Understanding Mortgage Insurance

June 3, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Disclosure: Information for this post is sourced from Genworth Financial in partnership with the SheHeard Influencer Network.

Mr. Crunchy and I are going to be buying a home here in Minnesota in the next year, and understanding mortgage insurance is something that is really important to us. Since I have a background in finance I know what it is, and how it works, so I forget from time to time that hubby has no clue what it is.

Back in decades past, home lenders required prospective home owners to be able to put a 20% down payment in order to buy a home. With houses a lot more expensive today, that can prevent a lot of people from being able to buy a house. For a $200,000 home, you would have to save $40,000 to put down. YIKES!

Down payments are usually required because lenders feel if you are invested in your home, you are less likely to default on your payments. While this may be true, hefty down payments can still keep a lot of home buyers out of the market.

That’s where mortgage insurance comes in. Mortgage insurance is an insurance that protects the lenders and investors that lend you money to buy your home. It’s usually required if you put less than a 20% down payment on your home. In other words it still lets you buy your house even though you can plop down a heft chunk of change.

One thing a lot of people don’t realize about mortgage insurance is that once you have 20% equity in your home it’s cancellable, and that you can also shop around for mortgage insurance. That’s why I would definitely take a look at the information Genworth Financial has about the topic!

Unlike life insurance, mortgage insurance doesn’t insurance as the homeowner directly, but it’s still provided a lot of benefit to families trying to get into a home without having to break the bank with a down payment! Without mortgage insurance, would you be able to buy a home?

 

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Repurpose things around the house and start container gardening

May 23, 2013 By 18 Comments
Blog Pics 020

Container gardening can be a great way to have the garden you always wanted even if you don’t have the perfect yard for it. Thousands of people of across the country have taken to container gardening as spectacular way to fit as much produce as they can in tiny, tiny spaces. (Trust me I have container garden envy)

Finding creative ways to grow your fruits and veggies is half the fun of gardening in challenging places! Whether you live in the middle of a big city or are just not lucky enough t have good soil, growing your garden of Eden in pots, shoes, and whatever else you can find will sure soothe that green thumb of yours.

You only grow things in pots, right? WRONG

Just because pots are the usual containers used in these types of gardens, doesn’t mean you can’t get a little creative. Why not look around your house and find something that you can repurpose for your container garden.

Container Gardens

Over the weekend, the kids and I got together our materials to set up our garden. You want to know how much we spent? Absolutely nothing! Yep, ZILCH! We poked our noses around our house to try and find tings that would work for our yummy little greens.

For our garden, we repurposed recycling containers. We’ve had four recycling containers that we kind of inherited over the years. That happened to work perfectly  for the tomatoes and potatoes that we wanted to plant. We just had to get them ready so our planting fun could begin.

First thing we did, was wash them out. Make sure their aren’t any insects or residue in your container. That makes for unhappy veggies!

Next, we grabbed some landscaping fabric that we had left over from another gardening project and laid it on the bottom. This step isn’t absolutely necessary, but the recycling bins usually have quarter sized holes in the bottom, and you don’t want the soil to escape over time. This fabric contains the soil, but still lets all the water have a place to drain. (It drains slowly so the plants still get the water they need)

Once you get the landscaping fabric laid down, it’s time for dirt. We used left over manure and top soil from last year’s garden, and then we were blessed to have 4 bags of compost left by the previous owners as well.

Now we are all ready to plant! In addition to our tomatoes and potatoes we are planting more fresh herbs out there. You can’t beat herbs fresh from the garden!

So, look around your house and get creative! What could you repurpose to start your container garden? Here’s just  list of a few ideas to get you started!

  • Shoes
  • Over the door shoe racks
  • 2 liter soda bottles cut in half
  • Egg cartons (great for starting seedlings)
  • Milk crates (just make sure to wrap inside in landscaping fabric)
  • Old plastic totes (make sure to drill holes in the bottom)
  • Old plastic food storage containers
  • Food pails
  • Ice cream buckets

Want to read more gardening posts? Make sure to check out Don’t Throw It Out, Grow It Out!

Have you ever tried container gardening? What’s your favorite thing to grow?

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Home Decor Tips to Style to Your Home When You Are Renting

May 20, 2013 By 2 Comments
Home Decor Tips

FTC DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENT Crunchy Frugalista aims to provide unbiased editorials. However, I wish to disclose that from time to time I may receive free products or other compensation from companies for blogger reviews.

The things that makes a house a home is how you decorate it. These home decor tips are going to show you how I keep my home stylish yet practical while renting (plus raising my three kids!) Even though we are renting right now, doesn’t mean that we can’t make it feel like a cozy place to live. It just means the changes that we make can’t involve paint or more permanent changes!

The additional challenge is when you have kids in the home. Even though my kids are older, they can still wreak havoc on my house. Table cloths, tables, floors yep they all require CONSTANT cleaning because we all know kids are messy! Who has time for that? So these tips are a way to fit into a busy moms schedule as well. Practical yet beautiful!

Home Decor Tip

Home Decor Tips to Style Your Home!

Make personal pieces: Find some crafts that you love, and then learn how to make them knockouts! To of my favorite crafts I have ever made I feature in my home. One is my “LOVE” word art piece. It’s a super simple craft piece that I made using scrapbook card stock paper and a frame I got at Goodwill. It’s a great piece but cost me less than a few dollars!

My other favorite is the my “make your own chalkboard“! It’s made from an old cabinet door I bought from my local Habitat from Humanity Restore. Each season I change the message which adds a personal touch to the home.

Home Decor Tips

 Buy a few unique anchor pieces: Buy a few anchor pieces that you could accent your home with, and keep out of the general traffic of children. I have fallen in love with old windows and doors. Right now I have an old window that I sit in the corner of my living room. In my last home, I made it a mantle piece with a wreath over the top (which I changed seasonally). It’s unique and can be decorated for the seasons or your mood to bring a pop of color into the home.

Home Decor Tips

Celebrate pops of color:  Grab a bright throw pillow and/or blanket. Find an amazing piece of ceramic or glass to bring a pop of color to your living room. These are non-permanent changes that can make a great difference. Plus, most of these are easily washed or out of the way of children to prevent extra hassle in your decor theme.

Adorn your walls with some amazing photos: Photography happens to be one of my new hobbies. When I need a new decoration for my wall, I head out into nature and grab some great shots. Check out this one of the Minehaha Falls. I am going to make a larger print and grab a frame from Goodwill. Spend $2-$3 for an amazing piece that will start conversations with your house guests.

Minehaha FallsUse Command Strips to hang your pictures: (Thanks Denise and Ashley) If you don’t want to poke holes in your walls, grab some Command Strips! Amazon always has some really great deals on them. They are strong and they don’t harm the walls. We use them right now for my son’s Hot Wheels car sets that go on the wall.

 

With these few tips, you can make your house a home. We all know that it’s hard to be stylish and be a mom. Life is so hectic, but anytime you think your life is crazy make sure to think about Pretty Wicked Moms (a new series on Lifetime premiering June 4th at 10pm ET!) to see how crazy life can be. Check out the trailer and you are sure to feel better about the “chaos” in your house! These moms are full of drama and sass, but still keep it stylish!

What are some of your favorite home decor tips for renters?

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10 Tips to Build Up Emergency Savings

May 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment
emergency savings

Information for this post is sourced from Genworth Financial in partnership with the SheHeard Influencer Network

Emergency savings is one of the most important things that you can have to protect your family. You know it’s that little nest egg that you “break the glass” in case of emergency, and NO buying an awesome pair of shoes is not an emergency.

