Homemaking

Inside: The key to living on one income as a stay at home mom is to have a budget game plan, set goals, and stay encouraged. Find out more tips now!

Being a stay at home mom is not easy. You are constantly chasing your kids and watching them like a hawk every second of every day. It’s a  full-time job that gives you no vacation, no weekends off, and least of all, no pay.

Choosing to be a stay at home mom often means choosing to live on one income. But don’t let that discourage you!

Since I left my career to become a stay at home mom, I’ve found tips and tricks to help live on one income successfully!

The key to living on one income as a stay at home mom is to have a budget plan, set goals, and stay encouraged.

So, let’s get down to it!

 

Tips to Living on One Income Successfully

 

Budget, Budget, Budget

I wasn’t always a big budgeter but once I became a stay at home mom I realized that I needed to budget if we were going to survive.

Surprisingly, it was really easy to do too!

All I did was sit down with my husband and go over our finances. We discussed the actual amount my husband was bringing in each week and then went over our expenses: rent, utilities, groceries, internet, and miscellaneous expenses (Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, etc.)

I’m going to be brutally honest- going over your finances and expenses and setting a budget is extremely overwhelming! BUT- it’s going to make your life so much easier.

Also, try to set a budget for extra expenses. So you can maybe splurge on things that you would like each week. My husband and I were able to come up with $300 dollars each month for extra little things that we want.

Some people may think this is dumb but for me, having that little bit if extra makes me feel free and not too tied down to a penny by penny budget. Or you can use that extra money to go into extra savings account for a special vacation or splurge item.

Don’t get overwhelmed by setting a budget either. Don’t feel like you have to live dollar to dollar.

Budget in a way that takes the stress off of you and not in a way that makes you more stressed! Having a budget will just help set that structure so you never feel like you don’t know what you can or cannot afford.

 

Get on the same page as your spouse

Living on one income is really difficult sometimes, but it doesn’t have to be impossible. One of the most important things you can do is to get on the same page as your spouse. This goes hand in hand with budgeting too.

You don’t want to be at odds with your spouse over money. Trust me, it isn’t pretty.

Find a way to effectively communicate about money and come to a mutual decision about how you spend and how much you can spend.

After all, marriage is a lifetime of compromise and mutual respect!

 

Don’t waste

Another important tip for living on one income is to reduce waste.

Since your money is super valuable, you don’t want to purchase things that are going to be a waste or purchase too much of something where the excess is a waste.

For example, don’t buy the mega amount of eggs if your family only eats a couple of eggs a week. You may think that the cost of the large quantity is cheaper, but if you are throwing away half of the amount of food, then ultimately, it’s a waste.

Try to come up with household tips that would help your family reduce waste too. Such as, not using a brand-new paper towel each time you wipe down a surface. Instead, use a towel or clean rag that can be washed and reused.

 

Spend wisely

This really goes without saying but to live successfully on one income you need to spend wisely. Try to eliminate expenses that are unnecessary or redundant. And when you want to purchase something, ask yourself:

• Do I need it?
• Can I get it cheaper somewhere else?
• Will I use it (consistently)?

Simply questioning each thing you purchase will help your expenses! It also exercises self-control but also helps you to not deprive yourself.

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Meal Plan

I know you probably hear about meal planning all the time but it’s seriously a great way to stay on budget AND to feed your family efficiently.

I started meal planning when I became a stay at home mom and when my daughter began to eat table food. I started by finding recipes that my family would like and then just put them in a recipe binder.

When I would plan my meals for that week, I look at the local grocery store sales and make meals that contained the sale ingredients!

If you already meal plan- that’s great!  If you don’t, be sure to check out my post “5 Easy Steps for Meal Planning”. The post even comes with a free Easy Meal Planning Toolkit! Read it now!

Set goals

I absolutely love setting goals because it gives me determination. I also love to set goals for my family because it brings us together and gives a common purpose.

Setting budgeting goals and savings goals can greatly help you and your family! It can take living on one income from being daunting to being possible and achievable!

Click here to get a FREE #MomGoals 2019 Goal Planner to help you set goals for yourself and your family this year!

 

 

Remind Yourself…

it’s okay to be a stay at home mom!

Sometimes when I’m really overwhelmed about money, all I do is look at my sweet daughter and how far she’s come. And in that moment, all of my worries go away.

