Falling Income: How To Deal
June 25, 2009 | 3 Comments
Many families are in a situation where they’re dealing with job loss or reduced income due to less work.
For many, budgets are getting tighter and tighter. Even if the current economic situation hasn’t much affected you personally, you may still be taking proactive measures to be more frugal which is certainly a smart move.
You may be wondering how you can start saving some money in various ways that will allow you to free up some space in your budget.
It basically comes down to two things:
1) Make More Money
2) Spend Less Money
Everything else is just minutiae, isn’t it?
Sometimes the second thing is far easier to control. Frugality is more about what you don’t do than what you do do (you know what I mean!). When you whiz by Starbucks, when you pass the snack aisle in the grocery store, when you stay home instead of going out, you practice #2.
But let’s talk about #1 for a second.
How do you find extra money where it doesn’t exist?
Basically it just takes a good idea.
photo credit: psyberartist
Everyone is good at something. Maybe you can make beautiful soaps. Maybe you sew. Perhaps you’re good at math and can tutor some kids. Whatever it is, start thinking of your skills.
Personally, I think every mom should have a blog.
It’s not a get rich quick kind of plan, it’s more of a long term thing, but still. It’s something that can bring in a side income and lead to other opportunities.
Just the other day I was talking with a mom who writes a fabulous blog. She works hard on it, she’s unique, she provides massive value, but she admitted that she’s not making much money.
My suggestion was for her to take some of her best posts and collect them into an ebook that she can sell. I told her the story of my first infoproduct, one that took me probably 6 hours total to finish up, but that has brought me passive income each and every month since.
Could you do that? Heck yeah.
I believe that every single one of us has a book inside of her.
There are also work from home job opportunities that require a bit of skill in some area (writing, web design, bookkeeping, graphic design, etc). I belong to a site called Hire My Mom. I wrote a review of this site here.
While it does require a small investment to access the database, it is well worth it. The posts are organized nicely and you won’t have to search painstakingly through hundreds of scammy MLMs or paid survey sites or any of that.
I posted that on my first DAY of membership, I was hired by a client who I did some work for. She was a joy to work with and it was a great experience for me.
If you’re a writer, you can find opportunities to ghostwrite. Your blog can be a sort of resume for you.
If you are letting the idea of hiring a fancy blog designer or figuring out how to “do” a blog hold you back from starting, don’t.
Reliable Webs (my web host of choice) offers free blog installations for new hosting customers.
Go here to get more information and click on “Free Blog Installations”.
Now let’s talk about #2 for a second: Saving money.
Believe it or not there are a variety of do it yourself ideas that you can easily incorporate into your life that don’t cost much at all. Here are some great ideas to try out that will help your budget and free up some money for you.
Make your Own Clothes-ish
I’ll admit, I don’t have a creative bone in my body. I can sew on a button and almost do a hem, but other than that? Meh.
If you can sew, you’re probably already doing it. But you don’t have to sew your own clothing to save money on clothes.
There are all sorts of ways to make your clothes look new and different without sewing them from scratch or buying things new.
Just the other day while shopping at a vintage clothing store in my neighborhood, I was given a free printout with instructions on how to fix a T shirt that’s too big. I could totally do this!
Repurposing stuff is especially important if you have children, who need new wardrobes nearly every year. Search books at the library and websites for creative ideas. For example, you can buy a couple cheap tank tops at a thrift store and sew a twirly fabric skirt onto them, creating low cost sun dresses for your daughters.
My 6 year old daughter inspires me because she “shops” from her younger sister’s dresser. She will put on her sister’s cardigan and make it into a shrug. She will put on a too-small tank top on top of another shirt and the effect is totally cute. (She didn’t get this creative dressing streak from me, but who cares?)
Got an old pair of jeans you don’t like anymore? You can turn them into a cute denim skirt fairly easily. Look at magazines like ReadyMade for inspiration.
If you need new clothes and you don’t know how to fit it in your budget, figure out ways to repurpose stuff you already have to save money. Or host a mom swap meet - where everyone brings stuff they don’t need anymore, and gets to shop for free! What an awesome way to keep stuff out of landfills and save money.
Grow (At Least Some) of Your Own Food
Groceries are getting more and more expensive as well. It’s hard to swallow when you go to the store and you find that simple food items have doubled in price. Growing at least some of your own food can help you to save money – even if it’s just your herbs. Planting a window box or some tomatoes in a container garden is not expensive at all. You can get seeds from a gardening friend or even plants that have already been started.
