The Family CEO

Master Bath Remodel on a Budget

2012-02-23T22:44:15Z

I’m guest posting on Crystal’s fabulous blog today as part of her “We Paid Cash” series. My post is about our master bathroom remodel on a budget.

I realize that a post on home decor is much better with some pics, so I’m posting some here. Family CEO readers, you can find the post here and then the pics will make much more sense.

Stock tile from Home Depot laid in a diagonal pattern.

Fresh paint and new hardware.

Left the white tile, but replaced the hunter green strip of accent tile with neutral accents.

A big thanks to Crystal for publishing my post.

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to The Family CEO for free with either an email or RSS subscription.

Tweet This Post

Lightened-Up Lemon Bundt Cake

2012-02-23T20:10:29Z

Citrus is abundant in the grocery stores here. I’m a Midwest girl, so can someone tell me if this is the growing season for citrus? It must be. And I think the lighter flavors and scents are perfect for the first couple of months in the new year, when you want everything to be fresh.

When looking for a dessert recipe for a Sunday night family dinner, I came across this Lemon Bundt Cake recipe. It’s from one of my favorite cookbooks, The America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook.

I picked this cookbook up at Costco a few years back and I adore it. The recipes are all things I would actually make and my family will actually eat. Lots of cooking basics are included too, which I appreciate.

Here are the ingredients needed for this lightened-up version of Lemon Bundt Cake:

3 c. cake flour
2 c. sugar
1/4 c. grated lemon zest plus 2 T. of fresh lemon juice
1 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1 c. whole milk at room temperature
3 lg. egg yolks
1/4 c. vegetable oil
4 T. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 T. vanilla extract
3 lg. egg whites
Pinch cream of tartar

Glaze ingredients:

1 c. powdered sugar
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1 t. fresh lemon zest

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat inside of Bundt pan with baking spray with flour.
Whisk the flour, 1 1/2 c. of sugar, lemon zest, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together in a bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, egg yolks, oil, melted butter, vanilla, and lemon juice.
In a large bowl, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar using an electric mixer on medium-low until foamy. Increase mixer speed to medium-high and whip whites until soft and billowy. Gradually whip in the remaining 1/2 c. of sugar and continue to whip until the whites form glossy, stiff peaks. (My peaks were more soft than stiff, because I’m impatient, but the cake still turned out fine.)
Whisk the milk mixture into the flour mixture. Fold the egg whites into the batter.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake the cake on a lower-middle rack in the oven for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick instead into the center comes out with a few crumbs attached.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then flip onto a wire rack and let sit until completely cool.
Whisk the three glaze ingredients together until smooth and drizzle over the cake.

Are you using citrus to cook with this winter?

Pin It

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to The Family CEO for free with either an email or RSS subscription.

Tweet This Post

Cash Back Rebates as Debt Snowflakes

2012-02-24T18:05:05Z

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve had some debt snowflakes land in my inbox in the form of cash back rebates from my Christmas Shopping. Specifically, I made gift purchases at Fossil and Shutterfly and both offered cash back.

(Note: Mr. Rebates (referral link) is my all-time favorite cash back site. I’ve been using it since 2006 with only the best of results.)

As you know, I give all our found money a job to do. In this season of our life, it’s paying off debt.

So last week I sent an extra $30.89 to our home equity loan as a result of those cash back rebates. The home equity loan is our last non-mortgage debt to pay off and it’s just kind of…sitting there. First came the holidays and now it’s tax season, which — when you’re self-employed — is never a fun time.

But in addition to our regularly scheduled payment, I still throw these little wins at the loan and soon we’ll be able to give our found money a more fun job to do.

Have you been able to jump-start your debt reduction or savings in the new year or are you just kind of slugging along too? Tell us about it in the comments.

This post is part of Works for Me Wednesday, Frugal Friday, and the Debt Snowflake Challenge.

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to The Family CEO for free with either an email or RSS subscription.

