My mom values being in touch with me over receiving gifts, so I always Skype her on Mother's Day. I also like finding things that are useful to give her, and it usually involves my making that item in some way. The end result is a more thoughtful, meaningful gift, I think.
I buy her something vintage from a thrift store/ antique store (rather than an expensive jewelry shop)
For this upcoming Mother's Day, I bought a fancy-looking vintage pearl watch.
I am a stay at home mom and I have been looking for something that I can do to contribute to my family's income for sometime. I have been getting a little desperate the last couple of months. I have always wanted to start a blog about our daily living adventures and my bargain shopping as well as our baking and recent craftiness. I am not sure how to do it and I didn't want to ruin my chances by just jumping into it so this book would tremendously help me gain the added confidence I need to become the successful blogger I have to desired to be. I have always enjoyed writing and have been very successful in the past, but just not sure about it all. Thank you so much for the opportunity and I look forward to reading more of your inspirational work. Thanks Melinda
My mom and I take a 20 minute walk every weekday that I'm off work, so we kinda to a year-round Mother's Day. But I ought to make her something as well, so thanks for the reminder, WiseBread!
We will have everyone over for brunch, which is very easy and inexpensive to do. Also, as a gift for my mom we usually get her some flowers, but potted ones so she can put them on her deck and enjoy them all summer long. My kids & husband usually get me flowers for my garden, perennials so they keep coming back.
I'm a mother but I don't put much stock in commercially exploited, manufactured holidays such as mother's day. When my children were young, I always enjoyed the clay hand prints, drawings, and poems that they brought home, but I've always actively discouraged spending on gifts. We have a family dinner together at home to which we all contribute effort and open a bottle of wine. My daughter usually gives me a card that she makes herself. That's enough for me along with a hug and an "I love you."
So, in your scenario of people living paycheck to paycheck, where would they find the money if they have an unexpected expense during the month? You can't use cash or debit card if there's no extra money in the bank. These people will probably have to take out a loan which, technically, is using credit and paying interests (a la credit cards).
My mom is gone, so I don't buy gifts for this day. I celebrate with my daughter. I tell her no gifts- we usually will go for a long walk in a park, or hiking along the Hudson. I love it!
I always give my mom a thoughtful card and in lieu of a gift, I try to wait until the next time we are together to do an activity together or go to brunch, rather than have a bunch of flowers delivered that will just die.
Brad,
I wish I had read your informative article before a thief smashed my car's window and stole the handbag I had hidden under a jacket underneath the back seat of my car. He/she took the entire handbag which had my driver's license, credit cards, checkbook, gift cards, eyeglasses, sunglasses, store cards and a photo book that I can never ever replace. Even small things such as receipts were in my handbag. Now I can't return items that I needed to.
To make matters worse, I recently moved from California to Pennsylvania and had procrastinated in getting a new drivers license for my new state. So now, I need to have my California driver's license replaced before I can apply for a Pennsylvania driver's license. I have been dealing with my bank, credit card companies and the police for the past two days. Today, I begin dealing with replacing my photo ID. ALL of this could have been so much easier if I would have done just one of the steps you wrote about; photocopy everything in my wallet. Why didn't I think of that? I guess we all think it will never happen to us but, sadly, it does.
Interesting article with some great suggestions. However, you may want to note that a recent study from the Medical University of Graz (Austria) casts doubt on #9. It reaches the opposite conclusion and finds a vegetarian only diet generally results in less healthy individuals than meat eaters. Previously, I have advocated a raw vegan diet, so there is certainly a split on the issue.
I use a combination of spreadsheet and Mint. In Google Drive, I budget for each week of the month, then I set up automatic payments in line with my spouses and my different pay dates based on that budget, and then use Mint to track spending and financial goals.
Fun post! The common theme that I see with most of these is to relax and enjoy life (in moderation). Humans stress too much, often about money or money-related issues. Adopting these habits will alleviate stress and let people enjoy life.
Is that your actual living room? If so, I love the fact that you're using color to arrange your books. I always wanted to do that, but I have no 2 books of the same color :(
My mom values being in touch with me over receiving gifts, so I always Skype her on Mother's Day. I also like finding things that are useful to give her, and it usually involves my making that item in some way. The end result is a more thoughtful, meaningful gift, I think.
I buy her something vintage from a thrift store/ antique store (rather than an expensive jewelry shop)
For this upcoming Mother's Day, I bought a fancy-looking vintage pearl watch.
