Language arts is one of my very favorite subjects, both as a student myself and as a homeschooler. For that reason, I’ve spent a lot of time considering different curriculum and “perfecting” our approach. (And by perfecting, I mean what we’re doing is working so far for our two oldest…who knows what will happen as the rest of our kids hit middle elementary and beyond!)

First, a little bit about how I learned language arts (which for this post includes reading, spelling, literature, grammar and writing). I attended a Montessori school for 13 years (from 2.5 years old until 8th grade), and I can still vividly remember learning the parts of speech and their symbols—a big red circle over verbs, a big black equalateral triangle over nouns, etc. I can also see the wooden pieces we used for diagramming sentences, although I never really learned to diagram on paper. I learned to read phonetically, but I don’t remember much emphasis on spelling, literature or even writing in school.

In high school and college, I loved writing research papers (but have never really called myself a writer or done it for “fun”), and I’ve always had a pretty good grasp of grammar, even when I didn’t know all of the rules.

NOTE: Understanding proper grammar and choosing to overuse parentheses, ellipses and exclamation points on your blog and social media posts are two very different things—ha!

When our oldest daughter was a baby, I began working as a general and financial transcriptionist, and I started to learn more about the actual rules of grammar as I worked to properly punctuate the spoken words I was transcribing. I gained a better understanding of the actual rules for semicolons and commas, and—funny enough—I actually fell more in love with the grammar part of the English language.

Which brings me to homeschooling: my goal has always been to give my kids the tools they need to communicate effectively and intelligently through the written word without making the lessons themselves so dry and boring that they simply hated it. There are still plenty of times that my kids groan over language arts assignments, but for the most part the older ones have become enthusiastic readers and writers, which is my ultimate goal.

Based on all of the curriculum we’ve tried and reviewed over the years, my gut feeling is that there are a lot of really, really good options out there, with no one best option other than the one that is best for your family. In a world with unlimited time, I’d probably do them all just because they each bring different strengths to the table. But in the actual world, here are the ones we’ve tried and where we’ve ended up:

Sonlight

Although our sources have expanded over the years, I can’t write a post about language arts—and literature especially—without mentioning Sonlight. While the curriculum as a whole does not work for our family, I am so very thankful for their book lists, and I’d say that a majority of our books have come from these lists until just recently, when I started choosing more based on personal recommendations and our girls’ interests.

Explode the Code

I’ve tried several different methods for teaching my girls to read, but at the end of the day, the Explode the Code series of workbooks is the one I fall back on! For us, it just works—my girls enjoy these workbooks and can work on them fairly independently once they learn to blend sounds, and they walk through various phonics rules very systematically.

We typically add the early BOB Books readers (I’m not really a fan of the more advanced sets) and a few Sonlight readers as well.

Peace Hill Press

I absolutely adore the First Language Lessons series from Peace Hill Press. It’s a really sweet, simple program that I think lays the foundation for all of the language arts subtopics.

We work through the first two books in this series in conjunction with our CC memory work, but we take our time and don’t go much further since I know the rest will be covered in Essentials. I appreciate that this program includes not just definitions of various parts of speech but practice using them properly, memorization of poems, and some light dictation, copywork and retelling of stories. It’s also very manageable and takes just a few minutes each day.

We’ve also tried the Writing with Ease program, but we found it to be a bit redundant and overwhelming when my girls were little. Instead, we’ve waited until 3rd grade to start formal writing assignments with all of them, easing into it with our Story of the World summaries in 3rd grade and then jumping into Essentials with both feet in 4th grade.

Classical Conversations (memory work, Essentials, IEW)

Our family first joined Classical Conversations five years ago, as much for the community as the curriculum. At the Foundations level, language arts is limited to the memorization of English grammar rules and patterns, and while I consider that a valuable exercise, it’s never been enough for us, so we’ve always layered additional resources on top.

However, the Essentials program is really a standalone program. (In fact, while I’ve included Spelling Plus separately below, these spelling words are actually included in the Essentials program) I really, really love everything about this curriculum, and I’m enjoying my second year as an Essentials tutor and seeing how my oldest’s skills have progressed this year compared to her first time through.

Spelling Plus

Like writing, we’ve always taken a better-late-than-early approach to spelling, and that means that last year my 3rd and 4th graders started using Spelling Plus. I’ve plugged all the lists into Spelling City, and each week they work through one list, doing exercises and games to help them learn the words. Our girls—so far—seem to be fairly natural spellers, so that is enough for them to progress fairly quickly through it, and I haven’t looked into any additional spelling programs

(As a side note, we’re not currently doing any grammar editing work, but I think when our oldest finishes her Spelling Plus lists, we’ll look into the Editor in Chief program from The Critical Thinking Co. as well as the Fix It! Grammar books from IEW to decide how we want to proceed with editing practice.)

Logic of English

If we were not doing the Classical Conversations Essentials program, the Logic of English Essentials program would be my top choice. This program and the philosophy and research behind it are fantastic. Working through these lessons helped our oldest daughter overcome some struggles she was having as a reader by very systematically breaking down each of the phonograms in the English language with its rules and exceptions, and I would pull it out again for a struggling reader.

That said, a lot of it overlaps heavily with the CC Essentials program (especially the grammar), and while I do love language arts, I also want to avoid extra busy work in order to give my girls lots of time to play and explore on their own, so it’s not something we’ve continued with. But I am still a very enthusiastic fan of this program, and I recommend it often because it’s just so very well done.

We’ve also tried the Logic of English Foundations program, which I loved as a parent but was not a good fit for our youngest daughter. I’m tempted to try again now that she’s matured some, but it’s more expensive than Explode the Code (which is now working for her), so I’m not sure it’s worth the switch!

Brave Writer

We have not yet used any Brave Writer programs, but I absolutely love Julie’s approach to language arts and homeschooling in general, and I think all of her classes sound fabulous, so I just couldn’t leave this one off the list.

I’m drooling over these classes for my oldest daughter especially, and while Writing a Greek Myth would have been my top choice if it weren’t sold out (she’s on her second read-through of the Percy Jackson series in the last month), I love the idea of the online book club and having her join in for the discussion of Wonder in November:

• Fan Fiction
• Writing a Greek Myth
• The Arrow Book Club

Center for Lit

Similarly, I’ve been drooling over the Center for Lit’s Elementary Literature program, which includes Socratic discussions around monthly book selections. Unfortunately, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that the price of both of this one and the Brave Writer classes is one of my hangups. It’s not that I don’t think they’re worth the price, but rather that I need to prioritize where our homeschool budget is going and—so far—they haven’t been moved to the top.

How about you? Which language arts curricula do you love? What’s on your wishlist for the future?

This Month’s Most Popular Tips: September

5 Ways to Make Your Money Work Smarter, Not Harder. Don wants you to find the best way to be as efficient as possible when it comes to your finances.

$4,420 Credit Card Application Spree. If you are planning an application spree in the near future, here is some inspiration from the cards I targeted this time around.

How to Make Selling on Amazon this Holiday Season Even Better. There must be quite a few My Dollar Plan readers selling on Amazon, or at least interested in reading about it, since the topic always jumps up on the popularity list!

How to Plan a Free Trip to Disney World: Free Tickets. Why pay for tickets to Disney when you can redeem points and get them for free? Here’s how we’re making it happen!

Discover it $100 Sign Up Bonus & Apple Pay 10%-20% Cashback. The huge bonus this quarter was enough for me to switch from an Android to an iPhone. What about you?

More Popular September Articles

• 4 Ways to Save Money on Your Cell Phone Bill
• How to Plan a Free Trip to Disney World: Redeem Hotel Points
• New 4th Quarter 2015 5% Rotating Cash Rewards Credit Cards
• 4 Tips to Kick a Bad Spending Habit
• BankAmericard $200 Sign Up Bonus

Fan Favorites

• 6 Reasons Why You Need to Carry Cash
• 5 Budget Friendly U.S. Destinations off the Beaten Path
• Can You Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half Shopping Only Once a Month?
• Low Paying Part Time Jobs are Worth More Than You Think
• 12 Things to Stop Doing to Save Money… Right Now!

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In addition to the new phone, I picked up a new Discover it card during my $4,420 Credit Card Application Spree to double the Apple Pay cashback.

Before we discuss maximizing the offer, here’s an overview of the promotion from Discover it $100 Sign Up Bonus & Apple Pay 10%-20% Cashback a few weeks ago in case you missed it:

How to Get Your 10%-20% Cashback

1. Pay with your Discover card using Apple Pay from September 16 until the end of the year.
2. Automatically earn an extra 10% Cashback Bonus on up to $10,000 of in-store purchases.
3. If you enrolled in the Discover it 10% Double Cashback promotion, the Apple Pay offer should double.
4. Discover it Miles, Miles and Escape cardmembers will earn an extra 10 miles per dollar on up to $10,000 of in-store purchases.

If you missed out on enrolling in the double cash back in June, you can still pick up the double promotion with a new Discover card (and you get a $100 bonus). I canceled one of my old Discover cards to do this:

How to Get Your $100 Sign Up Bonus and Double Cashback Offer

1. Open a new Discover it card via referral to get a $50 sign up bonus.
2. Make your first purchase within 3 months of being approved.
3. Earn a $50 cashback bonus.
4. The sign up bonus should be doubled.

Maximizing the Discover Apple Pay Promotion

Once you have the right card and the right phone, it’s time to maximize the promotion!

Where to Apple Pay. You can use Apple Pay at these stores. I think I’ll print a list of these stores and put it in my wallet.

Where else to Apple Pay with NFC. It sounds like even if a store isn’t listed in the Apple Pay directory, but they accept NFC payments, you can use Apple Pay! This Slickdeals thread show an example of the NFC logo with a link to finding NFC contactless locations. This opens up many more stores!

Coordinate with Vacation. Walt Disney World is on the list! Thanks for the perfect timing Discover. As you know, we’re planning a trip there this month. If you are also planning a Disney trip before the end of the year, this promo should help you get 20% off of all your purchases there. I’m hoping that the restaurants we eat at accept Apple Pay and are coded as Disney transactions.

Selling on Amazon. Obviously, this is a huge promotion for anyone who is planning to make money selling on Amazon this holiday season. I can easily purchase thousands of dollars in inventory, although it’s a pain to make all the purchases in store!

Twice the bonus with multiple Discover cards. If you have two Discover cards, yes you can get twice the bonus. The offer is on purchases up to $10,000 for each Discover card!

Combine spouses on one Apple Pay account. Despite the $2,000 incentive, my husband wasn’t ready to ditch his Android phone. However, after I max out my card, I’m going to add his card to my phone. We each have 2 Discover cards so it sounds like 4 x $2,000 might just be possible…

Stack with 4th quarter bonuses. The 5% Rotating Cash Rewards for 4th quarter are clothing stores, department stores and Amazon.com. Amazon won’t work, but there should be multiple clothing stores and department stores that will work for stacking. You could earn 30% cash back at the stackable locations. Doctor of credit is keeping a list here (although I’m not sure if that list also includes the NFC locations).