Do More Cooking Yourself
No discussion on saving money is complete without mentioning this tip. Not only should you do more of the actual cooking yourself, but think in terms of food preparation too.
Anytime your food is touched by human hands (cut carrots, sliced watermelon, etc), it’s going to cost you.
Train your kids to help you in the kitchen if you don’t want to spend your whole life cooking. Keep meals simple. I don’t know about you, but my kids don’t care if I make smoothies for lunch or prepare some elaborate meal for them. As long as their bellies are filled, they’re good.
Make Use of Used Objects
Making use of used objects in your home can save you money as well as keep stuff out of landfills. Here’s an example.
When I moved into my new house, I didn’t have a medicine cabinet to store our toothbrushes like I did in the old bathroom. At the same time, I had a cute red teapot with a missing lid. I didn’t use the teapot anymore because the steam would escape out of the hole and cool too quickly.
So I put it in the bathroom and it make a perfectly cute toothbrush holder (the toothbrushes go into the big hole, not the little one. In case you’re wonderin’).
My glass blender recently got smashed to smithereens. I’m going to locate one to replace it while I shop at thrift stores and yard sales, but in the meantime?
This works just fine for now. (Yes, that’s an upside down Mason jar. It fits perfectly.)
The more you stretch your frugal creativity muscles, the stronger they become and the more fun you have.
Our Grandmothers drew lines on the back of their legs when they couldn’t afford stockings. We need to get a little of that attitude back!
And there are certain hidden benefits to being this cheap. I’ll give you an example. One day I was at Target and happened to find a bunch of toddler girl’s shirts on sale for $2. I bought several of them, only to find out later that these very shirts had been found to have high levels of formaldehyde in them.
Thankfully I had washed them before my daughter wore them, but still… big ick. I don’t have to worry about this when I buy clothing for her at thrift stores and yard sales.
There are other ways to come up with quick cash if you’re feeling the pinch.
1- Host a yard sale. Do it with a neighbor so it’s not so depressing, and you can attract more attention (and maybe trade some items!).
2 – Sell unneeded stuff on eBay or Craigslist.
3 – Cancel subscriptions you don’t need (magazines, cable, gym membership, etc).
4 – Call your credit card companies and ask them to reduce your interest rate. You would be surprised (as long as you have a good payment history) at how eager they may be to please you as a customer. Better yet, use the yard sale, eBay and Craigslist money to pay off your credit cards forever.
5- Figure out how to lower your monthly bills. A couple of months ago I killed my land line, and I don’t regret it in the least. I just ordered a Magic Jack and will let you know when I use it how I like it.
Sell your dryer and commit to using a clothesline or indoor drying racks (I did this several months ago, and my electrical bill is lower than anyone I know because of this one thing). Reduce your utility costs by being more aware of your usage.
Of course, it goes without saying that the very act of tracking your expenses is HUGE. I just decided to starting using a tool at PearBudget. I’ve used paper systems before and they work fine, but the advantage of an online tracking system is that it does the math for you. 
If you’ve written a post recently about your strategies to reduce your expenses, please link to it in the comments. Thanks!
No Benefit to Filling Kid’s Cavities?
June 23, 2009 | 2 Comments
A couple of months ago I shared that one of my biggest regrets as a mom was allowing my son Julien to undergo oral surgery as a toddler.
I have found in this whole mothering gig that every time I ignore my strong instinct, I regret it.
This is just another example.
Today I came across this link from BBC News that points to the possibility that there is “No proof” that filling kid’s cavities does any good. According to the article:
“…anecdotal evidence gathered from the case notes of 50 dentists suggests filling baby teeth may achieve nothing but expose children to the discomfort of an injection and the sound of the drill.”
Obviously more research needs to be done. The article also mentioned:
“Professor Martin Tickle, of the University of Manchester, found no difference in the numbers of extractions for pain or infection whether baby teeth had been filled or not.”
Like Doctors, Dentists love to use scare tactics to frighten parents into doing unnatural, painful things with to their precious children. Things that go against every fibre of their moral sense.
Things like:
- You have to jab that child with a needle every couple of months starting from the time they’re 5 minutes old with a concoction of poisons so they won’t die of a loathsome disease.
- You have to tear that child away from your bosom before he or you are ready, so they will become “independent”.
- You must not let that child sleep in your bed or (gasp!) “use you as a pacifier” because you’ll make them needy.
- You have to send that child away to school so they can get a “proper” (who the hell gets to decide what *that* is?) education.
