by Jamie Jeffers | Apr 12, 2017 | Parenting Tips, Saving Money
You’re so tired of caving to every little temptation. But you don’t know how to develop self control! These 5 tips will change your thinking in no time
Have you heard of the marshmallow experiment?
The basic idea is that they put kids into a room and set a marshmallow in front of them.
Then, they promised the kids that if they let the marshmallow sit there for fifteen minutes without eating it, they would get a second marshmallow.
Some kids were able to stare at that delicious marshmallow for the full time and resist the temptation.
Others, of course, popped that delicious morsel right into their mouths, too caught up by their impulses to wait for the reward.
Well, those researchers followed those kids for 40 years to see how their ability to resist instant gratification played out in their lives.
As it turns out, that was the key to nearly everything. According to the study (here), the “resister” kids “achiev[ed] higher scholastic performance and cop[ed] better with frustration and stress.”
Who doesn’t want that for their kids???
But even if you are 100% certain your kids would have been in that group that grabbed the marshmallow as soon as the door closed, that’s ok.
There are things you can do as a parent to improve their self control skills.
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by Jamie Jeffers | Apr 7, 2017 | Ways We Saved This Week
It’s funny how getting our largest credit card debt paid off has changed things around here. We aren’t out of debt yet. We have a couple more cards to go (both significantly smaller than what we owed the giant card).
Still, the free feeling of escaping that debt just makes me hungrier to do better with all of our money. It made me curious about other parts of our financial picture. And that gave me more motivation to get debt free.
Now that’s a circle I’d much rather be running than the old “never get out of debt” circle!
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by Jamie Jeffers | Apr 5, 2017 | Saving Money
If you hate math but wish you could save more money, have I got the 52 Week Savings Plan Spreadsheet for you! Forget January 1st…start this any time!
Lately I’ve been on a mission to find ways to make it easier for people to save money. Not just on groceries and expenses. (Though that’s important, too.) But in a savings account, a piggy bank, or wherever you like to pile up money for a rainy day.
I don’t exactly pride myself on my math skills. I often joke that I married my Hubby so he could help with math homework. He’s the math and technology guy in the house.
That said, when it comes to my money, calculators are my best friend. Especially calculators that break down my big goals (like paying off credit card debt) into manageable chunks. If I pay this much money on this card and this much money on that card, when will I be debt free?
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by Jamie Jeffers | Mar 31, 2017 | Ways We Saved This Week
Spring break! Which doesn’t mean a whole lot when you’re working on getting out of debt. The kids are off school and life is slow and simple. I love turning off the alarm clock for the whole week!
You could add “take a nice little trip during spring break” to the list of things I’d like to do once we’re debt free. But my list has gotten as long as Santa’s. Once we’re out of debt, we’ll prioritize the things we want the most from our lives. Until then, I’ll have fun in my little fantasy world! It gets me through the journey to debt freedom, so it’s fine by me.
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by Jamie Jeffers | Mar 27, 2017 | Large Family Life, Recipe
These easy meals for large families are so easy that you’ll want them on your meal plan all month long! Simple, easy recipes to feed a crowd.
Trying to keep up with all the eating demands of a large family is exhausting!
You know meal planning would make it all easier… but feeding a large family on a tight budget seems intimidating.
Well, worry no more. I’ve compiled a list of easy meals for large families that our family of 8 loves!
And you’ll love them, too.
Here’s why:
Meal time is tough enough. The kids are fussy during that transition part of the day.
You’re tired of making decisions.
And you can’t help but wonder why you have to feed all of these people every.single.day. (You’re halfway kidding, of course!)
Well. This list of cheap meals for large families has some rules that make it all easier.
These recipes are all easy, affordable, and taste good so the kids don’t refuse to come to the table.
(Foods that most of them like, because pleasing everyone all the time is impossible. Not to mention that I have no desire to cater to every whim of my children.)
These recipes are a must for your large family home!
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by Jamie Jeffers | Mar 24, 2017 | Ways We Saved This Week
Even when you hold yourself accountable to saving money week after week, you’re going to have times when you fall off the wagon a bit. Some weeks are going to cost more than others. Sometimes life throws you curve balls.
And sometimes you don’t have a good reason for why you spent more than usual.
This would be one of those weeks. After we came back from our last minute road trip, we had a busy week planned. There were school fundraisers and events that I needed to take part in. I’m helping to begin a PTO for our school district from the ground up, and I know how much need there is in our small community. That increases my (perhaps self inflicted) obligation to take part in these fundraisers.
Finding a balance between giving and continuing our plan to pay off debt is going to be important in the coming months. The reality is, if I can continue to throw as much money at debt as possible, I’ll be able to give so much more once we’re debt free.
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I'm Jamie, and I want to help you afford a beautiful life with your family. 
