Tis the season for vacation planning. . . take a sneak peek into my FRUGAL FAMILY VACATIONS magazine today!

Keeping it All Together: Budget Your Vacation

This magazine’s theme is frugal family vacations, and we’ll be looking at a lot of different ways to save money and still enjoy relaxing time together as a family. This column will help to organize your vacation budget and finances (be sure to check the forms at the end of the magazine)!

Vacations do not have to be expensive, especially if you plan ahead. The most important step is to consider where you will need to spend your money—transportation, food, lodging, etc. I have included a worksheet at the end of this Digest for you to print out and use to help you plan the financial aspect of your vacation. First, you need to set a budget based on the cash you have on hand and whatever you will be willing to put on your credit card. If you are going to pay for part of your vacation with credit, be sure that you have a plan in place to pay off that balance as soon as possible.

One of the best ways to save money is to look for vacation packages that include lodging and entertainment in one price. Usually you have to book a room for a certain number of nights, but you’ll save money on tickets to theme parks and other local attractions. Often it is worth it to use a local travel agent, as they have access to deals that you cannot get on your own. You might want to call a couple of local agents to see if they have any specials available. You can also save money by staying at a campground.

Before you get in the car or plane to travel to your vacation destination, plan activities that will keep the kids busy. If they are busy, you might not hear, “Are we there yet?” as often! Head to the local dollar store, and buy some items for a travel “goody bag” like coloring books and crayons, search-a-words, handheld games, stickers and paper, Mad Libs™, etc. Wrap each item and have a schedule set so that the kids know when they can open up a new “present.” This could include times when you cross state lines, stop for a gas refill, see a certain roadside sign, etc. Make it a fun travel “treasure hunt.” Don’t forget to include some snacks and times to eat them. Hungry children do not make for a good trip!

If you are able to afford to travel this year, here are some more tips for saving money when planning for your vacation. At the end of this magazine, you will also find a vacation checklist to remind you of all of the steps to take to plan the perfect vacation.

For more of this article on planning a frugal vacation, CLICK HERE to purchase Frugal Family Vacations as a single issue.

Molly members already have this magazine in your member page! Simply click the “Molly Members” tab above, log in, and search out June 2009.

If you’re not a Molly member, check out everything you receive and sign up now on our SUBSCRIPTION PAGE! 

Take a sneak peek into my A Light Heart in Dark Times magazine today!

Coping with Job Loss: A Lesson From the Trenches

by Christina Wong

I was completely unprepared for my husband’s job loss. Some people think that the hardest part about losing a job is the financial side of the equation, but there are so many other worries. Most people who lose their source of income don’t plan for it; I know we certainly didn’t. We were not prepared for the financial and emotional consequences of going from a nice income with benefits to having to draw unemployment and doing whatever we could to make ends meet. If you are in a similar situation, you might wonder how to cope. Let me share with you what we did to help keep ourselves afloat.

I had just signed a lease on a bigger, newer apartment that cost about $300 more a month. I was also having some health issues, and the bills were already beginning to stack up. I had anticipated following my husband to wherever the Army sent him, so I had taken the semester off from school and had no paying job. I had started my blog, Youthful Homemaker, and intended for it to one day become a business, but that day was far into the future.

Instead of letting the bills pile up, I found a few easy solutions to help infuse a little income into the budget. The first was through a friend of mine. She has two beautiful twin girls who needed a nanny, and I took the job. She dropped them off at my house four days a week, which meant I could watch them and work on my website at the same time. The other way I added a little more income to our budget was to spend more time working for my family’s business, Wheat-n-Things. My parents were selling their whole grains and homemade bread at one of the local farmers markets and needed an extra hand baking and selling. I also started baking my own specialty breads and made an occasional craft item to sell, bringing in a nice little income that way.

Ways We Saved More Money. . .

For more of this article on coping with job loss, CLICK HERE to purchase A Light Heart in Dark Times as a single issue.

Molly members already have this magazine in your member page! Simply click the “Molly Members” tab above, log in, and search out May 2012.

If you’re not a Molly member, sign up now on our SUBSCRIPTION PAGE! 

There are so many different ways to live a frugal  lifestyle. . . this is a great place to learn new things and encourage one another! Below you can share the link to a post on your own blog, share a little about your frugal life and encourage others. Be sure to come back each Friday and link-up to this great community of frugal followers!

