Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Celebrating Financial Milestones as a Family

This morning on WSBT, I discuss some ways that you can celebrate your financial milestones as a family. This topic is near and dear to my heart because I think it is so important to teach and share your financial victories and shortcomings in ways that your children can understand.

Here are two of our links to our past celebrations:

Debt-Free Party
Cars Party

We are now working on paying off our student loan debt so we can achieve our American Dream. I hope that all of this will inspire other families to start their own celebrations with their children!

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We are offering two exciting giveaways on our blog- don't forget to put in your entry!

Last week, I provided a list of 35 Ways to Save on Your Grocery Budget that I hope will be really helpful for families. I want to add a #36 though that I know would make your day... how about free toilet paper and paper towels for an entire year from Scott's? Head over right now and put in your entry at The MotherLoot today. Please do not enter here, only entries over here will qualify. The contest is open until Tuesday night and then I will draw our winner!

And our brand new giveaway has just begun! Enter today to win a 10th Anniversary Harry Potter prize pack. We are giving away beautiful boxed sets of the Harry Potter series and the new anniversary editions of, "Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone" Please do not enter here, only entries over here will qualify. The contest is open until October 13th and then I will draw our winner! The contest is open until Tuesday night and then I will draw our winners!

Good luck, everyone!

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Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Finding Deals on Eye & Vision Care

Piggybacking on our discussion on going without vision and dental coverage, I got the opportunity to share with WSBT some ways that families can save on their eye coverage. I researched contact lense prices, discount programs that you can take advantage of, and where you can score an inexpensive eye exam.

Our family is currently going without optical and dental insurance and my daughter managed to break my only pair of glasses. I was overdue for an eye exam and was on my last pair of contact lenses. I drove around from place to place in town and decided that Sam's Club would be the best place for me. The selection fit my needs, the eye exam was inexpensive ($35 for my son, $55 for myself for contact & glasses fittings) and they had designer frames for between $65-90.

Although there are cheaper places on the internet to buy glasses, I really wanted to be able to try my glasses on and get them properly fitted to my face. There is something to be said for feeling confident in what you are wearing and if I would have bought them online, they would have not fit me as well.

I am planning to put this information into an article for reference on our site. Thank you all for your feedback please feel free to discuss where you have found the best deals on optical care!

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Friday, August 29, 2008

Getting Crafty With Your Kids & Big News

This week on WSBT, I shared my crafty ideas for things you can make with your kids from common items out of your pantry. I had tons of props prepared after doing the Michiana Family Expo (sponsored by Michiana Family Magazine). We spent twelve hours at the mall showing parents some fun crafts to do with their kids and I reused these same props for this segment. For those of you who weren't able to make it out to see us, I hope this will provide a great substitution.

To go along with this fun discussion, please visit our latest article, "Being a Crafty Parent... When You Just Aren't." As a parent who struggles with being crafty and fun, I hope that I can help provide inspiration for you to get crafting with your children. This article contains a few easy recipes that will help get you started on a fun crafting adventure with your kids. Be sure to check our resource list for our top recommendations for craft books and hit your local library.

I have two new articles up on the Kenmore website that I think you guys will really love. The first article is, "Help Kids Earn & Learn." This article focuses on teaching your children how to start a small business or helping them earn money by simply helping you around the house. I worked really hard on it so I hope you enjoy it!

The second article is, "Plan the Perfect Summer Getaway." I meant to highlight this sooner, but had forgotten to. I hope you can bookmark it for planning your next vacation and we share some of our favorite family trips & trips for organized and thrifty traveling.

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Next week is going to be a fun week on our blog because I am going to be be doing an entire Play It Again, Momma week! I am going to highlight some of my favorite entries on here for the week so please join me! I will still be running a giveaway on Tuesday and our Freebie Friday, but everything else will be taking a week off so I can spend some time with my family. If you decide to do a Notebook Experiment, just hold it tight for a week or give yourself two weeks to complete it.

I have never taken a vacation from my blog so this will be a new one for me. I need some time to rejuvenate and refresh so I can bring some new ideas to the table. In the meantime, you can read all of the stuff that I am most proud of so I hope it will be a good compromise!