Are gift cards eligible? The terms and conditions excludes gift cards. To see if they are actually excluding those purchases, I’m following this Frequent Miler thread closely to see what happens with gift card purchases.

Skip in-app purchases. Apple Pay offers in-app purchases. Don’t get confused, these are not eligible for the promotion.

Eligible iPhone devices. The Apple Pay compatible devices are iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, 6, and 6 plus. In addition, Apple Watches can also be paired with those phones or an iPhone 5, 5c, or 5s.

Cheap iPhone with SERO. We’re still holding onto our cheap Sprint SERO Premium plan from 2008. Hopefully, for long term readers who have been reading My Dollar Plan for more than seven years, you also have the old SERO plan. If so, you can pick up a new iPhone 6 for $99 if you have an upgrade to redeem.

Are you planning to maximize the Discover Apple Pay promotion?

More on Discover

• Discover it Referral Sign Up Bonus
• Discover it $100 Sign Up Bonus & Apple Pay 10%-20% Cashback
• Discover it 10% Double Cashback
• 2015 Discover Rewards Calendar
• Discover 4th Quarter 2015 5% Rotating Cash Rewards Credit Cards
• Shop Discover Cashback

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© My Dollar Plan

It’s been cooler this past week, which makes me even more excited for Christmas (I don’t think I could live in the southern hemisphere—or even in the south—where Christmas happens during warm weather months!), and my family is already counting down the weeks until we can put the tree up!

Whether you’ve already got the holiday spirit like us or you’re ignoring Christmas for as long as possible, here are this week’s best Christmas posts from the archives:

{14} Chocolate-Covered Espresso Beans

Chocolate-covered espresso beans are appropriate all year long, and these are so fun to make. You could make a batch this week and share them with your coworkers, children’s teachers or neighbors and be everybody’s favorite!

Click here for the recipe.

{15} Printable Gift Bows

These printable bows are elegant and simple to make, but they’d be a great project to start now so you can be cutting and folding while you watch TV or wait in the carpool line.

Click here to download this printable.

{16} Homemade Dog Biscuits

Don’t forget your furry friends this Christmas! This homemade dog biscuit is easy to make and looks so cute when cut with a dog-themed cookie cutter and tied with a bow.

Click here for the recipe.

{17} Gluten-Free Pecan Shortbread Cookies

Having to eliminate certain foods at Christmas is no fun, but this great gluten-free pecan shortbread recipe that Amy shared a couple years ago is a great way to make sure you’re not missing out on all of the treats. Make these for your own family or surprise someone who is gluten-free with an extra-thoughtful gift!

Grab the recipe here.

{18} Cranberry-Orange Quick Bread in a Jar

Gifts in a jar are a fun way to share holiday treats without worrying about them going bad before you can gift them or they can be eaten. Shaina’s cranberry-orange quick bread combines some of my favorite holiday flavors in one cute little package!

Click here to learn how to make them yourself.

{19} Borax Crystal Ornaments

Watching crystal’s grow is a fun experience any time, and this project is a great way to combine that fun with a lasting ornament for your tree. Make these as keepsakes for your own family or to share with other people.

Click here for instructions!

{20} Spicy Candied Walnuts

And finally, these spicy candied walnuts were one of our very first 101 Days of Christmas projects, and they make a delicious holiday treat!

Click here for the recipe.

When do you start thinking about Christmas?

We are chatting about one of my favorite essential oils today – THIEVES!

It’s that time of year when kids are back in school and supporting the immune system is number one at my house. I am so thankful to have Thieves in my mom toolbox.

This powerful and exclusive Young Living blend of Clove, Lemon, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus Radiata, and Rosemary essential oils may help support healthy immune function and contribute to overall wellness when taken as a dietary supplement. 

Thieves is Young Living’s top selling essential oil – hands down! It’s a VERY popular blend.

Check out this short video where I share the powerful properties and benefits of Thieves.

(If you are viewing this through an RSS feed in your email inbox, you will need to click through to the webpage to view the video.)

Uses for Thieves Essential Oil:

•  It includes Eucalyptus Radiata essential oil, which may help maintain a healthy respiratory system.
• Thieves is an ideal complement to a daily wellness regime.
• It supports oral health. You can dilute it with a carrier oil and apply it to support healthy gums.
• This is a hot essential oil, so you may need to dilute it with a carrier oil like olive oil.
• It supports the immune, cardiovascular, respiratory, and digestive systems.
• Itincludes the naturally occurring constituents limonene, eugenol, and eucalyptol. These are great constituents to research on your own time.
• It supports the body’s ability to regulate its natural immune response.
• You can gargle with salt, Thieves, and water.
• It has a rich, earthy, warm, and spicy aroma. It smells just like Autumn or Christmas. It’s very inviting!   

Make sure to check out my Awesome Immune Support Nectar Recipe post. Also, here’s the Thieves Tea recipe:

Here’s a wonderful online booklet with even more information for you to look through.

I am offering a FUN New Member Special. Purchase your VERY OWN Premium Starter Kit with Young Living through my community and you will not only get fabulous support with monthly online classes and a newsletter, but also a PRIVATE Facebook group – AND these FREEBIES!

If you are ready to dive into essential oils, you can find out more HERE!

*These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. The information on this website is based upon my research and personal use of Young Living Essential Oils. I am not a doctor. Products and techniques mentioned are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Powerful Immune Support – Thieves Essential Oil is a post from: The Confident Mom

“There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds.”
― Laurell K. Hamilton

If you love someone who is depressed, please resolve never to ask them why.  They don’t know.  Depression isn’t a straightforward, thought-out response to a tough situation – depression just IS, like December’s weather in Seattle.

Be mindful of the darkness, lethargy, hopelessness and loneliness they’re going through.  Be there for them, day in and day out, until they come through the other side.  It’s hard to be a true friend to someone who’s depressed, but it’s one of the kindest, finest and most impactful things you will ever do.

Angel and I have worked with dozens of depressed people over the years, and we have experienced bouts of depression ourselves.  One thing I am certain of is that there’s no “one size fits all” kind of advice for depression.  The reminders below aren’t universal clarifications, but simple guidelines that will hopefully give you a general starting point for helping your depressed loved one cope and heal, gradually.

Reminder:  Have you checked out our book?  We just released a new bundle pack for “1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently” which includes our eBook, audio book, paperback and bonus material on sale for a big discount.  Click here to check it out!

1.  Depression is not something a person consciously chooses.

When you’re lost deep in those woods, it might take you some time to realize that you’re lost.  For a while, it’s easy to convince yourself that you’ve just wandered off the path – that you’ll find your way back any moment now.  Then night falls, again and again, and you still have no idea where you are, and although it’s agonizing, it’s time to admit that you’ve disoriented yourself so far off the path, so deep into the woods, that you can’t even tell which direction the sun rises or sets from anymore.

You’re not choosing to be where you are, but you can’t see a way out.  That’s how depression felt to me when I was struggling through it many moons ago. (more…)

How about a little throwback to when Sean and I were dating?! Such babies at 17 and 18 years old!

Y’all, we are preparing for our newest little guy to be here in just 4-6 weeks, and I bounce between feeling like that’s still forever and feeling like it’s coming way too fast! The other day I laid down on the couch, flat out exhausted from a busy day, and I just wished that if I was going to be exhausted anyway, I could do it with a tiny baby curled on my chest.

I am almost done with my “nesting” list, which included cleaning out pretty much every room, cabinet and storage box in the entire house, and I’ve been checking things like vision insurance for our family and updated life insurance off my to-do list as well. Now that the Healthy Living Bundle is over, my work hours are back to “normal” (whatever that means!), and my reading has picked up as well. And we’re all loving this gorgeous fall weather!

What I’m reading: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel and ADHD Without Drugs by Sanford Newmark, MD

What I’m thinking about:

{Follow my personal Facebook feed for the things I’m thinking about and talking about all week!}

Thriving rather than surviving

• The five areas where I can’t afford to be low-maintenance. | Modern Mrs. Darcy

• Moving from Survival Mode to a Minimalistic Schedule | Smallish

• Who’s Taking Care of You? | The Bright Light Forever Feeling

On strengthening relationships

• 64 Positive Things to Say to Kids | Creative with Kids

• The Best Way to Compliment Little Girls | Washington Post

• The Secret Enemy in Your Marriage | Relevant Magazine

Have a great weekend!

The Bank of America sign up bonus is 20,000 points, doubling their old 10,000 bonus points offer. The points can be redeemed for $200 towards your next travel purchase with their BOA Travel Rewards card.

It’s Free Money Friday!

How to Get Your $200 Bonus

1. Sign up for the BankAmericard Travel Rewards* credit card.
2. Make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days.
3. Receive 20,000 points.
4. Redeem points for a $200 statement credit towards travel purchases.

*The BankAmericard Travel Rewards is currently listed under the Airline & Frequent Flyer reward card category in our credit card directory.

Bank of America Terms and Conditions

• No annual fee.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• Limit one (1) bonus points offer per new account.

More on Bank of America

Earning Points. Earn 1.5 points for every $1 you spend on all purchases. Your points don’t expire.

10% Bonus Rewards. You can earn a 10% points bonus on your total purchases when you have a Bank of America checking or savings account.

Redeeming Points. You can redeem your points for a statement credit to pay for flights, hotels, vacation packages, cruises, rental cars, or baggage fees.

Intro APR for Purchases. 0% Introductory APR for the first 12 Statement Closing Dates following the opening of your account.

More Popular Free Money Offers

• Discover it $100 Sign Up Bonus & Apple Pay 10%-20% Cashback
• American Express Business Gold Rewards 75,000 Point Sign Up Bonus
• How to Find and Save Money with Digit
• Directory of Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses

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© My Dollar Plan

Reevaluate Quarterly Cash Rewards

It’s our quarterly check-in to reevaluate the cards we are carrying to take advantage of the best 4th quarter 2015 cash rewards credit cards bonuses. Every quarter we reevaluate the cash back cards to make sure we get the highest cash back on each purchase including the credit cards that offer cash back on a rotating quarterly schedule.

As you switch out your cards, don’t forget to follow up on all your rewards and make sure you are earning the right cash back and maximizing all of your purchases.

We do the same swap every quarter, so you know exactly how it works: take out the old 3rd Quarter 2015 5% Rotating Cash Rewards Credit Cards and maximize your cash rewards for 4th quarter 2015 to make sure you have the right cards, you are signed up for the 5% promotions, and you know where to use them.

4th Quarter 2015 5% Cash Rewards Credit Cards

Discover it. The Discover 5% cash back for 4th quarter 2015 includes Amazon.com for the second quarter in a row! Don’t forget you earn double your 5% to 10% cash back if you are a new cardholder or signed up earlier this year! Here’s more information on the Discover it 10% Double Cashback. The 4th quarter 2015 Discover it 5% categories are:

• Clothing Stores
• Department Stores
• Amazon.com

See the specific details for the Discover it Apple Pay 10%-20% Cashback this quarter.

