The Luke man is starting to eat like a maniac! The 4oz babyfood jars at our Walmart are .50 cents. While this isn't super expensive, it can add up when you are on a tight budget. So I thought I would try my hand at making my own babyfood. I chose carrots because they are Luke's favorite. Carrots are one of the few things though that you have to be careful about because of the nitrates in them. My doctor said they were fine as long as you didn't add the water back in after you steamed them, so I went ahead with it. I was totally stoked to discover that one bag of carrots that cost me $1.50 at Walmart made eleven 4oz jars! This equates to .13 cents a jar. Major savings people.
While you are all probably laughing at me, hear me out. If I bought Luke twenty-two jars of carrots at Walmart (which wouldn't even last a month), it would cost me $11.00 plus tax. If I make my own twenty-two jars it costs me $3.00 flat and I can spend the other $8.00 buying him clothes and/or toys. Good mommy points to me.
Plus it is fast, easy and I know exactly what is going in my child's mouth.
Hello!
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2.28.2012
Motivation Station: Living Like No One Else
The quote on this poster is from none other than Dave Ramsey. I think of this quote all the time. Why you ask? Because it is plastered all over the house I grew up in. I guess my dad really liked it because he made a bunch of little vinyl copies of the quote and put them wherever he would see them all the time. Maybe I miss seeing it and that is what drove me to make the printable?
The idea behind it is this: if you live like no one else now in the form of scrimping, saving, waiting, and not-doing then later you will have the ability to live like no one else in the form of no debt, really nice things, vacations, sweet cars, zero monetary stress or whatever it is that floats your boat.
I love the perspective that this little saying provides. Right now, we are doing things that are really hard to do. In the end, though, we will have the rewards we only dreamt about. Let's focus on the long term when things get hard and remember what our goals are worth to us.
SwagBucks: Get paid for what you're already doing
I have been using SwagBucks for a little over a year now, and I love it. At first I was apprehensive about it. I didn't think it would be worth my time, but I noticed that all of my favorite financially savvy bloggers were doing it, so I figured I would stick it out and see if the reward would change my mind. It did. Last year, I earned a pretty good amount of Amazon credits, just by adding about ten minutes of Swagbucks into my day in between the other stuff I was already doing. I wasn't hyper-aggressive about it until the fall when I decided I wanted to pay for some of our Christmas that way. I earned the same amount I had made in the previous nine months, in three and was able to spoil my husband and family members with what I had earned! Since at first I was a little confused about how it worked, I am posting some answers to questions people have asked me as well as tips and tricks I have learned along the way!
Tax Refunds and the W-4
With tax season on hand, it’s a good idea to take a bit of
time to think about your own finances and tax planning. It’s funny to me
that every April retailers ramp up the ad campaign trying to get people to
splurge their tax refund on a bunch of stuff that they might otherwise not be
able to buy. “Hey, you’re about to get a thousand bucks from the
government, come buy that big flat screen TV you’ve always wanted.” They
try to make you think that your tax refund is a bonus check that you should
spend on some great luxury good.
The reality is that in most cases, your tax refund contains
tax dollars that you’ve loaned to the government (interest-free, of course)
over the course of the year and every spring they are kind enough to pay you
back. Now this is not always the case, as lots of people get increased
refunds because of tax credits (popular ones include child credits, earned
income credits, or various education credits) which really are basically free
credits from the government, but in lots of cases, you are getting money back
as a refund because you have paid more taxes over the course of the year than
you owe.
Now let’s address a basic economic principle. The Time Value
of Money. If I offered to give you $1,000 today or $1,000 a year from
now, which would you choose? Your grandma answers this question every
time she tells you that in her day, she could see a movie for a nickel.
What she is telling you is that a nickel was worth a WHOLE lot more to her on
that day in 1929 than it is today. The same applies to your $1,000. Not only is
your money losing value over the year because of inflation, but you are losing
the opportunity to save/invest it and earn interest on it, all while handing
those opportunities over to the IRS.
Momma Lynne's Sewing Room Makeover: Part 2
If you missed part one of Momma Lynne's Sewing Room Makeover, it's here.
Want to know how i did it? Okay, I'll tell you.
Want to know how i did it? Okay, I'll tell you.
Michael's Shopping Trip: 100% Savings
A few weekends ago, Michael's craft store released an amazing coupon. $5 off a minimum purchase of $5! Um, five dollars worth of free stuff? Yes please. It could be used once per day, per customer. I printed it twice and went Friday and Saturday, and got out with all of this loot for free. It was all in the $1 section of the store, I was thrilled to find so much cute stuff.
It really pays to pay attention to the offers, and who doesn't want an excuse to go shopping? Especially when you don't have to spend any money! We'll keep you posted on the great deals at craft stores, and hopefully a killer coupon like this one will come along again soon!
My Favorite Smoothie
I love ice cream. The trouble is, ice cream isn't that cheap and it isn't that healthy. So, instead of regularly stuffing my face with ice cream I try to save it for special occasions and trick myself into eating smoothies instead. (I'm sneaky like that). I have come to love smoothies because they satisfy my sweet tooth while maintaining a semblance of healthfulness.
2.22.2012
Recycle Bank: Earn points for going green
Recycle Bank is a program that helps educate you about how to live greener. They award points for educating yourself and pledging to do more to help the environment. It is rewarding in more ways than one. It's free to join, earning points is so easy, and it's something you can feel good about doing.
Get started by signing up here!
Some of my favorite current prize choices: One year subscription to one of these magazines, among others.
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So if you like free stuff, get started! You can probably earn enough points for one of these today!
Take me to Recycle Bank.
2.18.2012
Split Pea Wreaths
I love wreaths. The problem is, wreaths are pretty expensive. Especially ones that are in any way attractive. So on Pinterest awhile ago I saw a picture of a split pea wreath for Christmas and I thought it looked so pretty. (By the way, I just hunted down the picture which I guess I didn't pin? And it was from See Kate Sew.. love her site so it just makes sense that I was drawn to that picture!) Anyway I have been wanting to do it forever, but I like a more traditional Christmas wreath so I was saving it for St. Patricks Day/spring.
It was so easy, read on to see how I did it.
It was so easy, read on to see how I did it.
2.13.2012
Momma Lynne's Sewing Room Makeover: Part 1
My mom, who my husband has lovingly nicknamed Momma Lynne, sews. A lot. She has been sewing for most of her life. Growing up, she made all of my clothes until I turned into a hard-to-please pre-teen and only wanted to wear clothes from the Limited Too, and coincidentally she started her own business. Still, every time a shirt didn't fit me right, or my skirt needed to be hemmed, she was there and it was fixed in a matter of minutes. I didn't realize that this is not normal. Not all moms can tailor everything to fit you perfectly, and have it look like you bought it that way.
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