Work the Plan: Goals for the Week 11/16
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Monday means the start of a new week with lots of possibilities. Here’s how I intend to use my minutes this week.
5 Ways We’ve Saved Money This Week 11
This is a great time of year to find bargains on everything from food to toys to shoes. It’s hard to say no to all of those deals! We are trying to remember to be very intentional about our spending, especially on Christmas gifts.
If you’re looking for ways to gather some extra money for Christmas yourself, be sure to check out 7 Days of Finding Money for Christmas Presents.
I had to reread it myself this past week. 😉
Military Charities: The Best Way to Say Thank You For Our Freedom
Inside: Giving to military charities is the best way to show your gratitude to the soliders who fight for our freedom. Learn more about the groups that give.
I know many people who are in the military, have been in the military, or are married to members of the military. These people have made so many sacrifices for our continued freedom, and my entire family is so grateful for you!
A little education first…Veterans Day is a day to thank and celebrate the living members who have or still are serving our country. Memorial Day is set aside to respectfully remember and mourn the soldiers we lost in battle.
We can say thank you in many different ways. Giving a shout out to your soldiers on social media is great. Stopping a soldier on the street and thanking him or her for their service is wonderful. But we can say thank you in other ways, too.
Gifts for Little Boys He’ll Love This Year
You want gifts for little boys they’ll love even after the box is thrown away. Every gift on this list is kid tested and approved.
Shopping for gifts for little boys is just plain fun.
There are so many things that will bring them true joy…as long as you know where to look.
Because after all, we live in a world filled with overwhelming choices. So it helps to narrow gift ideas down to things that are tried and true.
With four boys in our family, we’ve had hundreds of toys cycle through our home over the years.
Sadly, I’ve seen a ton of toys get tossed in a corner and never played with again.
But I’m now an expert at which toys get played with time and time again.
These are the winners. The toys that are tried and true…well loved and played with until they’re worn.
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Work the Plan: Goals for the Week 11/9
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Last week was every bit as busy as it looked on paper. Even more so with a few events popping up at the last minute! I was very happy that I decided to take it easy on my weekly goals knowing that I had such a busy time scheduled.
Sometimes you have season where you have to give yourself grace and realize that you can come back to marching towards your goals again soon. There is no reason to frustrate yourself. Sometimes that frustration just leads to you falling further and further behind.
[Tweet “Sometimes frustrations over not meeting goals makes you fall further behind.”]
Here’s what we got finished:
Home & Barn
Continue work on bathroom redo- List 5 more items for sale
Family Goals 
Family time (kids have Election Day off of school)One on one time with my daughter
Blog Goals
- Finish mapping out posts to the end of the year (halfway done)
Increase mini blogging on FacebookThis is so much fun!Spend more time on Pinterest(What a “tough” job blogging is!)Research guest blogging and begin process
Personal Goals
- Daily Bible readings
- 6 Burpees on 5 days
- Finish reading Better Than Before and blog about it
New goals for this week are…
Home and Barn
- Continue bathroom project
- Clean out barn pen
- List 5 things for sale
- Paint some baseboards
- Earn 250 Swagbucks
- Do research study to earn money for Christmas
- Learn how to load and use money saving apps on my phone
Family Goals
- Have a family game night
- Have some friends over
- Reestablish chore charts
Blog Goals
- Finish plan through end of year
- Write a guest post
Personal Goals
- Daily Bible readings
- 6 Burpees on 5 days
- Finish reading Better Than Before and blog about it
- Eat 5 fruits and/or veggies per day
What are your priorities this week?
2 Week Meal Plan for November
The grocery stores are absolutely full of great deals on baking supplies, stuffing, chicken stock, and…of course, turkey! It’s hard to choose which things to stock up on. But if you can create any wiggle room in your grocery budget at all, be sure to take extra advantage of the great prices on the items you use the most. Fill those freezers and pantries!
If you’re starting to make your Thanksgiving plans and aren’t sure what side to take to your pot luck, here is a great list of suggestions.
A tradition my own little family has is to eat a Practice Thanksgiving every year about a week before the “real” Thanksgiving. Since we attend a big family pot luck for both lunch and supper on the actual day of Thanksgiving, this gives us the chance to celebrate the holiday for ourselves. It also gives me the opportunity to try out any new recipes before I take them along to the big family event. We really enjoy this tradition!
So here is our 2 Week Meal Plan for November. As usual, I like to keep it simple and work with the cheaper in season foods.
5 Ways We’ve Saved Money This Week 10
Wow! Ten whole weeks of money saving tips. That’s 50 ways we’ve saved money since I started this series. That’s pretty exciting! If you want to see all 50 tips, check them out here.
All of that said…it’s not been the most frugal week around here. A last minute zoo trip cost us some extras since I didn’t have a packed lunch prepared. (That’s ok, my kids had a blast with their buddies. Worth it.) We also ordered pizza and generally had a too busy week. It happens.
We still managed to find our 5 ways to save money, so here they are.
How to Handle the Terrible Twos
The baby of our family recently turned two years old.
(I suppose that means that I am not really supposed to be calling him a baby anymore. But let’s be honest… it’ll be years before we stop calling him “the baby”!)
It also marks the fifth time our family has navigated the “terrible twos”.
Two year olds are something else!
You’re so proud of the many things they have learned to do on their own. They are really starting to grow up.
10 Easy Thanksgiving Sides They’ll Rave About All Day
These (mouthwatering) easy Thanksgiving side dish recipes will have your family going back for seconds.
Here comes Thanksgiving.
Many of us Thanksgiving lovers enjoy the holiday because it’s so simple.
But the one part of Thanksgiving that isn’t so simple is (obviously) the meal.
Either you’re hosting and have a big burden on your plate…
(Pardon the pun. Actually, I totally love a good pun.)
…or you’re heading to someone else’s Thanksgiving. And you have to bring a side dish.
That might be stressful.
But it doesn’t have to be!
Those foods that make Thanksgiving so amazing don’t have to keep you in the kitchen for 10 hours.
With the right recipe, you can get the side prepared ahead of time, without a ton of effort.
And, wouldn’t you know it…those perfect recipes are right here!
(Psst…print out one of these Thanksgiving potluck signup sheets to keep it simple!)
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How to Stop Ordering Last Minute Pizza
Our family is on a money saving journey as we raise a bunch of kids on one income and attempt to pay off some debt. We are always on the lookout for creative ways to save money. That’s not to say that we are experts at frugality! I actually consider us to be students of thrift.
One of the first points that crops up when a family is striving to save money is food. Grocery bills. Dining out. Starbucks runs. Drive thrus.
And ordering pizza.
That’s one of my weaknesses. About once a month I have the kind of day where time gets away from me. Before I know it, it’s suppertime and the family is asking what there is to eat. On days like this, the temptation to order pizza is strong! And many times I don’t resist it very well.
When I do order pizza, I always feel like I’ve failed my money saving ways. That isn’t necessarily the case since we don’t use credit to pay and it doesn’t happen frequently. But I still wish I could stop ordering last minute pizza.
You need a plan! Let’s put one together.
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