5 simple ways to save money!!!

There are great sites instructing someone on how to save money. Well here is my updated list

• Track your spending and stick to a budget

It may not sound easy. Trust me it wasnt for me but when I decided to take time off from work and be a stay at home mom I had to learn real fast. My husband and I we write down on our kitchen calendar what needs to come out every week to pay off our expenses and from there we see what is left off. That allowed us to have a weekly allowance and pay ourselves first by putting money on a savings account.

• Create a Master Grocery List

I like to write down my grocery list by categorizing the items. Example: Breakfast- eggs, milk, cereal etc. Lunch- mayo, lunchmeat, juice, canned soda etc. Dinner- meat, rice, pasta, veggies etc. Others- shampoo, laundry detergent, toilet paper etc. You get the idea. This way I know what Ill be using for what meal helping me plan ahead on meal planning and cost plus saving me time walking thru the supermarket looking for the items.

• Pay Cash

I am still getting my husband used to this idea but it makes sense. If you dont have the money to pay for something dont get it!!!  Save it up, wait to make sure its a need instead of a want and then if you still want it go and get but only after you have the money to pay for it in full.

• Recycle reinvent and reuse

Before you throw things out take a second look at it. What can you do with it? I love  to save the spaguetti sauce jar and save them to make gift in a jar for friends and relatives. They cost less and you can create different combinations. What else can you reuse? I use old plastic chinese take-out container and I store my kids crayons and use as a wipes case for the car. Not counting the fact that they store leftovers pretty well. Always keep an open mind on the items you have laying around your house. You never know what they can be turned into.

• Borrow before you buy

Can you get away with borrowing before buying it? I cant remember last time I went clothing shopping for myself. Reason being its because I always shop my sister closet instead of buying a new outfit. We fit on the same size, live in different states just 40 mins away and honestly who cares if you spent $100 or next to nothing getting yourself ready for that party? This goes to everything else. If you have a kind neighbor and you have a good relationship dont be shy to ask if you can borrow her blender instead of buying a new one.

DIY Decorative HandSoap

What you need:

Liquid hand soap. Silk flowers. Ribbon. Cello gift wrap. Skewer stick. Scissor. Gift hang tag.

{We found our liquid soap and silk flowers at the Dollar Store.}

What to do:

Remove the liquid soap label from the soap bottle.{we soaked ours in hot water for awhile, and peeled it off. You want to have the bottle free of anything on it so the flowers will show through}

Take your flowers and start trimming them off from the main stem.

Open up your liquid soap and pour some off into another bottle or jar{that you can have for a later use}, so that there is enough room to put in your flowers.

Using your skewer stick, begin poking the flowers down inside the soap bottle until you are satisfied with the look. Replace the top and wipe clean.

Decorate the outside of the bottle:

Using your ribbon and a little clipping of your flowers, tie them around the neck of the soap bottle.

Time for gift giving:

Wrap up your soap(s) with the Cello wrap and ribbon. Remember to put your to~from hang tag on your gift!

Camp in your minivan!!!!

After researching around I discussed with my husband that we should give it a try and travel with our minivan. We see all the time people that actually live in those. Not that we are trying to take that "not so for everyone" step but I figured that traveling and camping in our minivan would beat the cost of  travel fare, such as airlines and hotel cost.

We have already planned for this summer to take our camping tent, minivan and 3 kids and explore the outdoors. Not the woods or anything but a nice family friendly campground. Our plan include attaching a good quality icebox to our trunk, taking our camping gear, propane stove bbq ( Make sure to do your cooking in a well ventilated area) Meanwhile stock your icebox with fruits and sandwich along with other food and snacks that wont spoil easily. We will also add storage under the seats of our minivan and get a inverter for our cigarette lighter so we can watch a movie in our portable dvd/ charge cell phones and whatever else life throws in our way.

