The Money Saving Mom’s Budget ~ Review & Giveaway

Not sure where to start when it comes to budgeting? Need help squeezing more dollars from your limited budget? Looking for practical ideas for setting personal and financial goals that are both manageable and doable? The Money Saving Mom's Budget will definitely be a help to you!

The Money Saving Mom's Budget is written by Crystal Paine, a name you may recognize as the blogger behind the MoneySavingMom.com website. Crystal is also a homeschool graduate, currently a homeschool mom and is now sharing her knowledge of ways to radically change your budget for the better.

What’s Inside?

The The Money Saving Mom's Budget is an easy read, full of practical and ready to implement ideas that will get you motivated to change your finances. Inside you will find:

~ How to set big goals and break them down into bite-sized pieces.

~ How to prioritize your time and life in order to live intentionally.

~ How to streamline your home and life in order to have breathing room to work toward your financial goals.

~ How to go from no budget at all to a full-fledged, realistic, written budget by following a simple three-step plan.

~ How to make a cash envelope system work for you.

~ How to cut your grocery bill in half (including 25 ways to save money without using coupons!).

~ How to save big on restaurants, travel, clothing, utility bills, prescription glasses, gym memberships, and much more.

~ And finally, how to cultivate contentment, embrace today, and live a rich and full life, no matter your income.

Although we have been using a cash budget for the last seven years now, this book gave us some gentle ‘nudging’ and we are re-prioritizing a few things thanks to the suggestions in the book from Crystal. I sat down to read the book and quickly found myself more than halfway through the book ~ it reads as if you are having a personal conversation with Crystal. She shares her personal story and the wisdom that she has gleaned over the years. I LOVE that about the book. :)

One thing that I find absolutely amazing and something that reveals Crystal’s true heart ~ ALL of the profits from The Money Saving Mom's Budget are going to Compassion International, an organization that helps to feed and clothe needy children around the globe. That alone speaks volumes to me!

Purchase Your Copy Today!

The Money Saving Mom's Budget is available to order online from Amazon.com, via download for your Kindle, or through BarnesandNoble.com. You can also pick up a copy at your local bookstore.

A Giveaway Too!!

I completely recommend that you buy The Money Saving Mom's Budget ~ and then enter below to win a copy to give away to a friend or family member. It’s a book that you will be able to refer to for years to come.

Follow the directions in the widget below to enter to win! RSS and email readers, please visit my blog to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

Visit these great companies!

• Betty Luckens ~ educational and fun felt sets for children
• Weekly Homeschool Planner ~ manage and organize your homeschool day, year after year

 

I was provided a copy of this book from MoneySavingMom.com in exchange for my honest review and opinion. All opinions expressed in this review are solely my own. I do not have to return my review copy ~ thank goodness.

Books from Sally Clarkson ~ Giveaway

You all have to know that one of my favorite ladies is Sally Clarkson. I am NOT a huge non-fiction reader {at all}. This year I have managed to finish three of her books alone and have been so amazingly encouraged by her heart and her words.

photo courtesy of Darcy @ My3Boybarians

She has spoken the last two years at the Relevant Conference and this year when she sat next to me during one of the lunches, I was NOT shy and thrilled to have a few minutes to talk with her {I’m the bug-eyed one sitting next to her…not talking at this moment}. A bit later, she sent me home with a few extra books to pass along to one of you!

Educating the WholeHearted Child by Clay and Sally Clarskson gives Christian parents who desire to homeschool a detailed and trustworthy map that will enable them to confidently and joyfully follow the path of biblical home education from beginning to end.

Read for the Heart by Sarah Clarkson is a handbook of the best of children's literature and whole books for family reading.

You can visit Sally’s blog, I Take Joy, anytime ~ and I HIGHLY recommend her many books!! I have two more of them on my nightstand now and cannot tell you enough what a huge encouragement her writing has been to me.

If you’d like to win the set of books, all you have to do is click ‘I Did It’ on the Rafflecopter widget below ~ it’s that simple!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

Visit these great companies!

• Little Card Company ~ fun Christmas photo cards with a message
• Truth in the Tinsel ~ 24 fun-filled activities for the Advent season

Christmas Photo Cards ~ Little Card Company

Don’t miss the giveaway below!!!

I absolutely love receiving Christmas cards with pictures of my friend’s children on the front ~ and hopefully our friends and family feel the same! The Little Card Company offers personalized photo cards with faith-based messages. Their desire is to put CHRIST back in CHRISTMAS by providing a high-quality product with a meaningful message ~ and they do!

