FREE Christmas Budget Worksheet Printable

I try to start my Christmas shopping as early as possible (sometimes picking up items for the following year at after Christmas sales!), but it seems the earlier I start my shopping, the less organized I become. Don't ask me about the time I purchased the same thing for someone twice.

Having a workable Christmas Budget Worksheet keeps me organized, and arguably sane. I have a list of everyone I need to get a gift for, along with my budget, the gift idea, which store I need to go to, and how much money I've already spent vs. how much I have left in my budget.

I've created a nice printable for my readers to help you stay organized this Christmas season. Each sheet has 10 rows. Should you need to give gifts to more than 10 people, just print out as many as you need.

To print your own Christmas Budget Worksheet, simply click on the Adobe file below, and print out the desired number of copies.



Follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter

Pin This!

5 Best Yard Sale Tips

Now that Christmas is over and the reality of "Where am I going to put that?!" sets in, you may be tempted to start thinking Yard Sale! It's probably too cold in some parts of the country to actually have a yard sale in January, but it's never too early to start prepping for a yard sale. (I'm not naive, I'm just from Southern California where you can go surfing in January, so yard sales are not that uncommon this time of year.)


We had our most successful yard sale yet several months ago, and I have several tips to help make your sale easy, productive, and fun!

1. Start Early
-As soon as I see something that we're going to include in our next sale, I put it in a bin in the garage. That way I know exactly how much stuff I have to sell. This keeps me from scrambling around the day before to find more stuff.
-This also applies to the weeks before your scheduled yard sale. I like to price and sort 2-3 weeks before the sale so I don't get burned out the day before.

2. Get Organized
-Price everything. If something isn't priced or says "best offer," people will be less likely to inquire about an item. This also allows you to confirm the price for those not-so-honest shoppers. It's more time consuming, but it will save you confusion and grief the day of the sale.

3. Grab Some Neighbors
-If you can, try to corral some neighbors into having their own yard sale. A multi-home or neighborhood sale really drives in the traffic! If you market a neighborhood sale on Craigslist or in the paper, you will get many more customers than if you only have a one home sale.

4. Be Realistic
-Just because you had a special bond with your old Teddy Ruxpin or sentimental value because your husband's late grandmother gave you that bowl, your customers aren't going to share that sentimental value. Price something realistically, not what it's worth to you. If you aren't willing to part with something at a reasonable price, you'll probably regret getting rid of it anyway.

5. Sell Something Delicious
-Many states have restrictions for selling homemade goodies, so we sold Costco muffins, Costco cookies, and water at our last yard sale. My daughter stood in front of our house and sold these items (some people came just to buy from the cute little girl) and made a profit of $40 once we took out the cost of supplies!
*A tip on this one...have an adult handle the money and teach your child to pick things up using tongs and not their hands. No one wants food that's been manhandled, then touched with the same hands that have been touching money!

What are your favorite Yard Sale tips?? Please share!

Join us for more money saving tips and recipes in the Save Money, Live Joyfully Facebook Community.

Daily Organization: Streamlining

Since finding out our baby has some special needs and will need many doctor's appointments in the foreseeable future, I realized I needed to streamline my days. Something I should have done before I had to! This simple system can be helpful for any busy, on-the-go family. Enter my trusty binder.

In this binder I have put everything I may need throughout the day.

I have pens and pencils, and a small calculator (when my daughter hasn't taken it away to play with it!) inside the pouch.

The dividers have the different aspects to our everyday life.
-To Do List
-Monthly Calendars (usually 2-3 months worth)
-Weekly Menu and Shopping List
- Phone Numbers and Notes
-I also have a tab for "extra paper", just because I'm weird and it messes up my mojo if everything in the notebook doesn't have it's own tab =)

On the To Do List, I write down the date, and everything I want to accomplish that day, and any pertinent appointments. Even simple things like "unload the dishwasher" or "feed the fish". Sometimes our days are so hectic that I'll forget to take a shower if I don't write it down!

Monthly Calendars are there to write down any and all scheduled appointments, get-togethers, deadlines or activities.

My Weekly Menu and Shopping List is a simple template in which I write down all my breakfasts, lunches, and dinners planned for the week with any ingredients I may need to purchase. On another page, I keep a running shopping list of any household things we may be in need of. I have also included a pantry inventory in here, so I can know what non-perishables I have to use that week, or what I need to restock.

