The Fit & Frugal Challenge

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T01:22:00.000-08:00

When The Shoes Carry You

2010-11-09T20:02:00.000-08:00

For the past few days I have been exhausted, as the bug that has taken a hold of the kids in my house for the past couple of weeks has finally found its way to me. As most of you know moms don't get breaks or time to be sick, so I am still on the road every day picking up and dropping off the kids. My husband has been helping out as much as he can, but he is still in school most of the day, and when he is I am on my own.

On Monday I tried on my new Avia walking shoes for the first time, and that is actually what I wanted to write about. Not too long ago, I won a $50 gift certificate to Shoemall on another blog. This came at a prefect time as my walking sandals were having a hard time managing the South Florida heat and humidity on the long walking distances.

It has cooled down a notch, but my walking sandals are talking a break, because I finally tried on my new Avia walking shoes. I of course got them on clearance, so that I could get two pair of walking shoes, a fancy golden pair and the real walking sneakers, and they are both fabulous.

I have not worn great sneakers since my running days in high school, but these shoes sure are different than what I usually wear. They support in all the right places, and I almost feel as if I am flying when I walk. Despite having my entire body ache, I still walked the three miles to my son's pre k today, and yes I was tired, but my feet were not.

Do you have some great, high quality walking shoes?

The Truth About the One Car Family

2010-10-19T14:11:00.001-07:00

My husband and I have always shared a car, and while the idea of a second car is aired often, it is always shot down, most often by me - the walker - because of the expenses and true car cost. Nevertheless, although our family is proud of our frugal living, it is still tempting to get that second car. This is why I decided to look at the pros and cons of owning a second car as well as the true cost of owning a car. No matter the actual car cost, I also wanted to share the truth about the one car family, as it is not just rosy and great carbon prints.

According to the AAA Your Driving Cost report, the average cost to operate a mid-size car such as a Ford Fusion or a Honda Accord is 47.6 cents a mile, or $9,519 a year based on driving 15,000 miles a year. A small car costs 43.3 cents a mile, or $6,496 a year, while a four-wheel drive SUV is the most expensive, at nearly 74 cents per mile, or $11,000 a year.

According to our own calculations the car cost for our family is $5600 in car maintenance, fuel, insurance etc. This annual car cost each year to own our 1999 Honda Odyssey is based on a 25,000 annual mileage.

The amount vary from household to household, but the one fact that cannot be disputed is that owning a car is expensive, and not even frugal living can eliminate transportation expenses. Car maintenance, car insurance, registration, and of course gasoline...it all ads up, and it ads up fast. You can find the cost to own a newer car at Edmunds.com, you can also read more about what a car really cost at ConsumerReports.com.

My husband uses our 1999 Honda Odyssey for work, and since he became self-employed a few years ago, I have driven it on very few occasions. It is also our family car, and with the backseat being able to lay down flat, it seems to be a very easy transition from the work car to the family car.

However, frugal living as a one car family requires a lot of patience, compromise and flexibility, and unless everyone in the family is able to adapt, living in a one car family can be difficult.

What a one car family means for my husband:
My husband works full time, and he also attends school full time, but fortunately he both works and goes to school less in our very close to home. Since he is self-employed it makes it a bit easier for him to give us rides if needed, but it also leaves him with a lot of driving around. Fortunately my husband works mostly in the area where we live, but on the days where he has to go far north or south, the kids and I are on our own.

What a one car family means for me:
For me, the mom, wife, and the second grown up in our family, living in a one car family takes a lot of walking, a lot of waiting and a lot of planning. My sons's schools are 1 mile apart, and unless I take the bus or get a ride, I walk 5 miles back and forth dropping off and picking off. On most days I actually enjoy the walk, as South Florida is beautiful, but on the days where I have to run away from the rain or when the sun is burning, it can be rough.

