Balance

Last week was a great spring break for my family. We went to the zoo, had a great time at the gymnastics place down the street, my daughter had her first horse show competition, and we had a garage sale and bought a boat! So exciting. 

So I'm sure I've been a little disappointing in my posts, I haven't put up any deals or coupons or anything. I am going to get back into it, and provide more of my making money from home articles. Also how to save money, and living well for less. I'm not about being poor, but frugal so I can put money away and not give it to someone else for stuff I don't need. 

How to Make Money from Home Part 4.1

Yes, you read that right. Part 4.1. This is an update on my adventure with the car auction. Most of them were in bad condition, and most of them did not have keys to start them and see if they run at all. I purchased a 1997 red single cab Ford Ranger. The interior looks like someone was living in it. No stereo. Some bumps and bruises all around and the paint is faded. I paid $750 for a truck that I'm not sure runs.

It cost $80 to have it towed to the house. The tow truck driver was the nicest guy, I had met him as a fellow bidder at the auction and we talked and made friends. When he was off-loading it in the driveway the wheel was locked because there was no key in the ignition. He has been flipping cars for 20 years so he has done this a time or two, he dug in the drivers side door pocket and the jingle of keys was music to my ears. A quick flip of the key later and it came to life! It runs, and sounds ok. It still needs a trip to the parts store to have the computer read for trouble codes but all is looking well. After cleaning the interior, putting in a cheap used stereo I find on craigslist or less than $20 and a good buffing and waxing later this baby will sell for about $2,000. Current investment- $830. Potential sales price-$2,000. Profit- $1,170. I will get the title paperwork in a week, and will sell it that weekend.

Inspired? Me too! Always be careful and err on the side of caution. And, good luck!!

How to Make Money from Home Part 4

Here is an idea, if you're handy with something, like refinishing, painting, mechanics and have a couple bucks (like that tax return you are NOT going to spend on a new TV) then you can buy something that has a small problem, fix it, and resell it for a lot more than you invested. It's called flipping. Ever heard of someone flipping a house? Same concept. So here is what I am doing today- Our tax return came in. $3,000 thanks to some refundable child tax credits. We recently paid off some debt from selling our most valuable car and bought a clunker (Thank you, Dave Ramsey. Listen to him. Live it, Love it) so we have this money that would go into savings otherwise. Since I need to make money, I decided to try this, very, very carefully and if it doesn't work out, I simply sell the one vehicle I purchased and put the money away like I should have to begin with.

 There is an abandoned car auction tomorrow, most of these cars are being sold because their owners couldn't afford to get them back out. There was a list of 120 cars with VIN numbers. I don't know anything other than the VIN, so I went on to the DMV and checked their "presumed value". Meaning the average of what that particular make and model is being sold for right now in the state. Once I had that, I figured I wouldn't pay more than half that at the auction, to make sure I have lots of wiggle room just in case it's in need of more repair than I originally thought. Next, I assumed we would invest an additional 10% in repairs into the vehicle and from the initial bid, TTL and repairs, figured out the profit. This is where you make friends with a mechanic to do work in the driveway for a couple extra bucks. If you have to take it to a regular mechanic for repairs you're going to lose your investment, so unless you can do the work yourself or you have a friend is a VERY GOOD mechanic and will do some side work for you, don't do this. Stop reading. Go to the next post.

My current bid budget is $2,000. Each and every car I am interested in because I think it will sell because of the year, the brand or model reputation or another good quality, I have a maximum bid price (meaning where I stop with the auctioneer) so I don't get caught up in the bidding and get in over my head, and have enough to pay for EVERYTHING when I walk out that door. I made sure I did my homework. If it was a "cool" car, I went to a VIN decoder and looked up the engine. If it was a cheaper brand, I passed (no one wants a 10 year old Kia. It's falling apart like an old sandwich). If it was a luxury brand I passed (parts cost is important to figure in). If it is a gas guzzler and gas prices are skyrocketing- I passed. Get it? I have my spreadsheet with 21 vehicles that I whittled down complete with numbers. I will go an look at each of these when they allow the viewing, get the mileage, look at the condition and try to channel my psychic abilities to see if the car actually runs. I will look at the cars as if I was buying them as a personal vehicle. If I wouldn't drive it, I won't buy it.