Discover 5% cash back is on up to $1,500 in purchases. Here’s the place to activate your 4th quarter Discover rewards. See the entire 2015 Discover Rewards Calendar.

Chase Freedom. The Chase Freedom card is also featuring 5% cash back on Amazon this quarter! The 4th quarter 2015 Chase Freedom 5% categories are:

• Amazon.com
• Zappos.com
• Audible.com
• Diapers.com

Chase Freedom 5% cash back is on up to $1,500 in purchases. Here’s the place to activate your 4th quarter Chase Freedom rewards. See the entire 2015 Chase Freedom Rewards Calendar and the Best Way to Maximize Chase Ultimate Rewards Points.

Citi Dividend. Citi 5% cash back this quarter is also focused on holiday shopping. The 4th quarter 2015 Citi Dividend 5% categories are:

• Best Buy
• Department Stores

Citi 5% cash back is on up to $300 cash back per calendar year ($6,000 in purchases). Here’s the place to activate your 4th quarter Citi Dividend rewards. See the entire 2015 Citi Dividend Rewards Calendar.

US Bank Cash +. Don’t forget you need to pick your 5% categories each quarter for the US Bank Cash + card. Here are some of the 5% cash back choices:

• Gym & Fitness Centers
• Cell Phone
• Various Stores (Clothing, Department, Sporting Goods, Electronics, Furniture and More)

You need to select your categories five days before the end of the current quarter. US Bank 5% cash back is earned on your first $2,000 in combined net purchases (purchases minus returns or credits) in your chosen 5% categories. Here’s the place to activate your 4th quarter Cash Plus rewards.

No Sign Up Needed

And as always, here are the easier cash back categories, since you don’t need to sign up:

*I left the categories on the grid for those currently in rotation. Readers requested that I leave them on as a backup for which card to use once they’ve exhausted their rotating rewards.

How to Get Your 5% Cash Back

Here’s my checklist for rotating cash back programs:

1. Sign up for all of the new quarterly cash back programs, even if you don’t know if you’ll use that card. To sign up, just log in to your account online and select the 4th quarter 2015 5% cash back information. In order to earn the 5%, you have to enroll in each program quarterly.
2. Write which categories to use each card for using a marker on the front of the card. It works really well to keep the cards straight!
3. To keep the list of cards straight, I also began printing out a quick cheat sheet to slip in each of our wallets.

Sign Up Bonuses

All of the links for current sign up bonuses are now listed in our credit card directory. Others are below:

• Discover it $100 Sign Up Bonus
• Fidelity 2% Cash Back & $50 Sign Up Bonus

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© My Dollar Plan

Kids’ birthday parties are lots of fun, but planning them can be somewhat stressful. There are decorations and favors to buy, refreshments to choose, and games to plan. For the guests, there are arrangements to make and gifts to buy.

Also, there are lots of etiquette issues to consider on both sides. Here are some birthday party etiquette tips to help you get through it all.

When Your Child is the Host

• If you can invite some, but not all, of the children in your child’s class at school, mail the invitations or deliver them to their homes if possible. Doing so will save hurt feelings. If that is not possible, have your child give them to friends as discretely as possible, and tell your child to try to avoid talking with friends about the party at school.

• Be as specific as possible on the invitations. If you want the parents to drop the child off, put the child’s name on the invitation. If a parent or sibling is welcome to come as well, add the words “and parent” or “and guest.”

• If guests do not RSVP, feel free to call and ask politely if they are coming. It is their responsibility to let you know, but some people just don’t. Calling to find out one way or the other will make planning much easier.

• Talk to your child before the party about their responsibilities as the host. Reinforce good manners and encourage your child to make sure that all of the guests are having a good time. If your child forgets to thank guests for their gifts, a gentle reminder should suffice.

• Have extra food and favors on hand. An unexpected parent or sibling may show up, even if you were extremely clear about who was invited on the invitations. The best thing you can do is be prepared for this.

• When the party is over, have your child write thank you notes. If your child is too young to write, he/she can help you by telling you which guest brought which gift or signing the cards. The idea is to show that it’s the right thing to do, even if your child is not capable of doing it all on his/her own yet.

When Your Child Is a Guest

• Read the party invitation carefully to see whether the parents should stay or the child should be dropped off and whether the child is invited to bring a guest. If it is unclear, don’t be afraid to call the parents and ask.

• Get your child to the party on time. If you’re dropping your child off, be back to pick them up on time too.

• Refresh your child’s memory on the subject of good manners. Even the best mannered child in the world has a lapse every now and then. It doesn’t hurt to remind your child of the finer points.

There you go! Here’s to a great party season!

Birthday Party Etiquette Tips is a post from: The Confident Mom

The quality of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.

If you ask me what is the single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, attachment and other stressful complications.  And if you didn’t ask me, I’d still have to say it anyway.  😉

Stress is a major problem for many people – a hectic, stressful work environment, a chaotic home life, unpaid bills to worry about, and harmful habits such as unhealthy eating and lack of exercise can lead to a mountain of endless stress.

If your life is full of stressful complications, like mine once was, there are some simple things you can start doing to get your life to a more peaceful and mindful level.

Now, your life will likely never be 100% stress-free – I don’t even think that’s desirable, even if it’s possible, because some stress, at a sensible level, positively challenges us and helps us grow.  But when stress gets out of control it creates a foundation of unhappiness and unhealthiness.

How do you learn to be mindful of your negative thoughts so you can turn things around?  Simple: you practice.  And how do you practice mindfulness of your thoughts?  That’s exactly what the recorded webinar below will help you do.

Last week we teamed up with the founder of SimpleREV, Joel Zaslofsky, to record this webinar just for you.  It’s about an hour long, but I highly recommend you create time to watch it.  Here’s what we cover:

• How to turn your thoughts from a random obstacle course into an intentional landscape.
• How to stop your mind from habitually abusing your spirit.
• Why self-compassion isn’t optional (assuming you want to be healthy and productive).
• The only two steps you need to simplify anything in your life. (more…)

Like most of my fellow type-A’ers, I have a thing for office supplies, calendars, and planners. There’s nothing quite like turning to a fresh page in your planner or looking back at a page of completed tasks.

My problem is that I tend to get “planner blindness” after a certain amount of time, which means that every planner I’ve tried has eventually lost effectiveness for me, forcing me to switch to something new. I’m not quite sure why this happens, and it hasn’t been something I’ve been able to really figure out or control; I just switch systems when it happens and continue on my way.

My longest running system was the Daily Planner from Invite.l, which I used for more than a year. Again, I’m not sure what happened, but ever since I abandoned that one, I’ve mostly stuck to Steno pads and notebooks for running to-do lists. (Because as much as I love planners, I don’t want to spend money on them just to shove them in a drawer after a month or two!)

However, at the beginning of August, Anne posted a picture of her planner on Instagram with a caption about organizing and recording all of her various scraps from the previous week as she began planning for the coming one. I was intrigued by the layout of the planner and the many comments from people who also use Planner Pads, and I immediately hopped on their site to get an idea of how it worked.

The idea is simple: each week gets a two-page spread that includes 7 separate to-do lists across the top, daily task lists in the middle, and appointments at the bottom. It works as a funnel, allowing you to write to-do lists by category or project, then assign those tasks to various days, and then give them a specific time slot on the agenda.

There is also a sidebar for calls to make and expenses (I use this section for grocery/shopping lists) plus a blank page for notes and a full-page monthly calendar at the beginning of each month.

Because we’re so close to the end of 2015, they have a great selection of 2015 planners on sale, which seemed like the perfect way to try this system out for myself. And I’ve been hooked since it arrived!

This planner has been a game-changer for me as I juggle Life Your Way, my work for Ultimate Bundles, homeschooling, tutoring and more. I’ve always categorized my to-do lists, but I love that those separate lists are built in to these pages so that I’m not guesstimating how much space to leave for each list or trying to create my own sections. And I love having a written calendar in my planner for scheduling appointments, making plans, etc.

It’s not a cheap system (which is why I recommend starting with a clearance planner!), but they do offer a money-back guarantee, and the difference it’s made has been worth every penny. Now if I can just figure out how to make this one stick longterm!

Do you use a planner? Do you switch systems often or stick with the same one long term?

Over the years, I’ve documented many of my previous application sprees to pick up bonus offers bringing in $3,000, $2,075, $1,525, $750, $1,720, $1,800, $2,000, $2,325 and over 500,000 points and travel miles.

Credit Card Application List

1. Discover it. $100 sign up bonus + $2,000 cashback. The $50 sign up bonus is doubled when you use apply for the Discover it card via referral. Discover moved to the top of my application list this year. 5% cash back quarterly bonuses during the holidays and the 0% for 12 months on purchases and balance transfers is standard. However, when they announced the Discover it 10% Double Cashback offer, I knew I wanted another Discover card! The Apple Pay 10%-20% Cashback just made another $2,000 in cash back possible!
2. Chase Sapphire Preferred. $450 bonus. 40,000 points plus 5,000 points for an authorized user. I can redeem these for $450. I applied for this card back in 2012, so I’m eligible for the bonus again (24 month waiting period). However, this will be my only Chase application this time since they implemented the new 5 approvals in 2 years rule.
3. BOA Travel Rewards. $200 bonus. The offer, which is normally $100 is doubled right now for $200. In addition, this card offers 0% for 12 billing cycles on purchases. You earn 1.5 points for each dollar you spend.
4. Capital One Spark for Business. $500 cash bonus. You can earn 2% cash back on all purchases. There’s also a Capital One Spark Cash Select card that has a 0% offer with a $200 sign up bonus that earns 1.5% cash back. For me the $500 offer wins!
5. Citi Double Cash. 2% cash back and 0% for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers. I’m targeting this card in case the rumors of the Fidelity 2% card going away are true.
6. Barclaycard Arrival. $420+ sign up bonuses. I’m going to try for a churn on the Barclaycard Arrival for the 40,000 bonus miles (which is worth $420 in travel). I just closed my old downgraded card, so I’m not expecting an approval. However, Barclay doesn’t have any 2nd best cards to choose from right now!
7. American Express Business Gold Rewards. $750 sign up bonus. The 75,000 points are increased from the standard 25,000 points. I had this card already, but closed it in April last year. Since it’s been more than 12 months, I’m eligible for the bonus again! Here’s directions on how to get the increased bonus.
8. BOA Cash Rewards for Business. 0% for 9 billing cycles on purchases. There’s no longer a sign up bonus on the business version, but I’ll pick it up for the 0% for some inventory purchases this quarter once I burn through all the sign up bonus requirements. It also offers cash back of 1-3% depending on the category.

