Save A TON Of Cash!

Hey Everyone, I have something really exciting to share with you today. Thanks to my awesome friend Malea, I've found a great new place to buy all my healthy organic pantry foods, like coconut oil, gluten free flours, grains, pastas, ect. In the past I've always used Amazon Prime because I just love the convenience of having it shipped to my house AND the free two day shipping. Sooooo, now I've found this incredible new website that essentially offers the same thing but WAY cheaper than Amazon. 

I just placed my first order at Thrive Market and my total came out to be $114.31. Then I went to Amazon and added the EXACT products to my cart to see what the difference in price would be. My Amazon order would have cost me $236.65!!!! 

Can you believe that? Wow, I had no idea I was losing so much money over the years buying these products on Amazon. So of course I'm now a yearly member of Thrive Market. They do have a membership fee like most wholesale companies (Costco). It's $60 for the year, but I pretty much paid for that in my first order. The fine print when comparing directly to Amazon is that the free shipping only applies to orders over $49, and it takes a day or two longer to ship. So, to me it's worth waiting a little longer for my shipment to arrive and I usually spend at least $50 bucks every time I shop on Amazon anyway, so that won't be a problem.

They also have a cool affiliate program. Every time you refer anyone then you get $25. So please use the link I've provided so I can get credit for referring you. Thank you:)...

Here are all the things I purchased just now on Thrive Market. (Note: These are screen shots of my shopping cart, so they are not clickable.)

I'm really excited about the Mighty Maca Greens. I've recently learned how amazing this stuff is. And it was $20 cheaper on Thrive Market. It's a great superfood powder you can add to your smoothies. Maca is grown high in the Andes mountains, at the highest elevation of any food plant in the world. I've read that it has energy lifting and mood enhancing qualities. Also known to improve hormone balanced and libido. We shall see *wink *wink.

So if you're anything like me, then you are just as excited as I am to have found a one stop shop for all these a amazing name brand organic health foods at a fraction of the cost! Now it is cheaper an ever to eat healthy.

Don't forget to enter my $100 GIVEAWAY!!!

52 Weeks of Balance

Introducing the new Wanna Be Balanced Planner!!!
Here are all the details on how these binders work, please feel free to email me if you have any questions or requests.
crystal@wannabebalanced.com

This binder was made for the desperate housewife, striving to find balance among the constant chaos of motherhood.   You'll be compiling 52 weeks of meal plans, grocery lists, activities to do with your kids, house projects and more.   It comes with 3 full months and you'll be able to buy additional months as you go.  
Go HERE if you'd like to purchase one.

What you'll get:

• 52 Weekly overviews, with a "To Do" list provided for each day (notice there are only a few lines, this will keep your day simple without making you feel like you have too much to do).

• 2 markers, one permanent, and one wet erase.

• The first 3 months of meal plans and grocery lists (you can buy each additional month for $8)

I've tried several times to have weekly menu's complete with grocery lists, but have failed more often than not. So I decided to make REUSABLE ones, a full years worth. That way I’ll never have to do it again! I figured it may take some time to put it together but in the long run it will save me time AND money. These meal plans include breakfast, lunch, and dinner, making meal time much less time consuming.  I'm going to compile these all, and add as much variety as possible for a whole year. I’ve noticed I’m spending less time and money at the grocery store and used up EVERYTHING I bought. I've found that sometimes I get a little too ambitious with eating healthy and buy all this fresh produce without any real plans of what I'm going to make.  They usually just end up going bad before I get the chance to eat them.  A little preparation goes a long way. Also, I've been really bad with the whole breakfast and lunch thing for the kids. They usually have the same thing every day, and it's all due to my lack of planning. So now I'm excited to be introducing more variety into their diet. You'll notice I don't share entire recipes for most of these. This is what google is for.  I do this ALL the time now. For example, steak, if you're looking for a good marinade, just google "steak marinade" and see what pops up, and what ingredients you already have, or just add it to the grocery list. So simple!

