Thrifty Homemaker

Thrifty Homemaker's June 4, 2016 Weekly Newsletter

2016-06-03T14:12:00.000-05:00

Each Friday I hope to deliver a newsletter to you that shares articles and recipes that I have written in the past that are lost in the archives of the blog, I hope you will find some use for them in the present.

This week I would like to share the following articles and recipes with you.

Plan Your Own Summer

Breaking a Habit - June Mom Challenge

5 Beauty Tips for Summer

Hummingbird Food Recipe

Fun Summer Activities for the Family

Strawberry Recipes

How to Spice up Plain Old Macaroni

2016-06-02T16:02:00.000-05:00

6 Ways to Spice up Macaroni

Macaroni makes for some low cost but tasty recipes for your family. It is a very versatile food and can be made tastier by adding some of your favorite items. From the addition of diced vegetables to your favorite salad dressings you can't lose with macaroni.

Cooking Directions for Elbow Macaroni
•1 cup of uncooked elbow macaroni
•1 quart of water
•1 teaspoon salt
Pour the water in a large pot and boil and then add the uncooked macaroni to the boiling water. Add the salt. Boil for about 10 minutes or until tender. Cook longer for softer noodles and less for firmer noodles. Be sure to watch and not let it boil over. Drain the water from the cooked macaroni and serve

Macaroni Cooking Tips
•You can add a little cooking oil to the macaroni (or any pasta) to keep it from sticking.
•Stir occasionally to keep it to sticking to the pot and lumping together.
•Rinse pasta after cooking if you are using it in a cold dish otherwise just drain off the water.

Easy Macaroni Recipe Add Ins
When you have the macaroni cooked how you want it you can start making it special in one of these ways. The following recipes will be using the macaroni in the amount as cooked in the recipe above.

Tomatoes and Macaroni
•cooked macaroni
•1 can of stewed tomatoes
Add tomatoes to macaroni and heat thoroughly.

Ranch Macaroni
•cooked macaroni
•1/2 cup ranch dressing
•1/4 cup bacon bits
Mix ranch dressing into cooked macaroni add bacon bits sprinkled on top and serve.

Easy Macaroni and Cheese
•Cooked macaroni
•1 tablespoon butter
•3 slices of American cheese add more cheese if you want it cheesier
Add butter and cheese slices to the macaroni. Let the cheese and butter melt into the hot noodles and serve.

Summer Macaroni
•Cooked Macaroni
•1/4 cup mayonnaise
•1 small tomato, diced small
•1/2 green pepper, diced very small
Mix all this into the macaroni and serve.

Italian Macaroni
•Cooked Macaroni
•1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
Mix salad dressing into cooked macaroni and serve.

Salsa Macaroni
•Cooked Macaroni
•1/2 cup of salsa, hot or mild
Mix salsa into macaroni and serve

How to Store Macaroni Pasta
Store it in a cool dry area. When you open the package you can put it in an airtight container or a plastic ziplock bag. It can keep up to 2 years.

You can store cooked macaroni in the refrigerator for about 5 days. Be sure to seal it airtight.

Italian Chicken

2015-09-30T17:52:00.000-05:00

Italian Chicken

This is a very simple recipe. All you need is chicken tenders or chicken breasts that have been cut into tenders and a bottle of Italian Salad Dressing. Pour the dressing in a zipper bag and then add the chicken strips and then close and let marinate in the fridge for a few hours and then grill until done.

7 Ways to Make Frozen Treats Healthier

2015-06-25T02:00:00.000-05:00

Here’s how to make ice cream treats healthier:

Add fresh fruit to frozen yogurt instead of ice cream. Frozen yogurt has less fat and the fresh fruit doesn’t have the added sugar that other ice cream toppings have.
Sprinkle granola, with a little wheat germ, chia seeds, hemp seeds or flax seeds, onto a dish of frozen yogurt or ice cream. This little concoction tastes best with fruit flavored ice cream like strawberry.
Make your own ice cream and use 2% milk instead of heavy cream. Your family will enjoy making the ice cream and you don’t have to worry about all the saturated fat.
Sprinkle ice cream with a few mini-chocolate chips instead of hot fudge or chocolate sauce. There’s less sugar in a few chocolate chips than in a few tablespoons of ice cream topping.
Buy fruit only sorbet or popsicles. Fruit only frozen treats are a pleasant change.
Make your own fruit only frozen treats. Puree your favorite fruits, Berries work best, in a blender, add a bit of pineapple or orange juice to thin it out if you need to, and pour into popsicle molds, ice cube trays or small paper cups. Add a popsicle stick, freeze, and you’re ready to enjoy.
Skip the cone and eat your ice cream in a bowl. Cones just add sugar and fat. Skip them.