I left a personal American Express card off the list this time. I already picked up a Starwood and a Delta card in the last year. I was too slow for the huge Platinum 150k, so I’m going to hold out and see if it, or another huge offer like it, makes a return.

Overall Value

The total for all of the sign up bonuses is: $2,420 bonuses + $2,000 cash back = $4,420. In addition, I’ll have four cards with 0% to use for leveraging to make money Selling on Amazon this Holiday Season.

Credit Card Application Links

All of the links I used for the application spree are now listed in our credit card directory.

For the extra bonuses, I applied for the Discover it card via referral and the Amex Business Gold Rewards through the 75k points link.

More on Credit Card Application Sprees

• Tips and Tricks for Planning Credit Card Application Sprees
• How to Collect Multiple Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses
• How to Prioritize and Maximize Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses
• How Much Do Credit Inquiries Really Matter?
• Avoid Joint Credit Cards to Double Your Sign Up Bonuses
• Convert Credit Cards Instead of Paying Annual Fees
• Credit Card Application Spree Q & A
• Beginner Credit Card Application Spree Q & A

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

A friend of mine posts a daily Christmas countdown starting in mid-September (clearly we were destined to be friends!), and according to today’s post, there are 95 days until Christmas—I love it!

Here are this week’s “best of” posts:

{7} Handprint, Footprint & Fingerprint Calendars

The handprint calendar was one of my favorite annual gifts for the grandparents and great-grandparents when our girls were little. We’ve gotten out of the habit as they’ve gotten older, but I can’t wait to do one with the boys in a few years!

Click here for the template. Find ideas for your calendar here: handprints & footprints, fingerprints.

{8} Chocolate-Hazelnut Biscotti

Biscotti is one of those things that feels really intimidating until you do it the first time. Start practicing your biscotti skills now, and share tins of your favorite flavor this Christmas for an elegant gift!

Click here for the recipe.

{9} Printable Jesse Tree Ornaments

Jesse Tree devotionals are a great way to keep the focus on “the reason for the season”, and these gorgeous printable ornaments are a great way to make this an interactive tradition.

Click here to read more about this tradition and grab the printable!

{10} Unwrap a Book Every Day

We have a thing for children’s books, and wrapping up our Christmas book collection so that we can open a book each day in December is a great way to enjoy them even more.

Click here for a list of my favorite Christmas books.

{11} Stove-Top Potpourri

This simple stove top potpourri can be easily customized with your favorite scents and spices, and it’s sure to make your home smell like the holidays.

Click here for ideas for making your own!

{12} The Best Breakfast Casserole

We love this breakfast casserole all year long, but it’s been a favorite for Christmas morning for the past few years. Prepare it the night before with the breakfast meat of your choice and pop it in the oven while you open presents!

Click here for the recipe.

{13} Candied Orange Peel

Candied orange peel is a fun and tasty old-fashioned candy. Serve it plain or dip the pieces in chocolate for an extra special treat!

Click here for the recipe and my best tips.

What is your favorite Christmas tradition?

“Our life is frittered away by detail.  Simplify, simplify.”
― Henry David Thoreau

Crazy, isn’t it?

How complex and complicated life has become.  You pack so much into your days that you feel weighed down.  Checking emails and social media over breakfast, and catching up on news headlines before you even hit the shower.  Staying in touch used to involve talking to real, live human beings.  Now we absorb data through a screen more often than not.

There’s so much to remember and so much to do in this overly connected world.  It can feel like you’ve run a marathon by mid-morning.  And the craziest part is, you get so busy rushing around trying to meet everyone’s needs that you forget your own half the time.  You lose sight of what’s truly important.  And all those significant, meaningful things you intend to do are never done.

Like spending time with people you love.  Or organizing a much-deserved weekend away.  Or doing something you enjoy.  You never have the time to do those things because everything else seems so much more urgent.  So, despite your best intentions, you relegate quality time to the bottom of the list.

If only things could be simpler.  Then you’d feel lighter and be able to enjoy life more.  But how do you make things simpler when they’re so overwhelming and complex on most days?  The last thing you need is an extra protocol to follow or a complicated approach to living.

Instead, you need some straightforward, effective ways to make life easier.  Try some of the following strategies to simplify your life and lighten your load.  They’re not complicated, and they’ve worked well for me over the years.  All you have to do is put them into action, gradually, one at a time.

1.  Question Your Yeses

When someone invites you to a social event or asks for your help, you instinctively (more…)

From Instagram: Who taught my baby to throw a “fut-ball” like a big boy?!

After the excitement of bundle week, my husband being out of town, and our trip to labor and delivery last week, I am looking forward to a quiet weekend (with a little nesting thrown in because I just can’t resist!).

I know some women hate football season, but I’m so glad football’s back! There’s nothing I love better than curling up with my husband on the couch during a 1 o’clock game while the girls play and the baby naps! I usually read until I fall asleep and then wake up in time to watch the 4th quarter. I can’t imagine a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon, and we’ve even switched back to the early service at church just to make those leisurely Sunday afternoons possible!

What I’m reading: The Royal We by Heather Cocks, Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler’s Guide to Unshakeable Peace by Sarah Mackenzie

What I’m thinking about:

{Follow my personal Facebook feed for the things I’m thinking about and talking about all week!}

Homeschooling from the heart

• The Enchanted Education | A Brave Writer’s Life in Brief

• 5 ways to grow your confidence as a homeschooler | Simple Homeschool

The importance of focus

• I’m Returning to Single-Tasking | zen habits

• Why I Try to Stay On Top of the Little Things | Andrea Dekker

Why you need to believe in YOU

• Sweet Release From the Judger in My Veins | Hands Free Mama

• Possibly the Most Important Message You Will Hear This Week | Money Saving Mom®

• Space for Your Soul to Breath | (in)courage

Have a great weekend!

However, there’s also a 75,000 point sign up bonus right now, you just have to get to the landing page! I just applied and my application went through without a problem.

It’s Free Money Friday!

How to Get Your 75,000 Point Sign Up Bonus

1. Open a new American Express Business Gold Rewards card*.
2. Spend $10,000 during the first 3 months.
3. Earn 75,000 points.

*You may have to try a few different browsers or go incognito to see the increased offer. I was able to see it immediately when clicking through feedly.

Doctor of Credit points out there is another offer that is targeted to earn 75,000 points when you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months. The direct link for that offer is Business Gold Rewards. You won’t be eligible for the $5,000 spending requirement if you get the message: “We’re sorry, our systems are currently down. Please try to apply again later. Alternately, you can apply by phone 24/7 by calling 1-800-519-OPEN.”

Terms and Conditions

• Annual fee $175 (waived for the first year).
• Limit one offer per Card Account.
• Welcome bonus offer not available to applicants who have or have had this product within the last 12 months.

More on American Express

Earning Points. You can get 3x bonus points on one category you choose. The categories are airlines, advertising, gas stations, shipping and various computer providers. You’ll earn 2x points on the other 4 categories and 1x points on all your other purchases. The list of providers is at Rewards Categories.

Category Selection. Unlike our quarterly cash back cards, you get to make your selection annually. The annual selection period is from December 1st to January 31st each year. If you don’t change your selection, it will be the same as the previous year.

Redeeming Points. You can redeem your points for $750 in gift cards, for shopping, travel, statement credits and more. See the Best Way to Maximize American Express Points.

Spending Requirements. The spending requirements for this offer are fairly steep. For some inspiration here are 22 Ways to Meet Spending Requirements for Sign Up Bonuses.

Standard Offer. If you aren’t eligible for the targeted offer and don’t want to meet $10,000 in spending requirements, the standard offer for 25,000 points is still available. It’s listed in the business category of our credit card page.

More Popular Free Money Offers

• Discover it $100 Sign Up Bonus & Apple Pay 10%-20% Cashback
• Bank of America $2000 Small Business Sign Up Bonus
• How to Find and Save Money with Digit
• Directory of Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

Since we were up late last night with our second trip to labor and delivery this month, I figured a pregnancy update was long overdue.

First, the important stuff: Lucas and I are both healthy.

But I gotta tell you, this pregnancy is nothing like my others, and I am not looking forward to discovering what surprises this little guy has for me in labor!

Let’s recap…

In the first trimester

• I spotted weekly from a subchorionic hematoma. After 4 miscarriages, the constant spotting left me fearful and on edge, and at one point my mom even made the drive from NC because I was sure I was miscarrying.
• I threw up more than I have in previous pregnancies and also spent more time in the bathroom anticipating throwing up. While I’ve always dealt with morning sickness, and this was nowhere near what my friends with hyperemesis gravidarum have experienced, it still made it hard for me to function normally.
• I developed a sinus infection that just would not quit, which resulted in headaches that were so bad I would just lay in the bed and cry.
• My blood pressure often dropped to 70/40, leaving me feeling weak and dizzy.

In the second trimester

• The headaches continued, which frustrated me because my pregnancies have always been blessedly headache free after the first trimester.
• Our anatomy scan showed some anomalies in Lucas’s measurements—several of them were ahead while others were not. When my belly was also measuring large at my next prenatal appointment, I was sent to the maternal fetal specialists for a follow up. There, all of his measurements continued to measure ahead (although with more consistency, which was reassuring), and the doctor seemed surprised to learn that all of our other babies have been on the small side (from 6 lbs 13 ozs to 7 lbs 8 ozs). But because his measurements were consistent with each other and had not leapt any further ahead, they ultimately gave us a clean bill of health and sent us on our way.

In the third trimester

• My joints—especially my knuckles and knees—are super achy, regardless of how much water I drink.
• My feet have swollen to alarming proportions several times.
• I’ve experienced heart palpitations and higher-than-usual (for me) blood pressure. (These last two things were the cause of my first L&D trip, but they watched my blood pressure and tested both my kidney and liver levels before sending me on my way with no signs of preeclampsia)
• My iron and B12 have been super low, which leaves me feeling exhausted rather than energized, a feeling I don’t at all enjoy.
• I found myself laying on the bed, dizzy as could be, in the middle of the night a couple nights ago.

Which brings me to yesterday! I was still feeling dizzy, so I was taking it easy, and in the afternoon I was sitting on the porch with Jackson while the girls played down at the “big circle” at the end of our (very long) driveway. They were climbing trees (but not high), reading, having a picnic etc.

Suddenly, Sidney started screaming, Parker took off running for the house, and Dylan yelled, “She fell!” So I grabbed my flip flops, told Jack to stay on the porch and took off running down the driveway. (In reality, it was some sort of fast walk/slow jog/attempted run. But either way, I made the 500-yard trip as quickly as I could, preparing for a broken bone, while Parker headed up to the house to be with Jackson.)

By the time I got there, she had stopped screaming and I could see that she was fine except for some pretty heavy scratches on her legs. We gathered up their stuff and headed back to the house, where I immediately sat down with my feet up.