Let's assume I come home with a 1999 Honda Civic with a fairly good body, no rust, and it needs an O2 sensor. I bid and won at a $1800 total investment. I have $180 budgeted for this O2 sensor. They run about $20. Even I can change an O2 sensor so we swap it out. $1820 invested. I keep Mother's in the garage along with wax, febreeze, armor-all and magic erasers (you'd be surprised what a magic eraser can fix.) A deep detail later, the car looks great, I used the kit to make the headlights shine like new again, and a $5 steering wheel cover from Big Lots covered the worn steering wheel. It sells for $3000. $1825 invested. That's a profit of $1175. You can only have up to 10 titles go through your name in a particular year in Texas without a dealer's license, but that's 10 for me and 10 for my husband. 20 cars. If it works for us, then we can go the route of a dealer, or we can stick to the 20 cars and just use this for a fun way to make money. To illustrate this, that's $23,500 a year, or a full-time job paying $11/hr.

Am I giving all my secrets away? Yep. Am I hoping that I inspire another mom out there to use every available resource she has to be supermom and really make a difference? YES! Think outside the box, light a fire under your tail. With enough determination you can do ANYTHING. Just do it carefully and do your research first.

Free Personalized Kids Notebooks and Pens!

Try these ideas for unique Easter baskets this year. Vistaprint is offering 6 FREE items for your kids today through Thursday (3/8) – you only pay shipping.   These are several different clever ideas for Easter baskets this year.

Choose from these 6 FREE items:

• Note Cards
• Caricature Note Pads
• Notebooks
• Sticky Notes
• Pens
• Personalized Gift Certificates

To make it even better, you can have more than one FREE item from Vistaprint in your order and get reduced shipping. I was able to add personalized note cards (set of 10), a notepad, sticky notes, a pen, gift certificates (set of 10), and a notebook & paid only $8.67 for shipping. That makes each item just $1.45!

These would be great for a school-aged child’s Easter Basket. All kids love to get personalized items. Head over to Vistaprint to start creating your personalized items today!

Thanks, Faithful Provisions

$2 Jersey Mikes Sub

If you have not yet had Jersey Mikes, you need to check out this deal and try them. I personally have the roast beef and provolone with the cherry pepper relish.. It's heaven on a sub roll. My taste buds have a little party. It's awesome. So on March 28th, treat your taste buds to an awesome treat, AND support a good cause.

On March 28, at participating Jersey Mike’s Subs, make a $2 charity donation and get a FREE Jersey Mike’s Regular Sub! Click here to find a Jersey Mike’s Subs location near you.

Thanks, My Dallas Mommy!

$3 off Shick Hydro Silk Razor or Refill!

Schick Hydro Silk’s Facebook page is offering $3/1 Schick Hydro Razor or Refill coupon. Since this is a new product we will see many sales for the razors and refills so be on the lookout for big savings! 


Thanks, My Dallas Mommy!

Dollar General Deals

Head over to the Walmart website and grab this new coupon for $1 off of Planters Peanut Butter.

Then take the coupon to Dollar General for this deal.

Planters Peanut Butter, $2.00
Use: $1.00 of Planters Peanut Butter coupon
Final Price, $1.00

Hurry over to Redplum and grab this $.50/1 Snuggle Coupon then check out this deal.

Snuggle Dryer Sheets 20ct  $1/1
-$.50/1 Snuggle Fabric Softener Dryer Sheets
Final Price:  $0.50

Thanks, My Dallas Mommy!

WFAA Deals March 7th, 2012

Here is a recap of today’s deals highlighted on WFAA’s Daybreak! Tune in each morning between 6am-7am on Ch. 8 for the hottest deals!