Grocery shopping is planned out carefully with a grocery list by grocery aisle to make the shopping trip fast and effective, and I try to bundle a few stores together. I think that our frugal living is actually helped by the fact that we only have one car, because it seems that every time I go to a store, I always end up spending more than I expected to. Having one car means that I usually only go shopping once a week, and quite often I bring all three children, but it is more because of my husband's work schedule than because of only having one car.

Some weeks I drop off my middle son at school, pick up my oldest son and then I take him and the little one on the bus to the grocery store. My husband will then pick up our middle son before picking me, our two other kids and the groceries up. Frugal living and living as a one car family, is all about flexibility, and in my case it is also about finding ways to not be dependent on a car.

If the kids and I need to take the bus in the afternoon to go to the store or to an event downtown, I have to make sure to bring the light-weight stroller, but fortunately I recently got a new stroller that works a lot better on the bus than our old umbrella stroller.

Having to be on the road walking every day is a good thing for me, although it does not always seem as such. I have dropped two clothing sizes, since I began walking like this in August, and I rarely have to take my asthma medication.

What a one car family means for the kids:
Living in a one car family means a lot for our three sons, and they too have had to make compromises. My kids walk a lot, because we only have a car, and they also spend a lot of time riding their bikes. Because of the amount of exercise they get, my two oldest sons have been medication free for over a year. They both get regular check ups, but their asthma is under control. This year we have had to drop extracurricular activities, because our schedule was so hectic already, and sometimes we do not attend certain evening school functions, because I do not feel like walking with them in the dark.

Because we walk everywhere the kids know our area very well, and they have a great sense of direction. We get to do a lot of talking on our walks, and it is amazing the sights we see when we are out walking. This morning we saw avocados, bananas and much much more.

The kids have also learned that we cannot always depend on their dad giving us a ride, and they are getting to know the local bus lines very well. While they appreciate getting a ride, they do not complain if we have to walk somewhere, because they are so used to it.

We spend a lot of our time waiting, but it is done at the playground, the park, the beach or the library, so as long as the waiting time is well spent, I actually think this is a benefit to the kids.

My fourteen-month-old son spends a lot of time in his stroller, but he is lucky to have a very comfortable European stroller. It was a great investment at the time, but it has been well worth it, and this four-year-old stroller has quite a mileage. We spend a lot of time waiting in the park, and he goes to the playground with one of his brothers or both almost every day, and we also make daily visits to the library because of the waiting time.

To show you how we make our one car family work, this is how our daily family schedule looks.

The family schedule:

7 a.m. my husband takes our eight-year-old son to school, our son gets to school early and eats breakfast there on most days. He then continues on to his own school, which starts at 8 a.m.
At 11:30 -11:45 a.m it is time for me to leave the house with our two youngest sons to make it to the pre school on time. I walk 3.5 miles with my 14-month-old in the stroller, and my 4-year-old on the stroller board - I love that stroller board. If we get to school early, we spend some time at the park or at the playground.
1 p.m. Pre-school opens up for my four-year-old son. After dropping him off, I either spend 20 minutes at the library or in the park before walking 1 mile again.
2 p.m. I pick up my 8-year-old from school (little on in the stroller). We all walk back to the college campus where the pre school is located.
2:30 - 4 p.m. We spend time at the library, the park and the playground. My oldest son does his homework, and then it is play time.
4 p.m. I pick up my four-year-old at pre school, and if possible my husband picks all of us up. Sometimes we have to wait 30 minutes to an hour before he can get there, but we spend that time at the library or at the playground.

On the weekends where the kids and I either walk to one of our local parks, or my husband drops us off a local park, the mall or our favorite the beach for the day. He will pick us up, whenever it fits into his work schedule.

Today was a bit out of the ordinary, as our youngest son was sick, and I had to make a doctor appointment. As soon as I made the appointment we started walking the three miles to the doctor, but it was a beautiful day, and we enjoyed every moment of our walk. My four-year-old stood on his stroller board, and we saw a lot of new sights.