Sadly most American families are still living paycheck to paycheck so when emergencies strike they have to take a hit on their credit and/or rack up their credit cards to get through the tough times. It’s can seem like it’s impossible to save money.

If your family is anything like mine just as you start saving money an emergency hits to deplete the account. Mr. Crunchy and I are just getting to the point when we can actually keep some money in savings. Since we have become successful at saving money, I thought I would share some tips with you! These are easy ways to build up emergency savings and manage your money. For us we have to make it easy or we won’t do it. (Fess up, you know you are the same way ;) )

emergency savings

10 Tips to Build Up Emergency Savings.

  1. Calculate How Much Emergency Savings You Need: Use a great savings calculator like this one from Genworth Financial. It will tell you how much you need to have an adequate emergency savings fun for your family.
  2.  Make it Automatic: If you can send your paycheck to more than one bank account, automatically send a portion to your savings account. If you can’t set up an automatic transfer between your checking and savings accounts.
  3. Limit Your Access: If you have a debit card for your savings account, don’t carry it with you. Some may not agree with me on this, but most emergencies you can pay after the fact or have time to go home and get your card. If you must carry the card, put it in a place in your wallet that you don’t remember it’s there. The less you see the card, the less likely you are to use it.
  4. Set Savings Goals: Challenge yourself. Set both a long term and short term goal on how you want to build up your savings. Having a goal will help you be encouraged to save.
  5. Have a plan: One of my favorite quotes is “A goal without a plan is just a dream.” Goals are awesome, but make sure you map out a plan how you are going to get to your goal.
  6. Make your goal manageable: When setting goals, don’t shoot for something so astronomical that there is no way your budget can support it. On the other hand don’t make it so small you will never build up any savings, that doesn’t help either.
  7. Bump it up: Once your savings is automatic, you won’t even miss the money. Every six months bump up the amount you are sending to your savings account. You will be amazed how fast the money adds up, and that you don’t even miss it.
  8. Shop interest rates: Once you have a decent balance, can even be as little as $500, shop around to see if there are CDs or savings accounts that are offering great interest rates. Make your money work for you.
  9. Reward yourself when you reach your goals: Do something nice for yourself when you reach your goals. Don’t go overboard, but get a mani/pedi, go out to dinner. Celebrate your accomplishment.
  10. Rinse and repeat: Once you meet your first short term goal, use these tips to keep saving above and beyond! It will be so reassuring to see that if your family has an emergency you will be covered!
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Crunchy’s April Post Round Up: Florida, Celebrities, and Foodies!

May 1, 2013 By Leave a Comment
crunchypostroundup

This post round up is a full one! April was a BUSY month here on Crunchy Frugalista. I had a chance to visit the Sandestin Hilton in Florida, and also attend the Iron Man 3 premiere in Hollywood. On top of two fantastic trips, there were tons of free printables, crafts, and recipes posts for you guys to check out!

Each month, I am doing a post roundup so you check out what you missed during the month. Don’t want to miss any more posts? Make sure to sign up to receive the Crunchy Frugalista newsletter! It arrives twice a month, and is chock full of newsletter only giveaways, recipes, crafts, and more!

Recipes

Crafts

Health & Beauty

Frugal Tips

Entertainment

Green Living

Reviews

Parenting

Giving Back

Travel

Rants

Tech

Fashion

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10 Tips for Budget Gift Shopping

April 18, 2013 By 11 Comments
budget shoppoing

I am blogging on behalf of Visa Prepaid and received compensation for my time from Visa for sharing my views in this post, but the views expressed here are solely mine, not Visa’s. Discover more at http://www.VisaPrepaid.com or view more Visa Prepaid videos at http://www.youtube.com/visaprepaid.

 

April is almost over, and May and June are right around the corner! That means graduation and wedding season are almost here, but how are you planning to stay within your budget when it comes to buying gifts this year.

Staying in my budget has always been a challenge for me. It’s actually one of the things that prompted me to look into frugal ways to buy gifts when I first started Crunchy Frugalista. I love giving gifts, and sometimes it was SO hard not to buy something that was more than I planned to spend. (especially if I knew someone would love to have it)

budget shoppoing

Over time, I came up with some ways to make sure that I stayed within my budget. That way I didn’t feel guilt about blowing my budget, and my wallet didn’t hurt just to make someone else’s day. Gift giving should be about the thought, not breaking the bank!

If you have the same problems that I did, make sure to check out these 10 tips to stay on budget when you are buying gifts this year. You will end up being happy you didn’t exceed your budget, plus you will still be able to find your friends and family fabulous gifts to celebrate their special occasion!

10 Tips to Stay Within Your Gift Budget

1. Use Their Gift Registry For Inspiration: Just because someone registers for something doesn’t mean you have to get them exactly that item. (Though many would argue with me) Use their gift registry to gauge their needs, wants, and tastes then get creative.

2. Make Something: Make something unique that you know they would love. Have something around the house that could easily be crafted into an amazing gift? Then gift that! Just make sure a lot of thought has gone into it!

3. Hit The Sales: Each year when items are on seasonal clearance, I grab a few items that would make excellent wedding or graduation gifts. We have a “gift closet” where I can grab an item that would make a perfect gift. Plus, I normally saved at least 75% off the item!

4. Visa Prepaid Cards: Load your budget on your  Visa Prepaid card, and make sure it’s the only card you take to the store. That way, you have exactly what you can afford to spend. There’s no worry about overspending because you have exactly what you are willing to spend with you! These cards are super easy to load, and even easier to use! They have saved me many times throughout the years!

 

5. Regifting isn’t a bad thing: If you got something over the years that you have never used, but you know someone would really love to have it; regift it! No, that doesn’t mean hand those ugly Christmas socks down. Make sure your regifting is thoughtful and appropriate for the event.

6. Thrift Shops are Your Friends: Some of my most amazing gifts I have actually found at thrift shops or estate sales. You can find some great quality items at deep discounts, and your friends and family will never know where you got it! Just make sure to give the items a thorough inspection before buying.

7. Coupons aren’t just for groceries: A lot of big box stores that feature wedding items also have coupons! Make sure to check out the store and their coupon policy before you shop. It’s could save you a bundle.

8. Barter: Do you have a skill that would benefits a local shop owner? Ask if they would be willing to trade your gift for your time! This works best with locally owned shops. Sometimes the extra help is worth more than the cost of the item.

9. Gift your Time: If your budget is really tight, offer your services. Make a cute coupon booklet offering to help with the event or doing something for your loved one. When Mr. Crunchy was unemployed we made coupon booklets for our local friends, and they loved them.

10. Buy Into a Gift with Other Friends and Family: If you know a large item is at the top of their wishlist, pool your resources! Get together with other friends and family to buy the item. Be upfront with how much you can contribute!

 

Gift giving is truly one of my favorite things to do, and I love the challenge of finding an amazing gift that I paid virtually nothing for. Take these ten tips and strut your frugalista stuff! You are the only one that will know how much you paid, and it will be awesome when you see how much they rave!

What are some of your favorite ways to stay in your budget when budget gift shopping?

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Decluttering the Chaos with Rubbermaid All Access Organizers

April 3, 2013 By Leave a Comment
All Access

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Rubbermaid® All AccessTM Organizers for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Moving to a new house is awesome, that is until you realize you have NO place to put all of the junk you have acquired over the years! We have been in our new house for over a month, and there is still stuff ALL over the place! It’s nuts! (makes my OCD itch!)

All Access

With my OCD in high gear, I have been cruising the wonderful Internet looking for some products that are going to help me tame the chaos. My main source of frustration is that most boxes don’t have a way for you to get to the stuff while the boxes are still stacked! That’s where Rubbermaid® All AccessTM storage containers are here to save the day!