Of course, I would LOVE to be bringing in the bucks and not have to worry about budgets, but I wouldn’t trade my role as a stay at home mom for anything.

When you feel consumed, just remember, it’s OKAY to be a stay at home mom. No matter what anyone may tell you, no matter how you may feel demeaned sometimes, know that your choice to stay at home is valid!

 

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>>And there you have it! Here are 7 tips to living on one income successfully!

Remember:

1. Don’t forget to budget
2. Make sure you and your spouse are communicating effectively
3. Reduce waste
4. Eliminate unnecessary expenses
5. Meal plan
6. Set goals
7. Remind yourself it’s ok to be a SAHM!!

As stay at home moms, we may not get sick leave, or be able to sleep in on weekends or see our bank account rise every Friday. But our “pay” is so much greater than any dollar amount. You are choosing to sacrifice your life and raise your children– being a stay at home mom is an amazing job title to have!

Living on one income takes dedication but it’s totally worth it when you wake up in the morning to see your little running to you with open arms!

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If you’re anything like me, as much as I love having family and friends over, I absolutely hate to get my house ready for guests. I’m a busy mom and I don’t always have hours and hours to get my house perfect for guests. So, I came up with some super easy, quick and most of all practical ways to get your house ready for guests!

Whether you live in a one-bedroom apartment or a 6-room house, these tips will help you get your house ready for guests in the fastest and easiest way possible. Above all, these tips are practical for everyday homes! These tips also come in HANDY when you have to get your house ready for guests in a flash. I’ve used these tips for years now and in every home that I have helped get ready for guests so I would love to share them with you.

To help you get your house ready for guests in a flash, I created this Ultimate Prep Your Home for Guests Checklist so you can easily get your house all tidy and prepared for guests! Download the FREE Checklist now!

 

So, let’s get down to it!

 

Tips to get Your House ready for guests

The number one tip to make your house ready for guests is to make sure that your home is inviting

A lot of people think that their house needs to be spotless and perfect for guests to be able to come over. But that’s way stressful! The thing you want to focus on the most is making your home inviting where your guests feel welcome. Here are tips to help you accomplish this!

It’s okay for your house to be messy- not dirty.

I always find that the first thing that someone does when they find out that guests are coming over is they go right into “I have to make sure everything is perfect” mode. But the reality is that when you have babies and children in your house that your house is not going to “perfect” for any longer than 5 minutes. Because truth is, your children are going to take out their toys and make a mess all over again. It can’t be helped!

 

Accept the fact that your house can be messy without being dirty.

So instead of trying to make sure your house is perfect, just focus on making sure your house is not dirty. No one wants to visit a dirty house. And by dirty I mean trash overflowing, food crusted dishes in the sink, the pets wee wee pads not cleaned, and your living room in a cloud of dust. These are the things that you should be focusing on when people come over.

But if your house is just “messy”, then I think that’s perfectly okay. I know some moms would be giving me the evil eye for saying that but sometimes there are things that happen in our house that can’t be prevented because we have a family. So this is my definition of “messy”:

• the kids’ toys are out because they just finished playing
• the dishes are drying in the rack and not fully put away
• the jackets hanging by the door are not in the closet
• the shoes by the door are not perfectly straightened up
• etc.

These things I can live with! Being dirty is something that I cannot love with.

Focus on Scent

One of the easiest ways to make your guests feel welcome and make your home be inviting is to focus on scent. Scent is one of those things that evoke so much emotion and feeling. If your house smells like day old fish then no one is going to want to sit on your couch and watch a movie.

One of the things I do is make sure I always have candles on hand! A candle is amazing because not only does it smell great and can make your home smell good fast, but it also sets an ambiance and elevates the mood of a space.

If you have little ones, be sure to put candles high enough for them not to touch! And if you have climbing toddlers who like to get into everything then maybe you can just put some diffusers out or use plugin scents!

Instead of mass decluttering, just organize

Usually, when you have to get your house ready for guests the first thing you do is want to clean, clean, clean. And while I’m totally on board for straightening up and making sure things are clean, I don’t usually focus on mass decluttering.

I’m a stay at home mom of an 18-month-old so there are constantly toys everywhere and just when I put something away 2 seconds later it’s all over the floor again. Because of this, I can’t totally declutter! So instead, I just focus on organizing.