5 Amazing Lunch Ideas

2015-06-24T15:27:00.000-05:00

Lunch Ideas

Italian Tuna Wrap - To prepare, simply add a bit of light Italian salad dressing to a can of tuna packed in water. Just enough for flavor. Add lettuce and tomato to a whole wheat tortilla, add tuna and season with salt and pepper to taste. You have a perfect healthy lunch that leaves you full and satisfied for hours.

Leftover Chicken or Turkey - Chop leftover chicken or turkey and add to a bowl. Mix in barbeque sauce to taste. If you like it saucy then add more, if you don’t like too much mess, just add enough to coat. Place barbeque meat on a hamburger or sandwich bun and voila! A satisfying, protein rich, lunch. Add apple slices or coleslaw for fiber and a serving of fruits or veggies.

Bento Box - Egg, tuna, salmon or chicken salad on a bed of lettuce for one section of the bento box provides your protein. Use fresh berries or melon for fiber and antioxidants in another section. Add crunchy crackers or crisps for your third section and add crunchy veggies like carrot sticks and broccoli for your fourth and final section. You can mix it up and keep your bento box interesting every day of the week.

Soup - During the summer a cold soup like fresh gazpacho really refreshes and on cold winter days a warm soup hits the spot. And the good news is you only need a thermos for both seasons. We have an image of grandmothers or mothers slaving over a hot stove for hours cooking soup however many soups are quick and easy recipes often taking less than twenty minutes to prepare. And you can prepare them ahead of time and freeze them. Simply thaw the night before and you have a healthy lunch.

Fried Rice - Cook brown rice a day or two ahead of time. Chop up leftover meats. You can use shrimp, beef, lamb, chicken, or pork – just about any meat goes well with fried rice. Add peas, carrots, onions and other fresh or frozen veggies you have. Heat it all in a sauté pan with a little oil and add soy sauce to taste. Place in small sealable microwavable containers and you have lunch.

Ground Beef Recipes

2015-06-24T10:39:00.001-05:00

Ground Beef Crock Pot recipe kindle ebook is being offered for only $2.99 from The Hillbilly Housewife. Summer is a great time to use the slow cooker (for me any time is a good time)

It has recipes and cooking tips:

American Chop Suey
Bacon Cheeseburger Soup
Beef and Vegetable Ragout
Beef Barley Soup
Beefy Potato Casserole
Creamy Potato Beef Casserole
Crock Pot Cottage Pie
Crock Pot Meat Loaf
Crockpot Cowboy Casserole
Crockpot Pizza
Crunchy Beef Casserole
Easy Vegetable-Beef Soup
Enchilada Casserole
Goulash
Ground Beef and Cabbage
Ground Beef Quiche
Ground Beef Stroganoff
Homemade Burgers
Moo Shu Lettuce Wraps
Salisbury Steak
Savory All Day Chili
Savory Beef and Bean Casserole
Savory Sloppy Joes
Slow Cooked Beef Minestrone Soup
Slow Cooked Swedish Meatballs
Slow Cooked Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Slow Cooked Tamale Casserole
Slow Cooker Beef Ziti Recipe
Slow Cooker Picadillo
Slow Cooker Shipwreck Casserole
Spicy Surprise Soup
Tasty Ravioli Casserole
Tater Tot Casserole
TexMex Taco Soup
Tortilla Soup

Easy Patriotic Centerpiece

2015-06-24T10:18:00.000-05:00

Simple Centerpiece for Patriotic Holidays

This is a very easy and thrifty centerpiece to make and you can change the colors for any holiday.

For the red layer - I put about 1/4 cup of white rice in a baggie and a few drops of red food coloring and a dash of rubbing alcohol and the squished the bag around to coat the rice in the coloring and then poured it out on a plate to dry.

For the blue layer - I did the same as above but used blue food coloring.