About the Little Card Company and their Heart

The Little Card Company was created by three moms who wanted fun and modern cards that included a Christian message. All photo cards  are printed on high quality, heavy-weight card stock with a matte finish. These are not a typical photo card, but truly like a standard Christmas card.  You will definitely want to browse through their Christmas card selection and start bookmarking the ones you love!

My favorite part of their site {other than their fabulous cards}? At the top of their site, in the navigational bar, is a little button you can click ~ ‘Know Jesus’. Because what would Christmas be without the One who is the reason for it all?

“As a Christian company, it is our top priority to communicate the message of Jesus, especially as we approach the celebration of his birth. Each of our customizable Christmas photo cards has a faith-based message surrounded by a unique, modern, and fun design, providing customers with a great opportunity to share a slice of their lives and an element of their faith with those they love! “

The Little Card Company also donates at least 10% of their profits to charities all over the world

Our Christmas Card

We had grand plans to have a lovely family picture on the front of our Christmas cards this year, but five minutes before picture time we ended up taking a trip to the ER instead and had a kiddo with a black eye. Then schedules went out of whack and we decided to use a picture of just the kids for our card this year. Ahhh…the best laid plans…

I spent about ten minutes browsing through the different Christmas card templates and picked a few for my hubby choose from. The process of plugging a photo into the templates was simple, the text was easy to edit to suit our family…and the order was done. From start to finish the entire design and order process was under 30 minutes ~ and the bulk of that time was just deciding which card we liked the best!

The result? Our 2011 Christmas card!

Turnaround and processing time was fast as well and we had our cards about a week after we ordered them. When I opened the box I was truly in love with the cards. The matte finish of the cards gives them a completely different look than other photo cards and I love the way they turned out. Each card also includes an envelope for mailing.

Any spare moment right now is spent addressing the cards and trying to get them in the mail to share them! I have to tell you all ~ this is one website that I have bookmarked and will be ordering through again next year!!

Learn More {and a Giveaway}

The Little Card Company has also offered one of my readers a $25 gift card towards their own custom Christmas Card! Just follow the directions in the Rafflecopter widget below to enter! {Email subscribers, please click over to the blog to enter the giveaway!}. 

This giveaway is only open for a few days, so enter now!!!

Little Card Company is also offering FREE SHIPPING for EVERYONE with CHRISTMAS card orders until December 9, 2011!

 

I received personalized cards from Little Card Company to review in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not paid for this post and do not need to return the cards. All opinions in this post are solely mine or those of my family.

Visit these great companies!

• Little Card Company ~ fun Christmas photo cards with a message
• Truth in the Tinsel ~ 24 fun-filled activities for the Advent season

All About Reading Deluxe Level 1 Giveaway ~ a $150 value!!

The new All About Reading Level 1 program has been launched and to celebrate, All About Learning Press is offering one of my readers an amazing giveaway ~  the All About Reading Level 1 Deluxe Reading package, over $150 value!!

Everything you see below is included in the giveaway ~ WOO HOO!! One of you will receive the All About Reading Level 1 Kit and the Deluxe Reading Interactive Kit ~ including three readers, manipulatives, teacher’s manual and a handy tote to store it all in!

We’ve been using the All About Reading Level 1 program over the last few weeks and you all are going to LOVE it! The step-by-step directions and hands-on components bring the reading process alive with your child, giving you the added benefit of knowing you CAN teach your child to read and have fun along the way. :) I’ll be reviewing the program soon, but wanted to share this with you all before then.

All of the new All About Reading Level 1 products will be on sale from November 29th - December 6th to celebrate the launch of the program.  As an added bonus, they will add in A Taste of Outer Space for FREE if you order All About Reading Level 1 before December 6, 2011. This space ice cream is the same kind that astronauts have eaten in outer space!

Also, if you purchase the program during this giveaway, All About Reading will refund your money ~ so don’t be afraid to purchase it now!

Ready to win?

Enter away!! There a quick screen shot below if you need help knowing how to enter the ‘extra info’ for the first entry!

{Email subscribers, please click over to the blog to enter}.

 

Visit these great companies!

