Moms

How to Find Frugal Family Home Entertainment

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When the kids are home for summer it’s important to have home entertainment options that don’t cost a fortune. There are endless choices of expensive entertainment products. Some families add very expensive media rooms with movie theater technology. Parents can buy all the gaming systems, but every year there will be a new one to compete with your children’s attention. What’s really important with families isn’t the amount of money spent on entertainment, but are the family members actually having fun? Children and adults won’t laugh any more when spending a ton of money than when they play a free game. Playing games like tag don’t cost a penny and yet children will play it over and over, having a great time. I love streaming services for home entertainment, but the cost can really add up. Although you can add a cheap service like Netflix or Hulu, then you’ll be tempted to add others. Adding Disney+, and other plus channels is just the beginning. All the sports channels have added plus channels that cost more. After you add the new channels, there will be more that tempt the pocket-book. Board games are a very cheap form of home entertainment. The old classics like Monopoly can easily bring your family together, as you play an hours-long marathon game. Many games are interactive and physical, such as Twister. And, you can really customize your game cabinet to work with the tastes of your kids and spouse. If you don’t mind getting messy, your family can get a lot of entertainment by creating art. Art could be so many things: painting, drawing, sculpting, and crafts of all types. Buying canvas and paints, sculpting clay, jewelry making supplies, or sewing projects can get overwhelming. Arts and crafts can get very pricey, especially if you have the entire family participating. All you have to do is visit a craft store and see all of the supplies you’ll need to get creative to see how expensive it can be. What’s more entertaining than food? This can be a frugal idea, because you have to eat anyway, so why not make it entertaining? Make a lot of pizza dough and divide it into amounts so that everyone will get their own. Let everyone create their own pizza by adding the toppings that they like. This is an idea that helps children learn about cooking, ingredients, and the work it takes to create a meal. But, all they’ll know is that they had fun and loved eating a great pizza. All children love active entertainment. They love the freedom to take all the cushions off the couches and chairs and build a “fort”. Let them have blankets to connect the forts and they’ll have a large place to play make-believe. Young children can spend days living in their fort city. This is free entertainment as long as mom and dad don’t need the living room for guests. Old-school entertainment is always appropriate, but sometimes the family wants something a little more high tech. Video games and computer games will always be fun for every member of the family. And, there are games that all members will enjoy. Instead of spending money on tons of games, we like to play free games online. I love the simple games, like Minigolf World. I’m not that great at video games, but after a few tries I started getting the hang of it. It is a blast! The games for very young children are simple and cute. I like the Dot to Dot and Play Cute Shapes Game. Children are able to create little emoji shapes and can make them in various colors. There is even a camera icon so that they can take a picture and save it. The Bible Coloring Book is so neat and very easy to use. Kids can click on the color and then use it to color a scene from the Bible. An eraser is available to corrects mistakes. I love it! When you plan family entertainment, you’ll have more fun if you have been frugal because no one wants to pay the bills. I like to keep a list in my journal, so that I can keep bringing up fresh, new ideas for my family. @2021, copyright Lisa Ehrman

How To Find Modest Swimwear

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Sponsored post in partnership with Intellifluence and Lyra Swimwear. When a person can’t find what they want, they often decide to create what they need. A lady who couldn’t find modest swimwear that was good quality and comfortable, created her own. That’s how Lyra Swimwear was started. For women who are serious about finding complete coverage, modest swimwear, this brand will give them everything they need. Whatever the body type of a woman, these swim outfits can fit well and provide UV protection. There are also different levels of coverage for different women. Lyra Swim knows that some people want different coverage. So, they offer many styles. The outfits are made from the highest quality Italian fabric. There are styles for all types of activities. Some people like to relax on the beach and some want to swim. But, these suits move with you in athletic activities. The variety of swim pieces include: long-sleeved and short-sleeved tops, full leggings and cropped, long trousers, swim skirt, sarong, and kaftans. The accessories include: beautiful wet bags, swim caps, swim turbans, and swim hijabs. The swim wear comes in many lovely colors and elegant styles. The fabric is easy to care for. They recommend rinsing and washing in cold water, with no twisting or wringing. It’s best to hang dry out of the sun. If you’re looking for the ultimate modest swim wear, Lyra is a great place to shop. From swimsuits to cover-ups, they have everything for modest swim wear. @2021, copyright Lisa Ehrman

