New containers to love and organize

 

THESE!!  Right here. 

I still love the 2.8L vertical airtight containers for drink mixes but the horizontal 3.2L are the 💣!

They fit 4 packages (a box) of saltines, multiple packages of spaghetti and lasagna and perfect for boxes of Mac and Cheese for a large family. 

I LOVE that I can stack them up by type and not have to try to see what’s behind what. These make my organizational heart happy and make me less anxious when I open the pantry door.  And I’m not wasting the ones I emptied because I have been repurposing them for storage of others items and the kids who don’t live here (or move out) will take some. There aren’t many left. 

Seriously. What are you waiting for?  If you see your food, you don’t waste your food. Money saved right there! 

All Amazon items that I love are in my Pinterest or here. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B1ZVLDT6/ref=cm_sw_r_as_gl_api_gl_i_6MHD6P5ZWQ38FFJVQE79?linkCode=ml1&tag=mindfulfrugal-20

#affiliate

Love these roman shades

 https://amzn.to/41Kyk6l

 AMAZON…..when you can’t find an item for the price you want to pay.  I checked a local store for these same Radiance cordless blinds in the color I wanted and they were $15 more!

We got them from Amazon and had them up quickly. We originally didn’t have a trim piece dividing up the two windows so we decided that would look better with a set of shades so my husband quickly added that the night before Amazon delivered the shades. 

I was hesitant for cordless to roll up smoothly or evenly but I love these. And no more morning sun glaring in your face but yet we maintained some of the natural wood look we love.  

Now, should we get rid of the curtains and rod or change the curtains and soften a bit??

#affiliate

Motor vehicle sales tax refund

 

In talking to my husbands coworker tonight I thought of something a lot of people don’t realize or may not know. For states like Missouri where you continuously pay sales tax on motor vehicles you can get a refund of sales tax if you buy first and sell later. Most people probably trade in.  But sometimes people have cash (as you should aspire to) to buy vehicles. And when you do you may find your new vehicle first and sell your other vehicle after. If you sell your other vehicle within 180 days of selling the other vehicle you are entitled to a refund of taxes paid on the other vehicle.  For example, if you paid $10k for your new car and sold your old one for $3k you would pay approximately $800 in areas of Missouri.  With the refund form you would get approximately $240 of that $800 back.   It’s a simple process and worth it.  

Bring the refund form plus the bill of sale that is attached to the title and you’re ready to go. 

https://dor.mo.gov/forms/426.pdf    

#vehicletaxrefund #keepyourmoney #moneysavingtips #motorvehicletaxes 

In the room where it happened/prom on a dime

 

 Random pics from the weekend of getting to see Hamilton that happened to be in the college town where my oldest daughter is. So of course we made a weekend of it staying in her dorm for free, eating in the dining hall for free the next morning (parents eat free) and prom dress shopping at a reduced price dress store while we were in town and able to include big sister in little sisters first prom moments. 

First off Hamilton was AWESOME!  So happy we planned for the tickets and bought them. But then I won two more so my son and his girlfriend got to go. She was super excited. He admitted it was good but generally doesn’t even watch tv. Great Korean dinner for oldest daughters Gotcha Day but that’s a splurge we do every year. 

Youngest daughter is learning the art of enjoying life with careful spending.  She spent (yes she did we don’t pay for prom) less than $130 for a beautiful dress, jewelry and shoes. We will do her hair and make up as always and she’s good to go. So proud!

You would never know we got off so cheap for the whole weekend but it’s one of the best weekends I’ve had in a long time. 

Budgeting For Free

Load Google sheets to your phone or use on your laptop or pc for free.  Watch the video for formulas and ideas on how to start your own personal budget. 

Hit me up for any questions and help. I am pretty good at making a dollar stretch 

This is a budget for beginners. Beginners without credit card debt.  If you have credit card debt you need to also factor that in and get it paid off as it’s a high interest payment.  There’s an order to getting credit cards paid off while also putting money into savings to stop the vicious cycle. 

If you’re good with credit cards and always pay off monthly,  I say keep using for the rewards. That’s what I do. That’s actually my vacation savings. If you’re not, don’t use them at all. Make everything come out of your bank account so you can’t get behind. 

I know I’m not in the majority but tithing, vacation savings, entertainment etc is not a necessary. Those are amounts you can tweak to still be able to pay for essential living expenses like home, food and utilities. 