While we were at the doctor waiting for our appointment, my oldest son's school called. My oldest son was at the school clinic sick and he needed to be picked up. Normally, I would have walked to pick him up, but since I was now four miles away, my husband had to leave class to pick him up. He dropped him off at the doctor's office, and when we were all done, he came to pick us up on his lunch break.

The pros of the one car family:

Less car maintenance, fuel and insurance costs.
More exercise for everyone in the family.
We get lots of fresh air.
Since we do a lot of waiting, we spend a lot of time at the library or at the playground.
Less unnecessary trips.
Everyone learns to compromise and work together to make everything work.
The kids learn to appreciate the car.
The kids get to actually see the neighborhood close up as we walk everywhere.

The cons of the one car family:

Everything has to be planned out
Everyone has to compromise
Less after-school activities
A lot of driving for the driver of the car
A lot of waiting for everyone in the family
Unforeseen events such as a sick child at school can be harder to manage.

I realize that being a one car family does not work for everyone, and if finances were not an issue, we would probably get that second car. However, for the past 9+ years we have been a one car family, through college, living in NJ, living in Europe, and now living in Florida, through different jobs and with a growing family that has now turned into a family of five - we are still a one car family.

I would love to be able to ride a bike instead of walking everywhere, but I am simply too scared to ride bike in South Florida. Even on foot, I have to be very aware of my surroundings, and getting eye contact at every stop and traffic stop is essential, as most drivers in South Florida pay very little attention to bicyclists and walkers, and quite often they are on their cellphones (my husband included).

Being in a one car family takes patience, flexibility and teamwork from everyone in the family. It is not always easy, and it sure can be a hassle. Still, in my opinion being a one car family works for us, and I sure would not want to have the extra expenses of owning a second car. However, if we won a free car and free gas, I would accept it in a heartbeat.

How many cars do your family have?
Have you ever considered becoming a one car family?
Do you know what your annual car cost is?

* The photos are from our walk to the doctor's office today.
** I originally posted this post on www.frugalityisfree.com, but I thought it was a perfect fit for the Fit & Frugal Challenge as well.

Ten Ways of Making Your favorite Foods Healthier

2010-09-02T14:23:00.000-07:00

As a long time vegetarian many people assume that I am skinny as a stick, but the fact is that I am not. I love ice cream and I love food such as pizza and fries. I would like to share ten tips that I have found make my favorite foods healthier. In fact my favorite food is vegetable pizza, and I could eat it every day, if anyone offered to pay for the local pizza delivery.

When I make pizza or bake bread at home, I now substitute half of the regular flour with whole wheat flour, but I have not completely abandoned all purpose flour, as it really does make bread taste great. I love bread! My love for bread and ice cream is definitely part of the reason, why I am not skinny as a stick, I just cannot live without bread though, and ice cream....well I'm trying.

1) Go easy on the cheese, add on more veggies on your homemade (or take out) pizza instead.
2) Make your own - make oven fries instead of getting take out fries. Oven-baked butternut squash fries are some of the most addictive oven fries, and you only have to use very little salt and extra virgin olive oil.
3) Skip the butter - in many instances butter is not needed at all, and you can easily do without it.
4) Substitute part of the oil in your home baking with baked potatoes or fat free sour cream, you will be surprised about the great taste.
5) When baking, you really do not need all that sugar - cut it in half!
6) Drink, bake and cook with skim milk, it has all the nutrients that whole milk or 2 % have, and after a while you will get used to the taste.
7) Steam instead of frying your vegetables - pour boiling water over broccoli, and it actually tastes better than if you have stir fried it.
8) Use your oven instead of the frying pan - bake chicken tastes great (or so my husband says), and there is no reason to use the frying pan very often.
9) When using your frying pan make sure to take the fat off. When I make meat balls for my sons, I always end up with at least a cup of fat. Just think, if I had left it to be absorbed in the meat balls. I leave the fat in a ceramic bowl for a couple of hours, and it is easy to throw in the garbage instead of letting it clog up your sink.
10) When baking substitute half the flour with whole wheat flour, I bet you will love the extra crunch it gives, and it makes the food so much better just knowing that it is healthier.