Tweet This Post

Free Online Course: Taking Control of Your Family Finances

2012-02-20T19:33:33Z

Recently my bank, PerkStreet, started offering free personal finance courses via email. The course offerings are part of an ongoing initiative called StreetSense, and the first two – Building a Budget that Sticks and Getting Yourself Out of Debt – were launched earlier this year. I signed up for both and can tell you that the information is top notch.

That’s why I was so excited when the good people at PerkStreet asked me to help them develop a third course, Taking Control of Your Family Finances.

Like the others, this course is delivered over several emails and is completely free. Here’s what we’re covering:

Making sure you’re doing what’s best for your family
Saving money on family expenses everywhere
Finding new income to hit your family goals faster

Taking Control of Your Family Finances launched yesterday and I’m so happy to be able to share it with you here.

You can read more about the new course at the PerkStreet Blog. And if you’d like to take any (or all) of the StreetSense courses you can sign up for them here: Sign up for StreetSense. You don’t have to be a PerkStreet customer to take advantage of this resource. Just another reason I think PerkStreet is so great.

Pin It

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to The Family CEO for free with either an email or RSS subscription.

Tweet This Post

I’m in Love With…Pinterest

2012-02-20T20:47:39Z

Heart from a craft store, hung in a frame with the glass removed. Idea courtesy of Pinterest, of course.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I thought this was the appropriate day to blog about a place that I’ve grown to love: Pinterest.

Have you heard of Pinterest? It’s an online pinboard where you can keep track of the nifty things you find online and organize them into boards. (I’m pretty sure I love the organizing part as much as I love the pinning part.)

Because Pinterest is visual, it’s a great place to keep track of recipes, decorating, and style ideas that you want to try. But there are other uses too. I have boards for books, movies, and even quotes that I love. And I recently started a family finance board as well.

If you’re on Pinterest and want to connect, you can find me here. If you’re not yet part of Pinterest and want to try it, you can request an invite at Pinterest.com, or email me at thefamceo [at] yahoo [dot] net and I’ll send you one.

And you may have noticed that I’ve started including little, red Pin it buttons in some of my posts, like this one. If you’re a Pinterest user you can use those buttons to pin that post on one of your boards.

Some readers have already pinned Family CEO posts. Thank you so much!

So how about you? Have you discovered the phenomenon that is Pinterest? Have you used any ideas you’ve found there in your real, offline life? Let’s talk about it in the comments.

Pin It

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to The Family CEO for free with either an email or RSS subscription.

Tweet This Post

Ghirardelli Chocolate Winner

2012-02-20T20:50:29Z

I used the True Random Number Service to choose a winner from your comments on the Small Indulgences Ghirardelli Chocolate Giveaway post. The winner was Jessica T. Here was her comment:

I hope Jessica likes chocolate as much as she likes cinnamon buns! Congrats to her and thank you to all who took the time to comment.

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to The Family CEO for free with either an email or RSS subscription.

Tweet This Post

Frugal Things to Hang and Frame: Plates and Platters

2012-02-20T20:30:25Z

Last October I did a post called 9 Cheap (or Free) Sources of Artwork. That’s kind of an awkward post title, don’t you think?

So recently I changed it to 9 Frugal Things to Hang and Frame, which has a better ring to it but still gets the point across.

One of the things I mentioned in that post was hanging plates.

Plates have a lot of advantages when used in decorating.

A little-used decorative plate or platter is something you probably already have on hand. If not, it’s easy enough to get one for a good price at almost store that carries kitchenware or home decor.

They’re cheap and easy to hang. I used to invest in those metal plate racks, but I don’t even do that any more, as you’ll see.

And if you decide you need them, you can pull them right off the wall, give them a good washing, and put them to work serving food, the way nature intended.

The easiest way I’ve found to hang plates is using these little plate hanging discs that you can get at Michael’s or Hobby Lobby or probably any craft store. They come in five sizes and you can see how cheap they are, even before the 40% off coupon that those places regularly offer.

All you need to do is put a very little bit of water on the back and let it sit for a bit to activate the glue.

Adhere it to the back of a clean plate and let it dry overnight.