I will also be busy working on helping with the Eleven Moms gig and have added a new role to my list- Editor of Blissfully Domestic. I have taken over the Family Channel and I have twenty-five amazing writers that I will be working with. Basically, I am not sleeping and that is why I need a week to sleep.

We have two amazing giveaways this week that you can enter- but do not leave your comments here. Head to the provided contest links to leave your entry!

We are giving away a $50 Visa gift card to a lucky MomAdvice reader to relax, recharge, and rejuvente however you choose, be it a spa trip, yoga classes, or some retail therapy. To enter, simply leave your favorite household tip by September 2nd (Tuesday) at 8PM EST. Sorry- only US residents are eligible for this contest. Contest Details

Cetaphil is offering one lucky winner one of every single product from their product line! That is a huge box of loot, people! To enter, let us know one way you save money on your beauty care needs. We love frugal tips so I can wait to see what you come up with! Comments must be left by September 2nd (Tuesday) at 8 PM (EST). Contest Details

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Wednesday, August 20, 2008

CVS Shopping or Getting Stuff for Free

Yesterday I headed over to WSBT and shared my experience with CVS shopping. I have been working on this for the past three weeks, trying to gather all that I could to show how great CVS is for families and how much you can save with very little effort.

We talked a little bit about charitable giving, so I did want to provide these links for the charitable giving challenges! This is a fun and easy way to give back within your communities.

BeCentsable Charity Challenge
Coupon Cravings Charity Challenge

I hope that everyone can understand how it all works- it is difficult when you have a two minute time limit for discussing an easy (but complex) shopping process!

I also have posted my deals for the week! Enjoy!

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Tuesday, August 05, 2008

WSBT-TV: Online Family Planners

This morning was a tad more exciting than I had planned for it to be. Our power went out about 2 AM and I had to set an alarm on my phone to get up by 5:30 AM to head over to tape today's segment. We still did not have power when I woke up and I did my best to get ready by candlelight and then put together a bag to take over and get ready in the bathroom before taping the segment. I managed to make it in though and share about some really great online family planning tools.

Be sure to read my entry on picking an online family planner and to get the scoop on all the great features. These are some really great tools to help busy moms stay organized...and did I mention that they are free? You can't beat it!

You can find my WSBT segment here. Please excuse the hair and makeup for the day! I am just happy I found some matching clothes!

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Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Healthy Eating, Summer Slacking, Simple Living, & Live Appearances

Did I catch your attention?

This week on WSBT, I got to sit down and really talk about how to eat healthy on a budget. Since I went to school for nutrition, this is an important topic for me and one that I really enjoy sharing about. I hope that you can catch this segment! You can find me on our local news each Tuesday sharing money-saving tips for moms!

On Frugal Hacks, I share with you my disappointing cleaning habits for the summer. I am wondering if other moms struggle during the summer and what ways you have found to keep you on track. Please join me there for a fun discussion!

This month in our local Michiana Family Magazine, I am sharing how simple writings bring simple pleasures. This is a more personal piece for me and I was excited to share it with families in Michiana.

If you live in the Michiana area and have time, please come to the Michiana Family Expo, sponsored by the Michiana Family Magazine, and stop by to say hi. I will have a booth there and will be demonstrating some fun kid's crafts and meeting as many people as I can personally. I will be there on August 9th from 10 AM to 9 PM. I hope to meet those of you who have been so supportive of my work and our family. It has been so great to live in a community like this and I would love to thank each of you personally for spreading the word about our site.

Last thing, if anyone is attending the ad tech conference in Chicago, I am honored to be included on a panel on August 6th from 2:15-3:15 about my experience as a mommy blogger. I will be sitting on the panel with CEO Kate Thorp, of Real Girls Media, whom I have had the great honor of being a part of their Advisory Board. I am very excited about this opportunity and can't wait to share what a wonderful experience blogging has been for me.

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Tuesday, July 08, 2008

WSBT-TV: Getting Fit on a Budget

Today on WSBT, I discuss some ways to get fit without losing your gym shorts... so to speak! I am trying to get myself back in shape and here are a few links to help with motivation and savings:

Exercise & You

Working Out on a Budget

Creative Gym Membership Alternatives

Kathy Kaehler Interview

Frugal Exercise Solutions

Going Without Prescription Coverage: A Self Discovery

XFLOWSION Workout DVD

I hit the gym this morning and the owner stopped me to tell me he had seen me on the news. He suggested I do a segment on exercising and I told him that I had just taped one. "Did you mention our gym?" I smiled and said, "No, but I did tell them to call around to gyms and see if you can get a free membership for babysitting."

