Here are a few quotes that I have read over the last couple of years that have just really hit home with me.

~The safe way to double your money is to fold it over once and put it in your pocket.  ~Frank Hubbard

~The real measure of your wealth is how much you’d be worth if you lost all your money.  ~Author Unknown

~If you make money your god, it will plague you like the devil.  ~Henry Fielding

~The best way for a person to have happy thoughts is to count his blessings and not his cash.  ~Author Unknown

Enjoy!

Quotes taken from Quote Garden

I have to admit I’m getting a bit stressed about heading back to school. In the past I’ve been pretty good about having things all cleaned up, organized and ready to go. This summer seems to have just flown by and left me in the midst of chaos. I have several home projects in progress, the entire place needs a good scrub-down, and I’m not yet organized and ready for school. Yikes!

In case you’re finding yourself in the same bind I thought I’d offer a special Back-to-School Sale to give you some inspiration with meal making, money-saving, Organization and Education. Now, through Labor Day you can use the code MOLLYSCHOOLS to receive over HALF OFF the below items. You’ll get all five downloads for only $15!

Molly’s Organizational Bundle (Reg. $12.90)

This two-part bundle includes the January 2010 Digest, with the theme, Evaluate, Organize, Prioritize. This Digest focuses on helping you prioritize and organize your time, money and belongings.

The second part of this special package is a compilation of ALL the organization related articles from our 2009 Digests. You’ll find articles on cleaning, gift planning, shopping, garage sales, menu planning and much more! This volume is over 60 pages of organization help and encouragement.

Between the two E-Books, you’ll have over 100 pages of information and resources to help you get organized, right at your fingertips!

Molly Makes Combo (retail $12.95)

Another two-part bundle that includes our top selling Molly Makes $5 Dinners and $3 Desserts.

Feeding your family frugally is a top priority these days, and it’s always exciting to sample some of the great tried-and-true recipes others are using. Do you need some ideas for affordable and quick dinners and desserts? There’s a lot to choose from . .

• Pizzas, pastas and pot luck pleasers
• Slow-cooker creations, casseroles and cakes
• Soups, stews, and savory sandwiches
• Breads, biscuits, burritos and brownies
• Peachy pies and puddings

The second part includes my latest release, Molly Makes $7 Slow Cooker Suppers. I’m especially proud of this cookbook as each recipe was taste tested and a picture of each meal is included. The tester comments and photos make this a real treat. Not to mention that these recipes are a HUGE time-saver!

And lastly, my May 2009 Digest : Learning for Life ~ Your Child’s Education.

Whether you homeschool or not, you’ll especially want this real-life learning issue . . . from preschool through high school, college–and beyond!
Molly includes articles about education which show you what learning looks like in real life and just how enjoyable and natural it can be! You’ll also learn about money-saving ideas for college and make small changes for BIG savings, but there’s a whole lot more!

So there you have it! Five wonderful educational, inspirational and money-saving resources for only $15! Remember, use the code MOLLYSCHOOLS to take advantage. Just add all three items to your card and use the code when you check out to receive your discount.

Enjoy!

I’m traveling and didn’t have the opportunity for any Weekend Wonders this week. However, I thought I’d initiate some discussion with this topic instead. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

I recently read this post from Ginger, a regular Molly reader (and commenter!) blogging at Clark Chatter and thought, “What a Great Idea for a Readers Helping Readers post”. Here are some financial decisions I would “do over” if I could.

-In my early years I ate out a LOT! Huge waste of money.

-I also used to buy clothing at Maurice’s and  Macy’s and such. Not necessarily on sale. Honestly, I don’t think I looked much better then than I do now.

-I would refuse “gifts that keep on taking”. We were once given a horse that ended up being a larger burden than we were ready to bear. That “free” puppy can easily cost you $500 in the first year when you consider neutering, shots, food, boarding when on vacation and potentially destroyed property.

And here are some financial decisions I feel that I did right the first time.

-Forgo the large wedding. An intimate gathering with friends and family holds the same meaning and doesn’t leave you starting out your future together in debt.

-Buy a fixer-upper. This is NOT for the faint-of-heart or impatient, but has proven to be a valuable investment for us. I repeat, patience is key if you go this route. (Do-it-yourself skills are helpful as well!)

-Live in a small town. Recreation and eating out is limited by the fact that there’s just nowhere to go! No ordering in a quick pizza, snagging a Starbucks on the way home or running to the movie. Yes, we can easily drive the 20 miles (and often do), but not nearly so much as when I lived in a larger town.

-Yard sales. I’ve saved a FORTUNE by visiting yard sales. No need to say more.

-Learn to determine the difference between “wants” and “needs”. This ties closely with learning to stay out of stores. If I don’t see it, I don’t want it.