Phone Numbers and Notes is a convenient place to put any important information I may need to access quickly. Since we are dealing with several different doctors and offices, it is always good to have this reference page on hand.

This is a simple and streamlined family notebook, that helps me be more efficient and make better use of my time. Hopefully, you can make use of it as well!

Read my other organizational tips.
Come Join Our Facebook Community!

When Your To-Do List Sabotages Your Joy...

I love lists. I love spreadsheets. I will create lists just for the sake of creating lists. Something inherently orderly about lists. They make me happy. On the flip side, while I crave routine, order, and organization, it takes a real intentional effort on my part to get into that mindset. Sometimes it seems like I spend more time creating my to-do lists than I do actually fulfilling them. Sometimes by the end of the day, I'll look at my to-do list in frustration, only to see the things that haven't yet been crossed off and ignoring all the other things I accomplished.

Most days it seems I go from making breakfast, cleaning up breakfast, to making lunch, cleaning up lunch, to making dinner...you get the idea. Most days I flounder about in the housekeeping department, playing catch-up with strewn about toys, errant kitchen utensils (why is my vegetable brush in the sandbox?), and trying to fit in a brief homeschooling lesson or two before I finally collapse on the couch in exhaustion.

And what does this have to do with to-do lists? I'm getting there. I promise!

At the end of every day when we look at our to-do lists, we're usually only concerned with one thing--output and production. I didn't get around to cleaning out the art closet again...fail. I didn't make the triple batch of meatballs I meant to...fail. My bathroom is still dirty, my dishes are still in the sink, and my baseboards have enough dust to engulf a small town. Triple Fail. But, I forget to remember that I had a fun day with my daughter. We did an art project and played outside. She gave me a kiss and said "I love you Mommy!" without any prompting. I talked to a friend on the phone and offered encouragement as she was struggling. We met my husband for lunch and had a nice conversation. None of these things make it on the to-do list, but they made my day what it was. Some things cannot be measured in terms of "accomplished", and we must learn to find the worth in those intangible moments of life.

Today, as you're making your to-do list for the day, leave a little space at the bottom for those little things that made your day fulfilling. Turning the "to-do's" into the "have dones" may give you the encouragement you need to realize that life is more important than crossing things off a list.

We'd love to have you visit our Facebook Community!

See My Post on Money Saving Mom!

 

I'm honored to have had the opportunity to guest post over on Crystal Paine's site, Money Saving Mom this morning. Crystal is among the premiere money saving bloggers in the country, and the author of The Money Saving Mom's Budget.

Head over to Money Saving Mom, and read my guest post entitled "6 Ways To Save Money (and your Sanity!) When Planning a Birthday Party."

Taming the Clutter--Magazines

I love getting magazines. Thanks to free subscriptions and subscriptions I've received for birthday and Christmas presents to my favorite reads, I always seem to be getting a new magazine issue in the mail. Most of the free magazines I flip through and recycle within a day or two, but my favorite magazines (mostly cooking related), I keep as reference in case I ever need to refer to a recipe or cooking tip.

Up until this month, three years worth of magazines (4 or 5 different titles) were "neatly" stored in a bookshelf at the back of the closet. I had over 200 magazines taking up precious storage room. So, I had to find a way to keep the recipes and articles I wanted while decluttering.

Enter the glorious binder.

If I could have a binder for every part of my life, I would. I love having everything in one place and so beautifully organized...ahhhhh. It's the same feeling I get when I open a brand new box of unsullied-tipped crayons.

I went through every single magazine (I was on bed rest at this point in my pregnancy, so I had plenty of time), and tore out the articles and recipes I wanted to keep. I only kept recipes I knew I would make. Homemade mozzarella cheese, as fun as that sounds, is probably not going to make it's way into my kitchen anytime soon.

While sorting through the magazines I put all the pages into categories. Breakfast Recipes, Lunch Recipes, Dinner Recipes, etc...Kitchen Tips, Kid Activities and Crafts, Beauty and Fashion...the list goes on. Since I had such a backlog of magazines, one whole binder was dedicated to recipes.

I used page protectors (very inexpensive at Target), and placed the recipes back to back so I could flip through them easily. I categorized them with Breakfast Recipes being in the front, and Dessert in the back, and everything in between. I left some empty page protectors in between each section to add more recipes as I get more magazines.

Now, my magazine reading routine has changed as well. I read them promptly and save any applicable articles or recipes while recycling the rest. This eliminates the paper clutter and allows me to use more binders!