• Red Wagon Tutorials….Science classes for junior and senior high
• Truth in the Tinsel ~ 24 fun-filled activities for the Advent season

Easy-View Microscope ~ Lakeshore Learning Review & Giveaway

In my years teaching preschool in the public school system, Lakeshore Learning was one of my favorite catalogs to browse through and find fun things to add to my classroom. Recently, Lakeshore Learning contacted me and asked if I would be interested in sharing one of the items from Lakeshore Holiday Brochure with you all ~ and I was so happy to find the Easy-View Microscope.



The Easy-View Microscope {$49.99} has a magnification of 640X and comes with a 10X and 16X eyepiece that can be interchanged. The main lens includes 4X, 10X and 40X objectives which rotate to the viewing position. The lamp and mirror are underneath the slide area and the slides are held in place with two metal clips. The microscope comes with 19 additional accessories including:

~ prepared & blank slides
~ a Petri dish & stirring rod
~ tweezers, scalpel, spatula and dropper
~ collecting vials and more

The microscope requires 2 AA batteries {not included} to run the lamp. The intended age range is for 8-11 year olds, but adult supervision is still recommended.

Our Thoughts

Truth be told, I was a little scared to pull things out of the box. I may not have mentioned it before, but biology…not some of my most well-loved subject in school. My husband on the other hand is a biology nut {he majored in it} and has a very long history with microscopes from his work in the lab.



 

The microscope itself is really nothing to be afraid of {don’t ask me why I was scared}. It is very easy to figure out how to use, comes with a short instructional guide and a variety of prepared slides with samples of cola, coffee, tea, and foam. My husband pulled everything out for us to use the first time and get the microscope set up so we could use it together.



  

We have been catching fruit flies around our house in anticipation of seeing them up close and personal. We were able to see the wing pattern on the flies and so many other fun things {I tried so hard to get an up-close picture…but it just wouldn’t work!}.

When using slides that have transparent or translucent liquids/items on them, the light is able to shine through the objects and you can see them clearly. Because the light comes from below the object, it is more difficult when attempting to look at opaque objects {like our fruit flies}, although not impossible. We could see through the wings, but the head was a little harder because of the opacity.

My husband was really happy with the microscope overall and said that it will be a wonderful help for the kids and I to use in our science studies. Based on the intended age/grade range {ages 8-11 or grades 3-6} it is a great quality microscope, especially for the $49.99 price.

Find Out More

You can purchase the Easy-View Microscope {$49.99}, as well as many other great items, online from Lakeshore Learning or find a store near you. Be sure to check out the Lakeshore Holiday Brochure as well as their fun new educational apps {currently free until 12/30/11}.

The Giveaway 

Lakeshore Learning offered to giveaway an Easy-View Microscope to one of my readers!! This would be such a FUN Christmas gift for your children or a wonderful addition to your classroom!  To enter, simply follow the directions in the widget below. You can earn multiple entries, so start clicking to enter!




 

Visit these great companies!

• Red Wagon Tutorials….Science classes for junior and senior high
• What’s in the Bible? ~ Save 50% with this great Christmas special! 

I received an Easy-View Microscope from Lakeshore Learning to review in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not paid for this post and do not need to return the microscope. All opinions in this post are solely mine or those of my family.

What’s in the Bible ~ 6 DVD Giveaway!!

It’s no small secret that our family absolutely loves What’s in the Bible? at our house. When I found out about the pre-Christmas 6 DVD special at BuckDenver.com {$37.95}, I was even more excited.

 

We love them SO much that I want to share the learning and laughter with all of you ~ you can win a set of SIX DVDs that includes What’s in the Bible? #1-5 and Why Do We Call it Christmas?

 

It’s super simple to enter the giveaway ~ just click on the widget below, leave your name and email and you are done.  If you decide that you can’t wait and want to order the special ~ go ahead and still enter. I’ll refund your money if you do win, so really it’s a win-win situation for you. ;)

Ready? Go ahead and enter!

 

Visit these great companies!

• Red Wagon Tutorials….Science classes for junior and senior high
• What’s in the Bible? ~ Save 50% with this great Christmas special! 

Adventures in Odyssey Imagination Station Books ~ Review and Giveaway

Our family has a HUGE love for all things that go along with the Adventures in Odyssey Imagination Station from Focus on the Family. We have all of their audio cd compilations and they have accompanied us on all of our road trips…or just going to town trips. And don’t tell the kids, but I’m just as hooked on the adventures and characters as they are!

Our kids also love to read and when we saw there was a new book series based on the Imagination Station, I was on Amazon immediately to check them out. We ordered the newest book, Problems in Plymouth to read together and were hooked!