I really need some boxes to get my daughter’s room in order! We had to get rid of their dresser and right now there stuff is ALL over the floor! The girls are realy going to like these boxes because you can get to the stuff while the boxes are still stacked. Plus, there are a bunch of different sizes and colors! My girls are so different that there is no way of pleasing them both with one color!

The cool part is that you can grab Rubbermaid® All AccessTM storage containers at Walmart stores across the country, so you don’t have to go to some specialty shop to get them! I can’t wait to give them a whirl in the girls room. It will definitely help my spring cleaning, and make my OCD calm down a little bit!

Want other spring cleaning tips? Make sure to check out Crunchy’s 10 Tips to Easy Green Spring Cleaning!

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Crunchy’s 5 Tips for Retirement Planning!

April 1, 2013 By 1 Comment
Retirement Planning

Mr. Crunchy and I are always joking about how much longer we will have kids in the nest. I was a very young parent, and at 34 it is only  t-minus 6 1/2 years until my youngest child is off to college. (not that I am counting or anything) Even though I am still relatively young, it’s well past time for me to think about my retirement planning and what kind of lifestyle I want when I no longer HAVE to work. (We all know I will always want to work, but you know how it goes.)

I recently read this article at CNN Money about “Tips For Your Retirement,” and it really has me thinking. I need to stop putting off thinking and planning for retirement for tomorrow. Be honest now, how many of you out there still think you are too young or have time to plan for retirement? I know I have said that many times! Truth is folks it’s never too early to plan!

5 Tips to Easy Retirement Planninng

This article had some really amazing tips, some of which actually surprised me! It really motivated me to put my retirement planning on my list of things to do and come up with my own tips about easy retirement planning! (Ok, I am appeasing my inner financial geek, but financial planning excites me!)

Retirement Planning

Make sure to check out that great article, and then check out Crunchy’s 5 Tips for planning your retirement:

1. It’s NEVER too early: Whether you are 18 or 50, it’s never too early to start tucking money away. If you employer offers a plan, make sure to contribute. No amount of money is too small!

2. Bump it up every year: Each year inflation eats a little bit more and more at your money, so make sure to at least match the rate of inflation on your contributions to your retirement account!

3. Check out individual retirement accounts (IRAs): If you are self-employed, like I am, you won’t have an employer plan. Contact your local financial provider and ask about what IRA options they have for you!

4. Dream big, but plan bigger: If you know you want to sail around the world during retirement, that is great! Just make sure to make a financial plan that is going to support that dream!

5. Forget that money is there: Too many people get tempted to dip into their 401(k)! Other than checking your quarterly statements, act like that money is NOT there! You do more harm in the longer run when you choose to dip into your retirement accounts to help short term problems. Reward yourself when you stick to your guns, and keep that money there!

Now that you have read the article and checked out my tips, make sure to check out Genworth Financial’s plan for living workbook! It’s an amazing tool to help you see just how much you need to save for retirement to live the kind of life you want to live when you retire!

What kind of things to you hope to do when you retire? Have you started retirement planning yet?

 

 

 

 

Information for this post is sourced from Genworth Financial in partnership with the SheHeard Influencer Network.

Filed Under: Frugal Tips

5 Steps to Saving Money and Not Feeling the Pinch!

March 26, 2013 By 15 Comments
live frugally

Saving money! We all want to do it right? Well, cutting your expenses back is a great way to get in gear to get out of debt. What’s really important is to not throw yourself a pity party while you do it! Who likes being the one that is always whining about what you don’t have or what you can’t have? Not me! Getting your expenses down is important, but if you don’t have the right mindset you are just going to be absolutely miserable and more likely to forget about the big picture!

Ditch the Frugal Pity Party

Ever seen a friend on a diet where they are only allowed to eat carrots and salad or some other ungodly combination? What ends up happening? They end up getting frustrated and giving up and diving into a big box of donuts. That’s what happens when you are too strict on yourself and your budget as well. You want to make changes that are lifetime changes not just a quick fix that you plan to do for a few months and then go back to your old ways.

live frugally

The easiest way to do this is to embrace the new you. Learn to love being frugal. Think of it as an accomplishment and something to brag about! Think about how you can share  how much you have cut back and stashed in your savings account. Sounds great doesn’t it?!

Know What You Can and Can’t Live Without

To get this party started, make a list of things that you absolutely couldn’t live without. I mean things that if they were gone you would throw a temper tantrum that would make a toddler proud. Be honest, and really put some thought into this list. Next, to this list write of things you think you might be able to live without. If you only watch TV for a few shows, subscribe to a gym  you have never set foot in, or have a Netflix membership but are never home to watch movies, you might want to write them in this list.

After you have gotten these lists together, take a good hard look at them. See which of your “have to have” list items you could probably put in the “live without” column. If you aren’t quite sure, take it for a test run. Live without the item for a week. If you are absolutely miserable at the end of the week, it needs to stay in the “have to have” list. On the other hand, if you hardly missed it at all,  then you can move it over and save even more money.

Here’s my list of things that I have to have: 

  • Eating Out Once a Month
  • Turkey Hill Ice Cream
  • High Speed Internet
  • Coffee with Friends on Tuesday nights

Things I could do to make saving money easier:

  • Gym Membership ($60/mo)
  • Cable TV ($100/mo)
  • Getting my hair colored at a salon ($50/mo)
  • Paying someone to groom my pets ($50/mo)

Total I could live without: $260/mo or $3120 a year!

To make this even easier, I have made a list of 5 steps to cut your expenses! You may just be shocked that you find that you actually feel like you enjoy your life more not less!

saving money

5 Steps to Saving Money

1. Make Your List of Things You Really Enjoy: Be honest with yourself, and write a list of things that would end your world if you didn’t have.

2. Make Your List of Things You Could Do Without: Do you pay for cable, but really only watch a few shows? Have a gym membership you hardly ever use? Find these things, and then right them down!

3. Challenge your “must have” list: Take a second look through your list of “must haves.” Is there anything you can remove? Is there a way to save money on the things that have to stay on the list? Challenge yourself to still find a way to make your favorite things less expensive!

4. Enjoy free activities in your city: Most cities have TONS of FREE activities, you just have to find them. Love going to museums? See if they have a day of the week that is free or discounted.

5. Barter, barter, barter: If you have a friend that is hairstylist, barter for her services! Rather than paying a stranger see if you can cook her dinner in lieu of a new hair cut! Same goes for piano lessons, babysitting, or other expenses. See if you know someone that does what you need and ask if you can do something in exchange for their services!

 

Just adding up the little things that you could live with out, it really adds up! I don’t even miss it, and I am loving the new frugal me. I have made over $300 disappear from my debt in just 6 weeks!

So challenge, yourself! What can you live without? How can you change to live frugally?

 

 

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Teaching Your Kids About Money

March 1, 2013 By 4 Comments
Teaching Your Kids About Money

One thing that my parents never really spent a lot of time with is teaching me about finances. As a child, I remember them always bickering about “being broke”, but we always seemed to have money to do extra things like go out to eat, vacations, and the lot. Since we didn’t really talk about finances, or how to be responsible with money, it was really confusing for me as a child to figure it all out on my own.

Now that I have my own children, we talk a lot about money. We don’t let the kids in on our family finances, but we do talk about how to earn an allowance and the importance of saving for the long term and short term. When you’ve made so many financial mistakes yourself, you want your kids to have the best education as possible when it comes to money.

The Depot Minneapolis

As part of our homeschool lesson, we spent sometime pretending the kids were in the “real world”. Each child had to pick a job, find a house, and budget for groceries. It was a really fun exercise. The kids had fun talking about what they would enjoy doing, and whether or not earning a lot of money was more important to them or whether being happy in what they did for a living was more important.