Please use this or at least try something. Everyone should be able to save some money even if all you can put away is $10 into this worksheet line. Do what you can and if you start a side hustle or get a raise add to it. I’ve done that for years and while it would have been fun to just blow the money we put most of it away each time and always had money when we needed it most including to eventually buy cars without loans.   Tell yourself yes sometimes but tell yourself no more!

Don’t get frustrated. Be patient. If you stay the course you will see it pay off. Remember it’s a marathon not a sprint.  Endurance matters.  I will cheer you on. Leave a comment if you want to try this. If you want to get your finances in order. I want to see everyone grow financially even if that just means not having credit card debt , a tiny savings and paying your bills on time. I call that successful. I’ve been there. 

Fun, bougie, lighting

 

These easy, magnetic motion lights and motion switches are the bomb!  We’ve had these switches in our home for awhile and they keep handprints off my walls from the kids and make sure lights get turned off!!  

The magnetic lights are rechargeable or if you have an outlet nearby you can leave it plugged in. The one in our medicine cabinet has made my husband very happy.  Very easy to just find a Tylenol or a cough drop late at night when you’re tired.  And the light sticks perfectly to the metal brackets under our pantry shelves.  That one gets a lot of traffic so we have to charge it about once a week. The one in the cabinet is triggered at least twice daily and is still going strong a month later. 

Both are very convenient and relatively inexpensive for a fun. ….and in my daughters words….bougie home. 

Go to my Pinterest link 🔜➡️🔜➡️Enjoy!!

Or click below

Rechargeable Cabinet lighting

Lutron motion light switch

#affiliate

Budgeting 101 for Beginners

 Run the race and then go the extra mile.

If all of your commitment bills are $2,000/month and your household brings home $2,300 then allow yourself a little cash, maybe $50 to $100 for eating out or some entertainment and then make that extra $200 per month a bill. Have your bank transfer it automatically from your checking to your savings so you can’t fail to do so. 

Now, keep in mind this is after, hopefully, things like health insurance and retirement savings is already taken out of your check. If not, you need to save a little for retirement. Again start small but start. Compounding interest at a young age is a beautiful thing but if you never start, even if you’re older, you will never get to witness those benefits. 

Each raise you get add a little to retirement and a little to your emergency savings account. Eventually, you’ll be able to start a fun account. 

And don’t rule out side gigs. We did them for years.  Extra jobs doing anything we were capable or doing. It really helped to pay for those emergency things like a broke down car or appliance while we were trying to get our emergency savings started. 

Don’t forget to coupon clip. Even Amazon items have coupons. Try coupons.com.  Great for everyday items, in store.  Use Rakuten to get money back on things you need. Always Google for discount codes when buying online. 

Don’t set a goal so big it makes you feel like you’ll never get there and then you quit. DON’T QUIT!

I promise you all of this hard work, sacrifice and being careful with your money will pay off and then you’ll be in such a habit you’ll continue and really get ahead. 

Almost 30 years of marriage, 5 kids, multiple medical emergencies and we are finally starting to see these benefits. We started with  nothing and refused to give up. 

Follow me in Instagram and here for how to save on things in life, how to budget and share.  I promise I’ll cheer you on!

 #makesavingsapriority #moneysavingtips #payyourselffirst #gettoretire #savingisabill #saveeffortlessly #moveforward #startnow #retirementplanning #moneygoals

Great kitchen drawer organization

 These inexpensive freezer bins are actually perfect for storing hot pads and dish rags.  I took two drawers and got all of the items into one.  This gave me more uncluttered space in my kitchen making things easier, more efficient and me a happy girl. 

Check out my Pinterest saves  and other affiliate faves  or click on Fridge organizer bins

Put yourself in your budget

 👀SERIOUSLY!!👀

💰💸Do you want to save some money or not?

You have to start somewhere, so why not start today?  

You have 11 months to get this started. 

If you’re struggling at all to pull any amount together by June, August, December for insurance, taxes, Christmas etc then this is for you.  I’ve been doing this for almost 30 years and it’s a great start to budgeting if you don’t already budget. 

You just have to have the bank set up a separate account (my credit union does this for free) and have them automatically deposit the amount you need by the end of the year divided by 12. So if you needed $10,500 to pay these bills then you would have them transfer $875/month to that savings on what we date you select.  This becomes a monthly bill. 

