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Why Moms Want To Be Millionaires

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Why would a mom want to be a millionaire? To live in a mansion? Drive a fancy car? Wear real jewels and take luxurious vacations? Probably not.

riches, money, wealth, financial freedom, debt free, family life, financial planning

Moms are too smart for that. Wealth comes with its own set of troubles, we know that. But I think I can speak for most mothers who do want to be millionaires that their reasons are different.  They have a job to do.

Some reasons why moms may want to become millionaires:
To Buy Stuff: it doesn’t seem right for a parent to not be able to buy her child a new pair of sneakers when he’s outgrowing his only pair (been there!) Handouts are appreciated but she wants to do it herself one day, stress-free. Being a millionaire would enable her to shop for herself and her family whenever she wanted to. What fun that would be!
Provisions: she’s tired of bouncing checks…trying to make ends meet…only to get charged a bank fee that she cannot afford to pay. She wants to enjoygrocery shopping instead of sweating out whether she really has enough to pay for it. So, as she dreams of financial freedom, she scratches items off her grocery list to make it work. Grocery shopping without calculating the bill in her head? Priceless!
Homemaking: how many recipes has she seen and would love to make, but she can’t afford the ingredients. So she pins them, waiting for a better day. Decorating? In her dreams. But dreams can come true. All it takes is money.
Holidays: she decorates and pulls together what she can to make the holidays special. She makes gifts to stretch the budget. “Millionaire-mom” can enjoy buying whatever gifts and decorations she wants. She can even get the BEST crafting gear to make her lovely homemade gifts. DIY because she wants to, not because she has to.
Care: whether it is her immediate family, aging parents or someone she’s heard of, there are people in need. She wants to help. Being a millionaire could do that.
The Future: moms plan ahead. How will her children pay for college? What about a retirement? Who will finance that? Being a millionaire would give her family something to work with – lots to work with!

Dreams: not every dream requires money but many of them do. Launching a business venture. Bankrolling someone else’s dream. Trying something new. Millionaires seem to have more options. I’ve never been one…but I wouldn’t mind trying it out! LOL

Mom…
What would YOU do if you were a millionaire?
A TRIBUTE: There are so many amazing women out there who have pulled rabbits out of hats, built victory out of defeat and learned how to get more mileage out of a dime than anyone ever thought was possible. 

You are all braver than brave, deserving of honors I am unable to give. From my heart ♥ I applaud you and, if I could make you a millionaire, I would! 

Miracles do happen and my prayer for you is – whether it’s millions of dollars or some other wonderful thing – that God will surprise you with God-surprises that will overwhelm you with how much you are loved! ♥ 

Enjoy!

Note: this author is an Amazon Affiliate. That means that if you purchase anything from Amazon by first clicking on an Amazon ad, link or using the Amazon search window on Ducks ‘n a Row, I will – at NO extra expense to you – earn a small commission. In advance, “thank you” for shopping Amazon through me! … Sinea
 
 
 


New Year's Resolution – What To Do First

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By Sinea Pies

Christmas wrappings are tossed, “bowl games” won or lost and the big-dinner leftovers are gone. Our minds now turn to “what’s next?”  What is next? Indeed!  

My mind naturally goes to the changes that I would like to make. 

  • The clutter that naturally increases during the holidays gets to me. I want to de-clutter in a big way. 
  • The pants are fitting too snuggly for words so getting rid of some pounds is also upfront on my mind. 
  • Depending on the year, the inevitably squeaky budget gives me a yearning for the simplicity of a debt free life.  

So, what’s first? My  daughter tells me that she and her husband are taking a year off from doing any home renovations. They seem to be redecorating something in their beautiful farmhouse all the time and they’re tired. 
Me? “All of the above?” It should be but if I am going to succeed, maybe one thing at a time is a better approach.

fitness, weightloss, exercise, gym

My question for you is “What is first on your New Year’s to-do list?”

I’d love to know. In fact, let’s take a little poll to find out where we all stand right now. Feel free to add your own answer, beyond what is offered, and even pour your heart out in the comments below.

To participate in a very quick survey…CLICK HERE …  Your New Year’s Resolution (or, “What I plan to do first, now that the holidays are over.”) 