• Over 25 different activity ideas to do with your kids.

Before we go any further, I must tell you that I am half OCD half ADD :)  Well, not really but I'd like to think so.  At least it'd give us all some kind of explanation to this madness.  Creating these 52 weeks will cure my sickness I think.  If I have something new to do and eat each day, then perhaps it will take the monotony out of the daily motherhood grind.  I'm really bad about taking the time to do fun activities with the kids. My problem is simply lack of planning and idea's.  I've realized that if I just plan ahead a bit, then each day I can dedicate at least an hour or so spending quality time with my kids doing something creative and fun. I'm going to provide a list of four activities each week. You can plan them on days that fit your schedule by adding an activity from the list to your weekly overview. These activities may not be age appropriate for your kids, but at least you'll have something to go by.  Most of these activities fit ages 2-8.

Here is a list of the first 4 weeks of meal plans and activities to give you an idea of what they look like.

Week #1

Week #2

Week #3               

Week #4

• A reusable list of house projects.

I've put together a list of house chores in order to get things done one project at a time. Pick ONE thing from the list and work on it over the course of the week. Thinking about all the things you need to do around the house can be quite overwhelming, we all know that the list of house projects is NEVER ending. Not only do we have constant dishes and laundry to keep up on, we also have to periodically do things like, organizing drawers and closets, getting rid of old stuff, cleaning out the car and so on.

The key is to not give yourself TOO much to do on any given day, that's why my goal is to pick only ONE item from the list. Give yourself an allotted amount of time each day, even if it's only 15 min. Set aside that time to tackle those chores one at a time.



Monthly
I've come up with a small monthly list  that consists of only 4 things. You can obviously make your own, but here is my list if you need an example. I figure I can do ONE a week.

• Have a girls night! Go to dinner to catch up on all the girl talk, or go see a chick flick.
• Plan a daddy daughter date or mommy daughter date. This will give Sean and I some special alone time with each child to do something fun.
• Do some kind of service project and have Lily be a part of it. I want to teach her about the joy of serving others. For example, take someone dinner, offer to watch your neighbors kids, run an errand for a friend who's sick, you get the idea.
• Get together with another couple. I've realized that once you start a family you begin to see your friends less and less. So, I figured I can make an effort to stay connected with friends by planning a double date, or inviting them over for dinner or BBQ once a month.

Daily
I know some of you might be MAJORLY against having a daily schedule, but you have to keep in mind that having a daily schedule does NOT mean you have to stick to it perfectly everyday.  Like I said before, it's just there to be your guide. You've got to PLAN when you're going to work out, PLAN when doing an activity with your kids will work for everyone, and PLAN when you're going to have special alone time to ponder, pray, study, meditate, whatever it is that helps you grow spiritually. Planning out your day just ensures that you'll have the time to do all the things you hope to.  Things to consider:  naps, school, homework, sports events, ect.  I posted my daily schedule a while back, you can see it HERE if you'd like. Also, I understand that each day is different, so just do the best you can.

•  A reusable daily planner where you can jot down your routine, just designate certain times of the day you plan to do the important things.

Marriage
Contrary to popular belief, having a healthy marriage is a HUGE part of staying in balance. When the wife aint happy, nobodies happy, and the wife aint happy when she's failing to make her marriage a priority.  I admit, I'm guilty of forgetting about my husbands needs, and I'm not just talking about sex, although we all know that plays a MAJOR role in a mans happiness.  Men are such simple beings. They have only 3 major needs. To be appreciated, food in the tummy, and sex. As apposed to us women who have.. oh gosh,  I can't even count, let's just not even go there.
So my goal here is to be sure to plan a weekly date night, as well as focus on some things I can do to let my husband know I appreciate him.  I heard somewhere that when you're taking the time to serve  one another in your marriage, your less likely to be so critical of each other.

More on this coming soon!

