen is a mess, my long to-do list is still looming, and I decide to just make the homemade pizza for dinner instead of my ambitious idea of making Homemade Fruit Leather. Oh well, I’ll try it another week!

1:30 p.m. — I quickly roll out the pizza dough and sprinkle the toppings on. I’m impressed with how easy this dough rolls out after thawing on the countertop that morning.

{By the way, the pizza crust ended up baking up really well. My husband loved it; I’m still partial to our standard recipe, but I’ll admit that the freezability of this recipe is quite appealing!}

1:45 p.m. — Done and time to clean up the kitchen!

Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 18, 2011 comment

Busy Bag Idea: “Pom Pom Stuff It In”

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Busy Bag Idea: “Pom Pom Stuff It In”

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Another fun Busy Bag we received in our Busy Bag Swap box was a “Pom Pom Stuff It In” activity, as Brenda called it. I’m quite sure what to call it, but let’s just say that Silas loved this activity.

It’s basically a small plastic tub of some sort (you could use a yogurt or sour cream container) with a hole cut in it to push pom poms through (you can find pom poms really inexpensively at the dollar store or at Hobby Lobby).

Silas had so much fun stuffing these in. When he was done, he dumped them all out and started over again. And he’s done it again and again like that!

This simple activity kept him happily occupied for quite a long while during our homeschooling time this past week and he hasn’t seemed to lose any interest or excitement about it yet!

See more details on creating a Pom Pom Stuff It In (or whatever you want to call it!) here. Find more Busy Bag Ideas here.

Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 17, 2011 comment

How to Make Money Blogging: 5 Ways to Use Your Blog as a Springboard to Earn Additional Income (Part 2)

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How to Make Money Blogging: 5 Ways to Use Your Blog as a Springboard to Earn Additional Income (Part 2)

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Two weeks ago, we talked about teaching an online class and writing an ebook as two ways to earn money indirectly through blogging. Here are three additional ideas:

3) Accept Speaking Engagements

If you love public speaking (or want to grow to love it!), you can make a fairly good side income through accepting public speaking engagements. If you don’t have people beating a path to your door offering to fly you to their event and pay you to speak, never fear, you just need to work on getting your name out there and building up a reputation as a highly sought-after speaker.

Depending upon your blog’s topic, you could offer to speak at local events for free in order to build your portfolio. Or, you could offer a class through your local community center for a small fee per sign-up. If the class is well received, you could offer it on a regular basis or teach the same class in nearby towns, as well.

If you hope to be asked to do more speaking opportunities, you could set up a page on your blog that outlines details on what speaking engagements you accept, past speaking experience, testimonials, future speaking engagements, and how people can contact you about possibly speaking at their event.

As an added bonus, speaking engagements can put your name and blog name in front of dozens or even hundreds of people who haven’t heard of you or your blog before, helping to grow your blog and widen your audience.

4) Become a Freelance Writer

Blogging has opened up a few doors of opportunity for me to have extra paid writing gigs on occasion. It’s been a great experience, as well as extra cashflow. While it’s been a long time since I’ve sought out such opportunities, I know that there are many available–especially if you are a gifted writer.

If you want to do more freelance writing and are having trouble finding opportunities, contact small local parenting magazines across the nation. Many of these accept articles and pay up to $25 per article. Best of all, since these are local and state publications, they don’t ask for exclusive rights. So, hypothetically, you could spend a few hours on one article and pitch it to 100 different small publications. If even 10 of them run it, you could make $250 off it. That’s certainly nothing to sneeze at!

Again, in most publications that you write for, you can include a bio with a link to your site. You might not get a lot of traffic from it, but it will more than likely send at least a few new visitors to your blog.

5) Offer Consulting Services

Many companies are taking notice of bloggers and realizing that we are much more adept at online marketing and social media than they. They want to know how they, too, can grow their business through blogging and social media. As a result, there are numerous companies who are more than willing to pay bloggers to give them tips and pointers–or even to take over their social media presence for them.

Consulting jobs pay well–often upwards of $50 or more per hour–but they are more difficult to get. Usually they are the result of networking and pre-established relationships.