Can you pay insurance monthly?  Of course you can. But they charge you more. Did you know you can get a pretty steep discount to pay semi annually or annually?  This is HOW you do it!

You’re paying YOU first AND earning a little interest on the money AND not accidentally spending it and then accumulating credit card debt because you don’t have all this cash by these dates. 

Try it today. Call the bank today. You will never look back once you start. 

Lid drawer madness

 Our lid drawer is always a mess.  I think most people have one if you have leftovers. I, so often, have to toss every single lid out onto the floor to find one single, smaller, lid.  So when I saw this item on Amazon I had to try it. It’s now been a bit of time and our drawer still looks neat. The larger kids in the back and the smaller ones in the organizer where we can FIND them!  Success.  You can find this awesome, inexpensive, product here

#affiliate

Cleaning is your peace

 

Cleaning gives me a sense of control and peace. 

Cleaning and reorganizing is a FREE way to make you feel better. It always makes me feel better. And you can do little bits at a time. One cabinet at a time. 

I found one container I had leftover after cleaning out another zone and used it to help organize the small things in this one. 

Let’s face it. Everyone’s cabinet above the fridge is where things go to hide and you to forget. 

Cleaning it out gave me the opportunity to throw things away, sell things and make it look neat again. And now I know exactly what’s up there again. And, well, it gave me a reason to wipe the top of the fridge off. 

Try it. Just one zone at a time

🔥declutter

🔥sell

🔥clean 

🔥repurpose

On sale now…pantry organization

 These are an awesome deal right now. Click here for vertical pantry storage containers  Check these contained out at the link or via my Pinterest saves. I have had these for several months and really love them and I paid $10 more than the sale price right now. Grab things when they go down in price for once!!

#affiliate

Real deal in tax filing

 I officially dumped TaxAct. I switched all of us over to FreeTaxUSA. My daughters both filed for free, my middle son filed for free and we paid $14.99 total to file our state and federal taxes with all of the education credit documentation etc. The free version even allowed for my daughter to file a 1099B and my son filed his federal and two different states for nothing.  All because their incomes are under $41,000.  

Remember to use the link in last nights post to the MO Department of Revenue and then link from there. It will not be totally free without that link. 

File taxes for FREE in Missouri

 If you’re on a budget or just money conscious you’re always looking for a coupon or deal, right?  Taxes are no different. 

I have used TaxAct for years, religiously.  I’ve even had my kids use it. Now, I generally have to pay a fee but they give out discounts every December via email and you just have to log in to get them and they will be effective at tax time.  If something goes wrong and it doesn’t get applied simply call them and they will refund you the difference.  The kids’ taxes have mostly been simple enough to qualify for the free versions.

But this year my 17 year old had to file since she made just enough earned income and unearned (from an old custodial account) combined that she was required to. Last year she didn’t pay any taxes and didn’t make enough at her job so we did not have her file. This year, we knew she wouldn’t owe and she only stood to get $4 back between state and federal but she was required to file and filing the forms required for a 1099B for her investments, though small, meant TaxAct would charge her about $70. Umm what?  No. 

I set out to either do her taxes manually or find somewhere to file for free. Low and behold when I looked for a way to file the state side for free Missouri had links. Please keep in mind if you don’t use these links you could be charged for the state filing even though they all do federal for free. 

I chose FreeTaxUSA and it took all of 15 minutes to fill out her employee info, 1099B gains and 1099INT info. It even allowed us to e-file for her for free. It literally didn’t cost a dime. And she paid the state what she owed electronically. 

Now, I think it would cost us because of HSA and other things but I’m going to seriously look into using them before I file. I mean if they’re less expensive than TaxAct and they have a fixed state return fee really could be worth it. 

On a side note:  Even if your child only has earned income of less than the requirement to file, if they paid taxes from their checks they will get it all back. HAVE THEM FILE 

👇🏼Here’s the link to those free tax filing web sites:

https://dor.mo.gov/taxation/individual/tax-types/income/vendors.html

Save money….eat leftovers

 We try to make really large anoints of food that we can reinvent into something else when we have 3 or more of the kids home.  And barbecue beef sandwiches with coleslaw are a hit and then the next day we make homemade queso (real cheese etc) and finish the beef. And we need lots for that because they eat DO much!!  