-Use the library! You can find everything DVDs, novels, movies, cookbooks, craft books, educational texts and so much more!

-Develop like-minded friends. It’s easier to cultivate an attitude of contentment when you’re surrounded by people who share your values. Similarly, it’s easy to feel you “need” something that all of your friends have. Choose friends, both in real life and online, that will encourage you in your quest toward frugality and financial independence.

What about you? What do you wish you’d done differently and what do you think you did right? I’d love to hear!

Molly reader, Kim, left the below post and I though it would make a great topic for Readers Helping Readers.

How do you all have time for this? I so want to be frugal and I’m stressed trying to keep up with it all. I do homeschool my children, like most of you, and I’m trying to do a pampered chef business, but thinking of quitting so i can focus more on my family, but we need the money i bring in. It’s so challenging, God helps me each day! Thanks for the sites, I’ll try to keep up with all you frugal moms, lol.

She has a good point. Bargain shopping and making frugal choices DOES take time. Here are a few of my thoughts on the matter.

• I view my “frugality” as a job. I consider my savings to be my hourly wage.  It may take me an extra two hours to plan out my grocery shopping, use coupons, etc. (It’s sometimes shocking how long it can take, isn’t it??!!) But I can easily cut my grocery bill in half when I do so. Even if I only save $50 a trip, that comes out to $25/hr. Not bad. So, if  I’m “too busy” to coupon, am I busy doing something that is going to make me $25/hr. Usually not.
• Alternatively, some frugal practices are NOT worth my time. The time you have to spend on frugal endeavors will be limited by the number of small children you have, whether or not you homeschool, whether you work for hire, outside commitments, etc. Before I worked from home and homeschooled, I would can fruits and vegetables every summer. Now, I just don’t have the time. When I calculate out the savings they just weren’t there to justify it. Now, if I had a garden or access to free foods, that might change. But for now, I make more at “work” than I save by canning.
• I enlist the children. As my kids get older I give them more responsibilities. Currently, they are capable of keeping the house relatively presentable. I am willing to pay one of my kids a dollar or two to cut my coupons and put them in my coupon binder. It saves me a good chunk of time and I know I’ll save much more by having them clipped, organized and available. When I was a child, my siblings and I were each responsible for making a batch of bread once each week. Making your children responsible for a small garden, even a container garden could be helpful. Keeping the budget on track is a family affair, not just Mom’s responsibility.
• Consider the learning curve. Sure, the first time you create a menu plan (join our newsletter for a free quide!) or try a new recipe, extend a mix, or make your own laundry soap, it may be a bit time consuming. But many of these tasks become second nature after a few tries and take considerably less time. As with most anything you’ll need to allow some time for education and practice on your road to becoming a practiced frugalite. Is it worth it? Absolutely!
• Don’t forget the real issue. Why are you doing what you do? Being thrifty isn’t about saving every little penny. It’s about being conscious of your spending and making deliberate choices about how you spend your money. If you choose to spend on a luxury or forgo a frugal practice, that’s fine. Just know that you are making the choice and why. The more ways you are aware of to save money, the more choices you have in what you choose to do or not do. Don’t feel you have to do everything!
• I recognize that I’m modeling stewardship and educating my family through my thriftiness. Saving money and being financially responsible isn’t about just the money itself. It is about using the resources we’ve been given in a responsible manner. Our children learn from what they see us do. I am confident that my children can get by with less income than the average young adult simply because they’ve grown up watching us make money-saving decisions. Whether they choose to use those skills or not is their decision, but the knowledge will make them that much stronger as they set out on their own. So I’m not only saving money, I’m teaching at the same time. Plus, most thrifty activities involve learning or practicing a variety of useful life skills.

Those are just a few of my thoughts regarding “finding the time” to be frugal. What about you? How do you find the time, in your busy schedules, to save money? I can’t wait to hear your comments!

Taking time to save money works for me! To see more Works for Me Wednesday tips visit We Are That Family.

Here are a few fun links I found this week:

First, I found and fell in LOVE with The Mother Huddle blog. So many cute things here.

For instance, check out this apron (made with one yard of fabric!) with built in hotpads in the hem! Love that!

An then there’s this super-simple solution for turning baby rompers into shirts once they are outgrown. I honestly can’t believe I’d never thought of that before.

And if this frugal and easy solution for storing ribbons isn’t a keeper, I don’t know what is. I might actually head upstairs and do this today instead of continuing to wait to install the wall mounted version I have in my head (that I never actually get to). I could put this together in a matter of minutes!

FeelsLikeHomeBlog.com shares  10 Things to Cook in a Bundt Cake pan. Great ideas here, and truly creative! I’m definitely going to use some of these if I can remember.