My biggest tip is that you don’t sell yourself short or work for free. Sometimes companies expect bloggers to offer consulting services for free, just because, well, you’re a blogger. If a company comes to you and asks for advice on something that’s going to require more than 15 minutes of your time to help with, write back and let them know you are more than glad to consider helping them and your fees are $XX per hour (charge at least $20 to $25 per hour, if not more, to make it worth your time).

Your time is valuable and, unless it’s a ministry or nonprofit or some other company that you have strong ties to, don’t give them free handouts. This only hurts all bloggers when companies have the idea that they can get hours of consulting services from bloggers without paying. They wouldn’t expect to hire a consulting firm without paying them, so they also shouldn’t expect the same or similar services from bloggers without paying.

Bonus: Write a Book

As I’ve dipped my toe into the world of book publishing this year, I’ve learned many lessons. One of which is that getting your book published is not as hard as many may think. If you’ve built up a strong blog audience, have a social media presence, are passionate about your subject, and are a decent writer, you can likely get a book deal.

However, don’t do what I did and just accept whatever book deal a publisher offers you. I learned that the hard way. While my publisher has been excellent to work with, I wish I would have gotten my agent first before signing the book deal. There were a lot of little things I knew nothing about and having an agent to help me chart these never-before-navigated waters would have been invaluable, as well as saving me some headaches and hassles later. But oh well, live and learn right?

My advice? Come up with some winning book ideas and then get a great agent. You’ll not only have an advocate and a go-between for pitching your book idea to publishers, but you’ll have someone to hold your hand and cheer you on through the process.

This is the final format post in this series on How to Make Money Blogging. If there are lingering questions you still have or topics you’d like for me to delve into deeper or explain further, leave a comment or email me. If there are enough questions asked, I’ll do a follow-up post next Wednesday.

photo credit

Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 17, 2011 comment

Busy Bag Idea: Button Snake

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Busy Bag Idea: Button Snake

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Another fun Busy Bag we received in our Busy Bag Swap box was a button snake.

This simple activity just uses a ribbon with a button sewn on one end and a piece of felt sewn on the other. Cut out squares of felt and cut buttonhole-like slits in them.

This is a perfect thing to keep in your purse or diaper bag to pull out and hand to your child when you’re waiting in a waiting room or at an event where they need to be sitting quietly for any length of time.

Variations: Encourage your child to string the felt in pattern using a few different colors. You could also cut out the felt pieces in different shapes.

See this post for more detailed instructions on how to make a Button Snake.

Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 16, 2011 comment

Q&A Tuesday: What do you buy at Aldi?

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Q&A Tuesday: What do you buy at Aldi?

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I have a question. I noticed you do a lot of shopping at Aldi. We have one where I live, but for some reason I am hesitant to shop there. I was wondering if you could go over what you do and do not buy there, or if it does not matter at all. -Chelsea

Before I got married, I’d never been inside an Aldi store before. And I was hesitant to do so as I’d always had this impression that it was a dirty store with low quality food. However, since my husband and I had such a meager budget in the early years of our marriage, I quickly decided to get over my inhibitions and just go check out the store to see what I thought.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover Aldi wasn’t anything like I thought it would be. Sure, it doesn’t have the bells and whistles that a traditional grocery store has, but I’ll gladly give those up for the money I save by shopping there.

Here are a few tips for successfully shopping at Aldi:

1. Shop in a Nicer Section of Town

If possible, find an Aldi nearby that is in a nicer section of town. The Aldi stores in more run-down areas tend to be less clean and the food does seem to be poorer quality (it might just be my imagination–or the fact that it’s a lot more picked over many times!).

2. Shop With an Open Mind

Go to Aldi with an open mind (and a strict cash budget) and start carefully looking over all they have to offer. Right away, you’ll probably find some things you wouldn’t buy there, but you’ll probably be surprised at how similar other items look to things you usually buy at the grocery store.

Buy a few items to try and take them home and see what you and your family think. You’ll probably find some things you don’t care for, but you’ll probably also discover that you actually like some of their products better than the name brand products at the grocery store (for instance, we think their canned green beans are better than name brand green beans!).

