Yummy

I found these when I was getting golden raisins for something I was cooking. They are sour fruit flavored raisins, they taste like sour skittles or sour patch kids candy. My kids love them! After they tried them I went back to the store and bought ten more boxes. My son is crazy about candy so far we have been able to satisfy that with the raisins. My daughter who likes Skittles, but shouldn't eat them because of her braces, is enjoying them also. What a fun healthy replacement for a sour candy.

Costumes

This is a good time of year to fill a little girls dress up box. I was at Walmart and saw that they had Disney Princess costumes for $10. (would make a great Christmas present) Those dresses cost $30 any other time of the year. Watch for good sales on these items just after Halloween. Other places I have had good luck are local second hand stores (they cut the price in half the day after Halloween) and resale shops.

Pumpkins!

No one wants to throw away a pumpkin that they spent all that time on. I have found the answer. (You may have seen these before) Craft pumpkins!! One Saturday in October (at Michaels) you can purchase a craft pumpkin (at a discounted rate for this activity $5) and work on it in their craft room. Every year they have different projects for the pumpkins and they always have more then one option.
I love that the store provides the supplies and the room to make the mess. (No cleanup for mom!)

Every year we pick our favorite one and add it to our collection. I wonder what it will be this year?

Halloween Decoration

Halloween Decorations are fun! and they don't have to be spendy or fancy. As you will notice my life and surroundings need to be kid friendly, and affordable. The kids have a blast with these. I picked up each bucket for a quarter a piece at a local second hand store. We have stacked them to make a Halloween totem poll, and they can still use them for trick-o-treating. As an added bonus the kids I watch LOVE to play with them, fill them with toys and restack them when done.

Financial Friday (#3)

A 2006 study published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture conducted by Rutgers University found that almost three fourths of the people surveyed ate out at least once a week, and 10% ate out almost every day. The U.S. Department of Agriculture calculates that eating out accounts for half of total food expenditures, an increase of more than 16% since 1972.(Just one generation ago)

Did you know??

-Keep your laundry room door shut while the dryer is in use. A dryer uses air to dry the clothes. By keeping the door open you force your dryer to work harder. (not to mention your air conditioner)

I do this in the summer because I don't want the dryer heating up my home. But I had never thought about the cool air causing the dryer to work harder, that's a double whammy.

-Also don't forget to clean out your lint trap. Do this after every load and you could use up to 50% less energy. (I do this all the time because I'm worried about the extra lint floating around and becoming a fire hazard.)

-Don't overload your dryer! An overloaded dryer cannot work efficiently. Limit the size of your dryer's load. Not only will it take less time to dry, but you clothes will come out less wrinkled.

My favorite MOP!

It took me a few years to find a mop that I liked. One that did a good job so I wouldn't have to get on my hands and knees so often. I like my Swiffer mop, but not the way you would think. At first I liked the wet pads, but after a few moppings the floor seemed a little tacky. I like my Mr. Clean. I like the way it makes the house smell when all the floors are cleaned with it.

Before I mop the floor I make sure I have some mixed up. I have a special bottle (make sure its labeled!) I mix a little Mr. Clean and some water in the spray bottle.

A clean rag is needed for this way of mopping. I chose a pack of white washcloths because they can be bleached. (and I've learned to buy colored washcloths for in the bathrooms so their is NO confusion)

I tuck the dry clean rag (washcloth) into the tabs of my Swiffer.

So that the bottom is completely covered, just like when you use their pads.

Then I spray the Mr. Clean on the floor and wipe it up with the mop.

You can see the dirt that it picks up, and the reason I bleach my rags.

This is easy enough that my kids mop the floor. My son is very visual so this works well for him. He tries to see how dark he can get the rag from mopping.

Money wise this works for me also. A couple bucks for the Mr. Clean and a few bucks for the washcloths. We have been using the same Mr. Clean and washcloths for over a year and my floor gets mopped at least twice a week. (It gets cleaned more now that the kids can help)

Financial Friday (#2)

The average American family of four throws out 1.3 pounds of food everyday, or 474.5 pounds every year. Household food waste translates to $43 billion annually. The first step toward saving money on food is to CUT THE WASTE.