For the white layer - I used 1/4 cup rice and left it white.

When the colored rice dried I poured it into a jelly jar by layers. I had a small flag and put that in the rice.

Glorious Fourth of July, The: Old-Fashioned Treats and Treasures from America's Patriotic Past- This is a book on Amazon and I am an affiliate.

Fourth of July Ideas

2015-06-24T10:14:00.000-05:00

Fun 4th of July Tips and Ideas

1. Help the kids make this edible firecracker:
Give each child an unwrapped Twinkie style snack cake and a piece of red shoestring licorice a few inches long. Have red, white and blue cake icing and sprinkles available. Have the children stick the licorice in the end of the snack cake for the fuse and then let them decorate the snack cakes with the sprinkles and icing. Enjoy!

2. Have red and blue drink mixes or fruit punches to go with the theme.

3. Put red, white and blue pinwheels in a pot or vase for a great centerpiece.

4. Pretzel Sticks - Cover with melted white chocolate and add red, white and blue star sprinkles. Display these in a pretty glass or vase.

5. Colorful Ice Cubes - Freeze red and blue juices/drink mixes in ice trays to make colorful additions to your drinks.

6 .Say the Pledge of Allegiance, sing patriotic songs and be a proud American!

7. Come up with your own ideas - simply add some red, white and blue!

Determine Childrens BMI Score

2015-06-22T18:57:00.000-05:00

What to Do If You Think Your Child is Obese

Do you worry that your child is obese? You probably understand the many health problems and deadly diseases that are associated with obesity. If your child is obese, he or she runs an increased risk of developing:

Type II diabetes
Osteoarthritis
Sleep apnea
Heart disease or stroke
Cancer
Gallbladder disease
Gout
High blood pressure

Everyone is different, and that includes children. With 2 identical looking kids, one may be obese and the other may be healthy. There are many genetic and body frame factors to consider. But basically, obesity is defined as a condition where someone is "grossly fat or overweight" depending on their Body Mass Index (BMI).

What is BMI?
To understand whether your child is obese, you need to determine her BMI score. BMI calculation does not measure body fat directly, but rather uses global averages to see where your child ranks against her peers that are the same age, height and weight. Body mass index is defined as a measurement of normal weight, overweight and obesity using comparative height and weight charts.

How Can I Measure My Child's BMI to Determine If He Is Obese?
Search for the term "Childhood BMI Calculator" on the Internet. There are literally thousands of free online body mass index calculators which produce an instant score. Simply input the birth date and year, gender, height and weight of your child. Some of these calculators may also ask for the height of your child's genetic parents.

Without parental height considered, a 10 year old girl that measures 4 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 70 pounds is considered in the 48th BMI percentile. That means that she is heavier than 48% of girls her age and height, a healthy measurement.

What BMI Percentile is Healthy, Overweight and Obese?
A child that scores between 0 and 5 or 10 on the BMI percentile chart for kids is considered underweight. Between 5 or 10 and 80 or 85 is considered a healthy weight. A score of 80 to 90 or 95 is considered overweight, and any score over 90 is a sign of a marginally or definitely obese child. Do not forget, these are just averages. If you are concerned your child is obese or overweight, schedule an appointment with your doctor or health professional.

What Do You Do If Your Child Is Obese?
Obesity can be hereditary, to some extent. If you and your spouse are obese, your kids have a higher tendency to be so as well. However, health professionals, fitness experts and doctors agree that your diet and level of physical activity are what ultimately decide how much you weigh and how fit you are.

So get your child eating lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Keep them active, exercising at least 2.5 hours per week. Make sure they drink lots of water and get plenty of rest. These simple steps can reverse obesity, delivering the self-esteem and health that every child deserves.

Learn How to DeClutter your Home and your Mind

2015-06-22T18:41:00.001-05:00

DeClutter Simplified is an actionable guide to help you learn how to declutter your mind and your home!

Wii Fit Plus With Balance Board Review [Gift Guide]

2015-06-22T18:29:00.002-05:00

Wii Fit Plus With Balance Board Review ~ Gift Guide

Should You Buy This Fitness Game?
Fitness games were relatively unheard of before the Wii Fit came along and changed everything. With its revolutionary balance board, Nintendo somehow managed to combine video games with getting fit! Since then, Wii Fit has been enhanced and added to with the release of Wii Fit Plus . But is it worth your time, money and effort?