Arby’s Extras ~ Free Roast Beef Classic with drink purchase
California Pizza Kitchen’s e-Club ~ $5 off when you spend $15
Dairy Queen Blizzard fan club ~ 6 Free Blizzard treats a year

Other Deals Mentioned:

CVS Reach Toothbrushes $0.69 each starting Sunday
Waffle House ~ Free slice of pie
Pop-A-Lock ~ Free emergency locksmith service for Dallas residents
KFC chicken $3 off coupon for 12-piece meal
Free Charms on Sneakpeeq
Karma Loop ~ Free $10 Credit
Discountnewspapers.com ~ Save up to 50% off local newspaper
Netflix ~ Free Trial membership
Studio Movie Grill ~ “Like” them for chance to win pair of tickets
Free Scarf from Sneakpeeq.com- new members
Casio CTK 3000 Digital Piano giveaway at Metroplex Piano
Pizza Inn ~ Kids eat FREE every Wednesday

Thanks, My Dallas Mommy!

Walmart Deals

Thanks, My Dallas Mommy! 

Here are this weeks top coupon match-ups-

Renu Contact Lens Stuff: $1.47
$2.00 off Printable Coupon
Total: FREE + possible $.53 Money Maker!

Renuzit Super Neutralizer Odor Adjustable $.94
Use $.50/1 Renuzit Super Odor
Total: .44!

Libby’s Vegetables: $.60
$1/4 Libby’s Canned Vegetables, exp. 3/31/12 (RP 11/13/11)
Total: $.35 each

Pretzel Crisps and flavor: $1.98Use $1/1 Pretzel Crisps printable coupons
Total: $0.98

Oil Of Olay Bar 2pack: $2.57
Olay $2/1 bar, body wash or in-shower body lotion ets (PG 3/4/12)
Total: $0.57

Dentyne Ice Single Pack Gum: $0.96
Use $1/2 Dentyne Coupon Exp 5/31  (SS  3/4/12 )
Total: $0.46 each 

Steam Fresh Mixed Veggies: $0.98 ea
Birds Eye Save $1/3 steamfresh varieties exp 4/15   (RP 3/4/12)
Total:  $0.64 ea

Ivory Bar Soap 3ct: $1.24
Ivory/Safeguard $.35/1 Ivory bar, body or wash or Safeguard bar ets (PG 3/4/12
Total:$0.89

Reach Total Care Whitening Toothbrush: $2.97$2/2 Reach Toothbrush Coupon
Total: $3.94 or $.99 each

Kikkoman Panko Crumbs:  $1.57
Use $.75 off one Panko Bread Crumbs 
Total: $.82 

Louisiana Fish Fry: $.97 
Louisiana Fish Fry $1/2 breading  exp 6/30/12  (SS 3/4/12)
Total: $.47

Sobe Product 20oz: $1.18
B5G1 Sobe Product, exp. 3/17/12 (Pepsi Moments 02/26/12)
Total: $.98 ea

Schick Disposable: $1.97
Use $1/1 disposable razor pack not valid on 2 count exp 3/18 SS 02/05
Total: $.97

Huggies Pull Ups Flushable Wipes: $1.64
Use Huggies Save $.75/1 Pull-Ups flushable moist wipes ets Exp 3/10 (SS 02/12/2012)
Total: $.89

Kleenex: $.97
Use Kleenex Save $.50/3 50ct+ boxes or Save $.50/1 bundle pack ets dnd exp 3/11 (SS 02/12/2012)
Total: $.81 each

Now Thats What I Call Music Vol. 41- $.25!!!!

DO NOT WALK, BUT RUN! Seriously, there are 25 songs on this album, including Sexy and I know It by LMFAO, Love You Like a Love Song by Selena Gomez, and Someone Like You by Adele.

Amazon is constantly changing prices so this won't last long!

Pampers Deals- HURRY!