But today, I ate a leftover sandwich but wasn’t feeling the slaw.  I found a half an avocado that was going to go bad and some tzatziki sauce that I actually made over the weekend with leftover cucumber kimchi.  This was an AWESOME sandwich  as in I’m going to have to introduce the whole family to this one and tzatziki sauce goes so far!

Enjoy and save money.

#moneysavingtips #savemoneywithleftovers #savemoney #eatathome

Small cleanings

My husband hates it when I get sidetracked while doing one project for another.  No matter what or how small. I guess it’s because I do it often. I call it squirrel syndrome.  But for me, these little “extra” projects make me happy. When I’m done with all of it I can walk by and we what I did and feel productive. Little cleanings are good. They’re not overwhelming and they make you feel good and you can check one thing off that mental list. Do you do small cleanings?

 

Our spoiled baby

 Aka Loki the kitten. He’s approximately 10 months old. We’ve had him almost 7. He’s a mouse and vole killing machine so he’s great. But he is so spoiled for an outside cat. He loves to sit by the door and snuggle with whoever will do it. He’s very affectionate but he’s hungry 100% of time.  Even if he’s just eaten he runs through the house to the door where his food is because he wants more. If we eat dinner he jumps at the door handle because he understands how that door opens.  And I cannot keep his paw prints off the glass.  This is killing my OCD. He is a purring machine and if someone has him in the house for even a second you can hear him in other rooms. He loves to show his love by cleaning you so he licks everyone. Such a sweet baby but a little dramatic sometimes. 

Small cleanings

 Small cleanings over time have a big impact. You can really get a deep clean over the course of days instead of hours. When I get rid of junk, things that are no longer any good or things we don’t want, need or use I make space. And empty space makes me feel better. Less anxious. Try it. 

Link to cleaning brushes

#affiliate

Free stuff and how to "luck" into it

Want to be a Walmart Spark Reviewer??

@mindful_frugalista

It’s not a guarantee but I’ll share what I read before I was invited to the program. 

• Take the time to review items you bought on Walmart.com
• Be honest 
• Include photos or videos
• Include details of what you like and dislike
• Help consumers with your reviews

I know of others personally who have gotten invited so it’s not exactly a lottery. It is pretty awesome though. Once you get in be sure to abide by the rules. Don’t sell any of your items or give them away. They’re for your household to use and give an honest review of. Review the item timely including photos and details. It doesn’t take long and is fully worth being in the program

My biggest advice, if you get in, is to only accept items that you would really like to use and have. Things you can give an honest review of. 

Good luck!

#walmartsparkreviewer  #freestuff #reviews #savemoneywithfreethings #getthingsfree  #moneysavingtips  #getstufffree #freethings

Here's what makes me feel better when I get stressed

Yeah, sometimes it's just streaming something and eating, but menopause is catching up with me and I can't do too much snacking anymore.  Not to mention those steroids the pulmonologist put me on years ago did a number on my weight and I have finally lost 15 of the 30 pounds I put on and trying for more.  But cleaning, organizing and rearranging, these are generally free to do, help you exercise and feel good when you're done.  I do a little here and there and it makes it not so daunting, but has HUGE gains in how I feel when I'm done.

Here's my latest clean/organize.  I moved the trash bags from a different cabinet so they'd be with all of the other like items (plastic wrap, baggies, etc.).  Then, I cleaned where the pans, cutting boards etc were and arranged them with like items and in the process you toss anything you do not use, give it away or sell it.  Things now fit and all of the kids know where it goes because it makes sense and is easy to see.  I felt so accomplished that night!

Bringing it back almost 7 years later....wow!

 I haven't posted since May 2016.  I just needed a break.  I actually quit taking so many photos, focused on being present and just tried to enjoy life when it wasn't being crazy.  I'll do a fill in post later because, obviously, a ton has changed in this period of time.  The kids have GROWN!  I'm focusing on trying help people more than diary entry our lives.  I have a new Instagram @mindful_frugalista.  This is dedicated to some parenting tips and tricks (so throwback to the chaostimes5 blog) and some money saving and financial tips.  As most, original, followers know while we still don't make a lot of money we are more secure than we were when I quit writing.  All of my adult life has been avoiding living paycheck to paycheck and finding ways to save money, make money and put money in the bank.  I'll try to share more of these things here now and help others who are in the low to low-middle class (or anyone else who just doesn't like to waste money) keep some of their hard-earned green in their own possession. I'll also share some of my Amazon likes/dislikes that are both useful or found to be a waste.  