What Do You Get With The Wii Fit Plus with Balance Board?
If you never bought the original Wii Fit and balance board then this is the package to get! You'll get the game along with the revolutionary balance board that brought so many people into the new world of fitness gaming.

Some of the features of this package include:
* The balance board that can measure your movements and weight,
* The new improved Wii Fit Plus game,
* Four game categories: Aerobic, Balance, Yoga and Strength,
* Work with a personal trainer as you learn how to perform each exercise,
* As you improve and play for longer you'll unlock new activities or increase the number of reps for each exercise,
* Wii Fit Plus brings several new features such as routines and specific areas of focus (see below).

How Does Wii Fit Plus Compare To The Original Wii Fit?
If you already have the original Wii Fit then you can get the upgrade simply by buying the software on its own without the balance board. This game does include the original content of the Wii Fit, but adds a whole other level of gameplay. Some of the new features include mixing and matching strength and yoga activities, and flowing exercises together seamlessly for an effective daily workout routine.

Other new features include:
* A much larger range of customization options,
* "My Routine" allows you to put together your own routines,
* "Favorites" is a collection of workouts you use the most,
* 15 new balance games,
* 6 new strength and yoga activities,
* Users can choose which area of health and fitness to focus on,
* See how many calories you've burned,
* New feature allows users to weigh their cats and dogs.

What Customers Are Saying About Wii Fit Plus
The product has received generally positive reviews, with customers noting how the new game has addressed many of the shortfalls of the original Wii Fit. With the original, while novel and fun, many would soon abandon it due to the lack of ability for seamless workouts and more control over which areas to work on. Customers have mentioned how they're now a lot more motivated to continue exercising with the Wii Fit Plus day after day.

Any Complaints?
Some customers have complained that the new games are mostly added for fun, but will not have much effect when it comes to exercising. There are only 6 new strength and yoga games to help improve fitness. The customized workouts are by far the biggest improvement, but the main drawback of this is that they do not include the aerobic or balance activities.

Conclusion
When the original Wii Fit first made its way into stores it was all we had. However, since then fitness games have come a long way. Many people considered the original Wii Fit too basic to hold their interest, and the new Wii Fit Plus goes a long way to addressing those issues. If you don't already own the balance board then there's no reason to buy the old version over this new improved one. However, if you already own a balance board then it's up to you to compare Wii Fit Plus to other fitness games on the market to find one that matches your aims and interests.

Father's Day Gift Ideas

2015-06-10T15:18:00.000-05:00

Outdoor Grilling and Smoking Gift Ideas for Dad

My husband loves to grill out and to smoke meat so these are some gift ideas that he would enjoy for the cooking out hobby he has. Of course, he will not be getting all of these but they are great ideas for the outside cook.

Charcoal Companion Non-Stick Reversible Roasting / Rib Rack
This is a great way to grill or smoke several ribs at a time.

ThermoWorks Super-Fast Thermapen Professional Thermocouple Cooking Thermometer
I would love to have this for myself. That would be what I call a double duty gift! Several colors to choose from and a 3 second temperature reading!

Meat Temperature Guide Magnet
Every time we grill or smoke meat I have to get on the internet and look up the temperature for doneness in the meat. I could write this information down but have yet to do it so this magnet guide would be very helpful to us.

Raspberry Brownie Supreme Müller® Dessert Inspired Yogurt

2015-05-24T16:45:00.002-05:00

I received coupons as a BzzAgent to try the yogurt free. I wanted the Strawberry Cheesecake but all my Kroger had was the Raspberry Brownie Supreme so that is the one I tried. It was tasty I liked the yogurt better without the Brownie Bits added into it. Looking forward to trying the Strawberry Cheesecake soon. I liked the ease of mixing the yogurt and add ins together.

Red Baron Brick Oven Pepperoni Pizza

2015-05-24T16:35:00.000-05:00

I received a free coupon as a Bzzagent to try the Red Baron Brick Oven Pepperoni Pizza. The crust wasn't too tough or doughy and the toppings were also in an appropriate amount. I shared the pizza with my husband and daughter, they thought it tasted alright but didn't like it as much as I did.