The Imagination Station books were written to introduce early elementary readers to the world of Adventures in Odyssey. Because there were very few Christian children’s historical fiction series focused toward that reading level, it seemed the perfect target audience. The result was pure fun, imagination and entertainment mixed in with a bit of history and learning!

The two latest books in the series, Showdown with the Shepherd and Problems in Plymouth have been much fun as read-alouds and individual reading in our house. One of our girls has been reading us a chapter {or more} a day at lunchtime so we can all be part in the historical adventures.

Showdown with the Shepherd takes place in tenth century BC and follows Patrick and Beth as they try to find a stolen ring. During their adventure they see firsthand the story of David and Goliath unfold and learn more about the importance of Faith. In Problems in Plymouth, Patrick and Beth travel back in time to the Plymouth Plantation in 1621. During their trip they meet several key historical figures including William Bradford, Miles Standish, and Chief Massasoit.

Our Thoughts

While we did start reading with book six, Problems in Plymouth, the kids liked going back to the beginning of the series to see how it all unfolded. Each of the books can stand alone, but knowing how the adventure all began made the books even more fun.

Each of the books has around fifteen chapters with black and white illustrations throughout the story to help keep children’s attention. Sentences are shorter in length and focus on a younger reading level {ages 7 and up} to help reluctant readers.

I love that this series incorporates history, adventure and imagination all from a Christian perspective. Our kids have enjoyed similar non-Christian series {Magic Treehouse}, but as the other series progressed there were elements that we really didn’t like so we stopped reading them. Knowing Focus on the Family, their beliefs and their other products, I’m happy to add these books to our reading library and continue to support their company.

Find Out More

Parents and children can also visit TheImaginationStation.com to find out secret words, family devotionals, parent guides and more that tie in with each of the books in the series. The website also lists what is true and/or exaggerated for each of the books along with additional links to characters in the stories.

The Imagination Station books are available for purchase through Amazon and are reasonably priced at $4.99/each. These are definitely books that we will continue to add to our library as they are released. The books are intended for the ages 7 and up, although we read them out loud with our kids and enjoyed them as a family {ages 5 and up}.
There are two new books coming in early 2012 as well ~ Secret of the Prince’s Tomb  {available for pre-order} and Mystery of Starlight Island.

The Giveaway!!!

Focus on the Family and Tyndale offered to giveaway a set of SIX of the Imagination Station books to one of my readers!! You all are going to love these! To enter, simply follow the directions in the widget below. You can earn multiple entries, so start clicking to enter!

 
I received a set of books from Tyndale to review in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not paid for this post and do not need to return the books. Prior to receiving the books, I had already purchased two of the books for my own personal use.

Visit these great companies!

• Red Wagon Tutorials….Science classes for junior and senior high
• Little Passports ~ This holiday give your child a glimpse of the world!

We Choose Virtues Character Building Tools ~ Review

As moms {and dads} we all realize the magnitude of a job that we have to instill values in our children. I am often overwhelmed thinking of the many things that there are to cover and appreciate the wisdom and insight that parents who have ‘been there and done that’ offer to me.

My biggest struggle? Being positive ~ instead of approaching discipline or other issues from a negative aspect. When we received some of the We Choose Virtues program to use with our kids, I was immediately drawn to the colorful characters and the positive approach to character building that is the core of the program. Not only has it been a great for our kids, it is a constant encouragement and reminder to me as well!

The We Choose Virtues program is a character-based education program that provides you tools to help build Biblical virtues and character traits in your children. It covers the following character traits, all starting with the phrase “I am” ~ …Attentive, Content, Diligent, Forgiving, Gentle, Helpful, Honest, Kind, Obedient, Patient, Perseverant, and Self-Controlled.

My favorite part of the program are the full-color Teacher’s Virtue Cards {$34.99}. There are 12 full-color cards {8 1/2” x 5 1/2”} that feature one of the Virtue Kids along with the virtue/character trait that they represent. Everything your child needs is on the front of the card and everything the teacher needs is on the back of the card.

Each card provides a visual from the story help trigger kid’s memories when they see the characters. On the above card you see Cake Jake ~ he wants MORE choices than the 20 cake flavors in the bakery and needs to get his ‘wanter’ under control!

The front of the card shows the short “I am” catchphrase with the and the go-along antonym {I am NOT}. Along the bottom of the card is a tie-in Scripture verse {NIrV} that you can learn together during the week.  The trigger picture {above you see Cake Jake} also starts with the same letter as the virtue that child represents ~ content/cake.