Welcome back if you were here before.  I hope to make this a positive place to put some information out there and make a difference to someone.  So leave a comment, find me on insta for some fun reels with the information and I'll talk to you soon.

Lisa

2 more months

have passed.....


Volleyball and track are over.  Chase's foot, hopefully has healed.  Almost a month in the boot, finally got his new orthotics Monday.  Hopefully, they will provide enough support for all the running he does on his growing body.  He did get to run 2 regular meets and somehow got into districts.  That's all the further he made it, but pretty proud of him for going to every practice hurt not knowing if he'd really get to run.  He's turned 16 and gotten his license. He has a job interview in June, so hopefully, this goes well.  I'd like to see him work as much as possible this summer and save up so he won't have to work much during the school year and focus on his grades.  He is still dating the girl that asked him to the school dance.  We all like her.  She's very smart and very friendly.  They seem to get along great.  She may be changing schools, so who knows.  Kaelin did very well in track.  She ended up getting a track medal from the coach (in addition to the medals from the meets) for being the most improved.  This was mostly because she is the only 7th grade girl who volunteered to run hurdles and she improved her time every singe time even though she's never done anything like that and at 5'1" I doubt it's easy for her.  She also got a hustle medal for volleyball at the school banquet.  She put it all out there at every practice and every game.  She always got there.  She finished the semester just 3 percentage points from getting a 4.0.  I'm extremely proud of her for her grades.  She's never been my kid with the highest grades, but this year she pulled it all out and worked SO hard.  I know she can do anything she wants.  Chelsi finished 2 points away from a 4.0 for the semester and got a 4.0 for the 1st semester.  She graduated from elementary and is onto middle school.  Her teachers and little brother will miss her.  She has introduced me to a lot of parents as she's very popular with the parents.  I hope she continues to be a good girl.  Jaemin improved all of his grades.  He continues to read at almost 3rd grade level.  Chelsi comprehends post secondary!  Jaemin however has continued to make great strides.  His teacher sent me a very kind, end of year, email to say how much she has enjoyed him and though his flapping began to get worse she can see how hard he works and how much progress he has made.  He is really getting his words and thoughts out now.  It's so amazing sometimes to hear him speak.  He's understanding better without always having to watch others.  His therapies are doing good so hopefully they allow them to continue with his IEP.  We've been lucky to have a district that does this for him so willingly.  He doesn't actually qualify, but they've seen what's done so far and continue on a professional opinion.

We had the last day of school and afterward I took them out to eat, to the movies and for ice cream.  They're tired and it was good.  I hope they have a great summer.  They've had a really good year.

So fast

The older your kids get, the faster the time goes.  Every mother ahead of me in the parent stage told me this, but until you get there you don't believe it.  CRAZY!  It's been a good couple of months.  We had a little rough time when my grandma passed away suddenly and I was sick for a month and when I got better and went to work I made it a whole day before I got a stomach bug.    Our house has been started and is already under roof.  I can't believe we're leaving this house after 20 years!  But, the new one is looking so nice and the smaller lot, appealing.  Chase and Kaelin have started track.  Chelsi wrapped up gymnastics and as bad as she wanted to do another session because they hired such a fantastic instructor, we decided that we can't handle one additional thing with the house.  Kaelin is overlapping track with volleyball.  She's not playing with her school, but the coach she landed last year who is just phenomenal.  She's always so impressed by Kaelin and continues to teach her new things step-by-step.  We're spending every weekend cleaning ours house, working weekends at our jobs, grocery shopping, catching up from the busy week and cleaning up and doing work at the new house to save money.  Once we sell our current house we'll be in great shape.  We've had so many lookers but only 1 couple actually had their house already listed, so no one has been looking that seriously yet.  Good feedback so far, so we just wait.  Cole continues to work full-time, Chase with track and football in the mornings (weights).  I think Cole finally stopped growing which he should be thankful for since he now has to buy his own clothes.  Chase has hit 6'2" and is not 16 yet.  Chelsi is down to just concentrating on school since gymnastics ended and Jaemin continues to work on his deficits with all 4 therapies 150 minutes/week.  She gave up candy for Lent and Jaemin gave up electronics and candy.  He's not going into tablet withdrawal yet, so I'm impressed.

I don't have lake view pics yet, but Chase spent some time fishing when we were working on it last week.  I love that him and Jaemin just sat quietly down by the lake together.