What Do I Get for Baby’s First Christmas?

Christmas is always a joyous time of year! There are so many wonderful things to look forward to amongst the hustle bustle. It’s made even more special when you are also celebrating Baby’s First Christmas!

So when you are trying to figure out how best to celebrate baby’s first Christmas, you surely contemplate what gifts to give. The reality is that your little one likely doesn’t understand what the season is all about, much less have the ability to open their own gifts. Here are some ideas to help celebrate baby’s first holidays without going overboard.

Pick a few great learning toys that you can unwrap with the baby. These are toys that you would likely get for them anyhow, so just wrap them up and make them that much more special for Christmas. Sure wrapping them up is more for you than them, but it’s a tradition that you just must practice.

Go to some local mom to mom sales and pick up a few stocking stuffers. You can get toys that are gently used at a fraction of the price. So if you want to get some gifts for baby to open but don’t want to spend a ton as they may be short lived, picking up some toys from a mom to mom sale may be a great way to give something to your little one.

Wrap up some new DVD’s and books. You can have quite a few things to open with your little one, and these are certainly items that will come in handy. If your baby is very little then this may be something useful down the road. Otherwise these can be used right away and be something that baby can enjoy the benefits of very quickly.

Look for sale items and stock up. I have been looking for sales on toys since October and have stocked up on some very nice items. I may not give them all at once because there’s so many toys that it could be overwhelming for my daughter. However I’ve got some great options and some nice gifts to wrap up, and I got each and every item on sale. It will never matter to her, but it helped with our Christmas shopping this year!

Baby’s First Christmas can be so much fun and with some shopping expertise and an eye for sale items, you can have plenty for them to open without spending a ton.

Become a Frugaly Green Family

It’s hard to imagine when you go into a health food store that being “organic” can be cheap. Sometimes it seems that eating healthy is eating expensive. But being green minded is more than being organic. It’s about not being wasteful, it’s about avoiding or reusing disposable items. SimpleMom.net has a great list of frugal ways to become a greener family:

Reuse Plastic Bags
As I mentioned earlier, plastic grocery bags are our garbage bags. We also do what we can to use reusable shopping bags. If I’m visiting a local produce vendor in our neighborhood, the bottom basket of our stroller works perfectly - no bag needed at all.

Rethinking Seasonal Produce

Lately I’ve been thinking about how to cut the cost of groceries.  Most sources on time management will tell you to make a meal plan for the week, list everything you’ll need for the menu, and go to the grocery store to buy it all.  The problem with that is you may not be capitalizing on the weekly sales and seasonal fluctuations in the market price of produce.  So I’ve taken another approach.  Perhaps it is not quite as efficient as the first method; but I think it’s more economical and probably is healthier since I’m often getting locally grown and in-season produce. 

When going to the grocery store, I have started to pay attention (for me, that means making a mental note of the price) of various produce items.  For instance, back in the fall, I was sucked in by a beautiful seasonal display of winter squash- spaghetti squash, acorn, and butternut.  I bought a couple at $1.50 a lb.  The next week, in the same grocery store, the price had dropped to 48 cents/lb.  That’s a more than 66% price drop!  These are especially good to stock up on, because they have a long shelf life, so I bought several more.  This week’s sale produce dictated the week’s menu, which included butternut squash bisque; spaghetti squash with olive oil and parmesan; and roasted acorn squash. 

Yes, my kids like strawberries in the dead of winter and asparagus in the heat of summer.  Hey, they’re great on the grill!  But for true economy, paying attention to the seasonal produce and taking advantage of market fluctuations can make a big difference in the grocery bill!  In the fall, when apples were on sale, we bought apples.  In the summer, when yellow squash and tomatoes were coming in from local farms, that’s what we had for dinner.  Check local farmer’s markets; produce markets; and other grocery store fliers.  You’ll get the tastiest and least expensive food when you aim for seasonally appropriate food.