Now for my own personal bonus tip: If you don't feel like cooking, don't start eating the junk, put in one of the healthy frozen meals in the microwave instead. This has saved me on numerous occasions, as I tend to eat unhealthy fast foods, whenever I do not feel like cooking.

Cooking at home is often healthier than ordering take out, but if you have bad habits such as adding butter, salt or sugar to everything, the healthy part of the home-cooked meal can disappear fast.

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and WeightWatchers SmartOnes blogging program, making me eligible to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

Prevention Fitness DVD - Personal Training with Chris Freytag Review and Giveaway

2010-07-30T14:41:00.000-07:00

As a stay-at-home mom of three busy boys, I am a big fan of Chris Freytag, as she helps me get workouts into my otherwise busy mommy life. Prevention's Personal Training DVD with Chris Freytag is an affordable way to get some of the benefits of having a personal trainer without paying the big bucks.

The Personal Training DVD with Chris Freytag contains 66 minutes filled with numerous different workouts that you can make into your own workout program by customizing the program with the exercises that fit your personal needs. Another way to take advantage of this personal training dvd is to decide on what your goal is (toning, weight loss etc.), and then let the Personal Training DVD match you with the appropriate exercise program.

Chris Freytag is a world of knowledge, when it comes to fitness and weight loss, and while she is a energetic and motivating instructor, she manages to guide you through the exercise programs without becoming too much. I have several of Chris Freytag's exercise dvds, and they all make me feel like I am using every single muscle in my body.

Buy It:

You can buy Prevention Fitness System - Personal Training with Chris Freytag at amazon.com.

Win It: CLOSED

I'm giving away 1 copy of Prevention Fitness System - Personal Training with Chris Freytag to one of The Fit & Frugal Challenge's readers.

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This giveaway will end Wednesday August 25th at 10 p.m. EST.

* The giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. I will chose the winner via Random.org, and the winner will be notified by e-mail. Make sure to leave your email, gather name, or have your contact available on your blogger site. The winner will have 48 hours to respond, and if there is no response another winner will be chosen.

Weight Loss Pilates for Beginners by Brooke Siler

2010-07-25T15:57:00.000-07:00

Two years ago I was lucky to win Element: Weight Loss Pilates for Beginners by Brooke Siler.

Before receiving this dvd, I had never done pilates before, but since then it has become one of my favorite exercise dvds. I am usually only able to do the exercise dvd, when the baby is sleeping, and I have my two older boys playing in their room, because otherwise it can be difficult to concentrate.

Weight Loss Pilates for Beginners is filmed overlooking the Pacific Ocean in an amazing garden, and I really found this scenery to be relaxing. It starts out slowly, but it only takes a few minutes, before I have to turn up the fan, and by the end of the dvd I am always ready for a shower. Siler is trying to maximize the calorie burn while teaching the basics of pilates, and I feel she does both of these perfectly. I always find it amazing that such a calm video can make me as weak as it does.

In the beginning I found myself comparing pilates to yoga, and the main differences to me are the speed, the breathing and the robotic movements. The pace is faster than yoga, and there is a great focus of balancing forces and muscles against each other. According to Brooke Siler "pilates is the art of muscle control," and I found this to be true.

You can find the rest of the review here.

Making An Affordable Home Gym - Frugal Exercise

2010-07-20T23:09:00.000-07:00

Making an affordable home gym is easier than it sounds, with a few props you can come along way and the toughest thing about it is getting motivated. A couple of years ago, I realized that the one thing I had to do for myself was to get back in shape. Before I had my sons I was very active, but I had somehow lost myself in motherhood. As a stay-at-home mother, my budget was very small, if not non-existent, so I became very creative when it came to finding ways to make my home gym.