We’ll share the results of the poll in a few days, after we have some significant feedback! Should be fun. Happy New Year!

Some posts you may have missed:

      


Photo Credit:
Photostock on Freedigital Photos


10 Simple Ways to Save Money PART 2

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By Sinea Pies


Did you miss part one of 10 Simple Ways to Save Money? 

6. Make your coffee at home. You all know that I am a great proponent of skipping the coffee shops, except for an occasional special treat. 

Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts have great coffee but what are you paying for it? If you spend $2 per day on a cup of elite coffee, that is $730.00 per year. $5 per day? That is $1,825.00.  

Let me say that out loud, 
“ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS!” 
You can finance a lovely Christmas–or a vacation–with that! 
You get the point. Check out the links at the end of this post about how you can get DIY coffee to taste good and keep it fresh!

7. Restaurants I am NOT going to say that you should stop going to restaurants. We need to go to restaurants from time to time. Sometimes it is for a change in scenery. Sometimes it is so that someone else will do the cooking, and cleaning up. Certainly, if you frequent restaurants, cooking at home more often will save money. But when you do go to a restaurant, how can you “have your cake and eat it too”?

  • Go out for dessert. Instead of a full meal, enjoy the change in venue and fun of dining out but limit yourself to ordering appetizers or dessert. You’ll save a bundle and still have a good time.
  • Skip the beverage. Stop spending on soft drinks, cocktails or coffee. Ask for ice water instead. You will save at least $2.50 per person. 
  • Take it out! Some of the dining out expense is hidden in the extras: beverages, appetizers, dessert and tip. More and more restaurants offer take-out service. Call ahead, place your order, pick it up, eat at home. Still need a change in atmosphere? Eat it outdoors or at a park. Just stay out of the restaurant!
  • Switch it up and go to a fundraising dinner. Most communities have churches and other organizations that host spaghetti dinners and chicken barbecues to raise money. The food is delicious, price is reasonable and you are helping a good cause . 
8. Seek cheap entertainment. We have already investigated some FREE or nearly-free possibilities in 

and 
but here is a quick list to prompt some ideas:
See a play 
(high school? community theater?)
Find some community concerts in the park
Go fishing 
(remember your fishing license!)
Go for a car ride in the countryside
Biking
Hiking
Visit a petting zoo  


Go out for an ice cream cone

Make homemade ice cream at home
Make some popcorn and watch a movie at home 
Play board games or cards
Go to the library
Go on a picnic
Watch a little league baseball game

9.  Shop Thrift Stores. Gently used clothing can be as good as new, you just have to make regular stops at Good Will or your local thrift store. There are treasures to be found. Many a family has outfitted themselves this way. The savings is tremendous and no one would know that new piece you’re wearing isn’t brand new, unless you tell them!


10. Shop at home. This is fun. Rather than grocery shopping (or gift shopping), take stock in what you have. 

  • GROCERIES: Go through the refrigerator and pantry (or your closets) and find out what you have. Make meals with as much as you have on hand as possible. You may be surprised at what you find there. I just bought a bottle of Teriyaki sauce not realizing I already had two unopened bottles in another cupboard. Whoops! 
  • GIFTS:  find something new that you can re-gift. Just be sure the original giver isn’t going to be there!
Bonus: How To Start Saving Money During the Work Week
Got any good money-saving ideas?
Please share them with us!

♥




10 Simple Ways To Save Money

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 Prices have risen astronomically yet paychecks are not growing to keep up with it all. So, what’s a family to do? Find ways to save! In fact, find ways to get out of debt. 


If you were debt-free, it would feel like you got a raise, wouldn’t it. Well, wouldn’t it? Yes, it would!  Time to start taking steps toward being debt-free. 
Let’s talk about 10 ways to make a major dent in your financial heap. 

This blog contains Amazon affiliate links.♥

 

This is PART 1.
Click here for PART 2

 

1. Cut up the cards. Really? Really! How well do you control your credit card use? Are you aware of how much you are really spending if you keep a balance? If you cannot say “no” and are tempted to use it “just this once”, it’s time to say “goodbye”
 
Save a bundle on interest payments and service charges by switching to CASH!  LIFE LESSON: When people are taught first-aid for accident victims the first primary objective they are taught is to “stop the bleeding.”  That’s what you will be doing by getting rid of all credit cards now…you’ll stopping the bleeding.