I am thinking that wasn't the answer he was looking for, but I made a beeline to the gym equipment and had to smile a little bit! Just trying to do my part for the moms of the world who can't afford those expensive gym memberships!

Do you have a new workout DVD recommendation or a new workout that you are really loving? Please leave a comment here and let me know!!

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Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Frugal Hacks & WSBT: Summer Fun & Steamy Confessions

Today on Frugal Hacks you can read my sordid confession on returning to the world of television. Here's hoping that you will still visit the site when you find out what I have done.

Today our summer activity list makes the cut for WSBT on our segment on, "Fun Summer Activities." Hat tip to Whatever again for this fabulous idea! You can get a closer look at what we have planned this summer and the frugal family ideas we came up with.

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Tuesday, May 06, 2008

WSBT-TV: Cheap Summer Day Trips

On WSBT, this morning, we discussed ideas for cheap summer day trips. This is about the only way we do family trips anymore and I share my tips for getting the most bang for your buck.

Sound Off: Do you have any family day trips planned this summer? Where are some of your favorite places to visit?

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Monday, May 05, 2008

How to Save Money at the Grocery Store

Normally, I am privileged to be included on the morning news for WSBT, but this time I made it to the evening news hour. WSBT is doing a Money Saving Mondays segment each Monday for the month of May and asked my thoughts on the rising grocery prices. This segment has lots of great tips and they compare the prices on the basics- bread, eggs, and milk in our area. Is it any surprise that good old Aldi made the cut?

I hope you can check it out and I thank Darla and the WSBT station for including me in this piece!

Sound Off: How are you dealing with the higher grocery prices? What is the biggest struggle for your family right now?

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Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Rainy Days, Bloom Swap, Contests, Updates, & More Randomness

Sorry for a post full of randomness, but I wanted to update everyone on stuff that is going on this week!!


WSBT-


Yesterday I went to the WSBT studio to discuss how to put together a rainy day survival kit for your kids. This goes along with my little tutorial on making a rainy day suitcase for your family. My husband said this is the best one I have ever done? I think it came off that way because I was feeling a little more sassy...or maybe because I had to be there by 6:20 in the morning and wasn't fully awake. I hope you guys enjoy it. I am pretty proud of our little suitcase so it was fun to get to show it off.

Nephew Update-

My nephew is doing so well that they are moving him out of ICU this morning. The skin looks great and it even has color to it- a great indication that the blood supply is doing what it is supposed to. My sister is a nurse so she can explain it a little more technically than I can, but it all sounds so positive. Thank you all for your sweet prayers and messages!

Lands' End Contest-

I am really trying hard to share everything I can with all of our readers and today we have a Mother's Day contest posted with Lands' End. We will be offering one winner a $100 gift card to Lands' End to make her own custom-fit swimsuit! I am so excited that we can offer this and I hope you will head over there to check out all of the contest details.

Bloom Swap-

I got to participate in another swap hosted by Monica & Carrie... two of my most favorite blogging friends in the world! Above is all of the loveliness that my swap partner, Angela from Life with one busy boy, sent to me. Her box was so beautiful and full of spring for me. My favorite item was a pair of pink gardening gloves- perfect for this girly-girl in the garden. I loved my box so much that I missed the photo opportunity and just dug right in. I had to sheepishly email Angela and ask if I could borrow her pictures. What a nice swap partner she was to share them with me!

I skipped the box in favor of my favorite reusable bag from Target. I filled hers with lots of flowery goodness and fun spring accessories for her garden. A fresh pair of garden gloves, flowery cards and pads of paper to put by her phone, and some bulbs to plant in her garden!

Thank you to my swap partner and the swap sisters for making this possible!

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Tuesday, April 15, 2008

You Can Find Me Here Too!

This week on Blissfully Domestic I am sharing a few tips for dressing your kid like a celebrity...or die trying! You can see a picture of Ethan in his favorite, "Rock Star" t-shirt!

Over at Frugal Hacks I am sharing how we plan to beat the bad weather days this summer and am opening the floor up to see how you keep your little ones entertained when you are stuck indoors.

