This week’s Dollar Stretcher Friday contains great tips to help you save time, money, and your sanity! Since the kids and I are going on vacation next week the Vacation Dining on the Cheap is particularly useful to me. Enjoy!
Easier Weeding
A good time to tackle your yard weeding is after a rain. The soil is much softer to pull the weeds out so you can easily get them out with the roots, using just your hands.
Krys in WA
Ice Cream
Tired of having crystals form on the top of your ice cream? If so, turn the container upside down when you return it to the freezer. I don’t know why it works, but you won’t have crystals in your ice cream any more.
BD
Try Before You Buy
If you are looking to buy something like a car or anything else that is expensive, find out what your payments would be each month and save that amount for six months. This allows you to see if you can afford the amount comfortably. Also, it allows you to have six months’ worth of payments planned in advance at all times.
RS
Natural Mosquito Control
For mosquito control, nothing beats purple martins and mud martins. Put up some purple martin houses. We got our 12-family birdhouse and the pole at Wal-Mart. These birds eat their weight in mosquitoes every day. When the little mud martins come and build their little mud houses in the eaves of your house, don’t tear them down. They are very much worth the mess they make. We never have mosquitoes when they take up residence. Alas, we moved a block away last year and they didn’t find us. Hopefully they will this year.
Edna
Cheap Home Security Measure
Most people don’t know that patio doors can be lifted off their tracks from the outside, unless they have a locking pin on the inside. Most older models don’t have this. So I went to the farm store and bought cowbells and strung a cord that was about 2 feet long through them and hung them at various places. I hung one on the patio doors, front door, etc. They are very loud.
NAJ
If You Must Go to the Mall…
Whenever I am going to be doing a mall-shopping trip, I go online before I head out. I just search for printable coupons for the stores at my local mall that I know I will visit. I easily save $15-$30 per shopping trip just by doing this little trick. And you can expand this to other stores you visit, like the drugstore, restaurants, etc.
Tina S. in Greenwood, DE
Reusing Freezer Bags
Freezer bags can become quite expensive, so I have come up with a way to reuse them. I buy the cheap baggies and put my meats, vegetables, etc. into the baggies and seal them up. Then I put the baggies into the freezer bags (I use the quart size) and then label the bags with the items and the date. When the last baggie has been used, the freezer bag is ready to reuse again. I just mark through the labeled information. The bags are reusable indefinitely.
Sandra R.
Free Towels
Sometimes hotels will give you “out-of-service” towels for free if you ask. These are usually perfectly good towels that are too worn to be acceptable for guests’ rooms. The slight roughness of these towels makes them good for cleaning up dirty jobs, like scrubbing down the dog after he’s been romping in the mud. My husband uses them to wipe down his hands and arms after working outside.
Jen in Michigan
Ladies’ Business Casual Slacks
I’ve worked in offices for years where I am expected to wear “business casual” clothes. Women’s dress pants are pricey, flimsy, and often dry clean only. I save money by buying khaki, white and black jeans. I use a seam ripper on a new pair to take the belt loops and back pockets carefully off, and they look like dress pants for much less money. In 10 years, no one has noticed the difference. Keep your black jeans looking good by re-dying them a couple of times a year.
Mary C.
The Value of Cooking
I love to cook, and I have discovered how much money it saves! Next time you go to the grocery store calculate how many items you have in your cart that you could make instead of buying. Sweets like cake, cookies, even candy are very expensive when you add them up. You can also save a bundle by making your own bread, pancakes, pizza and cinnamon rolls. All you need is the basic ingredients. You can even premix the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and just add the yeast and milk or water when you want a quick meal.
Christine C.
Vacation Eats
We all know that vacations can be expensive, especially eating out. As soon as we have decided on a vacation location, I go to all the local coupon sites that email their deals and sign up. Usually we know a few months in advance where we will be vacationing and we will then purchase the coupon deal for restaurants and sightseeing if they come up.
We also are signed up for a local city that we often visit for weekends. We again purchase these coupon deals for this city knowing that although we don’t have any concrete dates to visit, we will be visiting within a few months regardless.