The one thing I’ve found that varies the most at Aldi is their produce. At times, their produce will be great. Other times, it’s downright awful. You can always price-match their weekly deals at Walmart, so don’t feel like you need to buy produce there if it looks less than ideal. Stick with what looks fresh and high quality and skip the rest–no matter how inexpensive the price.

3. Stick With Staple Ingredients

In most cases, you’ll save the most at Aldi if you buy primarily staple ingredients there. Many of their processed foods aren’t much less than you’d pay at the grocery store (they can actually cost more than what you’d pay when combining a coupon with a sale!).

However, their every day prices on baking supplies, canned goods, frozen fruit and vegetables, peanut butter, oatmeal, eggs, milk, and butter will be at least 20% less than you’d pay at the grocery store. Plus, while you’re family might be able to tell a difference in ketchup brands, they probably won’t be able to tell if you use Aldi baking soda!

Do you shop at Aldi? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts on what is best to buy there and what items you won’t buy there.

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Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 16, 2011 comment

Busy Bag Idea: Pool Noodle Stringing

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Busy Bag Idea: Pool Noodle Stringing

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Many of you asked if I could share details of the Busy Bags we received in our Busy Bag Swap so that you could get ideas for possible Busy Bags you could put together for your children. I know how I’m always on the lookout for new ideas for fun learning activities–especially ones that are simple and inexpensive–so as I have space here over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing some of the ideas with you.

The Pool Noodle Stringing Busy Bag was a very simple idea and it went over well. Just cut up some pool noodles (you can probably find them on clearance at this time of the year!) into one-inch sections and put them into a ziptop bag along with a piece of thick string or rope.

When you’re ready to use, just pull out the bag and have your child string the noodles onto the string or rope. I’d advise watching your child closely while they do this exercise since there is a string/rope involved. (Silas worked on it right next to me while I taught Kathrynne and Kaitlynn some of their homeschool lessons.)

See more pictures and variations on the Pool Noodle Stringing Busy Bag idea here.

Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 16, 2011 comment

31 Weeks to a Better Grocery Budget Video Series: 3 Ways to Save on Diapers

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31 Weeks to a Better Grocery Budget Video Series: 3 Ways to Save on Diapers

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What are your best tips for saving money on diapers? I’d love to hear!

Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 15, 2011 comment

Uphill is the Hardest

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Uphill is the Hardest

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Last week on our trip to Arkansas, I was determined to keep up with my running schedule, despite the fact that the cabins we were staying at were at the bottom of a hill and I’m used to running on a treadmill (yes, I know, I’m such a slacker to run indoors in air-conditioning! :)).

That first morning, I got up early, laced up my running shoes, and headed out into the humid weather, excited at the thought of running as the sun was still coming up. I quickly realized that running on a treadmill doesn’t hold a candle to running in the heat, humidity, and hills. In fact, I think I’d only run a quarter mile uphill before I started to wonder if I was even going to be able to make it a full mile!

As I was panting and struggling up to the top of the hill, I thought of so many of you who are experiencing similar feelings in your financial situation right now. You’re determined to get out of debt, start living on a strict budget, and/or working hard to put yourself in a better financial position.

You’re slogging up a steep incline, feeling like you’re barely getting anywhere. You’re tired, exhausted, discouraged, and wondering why you had this crazy idea to jump out and be counter-cultural in the first place. You want to give up, stop, or turn back.

I felt the same way as I was running up that hill. I kept thinking, “Why am I doing this?” My legs hurt, my muscles ache, and I really don’t want to keep going.

But I pushed myself onward, reminding myself that once I got to the top, the hardest part was behind me. There were times when I slowed down so much that I was barely jogging. A couple of times, I even walked for a bit when I felt so out-of-breath that I thought I might keel over. But I didn’t let myself stop until I got to the top.

And you know what? It was so worth it! As I started going downhill, I had renewed energy and a spring in my step. When only minutes before I felt like I couldn’t go another foot, now I was bounding down the hill with zeal. I would have never gotten to experience the thrill of running downhill if I hadn’t first put forth all the effort to claw my way up that long hill.

If you’re feeling like you’re barely making any traction with your goals and finances and every step forward takes almost more strength and stamina than you can muster, please don’t lose heart. It may feel impossible to keep going, but don’t stop–however tempting it may be.

