mom
Life as a mom of 4
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Why do a budget reset?
A budget reset to me is when I look at my monthly budget of income and bills and make adjustments to the different categories. Some bills alternate between seasons (gas bill is high in winter, electricity bill is high in summer), I may have a new grocery bill goal or there is a change in income. When should you do a budget reset? new job (increase or decrease in pay) loss of job when you realize your budget is not working for you when a recurring payment ends (car payment, medical bill) you want to save more How do you do a budget reset? I have attached a form that…
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Porch makeover
We have a covered porch on the back side of our house which faces the children’s trampoline. It is nice in the fall and spring when the mosquitoes are hibernating. My husband’s grill and smoker stay on the porch because it is about the only spot where the wind doesn’t blow crazy (well, as crazy). My mother in law’s treadmill was there for most of a year but when we put it out to the street, I decided I wanted to make the space cozy but on a small budget. The items I started with were a red bistro set I had bought at Kroger several years back. Behind the…
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Summer in Review
Well, this summer was a summer to remember! We visited several countries, several places in the US and spent some quality time with friends and family. I am actually having a hard time adjusting back to the routine of daily life as I miss my special friends and also miss the places we visited. We made some wonderful memories to cherish and I hope my children remember these summers when they grow up! France and Spain It had been 6 years since we had visited France so we decided this was a good year for that trip since my youngest wasn’t 2 yet and we would save a lot on…
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Summer favorites
Today, I want to share some of my favorite summer purchases! #1 Instant pot Well, this is my top purchase even more than my favorite #2. My instant pot is my new favorite kitchen tool! I bought this one on sale for $50 and no regrets! My favorite things to make in it are rice (I never could make it right, now it is 2 cups of rice, 2 1/2 of water and voila, 12 min in the instant pot!), sweet potatoes, carrots, cooking chicken for recipes (10 min!!) and a few recipes such as crack chicken and hawaian chicken. I also use the crockpot function and got rid of…
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Chores and allowance
Has anyone figured out how to do allowance and chores in a fair manner? I change the way I do this with my kids every month or so because I haven’t found a perfect way to do it. I like to give my children money/allowance to help them learn several skills: saving (for something big or little) sharing (tithing for church or charities) planning (what will you use your money for) teach child that things are not free (they sometimes have to buy their own toys or treats) a little math (counting money and subtracting/counting up towards goal) Chores My children do not have a long list of chores: they…
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How we do screen time in our family
This summer, I definitely took a more laid back attitude towards screen time. While I did not let my children play electronics all day long, they did play more on their tablets that they usually do during the school year and watched a little more tv as well. When I noticed that my 20 month old’s favorite word was tv, and my oldest was being anti social, I decided to make some changes. We have all read about how to much time on devices affects children’s behavior, concentration and attitude. Today, I want to share what I do not limit that time when there are so many temptations to play…
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Stockpiling do’s and don’ts
Have you ever watched one of those tv shows that were popular for a while like “Extreme Couponing”? I was always amazed with the deals people would come across and impressed with their stock pile. However, the question is how much toothpaste do you actually go through in a year? Many of those deals were for toiletry and household items that either took lots of space or would last for a long while. These couponers also spent a lot of hours daily or weekly couponing. The following way is the way that I stockpile and my stockpile lasts about 2 months at the most. I do not stockpile on household…
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Budget friendly snacks
One of the easiest ways for me to trim my grocery budget is by making snacks instead of buying snacks. While I am stockpiling for the first couple months of school by buying store snacks (such as granola bars, fruit pouches, chips) as I come accross sales, I have turned to making snacks sereral times a week these past 2 months. The boys are home and the boys are hungry! When home in the summer, the boys have 2 snack times during the day, around 10 am and around 2 pm. These are the choices they typically have and I encourage them to limit themselves to two snacks: dairy: yogurt…
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Marietta Farmers Market outing
Last Saturday, our family took a quick drive to the Marietta Farmers Market. After our fun experience in France visiting a village outdoor market, I wanted to capture a little of that feeling (nothing can compare to a French outdoor market in my opinion but you can get close!). Our little town’s market is tiny and I heard good things about the Marietta’s market so away we went. Since summer in Georgia is always hot and humid I wore my breezy floral skirt with a tank top. It was perfect for the outing and even matched my bouquet! The skirt is on clearance for $14 at the time I am…
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Vacationing with extended family
While I do not typically consider visiting family a real vacation, going on vacation with some extended family can have many advantages. Our vacations typically only include ourselves and our children, but over the past last year or so, we have taken a couple of vacations with some extended family and I have changed my mind about not liking to spend my husband and our vacation time with others. I thought it would be interesting to look at the pros and cons of going on vacation with other members of your family. Pros: budget: sharing the cost of the rent and the food might allow you to afford a vacation…