Showing posts with label Money Tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Money Tips. Show all posts

Saturday, March 31, 2012

This Weeks Pinterest Favorites

WEEKLY PINTEREST CHALLENGE:

Pick you favorites from each board...lets see who picked THE best. A good ol' Jessi vs Bree friendly competition
 to see who has the top pick!
Please comment below on this weeks winner!

It's Your Birthday...Party

Jessi vs Bree

Halloooooweeeen!

Jessi vs Bree

Healthy Habits

Jessi vs Bree
hahaha! Looks like we are both winners here!

Organized

Jessi vs Bree
Sometimes it's scary how much we think alike!!

Photo Opt Ideas

Jessi vs Bree

I'm Hungry

Jessi vs Bree
hmmmm...they BOTH look good to me!

Dear Santa

Jessi vs Bree
Jessi's was my 2nd pic...such a tough one to choose!

Dear Easter Bunny

Jessi vs Bree

DIY

Jessi vs Bree

Love to Design

Jessi vs Bree
Funny how it's both yellow...love them both

Baby Album

Jessi vs Bree
Both are beautiful!

Home Sweet Home

Jessi vs Bree
ok...now we need to find 2 of these....one for each of us!

Mother's/Father's Day

Mommy vs Mommy
I'm sure any mommy would love either of these for Mother's Day

4th of July

Jessi vs Bree
I know what she'll bring to the 4th of July Party, lol, I'll be bring the same thing!

Be My Valentine

Jessi vs Bree

Giving Thanks

Jessi vs Bree
ok..this one there weren't very many to choose from

Falling for...Fall

Jessi vs Bree

Bounce into...Spring

Jessi vs Bree
LOVE them both..to bad they wouldn't work well together

Winter Wonderland

Jessi vs Bree


Dig In The Dirt...Gardening

I think we both like how this is so smart AND so easy...oh ya and SO CHEAP!

Crazy Kids

Jessi vs Bree

Fun In The Sun...Summer

Jessi vs Bree
Alright Jess...I'll bring my Bubble Refill Station, come over, and sit on your gorgeous outdoor furniture that kids WILL NOT BE ALLOWED ON! LOL!
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Monday, March 26, 2012

Money Saving Tip: Watch TV w/o the the heavy price tag??

The Office, Modern Family, Desperate Housewives, Bones, House, Vampire Diaries, Jersey Shore (yes..I watch this crap...it's my guilty pleasure), The Bachelor(ette)(pad), Biggest Loser, Grey's Anatomy and MORE!


When my husband (Brock) and I first bought our house we were living on 2 incomes. He in construction and myself in the dental field. I was 5 months pregnant when we moved in. A few months later I was put on bed rest with no disability to collect on. We went from 2 incomes to 1 in a day. The need to significantly cut back on our expenses was a major stress in our lives....to add to that we were having our first baby as well! This should be a happy time!

We eventually made it work and are firm believers in everything happens for a reason. It always works out no matter how hard at times it is to believe in that.

My husband, Brock, Myself
and our children
Bradley 4,  Braeden 2 &
Brooklyn (pictured at 4 mo) now 8 mo

Now we have 3 children, ever since our first I was basically able to stay home and raise our children , still on 1 income and we just took a more than $4.00/hour pay cut! All by choice.
Watching our budget and being frugal IS MY JOB among MANY others of a mommy. :)
One way I have found to cut costs from our budget and still have alittle luxury is by having no cable/dish service....essentially we have no tv in a way.

We have lived this way for just over 5 years. It was meant to be that the house we bought while pregnant with Bradley (our first) was brand new and there were no cable lines yet run to the home. I went on bed rest, we cut cost and never got it hooked up...we have lived without it ever since (we did have one 6 month time period of having tv, but eventually decided against it)

We have continuously had Internet and in turn have been able to still watch our favorite shows.

Most people have tv and Internet anyways. I challenge you to cut back as well.

Here is how you do it:

We pay for Internet only with comcast $39.99, this is also one of their cheapest ON GOING rate. No tricking you into terms or "introductory rates" that skyrocket when your "special promotion" time is up. (to save the MOST I took an "introductory rate" of $29.99 after the time period was up I talked to the loyalty dept, pretended I was going to cancel...the new rate was going to be over double...and they lowered it down to what is now)


Then we pay $7.99 for a Hulu Plus subscription. You can get Hulu FREE but some shows are limited and with Hulu Plus you can watch some past seasons of shows, stream tv on mobile devices in HD and more.
I watch some of my shows on my phone or Nook!

