Just Doing My Best » Writing on Other Sites

Reduce Your Monthly Expenses

Heather — Fri, 22 May 2009 04:06:14 +0000

I’ve started a new series on reducing your monthly expenses over at Happy to be at Home and will be giving new ideas over the next few weeks.

Link:

How to Reduce Your Monthly Expenses

Trash to Treasure Party, Part 2

Heather — Fri, 08 May 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Did you catch Part 1 of the Trash to Treasure Party that I attended? Part 2 is posted at Happy to be at Home and it includes tips on how you can host your own. If you host one, I would love to hear back about your experience.

Have a great day!
Heather

Frugal Family Fun – Toy Swap

Heather — Fri, 08 May 2009 02:04:00 +0000

For the past couple of weeks, I have talked about a Trash to Treasure party over at Happy to be at Home. The party entailed a group of ladies bringing unneeded items in good condition from their home to the host’s house in which the other ladies could “shop.” We were all able to leave the party with new, free treasures that suited our families. I listed several ideas and variations for the Trash to Treasure party in the articles at Happy to be at Home, but it got me thinking about how this party would tie into the Frugal Family Fun series perfectly.

If you know a few families with children about the same age as yours, consider a toy or book swap. You could invite them over for a BBQ or potluck and have them bring their outgrown or unused toys. This would work best with older children who understand the “trade” concept, though the party could be conducted without children present if toddler toys are involved.

A Toy Swap is a great way to spend time with friends and family while decluttering our homes of unneeded items and acquiring new treasures for free.

A Mommy Secret: If you have younger children, place some of the new toys out of sight for a while. When your children are having “one of those” days and just need a distraction or if you want to have a reward on hand for the unexpected accomplishments, you can pull out one of the “new” free toys.

You can find more frugal or family tips at:
Frugal Friday hosted by Life as Mom
Family Friday by Homemaker Barbie

How to Shop for Free – Swap Party

Heather — Sun, 03 May 2009 03:52:00 +0000

In a previous post, I explained how I shop for free. I recently had an opportunity to shop for free again, though it was quite a bit different than the first post. You can read about it at Happy to be at Home.

Where to Find More Tips

Heather — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:03:00 +0000

If you need some organizing solutions while you are Spring Cleaning and purging your house of unneeded items, head over to Organize with Sandy. While you are there, you can read my guest post on how to make a powerful homemade cleaner.

5 Ways to Save Money This Spring

Heather — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:31:00 +0000

If you are looking for even more money-saving ideas, head on over to my article at Happy to be at Home.

Don’t forget to check back here tomorrow for the latest idea in my Frugal Family Fun series, with a special focus on Spring and the Arts.

Frugality is a Lifestyle – Organization

Heather — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 09:26:00 +0000

This is an adapted excerpt of my article How to be Frugal – The Four Essentials, originally posted at Happy to be at Home.

Those of us who consider ourselves wise with money or even frugal minded, have learned many tips, tricks and know precisely where to find the best deal. Our best money saving efforts, however, can be diminished or even worthless if we are not organized. I consider organization to be on the most important aspects of a frugal and productive lifestyle.

Why is organization so important to frugality? If you found snow boots on clearance for $2 but they never made it to the proper area, chances are you will forget you bought them. Then, when you see another great clearance sale on snow boots, you buy next season’s size. Again. I often buy party supplies on clearance, but have to make a point to get them to the correct storage area so that when the holiday comes, I know exactly where to find them. Otherwise, those birthday napkins I just knew I had somewhere, would need to be replaced the day of the party. If you are organized, and only if you are organized, buying ahead and stockpiling makes sense.

I consider myself a couponer, but if the coupons are not organized, there is no way I would be able to take advantage of the deals in the same way as if they were clipped nicely in my coupon organizer. During times I could not prioritize staying organized in this department, I am certain I paid way too much at the grocery.

Whether you work outside the home or work at home without pay, staying organized to the level we want can be tricky. Perhaps we should move our focus from being organized everywhere and feeling bad when we are not, to being organized in the areas that affect us daily, such as schedules, clothing, meal prep, etc.

The second largest place we should be organized are areas that save us money. This will look different to each family. Take a look at the areas where you are feeling disorganized and ask yourself if it is costing you money. This might be either having to re-buy items you already have, (somewhere) or missing out on potential savings, such as with coupons or sales ads. It might also be missed income opportunities, such as the clothing you meant to take to the consignment shop.

None us can be perfect and stay perfect in this area. Decide which problem area in your home makes the biggest impact financially and start with that. This can mean either items being replaced because you didn’t know you had them, savings lost due to disorganized coupons, or income lost from not taking clothing to a consignment shop, etc.

Perhaps, starting your organizing efforts at these two main place will get the “ball rolling” for organization in other areas. Off to take my own advice. Have a great day!

This post is linked to:

Frugal Friday at Life as Mom

Finding Freedom Friday at Cents to Get Debt Free

Which is better?

Heather — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:30:00 +0000

What is important to you when buying gifts for children? See my article on deciding which is better, spending less money or having less junk at Happy to be at Home.

Questions to Consider Before the Lay-Off, Part 2

Heather — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:27:00 +0000

What will you do if your family loses it’s income? Check out my article: Questions to Consider Before the Lay-Off, Part 2 at Happy to be at Home.

Is Your Family Ready for a Financial Emergency?

Heather — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:06:00 +0000

To help evaluate if your family is ready, check out my article: Questions to Consider Before the Lay-Off at Happy to be at Home.