Excercise

I've got quite a few ideas as far as work out routines go, and like I mentioned before, I have a slight case of ADD, so I do really well when I continually mix things up :)

More on this coming soon!

Purchase your planner HERE!


And a BIG Thank you to Natalie @Nattie Sue Designs for designing the templates for me.

Wanna BE Debt FREE?

We all come from different financial backgrounds. Some grow up learning healthy spending habits, and others, like me, learn that SAVING..... isn’t an option. I learned that you work hard to make money, and SPEND it ALL as fast as possible. My dad was a very hard worker, and taught me well when it came to work ethics, but as far as spending habits......well, that's another story, and I'm about to tell you about it.

As soon as I hit 18 and graduated high school, I was anxious to set out for a whole new life of independence, with little education on finances. I moved out to Arizona with my best friend, and wanted to experience it all. Started school, got the apartment, furniture, new car, new clothes. Oh yah, I was livin it up….

On CREDIT! Teenagers should NOT be allowed to have credit cards, DANGEROUS combination.

My new FAVORITE movie in the whole world is Confessions of a Shopaholic. This movie is all too familiar for me. I put together a little clip of my favorite parts in the movie that best describes how naive I was at this age, it's freaky how much I can relate.

Credit cards, better known as "magic cards"............. stores "awakening a lust for things you never even knew you needed".............. and justifying spending, by labeling it as,

"AN INVESTMENT".

Okay, so back to my story about how I was livin it up.

Well, it wasn’t long until the credit card debt caught up to me, and I was paying minimum payents on multiple credit cards. I felt the weight of debt on my shoulders daily, causing me WAY too much stress.

I was always working two jobs to get caught up. I had my car payment, insurance, rent, food, gas, ect. But at that point it was too late. After only a year living on my own, I was in way over my head with debt exceeding $20,000. I had no choice but to quit school and move back home.

Completely clueless that paying the minimum payment on credit cards was a BAD thing....

I was thinking about serving an LDS mission, but one of the requirements was to be debt free. So, I sold my car, worked 2 jobs, and started taking the BUS everywhere. It was a tough lesson to learn, but eventually I got the debt paid off, HUGE relief, and I was ready for my mission.

Missions are a lot of work, with long exhausting days, but I enjoyed a financially stress free life. No bills to worry about, just a monthy budget to cover food and what ever else we NEEDED. It was such a simple life now when I look back.

So when I got home I thought, NOW I am ready in every way to take on life. I thought there was no way I was going to screw up again. I tried to keep things in perspective and only buy what I NEEDED like I learned on my mission. Pretty soon I found myself falling back into the same trap, and my WANTS became needs. I was lucky enough to get a job right away when I got home, so I immediately bought a car, got a cell phone and a credit card. I’m not sure how it happened AGAIN, but only 5 months after being home, my credit card debt was up to $5,000. Wasn’t quite as bad as before, but the stress of it was back full force. You’d think I would have learned my lesson the first time, right! Sometimes it takes a few times of screwing up before we get it through our heads. Luckily I met my husband at that point and he saved me from MYSELF. So, in other words, MARRY RICH :) haha, thanks honey for paying my debt for me. Unfortunately, my $5,000 of debt was all I had to bring to the table :)

“When we go into debt, we give away some of our precious, priceless agency and place ourselves in self-imposed servitude. We obligate our time, energy, and means to repay what we have borrowed- resources that could have been used to help ourselves, our families, and others…”

-Robert D. Hales

My husband was brought up learning much better spending habits than I ever did. Which in fact caused us to butt heads a lot in the beginning. My husband wants to save EVERYTHING, and I want to SPEND IT ALL. It took us a few years, but we’ve come to a happy medium. I’m much better at budgeting and saving, because I have a monthly budget. I now use a debit card, not a credit card, bounced a few checks here and there.

I still wonder why the bank clerk is so confused when I try paying my overdraft fee with a check from the same checking account :) .............hmmmmm.

I'm learning.