If you are gonna try the same with your family I suggest researching for a campground that offers, showers, bathrooms, water, sewer and electricity so your family doesnt feel deprivated of those while you are away. Start slow with a long weekend in case things dont go quite as you expect. The campground we are heading off to charges $30 a day for a spot that fits a camper and a tent. We will be parking our minivan and setting up the tent we have. That beats any hotel deal and we will be staying across the street from beach. Make sure to take lots of blankets for cushion in the tent and in case it get cold at night. And entertainment for the kids while they are in the car and once they get over there.
Good luck with your outings... Xoxo

Here comes the summer again!!!!

Oh my! Kids will be out of school and if you are like me Hopefully you are already thinking of ways to entertain the gang. This summer we will have a new baby and my stepdaughter will be spending an entire month with us. Think ahead there are so many ways to keep the little crew busy.

I made a list resorceful ideas:

• Dust off your library card: I know its lame and you see on every financial planning website

Truth is the library has tons of book and activities plus dvds that you can order without paying the hefty prices of renting.

• Check out your town/county website.

Spring and Summer time it when most counties have their events and free concerts. I am fortunate enough to live near by 2 counties and I always check them out. We already have plans for movie in the park which they show a not so old and not so new movie in the park but offer free activities such as face painting and balloon for the kids prior to showing the movie.

• Take your kids to your local pool.

If you are not fortunate enough to live near the beach then this is another option. Most local pool have strict rules that you got obey and so others kids and families which will give a little bit piece of mind when sending off your little troops to the "unknown" waters. Our local pool is very strict about wearing a swimming cap and adults get 30 mins every 1hour or so to swim without kids splashing on them.

• Picnic in the park

Where we live at I have choices of park to take my kids. I have my favorite which is cleaner and has more options for the kids. We pack our picnic basket (If you dont have one it ok, they are a waste of money anyways you just got improvise). Pack snack for the kids, sandwich, cold meat cuts, salads, juice boxes, water, anything that you can fit in you bag and your lifestyle. Its a good idea to get a good insulated bag to keep the colds, well cold.

Think ahead and make your summer sane for yourself and enjoyable for your kids. Xoxo

Duck Splash Baby Shower!!!

I was fortunate to host a Baby Shower. The main thing was it had to be budget friendly. So there was a lot of diy. Here are some of the pictures and soon I will be posting some of the tutorial on how the process was done. Xoxo

Everything in this Baby Shower had to reflect what the momma to be wanted. She wanted a gender friendly to be able to accomodate her bundle of joy. Cake and cupcakes were homemades with lil duck peeps as a topper.

The diaper cake was made from huggies diapers size 1-2. ( I'll be giving the tutorial in future postings)

The water labels were made from my own printer at home. Later on Ill be posting the template so you can make your own for future gatherings. The guests loved it....

Favors were bakery bought cookies. ( A batch with 24 for $4) I got 2 different flavors and stuffed in the cello bags. Also I got from Dollar Tree (P.S. My favorite Dollar store) little favor containers that resemble chinese take out and stuffed them with candies.

There are several way to throw a great party without going broke. Do a little bit of research and gather your items with advance so you can search for better deals and get stuff when they are on sale.

Good Luck with your next gathering!!! Xoxo

Get rid of the Cable!!!!!!

My family and I are always seeking ways to live well and spend less. There are inumeral articles out there teaching you how to save money. Well no one can really teach you but instead guide you to have a better financial life. My family and I we cut the cable months ago and to be honest I dont miss a single bit. I figure that once I got home and surfed all the 100+ channel I had I couldnt really find anything interesting. What a bummer. So we now have what we call rerun tv... Netflix and Hulu offer great packages to suit your style and your wallet. Its something that every family trying to save a couple bucks at the end of the year should check it out.

Score with Craigslist and Freecycle

It took me a while. Actually only after I had my kids that I stopped being so selfish and started to look around for low cost and useful things to use around for my family. We are not lavish. My husband doesnt make millions and we have growing kids to feed!!!! With a little bit of research you can get free or low cost items from Craigslist and Freecycle. Take 10 mins and glance thru the postings you never know what you might find. I know how our lives can be crazy and at the end of the day after kids are in bed we all fight to keep our eyes open while we finish to put the dishes away. Make the effort. I am in middle of planning a shower, a wedding and changing diapers. It can be done. See you next time!!!!