If you get my Friday newsletter, you most likely read Midge’s question about her gift giving idea for Mother’s Day (if you don’t get my FREE newsletter be sure and subscribe via the sticky note in the upper right corner). Read below to see my response.  Molly

Dear Midge,

What a great idea to write little love notes to your daughter! Notes of your hopes and dreams for her throughout the years is such a sweet keepsake. . . my mind automatically went to a little book/journal where you can write a small note each year. Maybe something along the lines of “This year you blessed me as a mother by….”

What a great gift to give your child when she is grown and how special to look back on those memories. I think choosing a small book/ journal may hold up better than individual notes but if you do choose to go with individual slips of paper, you could maybe place those in a scrapbook later on. That would be a neat look too!

If you do ever come across a heart shaped rock, you could add it to your handwritten “Mama notes.” This is such a neat idea, I may need to go in search of supplies and do this myself!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Love ya, Molly

To share a link to your post about frugal living, use the Linky below. But first. . .

1. We’d love for you to share your links that include anything  related to DIY projects, saving money, frugal living, made from scratch cooking, cleaning products, sustainable living, gardening, organic, and anything else related to homemaking! You can also  include your struggles while trying to live a frugal lifestyle (like  Midge!)! Show us about how you are thriving while surviving on a smaller budget!

2. Please, no link-ups to giveaways or blog topics in which you are just selling a product.

3. Link directly to your frugal post, not to your home page.

4. Grab our linky graphic (from the sidebar) and put it on your blog or on your linky post.

5. If a linked up post does not meet the above guidelines, it will  be removed.

6. If you link-up, please click on other’s links as well. Our frugal followers have a lot to share!

Living frugally means living, learning, and growing from each other. We can’t wait to see what you are going to share (to see other blogs who have linked up, click the link below)!   Ready, set, link!

CLICK HERE TO LINK-UP!

There are so many different ways to live a frugal lifestyle. . . this is a great place to learn new things and encourage one another! Below you can share the link to a post on your own blog, share a little about your frugal life and encourage others. Be sure to come back each Friday and link-up to this great community of frugal followers!

If you get my Friday newsletter, you most likely read Midge’s question about my most treasured keepsake(s) (if you don’t get my FREE newsletter be sure and subscribe via the sticky note in the upper right corner). Read below to see my response and discover what special craft I did when each of my children were little.  Molly

Dear Midge,

My treasured keepsakes also involve my children’s hand prints! However, they are plaster imprints or molds. I imprinted my firstborn’s hand/foot print into a round, plaster disc. I included the date and shaded in the imprints to help them stand out a bit more.

With consecutive children I was able to find a kit that allowed me to make a mold of their entire hand. I then poured the plaster mixture into the mold and the result was an exact replica of that tiny hand. I had to be sure to complete this project when each child was less than a month old (and sleeping!) because they had to be completely still in order for the project to be successful.

I really enjoy looking back at those tiny hands, I’ve placed each one next to that particular child’s newborn picture. What sweet memories!

Love ya, Molly

To share a link to your post about frugal living, use the Linky below. But first. . .

1. We’d love for you to share your links that include anything  related to DIY projects, saving money, frugal living, made from scratch cooking, cleaning products, sustainable living, gardening, organic, and anything else related to homemaking! You can also  include your struggles while trying to live a frugal lifestyle (like  Midge!)! Show us about how you are thriving while surviving on a smaller budget!

2. Please, no link-ups to giveaways or blog topics in which you are just selling a product.

3. Link directly to your frugal post, not to your home page.

4. Grab our linky graphic (from the sidebar) and put it on your blog or on your linky post.

5. If a linked up post does not meet the above guidelines, it will  be removed.

6. If you link-up, please click on other’s links as well. Our frugal followers have a lot to share!

Living frugally means living, learning, and growing from each other. We can’t wait to see what you are going to share (to see other blogs who have linked up, click the link below)!   Ready, set, link!

CLICK HERE TO LINK-UP!

Guest post by: Midge

I like checking out the freezer section at my local grocery store to scout for the newest meats they may have on hand. It is like an adventure into rarely seen foods at my dinner table. When selecting my Year of the Carnivore blog meats for this guest blog series, I have only issued myself a few rules. My favorite rule is that if I think to myself, “Oh my goodness, I could never make that!” then the next thing I have to do is put it in my cart!

I also try to make frugal choices so I am not BREAKING THE BANK while learning how to “chef it”. Mahi Mahi was a VERY frugal choice. The frozen package came with two partial fish that were the length of my arm. Mahi Mahi is often called the poor man’s lobster. While you do get a lot MORE MEAT FOR YOUR MONEY than lobster, the taste is not very similar.