The Zero-Budget Home Gym:

When you are first starting out, it is important to realize that you can actually do a lot with what you have.

Use your body weight (It's free, and it is always available. Push ups, crunches, squats, planks and lunges can all be done with no equipment at all.)
Dumbbells (Fill water bottles with water, sand or small rocks depending on the weight you want.)
Walk, run or bike (Don't walk just to walk, walk with a purpose. Leave the car at home, skip the bus and walk instead. If you think it is too hot or too cold, use your local mall. You will be amazed to see how many people are walking for exercise at the mall an hour or so before the stores actually open. If you live in an area with nature close by, take advantage and bring your camera on a hike.)
Swim (If you are lucky enough to have the beach nearby, this is one place where free exercise is easy to come by, and it sure is a great way to get it. Otherwise check if you have a local swim center, where you can go to swim for a small fee, whenever you feel like it.)
Use the playground (If you take a look at your neighborhood playground, you will find that there are actually many ways to utilize it. Using the monkey bars for arm strength is one way, use the balance bars for balance training etc.)
Use your computer (There are great free programs online, my favorite is sparkpeople.com, a free site that offers personalized training programs, calorie counters, track your progress and you can even watch short exercise videos online. Start your own exercise blog to keep motivated and find support.)
Scale (If you do not have a scale at home, use the one at your local supermarket to keep track of your progress. Check out GSN.com for ways to earn points and redeem for a great scale - all for FREE.)
Jump Rope (If you have an old jump rope, this will be great in your quest for better health, and if not you can usually find one at the dollar store.)
The stroller (If you have little ones, use that stroller. It's healthy for you, and they get to see the world in a whole different light. For extra workout pack up the stroller well).
Water bottle: (A good water bottle is essential for when you work out outside. I found a couple of free offers online, and Club Bing often has a PBA free bottle as one of their rewards.)

Expanding the Zero-Budget Home Gym

As a stay-at-home mom, there was no room in my budget to finance a gym membership or an advanced home gym. While using the Zero-Budget home gym approach had made me in better shape, I still felt I needed something extra to spice up the routine.

I decided to start saving up for a few things through online earnings, and I started out with the basics.

Good shoes (I wished for Columbia walking sandals for my birthday and I bought a pair of sneakers at Target with a gift card earned online. I have since gone through several sandals, as the mileage is kind of high, but I have found that amazon.com certificates through Swagbucks.com are great at keeping me supplied with good walking sandals).
A good sports bra (I browsed the clearance sales at Target, Nike Town and Adidas, and the result was three sports bras for less than $5 each. Target often has many different exercise items and clothing on clearance.)
Dumbbells (I actually had some old dumbbells that I had left at my mother-in-law's house. My husband brought them home from a visit at his mom's place)
Yoga Mat (I received a yoga mat for my birthday, and it is one birthday present that is now very well used.
Exercise dvds (I was a member of pointsandprizes.com, and I realized that they often had exercize dvds on their reward list. I also ended up getting selected to do a review of pilates and yoga dvds at Gather.com. I put a couple of exercise dvds on my birthday wishlist as well.
An Exercise Bike (I won $250 online, and while I considered getting a gym membership, it would end up being too costly in babysitting costs, gas costs and fancy work-out clothes so I opted to buy an exercise bike instead, and it is something I have not regretted.)
Exercise magazines for inspiration and motivation (I received a free subscription to Self and Shape magazines through Golds Rewards).
Pilates bands (I got free pilates bands from Club Bing. This site often has exercise items on their reward list, and so does mycokerewards.com and pointsandprizes.com.
Time (Time is one thing that should be at the top of the list. With three boys aged 7-1 year, time for myself can be hard to come by. My solution has been to involve them in my quest for exercise. We walk home from school every day (0.6 miles each way), we walk to the playground (3 miles round trip), we walk to the stores (0 - 4 miles round trip). I have gotten my hands on two exercise dvds that involves the kids (Yoga with Your Baby and Fabulous Fit Moms both received free from pointsandprizes.com). I squeeze in some time on the bike, whenever I can and I usually multitask, by reading a cooking magazine or a book. If I on a rare occasion get some "Me Time" I usually start out with putting in a yoga or piltates dvd. I take the boys to the beach about once a week, and before we go in the water, I load up the little one in the stroller, let the big boys run ahead of me collecting seashells etc., and then I push, push, push. If you have ever brought a stroller to the beach, I am sure you know what a workout it can be.