How to Make a Coffee Filter Butterfly

2015-05-09T04:30:00.000-05:00

Coffee Filter Butterfly

This simple craft can be done by almost any age. If you don't have coffee filters, tissue paper works fine. Save these to use for Christmas ornaments!

Here's what you'll need for 1 butterfly:

* Coffee filter (pleated style)
* Wooden clothes pin (the open "slit" or clip varieties - both will work)
* Black Pipe Cleaners
* Black craft paint
* Plastic plate or several layers of newspaper
* Watercolor
* Paintbrush

First, paint your clothes pin black and allow it to dry. While it's drying, open up the coffee filter to make a flat circle. Lay this on the plate or newspaper (the watercolor will soak through). Using lots of water to make drippy paint, dab various colors onto the coffee filter until it's covered with color. Peel up the filter and lay it on newspaper to dry.

Once dry, pinch the coffee filter in the middle, so that it fans out on either side. Attach the clothes pin at this pinched-in section. Take one black pipe cleaner and wrap the middle of it around the top of the clothes pin to make antennae.

14 Ways to Lower Your Cell Phone Bill

2015-05-08T16:24:00.000-05:00

14 Ways to Lower Your Cell Phone Bill

One of the best ways to save money is to cut your cell phones bill. An average family of four could see their cell phone bill run as high as $200 a month, including data and texting packages. The cost has gotten out of hand.

Here are some of the tips and tricks to lowering your cell phone bill.

1. Stay under your minutes: Nothing is more angering than finding huge charges from going over your minutes. If this happens regularly, you should consider changing cell phone plans or finding ways to cut your talk time. A great tool to help monitor your usage is OverMyMinutes, a free tool that sends you a text message or email when you are about to reach or go over your limit.

2. Use a prepaid cell service: Prepaid cell phones are becoming more and more popular as prices continue to drop. As the name suggests, you pay for a certain amount of minutes with no contract to sign. Most of the major cell phone carriers now offer prepaid cell phone options. You can also find great deals on prepaid phones from TracFone Prepaid Wireless Airtime and Cricket . Cricket is especially good for those who want unlimited services for one low price. The only drawback is roaming. If you do not travel outside your calling area very much, then this is the service for you.

3. Reconsider insurance: Forking out several hundred dollars for a new phone if you break you current one is no fun, but do you really need to insure a $200 to $500 item? At a cost of around $7 per phone a month, insurance fees can quickly add up. Insurance should be for those things we can’t afford to replace such as home, auto, health, and life.

4. Employee discounts: Some companies such as AT&T Wireless offer discounts to their employees. In addition, some state and city employees also qualify for discounts. So check with your employer or your cell phone carrier to see what discounts are available to you.

5. Ringtones are another waste of money. Children especially tend to change ringtones often, at an added cost to you. Save yourself some money and use a default ring tone that came with your phone. If you’re set on having a custom ringtone, most phones have the capability of recording sound. Simply play your favorite music and record it with your phone, then save the recording as your ringtone. Amazon has several free ringtones here.

6. Unlimited plans: An unlimited plan (whether for phone or texting) relieves you of the burden of worrying about your minutes, but many people don’t take full advantage of these costly programs. Check your cell phone usage to see if you can get by with a less expensive plan.

7. Texting: Today, kids have cell phones with texting, not to mention email and Facebook. The key to saving money is to either control how much they text or go with an unlimited plan. The unlimited plan will obviously cost more, but it may be a much better deal than paying high fees for going over the texting limit.

8. Avoid calling Directory Assistance. At around $2.00 per call, it can be really expensive and it’s unnecessary. Instead, try 800-FREE-411, 800-411-METRO or 800-GOOG-411, all of which give you listings for free.

9. Use Firefox plug-ins to track time: Each of the major cell phone carriers have Firefox plug-ins to help you track your minutes. It’s an easy way to keep from going over your limit.

10. Combine plans: As you add a new line the price goes down, so save a bundle by combining your cell phone plans.

11. Never cancel a cell phone contract again: When you cancel a cell phone contract, you can get hit with some outrageous fees. Fortunately, there are a couple of websites that can save you a bundle if you need out of a contract. Basically, these sites help bring together folks who want out of a contract with those looking for a cell phone contract. If you need to get out of a cell phone contract or are looking for a good deal and want to help out somebody in a bind, check out Cellswapper or Celltradeusa.