We found this really neat Budget Calculator from Genworth Financial, that made it even easier for the kids to see some really good scenarios on how budgets work.

After the budgeting exercise, we even had the kids look up some financial articles. The girls really liked this article about women making financial decisions. It was really neat for them to read it together and wonder why the heck women are “passing the buck” when it comes to financial decisions! The kids never cease to amaze me with their perspective and curiosity. Sometimes they seem wise beyond their years!

Our family enjoyed this exercise so much that we wanted to share it with you. If you want to teach your kids about money, here is the steps that we used to get them more familiar with how important it is to understand money.

Teaching Your Kids About Money

How do you teach your kids about money?

Information for this post is sourced from Genworth Financial in partnership with the SheHeard Influencer Network

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10 Ways How You Can Save Money on Your Move

February 21, 2013 By 11 Comments
how to save money on your move

how to save money on your move

 

The next few weeks of our lives in the Crunchy house are going to be a whirlwind. Moving can be a really stressful time, but it doesn’t always have to break the bank. Even on a short notice move, you can save a bundle when packing up your household.

We found out the middle of February that we are moving at the end of February to Minnesota. That means I had TWO WEEKS to pack, pare down, and load up the house and the family. Talk about making a girl go gray.

Even though we were lucky enough to move right around tax return time, I still didn’t want to spend any more money than we had to get us up to the land of 10,000 lakes. With just a little know how, and tips from posts like these, you can save hundreds if not thousands of dollars on your next move!

1. Get Boxes for Free: Check with sites like Freecycle or visit your local liquor store or supermarket for free sturdy boxes. If you are moving long distance, make sure the boxes are really sturdy. You don’t want them collapsing mid move.

2. If you have to pay for boxes buy them at home improvement stores: More and more home improvement stores, like Lowe’s, have a moving section. It’s normally near the organization section. (SKIP moving places like Uhaul, there boxes are almost ALWAYS double the price)

3. Sign up for moving coupons: The post office and some retail stores offer coupon packages to help your move go a little bit easier. We subscribed to the Lowe’s Moving Club, and also got a forwarding address packet at the post office that was chock full of great coupons!

4. Don’t pay for packing material: Use your clothes and linens to pack: Rather than paying $10/package for packing material use items around your house to pack those delicate items. Since we have two different wardrobes here in Indiana, we use the clothes we aren’t wearing to wrap our breakables. We still need to pack our clothes, and it protects items that might break in the process. Left over puppy training pads work as wonderful packing materials too!

how to save money on your move

5. Donate and pare down as much as you can: Whether you are using a moving company or packing up your own moving truck, getting rid of things you rarely use or broken items will save you money. It means you won’t have as much weight moved (which is how moving companies charge you), or you could rent a smaller moving truck! Either way it’s a win/win situation.

6. Look at Do It Yourself Moving Options: If you aren’t afraid to pack yourself and/or doing some heavy lifting, you can save some really big bucks. There are a lot of “u pack” type services where the company drops off the container for you to fill with your household goods, and then picks it up when you are ready.

These options come with or without help loading, and can cost up to 75% less than full moving services. We are moving almost 1000 miles for less than $1500 rather than paying $6500 for a full service mover!

7. Don’t Be Afraid to Barter:  When moving, you can always use any help you can get. Most homes require that you clean the carpet and fix the walls when you move out. If you have a friend that has a carpet cleaner or owns a business that can help you, don’t be afraid to barter with them.

A lot of times people don’t calculate expenses for the home they are moving out of in their moving costs. Bartering and asking friends for help can really help you save money, and/or get that security deposit back.

8. Leave yourself plenty of time: Don’t make your moving schedule too tight. It could end up costing you a lot of money if you do.

Just to give you an example, we are using ABF UPack. If we have to have our shipment in storage for even a  day, it’s going to cost us almost $400 for them to “store” it.  If we miss the drop off time, it’s an additional fee. If you have hired movers to help you load your packed items, and they are there hours before your truck arrives that’s more charges you weren’t counting on. Long story short, make sure to give yourself enough time to load, unload, and travel to your new home.

9. Budget for meals: Make sure to include meals in your budget. As you start to pack your dishes, and eat what you have in your fridge eventually you will need to pack a meal or eat out. If you plan ahead, you can figure out some more economical options, or even plan to eat at a friend’s house before moving.

10. Keep your receipts: Moving to a new location for a job could be a tax deduction at the end of the year and save you money on your taxes or increase your refund. (Crunchy is not a tax professional, make sure to ask your accountant)

Have you moved recently? Are you planning on a move? What’s some tips you have for families moving soon?

Filed Under: Frugal Tips Tagged With: ,

Why Married Women Need to Know the Family Finances!

February 19, 2013 By 1 Comment
Women and Finances

I was watching TV the other day, and on a show ,like 60 minutes or something. It was talking about how many women know absolutely nothing about their finances. Being from a strong financial background, I figured this must be something that only older generations of women are guilty of, right?! Wrong! Even women my age, mid 30s, had little to no idea where there money was or what kind of credit accounts their family had. Being the control freak that I am, I found this to be just slightly terrifying! If you fall into this category, you MUST continue reading. This article is written for you.

Women and Finances

Being married is one of the best things in life, well as long as you find the perfect person you can annoy for the rest of your life. It’s a partnership, and both partners should be aware of the household finances. This avoids putting stress on just one partner, and also protects the other spouse, goodness forbid, in the event of divorce.

After seeing this show, I decided to do a little research and I came across this interesting article about why women tend to avoid making financial decisions, and exactly why we needed to stop doing this.

Because of the history where the men made financial decisions, there are still some women that don’t tend to invest their time to learn how to manage their money beyond paying the bills. They seem to think that learning about investing or retirement planning just isn’t something they have the ability or know how to do. Ladies, this is something that we don’t have the time NOT to do! We need to empower ourselves, and learn about our financial goals and set a plan to get there.

Crunchy Frugalista started out as a deal website because living frugally was what it took to keep our family going. Clipping coupons and finding that awesome deal was how we made our family budget stretch. We, as women, are so much more than coupon clippers. We have the strength and the right to make financial decisions to not only get out of debt, or stretch that budget, but to prepare for our financial future. It’s the only way all of our hard frugal planning can really build a future for our family and ourselves.

To help you get started, I have made a list of ten things you need to know or learn about in order to have a good handle on your finances and make those big, “scary” financial decisions.

1. Know Where your Bank Accounts Are (All of them): You may not be the one that pays the bills, but you need to know, and have access to, all of the bank accounts. When I say “know where they are”, I don’t just mean knowing you have checking accounts at XYZ bank. You need to know the bank account numbers, and be able to access the accounts.

If you and hubby have decided to keep some finances separate, have a monthly finance meeting with him and ask to see the bank statements. It’s really something you need to know, so you can help plan your finances together for the long term.

2. Know Where all Your Marital Debt Is: Did you know that in a lot of states that even if you aren’t on a credit card with your husband, upon divorce you could be liable to help pay that bill? Yep, speaking from experience on this one ladies. That’s why it’s so important to discuss how much debt each of you have, and have a general idea what the balances are. That way there are no surprise bills or you know what you have available for emergencies or home improvements.

3. Invest in your 401(k): If your employer offers a 401(k), or similar program, make sure to invest in it. These plans can seem really overwhelming, but most plan administrators have customer service that will discuss your long term retirement goals and help you put your money in funds that match your needs and what risk level you are comfortable with.

