Good Ideas Archives - Sweet Frugal Life

Teens Allowance: The Best Money Teaching Tool

March 25, 2019 By: Sweet Frugal Life5 Comments

Teach teens how to manage their own money.

It’s so important for kids to learn how to manage their own money from a young age. I truly believe if we teach them to do this while they are young, they will have much less money problems when they get older. This is the reason I give my teens an allowance.

They begin receiving an allowance at the age of 13, but are also required to pay for most of their own clothes and a few other expenses. This is a teaching tool.

They could come to me and say, “Will you buy me this $50 jeans?” and I would respond, “Those are to expensive, let’s find something cheaper.”

OR! When they receive their own allowance the conversation would go like this.

Child would say, “Mom, I really want to buy these $50 jeans, but that would take all of my money. Do you think I could find them cheaper somewhere else?”

This way the teenager is learning to make these important decisions themselves. The money still comes from my pocket either way, I’m just giving it to them to allow them to make their own choices.

So, this afternoon I had a fun shopping trip with my 13 year old daughter. I happen to love shopping (yep, frugal AND a shopping lover!) and I love quality time with my kids, so it was a GREAT day!

However, shopping trips with my daughter tend to bring some stress (for me) and anxiety (for her). Read more below for what happened today….

My daughter has inherited my frugal ways…..to the extreme. She hates to spend money, it actually gives her a little bit of anxiety to even consider spending any money…..and I get stressed because there are times when she NEEDS to spend her money.

Spending money is part of living…..I mean….we all need to wear clothes, right?!?!?. It’s important for kids to learn that spending isn’t the problem, over spending is the problem.

Today’s Shopping Trip

So, today we were on a mission. My daughter had a list, and she wanted to buy it all….without spending a lot of money.

I, on the other hand, wanted her to buy everything on the list without feeling any anxiety or guilt.

Our list included: 2 pairs of shorts, 1 pair of track shoes, a dress, and a swimsuit.

It was QUITE the tall order for my daughter the saver, but we were determined to make it happen!

I let her make the decisions about where to go (she chose the discount store Ross and the second hand store Runway Fashion), what to buy, and how much to spend.

She thought carefully about each decision, she calculated and recalculated how much she was spending, she said no to many things and yes to a few things. I was a proud mama as I stood by and watched!

A few times she looked at me for advice, and I would always reply with the same questions; “Do you NEED it? Do you LOVE it? Will you WEAR it often? Is it WORTH the money?” As I walked her through these questions she was able to feel confident in her decisions.

The Perfect Shoes

Three hours later we ended up the day at the mall sipping on Jamba Juice and feeling proud to have found everything on the list all at the right price (yay!).

While at the mall we noticed a store having a big going out of business sale. Ignoring my advice about spending triggers, we decided to pop in for a quick browse. This is where my daughter excitedly proclaimed that she had found “the perfect shoes”…..and I’ll admit, they were pretty darn cute!

The price was right, the fit was perfect, and she was smitten…..but they weren’t on her list…..she didn’t need them….and she was feeling a lot of anxiety and guilt about buying them.

My sweet daughter worried that she shouldn’t make this purchase, she didn’t want to waste her money and spend unwisely.

I assured her that she has always been wise with her money, she saves a large sum of her allowance each month, she always pays her tithing, she still has plenty of money in her “spending” jar…..and it is OK to spend a little bit of money on something that just makes you happy!

So. She bought the shoes! You better believe this frugal-tight-wad-mom was so proud of her for making that decision!

And….guess what, she has been on cloud 9 all day because of it! The shoes haven’t left her feet, she’s been showing them to everyone in the family and has been pairing them with different outfits.

In Conclusion

THIS is why we give teens allowance.

Today, I kept my mouth shut and let my daughter take control of her shopping experience. She made the decision to only buy used or discounted clothes. It was up to her to decide what was “splurge” worthy and what wasn’t. She learned to budget, she learned to say no, and she learned to say yes.