For more info on HULU or HULU plus feel free to visit their website http://www.hulu.com/ or view HULU Plus' FREE guided tour and try it out for A WEEK FREE http://www.hulu.com/plus-?src=topnav

Thats a TOTAL OF $47.98

You may need to remind your self to switch your show days on your calendar. Some shows (most) air the following day. Normally I wake up with my husband at 4:30 and after I send him off to work I grab my coffee and sit down with a few hours of PEACE AND QUIET and watch my shows. Thats about 8 hours later. I have never had a problem with the show not being available.


DVR or TiVo:
You can "save" your favorite shows to your Hulu "Queue"and when they air Hulu saves them for you. Then you can watch them any time or day you please!
Some of our other favorite shows like Survivor, Swamp People, Pawn Stars, etc sometimes aren't available yet on HULU, but you can still watch themthe day after on their network sites from your computer.

Also with the newer technology and HULU Plus you can set it up to stream RIGHT TO YOUR TV!

HERE ARE THE COMPARISONS:

COMCAST:
TV ONLY-special $29.99 goes to 49.99 after limited time over
TV & Internet-special $79.99 goes to $99.99 after limited time over
TV/INTERNET (starting rate) VS. INTERNET/HULU = SAVINGS OF $32.01

DIRECT TV:
TV only MINIMUM package $29.99 introductory rate with contract
TV/INTERNET (starting rate) $69.98 VS. INTERNET/HULU = SAVINGS OF $22.00
(based off the Internet service I pay)

DISH NETWORK:
TV only MINIMUM package $24.99 introductory rate with contract
TV/INTERNET (starting rate) $64.98 VS. INTERNET/HULU = SAVINGS OF $17.00
(based off the Internet service I pay)

HULU:
Hulu: FREE
Hulu Plus: try a week for free. $7.99 after that, NO contract

Hulu Plus Preview, A guided tour http://www.hulu.com/plus-?src=topnav
Watch on any mobile device and game systems

"Hulu brings together a large selection of videos from over 350 content companies, including FOX, NBCUniversal, ABC, The CW, Univision, Criterion, A&E Networks, Lionsgate, Endemol, MGM, MTV Networks, Comedy Central, National Geographic, Digital Rights Group, Paramount, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., TED and more. Users can choose from current primetime TV hits such as The Simpsons, Modern Family, Glee, The Office, Jersey Shore, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report; classics like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The A-Team and Alfred Hitchcock Presents; full episodes and clips from Saturday Night Live; and Hulu original video productions like A Day in the Life and The Morning After. Hulu also offers a wide array of acclaimed movies and documentaries, including hundreds of titles from Miramax and the renowned Criterion Collection. " (Hulu.com, Hulu-About)


THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION:

Q: "What do I do with my kids when I need to put them in front of the TV for a show to get alittle extra quiet time??"
A: We still HAVE a tv and ALOT of movies. When I need some peace or Bradley does his quiet time he can still watch a movie. :)

LOL, LOL, LOL
Boys were stunned to see
"Buddy the Elfs" reaction to
discovering the "fake Santa"
Keep Saving and think frugal~
Bree & J
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Friday, March 23, 2012

Smart Money Tip and Gardening??

Most of us these days are trying to find any way we can save a buck. One of the oldest ways is to plant, grow and harvest your own fruits and vegetables from your own garden.

While in Washington there was snow on the ground yesterday that does not mean you can't start now. Many seeds can be started and grown inside...your house is an almost perfect green house.

Many places are having sales on gardening supplies including pots, soil, seeds, kits, and more.

Starting a garden can be very simple, you don't have to have a green thumb just learn how to follow directions.

~How to Start~

Container/Planter:

Start with any sort of container (look to our "quick craft" for a cute container). A container can be anything from an old plastic potted container from previous years, a soup can, jar, or you can buy one from the store. One thing that is important about a container is that you need to make sure your soil can drain. You can accomplish this by punching holes into the bottom of your plastic containers or tin soup cans. You will need many. In a soup can I would punch through 6-8 holes. By using a hammer and large nail the holes can be punched easily. If your using a glass jar you can simply add some small rocks or gravel in the bottom of jar. Soil will be placed on top of the rock. (For a 4" jar I place 1" rock.)