I had the girls take over pretty much everything so I could stay sitting, but at dinner time I got up for just a few minutes. Within 12 minutes, I’d had 3 contractions (which is not all that unusual for me), so I decided to sit back down. But they kept coming, one after another. Although I normally would have relaxed and laid down for a bit, Sean and our oldest were actually out of town—5 hours away in NC—and I began to panic instead, trying to figure out if and when I needed to go to the hospital, how I was going to get there, what I was going to do with the kids.

Finally, I decided I just needed to go because I didn’t want to be at home still if they picked up in intensity or active labor actually began. As Sean and I were texting trying to figure out what to do with the kids, my sister called to see what she could do (she was about an hour-and-a-half away from the hospital), and I burst into tears…and continued to cry for the next hour. I was so stressed and overwhelmed! I finally just put a request in our local homeschool community’s Facebook group (which is very tight knit) to see if anyone could meet us at the hospital. Within minutes my friend Kate had called and said she was on her way, and I had texts and messages from other friends who were available too. Sean was also able to get ahold of his mom, and she started making her way to the hospital as well.

And Sean and Peyton began packing up in NC to make their way home right away rather than waiting until morning.

At the hospital, my contractions slowed for a bit before picking back up in regularity, but an internal exam showed that my cervix was still long and tightly closed, which was very reassuring. We stayed for another hour-and-a-half or so waiting for the results of the fetal fibronectin test. When that came back negative (indicating with 99% accuracy that I would not go into labor), they sent me on my way.

By this time it was after 9pm and I had a headache from the stress and emotion of the evening, but I was just so thankful that I was able to go home with a baby still in my belly!

My kids were such troopers, and I’m so thankful that they got in the car when I needed them to (and even got Jack buckled in his car seat) and were well behaved for Kate and “MooMoo” at the hospital.

Now, if we could just get through the next 5-7 weeks without any more drama, that would be amazing!

“Happiness depends upon ourselves.”
― Aristotle

Some people appear to be happy on the outside, but they struggle anxiously behind closed doors and don’t give the matter much thought as to why.

Others make big plans based on what they’ve been told “should” make them happy: “I’m going to marry a good man, we’re going to buy a house, and we’re going to have three children and a house in the suburbs.”

As long as they’re busy doing whatever it is that distracts them from the truth – their truth – they’re like a boulder tumbling down a mountainside: they bounce and react impulsively to the surrounding environment, and they blunder onward with no thought as to where they’re headed.  They get their house, sometimes a really big one, and they think that’s the meaning of life.  And they never question it until they feel empty inside, often decades later.  Yet their eyes continue to betray the sadness that they refuse to speak of, and perhaps don’t even know they carry.

So…  Are you happy?

Knowing the answer to this question is important.  Living every day in such a manner that makes happiness possible is life changing.  Here are twelve basic laws of happiness we often cover with our coaching/course students that make life-long happiness a gradual reality:

1.  Integrity is the foundation of a happy, meaningful life.

• A lot of the everyday conflict that arises in our lives exists simply because we’re not living in sincere alignment with our core values – we’re not being true to ourselves.
• Wherever your heart is – wherever your truth is – that’s where you will find your reason to smile.

(more…)

First I showed you how we’re redeeming hotel points to pay for our rooms. Next up is the tickets!

To get our theme park tickets without spending any out-of-pocket money, I used a combination of multiple Capital One Venture Cards and two Disney services for discounted tickets.

Walt Disney World Tickets

I was in shock when I saw how much tickets to Disney World cost! A four day ticket is over $300 per person. For a family of five, that’s $1,500. Luckily there are ways to save on theme park tickets. To pay for our tickets I used the 40,000 mile bonus offer from the Capital One Venture card. Here’s a quick recap:

40,000 Capital One Venture Card Bonus

1. Open a new Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card*.
2. Spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months.
3. Earn 6,000 miles and 40,000 bonus miles.
4. Redeem for a $460 travel credit.

*The Capital One Venture Card is currently listed under the Airline & Frequent Flyer reward card category in our credit card directory.

How to Get Your Free Disney World Tickets

You can redeem 46,000 miles for $460 in travel credits. Purchase your tickets on your Capital One card.

After you purchase your tickets, you can select “Redeem Travel Purchases” to apply your travel credits to your ticket purchase. We purchased our tickets from Undercover Tourist (more on ticket purchases below), which was coded as a travel purchase by Capital One.

More on Ticket Purchases

Mouse Saver Newsletter. To purchase the cheapest tickets possible, I subscribed to the Mouse Savers newsletter. In the newsletter, which comes once a month on the 15th, there’s a link to purchase discounted tickets from Undercover Tourist.

Undercover Tourist. I ordered some of the tickets by mail, and others by email. All arrived and were loaded to our account without any problems. This was the cheapest place I found tickets that I knew would be coded as a travel purchase by Capital One.

Additional Miles. Depending on the tickets you want, you can spend additional on the card to earn 2 miles per dollar to redeem against the tickets. We charged slightly more on one card to buy the 4 day tickets (which came with a 5th day free).

Double up Spouses. We each applied for this card separately and ended up with over $1,000 in free tickets to Disney World!

More on Our Disney Trip

Stay tuned for more on our Disney trip including how we got free hotels, free flights, and saved on everything else! How many opportunities can we find to avoid spending thousands of dollars for this trip?

How did you save money on Disney World tickets?

More on Travel

• How to Plan a Free Trip to Disney World: Redeem Hotel Points
• Tips for Buying Souvenirs and How to Find Them For Free
• Finance Tips: 6 Ways to Save Money on Your Disney World Vacation
• How We Earned a Free Trip to Steamboat
• Is AAA Worth It?

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

5 Ways to Make Your Money Work Smarter, Not Harder

Many people don’t get excited about personal finance, so the smarter we can be to make it as effortless as possible is the route to take. Below you will find a handful of ideas to work smarter, not harder with your finances.

1. Sign Up For Bill Pay

Technology is making it easier for us to work smarter in terms of our finances. One such way is to sign up for automatic bill pay with your bank. More and more banks have the ability to retrieve your monthly bills online and if you so choose, you can set up to have your bank automatically pay the bill for you.

This means no more late payments (and fees). No more having to spend the time to write the check out or even enter the bill pay information into your account if you manually pay online. In one step you can add bills and check the box to have your bank pay the bill.

Read More: 8 Easy Ways to Organize and Simplify Your Bills

2. Automate Savings

The same idea applies with saving money as well. Take 5 minutes to set up an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings account. If you do this on the days you are paid, you will never notice the money is missing and will guarantee that you save some money every month.

Simply choose an amount you would like to save in a year and divide it by the number of times you are paid. Then set up the transfer for this amount. For example, if you want to save $5,000 this year and get paid bi-weekly (26 times a year), set up the transfer for $192 every time you get paid.

Read More: Save Money Automatically with Digit

3. Increase your 401k Contribution

Here is another trick to save more money. Email your benefits department or human resources department to see how you go about increasing your 401k contribution. Some might have to fill out a form while others can do it right from their online account. Whichever you have to do, do it now and increase your contribution by 1%. Then go into Outlook (or whatever email provider you use) and set up a reminder for this date next year to increase the amount you save another 1%.

Some readers will be lucky in that they can just check a box and each year their contribution amount will automatically increase 1% per year. For the rest of us though, we have to set the reminder.

Read More: Why You Should Save 1% More Each Year

4. Switch to Cash

If you find yourself spending more than you make, then you need to switch to an all cash diet. Put the credit cards away and start paying cash for everything. It saves time in that you won’t have to record every purchase you make (though you still should). Plus it helps you to avoid debt.

Even if you are not in debt, I suggest you try this out. It really is amazing how much more you question purchases when you have to part with the $20 in your hand as opposed to simply swiping a piece of plastic.

Read More: Give Yourself an Allowance to Control Spending and Save Money

5. Switch to Store Brands

Tired of comparing prices at the grocery store? To make things simple, just opt for the store brand. Most times they are the same as the brand name item and will cost less. Of course, make sure you double check the first time just to be certain.

Also, when you are grocery shopping, bigger usually means lower price per unit. But this doesn’t mean you should always opt for the biggest size available. If it is an item that spoils or you use infrequently, then buying a smaller size and paying a higher unit price makes more sense than buying in bulk.

Read More: 11 Ways to Save Money on Groceries

Final Thoughts

There are many other ways you can start working smarter with your finances and I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments. Remember, the more efficient you can be in terms of personal finance, the more likely you will be to stick with it long term, especially if you find personal finance is not your cup of tea.

Take the time to start using some of these ideas and in time you will notice that you have a stronger financial picture than you thought possible.

More Finance Tips

• How to Put More Money in Your Savings Account
• What Should Your Financial Pie Chart Look Like?
• 30 Money Saving Tips
• Can You Have a 401k and an IRA at the Same Time?
• 9 Tips to Stretch the Life of Common Household Items
• Watch Out for These 3 Scams
• 10 Surprising Things You Can Turn Into Cash

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

For the past four years we have spent each September through December completely focused on Christmas. If you’ve been hanging out around here for any time at all, you know that I absolutely love Christmas—the sparkly lights, the traditions, the gift giving, the charity…all of it!

This year, however, I have an almost-full-time job outside of blogging, we’re homeschooling four kids—two who are steadily marching toward middle school—and we’ve got a toddler and another baby on the way. To say that life is a little overwhelming already would be an understatement.

Because my goal for the past two years has been to really live, to get out from under my workaholic tendencies and make time for people and the things that are really important to me, and because I want to do my best to treasure Lucas’ early days as part of our family (even though I won’t be taking an extended maternity leave like I did last time around), I decided that I simply didn’t have the bandwidth to create, refine, and photograph 100 projects for the series this year.

But there are a lot of really great projects in the archives already, so each week I’ll be highlighting my very favorite in a “best of” post to inspire you for this year’s Christmas season.

Although I say it every year, it’s worth saying again: This series is not a to-do list of projects or a standard you should follow. I host this series each year because I enjoy it, but there’s just not time to “do it all,” so only a small number of recipes and crafts make it into my personal Christmas planning. I hope you’ll discover a few new recipes, a fun craft or two, a new tradition or gift idea without feeling the pressure to do more just because more is available!

To kick us off for 2015, we’ve got 6 of my very favorite projects:

{1} 2016 FREE Christmas Planner

With more than 25 printables (in both full-sheet and half-size!) to help you plan out all of the details of your Christmas season, this planner has everything you need to organize your holiday so you can sit back and enjoy the details!

Click here to download the individual printables, or visit the Life Your Way shop to buy your complete planner in a single download.

{2} Maple Chip Biscuits

These biscuits are so incredibly delicious that I can almost taste them as I write this. We loved adding these to our Christmas morning breakfast last year, but I’m glad to be sharing them so much earlier in the season this year because they’re perfect for fall as well!

Click here for the recipe.