Find the Perfect Credit Card for You

My husband and I paid down our credit cards years ago. So it came as quite a shock when we went to buy a house and the mortgage broker told us we would get a better response if we had more revolving credit. Thankfully we were able to get a great deal despite the fact that we liked to pay cash. If you’re in the market for a new or better credit card, then I suggest you check out BillShrink. Here’s why:

Our technology compares your usage against all the offerings in the market, and highlights your best options. This empowers you to make an informed choice.

Pack Your Own Lunch

If you pack your own lunch when you’re putting together your childrens lunches you could be saving yourself a tidy sum of money. Working Moms Against Guilt have put together some suggestions for grown up packed lunches. (No Trader Joes’ near you? Try Brown Cow Yogurt!)

Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers: A new addition to the HC lineup, but doesn’t require freezing or refrigerating. I just tried the Rotini & Zesty Marinara Sauce–it was surprisingly good(I’m not a big fan of their frozen entrees).

Jello No Sugar Added Pudding Cups: Only 60 calories and they come in dark chocolate or chocolate/vanilla swirl. Yum!

Sugar snap peas or baby carrots: These are no-fuss snack veggies that go well with your main dish or curb mid-afternoon cravings.

Trader Joe’s single-serve creamy yogurts: OK, so they contain more calories than, say, Light ‘n’ Fit (140 vs. 80). But oh my God they are good!

Clean your financial house, so to speak

It is some of the most dreaded jobs around- balancing the checkbook, paying bills, planning for your kids’ college fund and retirement….  it’s so complicated, and stressful and who wants to do it!??  Here’s a tool that can help make it easier for you- 

Mint.com!  This tool is online financial software- it helps not only budget, but to plan for many financial goals, whether those are to pay off debt like credit cards or student loans; save for college for your kids- or yourself!; save for a big purchase, or even retirement; find great ways to save money; and best of all- TRACK YOUR SPENDING!  The really cool thing about this program is you don’t have to do a lot of data entry- it simply links up to your bank account online and allows you to track your spending by category. You can set up alerts for various items; you can compare different credit cards or banks to find the best fees. 

Mint.com can also help you set up graphs and other easy to read graphics that show you exactly how much money you spend and where you spend it.  But the best part is this:  It’s FREE.  That’s right.  According to the website, the company occasionally earns a referral fee for recommending a bank account or credit card, but the site only recommends in order of best price/lowest cost, so the company only earns if it is the lowest one and you decide to switch.  We all dread money management tasks- finally, here’s a tool to make a bit easier………

Make Money Playing With Kids

If you enjoy spending time with your kids and their friends, there may be a way for you to earn a little extra petty cash during vacation periods. Busy-moms-online.com had this great suggestion for setting up a WAHM business:

By offering craft classes during school vacations, you can have a blast while earning. It is a great way to combine your two interests.

Begin by choosing an age range and hours. This is strictly dependent on your preference. If you prefer to work with pre-teens, you should set the age range at 9-12. For the younger kids, 6-9 is a good range. It is usually wise to keep the ages fairly similar to avoid problems.

Be sure to read the rest of the article for specific tips on how to make this venture work!

Economizing on Groceries

For many families with kids, grocery shopping eats a huge chuck of change each week.  Of that weekly bill, a large portion goes to meat.  This source of protein and vitamins is one of the most expensive components of most meals.  So you’re not ready to go vegetarian?  Here’s a couple of tips for cutting the cost while still incorporating meat into the menu.

• Buy less expensive cuts.  Use the crockpot to slow cook and tenderize.
• Learn how to braise meat.  It’s pretty simple- pop a chunk of meat (a pork or beef roast) into the oven at a high temperature; cook for a short period.  Lower the temperature and cover the dish and cook for a longer period, depending on the meat- it makes for moist and tender meats.  This works for inexpensive roasts and is great to add inexpensive root veggies like potatoes and carrots.
• Incorporate meat into larger dishes, rather than making it the main attraction.  Stir fry chicken breasts and cut into slices- add to a salad or stir fry veggies.  Toss chicken or shrimp into pasta with alfredo sauce.  Pan fry a few fish filets, break into pieces, and make fish tacos.  Make regional specialties like shrimp and grits; chicken and dumplings; gumbo; green chile and pork stew. 

