This weekend, I did some strategy shopping. I went to several stores to take advantage of their sales or catalina deals (a catalina deal is when you buy certain products and get a coupon to use on your next order.) At one store in town (Jewel), they had an incredible...
My walking partner, Crystal, and I were talking last night about the power of cash in a “less is more” budget. It’s a lesson that Mark and I have learned the hard way, blowing budget after budget using our debit card and losing track of just...
I was talking with someone about living with less and they asked me if I’d always been a contrarian. I laughed because I’ve certainly not ever used that word to describe myself (but I would guess that maybe my parents could have used that to describe...
One of the best thing a mom can do for herself and her family is to exercise. It’s a stress reducer, a health maximizer, and an important part of taking care of me! With a gym membership not in the budget, what’s a mom to do to find no cost...
An excited mom caught me after Mark and I finished the Living With Less So Your Family Has More workshop at the Hearts at Home Conference in March. “I’m so excited,” she said eagerly. “My husband and I have a comfortable lifestyle. I have never been...
You’ve probably heard the saying, “The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.” And then there’s, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Both of those sayings seem to describe our family. Take Erica, for...
One of my favorite mommy bloggers is Crystal Paine who blogs at www.moneysavingmom.com. When reading through the articles on her website I ran across one where she shared about her decision to stop buying paper towels. While not buying paper towels...
At the beginning of the year I shared with you the ministry transition that Mark and I felt God leading us to make. Mark resigned from his pastoral ministry and we are now speaking, writing, and encouraging families through Hearts at Home full-time….with a...
About a month before little Rilyn was born, I spent the weekend with Anne with the goal of helping her finish up the nursery. Once we had everything in it’s place, she looked at the white walls and said, “Mom, we can’t spend a dime making this room look warm and...
Money Management for Kidsby Jill SavageEvery child has their own financial personality. Three of our children are savers. Two are spenders. Of course, they take after both my husband and me, who sit at opposite ends of the spending/saving spectrum ourselves.Regardless...
A mom stopped me last summer after reading a newspaper article that stated the average cost of a wedding was now $25,000. “Jill, did you read that article about the cost of weddings these days?” I replied that I had seen the article to which she referred. She...
It’s 5 p.m. and you haven’t given dinner a thought. What can you throw together?The neighbor just called. Suzie, the young mother down the street, just had her second baby. The neighbors are organizing meals this week. Could you provide a meal tomorrow...
This past week we celebrated two birthdays in our family and we did both in a “living with less” style. Kolya turned 16 and his cake request is always an ice cream cake. A purchased ice cream cake is $20 or more, but a homemade one is right...
Today I said “no.”It was in response to something someone asked me to do. I wanted to participate, but I realized that doing so would put too much into one day. I needed to simplify. To leave some margin in my day. To choose less.Living with less doesn’t always have...
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