12. Shop online: Almost all cell phone carriers offer discounts when you shop for cell phones and plans online.

5 Beauty Tips for Summer

2015-05-08T14:54:00.001-05:00

Beauty Tips for Summer

Here are some beauty tips for summer so help you keep a glowing, vibrant look despite the heat.

Hydration
It's pretty amazing how much thirstier you are in the summer than in the winter, and there's a reason for that. You're losing a lot of water in the form of sweat, and daylight hours are long, meaning more exposure to heat and the consequent sweat.

Keeping yourself hydrated in important. It helps prevent heat stroke, dry skin, and other health issues. Healthy is beautiful! So keep water handy wherever you are, and take it with you whenever you leave the house. You can also eat lots of hydrating fruits like peaches, plums, and melons. These are good for you, too, supplying lots of healthful nutrients.

Go Light on the Make-Up
Thick, opaque make-up can run and streak in summer, and frankly, it just looks stifling in the heat! Dark, thick eye make-up may streak and run when you sweat, too. Soft colors and light coverage are key. If you have blemishes, go with a concealer and a light, low-pigment base with sunscreen.

Avoid Sun Damage
In the old days, a tan was considered "healthy." But now we know that it's anything but! Tanning is sun damage, plain and simple, and the possibility of developing skin cancer is raised exponentially with each sunburn. Bad sunburns also peel and even blister, which doesn't help your make-up efforts or your facial skin's health and beauty. So wear light sunscreen daily - in fact, you can use a lightly pigmented sunscreen daily in lieu of base make-up.

Up-Dos
Summer is a great time to experiment with up-dos. Your hair can look frizzy or stringy in the humid, sweaty days of summer. Wearing your hair up also looks and feels cooler. Light clips and pins can keep hair up without a lot of accoutrements.

Speaking of hair, those with curly hair can avoid frizz by using hair gel (for thick hair) or mousse (for thin hair).

Long and Flowing
When it's hot, no one wants to wear long pants and sleeves. But if you aren't comfortable exposing these areas, go for the flowing look. It can be very beautiful and comfortable at the same time. Long skirts and light, flowing shirts can be quite flattering and still allow for ample air circulation.

Popcorn Handbook, Tasy Tidbits of Casseroles and How to Can Fruit Kindle Cookbooks

2014-05-22T11:11:00.000-05:00

You can read these kindle books from Amazon even if you don't have a Kindle just use one of the free apps. I use the app for my personal computer.

Sometimes these books are for a price and sometimes they have them free for a limited time, hopefully you will find them free when you visit.

Clean Your Computer Keyboard and Screen

2014-04-17T09:33:00.000-05:00

Today is a good day to clean your computer screen and keyboard. Mine gets really bad especially when we eat around the keyboard and crumbs get everywhere. I searched for the easiest way to do this and you can read how Heloise suggests to do this at Good Housekeeping.

A Recipe Called More

2014-04-07T06:42:00.000-05:00

This is an unusual name for a recipe. It is called this because when you eat the first serving you want "More". This is from an old recipe collection from an estate sale in Oregon. It is a newspaper clipping.

More

1 pound hamburger
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon fat
2 cups macaroni, cooked
3 cups canned tomatoes
1 package frozen peas
1/4 pound process cheese, cubed
salt and pepper to taste
shake of garlic salt

Brown hamburger and onion in fat. Combine all ingredients. Separate the peas but they do not have to be cooked. Pour into oiled casserole dish and bake 1 hour at 325 degrees. If mixture gets too thick, add a little water.

6 Rewards Programs to Earn Gift Cards

2014-02-08T16:22:00.001-06:00

Rewards programs can earn you some great gift cards or merchandise depending on what you choose as your reward. I usually prefer gift cards and then I can get more of what I want.
This would be a great way to earn gift cards for Christmas and birthdays. I have earned several restaurant cards for my husbands birthday and our anniversary using My points.

You will find many reward programs out there but here are my favorites:

Swagbucks.com - This is a search site that I use to search through and I can win swagbucks and I save them to earn gift cards. I have earned them free from Amazon and from Wal-Mart. It is an easy program to use. You can do searches, print coupons, watch videos and take surveys to earn the points. You can get an Amazon gift card for 450 swagbucks at the time of this writing.

