Search Results for: blog living the life

6 Steps to a Simple, Nonmaterialistic Life

Six easy steps you can take, starting today, to live a more simple and debt-free life  Live Below Your Means Did you know that the average American spends $1.25 for each dollar he or she actually earns? Scary isn’ it? We live in a culture where living above your means is so normal, so casual, that we don’t even realize it. Create a budget and aim to live below your means, not above. Value Usefulness Over Status The clothes we choose, the cars we drive, the homes we live in and the electronics we carry sometimes are often purchased for … Continue reading →

A Child’s Self Esteem and the Frugal Life

My daughter came home the other day from a doll playdate. The girls all brought their 18-inch dolls, you know the American Girl Doll kind. My daughter does have a real American Girl Doll, given to her on her birthday after more than four years on her wish list and some creative saving. She is fond of that doll, and has never once complained about the fact that it is her only one (it is not unusual for her peers to have three or four of these dolls as well as all of the accessories). She did complain though that … Continue reading →

Lifestyle Replacing Diet Plans?

You might be surprised to learn that less and less people (especially women) are dieting.  At first, this might sound like a bad thing.  After all, isn’t obesity a significant problem in the United States?  Shouldn’t more people be dieting? Well there are a couple of issues to consider.  The first is that many women are starting to embrace and accept their bodies.  Not that they don’t want to make healthy changes.  But there is less concern about being stick-thin. Others truly don’t see having too much weight as being unattractive. There are a couple of ways to look at … Continue reading →

If I Had My Life to Live Over

I believe in stockpiling. I really do, but what happens when saving something for someday means that you never get to enjoy it? Erma Bombeck was a well-known humor writer who succumbed to illness. When she found out she was dying, she wrote a poem called “If I Had My Life to Live Over.” One of the lines of the poem was “I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.” Isn’t it so true? How many of us save stuff for someday? Someday comes in many forms: someday when there is scarcity … Continue reading →

Helping Kids Balance Electronics and Life

With Christmas around the corner electronics are in high demand. But, how do we as parents teach our children to find a balance between technology and their other everyday activities? Our kids are living in a digital world. They instinctively know how to work just about every electronic device out there. I have been amazed at the things my 4 year old can do on Grandma’s Ipad. He knows how to work it better than I do. He can navigate and find his favorite shows in a matter of seconds. He knows right where his games are and can go … Continue reading →

The Gift of Fit Living

What is one of the best gifts you could give this holiday season?  How about the gift of health? Maybe you have been thinking about what to buy for someone you love.  Or you have been asked what you would like for Christmas.  The following are some fit living gift ideas. Let’s start with an easy one.  How about a gym club membership?  Sometimes you can get really good deals at this time of year.  You might receive a discount for the first year or three months free.   Shop around and see what’s out there. Fitness gadgets and accessories make … Continue reading →

Living Math

Math is used every day. Living math is an aptly put term for teaching math through the every day uses of math. Children are taught how to solve real life math problems using real life scenarios or hands on manipulatives or simply through play. Push the worksheets and textbooks aside and see the equations you solve daily. A child will learn to understand math when he sees the connection to the physical world around him. Real world math scenarios to consider: Doubling a recipe. Cutting a recipe in half. Calculating change before the cashier hands it back. How much money … Continue reading →

Five Signs that You Are Living Beyond Your Means

You could be living beyond your means and not realize it. Why is this a problem? Well, when we live beyond our means, we can quickly run up debt. This debt can snowball until it becomes hard to manage, a real crisis. That is why it is so important to recognize the early warning signs and make the changes that are necessary to get your finances back on track. Sometimes it seems as though you are supporting your lifestyle and don’t have a problem paying for anything. After all, your credit cards aren’t being turned down at the store, and … Continue reading →

Living with Engineers: Spouses, not Supervisors

Living with an engineer involves more than just having to hear the word “efficient” all of the time. A lot of engineers end up in management positions, and that means one thing: they’re bred to supervise. The word “efficient” does get bandied about, in how they think tasks ought to be accomplished. I already shared my story about measuring butter for baking, and how my husband felt about that. That’s not the only time something like that has happened. Sometimes, I find Jonathan trying to supervise me when we’re completing a project. To be fair, sometimes I ask for it. … Continue reading →

Life Goes On With Toddler And Baby

I am not sure what I expected life with a baby and a toddler would be like. In fact, I am pretty sure that I did not have any expectations. For some reason, I simply did not think about what it would be like until Blake came along. In hindsight it is probably best that I did not have any preexisting expectations because they may have been completely different than what has actually transpired during the past seven months. The first couple of months were a blur, as things normally are after the arrival of a new baby. Time passed, … Continue reading →