- Oh and last but not least, you have to cut off nearly 80% of your son’s genitalia and reduce his sensitivity by 75% so he will be “clean”.
Then we find out from those very experts that this stuff is, well…
photo credit: holisticmonkey
Let Me Tell You About Sally
June 19, 2009 | 3 Comments
4 days ago, a new person came into our lives.
We walked outside to do who knows what, and she came running from across the street.
She was beautiful.
Gleaming blonde coat, perfect clean ears, even her paws looked pristine.
But no collar and no (we were to find out later) microchip.
Someone likely abandoned her.
So far we have been unable to find her owner.
We registered at Pets911.org.
We placed a call to the local shelter.
We sent word out with a local pet store owner who notifies her email subscribers of found dogs in our area.
Nothing.
It took Julien about 10 minutes to name her.
Sally.
I had no dog food to offer, but I did have beef stew.
She ate 5 bowls of it.
Sally likes my beef stew, apparently.
Can’t say as I blame her – it was made with homemade broth from turkey and chicken bones and full of brothy goodness!
We discovered quickly that she enjoys car rides and doesn’t get car sick.
Everything hasn’t been perfect, however.
As is typical of a puppy, she has tried her teething teeth out on me. Since she hasn’t been socialized properly (which would take place at her mother’s breast or with her littermates), she doesn’t yet know what kinds of behavior are unacceptable.
Curiously, she never nips at the children.
Just Momma – but I know what to do with a biting baby.
After a few days of lots of love and affection and some negative feedback when she nips me (First offense, I “yelp” an ouch sharply or spritz her in the face with water. Second offense, playtime is over!)
She has cut open my hands and arms several times.
A trip to PetSmart for some nice acceptable chewy things (and a pink collar) helped tremendously.
Although she is making her way into my heart, I fear that I can’t keep her permanently.
I’m not sure I have the resources (financial, time, energy) to care for a fifth baby.
I will not take her to a place where she may be “put down” (nice soft euphemism for killed!).
Did you know Craigslist doesn’t accept pet listings?
I do. Now.
I do want a dog, eventually.
When the timing is better.
Sadie is now terrified to go into the backyard and the kids are avoiding it too.
While they seem to love the puppy, the younger kids are intimidated.
They want to play with her, but Sally’s exuberance frightens them.
I know they would eventually get accustomed to a dog, but I would rather start out with a very young puppy that wouldn’t frighten my youngest.
I’m not sure what I would do when we go out of town – which we’re doing twice in the next few weeks.
There is the monthly vet visits, the neutering, the food.
She’s a Lab so she’ll get very large. My friend spends $70 a month on food to feed her Lab.
We will miss her.
If you know anyone in the Atlanta area who would like a sweet, devoted Labrador mix puppy (female) who almost never barks (but who defended her turf instantly when Grandpa came around!), please email me.
clauth @ gmail
No Cook Summer Recipes
June 17, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Did you see my recent post on cool food for hot times?
Here are 3 more recipes for your dining pleasure. Enjoy!
3 No Cook Summer Recipes
Tuna Salad
(Tuna is full of essential fatty acids (Omega 3’s) which are good for your brain and heart, among other things.)
Ingredients:
- 2 cans of tuna
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 1 carrot
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 stalk of celery
- 1 cucumber
- 1-2 pickles (such as Bubbies, which are naturally fermented)
- 2/3 cup mayonnaise
- Cheddar cheese
- Whole wheat pita pocket, bread or crackers
Start by draining a couple of cans of albacore tuna packaged in water. Pour fresh lemon juice over it while you cut up the veggies.
You can get creative with the veggies of your choice or follow these recommendations: shredded carrot, chopped tomato, chopped pickles, and chopped celery for crunch.
Toss the tuna and veggies together in a bowl with mayo. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese. Serve inside whole wheat pita pockets.
photo credit: mynameisharsha
Red Grape Chicken Salad
(You can still prepare a chicken salad without having to cook the chicken itself on the stove. You can either cook the chicken in a crock-pot overnight on low, then refrigerate in the morning until you’re ready to use, or you can buy a pre-cooked, rotisserie chicken.)
Ingredients:
- Leftover chicken or chicken breast
- 1 cup of red grapes
- 1 cup chopped apples
- ½ cup raw sliced almonds
- ½ cup mayo
- Swiss cheese slices
- Croissant, whole grain bread or crackers
The first step in creating a chicken salad is to chop the chicken into small pieces. You’ll also want to chop your apples into small pieces. Any kind of apples will do, but red delicious or granny smith can make a good addition, or a combination of the two. Grapes can be left whole.
