by Jamie Jeffers | Dec 19, 2016 | Parenting Tips
These simple ways to show kindness for kids are easy to implement into your day. Use the free checklist as a scavenger hunt to look for chances to show kindness all day!
I’d had enough.
It was another one of those days where you wake to the sound of bickering, and it doesn’t stop until everyone is asleep.
With a school break on the horizon, I knew I had to do something to change the mood of the house before all of us went crazy.
We needed more kindness in our home.
There are plenty of ways to show kindness for kids. But I wanted to make it into a game rather than something resembling a punishment.
After all, forced acts of kindness kind of defeats the purpose.
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by Jamie Jeffers | Dec 16, 2016 | Ways We Saved This Week
The kids have been counting down the days to this wonderful day of the year. As the number shrinks smaller and smaller, the excitement grows and grows. And now here we are. The last day of school before Christmas break!
I’m hoping to find some fun, frugal things to do on our days off of school. Got any good suggestions? We also have two birthdays to fit in before the end of the year. It’s a busy time of year for this Medium Sized Family!
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by Jamie Jeffers | Dec 14, 2016 | Debt, Saving Money
A frugal Christmas can be a wonderful thing! Wouldn’t you love to have less stress…and not go broke while you try to keep up with it all this year?
Not long ago we watched an old home video of Christmas morning when our oldest child was 2 years old.
It was adorable, of course, and I loved looking back at how simple our life was then.
But the most striking thing was watching him enjoy his gifts.
Santa had brought several toys. But only one gift held his attention.
His new basketball hoop.
He picked up that ball over and over. “Basket! Basket!”
I watched a younger version of myself show him the other toys he’d received, but none of them held his attention like that basketball.
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by Jamie Jeffers | Dec 9, 2016 | Ways We Saved This Week
Our family celebrates St. Nick day on December 6th each year. The kids wake up to find a small stocking full of candy. This year I was able to find some old fashioned candies at the local Five and Dime store. It was no more expensive than most candy at the store, so I grabbed some. It made the day more special!
We don’t go all out to celebrate the day. But any day that begins with chocolate is awesome in my book.
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by Jamie Jeffers | Dec 5, 2016 | Goals
This year has been a whirlwind. We had no idea what a complete impact a simple phrase would make on our whole lives a year ago. But I’m so happy with how far we’ve come.
Barring something big happening, we aren’t likely to reach our entire BHAG (big, hairy, audacious goal). But we’ll be closer than we’ve ever been. We’ve made changes that will last well beyond our #yearofno.
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by Jamie Jeffers | Dec 2, 2016 | Ways We Saved This Week
This is the first Christmas shopping season we’ve had in ages that we are committed to not putting gifts on credit cards. That’s harder than it sounds! When online shopping, it’s much easier to plop a credit card number in and worry about it later. Except I’ve learned that I often forget to go back to it.
And that’s how it happens. The debt grows as you forget how much you’ve already spent. You always think it will sort itself out later, but it never does. Something to keep in mind as you shop.
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by Jamie Jeffers | Nov 23, 2016 | Parenting & Household Tips
This post was sponsored by WaterWipes as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.
A few weeks before his third birthday, our fifth baby decided that he was suddenly potty trained. Within three days he was fully trained. Don’t ask me what I did to win that lottery, but I feel like I paid into it with previous babies that were tougher to train. So it evened out!
Our diaper buying days are behind us (for now, at least). But I’ll tell you one thing we’ll continue to buy…wipes. We use wipes constantly. They really are a mom’s best friend. What did moms do before them? Yeah, I know… they made do. I’m thankful that I don’t have to.
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by Jamie Jeffers | Nov 21, 2016 | Holidays
This guide has all the best Thanksgiving ideas for family gatherings! From food to fun to what to do with those leftovers…we’ve got you covered!
“Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they see only once a year. And then discover that once a year is way too often.” -Johnny Carson
Whether you’re excited to see family this year or not, you’ve found a resource to take care of the rest of your day! Here are some ideas for your menu, how to keep everyone entertained, ideas to use up those leftovers, and more.
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by Jamie Jeffers | Nov 18, 2016 | Ways We Saved This Week
This week we had a family emergency that made it necessary for my Hubby and one of our sons to make a sudden trip a couple of states away. If you need a compelling reason to get out of debt, this is the one. Who wants to worry about covering expenses at a time like that?
Getting out of debt has been a real struggle, because so many emergencies and repair bills seem to crop up when you have the best intentions. But even more important than seeing our debt number shrink to $0 has been getting out of the habit of using credit cards. So at least we have that going for us.
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by Jamie Jeffers | Nov 14, 2016 | Recipe
This easy oatmeal breakfast bars recipe will save the day when you need breakfast on the go.
I catch a glimpse of the time as I swat at the obnoxious noise coming from my alarm clock.
That can’t be right…I overslept again?
Quickly I rush around to wake up kids and make sure they have everything they need.
Backpacks. A packed lunch. Clothes for gym class.
Oh, wait. Breakfast.
And that moment is when I’m most thankful that I made a quick batch of easy oatmeal breakfast bars that we can grab on our way out the door.
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I'm Jamie, and I want to help you afford a beautiful life with your family. 