The next day, give the ring a little tug to make sure it’s secured. Then it’s ready to hang.
If you decide to press the plate back into service permanently, the disk will slip right off after a little soak in warm water.

So far I’ve hung plates in the “eating rooms” — the kitchen and the dining room — but I’ve seen them hung in all kinds of spaces so I may branch out in the future.

Have you used plates in your decor? What’s your favorite frugal thing to hang or frame?

This post is part of Potpourri Friday and Frugal Fridays.

Pin It

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to The Family CEO for free with either an email or RSS subscription.

Tweet This Post

Poppy Seed Salad: One Recipe, 1001 Combinations

2012-02-21T12:16:54Z

This is my favorite salad recipe of all time. I first had it at a bridal shower and the hostess was gracious enough to give me the recipe.

Poppy Seed Salad

6 cups of the salad greens of your choice

Combine with your choice of the following combinations:

1 c. pecans, 1 c. raspberries, 1 c. cubed brie
1 c. cashews, 1 c. sliced strawberries, 1 c. cubed swiss
1 c. walnuts, 1 c. diced, red apples, 1 c. havarti

Toss with the following dressing:

1. c. salad oil
1/2 c. sugar
1 t. onion powder
1/3 c. white wine vinegar
1 dash salt
1 t. prepared mustard
2 T. poppy seeds

I swear to you, you can make 1001 salads from this one recipe. Probably more. Here’s why:

1. The first ingredient calls for 6 cups of salad greens. Use whatever greens you desire. I usually use a combination of romaine lettuce and baby spinach, but anything you like would work.

2. The next ingredients are basically different combinations of 1 cup of nuts, 1 cup of fruit, and 1 cup of cheese. The ones you see listed work well, but they are only suggestions. I often use almonds when I make this, although cashews are fabulous.

3. The dressing is equally forgiving. I’ve used canola oil and olive oil. I’ve used white wine vinegar and white balsamic vinegar. I’ve used regular yellow mustard and dijon mustard. I’ve also used Splenda instead of sugar.It’s to-die-for delicious every time.

One thing you should know is that this makes a lot of dressing. It can easily be cut in half, although is stores well for a few days in the fridge.

Oh, one last thing, I never put poppy seeds in the salad. I just never have them on hand so I skip them. I guess I should probably change the name.

This post was shared at Life As Mom.

Pin It

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to The Family CEO for free with either an email or RSS subscription.

Tweet This Post

Small Indulgences: A Ghirardelli Chocolate Giveaway

2012-02-20T20:52:29Z

Lunch with girlfriends is one of those small indulgences I allow myself, even as we’re trying to do big things financially. These lunches are important to me because a) I work from home and I need human interaction and b) as I head toward the “empty nest” part of my life, my friendships have taken on new meaning.

I have a group of five girlfriends and we do birthday lunches for each other. That automatically builds five lunches into the calendar each year. We also throw in the occasional “Hey, it’s Friday,” or “I haven’t seen you in a while,” or “Did you watch the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reunion?” lunch between birthday lunches.

I look for other excuses to go out to lunch too. I have a former co-worker who I keep up with on Facebook, but we like to “take it offline” a couple of times a year and catch up. Here’s a partial list of what we talked about the last time we met:

Kids, college, 25th anniversaries, blogging, the Nelson Atkins Museum, FAFSA, books, movies, shot glasses, and where can we get those baby carrots with the stems still on them?

These aren’t extravagant lunches. They’re much more about the conversation than the cuisine. But they are little indulgences…both of time and money.

The folks at Ghirardelli Chocolate also believe in small indulgences and they are offering their new chocolate line, Ghirardelli Gourment Milk, as a suggestion. The new line consists of three flavors:

Gourmet Milk Creamy Devotion
Gourmet Milk Sea Salt Escape
Gourment Milk Coconut Rendezvous

I have had all three and they were heavenly. (I thought I would like the Coconut Rendezvous the least and it turned out to be my favorite .)