She was able to come home with less money in her pocket, but also a feeling of accomplishment and confidence.

This is a girl who is preparing for the adult world of spending.

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You Might Also Be Interested in These Other Articles:

A Financial Tale of Two Sisters

Money Lessons for Kids: The night we taught our kids the TRUTH about money

The life lessons that taught me to budget for JOY while living in the present!

Do you give your teens allowance????

A Month of Kids School Lunch Ideas

February 24, 2019 By: Sweet Frugal Lifecomment

What I pack in my kids lunchboxes!

Any other moms out there feel like they are constantly trying to come up with new kids school lunch ideas??? My kids complain I make the same thing all the time, I complain because I get tired of making the same thing all the time! (mom probs, right?!?!)

I decided to document what I pack in my kids school lunches. Hopefully this will help others get new ideas, and inspire me to try new things!

These are all very basic lunches, nothing fancy here, real talk from a busy frugal mom who is trying her best to save money and raise great kids.

My parenting philosophy is always, “Keep it Simple. Keep it Frugal.” If you are looking for fancy cute lunch ideas, this article isn’t for you! I love those lunch ideas, but just not my talent.

If you are looking for some frugal kids school lunch ideas that the busy simple mom can do, you have come to the right spot!

I am able to save roughly $350 per year simply by packing a lunchbox for my kids to bring to school. This is such a simple way to cut out a few extra bucks from your monthly budget!

Full Disclosure: I started writing this article in October, and then kind of forgot about it until February…..so this wasn’t one complete month, but a couple mashed together. It IS a wonderful example of our regular lunches.

Week 1

Day 1: Bagel with cream cheese, goldfish crackers, orange, two peanut butter cookies

Day 2: Cut up pancake, syrup, oranges, gogurt

Day 3: PB&J Sandwich, pretzels, oranges

Day 4: Pear Butter Sandwich, oranges, goldfish crackers, granola bar

Day 5: Bagel with cream cheese, banana, granola bar

Related: A Month of After School Snacks

Week 2

Day 1: Cheese and lunch meat sandwich, applesauce, granola bar

Day 2: Two Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, granola bar, animal crackers, grapes

Day 3: PB&J sandwich, carrots, dried apples, cookie

Day 4: Crackers, pepperoni, lunch meat, applesauce, homemade graham cracker

Day 5: Pear butter sandwich, orange, gogurt

Week 3

Day 1: Tortilla wrap with lunch meat and mayo, roll, applesauce, peanut butter crackers

Day 2: PB&J sandwich, dried apples, carrots

Day 3: Turkey/Cheese on a Dinner Roll, Pretzels and Raisins, Orange slices

Day 4: Lunch meat and cheese sandwich, orange, applesauce, rice krispie monster

Day 5: Crackers, lunch meat, pepperoni, applesauce, grapes

Related: What I have learned about living a sweet and frugal life on ONE income

Week 4

Day 1: Waffle Strips, syrup for dipping, orange, and a granola bar

Day 2: Peanut Butter & Honey Sandwich, Energy Bites, Orange

Day 3: Bagel with cream cheese, Crackers, Banana, Chocolate Dipped Valentine Cookie

Day 4: Frozen smoothie, cheerios, turkey/cheese roll

Day 5: Frozen Gogurt, Apple slices, Ritz Crackers, Pepperoni

Share some of your favorite kids school lunch ideas in the comments!

A Frugal Family Valentines Day

February 18, 2019 By: Sweet Frugal Lifecomment

How to celebrate valentines day with kids and on a budget!

If you’ve been following me on Instagram you’ve probably learned that my philosophy on parenting (and basically life) revolves around easy and cheap! Our Family Valentines Day Celebrations are no different.

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Did you know that the average person spends around $140 on Valentines Day. This shocked me! I understand that it’s fun to splurge a few times a year and I am a big fan of celebrating love and budgeting for joy.…but, I really believe this can be done without spending a lot of money.

