Does the idea of School Market Day for your child make you feel anxious about what you need to make? I’ve been there -- as recently as last year! To help stem the panic this year, I came up with ten clever, easy, and practical items to ensure that your child’s next Market Day is a big success. What’s more, everyone will have fun making these creative products! DECIDING WHAT TO SELL AT SCHOOL MARKET DAY If your child has the opportunity to sell things at school for Market Day, I thought I would give you ideas of some of the creative things I’ve seen little Keep Reading
Best Budget Spreadsheet for 2019!
Searching for the best budget spreadsheet to use this year? Well, you have found it! In this post, I'd like to discuss and recommend the best Excel budget planner I have found to manage your finances in 2019! If you are ready to really take control of your money this year, you will want to use a family budget planner to do so. This little document will seriously rock your wallet! It will give you all the information you need to save money, pay off debt, and live a more financially free life. CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE PERFECT FAMILY BUDGET TEMPLATE (or keep reading to learn all Keep Reading
Amazon App Deal: $5 Off your First $10 Purchase
Take advantage of this great Amazon app deal! If you haven't used the Amazon app to order stuff, here's a $5 off $10 you can use on me! My husband and I love ordering things from the Amazon app! I have it on my phone so I can make purchases on the go, and we also have it installed on our iPad at home, and even my husband orders things from there. I don't know what we did before we incorporated Amazon Prime into our daily lives. It seriously reduces my stress so much because I can shop when it is convenient for me and have everything delivered to my door in two days. No more taking three Keep Reading
The Smartest Thing To Do With Your Tax Refund
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Ebates for IZEA Worldwide. All opinions are 100% mine. When it comes to tax time we ALL hope for a refund. And if we’re lucky enough to get one, we are left with the big question = What do I do with it? Before I get into that I’d like to clear up one confusing point regarding tax refunds. I find a lot of people do not realize exactly what their refund is. Or think it is money the government is giving them. The most common way tax refunds occur is when you pay more taxes throughout the year through your Keep Reading
This is Why Minimalism Doesn’t Work if You’re Frugal
Please tell me I'm not the only one.... The only frugal person who really, really doesn't get minimalism. Or, I probably should say, I get it - but I don't like it. I appreciate those who can pull off this lifestyle, but honestly, it's not for me. I just couldn't bear to spend the money required to achieve that certain aesthetic. You know the one! I wouldn't go as far as to say I'm ANTI-minimalist since that would imply I take minimalism seriously as a lifestyle choice when it is just a preference. After being frugal my entire life and a minimalist for a little more than one year Keep Reading
17 Best Things for Kids to Make and Sell
For the second year in a row, my daughter is participating in a local event put on my town where vendors come together the first weekend in May to sell items…it’s kind of like a street fair meets flea market. There are food trucks, craft items, pottery, jewelry, clothing, and more for sale at this young entrepeneur's event. Last year my daughter sold brownies and lemonade. This year we are brainstorming what to have in her booth. I want her to be able to make it herself mostly but also be PROFITABLE. Introducing Kids to Money Making Crafts & Real-Life Sales While Keep Reading
The Best Online Summer Job for Teachers! (You can make $14-$22/hr)
School letting out is right around the corner. If you're a teacher, that possibly means a SUMMER JOB! If you're like me, nothing will motivates you more than trying new things. But not just something new, it must be something worthwhile as well. Ain't nobody got time for free work. Or even low paying work. If you have a Bachelors degree, you may eligible VIPKID is a growing company that offers online one-on-one English lessons to children in China. Easy peasy. You don't need to know Chinese to get in on this. As long as you can teach English Keep Reading
Must-Read Money Management Tips for New Moms
Before we had our first child 11 years ago, we were used to living on two really nice incomes. We both had professional jobs and no debt other than student loans and car payments, and we really had no commitments to anyone other than ourselves. We traveled wherever we wanted, ate out at restaurants often, and didn't really give much thought to saving or scrimping because we didn't feel the need to do so whatsoever. When we decided that I would be a stay-at-home-mom when our daughter was born, we were in for a super rude awakening! I went on a long journey of figuring out the money rules of Keep Reading
