Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Click Here!
|
|
Subscribe to Our Newsletter Click Here! |
|---|
Save Time, Save Money & Save Your Sanity! www.HelpingMomsAtHome.com November 10, 2009 Volume 3 Issue 5 http://www.HelpingMomsAtHome.com In This Issue * Forget Black Friday - Really Save Money This Christmas Season * Dirty Dishes Cause Debt! * Just for Fun * Important Info. "Bringing up a family should be an adventure, not an anxious discipline in which everybody is constantly graded for performance." Milton R. Saperstein ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * Greetings everyone! It's November and I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful fall leaves. I love this time of year here in Maryland. It's cool, but not cold and the scenery is awesome! Well the first article this month talks about getting your Christmas game plan in order. If you have a plan in place you can save lots of money. Let's face it - this year everyone is a little or a lot tight on money. That doesn't mean you can't have a nice Christmas. Here's a link to another article that will help if you have no money for Christmas Click here The second article is one of my all time favorites by a website I visit often. The two ladies that run the site are my financial mentors. They offer lots of practical advice for people living on a limited income. Enjoy and have a bless Thanksgiving Day! Kim ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * Please Support Our Sponsors Moms remember what your body looked like before your kids? You can get that back. No really! Try these fast, fun workouts you can do from home. 15 minutes a day is all it takes! You've got to check this out! http://shavattk.fitmummy.hop.clickbank.net/ Living on a Dime ebook series. Incredible ebooks that give real life examples on how to live frugally. Dining On A Dime Cookbook: Eat Better, Spend Less!, Penny Pinchin' Mama: 500 ways I lived on $500 a month, and Dig Out of Debt: Over 1000 of the Best Ideas From LivingOnADime.com which I have personally read and highly recommend! http://shavattk.livingonad.hop.clickbank.net/ To Advertise Here visit www.HelpingMomsAtHome.com ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * Forget Black Friday - Really Save Money This Christmas Season Well it's getting close to Christmas and the stores have already started putting up their displays. It seems to happen earlier every year! With the thought of buying all those Christmas gifts looming on the horizon most people focus on Black Friday as their biggest money saver. This year try something different! Follow the simple steps below to have a less expensive, less stressful holiday season. Make a list and stick to it Just like Santa Claus has a list, so should you! Create a list of everyone you want to buy for. List everyone - teachers, co-workers, bosses, etc. Now go through it and cross off all those you could skip giving a gift to this year or that you could get by with sending a Christmas card. Try to include only the most important people in your life. Budget Next, with your list of the bare minimum to buy for - add a dollar limit to every person. For example we spend $20 for every sibling, $40 for parents, $10 for teachers, etc. Let's face it - it's not how much you spend that makes the gift special it's how much thought and love you put into making or buying it. Plus, if these people truly cared about you they won't want you to go deep into debt for them. Everyone knows how the holiday season can add up financially. Think About It It's time to get creative. Now that you have your list of people to buy for and a dollar limit for each person it's time to brainstorm ideas. Everyone wants to give gifts that the recipient will truly love and cherish. How many times have you gotten an ugly sweater, a funny looking tie, or perfume that smelled terrible. When I was 8 years old, I received 6 pairs of earrings and I didn't have my ears pierced. Just some helpful advice, do a little bit of research before choosing a gift. List a couple ideas for each person. Try to recall what this person talks about, what they do in their free time, and what they need. Sometimes it's important to give people what they need and let their wants be put on hold a while. Shop around Now that you have an idea of what to buy - shop around. If it's on sale during Black Friday - that's great. However, let's face it most items for sale on Black Friday are what I call "nice-ities" - stuff that's nice but not needed. Check the ads because people tend to shop just to get a deal whether or not they need what they're buying- make sure it's useful, wanted or needed. Another thing to consider is would it be cheaper and easier for you to make a gift for someone on your list. Such as a new mom might love a scrapbook filled with pictures of her new baby and space for her to add more in the future. Make sure it would be cheaper for you to make it. Sometimes it actually costs more to make yourself, so do the math. Follow Santa Claus's lead and make a list - you can check it twice if you wish. Trim it down - only the most important people. Next, create a budget and stick to it or even spend less. After that you need to brainstorm a couple different gift ideas for each person. Lastly, shop around for the best deals. Using these simple tips will help you keep Christmas from breaking the bank and keep your stress level down. Enjoy! ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kimberly Shavatt is the owner of HelpingMomsAtHome.com and Helping Moms @ Home Blog. She offers lots of hints, tips, time saving, and money saving ideas and resources for moms. ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * Dirty Dishes Cause Debt The other day I was asked one of the most common questions that people ask me. "Where do I start if I want to get out of debt?" After telling me of her huge credit card debt and how they eat out almost every night, the lady took a deep breath and said, "How do I save on laundry detergent and cleaning supplies?" Sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees. Even though saving money on cleaning supplies does help and should be part of your plan, that usually isn’t where the biggest problem with the debt lies. This woman never once thought to ask me how to stop eating out so much. Most people don’t want to face the real causes of their debt because their biggest problems are the things they like the most. Going out to eat is one of the top five causes of debt. Get those dirty dishes out of the sink!! We go out to eat because we can’t face a dirty kitchen. Keeping your kitchen empty of dirty dishes is the key to saving money. This is probably the #1 way to start getting out of debt. Most people are so overwhelmed with piled counter tops and dirty dishes that they would rather go out to eat than face a dirty kitchen. Do the dishes after every meal and keep hot soapy water in the sink while you are baking or cooking. Clean as you go. If your sink is empty and the dishes are washed, your kitchen always looks good. This helps you save money because you have the time and space to cook. To get in and out of the kitchen quickly, try these easy steps:
These simple steps can help you start climbing your way out of debt. You will be amazed how much better you will feel just having the kitchen clean. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jill Cooper is co-publisher of http://www.LivingOnADime.com, a web site dedicated to teaching families personal finance, frugal living and homemaking skills. She raised two teenagers alone on $500 a month income after becoming disabled with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jill_Cooper http://EzineArticles.com/?Dirty-Dishes-Cause-Debt!&id=242095 ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * Just For Fun http://familyfun.go.com/halloween/ All kinds of ghoulish recipes for your Halloween party, tons of incredible costumes, and loads of crafts you can make. Lots of fun - love this site! Tip of the Month Celebrate your uniqueness! God made each of us different and unique for a reason - just like a jigsaw puzzle every piece is needed to make a the whole beautiful picture. 1 Corinthians 12:7-27 Great Site http://www.29gifts.org/ This is an incredible site. Sign up to give away 29 gifts for 29 days. They can be anything - a smile, a flower, your time, some change, etc. I've signed up and love it, so check it out! What's Ahead Next newsletter will be out December 4, 2009. Important Information Please feel free to forward this issue in it's entirety to friends and associates. Anyone can subscribe for free: To contact us: Kimberly Shavatt HelpingMomsAtHome HelpingMomsAtHome@hotmail.com 449 Maryland Avenue Pasadena, MD 21122 To subscribe, change your information or unsubscribe please complete the form below or visit www.HelpingMomsAtHome.com To advertise in this newsletter visit http://www.HelpingMomsAtHome.com/advertising.html |
Graphics Provided by The Graphics Station   
|