{3} Paper Star Ornaments

Whether you’re decorating your own tree or making ornaments as gifts, these paper star ornaments are fun and impressive. They’re not difficult, but they do take some time, so be sure to start on them early!

Click here for the complete tutorial.

{4} Operation Christmas Child

Our family loves putting together shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child each year, and the great thing about starting early is you can pick up seasonal items (like school supplies!) on sale, which means you can pack an extra box or two for the same price!

Click here for a list of our favorite items to include.

{5} Cinnamon-Chip Snickerdoodles

Like the maple biscuits, these cookies are perfect for fall as well as the holiday season, and you won’t regret mixing up a batch this month…just to test them out, of course!

Click here for the recipe.

{6} Chex Mix (in 5 different flavors!)

Homemade chex mix is a classic holiday treat, and we’ve shared several different flavors over the years. Although caramel corn chex mix will forever be my favorite, this candy cane chex mix is addictive as well. Or if you prefer savory, start with the classic original chex mix!

Click here for all 5 flavor combinations and their recipes.

Come back next Monday for 7 more ideas!

Steps to Prepare for the Holiday Season Selling on Amazon

Preparation is key to being successful and making money on Amazon. If you are an Amazon seller, here’s how I prepare for Q4 and the holiday season. I like to break my preparation into four distinct categories including planning and organizing, maximizing product profits, minimizing time, and maximizing secondary profits.

Plan and Organize

Set your Goals. Before I made $100,000 Selling on Amazon Last Year, I set my goal and made a six figure action plan. In order to set profit goals, you need to know your expenses and markup to determine how much inventory you’ll need to buy.

Look at your Calendar. Review your calendar for 4th quarter. Determine when all of your products must be shipped in for the holiday season and put together a plan based on your available time. Last year I had purchased 70% of my inventory during September and October since that’s when my kids are in school. This year we’re taking the kids to Disney World right in the middle of my “prime” purchasing month! No problem, I’ll just block out that week and adjust my purchasing requirements below.

Calculate Purchase Requirements. Review how much inventory you purchased each week last year. Then adjust it to match the amount you need to purchase to meet your goals. For instance last year I purchased about $30k worth of inventory in September and $100k in October. If I wanted to keep my goals the same, I’d make a point to purchase $130k in the next 6 weeks before we leave on our trip. That’s roughly $4k in purchases per day if I want to stick to my schedule.

Reorder Supplies. What Supplies Do You Need to Sell on Amazon? Make sure you have all of your supplies. Replenish any supplies. Here’s my list of closet supplies I check: Orange-Sol De-solv-it, Dymo Labels, 3 inch tape, Boxes, Poly bags and printer paper and ink.

Maximize Product Profits

Review your Most Profitable Items. Don’t reinvent the wheel and look for new products. I start by reviewing my best selling and most profitable items from last year. I use Quickbooks to track all of my inventory and produce these reports. These are the first items I will plan to reorder. There’s no need to look for new products until you’ve reordered all your proven money makers.

Expand on your Most Profitable Items. In addition to reordering your most profitable items from last year, use them for inspiration. Look for other size, colors and variations of your product. In addition, look for accessories that go with your product. Amazon makes this easy, since they recommend items that are frequently bought together further down the page. For example, people who buy a Spirograph also buy colored pens. Amazon also suggests pages of other items customers bought who bought your product. Review the suggestions for ideas.

Expand in Most Profitable Stores. I also like to review where I bought my merchandise and how well it performed. If one source consistently delivers profits on the inventory you buy, it makes sense to expand some of your shopping there!

Eliminate Least Profitable and Troublesome Items. If I never see another Lalaloopsy Fairy Fern Doll in my life it would bring me great pleasure. Sometimes you have to Cut Your Losses Selling on Amazon and dump terrible products. Just learn from it, and don’t buy any more. And think very carefully about buying additional products in the same line of a bad performer. In addition to eliminating items with poor profitability, I also eliminate any products that caused a lot of headaches with higher than average returns.

Minimize Time

Document Repeated Tasks. I keep a log of workflow processes. That way, when I have to repeat it, I have a system in place. For example, I keep a spreadsheet for the inventory I order. I record the order number, date, purchase price, quantity, ASIN, credit card used, cash back earned, tax exemptions, rewards to redeem, when it’s received and when it’s shipped to Amazon. I also record any follow up items, record it in Quickbooks, upload it to Amazon, and determine the initial selling price, profitability, break even point, and ROI.

Identify Tasks for Automation. I look for ways to automate any of the repetitive tasks and replace my documentation system. Any way that you can minimize time spent on repetition is opportunity to spend time on more profitable tasks.

Outsource. I outsourced all of the inventory processing last year. I used My Inventory Team to receive, prep and ship all of my inventory to Amazon. This was a major improvement in process that allowed me to scale the business.

Eliminate Time Consuming Tasks with Low Value. Just like eliminating unprofitable items, I also review time consuming tasks that earn very little return. Then I eliminate them.

Utilize Tools. Many of my task automation involves using tools. I mentioned some of the basic tools and a few books I bought when I started (including Retail Arbitrage and Selling On Amazon: How You Can Make A Full-Time Income Selling on Amazon) in How to Make Money on Amazon. Over the last few years, I’ve added many tools. The three tools that added the most lift were Seller Engine, Keepa Alerts, and Feedvisor.

Maximize Secondary Profits

While making money selling the products is the primary source of profit, earning indirect profits (including things like online cash back, credit card rewards, free trips, etc) is a big contributor to my bottom line. Since it’s also the link between many of the free money offers at My Dollar Plan, it’s one of the most enjoyable parts of selling!

Plan Application Spree. You’ll notice I usually plan a fall credit card application spree to take advantage of credit card sign up bonuses and 0% on purchases. It’s easy to Meet Spending Requirements for Sign Up Bonuses buying inventory. The bonuses also provide a large secondary profit!

Maximize Cash Back Rewards. In addition to the sign up bonuses, I’ll make a list of target cards for holiday shopping to maximize 5% Quarterly Rotating Cash Rewards.

Stack Bonuses. Taking advantage of the Discover it $100 Sign Up Bonus & Apple Pay 10%-20% Cashback for a $2,000 savings on buying inventory is obviously at the top of my checklist this holiday season! I keep track of all the bonus offers to make sure I meet all the requirements.

Action Plan

I’ll use all the steps above to create my action plan for the holiday season. In addition, I’m always on the lookout for new ideas and ways to innovate. Last year I bought a used copy of Online Arbitrage. While I was already buying the majority of my inventory online, it opened my eyes to buying inventory directly from Amazon! In addition, it gave me some ideas that I used to brainstorm other ways to innovate and automate my purchasing.

What are your plans for Amazon selling this holiday season?

More on Amazon Selling

• How to Make Money on Amazon
• How I Made $50,000 Selling on Amazon
• Examples of Profits from Selling on Amazon
• How I Made $10,000 Selling on Amazon
• How to Get Started Selling on Amazon
• How to Cut Your Losses Selling on Amazon
• Reader Shares His $12,000 Amazon Success Story
• Can You Make Six Figures Selling on Amazon?
• Tips to Make Money Selling on Amazon: Reader Q & A

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

Taking control of your health? Strengthening your body? Feeling confident in natural remedies? Serving real food without slaving away all day? What are those things worth to you?

While I’m not someone who spurns all modern medicine or never serves food out of a box or a package, I am someone who wants to find small changes I can make that will have a big impact on our family’s health (like eliminating red food dye from our oldest’s diet).

For those of us who are busy and just trying to stay on top of life, little changes that have a big impact are priceless.

But what about this bundle I keep telling you about? What’s it really worth?

I know it might seem like the infomercial on TV, where they promise you this gadget and this accessory and free shipping—oh, and if you order right now, they’ll double you’re order for FREE!

It might seem like that, but I promise it’s different. Each of the ebooks and ecourses in this bundle really does sell for the price listed, for a total value of more than $1900! But for one week we come together as authors and content creators and teachers to make it available for you at a crazy low price.

Why? Well, to put it bluntly, because we’re hoping that the volume of sales we see offsets the deep, deep, deep discount.

And then our bonus partners agree to throw in their own special bonuses (things like glass strawsand herbal tinctures, homemade lip balm and essential oils) because they want a chance to win your ongoing business.

Altogether, it’s worth $2,140.42…but you’ll pay just $29.97.

Is it worth that? Every penny.

(And if you’re still not convinced, there’s a 30-day, no-questions-asked, money-back guarantee. What do you have to lose?)

Here’s the catch, though: this year’s Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle is only available until 11:59 p.m. EST tonight. If you wait any longer, you’re going to miss it!

Click here to get yours today!

Today I’m joining up with Jamie at Simple Homeschool to talk about the toughest part of my homeschool year. There are really so many options that I may have to do my own mini series over the next couple of weeks…

…homeschooling multiple children with a toddler underfoot (and a baby on the way).

…homeschooling as we enter adolescence.

…homeschooling a child with suspected ADHD.

…homeschooling while working full time at home.

Since the one that has been most prevalent struggle our entire homeschool journey is homeschooling while working, I’m going to start there.

I’ve been a work-at-home mom since our first baby was conceived 12 years ago, and in that time I’ve done everything from home daycare (fellow introverts can laugh at the idea of me taking care of other people’s children for 12 hours a day!) to general and financial transcription to legal coding to blogging to my current role as the director of strategic relationships with Ultimate Bundles.

I’ve worked anywhere from a few hours a day to more than full time, and the only time I haven’t worked was during my extended maternity leave when Jack was born two years ago.

Needless to say, we’ve developed fairly good coping skills during this journey: we start our girls on independent school work early and as much as possible; we embrace audiobooks for our read-alouds; and we stay home a lot.

If I were to give myself a grade for homeschooling while working, I’d probably give myself a B—I am confident in what I’m doing and the education I’m ultimately giving my kids, even if it’s far from perfectly executed.

But just as Sarah MacKenzie talks about in Teaching from Rest, being confident and at peace does not mean that it’s easy, and this year more than ever I’m feeling the weight of responsibility and the struggle to juggle work and school.

Part of it is my kids’ ages this year: I have two in Classical Conversations Essentials program, which is a more intensive study of language arts and writing that requires more of my time; our youngest daughter is doing her second year of kindergarten, which means it’s time to tighten things up just a little and be more consistent about school (even if I think kindergarten should be mostly for play); and Jackson is almost two, which means he’s into…well, pretty much everything.

And part of it is that my job, while still very flexible, is more intense than the work I’ve done in the past. I spend more time on the phone, more time in meetings, more time answering time-sensitive emails, and I still need to find time for brainstorming and quiet, focused work on top of that.

Although I’ve known this about myself for a while, one thing I’m working to address this year is my own need for focused work time. I get that during the early morning hours, but it’s not enough for the day, and being constantly interrupted leaves me inefficient and feeling grumpy toward the girls and work.