Mypoints.com - I love this one. I earn points by shopping through their links and I also earn points by clicking on the emails that is sent to me and for searching and for printing coupons and using them on groceries. I have earned several cards to Outback restaurant by doing this. I am trying to save my points all year in 2014 to get gift cards for Christmas this year.

Kellogg's Family Rewards - This is a great one to use if you purchase a lot of Kelloggs products. You can also find several free codes they pass along on their face book page and through their emails.

My Coke Rewards - If you drink coke products save all those codes and you can get some great merchandise free. I have received free cokes and magazine subscriptions through them before.

Pampers Gifts to Grow - This is a great program even if you do not have babies. You can still get codes with baby wipes if you use those and free codes are offered very often from them.

Recycle Bank - You can earn points through their website by reading, learning and taking action. I use this site to get most of my magazine subscriptions for free.

This post has my affiliate link for Swagbucks, thanks for using it.

Granola Balls

2014-01-22T08:22:00.001-06:00

These are easy and healthy snacks. I like them and so does my son. They are very filling and better for you than chips or candy

Granola Balls

1 cup oats
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all ingredients together and shape into small balls and store in fridge.

Tip - I think these would also be good to replace the chocolate chips with pecans or some other type of nuts.

7 Personal Finance Tips for the Newly Employed

2014-01-20T03:30:00.000-06:00

7 Personal Finance Tips for the Newly Employed

Starting your first job is the best time to develop effective personal finance habits - habits that will greatly improve the odds of having a life of abundance and security. Good habits and practices are no more challenging to put into place than poor ones. So, now is the time to take control of your financial future.

The following habits have been proven to improve the odds of financial success:

1. Enroll in your company's 401(k) right away. It's astounding how much money you can save if you get started early. If you get enrolled before your first paycheck arrives, you'll never know what you're missing.

It would be difficult to find one middle aged or older person that wouldn't agree with this advice 110%. Aim for a minimum of 10%

2. Start an emergency fund. The typical advice is to have enough set aside to pay all your bills for at least 3 months. This money will prove invaluable sooner or later, whether it's to fix a broken car, pay your bills between jobs, or escape a bad relationship. You'll sleep easier at night, too.
3. Avoid or pay down debt. If you're not in debt yet, stay that way. If you are in debt, now is the time to get work on getting rid of it. Debt has a habit of getting worse over time.

Develop a plan and stick to it. It will never be easier to get rid of than it is right now.

4. Stay on top of your credit score. Some sites, like www.creditkarma.com, provide free scores. You can also get one free report each year from each of the three primary credit-reporting agencies. At the very least, go over your report each year and have the errors removed.

The primary factors in your credit score are your debt-to-credit ratio and your payment history. Avoid using more than 30% of your available credit and pay your bills on time, every time. It's that simple.

5. Get organized. There are many things you can do to get organized. Your finances will be much more manageable. Set up a separate email account just for your bills and banking statements. It will be much harder to overlook or misplace anything this way.

Set up calendar alerts for your important financial dates. These are things like your rent or mortgage payment and other recurring bills.

6. Create and follow a budget. Your budget provides a framework for your financial life. If you stay within that framework, it's difficult to have financial challenges.

A good guideline is to put 50% of your income towards rent, food, transportation, and utilities. Put 20% towards savings and paying down any debt. The remaining 30% can be used for your lifestyle items. These are things like vacations, dining out, and non-essential shopping.

7. Take advantage of automated savings. Nearly everyone makes the mistake of trying to save whatever money is left over at the end of the month. There's never anything left over.

The secret is to never have that money where you can spend it easily. Have 10% or more of your paycheck sent to a separate account than the money used for paying bills. This can be a savings or brokerage account.

As you can see, none of the suggestions is particularly challenging. Having a great financial life is the result of taking positive action consistently. Get started on the right foot and put these suggestions into play as soon as possible.

Tips for Keeping Your Home Warm

2014-01-15T03:00:00.000-06:00

Tips for Keeping Your Home Warm

Seal Off Your Fireplace
If you have a Fireplace, make sure you close both the gate inside the chimney, as well as the gate in front of the fireplace. Even just a small opening in your fireplace can result in cold air rushing into your home.