How do you tame paper clutter? Let us know in the comments!

Join the Save Money, Live Joyfully Facebook Community.

What to Have on Hand in Case of Emergency...Household Supplies

In light of the recent hurricanes and black out, last week I suggested what kinds of Food Items you should have on hand in case you should ever encounter some sort of unforeseen situation that may cut your power or water. Today, I'll be suggesting some household things to have on hand.

In case of natural disaster, you may not have power or water, and your access to stores may be limited as well. (In addition to the supply of said stores.) To avoid any panic, here are some things to store in case of an emergency.

• Flashlights and Battery Operated Lanterns
• This is obvious. But, get a crank flashlight as well, since it never needs batteries. Don't rely on one single flashlight, make sure you have extras.
• Extra Batteries
• Again, obvious, but make sure you have enough batteries, in several sizes, to ensure whatever you need will be working.
• Battery Powered Radio
• You will want to listen to the news for any official updates
• First Aid Kit
• You can purchase pre-made first aid kits at Target or Walmart
• Gas Grill or Camping Stove
• If you have a charcoal or propane grill, you should be able to cook, or at least heat up food. If you don't have a grill, or your grill is hooked up to the natural gas of the house, you may want to invest in a camping stove so you will have a way to cook. If you have a propane grill, make sure your propane is always close to full.
• Can Opener for Food
• That would be the ultimate "oops"; having a supply of canned foods, but no way to open them.
• Matches or Stick Lighter
• These come in handy in plenty of situations
• Generator
• This would be a long-term investment, but the ability to power your refrigerator during a blackout could save you hundreds of dollars in food.
• Wet Wipes
• Just because you don't have any water, doesn't mean your kids will not need to get cleaned up!
• Extra Blankets or Battery Powered Fans
• Depending on what season you're in, you will either need to remain warm or cool, without the use of a heater or air conditioner
•  Items of Comfort for Children
• Emergencies can be a very scary time for a child. Make sure you provide for their emotional needs by remaining calm, and assuring them. Make sure they have a favorite book or stuffed animal to keep them from panicking. 
• Extra Supply of Diapers, Wipes, Formula, or Baby Food
• I'm not quite sure what I would do if I was on my last diaper when an earthquake hit...and I don't want to find out!
• Games, Deck of Cards, Books, Etc.
• Not a necessity, but you will be bored if you have to go without power for anything length of time.
•  An Emergency Plan
• Determine how you would contact loved ones in case of an emergency. Determine meeting places or places of shelter in case a family member is not home at the time. Make sure your entire family knows this plan.

Hopefully, you will never have to use these items, but in the case of an earthquake, tornado, black out, or any other emergency, you will be prepared.  

Want to Learn More? Join the Save Money, Live Joyfully Facebook Community.

What To Have On Hand For Emergencies--Food

The last several weeks have been filled with news about power outages. Between the power outages caused by Hurricane Irene on the East Coast, and the widespread power outage affecting several million homes in Southern California, Arizona, and Mexico, I got to thinking about how prepared we are for emergencies. In this series, I'm going to cover supplies and products that will make your life easier in case an emergency were to affect you and your family.

Q. Why should I prepare for an emergency or natural disaster?
A: Because it's called an emergency for one reason...you can't predict it. Planning helps to alleviate stress and create calmness if an emergency does occur.

Q: In case of emergency, I'll just go to the grocery store. Why should I store food?
A: Not necessarily. During the power outage in Southern California, gas stations were closed, and grocery stores had to turn away customers because they didn't have power to perform transactions. During Hurricane Irene, store shelves were cleared of food and water days before the storm was expected to hit. In addition, keeping up a stockpiling by purchasing during sales, you avoid having to pay full price in the future.

Q: How should I store food? I don't want to invest in food and end up throwing it away!
A: This kind of follows the rules of Stockpiling. You should have on hand a supply of non-perishables, which your family will use, and use them as you normally would. Just make sure to always replenish your stock, and use the oldest product first. This way, you will always have products on hand, but won't have to worry about wasting them.

Q: How is an emergency kit different than a survival kit?
A: I'm talking about emergency stockpiles right now, not survival stockpiles. Emergency kits should be sufficient to last your family a week or two after a natural disaster, when you know things like power, water, and natural gas will be restored soon. Survival kits are for worst case scenario, when your family may have to survive months or years without those luxuries.

