Category Archives: MONEY

Apr 15 2012

Peaceful Chaos

Life is funny.

It’s unpredictable, messy, exciting and hard work all at the same time.  Compile a marriage, children, housework, debt, one-income, church and things can begin to spin.

I want life to spin in peaceful chaos.  I do not want life to spin out of control.

Lately however, life is beginning to spin a bit out of control and I’m not okay with that.  It’s time our little family return to the basics.  For us, that begins with:

Meal Planning

I’ll be honest with you, I’m not good in this area, I’m just not.
But I’m okay with that.

My solution to this problem is

↓ 

SAVE TIME AND MONEY WITH EMEALS MEAL PLANS

eMeals creates a weekly meal plan for our family and a grocery shopping list, it takes the brainwork out of planning for me, and I need that right now.  I know firsthand eMeals saves us money, so I’m excited to get back into it! To learn more, go to →  eMeals.

 

Finances

We have a goal of becoming debt free this year (we hope), we’re on the right path but we’ve become stagnate.
And I’m not okay with that.

My solution to this problem is

↓ 

The Dave Ramsey Show

We’ve begun listening to the Dave Ramsey Podcast.  Once a day.

It is 40 minutes of Dave answering questions from listeners, and it is worth every second.  It reminds us of the freedom that will soon be ours if we stick to our plan!  We’ve also written our debt out in Dave’s Debt Snowball Form and I’m happy to say we’re paying off two debts this month.  Can I get a woot-woot?!  To learn more, go to → Debt Snowball.

Clutter

I long for peaceful chaos in my life, however, the clutter in my life is causing pure chaos.
And I’m not okay with that.

My solution to this problem is

↓ 

I’m sure many of you have seen a version of this on Pinterest, this is my personal list which I’ve hung on my fridge.  I’ve begun filling my bags and I’m realizing there’s freedom in having less “stuff” in my life.  It’s a beautiful thing!

I want to live in peaceful chaos, I want to enjoy my family and the life we’re creating together.  As things begin to spin out of control I must take action and return to the basics.

Meal planning  ↔  Budgeting  ↔  Decluttering

These three areas will help stop the out of control spin and help us gain control of that which we love!

Sep 17 2011

Homemade Laundry Soap

I have been making my own laundry soap for awhile now, it’s easy, natural and saves money.  I wanted to share the recipe I use with you.

Homemade Laundry Soap

  • 12 cups Borax
  • 8 cups of Washing Soda
  • 8 cups of Baking Soada
  • 8 cups grated Bar Soap – this came out to about four bars of soap, I use Ivory, although any brand of soap would do.

Mix all ingredients well and store in a sealed tub.

Use 1/4 cup of powder per full load and 1/8 for a small load

I spend between $10 and $13 for all the ingredients; the price varies depending on what store you go to.  The Washing Soda is usually the hardest to find, it is found on the laundry detergent asile in most mainstream grocery stores.

The average batch I make lasts 4 – 6 months. If you’ve never made your own laundry soap I encourage you to try, you’d be surprised how large a quantity it makes and how much money you’ll save!

Apr 13 2011

Dinner Problems: SOLVED

Do you ever stress out when it comes to planning your dinner?

There are days when I have a panic at about 5:30 when I realized I haven’t even begun to make or think about dinner….sad but true.

http://rlv.zcache.com/moms_home_cooking_apron-p154537782286516325q6wc_400.jpg

Well, I found the perfect solution for all my dinner time blues.

It’s called E-Mealz.

SAVE TIME AND MONEY WITH E-MEALZ MEAL PLANS

E-Mealz is:

  • a family meal planning resource for busy Moms and frugal families.  
  • a weekly menu with easy recipes and directions 
  • a corresponding grocery list you just print and take with you to the store.  

So all the leg work of planning my dinner and grocery list is done.

You pay a small fee of $5 a month….but come on, that’s really nothing!  If you use the coupon code DAVE you get the first 3 months for $12.50.  You always pay for 3 months at a time.

I highly suggest you give E-Mealz a try. They have different meal plans to fit your family size and dietary needs.  It’s been a life saver for me!
 

Mar 19 2011

Natural Cleaners

Have you ever made your own cleaner?

I’ll give you three good reasons why we do:

Economical


Easy


Environmentally Friendly

“White distilled vinegar is an effective for killing most mold, bacteria, and germs due to its level of acidity. Cleaning with white distilled vinegar is a smart way to avoid using harsh chemicals.”
Here are the two recipes I use and keep all over my home!

Everyday Vinegar Solution
Half vinegar
Half water

Window & Glass Cleaner
1 cup of strong black tea
3 TBS vinegar
Jan 26 2011

Organic Love

Living more Organically is not a pie-in-the-sky thing I say, I am making serious strides to not serve junk to my family or myself.  In so doing, I’ve come to find that buying organic food can be expensive.


Welcome Organic Deals!

There are many tips and coupons on saving money for many different stores from Target to CVS to Sprouts and Wholefoods, I really can’t tell you just how much I LOVE this site.


I SERIOUSLY LOVE THIS SITE!  There I just told you ;)

Organic Deals

“Organic can be affordable! This site is updated daily with the best deals and organic coupons we can find to help make organic part of your family’s budget.”

It’s a favorite of mine that I wanted to share!

Enjoy :)

Aug 20 2010

Free Fun


Amy’s Finer Things today is all about Free Fun!  Kids are so easy to please, it definitely doesn’t take much.  Turning the hose on for some reason can entertain a 4 and a 2 year old for hours longer than all that expensive plastic we buy them.  Free Fun can truly be the best fun!

Link up what Finer Thing in Life your celebrating at Amy’s Finer Things

Jul 31 2010

Friday Find: Free Snatcher

Have you visited freesnatcher.com?

Free Snatcher is a site that “helps you buy more for less.”

I’ve seen some amazing deals following them on Twitter. Things like a 1-year subscription to Rachael Ray Magazine for $5, Toys ‘R Us and Walmart deals, grocery coupons and free product offers.

I subscribe to them and get their posts in my inbox! You can also follow them on Twitter, here.

They are a good resource when it comes to saving money and finding deals, I hope you get the chance to check them out!

Feb 26 2010

Saving my change!

Here’s a quirky way that I view money:

Money is water. My Spending Plan is the jar that holds the money in.
A full glass of water is refreshing – A bank full of money is refreshing. :)

If my “jar” has holes in it, the “water” can leak out very quickly. One way to patch up these holes is by saving my change!

I now have a change jar in a few prominent places:

  • The Washer/Dryer
  • The Kitchen
  • The Bedroom

When the hubby unloads his pockets I take the change and put it in there. As I’m doing laundry I save the change from pockets. It does add up my friends!

change in jar Pictures, Images and Photos

Frugal Friday is a part of Life as Mom, link up your tips and read some great ones!
Feb 18 2010

Swagbucks Update


Wow those Swag bucks really work. I first posted about Swagbucks here.

Every time I search for something I use the Swagbucks tool bar and at least once a day I get rewarded with $. I’m up to 12 Swagbucks.

To sign up, go here.

To read about Swagbucks, go here.

To see what sort of things you can get with Swagbucks, go here.

To download the Toolbar, go here.

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