101 Tips for Saving Money

Sometimes it’s 101 little things that can equal up to one giant savings. Take these tips from “Save You Fool!” and find out how you can shave off a little spare cash throughout the year. I’ve posted the top five to get you started on your way to savings!

Switched to bi-weekly mortgage payments
Switched to store brands
Drove less
Packed lunch
Said “no” to the daily Starbucks
Switched lights off in unoccupied rooms

10 Real Estate Tools

The Real Estate market may not have rebounded yet, but the end is surely in sight. Maybe now is the time for you and your family to take the plunge and move from renters to owners. Using these top 10 tools recommended by LifeHacker.com you can learn some great tips on making the big move.

Type “buy,” “rent,” and “calculator” into Google, and you’ll get a fair number of similar tools to do the math. Search site HotPads, however, puts that decision in perspective by having you figure out what you can afford in a sidebar calculator, than filtering search results to show just those spots—color-coded for rental or purchase—that you can swing. In other words, it makes a two-step, copy-and-paste procedure into a streamlined search. After all, buying isn’t always better than renting.

Save Money With the Web

The web has made it rediculously easy to comparison shop, however, many people don’t know where to start. The folks over at The Best Article Every Day has come up with the top 40 simple sites to use to maximize your money saving on the web. We’ve posted the first five below to get you started.

1. Go paper-free for cheaper bills
Many firms, such as Norwich Union Direct give you one discount for applying online and a further discount if you choose online-only paperless policies.

2. Make free phone calls
Whether it’s Skype or your favourite chat software, why pick up the phone when voice and video chat is free?

3. Cut your credit card rates
If you don’t clear the balance every month, high interest rates could be costing you a fortune. Use MoneyExtra to find a better deal.

4. Get cheaper gas and electric
Energy firms make a lot of money from inertia - that is, customers sticking with the package they’re on instead of switching to better deals. Use Uswitch to compare different providers.

5. Collect Airmiles
Airmiles aren’t just for flights - you can use them for hotel stays, too. The Airmiles website shows you where to collect the most miles.

Don’t Pay For What You Can Do Yourself

A lot of people needlessly pay “professionals” to do things they could do themselves for free. In today’s shaky economy, wasting money in this way is foolish and impractical. When you come across a situation in life that you think you need to call someone to “fix” for you, do a little research to see if it’s something you would feel comfortable doing yourself. Examples of things you can do yourself at no cost are haircuts and color, housecleaning, oil changes, yard work and landscaping, pest extermination, minor home repairs and improvements, and home decorating. You can also commit to learn valuable skills that can help you cut costs like sewing, light carpentry, cooking, baking, auto care, and computer repair. If you don’t have these skills and have no desire or time to learn them, ask around to see if any of your friends or family members do possess them. Offer to do a favor for him or her in exchange for them helping you out. While it’s great to trust yourself to do some things on your own, there are certain situations where a professional should be contacted. Plumbing, electrical, HVAC, medical problems, etc are all best left to the experts.

Refresh Your Decor

Are you bored with the way your house looks? Is everything just collecting dust and getting old? Are you finding excuses to get out of the house just so you don’t have to look at your dreary decor anymore? Fear not. You can refresh the interior of your house very easily and quickly. What’s even better is that you can do it for free! If you want to be extra ambitious, buy new paint, but you don’t have to pay a penny to give your house a whole new look. Start by editing your rooms by deciding what you’re really sick of looking at and store the items. Try configuring furniture into a new arrangement in the rooms you want to refresh. Once you find one that works for you, take decorative items from other areas of your house, or from storage, and accessorize your rooms. If you don’t mind spending a few bucks on this transformation, purchase new or used decorative pillows and throws to add pops of color around the room. If you’re crafty, you can make these items using some favorite fabric. Finish off your new look by taking a walk around your house and collecting beautiful items from nature such as autumn leaves, unique twigs, or fresh seasonal flowers to drop into a vase. Free, easy, and fun!