As I learn to balance my inner needs with the demands of schooling and working, I’m struggling a bit this year to find that “teaching from rest” posture. So for now I just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Here’s what that means for us:

Schooling year round.

While I know many people take a summer break precisely for the rest, I’ve found that continuing our school year all year provides more rest for me (and my kids) because we don’t have to worry as much about finishing the book before our break or racing the calendar. It also means we don’t have to readjust to the school routine, and it’s been a huge help these past few weeks that the start of the new school year has been fairly seamless. This is by far one of the best decisions I made as a homeschooler, and one that I know enables me to work and homeschool.

Independent schoolwork.

As I mentioned, independent schoolwork is the core of what we do. Sometimes that means the girls work by themselves, and sometimes it means they’re paired up to work together, but either way, they have quite a bit of work that they can do without me. (In full disclosure, they still end up having questions or needing help on the simplest and most straightforward assignment, but I can usually answer their questions and then they’re able to work on their own.)

Spiral notebooks.

I am pretty sure I am going to still be raving about spiral notebooks on my death bed. These daily spiral notebook checklists have made such an incredible difference in our school day. In some ways, I use them not only for checklists but to address the issue above by anticipating questions the girls may have and adding notes right to their checklist. It’s made it easier for me to communicate my expectations, and the girls love the routine and that they have control over their own day! (It’s worked so well that on non-school days or days when we need to get out of the house I’ve started using post-it note checklists to keep them on track.)

Using technology…sparingly.

I am hesitant to jump into the use of technology in our homeschool with both feet because I’ve seen my kids’ tendency to become obsessed with the digital world (ahem, just like most adults I know), but I’m not anti-technology either. Using Teaching Textbooks for math changed the entire atmosphere of our home at math time, and this year we’re testing Khan Academy as a possible alternative (the truth is I can’t make up my mind about math curriculum for this year!). In addition, the big girls both started coding classes at Khan Academy, which they’re really enjoying. We also use DuoLingo, Spelling City, and Explode the Code online, and all of these are effective tools that free me up just a bit to work so that I do have time to work more closely with them on other subjects.

Being flexible.

By far, the most important tool in my homeschooling-while-working toolbox is simply a willingness to be flexible. Sometimes I need to take a break from work to focus on the girls and their needs and sometimes I need to declare “school-lite” so I can finish a project at work. I’ve learned (am learning?) to not just throw my hands up in the air and declare the whole day a failure when one thing starts to go wrong or I’m feeling frazzled, and I’ve stopped beating myself up when we have a busy week that doesn’t quite go as planned. We fill our home with lots of good books, Legos for building, supplies for science experiments and art projects, and even when the schoolwork doesn’t get done, I know they’re learning and exploring and discovering.

I have a feeling that homeschooling while working will always be somewhat of a struggle—it would be so much easier to focus on one or the other—but I’m thankful for the opportunity to do both, and I think we’re all learning a lot in the process!

“Put your ear down close to your soul and listen hard.”
―Anne Sexton

This morning I was picking up a few grocery items at a local convenience store when an elderly man with a guide dog came in, went to the aisle with the greetings cards, picked up a card, held it up extremely close to his face, and struggled to read it.  Just as I was about to walk over to help him, a big, burly truck driver asked him if he needed assistance reading, and then proceeded to read him almost every single greeting card out loud until the elderly man smiled and said, “That’s perfect!  My wife will love that one!”

As the elderly man checked out at the register, I walked up to the truck driver and said, “I admire your kindness.”

“Thank you, sir,” he replied with a smile.  “Lately, I’ve just been letting my soul guide me.  It would have been much easier to let that man struggle, or let someone else help him, but my soul knows the easy things in life aren’t always the right things.”

“That’s honestly beautiful,” I said.

“Well, all of our souls are equally beautiful,” he quickly added.  “We just need to listen to what our souls want us to know more often.”

Don’t you just love that sentiment?

I’m sharing this story with you today because I think this man’s message is one we all need to be reminded of.

When it comes to living our lives, we spend too much of our time living as an egocentric avatar – overly attached to our perceived identity and societal opinions.  We have an ego, a personality, a history, cultural viewpoints and experiences that overpower the intuitive messages our soul is telling us.

But our soul is timeless, eternal and infinitely wise, and it needs to be listened to.  Our “intuition” is really just our soul whispering prudent insight into our ears, especially in busy, stressful or confusing times.

Here are 40 encouraging things your soul wants you to know:

1. Some people talk with you in their free time, and some free their time to talk with you.  Today, and every day, you can be the latter to the people you love.
2. The smallest act of kindness is always worth more than the grandest intention. (more…)

Discover just announced that they will offer 10% cashback for using Apple Pay in stores. If you signed up for the Discover it 10% Double Cashback earlier this year, you could earn 20% cash back on $10,000 in purchases.

$2,000 on $10,000 in spending… I think this is a legitimate reason to pick up a new Discover card (and an iPhone)!

Discover also has a $50 sign up bonus that you can double for $100.

How to Get Your 10%-20% Cashback

1. Pay with your Discover card using Apple Pay from September 16 until the end of the year.
2. Automatically earn an extra 10% Cashback Bonus on up to $10,000 of in-store purchases.
3. If you enrolled in the Discover it 10% Double Cashback promotion, the Apple Pay offer should double.
4. Discover it Miles, Miles and Escape cardmembers will earn an extra 10 miles per dollar on up to $10,000 of in-store purchases.

If you didn’t enroll in the double promotion, you’ll have to get a new card to double the offer. I enrolled my husband, but didn’t enroll myself, so it’s time for me to get a new card:

How to Get Your $100 Sign Up Bonus

1. Open a new Discover it card via referral to get a $50 sign up bonus.
2. Make your first purchase within 3 months of being approved.
3. Earn a $50 cashback bonus.
4. The sign up bonus should be doubled.

More on Discover

2 Card Maximum. I spent some time on the phone with Discover today working through these offers. You can only have 2 Discover cards at a time, so I went ahead and closed one of my cards. I was a little sad, since it was from 2006 (but the other card was from 2003!) from one of my application sprees almost a decade ago. Keep the card maximum in mind before you apply for a new card to get the double cash back.

Referrals. You can refer your family and friends to earn $50 cashback. My husband is referring me, so he will earn $50 for the referral, and I’ll earn $50 which will double to $100, and I’ll get the double cash back! There’s a maximum of 10 referral rewards ($500) per calendar year.

Earning Cashback. We’re using our Discover cards heavily right now for the 5% (10% when doubled) Cashback Bonus for Amazon purchases during 3rd Quarter 2015. 4th quarter cashback is listed in the 2015 Discover It Rewards Calendar as holiday shopping!

Source. Slickdeals via Doctor of Credit.

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

(Photo Credit: adamr/Free Digital Photos)

Ways to Save Money on Your Cell Phone

1. Check For Corporate Discounts.
   Many corporations offer a discount on cell phone service. When I worked for an electronics retailer, there was a deal with Verizon Wireless that allowed me to get 10% off. When I switched careers to financial services, my new employer had a discount with AT&T for 20% off of service, so I made the switch.

   All you have to do is reach out to your human resources department and ask. Just send them a quick email to find out. You might be surprised as to what you find (and in some cases you can learn about many other discounts your company offers as well for other products and services).

2. Be Smart With Data.
   Data is what costs most people the bulk of their bill. After all, more and more cell phone providers are offering unlimited calling and texts and charging you for data. The key to lowering the amount of data you use it twofold.

   First, take a look at what apps and services are set to run in the background. I am certain you can find some apps that you can easily turn the refresh feature off. You probably won’t be able to use these apps when using cellular service, but if you never really use them that much anyways, then it’s no big deal.

   Added to this, make sure you have your email set to fetch less often. When you open your email app, it will automatically fetch, so there is no need to worry about not getting the latest email.

   From there, make sure you are connected to wifi whenever possible. I have Comcast for cable and internet and they offer a lot of free wifi all over town. I signed in once and now I am automatically connected whenever my cell phone finds Comcast internet available.

   Just how much can these save you? I have had a grandfathered cell phone plan for a few years now that allowed me 200 MB of data each month. I never went over it. While I am not considered a heavy data user, I do listen to Pandora when at the gym and use apps like Map My Run when out for a run or Strava when on a bike ride.

   How did I do this? I did what I am telling you above. I turned off a lot of the games so that they never refresh when I wasn’t on wifi. I never missed playing with them, because in reality, I never really played them that much to begin with.

   At the gym, I made sure to connect to their wifi so I could listen to Pandora for my hour-long workouts without using any data.

   Just one note on using free wifi, understand that when on free wifi, there is no protection for your sensitive data. This means that when on it or public wifi, you should really avoid logging onto bank accounts or credit card accounts. The same holds true for investment accounts as well. Just wait until you are home to access these sites or apps.

3. Switch to a Cheaper Plan.
   Make sure you take the time to look over your usage and see how much it costs you. You might find that there is another plan option with your cell phone provider that better meets your needs. And don’t worry about being in the middle of a contract. You can change your plan when in the middle of a contract.
4. Switch to a Cheaper Carrier.
   If you find that your current provider doesn’t offer you a plan that best meets your needs, you might have to look elsewhere. As I mentioned above, I was on a grandfathered plan with AT&T. Unfortunately for me, none of their newer plans better fit my needs. So I started to search around.

   I didn’t find anything better with the major cell carriers, so I expanded my search. There were some pre-paid plans that I found, but I didn’t like that they used the towers and network of certain other cell providers as I know they are not reliable in my area. But then I found Cricket, which was recently bought by AT&T.

   I signed up for their service and got unlimited calls and texts and 2.5 GB of data for $35 a month, taxes included. (This includes a $5 discount for auto-paying). I’ve had the new service now for about a month and have zero complaints with it.

   If you are going to switch carriers in the middle of a contract, factor in early termination fees.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to your cell phone, take the time to do a little research. You might be able to get a discount or even find a better plan that fits your needs and can save you money at the same time. This means that you might have to consider discount carriers as well. Don’t just take the monthly bill you are charged. Be proactive, do some research and ask questions. You never know how easily you might be able to save some money.

How much do you pay for cell service each month?

Money Saving Apps for Your Phone

• 22 Free Finance Apps to Help Your Budget
• 8 Best Personal Finance Apps for Android
• 7 of the Best Free Finance Apps for the iPhone and iPad
• 10 Free Smartphone Apps to Save You Money
• 5 Helpful Android and iPhone Tax Apps
• Readers Share More Free Finance Apps

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

Differences of opinion don’t destroy relationships – it’s how a couple deals with their inevitable differences that counts.

Every couple disagrees from time to time.  Perfect compatibility is not possible, but sensibly working though incompatibility is.  The difference between a happy couple and an unhappy couple is the way in which they handle their disagreements.  Thus, in order to grow and be successful in our intimate relationships, we must adopt healthy coping strategies for dealing with our differences.