Q: What kinds of food should I have on hand in case of natural disaster or power outage?
A: Assuming you do not have a generator keeping your refrigerator cold (though that may be a long-term investment you should consider if you live in regions that often have natural disasters), you will want to have items that are non-perishable, or don't have to be refrigerated. Remember that in case of a power outage, you need to keep the refrigerator door closed, to avoid food spoilage.

• Some foods to have on hand include: 
• Canned Tuna and individual mayonnaise packets (you won't be able to store an open jar of mayo safely.) 
• Granola Bars and other non-perishable snack foods, such as crackers
• Peanut Butter (doesn't need to be refrigerated, while other nut butters do.)
• Canned or Jarred Fruit
• Dried Fruit
• Nuts or Trail Mix
• Bottled Water
• Juice Boxes
• If you have a gas grill or camping stove, you should also include:
• Dried Rice and Pasta (boil water on the grill or stove)
• Canned Soups
• Canned Beans
• Other Supplies:
• Paper plates (During emergencies, water is often under a "boiling order", which would make washing dishes very difficult.)
• Plastic Utensils and Paper Napkins or Paper Towels
• Plastic Cups

Next time, we'll discuss the household supplies you'll want to keep on hand in case of emergency.

Simple Cleaning Tips...Kitchen

If you're anything like me, the kitchen become the catch-all room. As aggravating as it is, the kitchen just attracts stuff. At any given time my kitchen counters will house coupons, magazines, I think there may even be a screwdriver on there right now.

But, I hate to clean. I mean, I really, really hate cleaning. My dear, her-home-is-spotless mother has always given me one cleaning tip: "If you get something out, put it away." I have tried to live by this rule, and it really does make things easier. A little preventative cleaning every day will save you a ton of cleaning later!

Here are a few easy, decluttering cleaning tips for the "heart of the home".

• Get a basket for every room, including the kitchen. If misplaced items accumulate in a different room during the day (think mail, toys, books, etc.), place them in the basket. Empty the basket and put the misplaced items in their place at the end of every day.
• Wipe down the counters after every meal. Coming downstairs to a dirty counter just starts the day off on the wrong foot.
• Make cleaning the kitchen a part of your routine. Spend 5 minutes a couple times a day picking up. I spend 5 minutes after breakfast, 5 minutes after I prep dinner, and 5 minutes after my little one goes to bed to put away misplaced items, clean off the countertops, sweep the floors, and make sure the dishwasher is either set to run, or emptied if already run
• When you cook, clean as you go. As a habit before you start cooking, run a sink of soapy water. When you're done with each meal prep item, put it in the sink. Wash and rinse, or rinse and put in the dishwasher as soon as you're done. 
• Organize your cooking tools. As much as you thought you were going to use that melon baller, you probably don't use it as much as you think. Instead, place all your common utensils (spatulas, wooden spoons, tongs, ladles, etc.) in an easy to navigate drawer, and put the rest of your not-so-common utensils in a bag in the cabinet, or the pantry.

By spending just a few minutes every day keeping your kitchen tidy, you will save yourself from having to clean up a huge mess in the future.

How to Plan A Menu--Making Meal Categories

There are literally millions of recipes out there. No wonder planning a menu can be stressful. Where do you even start?! Well, when it comes to recipes, a little organization goes a long way. By making one meal from a different food genre every day, you'll avoid repeat meals, and narrow down your choices, making the menu planning process go much faster.

Decide What Food Categories Your Family Likes.
Here are some ideas.

• Mexican
• Italian
• Asian/Stir Fry
• BBQ/Grilled
• Casseroles
• Pizza
• Sandwiches
• Soups
• Main Dish Salads
• Beef
• Pork
• Chicken
• Fish
• Vegetarian
• 30 Minute Meals
• Slow Cooker

When I sit down to plan my menu on Saturdays, I choose 6 categories for the week. Meal 7 is leftovers for us. You choose as many categories as you plan to cook at home that week. Once I have narrowed down my categories, I look through my recipes, and find recipes that fit the categories I've chosen.

Many recipes fit into several different categories, but the more broad the category, the longer it will take you to search for recipes. (A Google search for "chicken recipes" brought up 22 million results.)