4. Protect Yourself with Life Insurance: Whether you are working or  a stay at home mom, it’s really important to have some life insurance coverage. I hear all the time that women don’t think they need to have life insurance because they don’t work, but in the event of your death your spouse is going to need to pay for daycare and other expenses in your absence. You owe it to your children to find a Genworth Financial insurance agent you trust, and protect yourself and your family with life insurance coverage.

5. Don’t Be Afraid to Educate Yourself: There are so many great, user friendly websites out there now that are geared towards educating women on their finances now. They no longer read like stereo instructions and are there empower women when it comes to their finances! Don’t be afraid to use search engines or great financial websites to learn a little bit more about a topic you don’t feel confident about!

These tips are baby steps to get you in the right direction about knowing your finances ladies! Just take these few, simple steps and you are sure to be the financial guru of your domain really soon!

Do you handle your finances at home? What advice would you give women that don’t?

 

Information for this post is sourced from Genworth Financial in partnership with the SheHeard Influencer Network.

Filed Under: Frugal Tips Tagged With: ,

Family Pizza Night: Chicken Alfredo Homemade Pizzas!

January 17, 2013 By 10 Comments
homemade pizza recipes

Our family absolutely loves pizza. We are trying really hard to stop eating out as much, so we have started doing our family pizza nights. This past Friday we floured up our kitchen and set out to make some amazingly tasty pizzas! We not only came up with some yummy treats, but we really had fun doing it too!

homemade pizza recipes

This project was kind of all over the kitchen, and when I say all over I mean “ALL OVER!” We ended up with flour on the floor, the walls, and probably even the ceiling. Somehow it magically ended up on my son’s face too. (I have NOOOOO idea how that got there!) Cough, cough, hmm, hmm. Even Mr. Crunchy joined in on the fun with his pizza tossing skills. The kids were begging him to teach “pizza class” so they could learn how to spin the dough.

Homemade Pizza Recipes

Homemade Pizza Recipes

The recipe that I am sharing is what I made for my pizza. It was OMG amazing, plus it was really super simple! I did cheat used my bread maker to make the dough. If you don’t have a bread maker, no worries. Just make the water temperature 100 degrees, and make sure to let your dough rise in a covered bowl to keep it moist.

Print
Family Pizza Night: Homemade Chicken Alfredo Pizzas!

Ingredients

  • Crust
  • 1 1/2 cups water (80-90 degrees)
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 4 cups bread flour or all purpose flour
  • 2 T Italian herbs
  • 2 tsp bread machine yeast
  • Pizza
  • Butter
  • Garlic Powder
  • Cooked Grilled chicken
  • Parmesan and Mozzarella Cheese Mix
  • Pizza Seasoning
  • Classico Alfredo Sauce

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven 350 degrees
    2. Crust Directions
  2. Place the ingredients in your bread maker in order. Place on dough cycle for your machine. At beginning of cycle, add water if dough is not mixing. If dough is too watery use flour to thicken it up.
  3. After machine is down, place dough on well floured surface.
  4. Cut dough into enough pieces for your family. We made 6 pizzas.
  5. Roll using a flour rolling pin, and then pinch around the edges to form the crust.
    6. Pizza Directions
  6. Place your crust on a greased baking sheet.
  7. Add a few spoonfuls of Classico Alfedo sauce.
  8. Cover in cheese, and top with pizza seasoning.
  9. For even more flavor, baste the crust with a garlic butter mixture.
  10. Place in the oven for approximately 15-25 minutes or until crust is brown and cheese bubbly.

Filed Under: Frugal Tips, Recipes Tagged With: , , , ,

Organize your office with repurposed goodies!

January 2, 2013 By 17 Comments
How to organize your office

My office space was a disaster area. I am almost too embarrassed to show you a before photo, but I am going to so you get the full effect! When I first moved my office downstairs, it was shoved in a corner. It wasn’t a bad space, but having my back to door was awful. I was beginning to think I was being sent to time out for bad behavior. (Mind out of the gutters ladies)

After some debate, and a pow wow with my best friend, a new office plan came to me. Yes, it was perfect. It would soon be a space that oozed creativity and inspire posts that were worthy of Shakespeare. (Ok, well at least mainly grammatically correct) This new office was to be my center of zen, my chi, my homey place. If I was going to spend hours on end working here, I might as well LIKE being there, right?!?

Enough of the rambling let’s get to it. Just promise not to laugh at how awful this before picture is! I mean it is BAD! It’s proof that ADD and OCD are a bad combination. (Ok, pulling off the band aid)

How to Organize your office

 

This is what I had to start with. Clutter was everywhere. Nothing had a “home,” which just resulted in never finding anything. Bless Mr. Crunchy’s heart for putting up with me.  I am not usually one for New Year’s resolutions, but this year I have resolved to get organized. First spot to start was going to be my office.

Now let me walk you through the fabulous changes I have made, and are still using, in this great new space. The first thing we did was moved it out of the corner and against the wall. This way nothing falls behind my computer anymore, never to be seen again.

At an estate sale, I was able to pick up these two great drawer units for $10 total. They offer great storage for all of my office supplies. In my drawers I even made my own organizers out of contact paper and cereal boxes. (Tutorial to follow) It keeps all of my pens and such nice and neat, plus it matches my desk.

use cereal boxes to build organizer

My desk is just a typical pressed board desk you can buy at Walmart. I’ve had it for almost 10 years. It still functions so I figured rather than spending money, I would give it a face lift. For the tops of the desk, I used this cute contact paper that I found on Amazon. For the back, sides, and front edges I used black acrylic paint to give it a fresh new look. It turned out great, and took me less than 30 minutes to do!

Now onto the organization! I broke down and bought this great filling cabinet from Walmart. It has three great drawers to fit all my important files and papers in. I grabbed some color coded folders and organized my families files. Here’s how I organized them.

how to organize files

How to organize your office

Yellow – Needs Attention

  •       To be paid
  •      To be filed

Blue – Long Term Finances (these are files that protect your finances and/or family)

  • Auto Insurance
  • Life Insurance
  • Retirement
  • SSI
  • Warranties
  • Credit Reports
  • Car Records
  • Homeowner’s/Renter’s Insurance
  • Taxes

Red – Medical Files

  • Each family member has their own red folder
  • Explanation of Benefits
  • Paid Doctor’s Bills

Green – All things money related

  • Bank Accounts
  • Savings Accounts
  • Loans
  • Credit Cards
  • Bills (I have a separate manilla folder for each bill we pay)

Keep all bills for 12 months, and then shred.

Orange – School Records

  • Each child has their own orange folder

On top of my filing cabinet is my  mail center. I found this really cute basket on eBay and it’s where my kids know to put the mail. When there are items in there, I know I need to review the mail and take action. This may mean recycle it, pay it, or shred it. My goal is to start every day with this basket empty!

How to organize your office

How to organize your office

 

The last part to my office are my shelves. Mr. Crunchy and I got this great long set of shelves for $15 at an estate sale. Mr. Crunchy cut one of them in half, so that I could paint them black. We hung them up and added some of my favorite goodies I have gotten at estate sales and some of my favorite photos. I have to say the shelves are really one of my favorite parts of my new office! 

How to organize your office

Here’s the grand finale. This is how nice and neat my office looks now!

How to organize your office

Filed Under: Frugal Tips, Green Living Tagged With: , , , , , ,

eBay: Great place to holiday shop this year!

November 27, 2012 By 4 Comments
Nintendo 3 DS

When I am shopping for holiday gifts, I am always looking for great deals and personal gifts. Since being in this stupid cast this year, I have had to rely on online shopping more than ever. Don’t get me wrong, I always shop online because my patience for holiday crowds is next to none. It’s just this year, I am pretty much exclusively shopping online. Any instore shopping has been done by Mr. Crunchy while at work or on his way home.