On WSBT this morning, I shared tips for keeping those birthday parties fun & frugal! We are all about making our celebrations affordable and I share a ton of ideas to make your next birthday party a heck of a lot cheaper!

Tired of me yet? I sure am!

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Thursday, April 10, 2008

New Article- Goodbye, Old Friend: Asking Jealousy To Leave

I have added a new article to our website called, "Goodbye, Old Friend: Asking Jealousy to Leave." If you read my articles in Michiana Family Magazine, you will find this same article there, in their April issue. It was a more personal piece for me, but I wanted to share how I struggle with jealousy too and ways that I have found to be helpful to put that negative thinking elsewhere.

You will also find me sharing about card games over at Frugal Hacks. My article isn't half as interesting as the comments. There is an awesome comment on there about using a deck of cards to do workouts- don't miss it!

Finally, this week on WSBT, I also shared my tips for spring cleaning. Speaking of, where in the world are my printables? I did take a break with the kids on spring break and my whole mental breakdown this week... hopefully I can get back to it this weekend, but it is not far from my mind! No worries!

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We are running TWO new giveaways this week! Dr. Mindell has written a book called, "Sleep Deprived No More." This is an autographed copy of her book sharing tips for getting pregnant mommies to sleep better and tips for early motherhood. If you would like to win a copy of this autographed book, please leave me a comment here by Friday (04/11) and I will include you in the giveaway. If you have a sleep tip you would like to include that has worked for you, please let us know!

We are so excited to be offering FIVE Kodak Sport Cameras up for grabs! This giveaway will end next Monday ( 04/14) at 8 PM. To enter, please share one of your favorite tips for getting a great picture or a description of one of the best pictures you have ever taken here! I especially love to hear tips for capturing those dreaded family photos or how to get your child to stand still for any length of time. Of course, the winners will be chosen at random, but I look forward to your responses. Good luck, everyone!

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Tuesday, March 25, 2008

WSBT-TV: Planning for a Cheap Getaway

Today on WSBT, I share some tips and tricks for planning an inexpensive getaway with your family. I suggest some frugal alternatives for vacations and ways to make some memories for your family on a budget.

Sound Off: What are your plans this year for Spring Break? How are you making your travels more affordable?

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Tuesday, March 18, 2008

WSBT-TV: Easter on a Budget

Today on WSBT, I shared some tips and ideas for making Easter special on a budget. You can even get a sneak peek at what our kids will be wearing and how we manage to dress them well on a budget. This discussion goes along with our article, "Budget-Minded Easter Celebrations."

Thank you for all your great comments today. I have been out of town since 5:30 this morning (a business trip to Chicago for the day) and just got home this evening. I can't wait to catch up on all of my blog reading tomorrow and share more tips and ideas for our spring cleaning too!

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Tuesday, March 11, 2008

WSBT-TV: The Amazing Dishwasher

Today on our Moms First segment on WSBT, we are talking about how to save money using your dishwasher. I offer a few ideas for ways to save money including what cycles to chose, how to make your own dish detergent, what to buy instead of Jet Dry and explain the cost-effectiveness of putting your dishes in the dishwasher.

This is great timing since we are spring cleaning our kitchens this week! I will have to add an extra credit assignment to our printables to clean our dishwashers! You can also read my article, "The Amazing Dishwasher" for more ideas on how to save money!

I have gotten some emails from local folks who missed the recipe this morning for making your dish detergent so I wanted to supply that too!

Homemade Dishwashing Detergent

1 cup Borax
1 cup Baking Soda
1/4 cup Salt

Mix these ingredients together and store in an airtight container. Add one tablespoon to your detergent dispenser. If you have an older dishwasher, you may need to experiment with this to see what works best. You can also add this mixture and then a small sprinkle of the regular stuff you buy to extend further.

This formula works well for scouring sinks and tubs too!

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Tuesday, March 04, 2008

WSBT-TV: Saving Money On Beauty Services

This morning on WSBT, I shared some tips for saving money on your beauty services. This is something that I talk about frequently because it is such a huge expense for families. If you have multiple children, haircuts alone can cost an arm and a leg, not to mention if you want to keep up with the beauty trends.

