DO NOT BUY Target's Create Your Own Wooden Clock

We needed a clock for our wall in our dining room, where we do most of our homeschooling. Instead of spending $3 on a cheap wall clock at Target, I blew $10 on a make-it-yourself one so the kids could create it and be proud of it hanging on the wall. Here is what they created:

Cool, huh? Too bad I had to return it, which broke my heart and upset my kids, as well. The piece that holds the clock arms to the front and the battery compartment to the back (the washer?) was too big and did not screw on. My husband ran all over the place looking for a washer that would fit ... no dice. So I went to Target and opened another box to see if it would work, but NOPE. Aron called the company and they have stopped making this ... no surprise. What is annoying is that they are still on the shelves at Target.

I can't find my piece of paper with the manufacturer information (not a shock since I'm not the most organized person in the world), but when I do I will post it. In the meantime, don't be tempted to pick up this do-hickey!!!

Memorial Day Blue Laws

I'm probably at church right now (if you're reading this at 11 a.m.). Then we won't be heading to the pool because we don't shop or spend money on Sundays so my husband extends that to not going to places where people have to work, which means the flipping pool. Trying to change his mind is like hitting your head against a brick wall, and I'm not patient with mind-changing anyway, so I just sigh and let stuff go sometimes. Pick your battle in marriage, I always say ... yeah, right!

Tomorrow I hope to be at the pool with the kids unless it rains in KC. Then lots of hanging out. How about you?

Hubby didn't want me to mention this, but I think it's a big deal that he went to Joplin, MO for 3 days to help out. I'm pretty much bragging that I have a kind-hearted husband who enjoys helping others. He is certainly too good for me. So we will be enjoying him today and listening to his stories of the town hit so hard by a tornado, only 2 hours from where we live.

MommyKerrie Is Taking a Break This Weekend

I gotta take a bloggy break. I'm getting burned out again. This always happens this time of year, about the time summer comes around and I realize I still have homeschooling to do and I have tons of fun stuff planned for the kids over the summer and tons of other writing projects I want to get to while kids are laying around in a post-pool coma.

And let's face it ... I'm getting my butt kicked trying to keep the house looking decent these days. AND I have all those millions of photos staring at me when I go to the basement to do laundry and they are BEGGING to be put into simple scrapbooks. And you all know how DEMANDING my husband is ... give me a backrub this and rub my feet that and make me some duck a l'orange this and fetch me a martini that. HAHA! Yeah, right!

So leave me a comment and let me know some of your summer plans. I'll still be blogging ... June is the month of ME since I'll be turning 40. Then July is homeschooling month. If you guest post for me that will give you some new fans and me a freaking break!

Frugal Tip: Set Up a Budget

I started using an on-paper budget when I started losing bills and having to pay late fees for bills I had forgotten to pay on time. Some of the more spontaneous people I knew made fun of me ... until they found themselves in credit card debt with a wicked Target credit card bill coming every month.

Setting up a budget (either on a piece of paper or in Excel, which is how I do it because I like the calculations) has helped me to prioritize what I spend money on and we are never late with bill payments now.

It's easy to do.  If you use a piece of paper, make column headings like "Name of Bill", "Total Amount Owed", "Amount Due Now", "Due Date", "Date Paid", "Amount Paid". You decide how you want to set it up.

Down the left side list your bills: rent or mortgage, utility bills, car payments, dance lessons, groceries, gas for your car, everything. Don't forget about those things that come every two or three months, like maybe your trash bill or if you pay your car insurance every 3 or 6 months.

Whip out your calculator because you may have to adjust some of your amounts that you spend on unnecessary stuff like fast food. If you are low on money for a certain paycheck, watch what you spend at the grocery store because that is the easiest place to cut costs. Shop at discount stores and consider some meatless meals like Frito Pie, grilled cheese or peanut butter and jelly.

Check back with your budget often to make sure you're on track. It will take some tweaking and a few months to perfect it, but soon you'll be on your way to financial success. Setting up a budget is especially important for couples who maybe aren't on the same page financially ... like one spends a lot and one prefers to save.

I also highly recommend any book by Dave Ramsey, as well as his radio talk show!

Frugality Tip: Take Care of Your Health

Recently a guy was telling me how he spent $14,000 on medical care in 2010 for a family of 3, and that did not include the premiums he was paying through his work. I was shocked and wondered how we had paid way less than that, even the year that Sam was in the NICU for a week, and we have a family more than double the size of his. Here are some factors that will have you paying out the wazoo ...

1. Do you smoke? Not only are you probably looking old and wrinkly and blackening your lungs (how fun for your kids to have to take care of you when you get emphysema!), but you probably feel like crap, too. How far can you run before you are out of breath? Are you sick often?
2. Do you drink alcohol often? Wine now and then is said to be good for you, but are you throwing back a 12-pack of beer nightly? That's a different story for Mr. Liver, and I hope your kids are available and still in contact with you when it's time for a ride to your AA meeting (since you got that DUI and all that).
3. Do you take too many prescription drugs? Do you need them to help you sleep, wake up, be happy, get over an illness, for pain? Do you need them to live?
4. Do you run your kid to the doctor for a paper cut?
5. Do you head to the ER for a headache?
6. Do you hit the therapist up every time you experience rejection or are having a hard time with someone?
7. Are you on birth control pills? Have you read the warnings on those puppies lately? Breast cancer doesn't sound like a fun way to spend my fifties.
8. Do you over-sterilize everything you or your precious kids touch? Stop that! The less we wash our hands in my house, the healthier we are.

I hope my non-judgmental and amazing health tips will help you to cut your medical costs in the future. You can send some of that extra money my way for my LegoLand 2012 fund. Thank ya.