2017 Money Saving Challenges to help you CONQUER your finances!
I don't know about you, but I have big plans for 2017!! I am going to challenge myself to build up my savings and make sure I am intentionally saving for big expenditures throughout the year. There's nothing worse than being surprised by the cost of something you knew was coming!! (like Christmas or vacations lol) If you want to join me, I created a few different money saving challenges we can all use. 2017 Money Saving Challenges These challenges come with printable tracking sheets to help keep you on track. 52 Week Challenge to Save $1,378 This is a really cool Keep Reading
THE 52 Week Money Saving Challenge you must do!!
Hi guys!!! I'm so glad you're here. If you're here, that means you are SERIOUS about improving your finances. There is really no reason why saving money has to be super boring & excruciating!!! I am going to do a 52-week MONEY SAVING CHALLENGE starting right now and I hope you will join me. You can join this challenge at any time. The point is that you JOIN IT AND ACTUALLY GIVE IT YOUR BEST EFFORT! Easy Money Saving Challenge If you follow this plan, you will have $1,378 to use however you'd like in just 52 weeks with very little effort on your part. The first week Keep Reading
50+ Things You Can Get for Free on Your Birthday – Big List of Birthday Freebies!!
Call me cheap, but I love getting free birthday stuff from places like restaurants and stores! I wish it was my birthday week every week because there are so many amazing things you can get for free on your birthday if you play your cards right. If I pay for a dinner at a restaurant the week of my birthday, then I have done something majorly WRONG!! :) Free Birthday Stuff I found some of the best freebies available. Check out this list! Some off them you can even redeem online. Birthday Freebies from Restaurants - Free Food! These restaurants give out free food to people Keep Reading
How to Teach Kids About Money
Here on WhatMommyDoes, I write quite often about personal finance from an adult perspective. How to save money for big purchases, how to meal plan on a budget, where to get printable coupons, how to make extra money on the side, how to invest your hard earned dollars..... But one thing I haven't covered much is TEACHING KIDS ABOUT MONEY. Now that my kids are getting older (they're now 8, 6, and 4), I am thinking a lot about their future. I'm thinking about all the things I have to teach them in the short time I have them in my home, and it's a daunting task! Financial Keep Reading
26-Week / Extra $1,000 by Christmas Savings Plan – Start with $26, End with $1,000 to Buy Christmas Gifts!
This Christmas Savings Plan will prepare you for the holiday shopping season! Hello! If you've never been to my blog before, let me introduce myself. My name is Lena, and I'm so glad you're here! This blog is where I share all the creative money making and family budgeting ideas that pop into my head, as well as other fun stuff like recipes and coloring pages. Today I want to share with you something I created to help us make a game out of saving money. It's a 26-WEEK EXTRA $1,000 BY CHRISTMAS SAVINGS PLAN that starts with $26 and ends with exactly $1,001. You start with $26 the Keep Reading
The Second Best Thing You Can Do for Your Finances
A few months ago, I wrote a post entitled "The Best Thing You Can Do for Your Finances." After I published it, I realized I had a whole bunch of other things to add to the financial best practices list, so I am going to turn this into a series! I think it will be nice to have a collection of my favorite financial moves. I'm not a practicing CPA anymore, but I still really do enjoy helping others with their finances on the blog. As always, my personal finance tips are merely suggestions - before you act on any of my advice, make sure to consider your exact financial situation and make Keep Reading
Experiencing Budgeting Burnout? Give Yourself a Break!
Ever wanted to cheat on your budget? Find out why it's okay! Do you ever get tired of being careful with your money? I do. I have a website about taxes, I write articles on personal finance topics, and I consider myself pretty strict with myself when it comes to spending money. But my self-discipline has its limits. Take, for instance, the time in our life (me and my husband’s) when we were socking away money in anticipation of having our first child. We were self-disciplined enough to save all (or nearly all) of my income for a year and a half before she was born. And because I was Keep Reading