Cam
Want to live better on the money you already make? Visit http://stretcher.com to find hundreds of articles to help you stretch your day and your dollar! Copyright 2012 Dollar Stretcher, Inc.
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
Financial solvency can be a tall order in the current economic landscape, especially if you’re a single mother. But the road ahead can be cleared of hurdles by adhering to a regiment of money-saving strategies. Here are some tips for getting your finances back in order:
Pay as much as you can into a 401(k) plan
Due to the wretched economic conditions spurred on by the recession there are much fewer companies out there offering their employees competitive retirement plans. If you are employed by one of these companies it is definitely worth the extra money to pay into a 401k plan. This money will be matched by your employer and can grow in a sizable savings account in fewer years than it can take to raise a child. However, if your employer doesn’t offer a retirement plan, it may still be worth your while to purchase an IRA or Roth IRA plan. Contact your financial advisor or your local Aurora Bank and inquire about their retirement plans.
Write off business expenses
Especially if you work for yourself, writing off business expenses is a must. If you use your computer for work-related tasks, this can be a considerable drain on its memory. Additionally, if you use your home as an office, you can write off a variety of utility bills and home appliance costs. One would like to think this is part of an effort by the federal government to incentivize the growth of small businesses.
Reduce your utility bills by installing energy efficient appliances
Speaking of utility bills, did you know that you can save hundreds of dollars a year simply by making minor upgrades to your home? Installing low-flow water faucets, making sure air ducts and ventilation systems are working properly, monitoring your heater, etc. Even if you can’t afford solar panels, simply improving the efficiency of your existing appliances will reduce energy costs dramatically.
Pay off or consolidate your debt
It’s one thing to keep your credit card open in order to improve your credit score. That’s a good thing actually. But if you have a high balance on your credit card, you’re accruing tremendous interest fees that will compound over the years. If you can’t pay off the balance and you have multiple debts, it may be worth looking into a consolidated debt loan that will bundle your debts together with a lower interest rate attached. If your credit has been in good standing for several consecutive years, you may apply for an extremely low interest consolidated loan.
These tips will save you money both in the short run and long run. Lower energy costs, a healthy retirement plan, lower taxes and debt reduction will improve your financial standing and allow you to save for the future.
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
For all the promise of joy, peace and harmony that comes with the holiday season, the reality for millions of people is that the season is anything but a celebration. For many, it’s a reminder of lost loved ones, personal disappointments and dreams left unfulfilled.
But for life coach Teri Johnson, whose personal journey through an imperfect life now inspires others to reach for the lives they’ve always wanted, the negative “nevers” of the disappointing hand life may have dealt you is where the healing starts. By confronting a never-ending and unproductive cycle of negativity, the elusive joy of the holiday season can be found not just now but every day of the year, says Johnson, author of the newly released book, Overcoming the Nevers (www.overcomingthenevers.com).
“You never thought you’d get divorced, but you did. You never dreamed you would find yourself in an abusive relationship, but you are. You never thought you would need to lose 200 pounds, but you do. And you never thought you’d be 45 years old without a job, losing your home and drowning in debt, but you are,” says Johnson.
“We start to believe lies about ourselves, such as “I’m not good enough” or “I’m undeserving.” We escape our pain and these toxic feelings into unhealthy behaviors and addictions. There is freedom from the struggle; there is hope in discovering the truth; there is a way to fall in love with who we are to experience a joy-filled season, and more importantly a joy-filled life.”
Johnson’s tools for overcoming the “nevers” that drag many down during the holiday season are:
• Acceptance: Do you have the strength to make the changes necessary to turn a situation around through an attitude of acceptance? Or will you remain powerless, remain in the state of non-acceptance and let everything around you dictate how you feel? The journey starts with accepting that you can’t change others, but you do have power over your own life.
• Surrender: What we surrender ourselves to ultimately becomes our god, what we turn to or upon which we rely. The question then is: What are we surrendered to? Is it something firm, solid and long-lasting or something that hurts us in the end?
• Joyfulness: Hold tight to your unique gifts and talents to enrich your own life and impact the lives of those around you. Build on what you’re good at, what makes you special and what makes you feel good about yourself.