Disclaimer:

While I have come a long way in finding ways to have an exercise routine on a budget, I still have not reached my goal weight. I have a sweet tooth, and I sure do enjoy good cooking as well, so I know I will never become a size 6 again.

I am in great shape though, and I can walk long distances without getting tired. I gave birth six weeks ago, and I strongly do believe that walking almost everywhere and swimming at the beach with my kids throughout the pregnancy are the reasons, why I have already lost the baby weight and an additional couple of lbs.

Exercising Machines At The Park

2010-05-14T09:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to bed early, because I was exhausted after a day of fun with the boys. I did my thirty minute cardio in the morning, added 10 minutes of crunch time, and then it was off to pick up my son from school.

We ended up going to a new farmers market store nearby, where we found some cheap fruits. I was a bit disappointed with the store though, as a lot of it did not seem quite fresh.

After picking up some produce we continued on to a nearby park, where the boys played, I read and the baby took a nap. Before we left I got on the Air Skier for fifteen minutes, which is all the boys would let me do before they started fighting.

I love this particular park, because there are several different exercise machines for free use. It is not the best park for the kids though, because it is surrounded by some heavy traffic roads, and there are always a lot of people there exercising. I prefer to take the boys to a smaller park, where everything is fenced in, and where I can easily keep an eye on them without having to worry.

Exercise:

30 minutes cardio
10 minutes crunch time
15 minutes on the air skier
3 mile walk

Foodwise I did good, and once again I managed to avoid sweet snacks.

Work-Outs of The Day - 30 minute work out, and 2 mile walk

2010-04-28T20:01:00.000-07:00

I originally intended on starting up with high-intensity workouts yesterday, but I fell flat even before I began.When I went to use my exercise bike (which has been left alone since February before my dad came to visit) I discovered that my sweet boys (7 and 4) had somehow succeeded in breaking it. I bought this exercise bike 2 1/2 years ago for money that I won at the infamous Netwinner, which later went down and under. I will always appreciate my exercise bike though, and it has served me well.

My handy-man husband has promised that he will take a look at the bike, and I am confident that he will be able to fix it, once he finds the time to do so.

So today I had another plan...working out with the boys.

This morning the boys and I packed up the toys and moved some furniture around to create our very own gym in the living room. I used to work out in the bedroom, when I had my four-year-old watch tv and the baby was sleeping. Well, two months have passed, and the baby is now nine months old, mobile and takes fewer naps.

We put in the Biggest Looser Workout dvd (season one), and my toddler was all excited. He did the first stretch out exercises with me, but when we got to the kick boxing, he went to the tv and told trainer Bob that he was coughing and tired. He eventually found a car or two to play with on the playmat, but at least he let me exercise.

In the beginning I worked out with the baby in my arms, but the extra 21 pounds soon began to pull me down, so he was put on the mat. He crawled around in between my legs, pulled himself up by the table, then by the window and then he came back to protest. This time he brought a book, as he surely felt it was Mommy and Me reading time.

There was a little crying, but I actually made it through the entire work-out session, and yes there were times that I felt like stopping. When we did make it to the stretching part, I was actually surprised that the session was over.

All the walking I have been doing has kept me in shape, but I surely need some high-intensity work outs to get rid of the extra accumulated pounds.

I managed to take a shower before it was time to pick up my oldest son from school.

My exercise log for today:

30 minute work out (The Biggest Loser dvd)
2 mile walk (To and from school)

How did you do on your exercise today?