SHOPPING ONLINE AT EBAY: SAVE TIME, SANITY, AND MONEY

I figured this year would be a great year to scope out eBay to see what goodies I could find for my family members. I need to shop for my other four family members in the Crunchy household, plus my two best friends, mom, dad, brother and sister. They all have REALLY different tastes, so it’s nice to have a website where I can search tons of different types of gifts. Bouncing between websites can really be time consuming. This girl is definitely a one stop shop kinda gal!

So, I am cruising eBay and found that they have a Holiday e-gift guide that helps give you ideas on gifts for your your shopping list. Score! I was tickled pink when the deals were at the top, one of my favorite five letter words! After cruising the gift guide, here are some ideas I got for the peeps on my holiday shopping list:

Nintendo 3 DS

Brenden, my son: Nintendo 3DS 

Lands Ends Sweater

Crunchy’s Mom: Land’s End Women’s Sweater

Dewalt Screwdriver set

Crunchy’s Dad: Dewalt Screwdriver Bit Set

Black and Decker Drill Driver

Mr. Crunchy: Black and Decker Corded Drill Driver

Pillow Pets

Keiran, my daughter: Doggy Pillow Pet

Barbie 50th Anniversary

Bayla, my daughter: Collector Barbie

Diamond Earrings

Crunchy’s sister: Earring Studs

Travel Shave

Crunchy’s brother: Travel Shaving Kit

and of course I deserve a few gifts!~

Leather bound journal

Dolce and Gabana Perfume

I think I found some really great gifts for all of them, and they are all within my budget. All I had to do was click the genre (ie. men, women, girls, etc.), and then click my price range. Then eBay’s gift guide showed me only the gifts that would be in that group!

What’s even cooler is that eBay has an iPhone application so you can browse eBay and it’s gift guides on the go. You can grab the eBay iPhone application for yourself too. It’s free!

Stay on top of everything with eBay too. Make sure to follow them:

 

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of eBay. I received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Filed Under: Frugal Tips, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Successfully Surviving Holiday Hurdles!

October 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Surviving the Holiday

Surviving the HolidayNo matter how organized you are in your life, when the ingredient ‘holidays’ is added all bets are off! Special shopping trips, parties, school performances and decorating come together to put all your organizing efforts into chaos. How do you successfully wind your way through the maze of everyday life with the holiday hurdles added?

The very first thing needed is a weekly calendar that will allow you see in detail what the week ahead has in store for you. Write everything on the calendar, including school performances, parent teacher conferences, school parties, home parties, extra shopping trips, decorating and meal preparation for those ‘special dinners’.

One way to take some of the stress off is meal planning. Hosting a children’s Halloween party? Buy decorated cookies and cupcakes from your local grocery store. Utilize restaurant delivery for pizza. The kids will love the pizza and treats allowing you a little time to relax or participate in the spooky activities.

Perhaps you are going to host a holiday dinner. One task that is often overlooked during the dinner preparation is the table layout.Surviving the holidays

Nothing is worse than being in the midst of food preparation and having the table look ‘blah’. Make time well ahead of the planned dinner to decide how you will decorate and set the table.

Colors, special dishes and glassware, and the center piece should all be decided well ahead of time to ensure that your table looks special, inviting and just plain wonderful.

Another tip for a successful holiday dinner is to utilize restaurant delivery. Perhaps you want to have a special dish that you have never made before, or a dish that you have never been entirely successful at preparing. Use restaurant delivery for these dishes, ahead of the party of course!

Your guests will be totally impressed with your decorating and your meal, and you will be able to enjoy a relaxed evening with friends and family.

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Fijit Friends Newbies: The Toy to have this year!

October 16, 2012 By 6 Comments
Fijits Friends Newbies

Even though my kids are older. They have always been big fans of Fijits. They are these interactive toys that your child can take care of as a “pet.” (Think Furby but MUCH less annoying) Last year Fijits were one of THE hot toys to have for the holiday season. This year I predict that Fijit Friends Newbies are going to be HOT.

Fijits Friends Newbies

They are a smaller version of last year’s Fijits! They are really cute. My kids were able to play with the regular, Halloween, and Holiday Fijits Friends Newbies. My son was pretty stoked about his bat one this year. It was his favorite color, purple!

As a parent, I like the interactive toys because it really teaches cause and effect. You have to take care of your Fijit Friend Newbie, and then let it interact with other Fijits. It lets out these noises when it’s happy or sings when it wants to play with other Fijits. It is really neat to watch the kids try and figure out what makes the Fijit do all the things it is capable of doing.

Fijits Friends Newbies

Since my kids are older, I thought I would give them the challenge of figuring out how to make their Fijits happy without the instructions. It didn’t take them long before they were able to get them to sing, duet, and even coo. I never thought I would be using an interactive toy to teach my kids about cause and effect and even responsibility. (Can we say homeschool lesson?)

There are so many great seasonal Fijit Friends Newbies. They would make a great gift for any child this holiday season! If this year is going to be anything like last year, these are going to be hard to find. I would go ahead and check them out at Mattel.com, and then see where you can snag them before they sell out.

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Mattel Fijit Friends. I received product samples to facilitate my review.

Filed Under: Frugal Tips Tagged With: ,

Walgreens & Balance Rewards: My One stop shop for Halloween!

October 15, 2012 By 6 Comments
Walgreens Halloween Decorations

My family and I have been loyal Walgreens shoppers for years. We especially loved the Wags family when my husband lost his job a few years ago. Their prescription savings plan helped me get my medications for a great discount, so I could still afford to buy them. Now they have a great new program, Balance Rewards, that is going to help me save even more!

My husband teases me all the time that  I might as well set up a cot in the Walgreens store.  (I am not THAT bad, I promise) I do love scoring some deals though. Walgreens has always been one of my go to stores for deals, especially this time of the year.

 Walgreens Balance Rewards

Getting our Halloween supplies at a discount is a must. We usually wait until 2 weeks before Halloween when Walgreens starts marking down their goodies and stockup! Throw in the launch of the new Balance Rewards program, and we were able to get so much more great goodies to make our Halloween awesome this year.

The seasonal aisle at Walgreens is always easy to find, and it’s always so nicely set up! We checked out the costumes, because our oldest still needs something for Halloween. There was also wall to wall chocolate to check out. I about wet myself when I saw that Cadbury eggs were now making a Halloween version! No more waiting for spring baby! (Yes, I am THAT stoked about chocolate)

Walgreens Balance Rewards

We were also able to find out a great deal on a aluminum bucket with stand. It was only $5! For our Halloween party, we are going to use it for a bobbing for apples station. After the season is over, we are going to put it in the guest bathroom to hold towels. It was such a great deal we couldn’t pass it up!

Walgreens Balance Rewards

After stocking up on all the Halloween goodies, we headed to check out. Our cashier was awesome. I had already signed up for the Balance Rewards online, and she was able to tell me how they could find my account. I just punched in my phone number, and my account popped up. They were able to attach a card right there. (I also have the app on my phone so if I don’t have my card, they can just scan my phone)

Walgreens Balance Rewards

I am really excited about this program. The Register Rewards program was great, but I can’t tell you how many times I found a Register Rewards in my purse that had expired. Talk about making a grown woman cry.  With Balance Rewards, all my points are on my card. Plus, I can opt when I want to use my points. It’s super easy to sign up, and even easier to use! I can’t wait for the official launch coming up later this month!

Walgreens Halloween Decorations

When we got home, our kids had a really great time putting up our decorations. We are having a Halloween party this year, and we needed to decorate our three season room to make it a little bit more spooky. Our eldest Keiran loves Halloween, and wanted to pitch in to. (Pretty impresssive for a teenager. She doesn’t get excited about much anymore).