Our Valentines Day is a celebration that includes my husband and I, and our three children. I like to include my children because I love them too! Valentines Day doesn’t have to only be about romantic love, it can be about all types of love! We have a fun family day on Valentines day and then a frugal valentines date the next night.

Family Celebrations

Our Valentines Day may be frugal, but that doesn’t make it any less special. Even though I spend very little money, our day is still just as lovely and fun as ever. My 6 year old has actually been counting down to the day for weeks (not joking).

Mailbox Love

Technically our valentines day traditions begin a couple of weeks BEFORE February 14th. Years ago I bought these darling tin mailboxes at the Target dollar spot (I love Target!). I believe they were about $5 a piece, so not super frugal, but they have lasted us for years, and have been one of my favorite purchases ever (for reals). I found a similar mailbox on Amazon here.

We use these mailboxes to “deliver” little love notes and handmade gifts to each other in the days leading up to Valentines Day. It warms my heart every single time I watch one of my kids put a kind note into their siblings mailbox. Real talk…..my kids fight a lot…..so these moments of kindness are just so so special to me. I like to surprise my kids in their mailbox with small little gifts, such as a pencil, eraser, or some type of treat and a few love notes. They love this!

Morning Love

Valentines day at our house always begins with heart shaped pancakes. These aren’t fancy by any means….but guess what! My kids never care. They love their heart pancakes, misshaped and all (kids are pretty awesome this way, aren’t they??).

School lunchboxes are packed in the morning as usual, with the exception of a few extra goodies. I like to throw in a 25 cent box of conversation hearts and a little love note from me. Now that my oldest is 13 I’ve started skipping the extra goodies in her lunchbox….I have learned that teenagers aren’t the biggest fan of mom notes in their lunchboxes….go figure! 😉

Dinner Love

Decorating is not my forte, but I try to make our valentines dinner table a little extra special. I use our nicest tablecloth (which is actually just a cheap one that I bought from Walmart 8 years ago), I always light a few candles, and cut out some red paper hearts to place around the table. So easy right!?!?

Valentines dinner is simple, yet fun. One year we had a heart shaped pizza, this year I will be making a chicken pot pie with the top crust decorated as hearts. The amount of money I spend on dinner is always in my regular weekly grocery budget, so no excess spending here! Woo!

Frugal Valentines Gifts

Every year on our dinner table I include a small gift for each of my kids, and something for my husband. This year I bought each of them a small box of chocolates from the Dollar Tree, my daughters both received a small necklace from Jane, and my son received a stuffed animal from the Dollar Tree. My husband is getting a larger sized box of chocolates and a love letter.

These aren’t anything fancy and hardly cost me anymore, but the gesture means a lot to my kids and I have found them trying to follow my example. The past few years my kids have been making their own little valentine gifts, and then secretly placing them on the table before dinner.

If you are needing a more Valentines Day Gift ideas, I have a few guides listed below:

10 Valentine Gifts for Her under $10

10 Valentines gifts for him under $10!

Gift Ideas for Teen Girls under $25

25 Gift Ideas for Tween Girls; all under $25!

25 Gift Ideas for 5-7 year old boys under $25

Mothers Day Gift Guide: 15 FREE Gift Ideas

This is what Valentines Day is all about! It’s about spending the time and thought to give service and love to someone you care about.

I was going to buy some strawberries and chocolate for an after dinner dessert and activity, but it honestly didn’t fit in this weeks grocery budget, so I didn’t. Maybe next year!

Don’t forget to pin this article for future reference!

You might be interested in a few of my other Valentines Posts:

Yarn Hearts: An Easy Valentine Craft for Kids

Chocolate Dipped Valentine Cookies Recipe

What does Valentines look like at your house? Share a few of your celebrations in the comments. I would love to hear all about it!

Restock Your Pantry after a Pantry Challenge

February 1, 2019 By: Sweet Frugal Lifecomment

How to complete a Pantry Challenge!