I tell you all this to let you know that I have a gift pack of all three chocolate bars to give away. (Here they are on my $4 estate sale silver tray. Don’t they look fancy? And indulgent?)

Here’s how the giveaway will work:

You’ll earn an entry for each of the following things. Please use a separate blog comment for each one you do so I can keep track of the entries.

Tell me what your favorite small indulgence is.
Tell me what Family CEO topic(s) you would like to see more of. (i.e. debt reduction, simplifying, frugal decorating, book reviews, simple investing, etc.) There are lists of both categories and tags in the sidebar to refer to or feel free to suggest something new.
Like The Family CEO on Facebook.
Subscribe to The Family CEO by email or RSS.

The deadline for contest entries is Friday, February 10. That way I can get your prize in the mail so you can (hopefully) have it by Valentine’s Day. (You do plan to win, don’t you?)

So good luck. And thank you!

Note: Ghiradelli provided me with the chocolate for this giveaway. My “compensation” was my own chocolate, which I lovingly taste tested for you so I could provide you with this review.

This post is part of Works for Me Wednesday @ We Are THAT Family.

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to The Family CEO for free with either an email or RSS subscription.

Tweet This Post

First-of-the-Year Personal Finance Reminders

2012-02-20T21:27:34Z

The following is a guest post.

Here’s to a happy New Year for you and yours. May it be full of good will and success. But if you’re like me and millions of other Americans, your personal finances need mending in the aftermath of holiday spending. On top of that, the new year brings a renewed need to get your overall financial house in order, as well as re-evaluate last year’s spending habits. As you enter 2012, spend some time focusing on the following personal finance must-dos of the new year:

Getting taxes prepared

Save yourself some trouble in a few months by organizing your taxes now. Take some time to gather up all necessary receipts and other essential paper work. While you can hold off filing for now, it’s wise to set aside all evidence of income and deductions by the end of January.

Shopping around for insurance

Rates are always changing, so before sitting down and compiling your new year spending expectations, shop around for better insurance quotes. Whether it’s car insurance, health insurance, or homeowners insurance, see if you can’t get a better deal to start your new year right.

Selling off old items

The holidays may have meant a new television or other hefty home appliance. Waste no time in selling off the old stuff online or through the classifieds, instead of storing these items in the basement for no reason. It could mean a few extra bucks in the first few months of the year, which is great for paying off that holiday debt.

Paying off holiday debt

This is no doubt the most pressing personal finance issue on your mind right now. Whether it’s increased credit card debt or dipping into your savings, it’s a top priority to get your personal finances back to where they were prior to the holidays. It’s necessary in order to relieve stress, which will help increase the chances of your year getting off to a good start.

Projecting the New Year’s budget

Your most important mission of all during the month of January is to take a few hours and map out a plan for this year’s spending. Crunch the numbers down to the day if possible in order to lower the amount of spending surprises throughout the year. Predict big purchases, and in turn, come up with ways to save for them. Otherwise, you’ll likely to rack more debt up than you pay off throughout the year.

The new year means renewed hope in success and possibility. But it also means it’s time to re-examine your spending habits, organize taxes, and budget for the times ahead. Before January finishes, make sure you’ve taken the time to work on your personal finances. It’s one of the best ways to ensure that the year ahead will be a great one.

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to The Family CEO for free with either an email or RSS subscription.

Tweet This Post

The Family CEO

Master Bath Remodel on a Budget

Related Posts:

Lightened-Up Lemon Bundt Cake

Related Posts:

Cash Back Rebates as Debt Snowflakes

Related Posts:

Free Online Course: Taking Control of Your Family Finances

Related Posts:

I’m in Love With…Pinterest

Related Posts:

Ghirardelli Chocolate Winner

Related Posts:

Frugal Things to Hang and Frame: Plates and Platters

Related Posts:

Poppy Seed Salad: One Recipe, 1001 Combinations

Related Posts:

Small Indulgences: A Ghirardelli Chocolate Giveaway

Related Posts:

First-of-the-Year Personal Finance Reminders

Related Posts: