Well.
It’s been a while since I shared a new 5 Ways We’ve Saved Money This Week!
Actually, that’s not entirely true. I’ve been sharing the occasional 5 Ways with my email subscribers.
But today my kids start their summer break. And I thought I’d use this change in routine as a chance to get back to one of my favorite things…interacting with my favorite frugal folks!
These must have tips for large families can be put in place in no time flat! Use them today and have a simpler week!
A college professor once gave our class ideas for becoming good music teachers. Her advice? We should always have a “bag of tricks”. And we should never stop adding to it.
She suggested we watch others and steal their best ideas to use with our own students.
Life as a large family mom is just the same! We Moms should have a “bag” of large family tips to keep on hand.
These tips for large families are tried and true ideas that we use in our own large family home. Use them! Share them with your mom friends!
Finding the best cheap Mother’s Day gift ideas isn’t as hard as it seems. She is sure to love these gift ideas (and so will your wallet!).
Of course you love your Mama. And who doesn’t want to show her how special she is?
Really, you want her to know how much you love her all year long. But even more so on Mother’s Day.
Hardly anyone can afford to give their mother the kind of gift she really deserves. After all the work she’s done for you (she’s your number one fan, after all!), you’d love to give her a trip to an island filled with pampering for, like, a year.
Sadly, your wallet doesn’t agree with you.
But don’t worry!
You can still get her something special. In fact, I’ve got a whole list of the best cheap Mother’s Day gift ideas around. She’s going to love these ideas!
You have enough worry about your child’s condition. You shouldn’t also have to wonder what the hospital stay will be like. Here’s what you need to know.
When your kids are mostly healthy, you’ll get a reminder from time to time that you should be grateful for that.
Maybe it’s another mom sharing the story of their chronically ill child. Or a Facebook page that follows the journey of a child as they go in and out of the hospital.
Even so, it was quite the shock for me to learn that our own otherwise healthy 5 year old needed a serious surgery followed by a 5 day hospital stay.
As the date of the surgery drew closer, I realized I’d have to get out of that shock and prepare both of us for that hospital stay.
What would we need to bring along? What should we expect the experience to be like? I had no idea.
Luckily, some experienced friends gave me some tips to make our stay easier.
But even with their help, things happened that I wasn’t ready for.
So let me share our experience with you in the hopes that we can make your hospital stay a little less stressful. (Because there’s already plenty of that to go around.)
After a lot of neglect, learning how to organize finances seems intimidating. But these 3 simple steps make it easy!
It started innocently.
First there was the stack of mail you forgot about.
So you missed a bill or two.
Then the late fees began to pile up.
Suddenly, everything seemed to snowball.
How did a few blunders lead to this feeling of drowning?
Well… why worry about something that is out of your control? You gave up trying to keep up with finances.
Except that you do worry. Your money nightmare keeps you tossing and turning on your pillow.
And the not knowing what’s going to happen next is the worst.
Whether you consider yourself a master of the frugal lifestyle or you want to learn what it’s all about, having a bag of frugal living tips is always a great idea. Here’s a list of ideas you’ll want to try today!
If reusing baggies and making things from scratch is your jam, you might live a frugal life. You probably enjoy reading about frugal living tips, and you’re always looking for new ways to save money!
And those people that snub their noses at frugal people? Well, they might not always feel that way.
The thing is, even people who can’t stand the thought of being “too frugal” can change.
If you grew with super frugal parents, you might go through a rebellion stage. After a lifetime of feeling restricted (because you don’t understand the “why” behind frugal living), you reach an age where you can buy those things you’ve always wanted.
So you do it!
Well, that lifestyle is great…until you get hit with hard times.
Or you finally face that mountain of debt that your rebellion built.
But let me tell you a secret…there’s more to frugal living than deprivation. Your mindset can make all the difference!
Here’s the first important thing you should always remember…
Being frugal isn’t about buying the cheapest version of everything.
True, frugal people hate to spend money unnecessarily. They never want to spend money on items that don’t last nearly as long as they should.
But that doesn’t mean they live a miserly existence! In fact, embracing this lifestyle can help you to have more money for the things that are most important to you.
Isn’t that better than worrying constantly about having an empty bank account?
When it comes to Valentine’s Day, you can’t forget your favorite munchkins! Show your love with these adorable Valentine Gifts for kids…sure to get a smile!
It was a quiet, cold February 13th evening a few years ago. The kids were snoozing, and I was up contemplating, as usual, whether I had done enough to make the holiday special for them. I already had a small box of $1 chocolates for each of them.
Now I’m not the type of Mom who believes that every event needs to be over the top. Celebrating in simple ways works out best for my family.
The more you give to kids, the less they appreciate what they have. It overwhelms their little systems.
So I decided that I’d give them just one more small gift. Something I could put together at home for free. Something that would be a small bit of “icing on the cake”. (more…)
Ready to buy? Before you shop new, you should always check into used stuff for sale. Here you’ll find tips to help you get the best deal and save more cash.
Guy 1, we’ll call him Fred, set a New Year’s Resolution. He’s going to get in shape this year. So Fred looks through the ads, does some research, and decides on a few pieces of exercise equipment that he’d like to own.
Fred’s got some money saved up, but he wants to get a deal. So he heads for the store with the best price. While he’s there, he picks up a couple other things and signs up for the warranty.
He had to put some of the cost on a credit card, but he should be able to pay that off soon-ish.
Guy 2, we’ll call him George, also has a New Year’s Resolution. He’s going to declutter the house. That exercise equipment has been nothing more than a clothing rack for the past 2 years.
It still works just fine…but what’s the point if no one is going to use it?
Starting a house cleaning business isn’t as intimidating as it sounds. If you’re a reliable hard worker, the money will find you!
You may have dreams about hiring a maid. Maybe you even put it on your Christmas list every year. (Guilty!) But have you ever considered getting work cleaning other people’s houses?
You don’t have to have a spotless home to start a house cleaning business. If you’ve got a strong work ethic and know how to clean well, you can turn this idea into a money maker.
Have you overlooked this simple way to save money on groceries?
I scraped the remains of yet another failed recipe into the trash. I’d been pretty excited about trying the new dish I’d found on Pinterest. It looked delicious!
Although it did have a few odd ingredients.
And the recipe didn’t end up being quite as simple as I’d expected.
Turns out the family wasn’t into it. My experiment meant more time and money down the drain.
I knew there had to be a better way to put together a meal plan. I was tired of planning elaborate meals to keep things interesting. I was even more tired of wasting money every week.
Something had to change. Luckily, that “something” turned out to be a rather simple solution.
I'm Jamie, and I believe that you can build your savings, even when life is frustrating. Learn more.
When you join the Medium Sized Family community, you'll learn how to save more (even when life happens). You'll also get the free guide with simple tips you can use THIS WEEK to start boosing your savings account!