It's important to note that most fireplaces really don't produce heat. If you don't use the fireplace often, it might make sense to seal it up and get an electric fireplace instead.

Install Storm Windows

Storm windows cost just over $10 a square foot to install. It'll repay for its costs very quickly.
Your windows are usually the biggest source of heat loss in your home. Neither concrete nor wood nor drywall loses nearly as much heat as glass. Glass transfers hot and cold temperatures, if it's cold outside the glass will get cold and make the inside of your home cold as well.

Storm windows alone can boost your temperature by 25 to 35 degrees. Just install them on the outside of your window and you're set. I also put plastic over my windows to help keep the house warmer.

Spread the Heat Around
A lot of people heat their homes in a very ineffective manner. They have heaters running, but the heat just raises straight up to the ceiling and hangs out there. Heat naturally rises and doesn't travel sideways.

There are a couple solutions to this. If you have a ceiling fan, turn it on. It seems counter intuitive to turn a fan on when it's cold, but it can really go a long way towards spreading the heat around.

You can also get thermodynamic fans that you place on top of heaters. These fans are powered by the heat itself, so you don't need to plug them in. They're green and energy efficient and can help blow hot air throughout your home.

The Smoke Trick
Finally, seal off any sources of air into your home. These could be from loose windows, from the sides of doors, from loose plumbing and more.

How do you find these tiny gaps? Just light a candle. Walk around the house with your candle. Anywhere you suspect there might be a leak, put the candle near it. If there's wind, the flame or the smoke will move. Seal whatever leaks you find.

Keeping your house warm doesn't have to cost a bundle every year.

Full-Time Job and a Part-Time Business: How to Manage Your Time

2014-01-13T03:30:00.000-06:00

Full-Time Job and a Part-Time Business: How to Manage Your Time

Managing time wisely and effectively is challenging. But excellent time management skills are invaluable, especially when trying to manage both a full-time job and a part-time business. There are other things in life besides just work.

If you want the opportunity to experience and enjoy other activities in life, getting your time under control is imperative.

It's all about prioritizing, focusing, and being productive, rather than simply being busy.

These time management tips will help to guarantee that your time is spent wisely:

1. Focus on being productive. You can spend a lot of time actively working, yet accomplish relatively little. Being busy is about motion. Being productive is about results.

Consider the results you are likely to see from the course of action you're about to undertake. Are the expected results worth the time?
Being busy all day and accomplishing nothing should be avoided by everyone, but it's especially important for those with two jobs.

2. Drop the multi-tasking. The ability to multi-task has been lauded for decades, but recent research is showing that multi-tasking is a mistake. Some research has shown that focusing on one task at a time increases productivity and performance by 100%.

This can be the difference maker between success and failure if you're juggling a part-time business with a full-time job. Productivity is everything. Focus on one thing until it's time to move on to something else.
Consider using a timer to help you focus. If a task should take 25 minutes to complete, use a timer and try to beat the clock. A simple timer can really help you stay focused.

3. Have a new list of objectives and to-do list each day. Priorities and needs change from day to day. Start each day with a new list or priorities. Any items that are incomplete can be moved to tomorrow's list, but only if they're still priorities.

If you find it helpful, have a list of things to do before lunch and after lunch. Breaking up the day like this can make things more manageable.
Create the list the night before. You won't waste time in the morning trying to plan your day. You might also find some elegant solutions to your challenges if you have the opportunity to sleep on them.

4. Make a real effort to eliminate distractions and interruptions. There's always something else that needs your attention. However, you'll get more done if you can stick to the important tasks before allowing other things to grab your attention.

You might want to spend the first two hours of each morning working on the most important tasks of the day before opening your email or listening to your phone messages.

5. Make decisions with the time expenditure in mind. Working full-time and running a part-time business requires focusing on the time required by certain activities. Quick decision-making skills are vital.

Many times, the second or third best solution is really the best solution if it saves time.
Sometimes a good, quick solution is better than the best solution that is complicated and too time-consuming to implement.

6. Delegate whenever possible. Whether it's at the job or the business, delegate as much as you can. Do you insist on doing too much? Attempt to release some control and get all the help you can.

Managing a full-time job and a part-time business is challenging, but many people are able to manage both successfully. Focus on the most important tasks, minimize the distractions around you, and let others help. You'll get more done in less time with greater results!