by Jamie Jeffers | Feb 7, 2020 | Ways We Saved This Week
What’s that??
This is the 150th edition of the 5 ways we’ve saved money this week series?? Can you believe it?
This whole thing started waaaay back in 2015 (which seems like a million years ago, but also seems like yesterday…weird) when I decided to write up a little post about the ways we managed to save money that week.
It ended up being a hit.
I guess it’s because people who love saving money are always curious about the ways other families manage it.
And if you aren’t really big on saving money, it’s nice to see that there are a few easy ways to save a little bit, especially when saving seems like this huge, impossible task.
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by Jamie Jeffers | Feb 6, 2020 | Grocery Tips
What’s it like shopping at Sam’s? This mom of 6 kids made a trip to see which bargains were great, and which prices just stink.
This post is now updated to reflect 2023 prices in my area.
This year for Christmas, I unwrapped a membership to Sam’s Club.
I haven’t been a member there for a decade, and in that time I’ve become pretty selective about the way I shop. So I was pretty excited to get the chance to try out Sam’s for free…
…but I also wasn’t quite sure how it would fit into my usual shopping routine.
When you’re buying food for a family of 8, you have to be picky. Much as the grocery stores would like it, I’m not too keen on just handing them my husband’s paycheck every other week.
So I asked a friend to watch the baby so I could spend some time in the Club. (That’s what the cool kids call it. bahaha!)
After spending a good hour or two there, this is what I found. (By the way, I’ve updated this post to reflect what I’ve found to be the best deals over the last year of shopping at Sam’s.)
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by Jamie Jeffers | Feb 3, 2020 | Grocery Tips
Looking for a grocery challenge that’s a little more fun than your typical “no spend grocery month”? Try a different way to lower your grocery budget.
“What is this??” you ask everyone in the family, using your best Clair Huxtable voice. “Because it looks like someone took two bites of an apple and threw it away.”
Food waste makes you a little crazy sometimes, doesn’t it?
Because you work hard to try to save money on groceries.
(Ok, some weeks are better than others. But you’re totally trying, and that counts.)
But you’ve noticed that the total at the checkout has been climbing again.
(You only bought ingredients for a couple of meals and somehow the total was $67?? How does that work?)
And after all of that, you come home and find people you love (oh, you love them) just throwing away that expensive food. (You love them, you love them, you love them…)
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by Jamie Jeffers | Jan 31, 2020 | Ways We Saved This Week
I got to spend the weekend with my son in Washington D.C. We went with a church group, so we were able to both go for very little cost (thanks to fundraising).
What an amazing trip!
We got to see so much, including going up to the top of the Washington Monument.
That wasn’t open when our family vacationed there back in the summer of ’18, so we really enjoyed those views.
And spending so much one on one time with my sixteen year old was wonderful, too.
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by Jamie Jeffers | Jan 17, 2020 | Ways We Saved This Week
Why hello there!
I think it’s high time the 5 ways series makes a comeback to Medium Sized Family. Don’t you?
I know this is one of your favorite things to read on the blog. And I have always loved writing them.
It’s great for keeping me going on tough weeks. And I always need a reminder of what’s going right.
(Don’t we all??)
Last year was a rough one. And when things finally settled down, I decided to tackle a big blogging project that I’ve always dreamed of doing.
But…since I’ve never done it before, there was a steep learning curve. And the whole thing took a lot longer than I ever thought it would. (Big announcement coming soon!)
Then we started the 30 Day #Brightsaver Challenge (which, by the way, you can totally still join and not worry about being “behind” or anything). And that took some figuring out, too.
But NOW…here we are. Back at the 5 ways posts.
Are you ready for this?
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by Jamie Jeffers | Jan 15, 2020 | Holidays
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…)
by Jamie Jeffers | Jan 8, 2020 | Goals
Every year, we try to set new goals for our family.
Sometime in the first week of January, my Hubby and I sit down and agree to what we hope to accomplish for the year.
In 2019, this just did not happen.
Our theme for the year was basically “hold on tight and try to get through it.”
I gave birth to our sixth child in late February. And in the midst of all of that, we had to plan a spine surgery for our 5 year old.
We also had a lot of other unusual situations calling our attention. And all of it was just too much.
I can’t say I honestly missed setting goals last year…to be honest, it was the last thing on my mind.
But still…
I am so excited to get back to setting them for 2020!
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by Jamie Jeffers | Jan 1, 2020 | Saving Money
Learning how to save $100 a month has never been easier.
The money saving chart I created a couple of years ago made it easier than ever for people to save $1,000 in a year.
You can see that 52 week challenge here.
It’s fun, because you can use it with the flow of your life. You save smaller amounts at harder times, and larger amounts when life is giving you extra cash.
Well, why not create a smaller version to help you save $100 a month?
Maybe you’re a beginner, and the idea of saving money has never really stuck before.
Or your situation has you so strapped for cash that saving money feels impossible.
Well I think this chart is going to be pretty eye opening for you!
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I'm Jamie, and I want to help you afford a beautiful life with your family. 