I recently completed a successful pantry challenge. The goal was to cut my regular monthly grocery budget ($400) in half. By doing this we would focus on eating the items I already had stocked in my freezer and pantry.

Fortunately, I had many friends on Instagram join me in this challenge. I loved watching all of the progress and having a group to encourage each other and share all our frugal ideas. Be sure to check out this article if you want to have your own pantry challenge and save money.

What’s Next?

My most asked question about this challenge has been, “Will you spend a lot of money on groceries in February to restock the pantry?” The answer is No. That would defeat the whole purpose of the challenge. Today’s article is going to explain how I will slowly restock my pantry while staying in budget!

Here are five ways I slowly restock my pantry:

1. Budget for the Pantry

I have a weekly budget dedicated to pantry stock up. This is $15 per week. This pantry money is taken out of our $100 weekly grocery budget. Because it has been budgeted and planned for, restocking doesn’t require any extra money or stress, just the way I like it!

Some weeks the pantry budget is spent at local sales. Other times it’s stashed away to save for another week. It all depends on our current needs.

2. Buy Multiples

Next, get into the habit of buying multiple items at the grocery store. The way I see it, if I’m going to buy one item, and I have a few extra dollars in my budget, than I might as well grab a few more.

I do 90% of my shopping using Walmart’s Free Grocery Pick (get $10 off your first order using this link). I love this service for about 1 million reasons (really), but a huge reason is the ability to watch my grocery total as I add and subtract items to my order. Whenever I am below my budgeted $100/week, I will add on a few more pantry staples. As a result, this helps my pantry to grow and keeps me in budget.

3. Buy in Bulk

Watch for opportunities to buy grocery items in bulk. Many groceries will be priced much lower if it is bought in bulk.

This could be done by shopping local grocery case lot sales. To find a case lot sale near you be sure to talk to your local grocer. In many areas these sales might be called different names or even unadvertised. So, don’t give up easily, keep digging and talking to grocers!

Another way I love buying in bulk is through a meat co-op. I have recently started buying my chicken from Savory Butcher. Their chicken is priced right and are delicious high quality. If you need some direction of what to do with your bulk chicken read my article; What to do with your bulk chicken; including 6 Freezer Chicken Recipes.

4. Shop Sales

One of my favorite ways to restock a pantry is by shopping the sales and deals.

My favorite app to check for deals is the Flipp app. It is completely free to download and extremely user friendly.

The app is updated weekly as the new grocery ads come available. I browse it every week to find what the sales are and plan my menus/pantry stock up around those deals. Many weeks I can’t find anything worth buying, but other times I find some really great deals worth buying.

Related: 10 Quick Ways to Lower your Grocery Bill

5. Take Advantage of Cashback

Always, ALWAYS take advantage of the cashback apps available! These are not huge money savers, but every.single.little.penny adds up. For example; whenever I see my husband throwing away a receipt without scanning it for cashback I ask him, “Would you throw 25 cents in the trash???” Of course he wouldn’t. But essentially you are losing out on free money if you toss a receipt without first scanning it into the apps.

A few of my favorite cashback apps for grocery shopping are:.

Ibotta: This is my most used app. Ibotta offers cashback on hundreds of items every time you scan your grocery receipt. My favorite cashback offers are the “any brand” items. These offers include items in the dairy, produce, and other grocery departments.

*If you sign up for Ibotta using my link you will receive a free $10 bonus!

Checkout 51: Checkout 51 is similar to Ibotta, in that it gives cashback on participating items when you scan your receipt. However, they don’t have as many offers as Ibotta, but it is still always worth checking.

*If you sign up using this link you will receive $3 when you redeem your first offer.

Fetch Rewards: Fetch is so easy! This is by far the most user friendly app. All you do is scan your receipt and you automatically earn points. These points can be redeemed for gift cards to just about anywhere. My favorites are Target and Amazon. I really like Fetch because you can redeem your points at as low at $3.