Decorating With Thrift Store Finds

Home is where the heart is. It’s a place of comfort and calm. A place where you can hang your proverbial hat and relax. Your home should be beautiful. To you. You don’t have to have a house straight out of the pages of an interior design magazine. Fill your house with things you like to look at that make you feel happy and comfortable. Decorating doesn’t have to take a lot of time or expense. Paint is relatively inexpensive and the fastest way to change, or refresh, the look of a room. Once you find the perfect color, complete the look of the room with some finishing touches. Thrift stores are amazing places to find furnishings and decorations for your home. Charming wooden bureaus, old unmatching china, and antique rug beaters can often be found at your local store. The prices are reasonable because the items are used and the stores want to move their inventory quickly. Items that are antiques or collectibles will be pricier. If you live in a remote area where thrift stores don’t exist, you can tap the virtual world of thrift shopping. Search online for auction sites or vintage stores to find those pieces that you are looking for. Once you’ve finished filling your house with treasures, only you will know what you paid for them. Enjoy your castle!

Put a Price on Clutter Storage

Sure you thought that clutter wasn’t costing you anything. After all it’s tucked away where no one can see it, so who does it really impact? What if someone told you that your wasted space was not only robbing you of shelving but also wasting your mortgage? A study done by Ikea shows that wasted space is equal to wasted money. After all, you could be using it for something productive.

“It’s only when you do the numbers that you realise quite what a waste of money hoarding junk can be,” says Jason Mohr, founder of Any Junk?.

Save Money On Haircuts

Professional haircuts can get expensive…especially if you have a large family. There are many ways to save money on haircuts. You can go to the inexpensive ubiquitous chain salons that are on every corner. Often, they offer coupons or “frequent-flier” cards making your trips there even more affordable. Another idea is to go to a beauty school. Look up local schools in your area and contact them to see if they offer their services to the public. Often the prices are a fraction of what they would be at a professional salon for the same services. If you feel really brave, consider cutting your family’s hair yourself. Buy a pair of clippers and hair scissors at the store and do a little research online to learn how to cut a few basic styles. Men and boys can easily sport a classic buzzcut and girls can wear long hair with cute bangs. Now, if you can just get everyone to sit still enough and trust you to go to work! If you don’t think you have the skills to be your family’s personal stylist, take them to the salon, but try to space out the time you go for as long as possible until your kids look like ragamuffins and your husband resembles a lumberjack. As for yourself? You’ll probably need to go to a salon for cuts, but boxed hair color can look just as good as the expensive salon service if you do a little research first to make sure you buy the right stuff. It’s probably better to leave highlighting to a professional. Look your best on a budget!

The Art Of Hand-Me-Downs

Hand-me-downs are a wonderful thing, unless of course you’re the kid who gets to wear them! Young kids won’t know the difference and probably wouldn’t care if they did. Older kids might be excited to get clothes from an admired older sibling or cousin, but at some point, they like to express their own style and personality. Sometimes the age difference between siblings is too great to make outdated clothes viable to be reworn. When hand-me-downs are an option for your family, they can be a great money-saving tool. The best way to plan to save clothes for a future sibling is to buy gender-neutral clothing. Take meticulous care of each item and remove stains and repair damage immediately. White clothing can be bleached if the label states as such. When your first child outgrows each item, inspect it, fold neatly, and store in a labeled bin by size. Shoes can also be handed down since kids outgrow them so quickly and they don’t suffer much wear. Gender-neutral shoes are also available for purchase and are a smart buy. Coats are a wonderful thing to hand down since they are usually more expensive but can be harder to find in gender-neutral colors and styles. Save some money by reusing perfectly good clothing for your children!