I am challenging you all to become more familiar with what is in you fridge, freezer , and pantry. I don't know about you but I can't afford to toss my money in the garbage.

Financial Friday

Credit card debt is a hard thing to get under control but it's very easy for it to spiral out of control. Here is how it works: If you have a balance of $5,000 at 18 % APR, it will take you twenty-six years to pay the balance in full if you make only the minimum payment. By the time you pay off the balance, you will have spent more than $12,000 for that original $5,000 debt. You will have lost more than $7,000. Oh man the things that I could do with an extra $7,000!

But wait it doesn't stop there.

What if you have a late-payment, it happens to all of us. That means added fees and penalties. A possible raise in interest rate-maybe on several cards, not just the one that you were late on. Credit card companies share late-payment information.

It might have been a good deal while you were out shopping, but it's not anymore after interest and possibly a late-fee. When you pay with plastic think what will this really cost me??....

Squeeze Bottles

This is one thing that I really love to have around for my kids. My youngest loves to put on her own salad dressing. (I think that's why she likes salad) But if she pours it from a regular bottle then she ends up with more dressing then salad. The squeeze bottles are great! They are small and easy to handle. The best part is they cut down on the mess and waste.

So I have Ketchup, Mustard, and Mayo for sandwiches and burgers. I have Ranch and BBQ, mostly for dipping fries or nuggets. Then I have a few salad dressings, but the possibilities are endless.

I purchased the big bottles for around a dollar each, during picnic season. The smaller ones I got from a local craft store in their candy decorating section they were two for three dollars.

Muffin Man

I was in the mood for pumpkin but not pumpkin bread, I wanted some muffins. What I didn't want was a lot of work or mess. I found the best easy and cheap recipe, I'm a big fan of cheap and easy.

But wait it gets better!

The ingredient list: 1 spice cake mix, and 1-15oz. can of pumpkin

Put pumpkin in mixing bowl.
Pour cake mix on top.

Mix until well blended.

Fill muffin tins with batter and bake at 350* for 22 minutes.

And Yummy!

If you don't have a Spice cake mix you can use a white or yellow cake mix just add a teaspoon of cinnamon, half teaspoon of nutmeg, and a quarter teaspoon cloves. You can also mix it up by using applesauce instead of pumpkin.

We loved them all!!

Dryer Sheets

It is crazy to me how these little dryer sheets have gotten so expensive. Seems like everything is going up in price. Some things have stayed the same price but if you look closely you get less, less ounces of juice, less items in the container and so on. One thing that I have been doing for years, to stretch my dollar, is cutting my dryer sheets in half. Half will do just as well. Several of my friends do this, and one will cut hers into thirds.

After cutting them in half, I put them in a baggie. I think that they keep their scent longer if they are stored in a baggie.

It just makes sense to me since anything you buy that is scented is sealed up, candles have lids air freshers for the car come wrapped in plastic and so on.

Water

Staying hydrated is important, it helps keep us healthy. If your kids are like mine they try to talk me into soda as often as they can. For so many reasons I avoid this, the sugar is killer on their teeth, and body, not to mention my sanity. One thing that is nice about soda is it comes in a bottle with a lid, less mess. So I thought my answer to soda was bottled water, but that gets expensive. I don't know about your kids but mine would leave half empty bottles everywhere. No one would claim them so in the trash they went, it was like throwing away MY money!

So I found these way cute water bottles at my local craft store, for a buck WOO-HOO!! I'm sure you can find them other places like a local dollar store, or grocery store. The kids love them they just pick a new color each day, fill it and use it the whole day. An added bonus they fit in their bike drink holders. If they get lost or damaged I'm only out a dollar.

Just starting out!

I am a mother of three great kids (13, 12, and 7), and have been a single mother for four years. During this time I have done everything that I can to stay-at-home with my kids. I am not that mom who runs a big daycare from her home or has found that perfect job that only calls you away from home while the kids are all in school. I have done some part-time daycare, house cleaning, nanny work, and many other unusual things.

So I am here to share some of my tips and tricks. Things that have worked for me and my family and some money savers that I have picked up along the way. Most of what I will share are things that I have worked out for myself and some are things that I have learned from friends. I hope you find something that works for you.....