Remember, it’s perfectly okay to have things out- just make sure it’s organized and “looks” neat. Don’t get too hung up on having everything perfect and clear. Kids are kids so your guests will understand that your kids’ toys are out!

Make sure the dishes are done

One of the easiest ways to get your house ready for guests in a flash is to make sure that the dishes are done and the countertops are clean. You have no idea how a dirty pile of dishes in the sink makes your home look dirty. To make your house “look” clean, make sure to do the dishes! It’s one of those little secrets to making your home “appear” clean when it’s not perfect.

 

Start cleaning a couple days before the guests arrive

I know this is super obvious and goes without saying, but if you know guests are coming a couple days in advance, then try not to procrastinate and start cleaning a little bit a day. You don’t have to go crazy, but it will save you’re your sanity by cleaning day by day instead of just mass cleaning 2 hours before guests are arriving.

A clean floor goes a long way

While your house doesn’t have to be perfectly cleaned and decluttered, be sure to clean your floors. Whether you do a quick vacuum on your carpets or a quick Swiffer to your floors- it makes all the difference! A shiny floor will automatically trump the fact that you have toy bins all over the place. This is one of the tips that differentiates your house being messy and dirty. It’s okay for your house to be a bit messy because of the children, but you don’t want your house to be dirty.

 

Clean the bathroom

Another tip to get your house ready for guests in a super easy way is to flash clean your bathroom. This just means to do a quick wipe down of the sink, counters, mirrors, and toilet. Maybe even throw some toilet bowl cleaner and do a quick flush so your toilet bowl is nice and sparkly. Quickly fold any towels and do a sweep and you’re done!

Don’t underestimate a good wipe down

To reinforce the “it’s okay messy but not dirty” tip, one of the ways to make sure your house is clean is to do a quick wipe down of surfaces. So wipe down your tables, counters, side tables, ottomans, and entertainment centers. You can even use a Swiffer to do a quick dust down of your living room and shelves. Trust me, it takes all of 5 minutes!

 

It’s okay to keep doors closed

Another tip to get your house ready for guests is to know that it’s okay to keep some of your doors closed. When I know there are guests coming over and I haven’t had a chance to clean like I wanted to, like fold the laundry in the basket and put away some shopping bags, I usually just put it all in my room and close the door. It feels like cheating but it’s not!

So, don’t feel bad if you need to throw some “cluttered” items in your room and just shut the door. You’re not a bad mom or host for it!

Don’t forget to have drinks and snacks

I sometimes forget this tip the most because I’m so worried about cleaning, but a good tip to get your house ready for guests is to make sure you have drinks and snacks for your guests. Or at least a plan for drinks or snacks.

Sometimes I just make a pitcher of iced tea and throw open a couple of bags of chips and I’m done. Other times when I didn’t have as much time to prepare food or drinks for guests I just involve them in the process and have my guests help me make something.

My friends LOVE doing this anyway! They love to feel included and to help me out. Or you can just order some food from a local restaurant and have it delivered. There are so many options! Just be sure to have some sort of plan or else your guests are going to sit there parched!

You can also never go wrong with a pot of coffee and some cookies!

Want more tips?? Download my Ultimate Prep Your Home For Guests Checklist to get more easy tips!

Also, don’t forget to download my free Ultimate Prep Your Home for Guests Checklist so you can easily get your house all tidy and prepared for guests! The checklist has all of these tips plus MORE that will help you get your house all ready for your family and friends. Make sure you don’t forget a tip by downloading the checklist now!

 

Well, that’s it! Those are my super awesome, easy to do, quick, and practical tips to help you get your house ready for guests! Remember, not every time you have guests does your house have to be “perfect”. Everyone understands that you are a mom and you have to take care of your family so don’t put too much pressure on yourself to have to perfectly clean before you have guests over.

Do you have any tips that help you get your house ready for guests?? Feel free to leave it in the comments below!

I envy those moms who cook like master chefs. The moms who love to cook up a feast and spend hours doing it. I wish I was them!

But I’m more of the “what’s the fastest and easiest meal I can get on the table after a long day a battling 10 piles of laundry” kind of mom.

And because of this, I usually shy away from my meal planning and meal prep.