*Use the code: W1CTU for an automatic 2,000 points ($2) when signing up.

I will be using each of these 5 strategies as I restock my pantry AND stick to my normal budget. The most importantly thing to remember is that nobody is perfect. We all need to keep trying day by day!

In Conclusion

As a result of the pantry challenge last month I saved $200. I know it will take a few months to restock my pantry, but I know it’s worth it. The pantry challenge gives me more than a couple extra hundred dollars. More importantly, it teaches me how to cook more at home, shop smarter and budget better. That is priceless!

Liked what you read? Pin it to use for your next pantry challenge!

I hope this gave you some insights into how to plan for your next Pantry Challenge.

Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe

January 21, 2019 By: Sweet Frugal Life2 Comments

The very best whole wheat banana chocolate chip muffin recipe!

My friend shared this whole wheat banana chocolate chip muffin recipe with me years ago and I have been hooked on them ever since! We eat them for breakfast, for after school snacks and I add them in my kids’ school lunches.

whole wheat banana chocolate chips muffins

These muffins are quick and easy to make, fairly healthy thanks to the whole wheat. They are also super easy to make a large batch to freeze for later….and my ENTIRE family LOVES them. So, basically just a win all around!

I will usually double the recipe and put half of them in the freezer. To freeze you simply place the baked muffins in a ziplock freezer bag and throw them (or I guess gently place them….either way works 😉 ) into the freezer.

When you are ready to eat the muffins, just take them out of the freezer and thaw on the counter. You can even just pop them into the microwave for a minute if you don’t want to wait for them to thaw. (this is my kids’ fave trick!)

whole wheat banana chocolate chips muffins (1)

Print Recipe

Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
1/4 cup honey
3 ripe bananas mashed
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat the butter, sugar, vanilla, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg together until smooth.
Add the eggs, honey and mashed bananas. Beat well.
Next, mix in the flour and chocolate chips.
Fill greased muffin cups 3/4 full.
Bake for 23-28 minutes.
This recipes yields 12 regular sized muffins.

You might be interested in a few of my other recipes:

Light and Fluffy Pancake Recipe

Homemade Graham Cracker Recipe

Quick and Easy Overnight Oatmeal

whole wheat banana muffin recipe

How to freeze Pancakes for a Quick Frugal Breakfast

January 15, 2019 By: Sweet Frugal Life1 Comment

The easy way to freeze pancakes!

Making large batches of pancakes not only saves me time in the morning…it is also a VERY frugal breakfast! You can spend 30 minutes one afternoon each week making a large batch of pancakes for the freezer, or the next time you make pancakes for breakfast simply double the batch and freeze the extras! Here’s how!

for all ages

This idea really started because I’m trying to be like mom. I really think my mom was supermom. Granted, I didn’t think that when I was growing up….but now that I have become a mom myself, I am able to look back and realize just how hard she worked for our family.

I feel fairly confident when I say that many of you are supermoms as well. You wake up early, spend all day serving your family, and go to bed late worrying about your kids. My goal is to be supermom! I fail about everyday, but I continue to try!

One of the many “supermom” traits from my mom was her willingness to make us a hot breakfast every single morning before school. I knew that when I walked upstairs after getting dressed the table would be set, and a fresh warm breakfast would be served. I TRY to do the same with my kids….but I REALLY struggle some mornings to find the energy and motivation.

I’ve recently started batch cooking many breakfast items and stocking up my freezer for quick breakfasts for my kids before they head out the door for school. I want to share how you can do that too!

Related: Quick and Easy Overnight Oatmeal Recipe

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How to Freeze Pancakes

Make your pancakes following your favorite pancake recipe. You can find my fave recipe here! Let them cool completely.

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Place pancakes on a cookie sheet in a single layer making sure the sides aren’t touching.

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While the pancakes are in the freezer you can prepare your freezer bags. All this takes is writing what “pancakes” and the date on the bag.