And as for Sean, he’s learning to SPEND a little and enjoy more, like go on vacations even if it costs money:), only if we HAVE the funds of course. I always tell him that he can be in charge of the saving, and I’ll be happy to take on the VERY tough responsibility of spending.

I’ve actually really learned to enjoy saving money any way I can. Not so I can stash it away in a savings account, hah, yeah right, but so I can SPEND more. Like I said, I leave that up to Sean :)

“We need to understand the consequences of buying on credit and not living within a budget. “

“ Meals prepared and eaten at home generally cost less, are healthier, and contribute to stronger relationships.”

-Julie B. Beck

Five Steps to financial freedom

First, pay tithing/donate.

Second, spend less than you earn.

Third, learn to save.

Fourth, teach children to follow your example.

-Joseph B. Wirthlin

Don't forget to enter my giveaway HERE. We're giving away a FREE acne clearing kit. To see my before and after pics, go HERE.

Enjoy Financial Freedom:

• Watch how we were introduced to Isagenix, and now enjoy a debt free life:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRaW8M-jYmU
  
• Supplemental Home Based Business Opportunity:http://www.cleansefreedom.com/

Home Decor Deals!!!

The other day I went to Hobby Lobby, and it is now my new favorite store!!! I love all this wrought iron stuff, and I usually shop at Rod Works or Tai Pan. Hobby Lobby had THE best deals. All this stuff I bought was 50% off. Each week they have different items on sale as well as a coupon you can use on any regular price item. Just click on the highlighted Hobby Lobby and that link will bring you directly to the weekly deals page.

I got these for $12 each

I got this lamp for $35

I got this for $35

These are my favorites! I got them for $6 each, and I bought a few other sets to put in different parts of the house. I really love the look, really adds a lot to a plain space.

Just wanted to share with you these awesome deals!!! All the stuff I bought is 50% off this week, and next week it will be something else. Be sure to go to the site I linked and print off your 40% off coupon, and find a location nearest you. You can even shop online which is nice. It's not always easy going to this kind of store with kids, so shopping online can be quite convenient for us moms.

Spring Forward

Don't ya just LOVE spring!!!

I've been working my way around the house pursuing the yearly SPRING CLEANING. Cleaned my car out, swept out all the accumulated leaves and dirt in the garage, cleaned the basement, going through old clothes and toys, getting RID of stuff. I feel an overload with STUFF everywhere, toys, gadgets, clothes, ect. SIMPLIFY is the word going through my head as I weed through the piles and piles of unnecessary things we tend to collect over time. It seems like such a daunting task at first, but the results are so refreshing.

A while back I took a friends advice to pack away a huge box of toys for about 6 months or so. It was AMAZING what happened. I pulled out this box as I was packing for our trip, and threw a bunch of the old toys in a suitcase. The excitement my daughter had when I unloaded them on our trip was just priceless. She had completely forgotten about ALL the toys. It gave me that same giddy feeling I get when I save money. We usually buy a few new toys before trips for the kids to have something fun to entertain themselves while in the hotel room, plane ride, or car ride. So, in reality, I DID save money. My husband and I were secretly laughing feeling as though we'd fooled them into thinking we went out and bought them new toys :)

I have a new rule that I've been following for about a year now. I learned it from Peter Walsch from the TLC show, Clean Sweep. He says, "When you talk about 'spring-cleaning,' it really makes it an event rather than a process, I'm much more a fan of the concept that spring-cleaning or organizing is something you have to tackle in a little way every day."

That is exactly what I've been doing over the past year. He advises to get rid of an item every time you buy something new. I've found this to be VERY helpful and has kept the clutter to a minimum, in my closet that is, haven't quite been as diligent when it comes to the toys. We have an older home so unfortunately it didn't come with many walk in closets. I think its been a good thing though, because I believe that the more space you have, the more stuff you buy to FILL the space. When you have TOO much stuff, you eventually forget about it or where you once placed it, and end up buying the same items over and over. Now each time I buy a new article of clothing I find an old one I don't wear much anymore and stash it away in a bin. Once the bin is full, I either donate them, give them to my sisters, or I've even taken them to PLATO's CLOSET a few times. I walked away with $40 cash once!!! That was pretty exciting!