Walgreens Halloween Decorations

 

To learn more about Walgreens and Balance Rewards make sure to check them out:

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Walgreens  #CBias #SocialFabric

Filed Under: Frugal Tips Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

How to Do it Yourself: Frugal Fall Wreath!

September 27, 2012 By 7 Comments
How to do it yourself fall wreath

How to do it yourself fall wreath

Home decorating doesn’t have to be limited by your budget. If you are like me, you don’t have thousands to blow at Ethan Allen or other home decor stores. Don’t let it deter you! It just means we have to get a little creative. That’s half the adventure anyway, right?

I have had a love affair with grapevine wreaths for as long as I can remember. Their natural look has always been something that has caught my eye. Anytime I can snag one for cheap, I add it to my collection. Until recently, my wreath was just plain hanging on my door. It look kind of sad honestly.

With fall here, it was time to give my wreath a fall makeover! The best part is the WHOLE project cost me less than $15. (including the wreath) All you need is a Dollar Tree, some yard sales, hot glue, and some creativity to make this project your own!

How to do it yourself fall wreath

There are several places you can get grapevine wreaths for really cheap. This one I got at our local Habitat for Humanity Re-Store. It was only $5! Nothing is better than getting a deal and supporting a great cause. I grabbed another wreath this weekend at a yard sale for $5 as well. (Christmas wreath anyone?) You can also find them at thrift shops like Salvation Army and Goodwill too. Just keep your eye out when you are thrift shopping. Even if they have things on them you can usually take them off and start over!

How to do it yourself fall wreath

My next stop was the Dollar Tree! I grabbed several different types of fall colored “berries” and flowers for this wreath. Each bundle was only a dollar, so I grabbed five different bundles. I also grabbed a thing of floral wire to attach them to the wreath.

For the last part of the wreath, I used some burlap and twine from other upcycled projects. Then I sent my kids on a hunt for acorns and pinecones. Our yard is FULL of both.  They had fun doing it, and I got to score unique add ons for my wreath for free!

To start the wreath, cut the flower bunches so you have a place to attach them to the wreath. I started with one color or type at a time and spread them out across the bottom of the wreath. Once you are happy with how they look attach them with floral wire and/or hot glue. (I used both)

Next, add your natural accents. Place them throughout the wreath and then secure them with hot glue. You might have to hold them on for a second while the glue sets so they don’t fall off.

How to do it yourself fall wreath

Lastly, add any other accents you may want. I cut a strip of burlap fabric that I had and tied it into a bow then secured it with hot glue. For the tie up top, I just used the twine from the upcycled vase project. I also secured that with hot glue.

How to do it yourself wreath
Take a look at the difference it has made on my front door!

What are some upcycling fall projects you have going on at your house? Share with us so we can find inspiration as well!

Filed Under: Frugal Tips Tagged With: , , , , ,

Upcycled Home Decor Vase!

September 26, 2012 By 16 Comments
Upcycling Home Decor

When we bought our new home, I wanted to go nuts decorating the house. There was so much more space to fill! Of course my budget had other things in mind.

Instead of pouting, I decided to get a little creative. With less than $5 bucks, I was able to make an upcycled home decor piece that looks like it’s straight out of Pier One! (Just because it’s that awesome!)

Upcycle Home Decor

Check out how the vase turned out, and get inspired to find things around your house that you can turn into amazing home decor pieces!

For this project, I used a vase that I had around the house. It was a vase that I had from Mr. Crunchy giving me flowers a few years ago.

To decorate the outside of the vase I bought some twine at Joann’s ($2 usin 40% off coupon!). For the inside, I headed to the Dollar Tree and outside! At Dollar Tree I grabbed some crafting moss. Then sent the kids outside to collect pine cones, acorns, and neat looking sticks.

Upcycle Home Decor

First, I hot glued the twin around the neck of the vase to give a nice earthy look.

After the glue dries, take out some of the moss and put it in the bottom of the vase.

Take some of the nature items, and clean them up. Then arrange them on top of the moss.

Then find the perfect place to display it in your home! This vase is really easy to make, and it’s super easy to change what’s inside depending on the season!

 

Upcycling Home Decor

 

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Homemade Shower Cleaning Scrub with #HeinzVinegar #CBias

September 24, 2012 By 7 Comments
Homemade Vinegar Cleaner

Being an environmental nut, I am all about natural cleaners. No, I don’t mean the kind that chains myself to trees in protest. Just your run of the mill mom that thinks a little bit before making life choices.

PASSIONATE ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT

Ever since I was in high school I have been concerned about my impact on the environment. For some reason, I always had a passion for nature and our planet. When I found out about Students Against Killing the Earth (SAKE) in high school, I just had to join.

Even though I am a few years past high school, ok maybe a little bit more than a few, I still have a passion for being gentle on the environment. Since having kids, this is something that I have passed down to them by showing them how to make environmentally friendly choices.

One way that our family does this is by cleaning with natural cleaners. My favorite cleaner that is always in my pantry is cleaning vinegar! It is the most amazing cleaner. You can use it as a glass cleaner, all purpose cleaner, toilet cleaner, and even a bath cleaner.

NO TOXIC CHEMICALS IN THIS HOUSE

My adventures with vinegar actually began because my youngest daughter has severe allergies. Anything with really strong fumes sets her asthma off, so I had to do a little research into what things we could clean with that wouldn’t be as toxic.

It was great to find out that vinegar not only fit this bill, but it was also a great environmentally friendly cleaner. Plus, it’s really frugal as well! After pouring over the Internet, I decided it was time to make my own cleaners. One of my favorites that I have come up with is my homemade shower cleaning scrub. You will be amazed at how clean it gets even the grimiest showers.

HOMEMADE SHOWER CLEANING SCRUB MADE WITH HEINZ VINEGAR

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup Heinz Cleaning Vinegar
  • 1/2 cup Baking Soda
  • 4-5 drops tea tree essential oil

Directions

  • To get started dampen the shower with a little bit of water.
  • Sprinkle baking soda in shower and let set for 5 minutes.
  • With a slightly abrasive brush, scrub the shower. Then power vinegar over the baking soda, let it fizz for about 5-10 mins.
  • Add a few drops of tea tree oil, you can also use lemon or orange essential oils.
  • After 10 minutes, scrub away! Rinse all of the paste away with water.
Heinz Cleaning Vinegar

I wish I could tell you that the before and after pictures were for demonstrative purposes only, but having a cast on my foot for the past 8 weeks has made it a bit difficult to clean the shower. Since I wanted to put Heinz Cleaning Vinegar to the test, I bit the bullet and cleaned my shower. Look at the difference!

Heinz Cleaning Vinegar

WHERE CAN YOU FIND HEINZ CLEANING VINEGAR?

We found Heinz Vinegar in the Vinegar section at Wal-mart. We thought it would be in the cleaning section, but it was right next to all the different types of vinegar. Who knew there were SO many different types of vinegar! Take a look!

 

Want to see where we found Heinz Cleaning Vinegar, check out our Google+ Album.

 

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and HEINZ #CBias #SocialFabric

 

Filed Under: Frugal Tips Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Staying Healthy is A Frugal Way to Live!

September 18, 2012 By 4 Comments
Cigna Health Care

MAKE HEALTH CARE A PRIORITY WITH YOUR FAMILY

With economic times still being lean, the first thing families cut back on is usually health care expenses. A lot of Americans today consider going to the doctor for preventative measures to be a luxury. In fact, that couldn’t be further from the truth!