• Discovery: Confronting the truth about who we are deep inside helps us overcome our painful past and discover the basis for those “nevers.”
• Faith: Until we accept love for ourselves from God, from others and towards others, the healing will not begin. Embracing love is an ongoing process that starts with learning to like yourself and with a willingness to accept your imperfections.
Johnson advises that the process of confronting internal struggles and the “nevers” of life isn’t easy, but no treatment program, no diet and no New Year’s resolution can be successful without breaking down the essence of individual struggles and making the necessary adjustments to attain the life you deserve.
“If the life you are living is full of unacceptable and disappointing things and you don’t want to spend another year like this, the only thing holding you back right now is your own confusion, self-doubt and anger,” she says.
“You don’t have to keep doing what you’re doing or feeling what you’re feeling, but you do need to come to terms with yourself and surrender yourself to faith that there is a better way.”
About Teri Johnson
Teri Johnson is a writer, speaker and personal growth expert who is the founder and President of Keeping it Personal. Having struggled with alcohol addiction and destructive habits herself, the Minnesota native turned her own experiences in overcoming obstacles to personal fulfillment into a client-focused service that has transformed the lives of many. Now a devoted wife and mother of two sons, she now devotes her life to helping others find their path to success and happiness while shedding destructive thoughts and behaviors.
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
To exercise or not to exercise is not the question. Many of us know that we should exercise however, if we’re being totally truthful, many of us would admit that we don’t want to. And as a single mom, it gets just a little bit more complicated…or so we think.
“The common way that people give up their power is thinking they don’t have any” –Alice Walker
Perhaps you’ve wanted to lose a few pounds that you’ve been carrying around since your last child was born. You want to wear your skinny jeans. You want to walk up a flight of stairs without stopping every few seconds. You want to run and play with your children effortlessly. You want more energy. You want to feel good and look good naked.
Sadly, you FEEL that life as a single parent, working full time, perhaps with a second job or attending school coupled with the responsibilities of maintaining your household doesn’t leave time to take care of you.
How can I say this gently…YOU make time for those tasks that are important to you! If you feel offended…that’s your ego, tell it to go on an extended vacation.
What are you telling yourself subconsciously when you don’t make time to exercise and what message are you sending to your children when you continuously place them and everyone else ahead of you.
Now I’m not suggesting that you shun your responsibilities. What I am suggesting is that you begin to get real with yourself about what you can do to get more active.
For starters, first identify what type of activity you enjoy. Is it running, dancing, yoga, Pilates, swimming or something else? This is something for everyone.
If you can’t attend a live class and as a single parent I understand, there are many programs that you can go through via a DVD or with a virtual coach. Go to bed a little earlier and rise a little earlier before the kids get up and get your work out in.
Perhaps you and your children can work out together. Now how’s that for quality family time? Now you’re demonstrating, not just giving lip service, to your kids the importance of exercise.
I also want to encourage you to be realistic with your goals. For example, if you haven’t been working out for a while then perhaps you want to set your goal to exercise a minimum of 2-3 days a week for 30 minutes. That’s a very doable goal.
You want to set yourself up for success. From there, you can adjust your goals as you see fit but remember to keep them specific.
Right now, I’m training for a 5k. I haven’t been running in a while so I’m easing my way back into training and this is a very doable goal. Next stop…half marathon. If this single mom can do it, then so can you.
Remember, a healthy mommy is a happy mommy and a happy mommy equals a happy household.
Golda Smith, a nutritional cleansing coach, is focused on helping moms achieve their weight loss goals. She has a FREE report entitled “The Biggest Mistake People Make During Weight Loss”. Don’t let this be YOU, get this NOW!
You’ve heard it all before: the whining, the excuses, the yelling, and the crying about doing homework. (And that’s just from the parents.) There are many opinions about the best ways to get your child to do their homework; here are a few from a long-time mom.
1. Empower Your Child. It’s not your homework, it’s theirs. Do not do the work for them. If they refuse to do their work, let them find out the consequences at school the next day. This doesn’t mean that you ignore the situation, but don’t be an enabler. Make homework your child’s responsibility.