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Put the cookie sheets in the freezer for 30 minutes. Once frozen take the pancakes off of the cookie sheets and place them all in your freezer bag. It can be full as large as you need to. Because you pre-froze them, they should be easy to break apart when you need to use them.

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Stick the bag of pancakes in the freezer and you are done! Yay! Easy peasy!

When you are ready to use the pancakes, simply take out the number of pancakes you need and microwave them until they are warm. I usually microwave them for about a minute.

These are also easy for the kids to get out of the freezer themselves! If I’m busy getting ready in the morning I sometimes tell my oldest to get out a few pancakes for all of the kids.

how to freeze pancakes to save time and money

25 Completely Free Family Winter Activities

January 3, 2019 By: Sweet Frugal Life21 Comments

Enjoy a frugal winter with these free family winter activities!

I absolutely love the snow! There is nothing better than waking up to a fresh blanket of new snow and seeing the sparkle it makes in the sunlight. The only negative about the snow is that it’s so cold!! Unfortunately, I live in an area where it stays cold for many many months! We all get a little stir crazy around here being cooped up for so long. I’ve learned to get creative during these cold months to help us stay sane and stay in budget! Here are my favorite free family winter activities.

2019 Goals

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Fun In the Snow

1. Sledding

Try a few sledding hills around town. See if you can find a new favorite. Enjoy spending the day laughing with friends and family.

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2. Snow Cave

Spend the day outside building a snow cave as a family. You could even have a contest to see who can build the best. Turn it into a castle, add some stairs or windows. Get creative and have fun!

3. Snow Candy

We fell in love with Snow Candy a few years ago after reading the Little House on the Prairie series. Simply place a bowl outside while it’s snowing. When the bowl is full of fresh clean snow, immediately bring it in and pour pure maple syrup on top. The syrup will harden to make a sweet treat!

4. Winter Walk/Scavenger Hunt

Bundle up and go for a walk in the freshly fallen snow. Make a game of it by putting together a list of different items to find; a pine cone, icicle, boot tracks, animal tracks, a snowman, etc.

5. Snowball Fight

Have a family friendly snowball fight. This is guaranteed to bring a lot of laughs and memories!

6. Build a Snowman

Why build one snowman when you can build a family of snowmen??? Have everyone build the snowman that fits their unique personality!

7. Snow Ice Cream

Search Pinterest to find hundreds of easy snow ice cream tutorials. It is a simple recipe using a few cheap ingredients. This is a fun way to enjoy the snow…while staying indoors!

Fun in the Snow for Families -free winter activities

Fun at Home

8. Movie Night

Snuggle up together, pop some popcorn and have a family movie night. Watch a few old classics or try something new. All that matters is that you are spending time together.

9. Bake Bread

I love spending cold winter days in my kitchen baking something warm. Try baking a loaf of homemade bread! Lather it with homemade butter and eat it together as a family.

10. Homemade Cocoa

It only takes a couple of minutes and a few ingredients to make a big batch homemade cocoa. Make the hot chocolate together as a family and enjoy sipping it next to a warm cozy fire.

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11. Family Slumber Party

Haul blankets, pillows and sleeping bags onto the living room floor. Have a large family slumber party together. Your kids will remember this forever!

12. Read a Novel as a Family

My family loves to read a novel together every winter. I usually pick a classic and read it to the kids for 20-30 minutes every evening. A few favorites have been Little House on the Prairie, Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little.

13. Paper Snowflakes

Spend an afternoon cutting out paper snowflakes and hanging them around your home. We like to tape a few to the windows and use invisible thread to hang some from the ceiling. You can find countless Youtube video tutorials. This is such a fun, cheap and easy craft!

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14. Play Dough

Make some homemade play dough at home! Use it to build snowmen or other fun creations. You can use my favorite recipe or search pinterest for other variations!

15. Indoor Picnic

You don’t have to have warm weather for a picnic! Spread a blanket out on the floor, bring a few of your favorite picnic foods and enjoy a picnic indoors!