After I defrosted the Mahi Mahi, I discovered I had to cut the skin off the fish in order to cook it. The Tilapia I made earlier this year came nicely cut and ready for baking. But, eeeesh, this was not true with the Mahi Mahi, which may have been why I got the fish at such a terrific price.

Skinning the fish was a lot harder than I thought. I should have popped on the internet to search for a “how to” video. But, I kept thinking, “I can do this.  It can’t be that hard”. I ended up cutting and pulling then slicing the meat off the skin. In the end, the pan I was using for the debris looked like a mess but I was able to get most of the meat off the skin and now was ready for the rest of the meal preparation.

For this recipe, I selected a Dry Jerk seasoning to add to my Mahi Mahi. When I was growing up, my father would sprinkle the spiciest seasonings on his rice or curry dish and then even add seconds of the spice. He would smile widely as he ate and refused to guzzle water to help mute the heat. That is definitely not my kind of spicy!

I have had jerk seasoning before with varied results. I thought it would be more on the “medium” side of spicy. Boy, was I ever wrong! This jerk seasoning was hot! And it probably did not help when the cayenne pepper top caused too much seasoning to escape into my dry mix. I tried to salvage the mix and obviously did not do such a great job!

Before I go on, I need to clarify that my husband is a very willing guinea pig. He will eat almost everything I cook for him and most of the time is grateful I am getting adventurous in my cooking. However, this time almost became the exception!!

I made the jerk seasoning using this recipe: DRY JERK SEASONING. I loosely followed this recipe: MAHI MAHI TACOS for the actual cooking of the fish. Actually, I really used it as a guide to help me know when the Mahi Mahi would be done cooking.

Here is how I made it:  I dipped the sliced Mahi Mahi pieces into butter then liberally coated them with the seasoning. I grilled them in a pan until the fish became flaky under the seasoning. Then, after the Mahi Mahi was done, I folded the grilled pieces into a tortilla with ranch dressing, shredded cheese and a chunky made from scratch salsa my mother-in-law had made.

Liberally coating them was definitely my problem!! As I look back at the recipe, I realize it gave a precise suggested measurement for each fillet. My husband took three bites and then almost dropped the whole thing in a dead run for the fridge to get a glass of milk! In his defense, he finished the rest of the fish taco and the whole carton of milk as well. Poor guy!

My dad loved it though and so did one of our neighbors who LOVES spicy food. And, did I mention I really liked it too? Even with the spice, the Mahi Mahi Jerk Seasoning Tacos were the bomb! I definitely recommend it!

Next time, I will make sure to not spill the cayenne pepper . . .

Have you ever prepared Mahi Mahi? What kinds of dry seasonings do you keep on hand? Do you have a story of a “too spicy for you” kind of meal? I would love to hear from you!

Take a sneak peek into my THE COUPON CRAZE: Chaos or Common Cents magazine today!

Do you have a small space, small budget and desire a BIG stockpile? No problem! Alayna Cann tells you how in this comprehensive yet captivating article.

“If you are anything like me, you have just a teensy bit of envy for those moms who seem to have it all together and have all the space in the world to store all the stockpile they could ever dream possible! But hey, let’s face it: Most of us are not like “those” moms! We don’t have it all together and we have a small to  average-size home, lacking all of that extra storage space for that dream stockpile.

I always wanted to make it possible, so one day I decided to turn that possibility into a reality. I realized that, no, I may not have a garage, attic, or basement for storage, so I would have to get creative! I needed to turn a space into my stockpile storage area without taking up any precious living space, all the while making it both functional and creative.

In the kitchen, you may not have a ton of extra space, but don’t forget to use your cabinet space to its full capacity, especially when storing canned goods. I always stack mine by size and according to how many can be stacked per shelf. By doing so, you will be amazed not only how much space you will save, but how many canned goods you can store in just one cabinet! You can also use this method with boxed foods. In organizing your food items, if you plan to store them for a long time, you may want to write the date on them somewhere with a Sharpie so that down the road you will know how long you have had them. If you don’t think you will use something relatively soon, consider taking a donation box to a food pantry or sharing with family and friends. This is a great idea when you have limited space, so that you can rotate items and nothing is wasted.