Here are some entries to go along with our topic this week:

Open Your Own Beauty Shop
Overcoming My Fears: Cutting Hair
Me Time

Sound Off: What are some ways that you have saved your family money on beauty/hair cuts? Do you have any special beauty recipes you use for your own pampering needs?

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Tuesday, February 26, 2008

WSBT-TV: The Art of Stockpiling

Today on my Frugal Mom segment on WSBT, I wanted to chat a bit about my Baby Steps series and our first topic that we tackled... the art of stockpiling. I wanted to illustrate some of the ways that people can begin making progressive steps towards saving their family money in their weekly grocery budget. If you missed this first post in our series, you can read it here!

Continuing our written series here, tomorrow we will be discussing how and where you can store your stockpiled groceries. Be sure to check back for another riveting piece on groceries.

And if you aren't tired enough of the grocery topic, we will also be watching a mom who hates to cut coupons, cutting coupons and attempting a fun four week trial of the grocery game.

Who needs television when you can have all that entertainment? And I also wonder out loud...does the topic of saving on groceries ever get old? I hope not!

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Tuesday, February 19, 2008

WSBT-TV: Saving Money On Your Printing

Each Tuesday on WSBT, I share tips to help save families money. This week I shared tips for saving on printing costs. This segment goes along with a past entry that I had written on ways that we save on printing and on ink.

If you have an idea that you would like to see covered on WSBT, please leave me a comment and let me know. I am always looking for new ideas.

Sound Off: How do you save on printing and ink expenses? Do you return your ink cartridges anywhere or do you refill them yourself? Please share!

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Wednesday, February 13, 2008

WSBT-TV: Getting Inexpensive Health Care Coverage

You can find me on our local news each Tuesday sharing advice on ways to save a buck. This week I share how we found health care coverage during my husband's time of unemployment. Our town is supported mainly by the factories and the RV industry and it seems that jobs are fewer and farther between. I wanted to share how we found our health care coverage and less conventional ways to buy your prescription drugs.

If you are looking for more information on this subject you can visit my article on going without health insurance or my article explaining the prescription drug lowdown.

Sound Off: Do you have good health care coverage? Are your prescription drugs covered or do you pay for those out of pocket? Please share!

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Tuesday, February 05, 2008

WSBT-TV: Tips for a Fun & Frugal Valentine's Day

Featured today on WSBT was a segment that I did on celebrating Valentine's Day on a budget. This goes along with our Valentine's Day article full of tips for saving cash.

I mentioned that Restaurant.com is a great place to get gift certificates for your evening out. We do have an affiliation with the company, but I recommend it because it really can save families money. I checked their current promotions and they are offering gift certificates for 60% off with an additional 25% discount from deLaFlowers. This offer is good through February 6th using coupon code SUPER when checking out. Use this provided link to access this deal! If you want to understand more about how this program works, you can read my personal review of this program.

Just to be sure you don't miss it, listen for a tiny voice in the background on the segment. Emily was particularly wild that day, but Cari said it would just help people believe me more that I really am a mom and really do have children. Emily won't hold still for any camera shots, but she was having a great time in the playroom while we shot our segments.

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Tuesday, January 29, 2008

WSBT-TV: Frugal Storage Solutions

I wanted to post my WSBT-TV segment before the crew head over and tape more of our future segments to air later this month. This morning I got to share easy ways that you can organize your belongings, without spending a lot of cash. This segment goes along with our article on Frugal Storage Solutions for your home.

Next week I will be discussing fun ideas for a frugal Valentine's Day! I look forward to sharing some of my thrifty solutions for the holiday and I hope you will check back for more fun ideas.

I promise to post our results from our Valentines giveaway later today and I will be guest-writing for Frugal Hacks so I will be sharing that later as well. In the meantime, did you enter the Starbucks $20 gift card giveaway? I am floored by how many people have entered. I don't know what I would do if I got comment love like that every day, but it has been so fun to see all of the entries for the contest. Who am I kidding? I would love comment love like that everyday. Who wouldn't? You feel like a blogging rock star and that feels pretty darn good.

Back to our topic for discussion...

Sound Off: What are some inexpensive organizers that you use in your home? Do you have an organizing project that you plan to tackle this year?