I am a stay at home mom and I have been looking for something that I can do to contribute to my family's income for sometime. I have been getting a little desperate the last couple of months. I have always wanted to start a blog about our daily living adventures and my bargain shopping as well as our baking and recent craftiness. I am not sure how to do it and I didn't want to ruin my chances by just jumping into it so this book would tremendously help me gain the added confidence I need to become the successful blogger I have to desired to be. I have always enjoyed writing and have been very successful in the past, but just not sure about it all. Thank you so much for the opportunity and I look forward to reading more of your inspirational work. Thanks Melinda
We celebrate it frugally by staying home and having homemade gifts
We usually do a BBQ/potluck instead of dining out. One of these years, I would like to try a picnic at the beach!
My mom and I take a 20 minute walk every weekday that I'm off work, so we kinda to a year-round Mother's Day. But I ought to make her something as well, so thanks for the reminder, WiseBread!
We celebrate by making mom her favorite meal and making homemade gift she loves. We spend time, not money.
We will have everyone over for brunch, which is very easy and inexpensive to do. Also, as a gift for my mom we usually get her some flowers, but potted ones so she can put them on her deck and enjoy them all summer long. My kids & husband usually get me flowers for my garden, perennials so they keep coming back.
I'm a mother but I don't put much stock in commercially exploited, manufactured holidays such as mother's day. When my children were young, I always enjoyed the clay hand prints, drawings, and poems that they brought home, but I've always actively discouraged spending on gifts. We have a family dinner together at home to which we all contribute effort and open a bottle of wine. My daughter usually gives me a card that she makes herself. That's enough for me along with a hug and an "I love you."
I will probably go out to lunch with my family. I will send flowers to my mother in law.
So, in your scenario of people living paycheck to paycheck, where would they find the money if they have an unexpected expense during the month? You can't use cash or debit card if there's no extra money in the bank. These people will probably have to take out a loan which, technically, is using credit and paying interests (a la credit cards).
My mom is gone, so I don't buy gifts for this day. I celebrate with my daughter. I tell her no gifts- we usually will go for a long walk in a park, or hiking along the Hudson. I love it!
I always give my mom a thoughtful card and in lieu of a gift, I try to wait until the next time we are together to do an activity together or go to brunch, rather than have a bunch of flowers delivered that will just die.
Homemade gift
Brad,
I wish I had read your informative article before a thief smashed my car's window and stole the handbag I had hidden under a jacket underneath the back seat of my car. He/she took the entire handbag which had my driver's license, credit cards, checkbook, gift cards, eyeglasses, sunglasses, store cards and a photo book that I can never ever replace. Even small things such as receipts were in my handbag. Now I can't return items that I needed to.
To make matters worse, I recently moved from California to Pennsylvania and had procrastinated in getting a new drivers license for my new state. So now, I need to have my California driver's license replaced before I can apply for a Pennsylvania driver's license. I have been dealing with my bank, credit card companies and the police for the past two days. Today, I begin dealing with replacing my photo ID. ALL of this could have been so much easier if I would have done just one of the steps you wrote about; photocopy everything in my wallet. Why didn't I think of that? I guess we all think it will never happen to us but, sadly, it does.
That's crazy! Thank you for sharing :)
Interesting article with some great suggestions. However, you may want to note that a recent study from the Medical University of Graz (Austria) casts doubt on #9. It reaches the opposite conclusion and finds a vegetarian only diet generally results in less healthy individuals than meat eaters. Previously, I have advocated a raw vegan diet, so there is certainly a split on the issue.
I love making Chicken wild rice soup in my crockpot. It's easy and the whole family enjoys it.
I use a combination of spreadsheet and Mint. In Google Drive, I budget for each week of the month, then I set up automatic payments in line with my spouses and my different pay dates based on that budget, and then use Mint to track spending and financial goals.
I really like the app envelopes!
What if you're a Prime subscriber for the video streaming, and the shipping is just a bonus?
My tool is to use a calendar and basic spreadsheet to figure out the regular monthly bills and budget for them to be paid early or on time.
Fun post! The common theme that I see with most of these is to relax and enjoy life (in moderation). Humans stress too much, often about money or money-related issues. Adopting these habits will alleviate stress and let people enjoy life.
Is that your actual living room? If so, I love the fact that you're using color to arrange your books. I always wanted to do that, but I have no 2 books of the same color :(
Amen! I used to babysit for a family that included three little kids who rarely if ever played outside. Their jeans went into the wash after just one wear. Seriously?
Wrote about this myself, in fact:
http://donnafreedman.com/2011/04/14/how-often-do-you-wash-your-jeans/