Teaching the Art of Savings

There is an art that I have REALLY wanted to teach my girls especially in the world that we live in today and that is the art of saving money.

I wish that I would have paid better attention to this lesson as a kid but I think at the same time with me learning the hard way that I know now how very crucial it really is. Since my girls are older now and they all have a decent grasp on money I wanted a way to teach them this art but at the same time make it to where it was fun and a family affair because we all know it is better late than never on some lessons in life and I feel saving money is one of those lessons! 

I hunted, pinned, scoured and researched online and Pinterest  and finally found a great idea that would work for us! 

You will find TONS of saving ideas, schedules, challenges, etc out there but the one I found was SUPER simple! 

So a few weeks ago we started not one but two money saving challenges as a family! 

According to Life Hacks a 2 liter coke bottle filled with dimes will end up being $500! 

That breaks down to $100 a person and that was an EASY win for this house. We will split the savings equally and either go some where fun or go on a mini shopping spree.  If the life hack stands true. 

I took a 2 liter bottle ripped off the label, rinsed out the bottle and with my handy dandy sharpie I just wrote Dime Challenge. 

There is NOTHING fancy about it and it sits in our office on my desk. If this is successful I will take more time into making the bottle "cute". 

So far after a few weeks the bottom is barely covered in dimes but we figured dimes would be slow to accumulate.  Hints why we did a second challenge....

I have not found what the penny's will accumulate in worth BUT I can tell you this 2 liter is filling up WAY faster than the dimes. 

And again I did NOTHING fancy... another bottle of change on mommy's desk with Penny Challenge wrote in high tech sharpie for this one too....

I can say though the girls have all been pretty active in it and have a fit if they see a dime or a penny to add to the savings. Even the hubby is glad to help out and lord knows my wallet is thankful for the lightened load through out the week when I distribute it out to the girls to add it to to the challenge. 

I can't wait to keep you all informed on where we are in this and what we rake in from savings. 

Have you got a great way to save money? Please share!

Why I will be running on...Coffee, Choas and Cuss Words

I feel like there has been so many posts telling you all just how busy this mamma feels when it comes to having three girls! 

This year seems even busier for some reason and I am unsure why but my poor planner seems to be a rainbow of colors trying to keep up with it all. 

This year the girls seem to be more and more interested in extra curricular offered through the schools and through their church and though this mamma seems to be booked solid most of the time I REALLY enjoy seeing them grow and learn on all these levels! 

Here are just a few things we have going on right now! 

One Million Minutes

It was announced last week that the Elementary school is challenging the kids there to read one million minutes this school year! 

As a minor book worm I LOVE it! 

The school has come up with ways to get the entire school excited about it too with weekly contests, prizes and a HUGE thing is being put together for the entire school if they reach it. 

I know Aaliyah will be doing her part to help and I can not wait to see how this goes for them all!

Caravan 2016-2017

When we moved into the house we are in now the girls started going to church on a more regular bases with our middle daughters bestie. Wednesday nights it is off to church on the church van and the girls have been very active this year! The church offers a caravan program where the younger school aged children learn not only about God and His amazing self but also about real life lessons. They have the program set up like a boy or girl scout and the kids earn patches, take field trips and have a ceremony at the end of the school year so show off what they hvae learned. 

I LOVE this idea and it gets my little one super excited about getting some Jesus in her life! 

The older two are now teens and they also learn, work and enjoy activities as they learn more about God. For instance the just had a field trip to our local Christian Music Festival and my girls REALLY enjoyed it! 

I am super excited to see everything that they learn and do this year for the Lord. 

One Million Words  

Dakota signed up this year to read ONE MILLION WORDS... 

by herself...

 voluntarily...

Though I know she can do it because she is a HUGE book worm I am just amazed she signed up for this. She is already jam packed with JROTC, band, Honors and Pre AP classes but what is one more... 

She was also very proud of herself that she was the first person to sign up for it too...

JROTC

As you all have seen here before Dakota is also signed up for her first year in JROTC. 

She has been thinking hard about signing up for some of their teams like riffle, First Aid, Color Guard etc and I am REALLY pushing color guard!

I think she would enjoy it and it would help her break out of her non social self but we will see what she decides if anything. I know we are 4 weeks into school and I am over the 5 am mornings to help get her ready for inspection though :) 

Elf Club

Alora this year has signed up for the Elf club this year and I have to say I am kinda excited for this. Dakota did not do any of these things when she was at the Middle School so I am excited that Alora is willing to get involved there. This is a club where they help others through out the year but their main goal is to raise money between now and December to purchase gifts for children in need this holiday season. Though it is a social club technically the purpose behind it is heart warming and helpful and I am super excited to see what all these kids accomplish in the few short months we have in 2016! 

Girls On the Run

Our youngest Aaliyah decided to sign up for a 5k this year! 

Now I am NOT athletic what so ever... period... I have not ran in YEARS and I will be the first to say this gene is NOT from me! 

BUT...

More power to Aaliyah and I am VERY excited to see her do this program!

They meet every Monday and Wednesday after school and train the girls for the big 5k that will be in November. They also have snacks, lessons and will teach the girls about a healthy lifestyle. 

This is the first year that the elementary has offered this and we have been VERY VERY blessed to have our school sponsored for these girls to enjoy and benefit from this! 

Though most of these extra curricular will be done with by the time the girls go on Christmas break I am SUPER excited to see them SO involved this year. I will gladly keep you all updated as these play out and progress!

XOXO

SJ