2. Use the “Envelope Method” for your spending. When you get paid, cash your check and put that money into separate envelopes.

Your envelopes should be labeled, something like this:
car payment
mortgage/rent
groceries
insurance
medical
clothes
giving
entertainment
savings
taxes
tuition
me
him
Stay true to your envelopes, that way you won’t over-spend. 

 

A sub-category of this item would be to start an “emergency fund”. That is a savings from which you will pay for the unexpected events that could cause you to turn back to credit cards. Car repairs, etc. We’ll talk about that in a future post.

How much gas do Lamborghini’s use? 
I have absolutely NO idea!


3. Drive less. We all complain about the cost of gasoline. One way to save money on gas is to drive much less than you used to. How? Plan ahead. If you have business to do in one part of town, try to schedule it all for the same day. Minimizing return trips to the same vicinity will really save money on gas, time and wear & tear on your car.

4. Get rid of your cell phone. Cell phones are expensive to keep up. They’ve become “essential” to many of us … but just how essential are they?

Unless they are a primary tool for your business, get rid of the one with the high monthly bill and opt for a pay-as-you-go that you will use only in emergencies.

It should be no-frills. No texting. No voicemail. Nothing that will tempt you to use it more. The monthly bill should be under $10, if you don’t over-use it. Someday, when you are debt-free, you can buy a “frilly one” again!

 

5. Get rid of that land line. “No real cell and no land line? What are you kidding?” No. I’m thinking you’ll save money and lots of it.

Assuming that you do have high-speed internet at home, Magic Jack is a great telephone alternative. It costs less than $40 for the entire year and you get free unlimited long-distance within the US and Canada plus several other countries. The newest versions do not require a computer to operate it!

And now, for PART 2 CLICK HERE

 

Hey, do you need a new vacuum cleaner but cannot afford the price?  Go SIMPLE!
Shark vacuum cleaners are tried and true.  They have lots of types with many special features but, when it comes down to it, how about getting a more SIMPLE Shark with great suction power and lightweight to move around with ease for MUCH LESS????  Try this!
Simple Shark Navigator vacuum
      

 

 

Save Money with Grocery Shrink

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Our Wonderful Wednesday spotlight is on the very first website to which I became a subscriber: Grocery Shrink, founded by Angela Coffman. And I have a guest post on her site this week!


photo by kongsky at freedigitalphotos.com

A little background about Angela Coffman: Angela is fondly known as the “Grocery Shrink” and her ability to train others on how to trim back their spending comes from personal experience.  She and her husband, Darren, were plagued by their financial condition. $89,000 in debt, they longed to be debt-free.  So they got very, very serious about.  

Trimming their grocery spending alone to a mere $185.00 per month (at that time a they were a family of 5) and cutting back in a multitude of other areas, they were able to steadily pay off their bills to finally achieve debt-free status within 6 months. In fact, they did more than that.  They built an emergency fund and had $40,000 left over to put toward buying a house.Wow!

GroceryShrink.com

Angela’s fame has opened the door for two recent guest appearances on the 700 Club. Here are the links to those segments:  clip #1 and clip #2.  When you watch the second clip, you’ll learn how she creates her own, safe cleaning products for a fraction of the cost of their commercial counterparts. 
For Angela’s Homemade Cleaning Products recipes, mentioned on one of the clips, along with their complete debt-conquering success story, go to her homepage (after you read my guestpost, of course 🙂 and sign up for her newsletter at Grocery Shrink. 

Now, before you go…be sure to view my TWO guest posts on Grocery Shrink (links below) and my latest post on HubPages honoring our World War II veterans. I’m particularly proud of that one because it includes my son’s award winning video.


Guest Posts on Grocery Shrink:
Getting Ready for Christmas
How to Organize Your Kitchen Drawer in 10 Minutes or Less

Recent Posts:
How to Speed Clean a Room
Quick Breakfast Ideas
World War II Veterans

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Have a Wonderful Wednesday,
          …Sinea from Ducks ‘n a Row