Look what I found at CVS this afternoon ~ several boxes of Pampers diapers (at my store they were all size 6), for only $5.49! I’m going to share lots of goodies I found today,  but wanted to get these out there.  Selection will vary from store to store, but be sure to swing by the clearance section when you’re in CVS! (This was at the Morriss/3040 store in Flower Mound.)

Check out this deal:

Buy: Pampers Baby-Dry, Size 6 (clearance section) for $5.74
Use: $1.50/1 Pampers Cruisers or Baby Dry Diapers printable
Final Price: $3.24

I also found Pull-ups marked down to $2.99!

Buy: Huggies Pull-ups for $2.99 (clearance section)
Use: $2/1 Pull-Ups Training Pants printable
$2.50/1 Pull-Ups Training Pants, exp. 3/10/12 (SS 02/12/12 R)
$2/1 Huggies Pull-Ups Training Pants, exp. 3/10/12 (SS 02/12/12 R)
$1.50/1 Huggies Pull-Ups Training Pants, exp. 3/10/12 (SS 02/12/12 R)
$2/1 Huggies Pull-ups Training Pants, exp. 1/15/13 (Discover the Value of a Great Buy Booklet)
Final Price: as low as $.49 per package

Home Made Simple Coupon Book! $25 Worth of Coupons!

Home Made Simple ~ P&G Coupon Book ~ $25 Worth of Coupons

Here’s a new link through P&G for the Home Made Simple coupon book!
Just log in or sign up then register and the coupons will be delivered directly to your home.
Home Made Simple offers $25 worth of savings from Cascade, Swiffer, Febreze, Mr. Clean and Dawn!

Thanks My Dallas Mommy!

Target Daily Deals- Gauchos, Swim Trunks and Men's Tees!

Target: Mossimo Gaucho’s $6 Each, Swim Trunks $6, Tees $8 & More!

Target has a couple of good daily deals!  You can get two Gaucho’s for the price of one! Remember too, you get free shipping on the daily deals!

-Mossimo Supply Co. Gaucho BOGOF $12 ($6 each!)

-Cherokee Boys Swim Trunk- $6

-Men's Graphic Tee Collections- $8


Thanks, My Dallas Mommy

Liz Lange Maternity Deal!

Do you need some cute maternity clothes? Get 25% Off One Liz Lange Item with Promo Code TGTKMD63  expires 4/1.

Here are a few deals that I found:

Liz Lange Twill Cargo Cropped Pants: $7.33 after promo code!

Liz Lange Sleeveless Maternity Fashion Top! $10.48 after promo code.

Check out my new Making Money From Home Post! http://ow.ly/9uT9x

Making Money from Home, Part 3

About now, you're probably feeling like you're bobbing in the water, barely breathing and mostly drowning. Sink or swim time. You've probably spent more time finding work to do than actually working, and the work you've done has paid pennies. The budget is getting tighter and it's starting to get scary. Your situation right now might be a working mom trying to get this started so you can eventually work from home, a mom who recently lost your job and have no choice but to make this work, or maybe you're pregnant and can't afford daycare but can't afford to stay home either. Maybe a minimum wage job would pay more, but how much would you be paying in daycare? What would you be missing out on? I am not someone who advocates staying home when it will mean you aren't supporting your family, if your family needs you to bring in an income, then go get an outside of the home job. End of story. However, if you have the ability to make this work between now and making that income from home, then do it.

This is probably where you are getting into a couple serious conversations (mine involved a couple insults thrown around) with your husband. A lot of this is based out of worry, feeling like one doesn't understand how hard the other is working, generally being unequal, and concerns about getting the bills paid. If you have never listened to Dave Ramsey, do it now. He talks about a "gland" that women have that men don't. When you have money problems it hurts a woman in a place that men don't have. And for women, a man needs to be a knight in shining armor. If his income isn't enough, he's feeling a little worthless, his sword is rusty and his armor is dented. Talk it out. Do a detailed budget and make sure that you can REASONABLY make this work. If this was forced on you by a job lay-off, you probably can use unemployment benefits to fill in the gaps. Another thing I don't advocate except in short-term, extreme need circumstances, is welfare benefits. If you need to use food stamps, WIC, or medicaid/CHIP to make sure your children are covered medically and there is food on the table, then do it. The MOMENT you don't need it anymore, get off of it. If you're finding yourself needing it for more than a year, you probably need to re-evaluate your situation and just get a job. There are child-care programs that will help low-income parents get childcare for very little or free to help you make the transition. This is about being self-sufficient, not being a lifetime welfare case. Ok, I'm done with my soap box.

