Stellar new pantry organization

 Don’t get me wrong. I LOVED the vertical airtight containers I got from Amazon. But then I found these horizontal airtight storage containers that are 3.2L instead of 2.8 and they’re horizontal. Which means no pasta hiding behind pasta. And the great part was I took all of those vertical containers and repurposed them to store all of the coffee and koolaid we had in the same shelf making it look even neater. I love neat spaces. We don’t have a large house for the number of people living here so organized storage and space saving ideas are key. This makes me feel so good!  I love cleaning and organizing. 

Click on horizontal airtight containers  to purchase. 

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Will the kids appreciate what they have?

 The short answer is they will. 

Eventually 

But until they learn how to work hard for something and to be responsible for taking care of things they won’t. But this can all be taught. 

We try to show them exactly how to behave and how to spend. They may not always listen but it’s always going to be with them and as they get older I see a lot of our teachings coming out. They know what’s right. For sure. They lived it for years, by example. 

Spending and saving is such a big lesson that, as parents, even if you don’t struggle you have to consistently teach kids what to do. What happens if their world falls apart and they have no coping or financial skills to fall back on?  I get off budget from time to time but I know how to reign myself in very quickly and where and how to save money.  And we talk openly about it at the dinner table as a family!

The kids in this house learn the same. It’s a skill that’s so valuable.  No pun intended. So we don’t spend a lot on their first car. You can spend $2k or $10k and still have it break down, hit in the school parking lot etc. We attempt to find a car that seems taken care of mechanically and then clean it up. Then they have something to take care of. Something to appreciate the day they save their own money and buy their first nice car. And they pay their own insurance so they DON’T want an expensive car. 

And then maintenance is yet another thing we teach them. How to change your own tire, your own oil.  Our 23 year old replaced the window motor to his car the other day. Our 26 year can fix almost anything. They learned by watching us fix and do things on our own and knowing what their limits are. They both extremely handy!

Don’t be afraid to teach your kids everyday skills. It’s not the schools job. They can only do so much in the time they’re given. If you don’t know these things maybe find someone who needs some help but is willing to teach your kid a new skill. 

#teachakidtofish #moneysavingtips #parentingishardwork #teachbyexample #stopoverspending #teachkidsselfsufficiency #teachkidsresponsibility #teachkidsrespect #teachkidsmoney

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

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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??

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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.