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Tuesday, January 15, 2008

WSBT-TV: Making Gourmet Coffee at Home

Each Tuesday I share my frugal ideas with our community on the morning show for our local news station, WSBT-TV.

This week I shared on a topic that is near and dear to my heart- making your own gourmet coffee at home. I share some of my tips for replicating a gourmet coffee experience and how I manage to keep my latte factor to a minimum.

I am working on an article to put up for our site, but wanted to share some links to some of the ideas that we have incorporated in our house.

Here are some related posts on making a Starbucks Coffee experience in your very own home! Imagine that I have over 116 references to coffee on my blog so scanning through our archives or searching under coffee can also yield additional fun ideas to create a gourmet coffee experience.

All About Coffee:

Make Your Own Flavored Creamers
Get Your Java Fix (Chock full of tips for replicating the Starbucks experience!)
Where to Get Free Wi-Fi (You need that while you are sipping your coffee)
Make Your Own Starbucks Iced Peppermint Mochas
Make Your Own Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes
Make Your Own Dried Coffee Drink Mixes (great for gift giving)
This is Coffee (a fun retro movie on how to make the perfect cup of joe)
A Little About My Coffee-Making Process
How to Score Free Starbucks Coffee

Treats to go with your coffee:

Make Your Own Biscotti
Make Your Own Starbucks Banana Pound Cake
David's Skinny Chocolate Chip Cookies
Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
Chocolate Cupcakes With Peanut Butter Frosting

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Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Day Trip to Chicago & WSBT-TV Segment

Yesterday I had to make a day trip over to Chicago to.....(drum roll please!) shoot some promotions for KENMORE! Yup, I am being added to their team of experts to talk about cleaning & organizing for their Make It Simple team! I will be sure to post links to the promotions and my monthly articles with the team, sharing my advice on cleaning & caring for your appliances.

This was truly a dream come true job and I will be working with Kenmore for the next six months (and hopefully longer, if all goes well!) I wish I could have had my camera yesterday to take pictures of that day, but I didn't want to be a complete dork! It went really well, but I didn't get home until close to midnight. To say I am tired today would be putting it mildly. I had to stop at Starbucks this morning and cash in on one of my Christmas gift certificates. This is the first time I have ever asked for a triple shot of espresso in my cup. That was a mistake...I fear I never will go back to regular caffeine again!

I still can't believe that this opportunity landed in my lap and I was a little choked up when I got home last night. All of the fuss over hair and wardrobe and feeling like a star for a day...it was just a dream come true. I can't wait to tell my kids someday how cool I felt that day!

My segment on, "Making Your Own Bread" also aired on WSBT yesterday. I shared some tips for saving money on making your bread at home. I share the functions to look for on a machine and tips for saving on making your own bread. This goes along with my post on how to use your bread machine and how to store your ingredients.

Sound Off: Do you make your own bread? How do you streamline the bread-making process?

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Tuesday, December 18, 2007

WSBT-TV: Is Buying in Bulk a Better Deal?

Today on WSBT, I shared tips for shopping wholesale. Be sure to visit my wholesale club shopping article and print out our free price book sheet for figuring out all of those prices.

Don't have price book? Check our Price Book 101 article for tips on getting started.

Hope you guys enjoy the segments!

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Tuesday, December 11, 2007

WSBT-TV: Holiday Gift Baskets on a Budget

This morning's segment is on how to create holiday gift baskets on a budget. I just love putting these together and over the years have tried to put together gift baskets with great themes in them. I am hoping to talk more about themed baskets in our Frugal Hacks segment that I am putting together for today. I will post more on this topic later!

I hope this will give you some more ideas for putting together some fun baskets for the holiday season.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

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Tuesday, December 04, 2007

WSBT-TV: Getting the Cheapest Shipping

Today on our WSBT-TV segment, I am sharing inexpensive ways to ship your packages, good investments for creating a shipping center at home, and things you can use around your house for packing materials for your packages.

This goes along with a post that I wrote awhile back on shipping your packages frugally and our adventures in shipping. I plan to write a more extensive article after I noticed that it is one of the top things people have been searching for on our site.

You can also see our new Christmas tree, as our tree this year was looking a little um... Charlie Brown-ish. The top had broken on it and I had hot glued it last year, but it couldn't survive another year. We had just put it up, but no decorations for it yet.