I learn best with examples, so here's the idea when you're planning...
Meal 1-Mexican (Chicken Quesadillas with Black Beans and Green Salad)
Meal 2-Casserole (Chicken and Rice Casserole with Green Beans)
Meals 3&4-30 Minute Meals (BLTs with chips and fruit; Veggie Stir Fry over Noodles)
Meal 5-Fish (Broiled Fish over Rice with Steamed Veggies)
Meal 6-BBQ (Grilled Burgers with Chips and Coleslaw)

I look through my recipe binder for recipes that fit these categories. You can check out my Recipe Page for our Family Favorite recipes. I have also found the Allrecipes Ingredient Search to be helpful when searching for a particular ingredient. Once you've learned to plan a menu using categories, instead of spending hours poring through every cookbook you own searching for inspiration, you menu planning experience will go quicker and smoother.

Organization-Taming Paper Clutter

I love getting mail, but I don't love the clutter that it can create. After losing a bill or two, and seeing receipts strewn everywhere around the house, I realized I needed a system to control the clutter and get organized.

I purchased a 7 tier plastic tower at Walmart (I think they also sell these at Target), and armed with my trusty labelmaker, and advice of my organizing guru mother, I got to work. The bins in the tower are of varying sizes, so I made the smaller bins to hold smaller items such as Bills, Checks, and Stamps. For the larger bins, I made them to hold larger collections, such as recycle and shred paperwork. I also purchased a shredder to put right next to my tower.

*If you have small children, keep the shredder in a room with the door closed, and always leave the shredder unplugged and outlet covers in the outlet when not in use.*

Here are the labels I use for my tower:

• Checks and Stamps. I also put notecards with envelopes and pens in this bin.
• Bills. I put all my bills in here as they come in, and pay them on the 15th or as needed. 
• Coupons. I keep most of my coupons in a coupon binder in my car, but I put coupon inserts and printed coupons in here until I can sort through them. I also keep gift cards in this bin. 
• To File/Misc. This is for all that random paperwork that doesn't have a home, but needs to be kept. We have instruction booklets, mementos/photos I need to sort through before scrapbooking, and other random things like that. 
• Receipts. I try to update my budget every week or two, which includes inputting all my receipts into their proper spending category. To keep from losing receipts, I put them all in here, and sort them by account and category as I update my budget/spending.
• Shred. Anything with our names on it, such as junk mail, the labels on packages/magazines, and bank statement receipts need to be shredded. We empty out the shred bin once or twice a week. You would be amazed how many papers with personal information people just throw away!
• Recycle. Any paperwork that doesn't have your name on it, grocery ads you don't need, or old magazines can be recycled. We empty this out twice a week, right into the recycling bin in our yard. 

Before you can stay organized, you have to get organized. For me, this process started by eliminating the clutter that paperwork created. Every single day when the mail comes, I don't stack it on the counter or by the front door. I put everything in its appropriate bin as soon as it comes in. The two minutes this takes every day will save you hours later on.

Want More Tips? Join the Save Money, Live Joyfully Facebook Community! 

Planning a Menu Can Be Quick, Painless, and Easy! Part I

Grilled Fish Tacos with Cilantro Cream Sauce and Black Beans

When you plan a menu, the week seems to go smoother, you spend less on groceries, and you avoid the 5pm Empty-Stare-Into-The-Cabinet. But, real life often does not afford us an entire afternoon to plan our weekly menu, always coming up with new, exotic, and gourmet meal ideas. But, rotating the same 4 meals can get boring too. Here are some easy tips on getting you started making your own meal plans.

• Decide How Often You Want To Plan Your Menu
• Do you want to plan your menu a week out? Two weeks out? Once a month? The most common option is to plan a new menu every week, but I have seen people plan menus a month out with success. I prefer the flexibility of planning every week, but you need to figure out what works best for your lifestyle. 
• Get Organized
• I'm a binder person. I like to organize different aspects of my life into different binders. So, of course I have a recipe binder. I like to add full page recipe print-outs or magazine pages into page protectors. You can organize the recipes alphabetically, by meal (ie. breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc.), or by cuisine (chicken, salads, sides, etc.) The idea is to have all your recipes in one place so you can be more efficient on menu planning day.
• Make Planning a Menu Part of Your Routine
• For me, Saturdays are spent doing chores, (including planning my menu), and spending time with my family. Planning my menu is a "to-do", just like cleaning my bathrooms and mopping my floors. If you make it part of your routine, you won't accidentally forget to plan, and have to swing through the drive-thru Monday night.

Next week I'm going to discuss exactly how to go about planning your menu, with easy and fun tips to get the whole family involved!