Here’s wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

My kids are finally home from camp! They arrived over the weekend. I am SO glad to have them home.

First, let me say a big THANK YOU to all of you who left encouraging comments last week when I posted about my daughter’s camp fears. I cannot express enough how uplifting those comments were.

My sweetheart came home and was so full of fun stories from her time at camp. She loved it so much that she does want to go back next year. The one thing that she said she took away from this trip was the fact of how much she really appreciates her family and the closeness we share.

It just goes to show that sometimes, when push comes to shove, we need to be ready to push a little harder. Like a mother bird does with her little ones, WE know when they are ready to face the world. They may not be ready yet, but we can see it, we can feel it, and we know when to push and just how hard!

Let’s make an agreement to continue training our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord today!

I thought I’d share a few good articles I found on the web this last week. I hope you’re having an amazing weekend. I’m in the middle of a (budget) kitchen remodel. Look for pictures soon!

Enjoy!

~Five ways to reuse a lipstick tube

~Easy and frugal homemade air freshener

~Make a super cute ipod cozy from a spare sock

~Ten great uses for old phone books. There are some really creative ideas here.

~This article has some good “tricks” to be aware of. 50 Sneaky Grocery Store Tricks to Trim Your Wallet and Pad Your Waistline.

Just wanted to let you all know that I got a call from my daughter at lunch time. She had a rough night because she was homesick, but she woke up this morning feeling a little better and ready to have some fun.

She told me she was going to stick it out, not because I asked her to, but because she felt it was the right thing to do. She was quick to tell me she loved me, but she wanted to go play with the other girls! YAY!

Thanks SO much to all of you for your prayers and encouraging words. I do believe she will make it all the way through the week.

This post is not about saving money, or coupons, or recipes, or allergies. Today this post is about raising our kids. I am going through something pretty hard right now and I just thought I would share my heart with you.

Our children left for a week long trip to camp yesterday. They have not been away like this in four years. For my son, this comes easy for him because he is an extroverted child and loves to meet new people. For my daughter though, this is one of the hardest things she has ever had to go through. She is 12.

She called late last night all in tears. She was ready to come home. No amount of encouragement from me, her dad, her best friend who is at camp with her, and her brother who is also there could console her. She is ready to come home. Do I go get her or make her tough it out? That is the question on my mind today.

In one sense, I want to rush to her side, grab her up and rescue her from these fears that she has allowed to come in. I wan to scoop her up, hug her and tell her that everything will be okay. But I don’t. What? Why? I have encouraged her to stay and tough it out. I have asked her to pull from her strength from God to make it through.

My reasoning for doing this is simple. She is an introverted child. She has a hard time making friends. She doesn’t always feel that she fits in. But I want her to learn how to overcome her fears–to face them head on. I want her to realize that sometimes, we have to put on our armor that God talks about and fight–face those fears and conquer. Yes, it might be hard at first–to put one foot in front of the other, to step out of our comfort zones and face the unknown. But knowing that God is there to give you comfort and to help you through is a blessing.

On Saturday when I pick her up, I know she will be excited to see me and her dad. But I am hoping she walks away with a proud sense of being able to trust God to get her through a difficult time. I can always rescue if I am capable of it, but I want her to rely on God’s strength for her real strength and not me.

PERSEVERE.

That is the new word for our family this week.

What about you? How would you handle this situation? I would love to hear your thoughts.

This past week I hit a huge wall of frustration.  I am sure I am not alone when I say this:

Do you ever just get tired of trying to stretch that almighty dollar bill?

We had just finished getting some bills caught up and had just a little extra money to spend for a possible weekend getaway, when:

~the lawnmower broke

~the washer went on the fritz

~a part had to be replaced on the A/C unit

Our little bit of extra spending money had to go to fix all of these things. At this point I was simply tired and frustrated and I just lost it. Have you ever felt that way?

Sometimes life throws us curveballs, and for those of us who live paycheck to paycheck, any and all little setbacks can throw a kink in your finances. My advice to you is this–it is okay every now and then to have  a good cry about whatever is bothering you. Crying is a cleansing mechanism for your soul. Once you get it out of your system, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get right back on the frugal train.

Another thing that I realize I cannot do is focus on all that my neighbor has going for them right now. I have neighbors that are buying things left and right. If I focus on all that they have, I begin to look at what I either don’t have or the hand me down stuff I do have and start to covet what they are getting. This is a big NO-NO! We need to learn to be content with the things that God has given us.

Anyway, I just wanted to encourage you today to keep plugging along. When the going gets tough, get in there, roll up those sleeves, and get tougher! We have all been there and done that–so let’s encourage one another today in this area!