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Celebrate the Small Successes

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FaithButton As part of a “class” I am taking, I regularly check in on blogs that mom’s write. I have found a great variety of blogs that I try and follow and I am meeting lots of other great moms. One thing I am learning is that it’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph.

I ran across this great idea for encouragement, so I am sharing this with you to put in your tool kit. I found this on Faith & the Family. They encourage moms to recognize their successes and share them with others on Thursday of each week.

I have been really behind in writing my blog this week. I was getting frustrated with myself about that very thing, and then I ran across this post from Daniel Bean. It reminded me that sometimes we just have to be satisfied with the small successes we experience, rather than being discouraged by our lack of action. You can read her blog here.

https://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/doing_the_right_thing/

I decided to take the challenge and give myself credit for three successes this week, no matter how small.

  1. I talked with the branding specialist I hired for my website about how to put up the sales page for the work at home mom business I developed. Hopefully as soon as I actually get that done, I will be on my way to launch my business and help other stay at home moms work from home, yeah.
  2. I got all my kids headed off to school We have kids at all education levels  from eighth grade to law school. I even took pictures of their first day!
  3. I am working on a program I bought called the blog internship, and I have been struggling to get all the exercises done, however, I keep plugging away at it, and I am learning A LOT.

Well, this post is not exactly about following the steps toward working from home, but wait, it sure is. In real life, we have to commit to recognizing our accomplishments, or we will face times when doubt can overcome us. I urge you to join in this type of fun activity to encourage you to keep moving forward.

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School Expenses Are Here!

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Ph.D. Reading

It’s almost here, that dreaded time of year!


The lazy days of summer are fast drawing to an end. The prospect of making lunches for school are staring us in the face again, and the added expense of new clothes, school supplies, fees, and possibly tuition are looming like an unwelcome shadow in the corner of the room.

Do you feel your stomach tightening with the thought of all those expenses having to again be worked into your budget? Even worse, will all those expenses end up on your ever growing credit card balance? As a stay at home mom, those mounting bills equal stress.

For a lot of us stay at home moms, we revisit the ever constant challenge of returning to work vs staying home with our kids. I have lived this life for a lot of years now, and I want to share some of the budget stretching tricks I have learned.

  • Do YOUR homework. Get your list of needed supplies, clothes, shoes etc. Then sit down with a cup of coffee and read all the ads. List the store with the best price after the item.
  • Map out the shortest and most efficient route to the stores with the best prices.
  • Please use common sense, don’t drive half an hour to save $1.00, think smart, time and gas are valuable.
  • Forget the higher priced school supplies with the latest movie or tv characters, pick a plain color and be done with it. Many times that will save you 1/3 – 1/2 of the price.
  • Make sure you have checked all the sale flyers. All the stores are competing fiercely for your business, and many of those sales are loss leaders. Buy the things that are on sale and move on to the next store for the items they are featuring at the best price.
  • Don’t go overboard on the clothes, you have a washing machine, so you can limit the amount you spend on clothes by simply doing laundry.
  • Buy several pairs (three is a good number) of dark pants. I love the double knee pants for the boys. Five different tops will get you through the week. If your budget dictates, buy less and wash more.
  • Consignment shops and garage sales can save you TONS.

I will give you more cost saving tips tomorrow. My best advice is to set your budget,  and then just stick to it.

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