Toss the chicken, apples and grapes into a bowl with mayonnaise. Fold in your raw, sliced almonds and your chicken salad is done.
Slice open croissants, add a slice of Swiss cheese, then scoop in your chicken salad.
You can use crushed walnuts instead of sliced almonds, or a fancier cheese, such as brie, instead of Swiss.
Now how about a beverage? No hot stove required! Take advantage of theheat by using it to do the cooking for you.
Raspberry Sun Tea
Ingredients:
- 4 bags of organic black tea
- ½ bag of frozen raspberries
- Sweetener of your choice (Sucanat, honey, or stevia is best)
In a large mason jar, add several tea bags and water. Place the jar in the sun for a day.
When 3 hours have passed (this timing may vary), bring the jar inside.
Remove the tea bags and pour the tea in a pitcher. Be sure to add ice and sweetener as you desire.
What makes this recipe extra special is the frozen raspberries you’ll add to the pitcher.
Pour into glasses and serve with your tuna or chicken salad for dinner.
WW: Noodles
June 17, 2009 | 2 Comments
Babies and Buddies: Do They Mix?
June 16, 2009 | 5 Comments
photo credit: Sellers Patton
Does a baby make it difficult to cultivate friendships?
In my opinion, yes.
At a time in a woman’s life where she really needs other women, it’s often quite isolating when you have a new infant.
A reader wrote:
“My biggest challenge is probably developing friendships and nurturing relationships. I moved to a new city just after I found out I was pregnant. My son is now nine months, and I’ve yet to really connect into a friendship.
There’s a group of mamas who get together weekly to accomplish tasks that can easily get neglected being home alone with a kid- special meals, gardening, detailed cleaning, etc. The ladies are lovely, and so are their kids. But I find the scenario too hectic. It’s almost impossible to complete a thought, much less a sentence.
While it’s fun, I’m not really getting a strong friendship out of it. Just some social time. I thought that a baby would give more depth to potential friendships, but am finding it’s not the case for me.
I don’t feel particularly lonely, but don’t want my husband to be my one and only confidante.
I have a feeling that my son is really benefiting from our days together, mostly alone. We go to the library and the park fairly often, so he’s not a shut-in. And he interacts very well with older kids and adults, but shows little interest in most babies his own age. I feel his social interaction is fine for this age. I am confident that our concentrated time together is great for now, and as he gets older and less dependent on me, we’ll both have more friends.”
I can understand her feelings completely.
When my oldest was a baby, I often went to La Leche League meetings 3 times a month (3 different groups!) just for the social interaction. But it was very difficult to have a real conversation with all that was going on.
It does get easier. As the little ones grow up and leave your lap to explore, they free you up to engage more with other people.
Although I still have a difficult time having a phone conversation with my kids around!
How did you deal with this issue when your babies were little – or if your babies are still new?
Natural Moms Podcast #123
June 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment
My guest this week is Dr. Richard Selznick of Shut Down Learner.
He is a psychologist, nationally certified school psychologist and author of The Shut-Down Learner: Helping Your Academically Discouraged Child.
Our topic today is the “high spatial learner”, children who thrive with visual-spatial learning (the so called “Lego kid”) but who may struggle with learning in a traditional classroom setting.
Within the first few pages of the book, I recognized my 8 year old son, who can build anything and pick out songs by ear on the piano, but who has difficulty reading and following instructions. If you have a child with this learning style, the book will help you appreciate your child’s unique strengths and point you to resources to assist them so they don’t become discouraged.
Follow Dr. Selznick on Twitter!
ToT: 10 Things I’d Bring On a Deserted Island
June 16, 2009 | 4 Comments
This week’s Ten on Tuesday asks what 10 items you would want to bring on a deserted island.
Here goes:
- My kids. I don’t know if that counts as 1, or 4.
- My Bible.
- Lip balm. I’m sure I could make my own beauty products using whatever’s lying around, but I’m a real lip balm addict.
- A very large knife.
- Paper
- A supply of pencils – a girl’s got to document her thoughts, y’know? And I’m assuming this island has no wi-fi so, no blogging.
- A wide toothed comb so my hair doesn’t get TOO tangled from all that salt water.
- Some really cool sunglasses.
- Tweezers for my eyebrows.
A girl can dream, can’t she?
And if the kids count as 4 things, then skip items 3-6.)