Quarantine Saving Habits That I Will Continue After

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The Coronavirus pandemic has changed every aspect of our life. But this health crisis has also made us more adaptable to the ever-evolving world. For me, being in lockdown has been both emotionally and mentally taxing. However, the quarantine life has taught me various lessons I consider worth preserving. I have developed a few useful habits that I don’t plan on changing even when things go back to normal. Living in quarantine has offered me an opportunity to reflect on my lifestyle and how I can improve it. One of the major aspects I have been working on during this time is my finances. I have always found saving to be extremely difficult. No matter how hard I try, I have always ended up with practically nothing in my bank account at the end of the month. Life in quarantine has helped me look at money differently. It has taught some of the best money lessons that I would like to share with you. So without further ado, let’s dive into the details. Money lessons quarantine life has taught me: The current health crisis has changed the spending habits of people all across the world. People are only buying what’s important. Spending is down everywhere other than grocery stores. This pandemic has made me realize how we live in a consumption-driven world. To balance my financial life, I need to learn how much is enough? Quarantine life has helped answer this question. Now I know I can live with less. Following are some of the best lessons the quarantine life has made me learn: Prioritize your future The last year has taught us that life is indeed uncertain. Saving for the future is more important than spending on non-essentials. According to the latest stats, a rise in American’s savings rate has been observed in quarantine. It has increased up to more than 30 percent in April 2020. America has not experienced this big of a surge in decades. People are worried about the current financial uncertainty. They are not shopping as much as they used to pre-pandemic. The uncertain atmosphere has forced them to preserve their cash which is one of the best money habits. Quarantine life has made money-saving an important part of my life. Preserving cash and cutting down unnecessary expenses is a great habit that I am planning to keep even after the current health crisis is over. Keeping an eye on your spending can improve your financial life when things start to get normal. The money saved can be used to build an emergency fund and to plan for an ideal post-retirement life. You can use the saved money to plan your dream vacation once the pandemic is over. Slowing down: Life in quarantine has made me learn it is okay to slow down for a bit. We work tirelessly all week long and on the weekends we want to join our friends at a bar or shop at a mall. Lockdown has deprived us of this luxury but for the most, it is a blessing in disguise. It has allowed us to slow down and enjoy those things we never had time for. Quarantine life has made me appreciate little things in life like curling up on the couch, watching a movie, or reading a book. I have learned I don’t need to be hustling or partying at all times. My perspective on what’s important has changed.  I have learned a lot about myself. I am prioritizing my mental and physical health and exploring what brings me more happiness. I have learned, there are various ways to be happy other than spending money such as: Rearranging furniture Reading a book Making art Calling a friend Helping out someone in need I have replaced retail therapy with these habits. I am not spending a lot on drinks or junk food. It has made me feel better physically, emotionally, and financially. Learning how much is enough Quarantine life has made me realize how much is enough and the things I can easily do without. I have realized I have been spending hundreds of dollars on things I don’t even need. For example, I have been paying hundreds of dollars for the gym when I can stay healthy by running outside. I don’t need to buy multiplex tickets every weekend when I can stream movies at home. Cooking is easy and fun. I don’t need to order food or dine at a fancy restaurant every week. Quarantine life has made me more financially aware. It has given me a more clear view of my finances and where most of my money is going. I have reevaluated my goals and shifted my focus completely towards: Putting away extra cash Sticking to a budget Working on building a financial future Although there are a lot of factors involved, getting these right is critical for achieving long-term financial success. Working from home The majority of the companies have gone remote during the Coronavirus pandemic. People are working from home. Access to groundbreaking technology has made that possible. I have found out I am more productive while working at home. It is also a financially viable option for me as I don’t have to commute to work every day. I have more time to have a proper breakfast and work out. Working from home has made me realize I can run a business from home. Now that I have more time, I am working on that. Now I know where to invest money to grow my capital. Bulk shopping for grocery I used to shop for grocery items at least three times a week before the lockdown was imposed. Quarantine life has reduced my grocery store visits. Now I bulk shop for groceries every once in ten days. Reducing the number of grocery store trips has also helped me save money. I am going to keep this money-saving habit post-crisis for sure. Using coupons and promo codes In March 2020, most … Read more

Printable Cards for Mother’s Day

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Mother’s Day is a day filled with traditions. We are so eager to give our moms something that will show them how much we care. Young children love to create their own cards for Mother’s Day. These memorable cards are saved by mom’s everywhere, because they cherish these creations produced with love. The rest of us usually purchase cards at the store. There are fabulous cards available and the costs are high. It’s not unusual to pay 5-6-or 7 dollars for a pretty Mother’s Day card. This is fine, but that’s really pricy. I’ve created some beautiful Spring notecards that can be used for Mother’s Day, birthdays, or perfect thank-you notes. These lovely cards can be printed on your home printer. If you use white cardstock, they will look very nice. Another tool that will make your cards look professionally designed is to use a Paper Trimmer. I’ve used one like this for at least a decade and it makes clean cuts. You may have one of these at home, too. My cards are printed on regular size paper (8.5 x 11). There are 2 cards per page. After printing, you just cut the paper in half to get the two cards. Then they are folded to place in these Envelopes. I’ve made some Mother’s Day Printables. I love to create printables and I want to offer them to you for free, as a Mother’s Gift for you. These are Christian printables, and I hope that you will enjoy them. @2021, copyright Lisa Ehrman

15 Books Christian Moms Need for Mother’s Day

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Affiliate Link Included. Mother’s Day is coming soon and I always look forward to it. It’s a day to celebrate my greatest calling in life. This is a day when I get treated by my family. I don’t cook on Mother’s Day, so I enjoy getting to go out to a restaurant, getting taken out, or letting my kids prepare a meal. What’s your favorite thing about this day. I’ve been a mother for 39 years, and my favorite thing is the love of my family. Mothers don’t always have much time, because we’re so busy. When children are small, there is no time for relaxing. We seem to be chasing children day and night. As they grow older, we seem to live in the car. I loved taking my children to many activities. When they leave home, I always am planning my next trip to visit them. I always spent much of my spare time reading books. When my children were very young, I would read about breastfeeding, baby personalities and sleep habits, and nutrition. As they got older I read tons of books about child development, learning, and homeschooling. I continued reading tons of books about homeschooling, learning styles, and teenagers. When I could, I loved reading books that were devotionals or Christian living books. Now, I’m free to read anything that interests me. I love reading Christian living books, clean romances, and historical books. There are so many great books out there, and I’m sure I’ll never be able to read all the ones that I would like. I even started a book blog so that I could review clean and family-friendly books to share with my readers. I would like to share with you some of the books that I think are perfect for a mom who is serious about her Christian calling. Although I’ve read many of these books, I haven’t read them all. I’ve heard quite a few of the authors speak at conventions and they were tremendous! One book I actually wore out from using it so much, “The Power of a Praying Parent”. It was such a blessing. What are the books that you’ve loved reading as a mom? Do you have one that you’d love to recommend? Please share it with us in the comments. I love to read another great mom book! @2026, copyright Lisa Ehrman – updated

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