The Importance of Menu Planning

We save more money when I practice menu planning. I have to admit that far too often, I just wing it with figuring out what is going to be for dinner, and that tends to lead to more spending, either because we decide to go out to eat, we use up the more expensive convenience foods we keep on hand for emergencies, or we ignore our pantry or fridge and have more expired food. Since one of my goals this year is to stay on track with grocery spending, I am adding regular menu planning to the list of practices. … Continue reading

Fun Ideas for a Spring Staycation this Year

  For some families, spring break is almost here.  Having a week or two off from school is the ultimate idea of fun for many kids, but for moms and dads the seasonal vacation can be dreadful, especially if money is tight. Fortunately, you don’t have to drop thousands of dollars to make your child’s spring break memorable.  With the price of gas hitting record highs, millions of families are opting to stay close to home this season.  The idea of taking a staycation is even more tempting when you consider how much money you can save while still having … Continue reading

Navigating Alone Time

How well do you do on your own without your spouse?  I certainly don’t need Jonathan to look after me, and I could support myself without him, but that’s not what I’m talking about.  What I mean is: if there are times that your spouse is away from home from an extended period of time, how do you feel about it? I’ve never liked living alone.  If I wasn’t married, I would prefer having a roommate to living by myself.  I spent the summer before I got married living on my own, and it was unpleasant.  So when Jon goes … Continue reading

Staying Safe in the Winter

Winter brings its own set of hazards to our families. For example, did you know that sledding accidents will injure 20,000 kids this year? This is only the number that are serious enough to be reported through a hospital or visit to the doctor’s office. Short of putting our kids in bubble suits or making them stay indoors all day, what can we do to make sure that our kids stay safe in the winter? Here are some winter safety tips. Make Sure Kids Have the Right Stuff Before your child heads out the door in the winter, make sure … Continue reading

Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day

As single mothers we sometimes try to do it all. We’re working to support a family on our own while trying to be the nurturers we were meant to be. We run our children to their activities, make dinner, clean the house, do the laundry, and still manage to get up and do it all again the next morning without the help of a significant other. We want to be able to provide our children all the benefits they would have if we were a stay-at-home-mother, even though that is no longer possible. In short, we try to be superwoman … Continue reading

Mother Writes Lovely Blog About her Preemie

Every once in a while, it is nice to read a lovely blog that a mother has written about her child. There is a blog called Micro-Preemie to Miracle that mom Sarah Bollinger started about her son, Everett, who was born at 15 weeks premature. He’s come a long way! I always find stories about preemies to be very interesting. There is something fascinating about the story of a teeny, tiny, baby that struggles to grow and thrive. Often, their stories are uplifting and inspiring. It is nice to read something positive! Last December, I wrote about a preemie named … Continue reading

Sample Annual Review for a Home Based Business

Yesterday, I talked about the importance of evaluating your performance and the performance of your home – based business at least once a year. Since I have not evaluated my two home – based businesses yet this year, now is a good time for me to do so. Today I am evaluating my freelance writing business. It is the business that I spend the most time working at, and the business that is my primary source of income. Just so you know exactly what is being evaluated, my freelance writing business is a sole proprietorship. I work part time, between ten and … Continue reading

App-Schooling: New Tech Trend in Homeschooling

Computers and other forms of technology are no strangers to homeschooling.  Homeschool moms learned a long time ago that computers can aid the homeschool experience for both the student and the teacher.  If laptops gave our techie homeschool feet than the tablet gave it wings. Homeschool students and moms are finding the value in app-schooling.  App-Schooling is when a student uses a tablet and applications to study, reinforce lessons, or house lessons.  With tablet in hand, a homeschool student can unlock the door to the world one application at a time.  Homeschool moms can record, store, and plan, lessons. Homeschool portfoilos can … Continue reading

Three Home Businesses that Can Get You Out of Debt

To speed up your debt recover, consider starting a home business. It can help you earn extra income that can be applied directly to paying off your debt. Best of all? Most home businesses can be done at home, on your terms, and take as much time as you want to spend. This makes home businesses ideal for retirees, stay at home moms, stay at home dads, and even students. In fact, any one can start a home business to get out of debt. When selecting a home business to pursue for the goal of getting out of debt, it … Continue reading

Mistakes To Avoid When Starting Your Home Based Business

I just read an article about starting a home – based business that rubbed me completely the wrong way. Of course, it may be more about me than it is about the author of the article, because it was mostly a good article. It is simply written from a different perspective than the one that I come from. I take my home – based businesses just as seriously as anybody else, even though I work part time because of my primary career as a stay at home mom. The article that I read seemed like it was written for home … Continue reading