2. Teach Time Management. See when each assignment is due. If one is due tomorrow, they should do that one first. If there are multiple assignments due tomorrow, start with the most difficult subject first, and get it out of the way. Long-term projects can be completed over a longer period of time. For example, if a report is due in 8 days and it will take 2 hours to complete, work on it every day for 15 minutes.
3. Lighten Up. Just because you studied a certain way, doesn’t mean your child has to do it the same way. If they are doing well and they feel more comfortable doing math in their bean bag chair, so be it. If you allow them to choose the way or the place they study, they may be more cooperative. Adversely, if their study environment is detrimental, change things up a bit.
4. Listen to Music. Music raises a person’s mood and energy level. It may be difficult for your child to work in silence. Suggest that they turn on the radio or listen to music on their MP3 player. Using headphones could help block out any distractions. And let them listen to their music, regardless of how you feel about it.
5. Take a Break. Use short breaks as incentives to getting work done. If your child has multiple assignments to complete, suggest that she take a 5-minute break after each one is done. Don’t let the break stretch out so long that they get involved in some other activity. Just let her stretch, get a drink, or play with the dog for a few minutes, then get back to work.
Try to look at homework as a routine task, not a mountain that must be conquered every day. Spend some time teaching your child new habits and build on their successes. Stop arguing and start enjoying.
This article was brought to you by award winning teacher, Chaunna Brooke. She regularly blogs about child behavior and discipline. Chaunna helps parents make a dramatic change in child behavior even if nothing else has worked before. Be sure to check out some of her parenting tips on Facebook.
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
As the start of a new school year approaches, I am readying myself to whip out my trusty pre-school year to-do list. School physical? check. Dental check up? check. School supplies? check. School clothes? check.
Now I don’t know about your kids, but mine grow like there are endless resources in our clothing budget.
Just the other day, I was looking at my oldest son’s shoes which are well worn in the toe. ‘You need new shoes huh?’ I stated, more to myself that to him. ” Yeah, my toes are squished, it hurts” he replied and then ran off to play. My mind soon drifted off to the other nuances of the day. My mind drifting from one thing to the next, a seemingly endless list of tasks I needed to complete.
Have you ever felt ’squished’ as my 6 year old so eloquently put, in your life? You know what I’m talking about. That uncomfortable feeling, that sense of not being settled; of not feeling content.
I have experienced that feeling on more than one occasion. Most recently was when I began my journey with life coaching. I suddenly felt out of place just about everywhere I went. Here I was with this ‘new awareness’ and I felt that others just simply didn’t get it. I hadn’t yet learned how to navigate in a world of darkness as a light-worker.
I felt most out of place at my ‘day job’. I began to feel very uncomfortable and unhappy. This began to concern me. I was very confused and perplexed as to why this was happening.
One evening during a session I asked, ‘why this is happening?’ The answer came, ‘Because you asked for it’. Huh?!?!?! OK… After I picked my jaw up from the floor I took time to listen. I realized this area of my life was uncomfortable because I have outgrown it.
I prayed for a way to be my own boss, help others, and use my life experiences and gifts to help others to heal. How else would I have been motivated to change, had I not been uncomfortable in my work situation? I was so uncomfortable, that I began to make changes and set goal to change my situation.
So if you are uncomfortable or unhappy in some aspect of your life perhaps this is a nudge from above, a tap on the shoulder from God telling you it’s time to move on.
Is your job driving you crazy? Change it. Go back to school. Start a business. Are you tired of the hairstyle you’ve had for 20 yrs (yes I’m talking to you Mom). Try something new.
The bottom line is life is so precious and short, way too short to be unhappy, so find what makes you happy and DO IT!
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
Hi! Welcome to RichSingleMomma.com. I started this website almost a decade ago because I couldn't find any blogs back then that helped single moms with money. I was having some success in that area so I decided to share what I knew about side hustles, making extra money, and managing money. Read more...
This week’s Dollar Stretcher Friday contains great tips to help you save time, money, and your sanity! Since the kids and I are going on vacation next week the Vacation Dining on the Cheap is particularly useful to me. Enjoy!