If you find meal planning realllyyy tasking, overwhelming, difficult and never seem to find the time to actually do it– you are not alone. I’m right there with ya!

BUT I was tired of constantly dreading dinners and being pressed for time every day when my husband asked me what was for dinner.

So instead, I pressed on and tried to create a system that worked *for me*. Not one that made me feel guilty for being the “perfect” kind of mom.

And if you felt anything like I did, I would love to share my easy meal planning tips with you!

I created an easy meal planning system that not only is stress-free but is also friendly for the “not so chef”, busy mom.

And now it only takes me 15 minutes a week for my meal planning and prepping!

This easy meal planning system is super flexible and allows you to set it up in a way that works best for you (and that’s affordable!).

This easy meal planning system will give you the flexibility to plan your meals at the pace you’re comfortable with and plan meals you’re comfortable with making.

Maybe you want to just plan for 5 days or even 3 days. It’s totally up to you!

This system is an outline for easy meal planning that you can fill in with your own details! I’m super excited to share it with you today!

Busy Mom’s Meal Planning Toolkit

To help you easily meal plan, I created a Meal Planning Toolkit specifically to help busy moms!

The toolkit includes 5 pages of printable templates and planner sheets that will help you accomplish each other these 5 steps to easy meal planning.

I personally use this toolkit every week when I meal plan and it takes me less than 15 minutes to meal plan for the week from start to finish. It’s my all-in-one meal planning resource!

Download the toolkit now!

 

So, let’s dive into the easy meal planning system!

5 Steps to Easy Meal Planning

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I always avoided meal planning because I thought it was only for the moms who had a really large recipe box and was able to pump out 7 dinners a week from all of the recipes they knew how to make.

And I definitely did not fall into this category.

But once I actually created a meal planning system and started to use it, it has been a complete lifesaver!

1. Go Hunting

Step 1: Write out the recipes you know how to make or want to make

Honestly, the first and second steps will probably take the most time but after you set this up you never have to work on it again (unless you want to update it).

The first step to easy meal planning is to actually find the recipes that you would want to make.

You’ll hunt down simple recipes that work for you.

Since I’m not a “chef mom”, this usually involved me combing Pinterest for easy family meals. When I found meals I thought I could make, I save it to a board I created.

Then I used that board as my recipe archive.

Be sure to find recipes for all of the meals you are planning to make.

Maybe you just want to start meal planning your dinners. Or maybe you want to save an assortment of meals just so you have them handy, like breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.

Then I either print the recipe or write it out on a recipe card. Since this is “easy meal planning for the BUSY mom”, I usually go for the printing method, but sometimes when I have some downtime I’ll actually write out recipes on a recipe card to make it nice and pretty.

This usually involves some work, but trust me it will be worth it!

Then, with the meals that I know how to make from memory, I even take the time to write out the ingredients and the recipe. This may seem like a waste of time but you’ll see why this is a lifesaver in the next step!

Like I mentioned before, this step is usually one of the most time consuming, but once you get it out of the way, you really don’t have to do it again until you want to.

 

2. Organize

Step 2: Organize recipes in a system you like (recipe box or electronically)

Now that you have the recipes that you want to make, it’s time to organize them. I purchased this really cute recipe box where I can store all of my recipes. You can purchase it by clicking here.

I used to just have them all on my Pinterest “food” board, but it was really hard for me to view the recipe and make the meal all while trying to keep my phone open to the recipe.

So, what I did was print the recipe (step 1) and organized it in my recipe box according to what type of dish it was. For example, I have a section for appetizers, breakfast, lunches, dinners, side sides, and desserts.

Then I quickly alphabetized each section so I can easily find the recipe I am looking for. See? Wasn’t that easy??!

Remember, don’t forget to write out the recipes you know how to make from memory too. The goal of this step is to have ALL of the recipes you would make in the future all in one place so you don’t have to worry about thinking about what to make when it comes time to make a meal or meal planning. You’re thinking now so you don’t have to later- score!

 

3. Start planning!

Step 3: Use those recipes to plan your weekly meals!

Now that you have all the recipes that you would make accessible and organized, all you have to do is plan your meals from those recipes.

