Guest Posts Archives - Page 5 of 5

Save Time and Money with a Supermarket Pick-Up Service

Having someone else do your grocery shopping? It sounds like a major luxury . . . right?

Instead of spending time alone or with small children in the supermarket, a friendly person takes care of your whole order and even packs it neatly into your car when you arrive to pick it up.

Even if the idea is appealing, you may be reluctant to try out a service that sounds pricey. However, our family actually saves time and money by occasionally using our supermarket’s pick-up service.

Read the rest of my recently-published blog post on Money Saving Mom, one of the largest personal finance blogs and one I’ve been reading for years!

Want to Save Money on Your Kid’s College Tuition? Don’t Pay It

“Have you started saving for college?” a co-worker whispered apprehensively when I announced my first pregnancy at the office. The question wasn’t unreasonable — even though my kid will be in the graduating class of 2037 . . .

Do you wonder how you’ll ever foot the bill? Try this concept on for size:

Don’t pay for college.

Grab your smelling salts. You can absolutely do it.

My parents were educated beyond college and wholeheartedly believe in the importance of higher education. Still, while they offered to pay for room and board for their five kids, they gave us the responsibility of handling the rest of the bill.

At the end of the day, we all managed to enter excellent college and graduate programs, land great jobs and do it all with little or no debt.

Here’s how you can help your kids do the same . . .

Read the rest of my recently-published blog post on The Penny Hoarder, the world’s largest personal finance blog with more than 8 million readers!

How to Jump-Start Your Morning Productivity

Do you look around in a daze by noon wondering where on earth your day has gone?

So much of having a productive morning is about setting yourself up for success the night before. Hit the ground running each day by incorporating these eight practices into your nighttime routine: [Read more…]

Why I Spent $3,975 on Laser Eye Surgery

I didn’t get laser eye surgery to save money . . . I chose to spend almost $4,000 on a surgery I didn’t really need to enhance the quality of my life, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Still, I kept my Penny Hoarding wits about me. Here are six ways I saved on the procedure . . .

Read the rest of my recently-published blog post on The Penny Hoarder, the world’s largest personal finance blog with more than 8 million readers!

10 Ways I’m a Failure According to Mommy Blogs

The mommy blogs are silently judging me.

I feel their condemnation every time I scan through pictures of the cool moms’ color-coordinated lives, perpetually clean children, and hyper-organized homes.

There are some things that are just part of motherhood, according to these blogs, and no one bats an eye to question that. No more! I’m not ashamed to admit that I fail to meet these ten “basic” requirements for life as a mom . . .

Read the rest of my recently-published blog post on Parent Co!

Letting Go of Clutter

Clutter is the enemy of an organized home. It manifests itself in piles of mystery stuff that grow and spread, but the impact doesn’t end there. The physical refuse of your life also costs you time, money, fun, and sanity.

Consider these eight reasons to lose the clutter that’s choking your space and your life:

You waste time looking for things.

How much time have you spent trying to find your keys, your kid’s permission slip, that shampoo you could swear you just purchased, your left shoe, or any number of other things? Clutter is not just an organizational annoyance but a major time suck as well. You have plenty you want to accomplish with your time. Going on a frantic scavenger hunt for your belongings probably isn’t on the list. [Read more…]

Hacking Your “System” of Paper Piles

Are you one of those people who carefully creates a “system” of paper piles throughout your house? Maybe you’ve got thirty distinct mountains of papers in your office, a stash of incoming mail on your coffee table, or some unpaid (or overdue!) bills on your kitchen counter. If you’re using your paper piles to remind you to do things — pay those bills, write a letter, try a recipe, and more — your system probably isn’t really working . . . and your house might be getting pretty cluttered!

Check out my recent guest blog post, “Hacking Your ‘System’ of Paper Piles,” on Dumb Little Man to find solutions to the problems created by your piles of paper!