Now let’s move on to the seemingly endless cycle in the laundry room. Many of us don’t think of it as storage space for stockpiling, but it is an area where, even with limited space, functional storage can be created. When I moved to my house out West a few years ago, I faced the problem of absolutely no storage space in my laundry room. It was actually a mud room at one of the entries into the house that became the dumping ground for everyone’s shoes. So between the shoes, a stacked washer and dryer, an extra refrigerator, and a folding table, there was little room for anything else. I decided to get creative. . .”

To get the rest of this article and more stockpiling tips, CLICK HERE to purchase THE COUPON CRAZE: Chaos or Common Centsas a single issue.

Molly members already have this magazine in your member page! Simply click the “Molly Members” tab above, log in, and search out April 2012.

If you’re not a Molly member, take advantage of our TAX SPECIAL! You’ll find all the details over on our SUBSCRIPTION PAGE, this special ends TOMORROW!

Welcome to our Frugal Friday Link-Up!

There are so many different ways to live a frugal lifestyle. . . this is a great place to learn new things and encourage one another! Below you can share the link to a post on your own blog, share a little about your frugal life and encourage others. Be sure to come back each Friday and link-up to this great community of frugal followers!

If you get my Friday newsletter, you most likely read Midge’s question about my favorite desserts to make (if you don’t get my FREE newsletter be sure and subscribe via the sticky note in the upper right corner). Read below to see my response and discover what recipe I like to make each Mother’s Day.  Molly

Dear Midge,

My mother always told me I was born with a sweet tooth, I think she may be right. I love to create (and eat!) just about anything sweet. My favorite desserts to make are fruit pies or cobblers. I love these because there is such a variety of fruits that can be used or combined in these desserts. I also love these types of sweets because I enjoy adding a cinnamon based streusel on top and a huge amount of whipped cream! What’s not to love?

Every Mother’s Day I break out the trifle dish and create a beautiful dessert. Last year I used chunks of angel food cake layered with freshly made custard, peaches, strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream. The kids know Mother’s Day is right around the corner when they see that trifle dish come out of storage (I should use it more often, don’t you think?).

I’m dreaming of this year’s trifle dessert now. . . I wonder what combination of fruits I’ll use. Blackberries, strawberries and raspberries?

Love ya,

Molly. . . who is dreaming of trifle for breakfast!

To share a link to your post about frugal living, use the Linky below. But first. . .

1. We’d love for you to share your links that include anything  related to DIY projects, saving money, frugal living, made from scratch cooking, cleaning products, sustainable living, gardening, organic, and anything else related to homemaking! You can also  include your struggles while trying to live a frugal lifestyle (like  Midge!)! Show us about how you are thriving while surviving on a smaller budget!

2. Please, no link-ups to giveaways or blog topics in which you are just selling a product.

3. Link directly to your frugal post, not to your home page.

4. Grab our linky graphic (from the sidebar) and put it on your blog or on your linky post.

5. If a linked up post does not meet the above guidelines, it will  be removed.

6. If you link-up, please click on other’s links as well. Our frugal followers have a lot to share!

Living frugally means living, learning, and growing from each other. We can’t wait to see what you are going to share (to see other blogs who have linked up, click the link below)!   Ready, set, link!

CLICK HERE TO LINK-UP!

Take a sneak peek into my Making Money From Home magazine today!

About a week ago, I shared with you (on FACEBOOK) that the children and I were beginning a new project. A science experiment, really. This has been something I’ve wanted to do for a LONG time but it seemed like too big of a project. Alas, this is the year we begin our journey and learn how to make maple syrup!

Before I begin showing you what we’ve been up to, let me tell you that you don’t need acres and acres of land to make your own syrup. We are beginning this year by tapping just 3 trees. They happen to be large enough that we can get more than one tap per tree. I quickly found out that it’s hard to identify maple trees when there are no leaves. Upon researching syrup making, I also quickly learned there are different kinds of maples that result in different grades/types of syrup. Hmmm, time to call in the reinforcements.

A family friend stopped by and helped us take a look at the maple trees that just so happened to be right in our yard. We ended up having 2 soft maples and 1 hard maple tree (much to my surprise)! I also learned that the hard maple trees produce the best sap with the highest sugar content, they make the yummiest syrup.

This is just after drilling the hole(s), inserting the tap and waiting to see if it would begin “dripping.” This is a HUGE tree, one of our soft maples.

Here comes the sap! I can almost see (and taste) the syrup now…almost.

We went in search of some BIG buckets! When the days warm up and especially when the sun hits the trees, watch the sap flow!

Have you ever tried making your own syrup?

Be sure to come back next Wednesday to see all about the cooking process!