Sound Off: Do you have any tips for cheap shipping or any frugal materials around your house that you use for packing your gifts?

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Tuesday, November 27, 2007

WSBT-TV: Gift Wrapping Made Easy

Today on WSBT-TV, I shared my tips for wrapping your holiday gifts inexpensively. I came into the studio and shared my techniques for frugal gift wrapping and ideas for creative gift tags. I hope you can watch it!

The film crew then came out to my house and we taped six more segments today to be shown in the upcoming weeks. Now I can enjoy extra time with my family instead of running back & forth to the studio. Some of the topics that we have for future topics include shipping your packages, making frugal holiday gift baskets, getting to know your bread machine, getting a cheap coffee fix, familiarizing yourself with your local wholesale club, and throwing an inexpensive birthday party (something that is on my mind since Emily is turning 2 this month).

You could say I am tiny bit tired today!

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Tuesday, November 20, 2007

WSBT-TV: Making Holiday Memories On a Tight Budget

Today on our Moms First segment we talked about making holiday memories on tight budgets. Unfortunately, they had some audio difficulties and my Countdown to Christmas did not make the cut due to the difficulties. I did blog about this a little bit last week so if you want to see how we countdown to Christmas, you can read that entry here.

This holiday discussion also goes along with our popular holiday article, "The Christmas Jar."

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Tuesday, November 13, 2007

WSBT-TV: Paying For The Holidays Without Going Into Debt

Today's segment for our local news shared ways that you can have a wonderful holiday without going into debt. I shared a few quick tips for online shopping and how to not be afraid to say no to all of the gift exchanges.

This goes along with a post that I wrote last year called, "Holiday Bling Without the Bling Budget."

Sound Off: How do you stay under budget for the holidays? Have you ever bowed out of a gift exchange because of financial reasons?

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Tuesday, November 06, 2007

WSBT-TV: How to Save Money On Holiday Baking

Today's topic on my WSBT-TV segment was how to save money on your holiday baking. I am working on an article for our website on this and thought I would share some quick tips for packaging and making your holiday goodies on the cheap.

It was interesting because when I was researching this topic for more information, I couldn't find any articles or really good tips on this. Hopefully this will be of some interest as the holiday season approaches.

I also wanted to direct your attention to some new additions to The Motherloot. I am trying to catch up since I was behind on reviews so here are some more fun things to look at, in anticipation of the holiday season:

Marshmallow Shooter
Comfy Software Products
Kaboost Booster Seat

I have also added a holiday gift giving category and am adding the things that I think would make good gifts. These are all my own opinions though, but I thought it might be easier for your holiday shopping.

**If you have missed any of the Moms First segments, you can view them all through this link.**

Sound Off: Do you have any great holiday baking tips that have helped you? Do you have any fun packaging you like to use for giving your holiday treats?

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Thursday, November 01, 2007

WSBT-TV: Hosting a Game Day Party

Unfortunately, there was a technical glitch so my scheduled segment did not air and it ended up being a repeat this week on my WSBT Mom's First segment. The good news is that the first time it ran, I didn't have a link yet to the video, but now I do and can share it with everyone.

This segment goes along with my discussion awhile ago on Frugal Hacks and shares more tips for hosting a game day party without spending a lot of cash.

I hope you guys enjoy it! Next week I will be discussing ways to save on your holiday baking. I will be working frantically on an article to go along with this discussion so keep your eyes peeled. A new article compiling my wrapping ideas will also be featured this next week on our site.

If you have suggestions for a future segment, please email me at [email protected]. It would mean a lot to me especially with the holidays fast approaching!

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Tuesday, October 16, 2007

WSBT-TV: Dealing With the High Price of Prescription Drugs

Today on my Moms First segment (with WSBT-TV), I discussed ways that you can save money on those high prescription drug prices. This segment goes along with my articles on The Prescription Lowdown and Going Without Health Insurance.

Catch me every Tuesday morning for a quick dose of motherly advice from our site!

Quick Note: We are experiencing some technical difficulties with our forum and the registration process. The letters for verification are not showing and people are unable to register. I apologize that we are having difficulties and will let everyone know when we have resolved this issue. Thanks a bunch!!

Sound Off:
What are some ways that you save on your prescription medications?