So, as I was cleaning out and sifting through everything I realized that I need to start doing this with the toys as well.

I went through the entire house and made groups of toys.

Do you think Lily has enough babies?

I don't think she'd want this many in REAL life so WHY so many dolls???. It's totally unnecessary, so I'm getting rid of some and packing up at least half and storing it away for about a year.

hmmmmm, maybe it can be her Christmas this year :)

Everytime Sean goes to the store he buys Oliver a new ball. I think he's got enough now but Sean doesn't seem to think so :)

In the process of my spring cleaning, I came across this purse that I LOVE, bought it last spring, only used it for a few months,

then of course had to buy a new one for the fall :)

and now it's spring again, so I felt like I needed a NEW one.

I spent $90 on the first one, but have come to terms with the fact that it will probably just sit in my closet and never get used again. Changing purses is fun, and I know I'll keep finding one I like more each season. So, what I thought I'd do, was offer it to one of you! I will make it a giveaway!!! I'll keep this going until the 1st of May.

By the way, I got the white and maroon purse from this awesome Boutique I love, you can go to my friends facebook page, see pictures of what she has right now, and ask her where the next open house is. She also has tonz of cute clothes, shoes, and accessories.

I got the pink one from Boehme Boutique at the mall. I love that place. Find so many cute things there.

Okay, so, here's how to enter to win the WHITE purse. (you can find all the icons you need at the top of my page) Leave a comment for one entry, and here's a list below of things you can do for more chances to win (leave a comment for each thing you do).

• Become a follower of this blog
• Become a Fan on Facebook
• Subscribe to this blog via email (in sidebar)
• Follow on Twitter
• Subscribe to my Youtube channel
• Mention this giveaway on your blog, twitter, or facebook.
• Or vote for me on top mommy blogs (you can vote once a day and leave a comment each time if you want)

Money Saving Monday

The other week I ran into my friend at the grocery store, this is the same friend that I mentioned before, who doesn't have internet in her home. We had both just begun our shopping so we walked along side each other, talking, while grabbing the groceries we needed. We started in the produce section, and I noticed her just throwing in PILES of fresh fruits and veggies. I was like, are you going to be able to eat all those before they go bad?

She was like, oh yeah, of course! I eat fresh fruits and veggies all day every day.

At that point I became very interested in EVERY thing about her life as a mom. I was like one of those kids who NEVER stop asking questions. I asked her question after question, and she proceeded to tell me all about her daily routine, which you ALL know how obsessed I am with learning how other moms are spending their time.

So, she told me about the NO internet at her house (won't happen here, no siree), and that she NEVER eats out ( I could never do that either, but I commend her for it), she shops for all her kids clothes and toys every spring at yard sales, and by doing this she saves her family around $30,000 a year. WOW!

She also tries to be pretty green, so as you can see, she doesn't use many plastic bags to put her produce in. I of course asked her why she wasn't putting them in bags, and she just said, it's waistful.

I bet she thought I was a nutcase, as I was so excited, and taking pictures of her grocery cart, asking her all these questions and buying the same stuff as her. Too bad she doesn't have internet, she could be the one blogging about this, haha. Guess I'll have to do it for her.

Well, needless to say, I was instantly motivated by her. I ended up just forgetting about my list all together and just copied everything she did, haha. I didn't buy quite as much as her, but our grocery carts looked pretty similar in the end. She also inspired me to buy some reusable grocery bags.

Then she told me that she was taking Walmart up on their price matching promise. She showed me how she found good deals at other stores and just cut them out for the cashier to see. I checked out at the same time as her, so I was able to price match with her. I LOVE coupons, but have decided that it's too much work finding all the grocery coupons.