Kid’s Clothing Tips

Kids go through clothes fast. Not only do children grow like weeds, but they’re also messy people who like to stain everything in sight with food and art supplies. Some Moms surrender and let their kids run around in these stained articles, while others would never think to let their child out of the house with a mere speck on their shirt. Buying clothes for kids can get expensive so follow these tips to save some cash on your kid’s duds.

1. Buy black. Not that you want little Susie to look like a goth-in-training, but black clothes hide any stain (besides bleach) you can throw their way. If black is too extreme for your taste, get dark colors and stock up on stain stick just in case.

2. Don’t buy pajamas or playclothes. Kids look adorable in the character-emblazoned pajamas on the market but they can be pricey. Instead, dress your children in comfortable clothing that has stains or holes in them. They can also wear these items as playclothes and spare their school and special occasion clothing from damage.

3. For girls, buy leggings. Leggings are very inexpensive, stylish, and versitile. They come in many colors, but of course, black is the most practical. They can be worn in any weather and grow with your child since they are stretchy.

4. Consider buying at thrift or consignment stores or off the clearance rack. Kid’s clothes really are disposable so don’t invest a lot of money on any one item. Let siblings wear hand-me-downs.

5. Buy cheap shoes. Children’s feet grow incredibly fast and will only fit in shoes for a short period of time.

6. Buy clothing as large as possible without the articles falling off your child’s body. Most kids can fit into clothes that are one size larger than their age. They will be able to grow into these items, thus getting more wear out of them.

Organize Your Spending

I’ve often heard the benefits of using cash over plastic. Usually though, these benefits are more of a cash vrs. credit issue… not a cash vrs. debit card argument. That’s why I found the concept of an Envelope System over at simplemom.com so fascinating: they propose using cash instead of plastic for those weekly trips such as the grocery store or any other place where you swipe your card in person. The theory? If you use cold hard cash you’re more likely to spend less than if you mind numbingly pushed the card through the slot. How do they make it work with their budget so they don’t withdraw too much? That’s where the envelope system comes in.

We fill our envelopes with the cash needed for each of these categories (which we figured out when we did our monthly budget). When the cash runs out, that’s it for that category.

Read more on the specifics of how this technique works, and see if you can curb some of those spending habits.

Weight Watchers: Low Budget Impact

I’ve never been successful on prepackaged diet products. It’s not the flavor, the ease of accessibility or the limited options. It’s just that they all seem to cost so much money and well, running or walking (if I have the time!) is free. Then I read this article at BlissfullyDomestic.com on how WeightWatchers was actually easy on the budget:

I’ve been a little surprised at the impact - or lack thereof - of Weight Watchers on our grocery budget. I thought I’d spend more on produce and “special” low calorie foods. But that hasn’t really been the case. I do buy a lot of produce, but not much more than I used to. I buy a few things that I didn’t used to - particularly Laughing Cow Light Cheese and rice cakes - but I’m just using the money that I used to spend on chocolate and cookies. It doesn’t cost more. I do keep some Weight Watchers Smart Ones frozen dinners in the freezer for times when I don’t want to eat what I’ve made for the rest of the family (like hot dogs), but again, that cost is mostly canceled out by the food I didn’t eat. (Especially because I buy frozen dinners on sale with coupons.

Planning Ahead for Dinner

It can be exhausting to hear the constant question–what’s for dinner? To help ease that a little preparation can go a long way. Planning ahead for your meals for the week can make your job as head chef of the household run much more smoothly.

If you’ve never visited a meal preparation place, then you can really fill up your freezer quickly with very little effort at all. These fantastic places allow you to either prep a bunch of meals yourself or order online and simply pick them up. All of the prep work and clean up is done for you, you walk away with a basket full of meals that you can easily pull out of the freezer and throw in the oven. These are well worth the money and take the stress off of you!