16. Make a Fort

Gather all the blankets and chairs in your house and build a gigantic blanket fort. Play games, read stories and spend the day hiding out in the fort.

17. Make a Sock Snowman

All it takes is a little creativity and a few random items found around the house to turn an ordinary sock into a snowman!

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18. Board Games

We love board games in our family! You can find some cheap ones at your local thrift store, but there are plenty of fun games played with just a deck of cards or dice.

19. Make Friendship Bracelets

My kids love spending an afternoon making friendship bracelets! You can do an easy braid or something fancier. Be sure to make two bracelets! One to give away and one to keep.

20. Family Dance Party

Sometimes our family (or maybe just this tired mom! 😉 ) just needs a good old fashioned dance party! We crank up a few of our fave dance tunes and dance the grumpy faces away!

Fun in Town

21. Visit the Library

The library offers a lot of free activities for everyone in the family. Take advantage of all the many free programs and be sure to check out a book or movie while you are there!

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22. Serve a Meal at a Homeless Shelter

There is nothing better for a child to learn than how to care for others. Pick a day as a family to help serve a meal at the local homeless shelter. This is such a humbling experience!

23. Visit a Pet Store

It’s so simple, but so fun! We love walking around the local pet store and visiting the cats, dogs, and birds. My kids ask to go regularly and I never complain!

24. Donate to a Thrift Store

As a family go through all of the toys, clutter, and household items. Fill up a large box of items to donate to a thrift store. It feels so good to start the new year fresh and clutter free!

25. Visit a Neighbor

Do you have an elderly neighbor who might need a visit? Or maybe someone new to the neighborhood? As a family pay a special visit to someone needing company. It’s a great way to brighten their day and get to know someone new!

Liked what you read? Pin it for future reference!

Free Family Winter Activities

What do you like to do with your family during the cold winter months????

Easy Hot Chocolate Mix Recipe

December 5, 2018 By: Sweet Frugal Life24 Comments

A good hot chocolate mix recipe makes everything better!

Hot cocoa is such a fun staple to have in your home during these cold winter months. My kids will spend hours playing outside in the snow and the first thing they ask for when they come inside is some hot chocolate! Back in my “spender” days I use to buy hot chocolate mix at the store like it was nobody’s business! Once I started learning how to save and live a frugal life I learned how to make hot chocolate mix from scratch with this easy hot chocolate mix recipe and I have never looked back! Not only does making your own hot cocoa save you money, it is also so quick and easy to do. It also tastes much better than what you will buy from the store!

Print Recipe

Hot Cocoa Mix

Ingredients

2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup powdered creamer
1/8 tsp salt

Instructions

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Store in a tightly covered container.
To make hot chocolate: Stir 1/4 cup mix with 3/4 cup boiling water. Enjoy!

Related: 25 Completely Free Family Winter Activities

We usually make this mix for our family to enjoy all winter, but it would also be a really frugal Christmas gift for friends and neighbors. Whip up a large batch, portion it into cute jars and tie a bow around it. Done!

Related: Cheap Gift Ideas for Neighbors, Teachers, and Friends

Let me know if you make this hot chocolate! I would love to hear how it turns out!

Easy Chore Chart for Families, free printable included!

December 3, 2018 By: Sweet Frugal Life5 Comments

How To Teach Kids to Help Around the House

Teaching my kids how to work is a huge priority for me. In today’s world with busy schedules and so many kids focused on screens, it’s hard to find the right way to instill a hard work ethic. I’ve tried so many different methods and kids chore chart to try to encourage my kids to be hard workers. Many of those methods have failed, but the method we are using right now has been going strong for 5 years. That’s definitely a record in my house! Of course, I don’t know if it is teaching them the hard work ethic I desire, but I know it has been teaching them a lot about household chores and so I am happy with it!

Honestly, my cleaning system is nothing fancy, SO un-fancy in fact that it probably shouldn’t even be called a “system”! 😉

My kids have 4 main household chores that they are responsible for each week.