I like this price matching idea because it doesn't take as much time. She also had a good point when she mentioned that most coupons are for junk food, and she's mostly buying produce.

YES!!!! I LOVE saving money, there's just something so satisfying about it. Almost as good as...... Well, maybe not THAT good, I do love me some cold stone cake batter ice cream :). But, the more I can save, the more I have to SPEND!!! :)

Anyway, she saved me like $10!!!!! I know it's not a whole lot, but I was still so excited that I called my husband the second I drove out of the parking lot to tell him the news. "Sean, GUESS WHAT!!!!!, I just saved $10 at the grocery store". I was so giddy about it, you'd think I had just found $100 bill on the ground. Anyway, as I was leaving I was telling my friend that I wanted to meet her there every week, and I'll use her price matching cut outs a long with her. She was like, here, I'll give you the website.

Uh, no, I don't want the website, I want you to do the work, and I'll just show up here each week to meet you:) Sound like a plan?

haha, she agreed. Then I thought.....

You know grocery shopping would be a lot more fun and EASIER if we tagged teamed it.

I actually REALLY hate going grocery shopping. I usually wait until the very last minute when we're just about out of everything in the house except for some canned beans, or rice. Then my husband begins asking, in his subtle way, do "WE" need to go grocery shopping? He's learned to say "WE" because If not, then he knows he'll have to hear my long complaint on how hard it is to go grocery shopping with two kids by myself.

I was also over at Rod Works to use my 25% off coupon I received in the mail, and I had a punch card that was full. So I got

this cute candle holder for 76 CENTS!!!!!! What a day right?

haaaaaa, I LOVE it!!!!

And to top it all off, the other day I won ANOTHER giveaway!!!!! Thank you so much Jen @ A Daily Scoop of Chaos I seriously LOVE this girl, and her blog, you HAVE to check her out.

So, I used this Hot Locks doll as part of Lily's Easter and she LOVED it :)

I won this $25 gift card, and some chocolate last month from a giveaway.

GIVEAWAYS are awesome!!!! If you haven't entered mine yet, then go leave a few comments for your chance to win Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume, HERE.

I hope you all had a great Easter!!!

Great Jewelry finds

NEW YORK & COMPANY is my new favorite place to find cute, affordable jewelry (prices rang from $15-$25). I'm not a fan of their clothes as much so I don't usually go in there. But, as you all know, I LOVE coupons, so anytime I get a coupon I have this obsession with using it, even if I don't need anything. I know this isn't a healthy way to spend money, but I get great satisfaction from saving money :)

So, anyway, I was pleasantly surprised that they have some very cute jewelry there. These are some earrings I bought a few months ago, and I think you'll realize by looking at all the ones I picked that I LOVE flowers :)

I just bought these the other day

And you can find all the below pics online. I also love BIG rings :)

And I just got the below necklace and bracelet for my birthday from my sweet friend Kris. THANK YOU KRIS!!!!! You're the best!

So, I have this coupon they gave me last time I shopped there, it's valid March 24 through March 28th. I think I have enough jewelry to last me a while, so I wanted to let you guys use it. I think it will only work once, so I guess if you're the first one to use it, you're lucky :)

Here are the coupon codes for online purchases:

Take $10 OFF a purchase of $30 or more: code 1214

Or $25 OFF a purchase of $60 or more: code 4536

Or $40 OFF a purchase of $90 or more: code 4735

Or you can get free shipping with a $65 or more purchase: code 1254

I also purchased the Happenings book and got more coupons. I think these ones can also only be used once also, but I have 3 of them.

$25 off purchase of $75 or more: code

1854

1858

1860

So there ya go! Hope I've saved some of you some money :)

Oh, and if you're really proud of your womenhood then you can go HERE , and you'll find some jewelry that will let everyone know just how PROUD you are to be a women :)

By, the way, I'm totally JOKING about that last website. I think it's DISGUSTING and can't believe people would actually wear something like that. YUCK!

Don't forget to join me this Friday for FAB Friday!!!