Don’t let the “Gimmies” take over your home. Use the following advise to downsize the constant requests for stuff from your kids. Limit Media Exposure The number of commercial ads that our kids are exposed to on a daily basis is staggering. All of those ads have just one purpose, to sell us stuff, our kids included. The more ads our children are exposed to, the more things they will believe that they have to have. These ads are very clever at manipulating our children into never being satisfied and always wanting more. Limiting the media exposure our children receive … Continue reading →
Tomorrow is the last day of the month, and it is time to do an end-of-month spending check. In January, I have been focusing on groceries and food, keeping track of our spending in those areas and saving as much as I can. Writing down what I spend on each trip to the grocery store has helped. While I still don’t have a lot of coupon use, I’m paying more attention to the sales and not buying things that we don’t need, purchasing more fruit and less snacks for example. This has made a difference. I’ve also been more conscious … Continue reading →
We are all are more than a bit concerned about the approaching fiscal cliff, but what about the dairy cliff? That is the one that I think is going to get us. We go through about three gallons of milk each week, along with about 20 cups of yogurt and a pound of butter (sometimes more). I haven’t even mentioned cheese, yet. It has its own overflowing bin in the refrigerator. No, I’m not raising sumo wrestlers, just kids who are active and happen to take their own lunch and snacks to school each day. Lest you think that we … Continue reading →
If you will be caring for an elderly parent in your home, you may need to budget for some extra expenses. Even if your parent has his or her own income to pay for items such as prescription medication, you still may have additional costs that creep up and raise your bills at the end of the month. Make sure to put a little extra aside in the following categories of your budget. Electricity With an extra person in your home, you may see an increase in your electric bill. Many elderly people can’t get around and tend to watch … Continue reading →
Logan and I have always loved doing crafts together, but they can get rather pricey if you’re not careful. When I got divorced I was afraid this little bonding time would be over. How could I possibly afford to get craft supplies when I could barely get food on the table? This year all those uncertainties have gone out the window. I discovered the joy of crafting for less! Logan and I have been doing countless Christmas crafts this year. Tonight I pulled out the popsicle sticks. If you look hard enough you can usually find a box of 1000 … Continue reading →
Happy Cyber Monday! The day many of us celebrate finding phenomenal deals on holiday gifts for loved ones, and then wallowing in mild discontent knowing that even though we saved some dough, we’re still out a good chunk of change. Like it or not, Cyber Monday has morphed into the biggest online shopping day of the year. This is great news for tech-savvy individuals, but if you are a parent or grandparent, who hasn’t embraced the convenience of online shopping, today can be bittersweet. While you’d love to take advantage of the amazing online sales, there’s a bit of hesitation … Continue reading →
Last year, my then six-old daughter celebrated her 12th visit to Hawaii. However, to her, the Aloha State is more than just a top tourist destination, it’s also home to grandma, grandpa, and a huge network of aunts, uncles and cousins. I kid that she would have been marking trip number 20 if it weren’t so dang expensive to fly from Wisconsin to Hilo. Fortunately, once we land in the “Land of Aloha” we score free room and board. Bottom line: traveling to Hawaii is not cheap. However, there are ways you can save on your next vacation there provided … Continue reading →
Our goal in 2011 is to get out of debt and start building wealth. We have been taking Dave Ramsey’s Financial Freedom course and have been really motivated to be more purposeful with our money. If you have been following our adventure so far, you know about the ups and downs that we have been facing, from unexpected expenses to accounting groceries down to the penny. march was our first full month working with a zero-based budget, and I am happy to say that not only did we get through it but we actually spent less in some areas than … Continue reading →
My husband and I are furiously trying to get out of debt. We just started Dave Ramsey’s Financial Freedom course and have learned a lot about doing just this. Follow us on our journey as we try to follow the plan and meet our goals. If you are thinking of taking the course, I highly recommend it. Even though my husband and I are pretty well practiced at saving money, we have already learned so much more than we thought we knew. While some weeks speak to us more than others, each weekly lesson has something that we take from … Continue reading →
Newlyweds are the most likely to set up a budgeting plan. This is especially true when they begin the adventure of saving for a house and then eventually purchasing one. But budgeting is something we can benefit from no matter how long we have been married. Lately my husband and I have come to realize that we need to get back onto a budget. Since I work as a freelance writer my work is kind of like feast or famine. I have my really good months where we can spend a little extra on things like going out to dinner … Continue reading →
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