Bedrooms

First, the kids’ bedrooms are responsible to keep their rooms clean and tidy, including making their bed each day. This usually only takes 5 minutes each morning, sometimes more or less. Once a week they are required to vacuum and clean their rooms, we usually do this on Saturdays. I always check on Saturdays to make sure they did what was asked of them and to verify that they haven’t stuffed anything under the bed or in their closets (because, that has been known to happen….). 😉

Dishes

We have three “Dish Duties” that we rotate each week between our three kids. These duties are: Load the Dishwasher, Sweep the Floor, and Wipe the Counters. After our nightly dinner the family all cleans up the dishes together with the kids each helping with their specific assignment.

Household Chore

Each week my kids are assigned a Household Chore. The Household Chore is usually centered around a room in the house; one that the entire family uses, so we all need to help keep it clean. These chores are rotated each week through each of the kids.

Our current list of household chores are:

-Kitchen

-Bathroom

-Great Room

-Basement Family Room

-Your Choice

I include a Your Choice week so that the kids have one week where they can have a little control over the area they clean. They really look forward to this week! The Your Choice options are:

-Do the Laundry

-Wash the Walls

-Clean the Car

-Clean out the Refrigerator

-Wash the Windows

These household chores are rotated weekly between each child. This gives everyone an equal amount of turns with each chore.

I keep a chore list hanging in our kitchen so that my kids always know exactly what is expected of them each week. These chores are changed every Saturday as we prepare for a new week.

Paid Chore

My kids are assigned one paid chore each month. (other paid chores are given when they request it). Our paid chores revolve around taking care of our animals (six chickens, one dog and one cat). Subsequently, they will ONLY get paid if the chore is completed. These chores are rotated monthly and the kids are paid monthly.

You can read my article Teaching Kids Smart Money Habits to learn more about my views on giving kids an allowance.

Are my kids perfect? No way! Am I perfect? Not even close! But, we are trying. And for now, this is what has been working for us.

I have turned my Family Chore Chart and Chore Responsibilities into free printables for you! These are the exact charts we use! Plus, you can download them here!

How to Use Chore Chart Printables

I highly suggest laminating the Family Chore Chart after printing it. Or, you can just stick it in a page protector like I do! 😉 This way I can use a dry erase marker to write down all of the chores and adjust them each week.

Next, cut the Cleaning Chores printables into sections and laminate each section. This is obviously not necessary, but I have found it helps to keep the instructions more durable with my kids use.

Lastly, remember to keep the chore instructions hung up in a place that will be easy for your kids to reach and find their weekly chore card.

Related: Kids Chore Chart That Works!

I truly believe one of the greatest gifts we can give a child is teaching them how to work. They WILL look back one day and thank you for giving them this gift. I whined and yelled and cried and complained and told my parents they were the meanest in the world…..but I grew up….and I realized just how GRATEFUL I am that they taught me how to work!

The saying says there is more than one way to train a horse! That falls true with kids too! This is what works for my kids, you might find something different that works for your family. All that matters is that we are TRYING. Keep trying mamas! We got this!

Kids Chore Chart Printables

Don’t forget to download my Free Kids Chore Chart Printable using the link above!

Christmas Tree Cookie Recipe

November 29, 2018 By: Sweet Frugal Life3 Comments

One of my favorite Christmas Traditions as a young girl was my mom making these delicious Christmas Tree Cookies! I knew it was Christmastime when I came home to these delicious treats after school. This Christmas cookie recipe is so easy and always a hit for kids and adults!

My mom is no longer living, so I have continued on the tradition by making them for my kids. They are SO easy and I love the hint of almond flavor!

One of the best parts of making Christmas Tree Cookies is getting to use this fun Wilton Cookie Press. It’s really easy to use, and you can usually find one under $10! It comes with a dozen different plates with fun shapes for cookies. All you have to do is fill it with the cookie dough, turn it upside down and press the trigger! Out comes a cute little tree.