Some people also may want to think about a Jiffy Garden Starter Kit.
If you plan on having a larger garden (more than 10 planted items). These kits come in varies sizes ranging from 10 soil pellets to 72. They are also very easy to use and very effective when needing to transplant your plants. (I personally will be using one of these if we get to move.) Right now Home Depot has them priced at
$2.24 for the small 10 pod one up to $6.99 for the 72 pod one. Watch when you buy and don't get tricked,
all you need are the basic model one...there are some "self watering"ones that get more spendy.

Soil:
Once you have your container, soil and seeds are next on the list. I have never been picky on soil myself. It can be very overwhelming with all the different options and "enhancers" added into soil. Personally I have used dirt out of our back yard before and it still seemed to work. Though once I transplant my starts (plants I started growing inside) into my garden outside I did use soil. This year I am starting straight from soil.

Fred Myer has a sale on soil and garden supplies until tomorrow 3/24:
~2 for $8.00 Turf King® 20-Quart Potting Soil, 1.5 Cu. Ft. Planting Compost or 1 Cu. Ft. Top Soil
They also have a good price on their Strawberry Starts:
~$0.49 Strawberry Starts in 3" in a Pot

I'm sure you can find it just as cheap at Walmart as well.
You can also buy and Compare Soil at http://www.nextag.com/potting-soil/stores-html

Seeds:
Seeds are very inexpensive and can also be confusing. Lots of different prices and brands. Personally I always go cheap, cheap, cheap and they have always worked great for me and the end result tasted fantastic. In the past I'm able to get a couple of bags for $1.00. This year I will start at Walmart first for the cheapest pricing.

When selecting the seeds you want to plant in your garden you need to read the packet and be aware of many different things. 
 Don't do this when your kids or husband are hungry, grouchy or whinny.
Make sure to make this a fun experience.

Seed packet reading does take some time.
Here is a link to helpful insight on seed packet reading:

One major thing is how much space the plant will take up or how much room it needs to grow. It's hard to picture this because your holding a tiny seed packet.This sometimes is just a learning process. As you have a garden consecutively you will start to realize how much room these take to grow or how were you would plant them differently next year. One thing that does help is to keep up on pruning, weeding and harvesting to keep your garden less chaotic and messy.


Plant:
Now time to plant! This is the best part for kids to help with. Keep in mind if your soil has fertilizer in it your kids probably shouldn't help with the soil.
Take your container, place holes or rock in for drainage, soil, seeds and than more soil (the amount depends on the seed) and WATER! If planting flowers I will add fertilizer but I DO NOT when planting anything I may ingest.


Faster Growing:
One last hint is seed soaking. This is an old trick not most people know about. It is very helpful in speeding up how long it takes from planting the seed to seeing the seed sprout through your dirt, called germinating/germination period. Here is a very helpful link in explain the seed soaking process: http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/gardening-how-to/soaking-seeds.htm

No room for a garden??:
If you do not have any space to garden no worries! Here are some helpful hints:

Apartment Living or Small Backyard:
You can buy, find, or reuse large storage bins as gardens. Some do not have to be deep others do depending on what you are growing. Look to your seed packets for info on how much space they take. Carrots obviously need a deeper container. Make sure to place your gravel or punch holes in bottom. You can find these container even at goodwill, you do not need a lid. Though you may need to purchase more soil due to the fact you wont be planting in the ground.


Garden Plots:
contact your local community center, library, look in your paper or go to your local city info center (if you have one) and ask if there are local garden plots. Some times they are free other times you can rent a plot for a very low price. Or use your family and friends yards or gardens. As long as you share your rewards I'm sure they will be happy to share the space!



**Save your seed packets, follow the directions, prune, weed, harvest and SHARE!**

 Happy Gardening!
Get dirty~
Bree & J

Some of my fav gardening ideas from our Pinterest Board: http://pinterest.com/fhsjessi/farm-house-sisters/

Garden Markers. It looks expensive but it can be cheap!
Like?? Go to our Pinterest page and click on photo for link.
 
Another meaning to recycling. Cute garden containers.
Like?? Go to our Pinterest page and click on photo for link.

Space saving idea, you can plant below trellace too!
Like?? Go to our Pinterest page and click on photo for link.

Have a problem with water....water too much or not enough?? Free and easy way to continally water your plants..at the right time.
Like?? Go to our Pinterest page and click on photo for link.

Adorable...dont use chalkboard paint though! LOL!
Like?? Go to our Pinterest page and click on photo for link.

Dress up a 5 gallon bucket for your tomato plants or any plant!
Like?? Go to our Pinterest page and click on photo for link.
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