Once you have made sure that you and your spouse is on the same page and you're communicating about where the money is coming from and going to and it will work, then you can take the stress of harming your marriage off your plate. Now you need to find the balance. It's hard. Try getting up a little earlier than the kids to get a few articles knocked out in the morning so you can get the big kids to school, or get the baby fed and yourself fed. Make yourself a daily work flow. Block out 2 hour chunks of your day. Alternate between home and work with those hours. If you can't focus at all while the kids are climbing up your leg, call a friend. I have a friend come over and she takes care of the kids, we chit chat (I am most creative when we are just talking) and if I need to go somewhere to be in peace, I just pack up the bag and go. She comes over 2-3 days a week for 4-5 hours. She drives about 20 minutes so I give her a little gas money to thank her. The other days I'm mostly working on the house and the kids and work on my other stuff when I can. A schedule will help you stay focused and organized, and you can always show it to your husband to show what you did (do it as a look what I did today, Honey! Isn't it great?) He will feel more involved and supportive if he isn't afraid you're home taking naps while he works his butt off.

Right now you're about being efficient. You need to find the fastest, most reasonable way to make a couple bucks (which we have covered as writing articles), time to work on the stuff that will pay off in the long run (we will cover that more in depth in the future) and also take care of the family you are trying to support. Use this time to find out if you have any interests that you can allow blossom now, or if you have any unique skills that you can market. Vague, I know, but we'll get into more detail later so you can actually use that bit of advice.

Been quiet here at Kerri of All Trades. One of the things I need to cover in my How to Make Money at Home series is finding balance between taking care of the kids, building the small business and making money in the meantime. This is an important thing to remember to be able to support you children, while enjoying the time you have raising them, and keeping your marriage together during the process.

Healthier Pop Tarts

Healthier Homemade Pop Tarts

Makes 8 tarts

Print this recipe!

• 1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/4 c. coconut oil or vegan margarine (i.e. Earth Balance)
• 1/3 c. agave or maple syrup
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 1-2 T. cold water
• 1/4 c. all fruit strawberry preserves
• 1 c. organic powdered sugar (optional)
• 1-2 T. non-dairy or organic milk (optional)
• all-natural sprinkles (i.e. Let’s Do Sprinkelz brand) (optional)

In a food processor (or adjustable-speed blender), combine flours, baking powder, salt and coconut oil.  Process just until the mixture becomes coarse and starts to hold together and transfer mixture to a large bowl.

You can also do this by hand, you’ll just need a pastry blender and a little patience.

I own neither.

Pour in agave or maple syrup and vanilla.

Add just enough water that a dough starts to come together.

Divide dough in two and form each half into a thin rectangle on a sheet of plastic wrap.  Wrap up each rectangle and transfer to the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

After dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Remove one rectangle of dough from the fridge at a time, removed it from the plastic wrap and on a lightly-floured board, roll the rectangle out slightly thinner (approximately 1/4-1/2 in. thick) and cut it into eight sections.

Spoon about a small spoonful of preserves in the center of four of the smaller rectangles.

Be a little stingy.  If you put too much in the middle of each rectangle, it’ll be hard to seal the tarts.

Carefully take each “lid” and place it on top of the preserves-filled rectangles, crimping and sealing the edges of each tart with a fork.

Repeat with remaining dough.

Transfer each tart to a baking sheet that has been lightly greased or lined with a Silpat or parchment paper.