Talk to any set of grandparents (or great-grandparents) whose relationship has withstood the tests of time, and they will tell you that the best relationships are not just about the good times you share, they’re also about the obstacles you go through together, the disagreements you compromise on, and the fact that you still say “I love you” in the end.  And loving someone isn’t just about saying it every day, it’s about showing it every day through actions and behaviors, even when you and your partner aren’t seeing things eye to eye.

Based on my 15-year relationship with Angel, and our joint experience coaching thousands of individuals and couples over the past decade, here’s what we’ve learned about how happy couples deal with disagreements:

1.  They both take responsibility.

When you deny responsibility in every relationship disagreement, all you’re really doing is blaming your partner.  You’re saying, in effect, “The problem is never me, it’s always you.”  This denial of responsibility just escalates the argument, because there’s a complete breakdown of communication. (more…)

I don’t know about you, but that just isn’t something I’m willing to do! Instead, I’ve spent the last few months trying to find a way to get as much as possible on the trip for “free” (by redeeming points, credit card miles and other promotions). First up is finding the hotel.

Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotels

After reading lots of reviews, there appears to be a sweet spot in the world of Disney. The Swan and Dolphin hotels are located on the Disney property, but are Starwood hotels, so we can redeem points! We’re staying at the Dolphin since it has room for 5 people. If you are a family of 4, you can stay at the newly renovated Swan.

I have a bunch of Starwood points after taking advantage of the latest 30,000 Point Sign Up Bonus (which ends Sept 14). Here’s a quick recap:

Limited Time 30,000 Starwood Points Sign Up Bonus

1. Apply for the Starwood American Express personal card by September 14, 2015.
2. Spend $3,000 within the first 3 months.
3. Earn 30,000 points.

After September 14, the bonus will probably return to the normal 25,000 point sign up bonus.

How to Get Your Free Disney Hotel Rooms

Free nights at the Swan or Dolphin are 10,000 points per night. Starwood gives you the fifth night is free. For 40,000 points we will have 5 free nights in a very convenient location in Disney World! You can also upgrade to a room with a balcony for an additional 1,000 points per night.

Now, of course the rooms aren’t free. If you use your points here, you can’t use them somewhere else. However, since my kids have been asking to go to Disney World for many years now, the value of the redemption here is much greater than any other place on earth right now for our family.

More on Disney Hotels

Swan/Dolphin and Disney. The Swan/Dolphin only has some of the on-site Disney features (60 day fast-pass, extra magic hours, free park transportation, etc). It does not have transportation from the airport, free magic bands, or the dining plan. We are staying at one of the Disney properties on our arrival night to take advantage of the hotel transportation and free magic bands. The resort confirmed they will transfer our bags to the Dolphin free of charge.

Skipping the Free Dining Plan Hotel Offer. We will actually be at the hotel during the free dining promotion. However, when I compared the prices, I would be paying a lot more to take advantage of the “free dining” than if we use a room only discount at the Disney hotel and redeem points at the Dolphin. It was almost $800 more to use the “free dining” offer! (And that was factoring in a monetary value for redeeming the points!)

Hotel Fees. Parking and resort fees. The Swan/Dolphin charges a resort fee of $23 per night. In addition they charge for parking. To avoid the parking fees, we are going to use the Disney transportation to the first hotel, then rent a car the last day (there’s a car rental on site at the Disney hotel).

Families of Five. If you are a family of five, you know that hotel rooms were not designed for our family size! The Dolphin charges $25/night for a rollaway. We’ll be using an air mattress instead!

More on Our Disney Trip

Stay tuned for more on our Disney trip including how we got free tickets, free flights, and saved on everything else! I have to admit, I wasn’t really excited about planning this trip. However, when I found out how many opportunities there are to not spend thousands of dollars for this trip, it seemed like an incredibly important personal finance topic for families!

How did you save money on Disney World hotels?

More on Travel

• How We Earned a Free Trip to Steamboat
• Use a Best Rate Guarantee for a Free Hotel Room
• Is AAA Worth It?
• Tips for Buying Souvenirs and How to Find Them For Free
• Starwood 30,000 Point Sign Up Bonus

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

Today is a choice.  Today, choose grace over impatience, laughter over worry, and beauty over negativity.

The most underrated character trait of all successful people I’ve ever met: Positivity.

Your attitude directly determines how well you live your life.

Truth be told, it never pays to get discouraged.  Staying mindful and making positivity a way of life will help you restore your faith in yourself, no matter what you’re up against.

And in most cases it takes just one positive thought to overpower an entire array of negative thoughts.  So here are 25 quotes gathered from our blog archive that can be used as positive reminders to help tweak your thinking and quiet the negative voice in your head:

1.

2.

3.

4.

(more…)

It’s Free Money Friday!

How to Get Your Delta Bonus

1. Sign up for the Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card.
2. Make your first Delta purchase within the first 3 months and receive a $50 statement credit.
3. Make $1,000 in purchases on your card within the first 3 months of opening your account and earn 50,000 bonus miles!

Terms and Conditions

• $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95.
• If we identify you as currently having an American Express® Card account, you may not be eligible for this welcome bonus offer. This offer is also not available to applicants who have or have had this product.*

More on Delta

Earning Points. Get 2 miles per dollar spent on any Delta purchases and 1 mile per dollar spent anywhere else.

Free Bags. You can check your first bag free on Delta flights (for you and passengers on your reservation; maximum nine waivers per reservation).

*New Language in Terms. I noticed that the wording changed. The first sentence about currently having an Amex card is new. The old restrictions didn’t allow you to get the bonus if you had that specific card. The new language sounds like it might include more!

Browsers. I had to try the link a few times (as suggested by Points with a Crew and the source Frequent Miler) to get the 50,000 miles to appear. It didn’t show up for me in Chrome, but it appeared right away in Firefox.

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

It’s tough to live a positive life around negative people.

Dealing with negativity can be quite a downer.  I once had a coworker whose negative energy would wash over me on a daily basis.  In our conversations, she would complain endlessly about everything – work tasks, family, friends, health, and anything else she could think of.  She was also extremely cynical about others, often doubting their intentions and judging them harshly.  Talking to her wasn’t a pleasant experience, to say the least.

The first time we had a meeting I felt completely drained.  Even though we spoke for just 30 minutes, I barely had any energy left after our conversation.  It felt as if someone had literally sucked the life out of me, and it took a couple hours for the effects to wear off.  The same thing happened the next few times we spoke too.  I quickly realized I needed to work out an action plan to deal with this kind of negative energy.  After all, she was not going to be the only negative person I was going to encounter in my life.

I gradually developed several key strategies for dealing with negative people effectively.  They have worked wonders in my own life, and now Marc and I use them to assist hundreds of coaching/course students we interact with on a weekly basis.  I’m hoping you find value in them too…

1.  Set and enforce limits.

Negative people who wallow in their problems and fail to focus on solutions are hard to deal with.  They want people to join their 24/7 pity party so they can feel better about themselves.  And you may feel pressured to (more…)

4 Ways to Stop Bad Spending Habits

How do you overcome your spending habit? Here are 4 tricks that helped me get my spending habits back in check.

1. Start Slow.
   The first step to kicking a bad spending habit is to take things slow. If you search around the internet, you may come across “no spending challenges”. These are games where people try to go a certain length of time without spending any money. For some people these work, but for many others they don’t.

   The reason is because they will just binge after the challenge is over. It is like a super intense diet that lasts a week. Sure you will lose a few pounds that week, but you will just go back to your bad eating habits again the following week and gain all of the weight back and then some.

   Instead, you have to start slow. Learn what it is like to choose not to buy things here and there. Over time, you will get more accustomed to passing on buying opportunities and won’t overspend.

2. Get Rid of Things.
   Another great trick to stop overspending is to de-clutter your house. How does this work? Think about it. If you have a huge bookcase, you will want stuff – books, trinkets, etc. – to fill up that space. The less stuff you have to fill up, the less you will want to buy.

   When you clean out your house, you will realize how much stuff you have that you never actually use. When I was moving recently, I realized this. I have a ton of books. Most I read once and never again. Yes there are some I go to as a reference but most will never be touched again. So why even have them? As you clean, turn unwanted items into cash.

   Doing this trick really makes you see how much money you spent on things you rarely or never even use. In fact, you might even realize you waste a lot of money on stuff. The sooner you realize this, the sooner you can change for the better.

3. Get Busy.
   Next, find a hobby. Lose yourself in something you love to do. The more time you spend doing the things you love, the less time you are surfing the internet or watching TV, two great places for advertisers to get you hooked on something you don’t need.

   In fact, do this little test the next time you are watching TV: when you see something interesting that you want, just write it down. You will probably have a list of a few things in a short period of time. Once you have a few items on the list, put it in a drawer. About a week later, pull it out and look over the list.

   Odds are you will have completely forgotten about the items on the list. When you see them again, you may want them. The advertiser has found out how to get to you by catering to the emotional side of your brain. Stop this from happening by getting busy with something else.

4. Look for Used Instead of New.
   Lastly, there will be times when you still want or even need stuff. In these cases, try to search out used items for sale instead of buying new. This will get you to see real value in the things you buy and will help you save money at the same time.

   Now, not everything is ideal to buy used, so you will have to use your discretion here. Here are things you should buy used. If you can find a handful of things to buy used instead of new, you will be much better off in the long run.

Final Thoughts

Overall, kicking your spending habit does take some work. But the effort you put forth to overcome your ways will pay off handsomely in the years ahead. Plus, getting your spending in check can help your children as well. Most kids learn money habits from their parents, so being smart with your money benefits them as well.

More Tips to Control Spending

• How Much Money Do You Spend on (Bad) Habits?
• Don’t Fall For These Marketing Tricks That Make You Spend More Money
• Give Yourself an Allowance to Control Spending and Save Money
• Best Places to Sell Your Stuff to Make Quick Cash
• Tips to Control Spending When Both Spouses are Spenders
• 9 Tips to Stretch the Life of Common Household Items

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© My Dollar Plan

If you missed the most popular finance tips this month, here’s a quick overview:

This Month’s Most Popular Tips: August

How to Find and Save Money with Digit. The free Digit savings tool is unique. How much have you saved with Digit since signing up?

Can You Afford It? highlights the questions used in the TV segment with the same name. You Can Afford It… but Should You? is a great reminder that just because you can afford it doesn’t mean it’s a good financial move.

12 Inexpensive Ideas for a Fun Night Out with Friends. Kristen points out that expensive dinners, dropping a ton of cash at a bar, or other pricey activities just do not fit in when you’re trying to save or get out of debt.

5 Budget Friendly U.S. Destinations off the Beaten Path. Which location on this list caught your eye?

Starwood 30,000 Point Sign Up Bonus. Starwood’s annual increased bonus ends September 14. If you applied just before the bonus increased from 25,000 to 30,000 it may be worth a phone call; a friend told me last night he called customer service and was given 5,000 extra points to match the current offer.

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