Natural Sunscreen
June 14, 2009 | 3 Comments
Summertime is here and we’ve spent nearly every day outside, often at the pool or just hanging out in the yard.
The kids are getting as brown as nuts but noone has had even the slightest bit of red.
We all hear how important it is to take precautionary measures to ensure the kid’s safety in the sun, but limited sun exposure can actually be beneficial. In fact, some scientists claim that some skin cancers are caused by lack of adequate sun exposure (related to low vitamin D levels).
Everyone needs to soak in a few minutes of sun every day in order to absorb vitamin D into their body.
Newborns, of course, should really limit their sun exposure during the first few weeks of life. This means using shaded stroller covers, a window shade in the car and perhaps using an umbrella if you are holding the baby. If you wear your baby in a ring sling, you can use the “tail” to cover him up, as long as it isn’t too hot.
After a few weeks of age, the baby can be exposed to the sun in limited amounts, but they should be protected in order to do so. It was once thought by the medical community that babies less than 6 months of age should not wear sunscreen at all; for fear that their skin is too sensitive. The American Pediatrics Association now recommends that even smaller babies wear sunscreen. But, it’s important to find one that is safe.
I wrote about this topic last year too: Healthy, safe, effective sunscreen. The EWG (Environmental Working Group) is coming out with more info shortly on the subject, and you can go to their site to get the report on sun safety free of charge when it’s ready.
According to them:
“An investigation of nearly 1,000 brand-name sunscreen products finds that 4 out of 5 contain chemicals that may pose health hazards or don’t adequately protect skin from the sun’s damaging rays. Some of the worst offenders are leading brands like Coppertone, Banana Boat, and Neutrogena.”
Of course, hats and long clothing can also serve as protection from the sun. But who wants to spend
summertime covered up?
Natural Sunscreen
Recently I got a bottle of sunscreen from Oceana Naturals. Instead of the chemicals found in conventional sunscreens, it uses zinc oxide for protection from the sun. It also has antioxidants (which I’ll talk more about in a second) among its ingredients such as green tea, vitamin E, and date extract.
A read of the ingredients listing shows nothing unnatural – I can pronounce all of the words. All of it looks like food in fact! It’s also free of synthetic preservatives and fragrance. The natural oils give it a lovely scent. And unlike many sunscreens, you can apply it and get protection immediately. If you want to purchase a natural sunscreen, this would be a good choice.
Coconut Oil as a Sunscreen
For many generations, native populations living in tropical climates and islands have used coconut oil to protect their skin from the sun. The author of “The Coconut Oil Miracle”, Bruce Fife, shows how coconut oil is very beneficial for skin and body.
It can be used as a natural sunscreen and can even help absorb nutrients in the body, such as the much needed vitamin D. It also makes your skin incredibly soft and is surprisingly non-greasy. I feed coconut oil (and CLO) to the kids and they spend a couple of hours a day in the sun, and never get burned. I also haven’t used any sunscreen at all on them so I know it must be working.
Another Reason to Take Your CLO
You can also help protect your child’s skin from the sun by the type of food they eat. Free radicals are responsible for sunburn as well as the damage (premature wrinkling, skin cancer) from too much time spent in the sun.
Eating foods rich in antioxidants can help fight free radicals in the air and strengthen body’s resistance to UVA and UVB rays. Antioxidant-rich foods include berries, legumes, vegetables, citrus and green tea.
Cod liver oil may also have a protective effect because of the omega 3 fatty acids and vitamin D content. The University of Manchester published results of a study that pointed to a reduced risk of sunburn and skin cancer among people who take cod liver oil supplements.
Interestingly, the other week I got a touch of sunburn on my shoulders, but had been slacking on my CLO. It was a reader who reminded me of the connection. I started taking it again and haven’t had any problem since – even though we’ve been at the pool every day for weeks!
Cool Food for Hot Times
June 12, 2009 | 5 Comments
The other day the kids and I headed out to the park to enjoy the first really hot day of the season.
As soon as it starts to heat up outside, I find my appetite waning for cooked and hot foods. I want watery, cold things.
When it’s summer it’s too hot to cook. Who wants to heat up the house with the stove or oven?
You know what I had for lunch AND dinner?
A super cool Mexican layered dip, served with organic corn chips.
(And a side of watermelon.)
It had guacamole, chopped green onions, sour cream, black beans, diced tomatoes or salsa, sliced black olives, and shredded cheese.
YUM.
We had a lovely park in the picnic.
What do you like to eat when it’s hot out?