Cigna Health Care

My kids all have special needs of some sort or another, so we have had to learn how to budget for all of their health care expenses. Over the years, I have found that maintaining their preventative visits actually ends up saving me a TON of money in the long run!

SAVE MORE MONEY BY PRACTICING PREVENTION CARE

When things got tight, it was really tempting to skip my youngest allergists follow up appointments. Nothing was wrong, so why spend the money to go. After making this mistake a few times, I figured out that this strategy was actually costing me money. When I kept her preventative appointments, she had less unplanned trips to the ER and fewer illnesses throughout the year. We were often able to catch a flare up before it became an expensive problem. Extra medications to get her healthy again where a lot more expensive than just paying for the preventative visit.

Because of my experience with my own kids, I am a HUGE health care advocate. I can’t tell you how important it is to make sure that you make health care a priority for your family. Planning is one of the great tips on the Cigna Health Care Mid-Year Health Care Check in Tips. Even if your family doesn’t have chronic conditions like mine do, it’s always best to plan for unexpected illnesses. (We all know with kids it’s a matter of when they will get sick not if)

JOIN IN ON THE CONVERSATION WITH CIGNA

Cigna even made a neat video series on Youtube that gives great tips on how to budget for your health care expenses. Make sure to check out this video here.

 

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Cigna. I received a promotional item as a thank-you for participating.

Filed Under: Frugal Tips, Health & Beauty Tagged With: , , ,

Save Money on Holiday Deals

September 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Summer in the UK is over, the kids are back at school and peak season prices for holidays are coming to an end. The economy hasn’t improved any, so those wishing to take a break want the best value for money and within a tight budget. An ideal place to start is of course online, part of a money-saving tip – you’ll save on bus fares or petrol if you can investigate from the comfort of your home. And you won’t be tempted to indulge in a meal out or refreshments enjoyed on a sidewalk café. If you search Dealchecker for cheap holidays you will find a range of holidays and flights at the best prices available.

A visit there makes planning easy and the choice is amazing. If a flight is all you require there is an easy to use search system to find the best deal for your dates and destination. Are you unsure about what you want, but just want to get away? Again, there is a handy Top Ten hand-picked selection of special offers on the front page with more to follow if you click the link below. Cruises, Spa days, city breaks, hotel upgrades, all-inclusives or half-boards all feature as genuine bargain offers.

London is often an attraction and after the exposure the city has had this year through television coverage, many people want to visit it and see the fabulous architecture, visit museums, take in a West End theatre show, shop and savour the delights of Greenwich Park. The Golden Jubliee celebrations, the Olympics and the Paralympics have whetted people’s appetites for a first-hand experience of these places.

To travel around London choose public transport rather than taxis or hiring a car. It’s cheaper and faster and you won’t face parking charges either. An Oyster card, a pre-paid swipe card that deducts your fare, makes travel on the tube, buses and train networks including the DLR (Docklands Light Railway) easy and efficient. You can top up this pay as you go card in any outlet with the Oyster card symbol. The Metro magazine may have discount vouchers or offers you could take advantage of during your stay. Travel after 9am to benefit from off-peak fares.

Buy top-up refreshments from supermarkets rather than vending machines or street vendors to save more money. If your deal includes meals, make sure you take up the offer to keep more money in your pocket for other things you might want to spend it on.

The National Gallery in Trafalgar Square and the Natural History Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum on Exhibition Road are open to the public. Their permanent exhibitions are free as are some guest exhibits.

Filed Under: Frugal Tips

Alternative to Savings Accounts

July 25, 2012 By 1 Comment
Woman Placing Coins into Her Change Purse

Today’s historically low interest rates are a boon for borrowers but pretty lousy for savers. Whether you want to simply have a healthy emergency fund or you need to save up for a down payment on a new home, finding a savings account that pays higher than 1% in interest has become a real challenge.

 

Numerous sites allow you to use free online tools compare savings accounts. However, if you’re looking for something that offers you a bit extra, there are several good alternatives to traditional savings accounts that give you a little more in return.

 

Certificate of Deposit

 

A certificate of deposit (CD) is a financial product that works something like a savings account but with higher interest rates. You make a lump sum deposit and the financial institution provides you with a guaranteed annual interest rate for the duration of your investment.

 

You must be willing to lock in your money for a specific length of time or risk paying onerous early withdrawal penalties. Shop around for the best interest rates before deciding on a CD.

 

U.S. Treasury Securities

 

Government issued securities, such as Treasury bonds, bills and notes are also safe places to invest your money while earning higher interest rates than traditional savings accounts and CDs.

 

Treasury securities are risk-free investments because the U.S. government backs them. Many people invest in securities as part of a long-term savings plan, such as saving toward retirement or college education.

 

ISAs

 

Readers in the UK can take advantage of an ISA, short for Individual Savings Account, which allows residents to save without paying taxes on the returns. The two basic types of ISAs are stocks and shares ISAs and cash ISAs.

 

Stocks and shares ISAs allows you to invest your ISA allowance in shares, trusts, open-ended investment companies and corporate and government bonds. Cash ISAs operate just like tax-free savings accounts.

 

Money Market Accounts

 

Money market accounts are low-risk investments that typically offer higher interest rates than savings accounts while having the same ease of liquidity. You can normally make three to six withdrawals per month from your account, but be sure to meet the minimum balance requirements or be willing to pay the penalty.

 

Stocks

 

When you invest in the stock market, you can make money in two different ways. You make money when the share price of your stock increases and you can make additional income from the dividends produced by the stock.

 

Dividend stocks can provide investors with a reliable and steady stream of income that is taxed at a lower rate than other types of income. Dividend paying stocks might earn you a better return than a savings account, but they are riskier as well.

 

When you invest in stocks, there is no guarantee that the share price will go up or that the company will continue to pay its investors dividends.

 

Filed Under: Frugal Tips Tagged With: ,

Suffering from frugalista burnout? Grab these five tips and get back to it!

June 11, 2012 By 3 Comments
burnout

burnoutLife can be chaotic. Heck, life is a zoo at my house most of the time. You know when you can’t find anything. Paperwork, diapers, homework is flying all around your house. You can’t find your brain let alone know where the heck that $2 off coupon went. When life is nuts, it’s ok to take a frugalista break.

Yes, there I said it. You don’t have to be a frugalista 24/7, 365. Frugalista burnout is a common side effect from too many deals, too many family obligations, and not enough time. Symptoms include a crazed look in your eyes, unruly hair, wearing your underwear on the outside of your pants. (Ok, so hopefully the last one has never happened, or if it did someone was kind enough to let you know before you stepped outside!)

Don’t let frugalista burnout hit you. If you start to see these symptoms, grab your coupon binder and throw it…….(you thought I was going to say away didn’t you?) in a closet. I would never tell you to throw coupons away. I am not trying to get you to stroke out! If you feel burnt out, TAKE A BREAK! It’s ok, I assure you.

Ok, now for confession time. I am coming back from falling off the frugal horse. I have been shopping sales and such still, but it has been a while since I had used a good amount of coupons. Between my family’s doctors, school, and working I just hadn’t found the time to eye the deals as much as I used to. Hopefully this doesn’t cause me to fall off that proverbial pedestal some have me on. Just letting you know even I am human! Everyone has times that they need to take a  break.

Of course this doesn’t mean that you should be eating out every night and ringing up those credit cards. That might be cause for a frugalista intervention! Just don’t beat yourself up if you don’t buy papers for a few weeks.

Once you feel like you are returning to a normal human state, well at least “normal” as you were before the breakdown, get ready to get back on that horse. Once again you shall reign queen, or king, supreme at saving the big bucks. Just follow these five Crunchy frugal tips, and you will be in tip top shape in no time.

Filed Under: Frugal Tips