Your hard work and incredible effort will pay off. Your many financial sacrifices will make a difference.

Don’t give up. Don’t quit. Keep inching forward–if even at a snail’s pace. The best is yet to come!

Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 15, 2011 comment

This Week’s Menu

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This Week’s Menu

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Breakfasts

Whole-Wheat Pancakes, Pick-Me-Up Smoothies
Granola Bars
Breakfast Muffins, Fruit
4th of July Toast (for our USA theme in homeschool this week), Scrambled Eggs
Orange Cream Smoothies, English Muffins, Fried Eggs
Red, White, and Blue Parfaits (we’re just going to use yogurt and leave out the whipped topping)
Toast, Scrambled Eggs, Fruit

Lunches

Leftovers
Salad With Marinated Chicken Strips, Toasted Bagels
Peanut butter & Homemade Jam Sandwiches, Apple Slices, Peas
Macaroni & Cheese, Fresh Apple Carrot Juice
Salad With Hard-Boiled Eggs, Toast
Refried Beans & Cheese With Salsa, Leftover Cilantro Lime Rice, Veggies
Leftovers

Snacks

Fruit/Veggies
Homemade Fruit Leather
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins
Homemade Peanut Butter Cocoa Ice Cream

Dinners

Marinated Chicken Breasts, Cilantro Lime Rice, Tossed Salad, Fruit
Sloppy Joes, Crispy Potatoes, Fruit, Veggies
Chicken Salsa Pizza with Honey Pizza Crust (from the freezer), Fruit Salad
Dinner with Extended Family
Dinner out
Taco Chicken Bowls, Fruit Salad
Dinner at Birthday Party

Freezer Cooking in an Hour

Homemade Fruit Leather
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins
Taco Chicken Bowls

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

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Money Saving Mom
Shared Aug 15, 2011 comment

10 Goals For This Week

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10 Goals For This Week

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One of the things I stress in my upcoming book is the importance of goal-setting. Not only has setting goals and breaking them down into bite-sized pieces revolutionized our finances, but it has also been hugely beneficial in our personal lives.

Before each week begins, I set down and map out goals for the following week in six different categories: Marriage, Mothering, Personal, Home Management, Business, Ministry. While I never actually accomplish every single goal on my list, having a written list gives me purpose, focus, accountability.

It’s always encouraging to review the list at the end of week and see what things I accomplished. You know how you have those days and weeks where you feel like you just go around and around in circles cleaning up one mess after another? Well, having written goals to review at the end of the week helps me to see that I actually did something productive during the week!

As a way to keep myself accountable and hopefully inspire you to consider implementing weekly goal-setting, too, I’m going to be sharing my list of 10 goals each Monday morning. I’d love to have you participate by sharing your goals in the comments.

Next Monday, I’ll post a follow-up post with my progress and will encourage you to share your progress, too!

Note: Since this is a public blog, I won’t be sharing all of my goals (such as my marriage goals, etc.), so if you’re wondering why it seems a little unbalanced in certain areas, that’s why. 🙂

10 of My Goals for This Week

Mothering Goals

1. Start school (I’m so excited about our new curriculum plans this year and the schedule I’ve put together!)

2. Finish reading Revenge of the Red Knight aloud to the children.

3. Put together Busy Bags for Busy Bag Swap.

Personal Goals

4. Run 12 miles (total).

5. Finish reading Good to Great, The Charlotte Mason Companion, and Eat That Frog.

Home Management Goals

6. Vacuum underneath beds.

7. Make Homemade Fruit Leather and Homemade Scrubbing Bubbles.

8. Wash, dry, fold, & put away one load of laundry every day (except for Thursday-Saturday when I’m in Indianapolis).

Business Goals

9. Shoot videos and send to publicist.

Ministry Goals

10. Write two birthday cards, one anniversary card, and one thank you note. Help girls write birthday cards to those who have birthdays this week.

What are your goals for this week? If you feel comfortable doing so, I’d love to have you share 5-10 of them in the comments section. And then come back next week to share your progress!

photo credit

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

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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

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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

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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

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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.