Bake for 17-20 minutes, until tarts are golden brown.  Allow to cool on pan for one minute before transferring to a cooling rack.

For icing, if using, place powdered sugar in a small bowl and combine with just enough milk to make icing drizzleable.  Spoon icing over the top of each tart and top with sprinkles, if desired.

I told you it was the most incredible day ever.

Thanks Peas and Thank You! 

Frugal Princess Birthday Party

So my sweet baby girl turns one on Sunday. I'm so sad, because she is my last baby and I just did not spend enough time with her this past year. Well, since I am newly laid off, how do I throw my sweetness a birthday party? Why on clearance of course! Here is what I have snagged for her:

Birthday present: A cute sing-a-ma-jig I found in the Valentine's clearance section and a sweet bag to put it in.
Sing-a-ma-jig- $3.50
Bag $1
Total:$4.50

Food:
Valentines Cake Mix with Funfetti- $.49
Cupcake Tins with Heart Papercups- $1
4 tubes of colored frosting $3 ($.75 ea)
2 bottles of Orange Soda (clearance section) $.58
Total: $4.49 (will make several dozen cupcakes)

Goodie Bags:
20 Disney Princess Sticker Rolls (for the grab bags)- $.50
1 Happy Birthday Princess Yard Sign $1
1 set of princess cellophane grab bags $1
3 bags of dollar store goodie bag toys $3
1 bag of jewelry candy $1
Total: $6.50

Decor-
1 Centerpiece- $1
2 rolls of white streamers- $1
1 set of paper plates, cutlery and cups $3
1 plastic tablecloth- $1
1 roll of raspberry tulle- $1.50
Total: $7.50

I've picked up more along the way, I'm sure, but I can't remember all of it. Probably about $15 worth more.

Grand total: $24 accounted for, $15 not so sure.. So about $40 all said and done, including the gift. Have other moms done better? Yep. Am I pretty proud of what I've done? You bet I am.

Any other ideas? Share them!

How to Make Money from Home- Part Two

It's not all that difficult to make money at home.

Part two is I NEED MONEY NOW! If you need to make money from home NOW, you've probably already thought of selling off stuff you don't need, or even just stuff that will fetch a decent price. What you want is a way to actually have someone deposit money into your account.

Have you ever tried writing articles? It's not as scary as it sounds. Really, most content writing is written at about an 8th grade level, so if you can handle that, you can probably do all right writing articles that have a certain number of keywords show up Now there are differing views for different people, but I've found that a dedicated person can pound out enough articles in a day to get past the rough spots. This isn't going to replace an income immediately, but you can find websites that hire content writers and pay them about 1.5 cents a word starting off. For a 400 word article that takes about an hour to write, you're making about $6 an hour. Demandstudios.com used to pay $15 an article, but they have changed their policies and it's difficult to become a writer and get any articles. Textbroker.com has done fairly well for me, they pay once a week and usually have enough articles that by the time I finish the one I'm working on they have another available. There are more sites out there like Textbroker.com that can help you work from home, but I haven't had any experience with them yet. Textbroker.com pays about 1.5 cents per word. You can also join teams on there that will provide constant work to do, sometimes at better pay-per-word. Constant-content.com has accepted me as a writer and they pay better, but you have to compete for articles, so you might work for free.

REALITY CHECK- So, lets see how this REALLY works. You are home with the kids, need to make some money, and pound out 3 400 word articles in the morning between naps and cleaning up from breakfast. You try to focus in the afternoon but get only halfway through what should be an easy article. You finish that article after the kids are in bed and do one more before bed. Total of 5 for $6 each. You make $30 all day. By the way, I just told you how my day went. You do this every week day, making $150 that week, just about $600 for the month. Not enough to live off of, but you can put gas in your car and groceries on the table, combined with what you're suddenly not paying in daycare, it can make a difference. Some days are better and some days are worse but eventually they even out. That is one way to make money from home and works when you need time to get other things started.