The back of the Teacher’s Virtue Cards go into more detail for teaching. Each card includes:

• teachable moment ideas
• a challenge for the day {or week}
• what would be appropriate to say if you are wrong in the situation
• a short story about the Virtue Kid

The Kids Virtue Poster {$14.99} is a great daily reminder, or a snapshot, of all of the virtues represented in the program. It shows a small picture of the Virtue kid, the catchphrase for the virtue and the antonyms to go along. The poster is 11” x 17” in size and would fit on the front of your refrigerator or in a smaller space. 

In our Schoolroom

Over the last few weeks since receiving the We Choose Virtues Teacher’s Virtue Cards and Kids Virtue Poster, we have been talking about one virtue a week, and adding a new virtue each week as we review the past ones. We’ve incorporated it as part of our morning calendar time.

I cut a page protector in half and added it onto our board so that I can slide in the weekly virtue for the kid’s to see and review. At the beginning of the week we talk in detail about the virtue and throughout the week we do some fun activities to go along with it.

Next to our morning board, I hung the Kids Virtue Poster so that we can review the virtues that we’ve already studied. It is a great way to see all the virtues at a glance.

There are quite a few different package options for purchasing the We Choose Virtues program, including sets for classroom and home use. We are using the Teacher’s Virtue Cards and the Kids Virtue Poster and I’m really happy with them. The only other thing that I might add to it is the pdf Virtue Kids Coloring book, since our kids enjoying coloring and it would be fun to add it to our ‘learning’ time.

The catch phrases are definitely sticking with the kids and I can hear them reminding themselves {and others} of the different virtues we have talked about ~ but in an encouraging and helpful way because of the “I am” starts to all of the traits. This has been a great addition to our day and we are excited to continue using it with our family.

Current Coupon Codes

Love an added bargain? Use the coupon code VIRTUE15 and take 15% off your entire order!! You can also use the code OURHOUSE and save $15 off the family kit during the months of October and November 2011.

 

I received the Teacher’s Virtue Cards and poster to review in exchange for my honest opinion. All thoughts and opinions in this post are mine. I do not have to return the products and was not paid for this post. Also linked to Hip Homeschool Moms giveaway post!

Visit these great companies!

• Red Wagon Tutorials….Science classes for junior and senior high
• All About Learning Press ~ Spelling & reading programs that are easy to teach and easy to learn.

 

The Adventures of Munford ~ Review & Giveaway

 

Have you ever looked at a droplet of rain and wondered where that tiny droplet has been or come from? Maybe it was a local stream, a river far away or somewhere across the ocean. What if you could see and hear what that water droplet had seen?

 

Meet Munford. He’s two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen ~ a water molecule. He has traveled the world as rain, sleet, steam and has seen some amazing things in his lifetime. Munford brings your child along on his travels, teaching geography, history, science and more in The Adventures of Munford book series by Jamie Aramini.

 

When we received the set of books in the mail, McKenna walked off with the books and started reading them right away. She is currently reading the third book in the series and really enjoying them! We know she is absorbing the info, because we constantly hear about Munford during the day.

 

One night at dinner {and in the midst of reading The American Revolution}, McKenna shouted out ~ “Watch out! You might be drinking Munford!”…which then started everyone giggling and laughing. I love the creative twist on history that the series offers along with an imaginative narrator. So far McKenna has learned about The American Revolution, learned about an inventor in Munford Meets Robert Fulton, and is currently exploring with Munford Meets Lewis and Clark. The last book on her list is The Klondike Gold Rush.

 

Find Out More

Each of the books is published by Geography Matters and sells for $8.95. From now until the end of October, you can get 4 books for the price of 3 with the coupon code 4MUNFORD43. The books are written for all ages, but reading level is around a 3rd – 5th grade level. We could definitely use these as read-alouds for our younger boys {and most likely will!}.

The Giveaway

Geography Matters has generously offered to give away a full set of the books to one of my readers!!

I’m trying out a new giveaway system that should make this a much easier process, so hang in there and follow the directions in the widget below {you will need javascript to view the widget}.



 
I received four books from Geography Matters to review and provide my honest opinion, and in this case, my daughter’s too. I do not have to return the products and I was not paid for this post.

Visit our sponsors!

• All About Learning Press…Spelling & reading programs that are easy to teach and easy to learn.
• We Choose Virtues….tools for inspiring character in children!