When you do cook, make extra and you will be surprised at how quickly your freezer fills up. If you make meatloaf, make an extra and freeze it. If you make spaghetti sauce, throw some extra in the freezer and it will come in handy in a bind. Prepping a little extra of whatever you’re cooking that evening can make your mealtime frenzy much easier to navigate through.

Shop ahead whenever possible. If you’re buying ground beef, buy it in larger quantities and freeze smaller portions in individual bags. This can then be used for meatballs, taco meat, or hamburgers. Get a larger package of chicken breasts and freeze these as individual portions. These can then be pulled out of the freezer and thrown into a casserole or simply grilled. Buying in larger quantities will also ensure tht you don’t have to run to the store as often.

With a little bit of preparation and a fair amount of planning ahead, you can make mealtime easy and enjoyable for the whole family. Never have to struggle to answer the question “what’s for dinner?” again.

Mompreneurs… Learn How to Save Your Business

If you are a mom who owns her own business, you’re probably getting headaches over the current state of the economy. In this review of Billion Dollar Lessons by Paul Carroll and Chunka Mui, the authors briefly go over some of the misconceptions held by both the public and the businessess themselves.

Companies overestimate their hold on customers. An electric utility in Florida looked at its base of nice, elderly folks and thought it could sell insurance to them. Nope. The folks didn’t even relate the two–electricity and insurance–even though they generally liked the utility. A study found that something like 80% of executives think their products are better than the competition–and that 8% of customers agree.

Saving Money on Baby

Times are tough and everybody is trying to save a dollar wherever they can. Many households have developed a rather strict budget that they must stick to and with good reason. With things being so unstable, it’s important to make the most out of your money. If you have a baby you know just how expensive it can be to take care of them. With the diapers, formula, food, clothes, toys–it’s almost never ending!

There are some simple ways to save money when it comes to taking care of your baby’s needs. You can still get what you need but pay a fraction of the price if you make a few minor adjustments:

-Shop at membership clubs for items that you need in high volume and purchase frequently. You can get some great deals on diapers, formula, and wipes if you buy in bulk. This will also save you from making multiple trips to the store as a case of diapers can usually last you a month. Using the store brand can save you even more money, and the reality is that the items are made exactly the same way as the name brand. Do we really need designer diapers after all?

-Shop mom to mom sales whenver possible. These can save you a bundle and you can find some really cute things. Mom to mom sales are offered across the country and are like a huge garage sale where moms are selling their gently used clothes, toys, and supplies to other moms shopping for these items. Sure you’re not necessarily going to get everything from these sales, but when you consider how quickly they outgrow or become uninterested in things, this can save you a bundle.

-Trade off with friends that have kids the same age. Hand me downs in toys and clothes can be very welcome when you’re trying to keep up with baby’s constant growth spurts. It can be a fun way to get together and trade items that you can no longer use, knowing that they will go to good use in somebody else’s home.

You don’t have to go broke in taking care of your baby! Getting creative in obtaining all the items you need can save you a bundle and get you everything you need for your little darling.

Survive and Thrive in a Bad Economy

The Millionaire Mommy Next Door has put together some interesting facts on how to survive the current economic downturn. First of all, you need to survive. Figure out what your financial bare minimums are and what’s gravy. (I know it may seem like your cell phone is a must have… but is it really?) Then find ways to turn your current problem into an asset:

Embrace the “downsizing is cool” trend and “right-size” your lifestyle. As green living becomes not only necessary but the cool thing to do, ditch the Jones family and aim to keep up with the Green family instead.

Do You Need a Total Money Makeover?

We all need a little freedom in our lives, and the bank account is a great place to get it. Financial freedom allows you to be prepared for an emergency and purchase a few extra goodies. Blissfully Domestic gives a review of Dave Ramsey’s plan for a money makeover.

I am loving the idea of being debt free and not having to worry about emergencies. When you have some money saved up and set aside, suddenly emergencies aren’t… and those potential stresses just aren’t there any longer…

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