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Tuesday, October 09, 2007

WSBT-TV: Tips for Staying Warm in Cool Weather

Well, you are going to get a glimpse inside our home since this morning's segment was taped at our house. The segment that aired today discussed ways that you can keep your home warm without raising your heating bills. Lucky for me, my segment timed perfectly with our weather cooling down or I think this one would have been a dud! According to this week's weather forecast, my tips might be put to good use this week out here in the Midwest.

For additional tips on getting your house ready for the cool weather, be sure to visit my article on Winterizing Your Home.

Sound Off: What do you do to get ready for the winter weather? What is your average heating bill in the winter months?

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Tuesday, October 02, 2007

WSBT-TV: Saving Money On Laundry

Today on WSBT we discussed ways you can save money on doing your laundry. I will be posting an article on this topic a little later this week!

Sound Off: What are some ways that you save on laundry costs? Do you have any recipes that you use in your house?

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Tuesday, September 25, 2007

WSBT-TV: Getting Ready for Halloween

This morning on our Mom's First segment, we got the opportunity to share about getting ready for Halloween. This segment goes along with our new article, "Scary Deals on Halloween Costumes" that we had recently posted.

This year my daughter is going to be Minnie Mouse, compliments of my dear friend AnneMarie, and my son has decided to be a Ninja.

Have you seen this video on You Tube about how to make a Ninja costume out of a black shirt? I loved this idea and am hopefully going to try this for our little Ninja! This clip gets a little long near the end, just watch the beginning where he breaks down how to make a mask for your kids.

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Tuesday, September 18, 2007

WSBT-TV: Family Nights On A Budget

Here is today's segment from WSBT! We talked about family nights on a budget and discussed all of the great things you can do with your family without spending a ton of money in the process. Above the video is an email that you can use to send in suggestions for the next show. Even if you don't live in our area, I am sure they would love the story ideas!

On a personal note, I just wanted to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. My mom got to come home yesterday from the hospital and is on the mend. Thank you for thinking of her.

On a lighter note, you should watch the clip so you can see my new hair cut. FINALLY got to go to the hair dresser after four months without a good cut. Only a mom could appreciate what a luxury that was! Maybe next time I will do what Meredith did and just have Ethan chop it for me...That would be a lot cheaper! Of course there is always opening my own beauty salon!

Back to the family night topic, what is your favorite thing to do as a family? Any suggestions for my next family night together?

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Tuesday, September 04, 2007

WSBT-TV: Stocking & Organizing Your Medicine Cabinet

Here is a link to this morning's segment. We discussed ways that you can organize the medicine cabinet and how to score great deals on prescription and over-the-counter medications.

Sound Off: Do you have any tips in the medicine department? I also need your help with story ideas...is there anything you are interested in seeing on the segment that I could talk about? It would be a huge help to know what people would like to see!

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Tuesday, August 28, 2007

WSBT-TV: How to Pack a Great School Lunch

Here is a link to this morning's segment on packing frugal lunches for your child. I am hoping to sit down and write more ideas down in the next week and I will be sure to let you guys know when this article goes up.

In the meantime, print out a little love note to your sweet children and make their day!

Sound Off: What are some ways that you save money on your child's lunch?

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Wednesday, August 22, 2007

WSBT-TV: Streamlining Your Mornings

Here is this week's segment on how to streamline your morning routine with your children.

Sound Off: What are your tips for creating a smooth morning with your kids?

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Monday, August 20, 2007

WSBT-TV: Organizing Your Kids' School Papers

This is the segment from last week on how to organize your children's school papers.

Hope you guys enjoy it!

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Tuesday, August 07, 2007

WSBT-TV: Saving Money By Going Green

Here is today's segment from WSBT-TV. We talked about decisions we made to save money, that also had a positive impact on our environment.

Related Readings:

Cloth Diapering 101
Making Your Own Cleaners
Reducing Plastic Bag Consumption
Happy Homemaking the Homemade Way

Sound Off: What are some money-saving things you have done that also have benefited our planet?

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Thursday, August 02, 2007

WSBT-TV Segment: Creative Milk Solutions When Milk Prices Are High

The Moms First Segment, on our local CBS station, is now available for online viewing. I got a chance to chat about how to deal with the rising costs of milk. These suggestions come from our new article, "Milking the Milk Budget."

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