by Jamie Jeffers | Jun 7, 2019 | Saving Money
A few years ago now, my husband and I had one of those “a-ha” moments that lead to us paying off a boat load of debt…while we raised 5 kids on one income.
It was tough, but our #yearofno was so worth it! (Even when it stretched to over two long years full of “no”s.
But no sooner had we paid off the last debt than we learned that I was expected baby #6!
And then we found out that our little 5 year old had a rare condition that would mean spine surgery.
Our family had already been going through a lot of changes, and these things added to the stress. (We love babies, but boy am I bad at being pregnant!)
Well, after a year of chaos, it’s time for our family to adopt another big goal. This time, we’re aiming to save money in an account to cover the cost of water.
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by Jamie Jeffers | May 31, 2019 | Ways We Saved This Week
School’s out for summer in our home and I couldn’t be more relieved!
When our day doesn’t revolve around 4 to 8 trips to run everyone where they need to be each day, it gives me much more time to plan ahead.
(Yikes. No wonder I can never get anything done!)
We’re enjoying the slower pace, and have already enjoyed a simple trip to the park and the library. Even if we treat ourselves to 50 cent Frostys all summer (or however long they last!), that makes for a super cheap fun afternoon for our large family.
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by Jamie Jeffers | May 29, 2019 | Grocery Tips, Saving Money
You might need frugal grocery shopping tips, but that doesn’t mean you have a ton of time to dedicate to saving money. Here’s how to juggle it all!
Sometimes life catches you by surprise.
Maybe a big change comes along that you weren’t expecting.
Or you wake up in a cold sweat and realize that something has to give. You can’t keep living paycheck to paycheck.
Most of the things you spend money on regularly are hard to change quickly. But there’s one area that you have more control over.
Groceries!
So you begin to look for frugal grocery shopping tips. Soon you find yourself face to face with ideas that seem…
…completely overwhelming.
Why does this have to be so hard?!
Well, the good news is that it doesn’t have to be!
I know, because I do all the grocery shopping for our family of 8. It’s a challenge, for sure!
Raising a lot of kids doesn’t leave much extra time…and being frugal often demands using time instead of money.
But there is a way to balance saving money and saving time for busy families like ours. Read on to get all the frugal tips!
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by Jamie Jeffers | May 24, 2019 | Ways We Saved This Week
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.
(You can become a subscriber here. I’ll even send you a copy of 7 Surprising Ways to Add More to Your Savings This Week!)
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!
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by Jamie Jeffers | May 9, 2019 | Large Family Life
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!
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by Jamie Jeffers | May 2, 2019 | Happiness & Giving, Holidays
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!
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by Jamie Jeffers | Apr 29, 2019 | Parenting & Household Tips
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.)
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by Jamie Jeffers | Mar 25, 2019 | Saving Money
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.
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by Jamie Jeffers | Feb 23, 2019 | Saving Money
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?
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by Jamie Jeffers | Feb 12, 2019 | 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…)
I'm Jamie, and I believe that you can build your savings, even when life is frustrating. 