I found the key to easy meal planning is to plan a specific time a week that you want to dedicate 15 minutes to meal planning. I usually choose one day a week that you want to start your week and then use those 15 minutes to plan the meals you want to make that week.

For example, my husband works Tuesday-Saturday so technically our “week” starts on Tuesday and our weekend is “Sunday and Monday”.

Since Tuesday is our “first day of the week”, I’ll make a conscious effort to sit down Monday night for 15 minutes to do my meal planning for the week.

Only 15 minutes to plan my meals for the week?? That’s a busy mom’s dream come true!

Here is where the flexibility of this meal planning system comes into place.

Maybe you just want to plan lunches for the week. Or maybe you just want to plan 3 dinners because you want to eat out a couple of meals. Whatever works best for you and your family!

All you have to do is find and take out the recipe card or print out that you created in step 1 and organized in step 2. Then, write down the meals you want to make that week!

And a bonus thing that I do is take out those recipes that I am making for the week and put them in the front of my recipe box.

This way, all of the recipes are easily accessible when I go to make them. Then when I’m done making the meal, I store the recipe back in the organization system (such as my recipe box).

To help you easily plan all of your meals for the week, I created a Weekly Meal Plan Worksheet for you to write out all of the meals you want to make in one place.

The Weekly Meal Plan Worksheet is in the Free Meal Planning Toolkit for the Busy Mom! (don’t forget to download it!)

 

4. Easy Grocery Shopping

Step 4: Make a list of groceries you need for that week based on your recipes.

Now that you have all of the recipes you want to make that week, it’s time to actually plan out WHAT you need for those recipes.

I found that the best thing to do make a list of the ingredients I need from each recipe all on one sheet of paper.

I easily do this by using my Weekly Grocery List and Recipe Ingredient List, which are two templates I created that allow to me make a list of all of the ingredients I need so I’m only taking one master list to the grocery store when I do my shopping.

I created two different list templates because some weeks, depending on how organized I want to be, I use one over the other. It gives me the option to list things in a different format!

I included the Weekly Grocery List and the Recipe Ingredient Master List in the Free Planning Toolkit for the Busy mom!

 

5. Bonus step: Meal Board

Step 5: Write out the meal plan on a family meal board.

I didn’t always use a Family Meal Board, which basically just a dry erase board that I keep in my kitchen for my family to see.

But when I actually started meal planning, I decided to have my meal plan for that week visible for my husband to see so I don’t keep getting asked the question “what are we eating today?”.

So, what I did was, I printed out my Weekly Meal Plan Worksheet and inserted it into an 8.5 x 11 picture frame and used the glass as a dry erase board.

That way, the menu worksheet always stays in the frame and all I have to do is write over it on the glass and clean it off weekly when I create a new weekly menu!

If you don’t have to do this, I also see weekly menu dry erase board at Target and Walmart and even the local dollar store that you can use too. It’s totally up to you if you want to have a Family Meal Board!

RECAP: What my weekly meal planning looks like 

• Sit down for 15 minutes every one night a week to plan my meals
• Figure out how many meals I want to make that week and which meals they are
• Take out my recipe box and choose which meals to make for which day
• Write out my meal plan or the week based on the choices I made
• Accumulate all the recipes for the week that I want to make and write down the ingredients I need for each recipe for my grocery list
• Finalize my grocery list
• Make my meal on a particular day
• After using that recipe, place it back in my recipe box

 

Busy Mom’s Meal Planning Toolkit

If you’re totally convinced that this easy meal planning system is right for you then I totally recommend you downloading my free Busy Mom’s Meal Planning Toolkit!

The toolkit has everything you need to easily meal plan and has all of the templates, worksheets, and lists that I discussed above. The Toolkit is a 5-page bundle that will help you accomplish your meal planning goals!

What’s included in the toolkit:

• Weekly Meal Plan Worksheet
• Weekly Grocery list
• Master Recipe Ingredient List

Download the toolkit now!

 

Wasn’t that super simple!?!

I’m always running around completing errands so I didn’t think that meal planning was going to work for me and my family but once I started a system that worked for me, it’s been an absolute lifesaver!

I don’t always meal plan, because let’s face it, sometimes we can get really busy and even lazy- but when I do choose to meal plan it’s always really easy thanks to this super quick system!

I hope I was able to help you with your meal planning mission!

Happy meal planning!

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