Save Money by Cooking with a Crock-pot

First introduced in 1971, the Crock-Pot revolutionized the way we cook meals. The word Crock-Pot is actually trademarked by Rival Industries, but is used in every day conversations instead of the term slow cooker. Many recipes for the crock-pot require little preparation. The slow cooker can then safely be left to run unattended, making it a convenient cooking method.

Crock-pot meals can not only save you time in the kitchen, but they can also save you money as well.  The reasons are as follows:

1.    It keeps you out of the fast food line.  If you had not loading up the crock-pot with the ingredients this morning you’d likely be in the drive through line at the local fast food restaurant this afternoon after work, grabbing a meal for your family.  The average fast food meal for a family of four rings up over $20.

2.    Stretches your dollar.  Most crock-pot recipes and meals can truly stretch your food dollar.  Because you can put a whole chicken in the crock-pot to cook then cut it up for several meals, you can stretch your budget with the use your leftovers.

3.    Cuts your grocery budget.  You can save money at the butcher since the slow cooking process is especially useful to tenderize cheaper cuts of meat.

4.    Saves on your energy bill.  Instead of running a larger appliance like the stove you are running one small energy conservative appliance, the crock-pot, saving on your energy costs.

The convenience of the slow cooker not only saves you time, but will also save you money. Don’t you think it’s time to take it out of your closet (or wherever you have it packed away collecting dust) and make a Crock-Pot meal today?

About the Author:
Cara Mirabella is a WAHM with one toddler from New Jersey. She owns and manages TheHouseholdHelper.com – a site dedicated to saving your time, money and sanity when managing your household. Her site offers tons of information as well as e-books including <a href=”http://thehouseholdhelper.com/ebooks/CrockPotCooking.html”"Recipes For Every Occassion: 470 Crock Pot Recipes”.<a/>

Yes – it is possible to earn money from home

Are you a mom looking for a way to make money from home? There are actually many ways to work from home, and if you are just starting your search, get ready to dive in! There are opportunities to work locally off-line and globally online!

A very popular way to make money from home is by selling items on eBay. You can sell items you have around the house that you are no longer using, clothes your children have grown out of, or, if you are crafty, you can sell things you have made. But you don’t have to stop there. Many people may not be as computer literate as you or maybe they just don’t have time to list their own auctions. You can offer up your services as an “auction specialist”. For a small fee plus a percentage of each sale, you can take pictures of items other people want to sell on eBay, post the auctions and take care of shipping the item to the buyer.

If you come from an administrative background, you can find work online as a virtual assistant. The job duties can be varied, including answering emails, making phone calls, maintaining websites, and more. If you are very adept at designing websites, there is certainly a huge market for that as well as graphic design. A copywriter (also known as ghostwriter) can make money by writing articles, sales letters, advertising copy and more for Internet Marketers. Freelance writing for newspapers and magazines is also an option for those who enjoy writing.

If you are someone who prefers to work off-line, there are still lots of possibilities. For starters, you can start a home-based daycare. If you love to organize and clean, you can set up a home business as professional organizer and get paid to clean out other people’s closets, attics, garages, etc. Another option for those who love to organize, would be to organize events. These can be events for people, such as parties and weddings; or you can organize events for businesses such as meetings, luncheons, and even business expos.

Many people have turned to direct-sales, also known as “party-plan”, to work from home. It is no longer a choice between kitchenware or make-up companies – today you can choose to sell candles, clothes, craft supplies, toys, books, jewelry and more. Some of the companies allow you to sell these items online as well as in the traditional “party” setting.

The possibilities for working at home are endless. Keep researching different options, ask lots of questions, and you will find a way to make money from home!

When Stress Is High – How To Unwind

Let’s face it, every job has stressful periods (no pun intended) and it is going to happen to you when you work from home sooner or later. A deadline sneaks up on you, you are dealing with an annoying client, or your computer messes up at the worst possible moment. One of the problems with working from home is that you can’t avoid bringing your work home with you – it’s already there. So how do you unwind when you get stressed in your home office? Try a few of these tips.

Walk Away
Just step away from your desk for a few minutes to relax. Stretch a little and take a few deep breaths. Remind yourself why you wanted to work from home in the first place and that in the big scheme of things this really isn’t so bad. After you’ve calmed down, take a look at what you can do to get through this and get to work.

Exercise
One of the best ways to combat stress is to work out. Get some type of exercise at least three days per week. Join a gym, go for a bike ride with your kids, or find a friend who will take walks with you a few times a week. Find some type of exercise that you enjoy and get moving each week. When you have a particularly stressful day, take a few minutes to stretch, go for a short walk or do a few jumping jacks. It’ll help you relax and releases some endorphins that will make you feel better right away.

Talk To A Friend
Grab your phone and call a friend. Spend a few minutes complaining about what’s stressing you out. Just getting it out in the open helps you feel less stressed. Even better, call a friend and meet for a cup of coffee or for lunch. You get away from what’s stressing you out for a bit and get to talk to a friend.

Indulge Yourself
After a particularly stressful day indulge yourself with a hot bath, read a good book or prepare your favorite comfort food. Other ways to indulge yourself are to go to the movies, schedule a date with your hubby or go shopping. In moderation almost any type of indulgence that will help you relax and feel better about yourself is fine.

Reexamine The Cause of The Stress And Adjust
If you find yourself stressed a lot, it may be time to take a closer look at what’s causing all that stress. Once you determine the cause, do something about it. If a particular client is the main reason you are stressed out, it may be time to find someone else to work for. If a particular task is stressing you out, consider hiring someone else to take care of it for you while you focus on other work.

Sure, there will always be some stressful moments in your life. Just do what you can to minimize the stress and eliminate it where you can.

What it Takes to be a Successful WAHM

Being a work at home mom can be one of the most satisfying things you can do with your life. You will be able to spend time with your family and have the opportunity to create a successful business. It takes a lot of work, maybe more than you realized when you first started out. Here are some tips on how to keep going when things get tough.

There will be days when you feel like giving up. Don’t give in to those feelings. Success is not found overnight. You are going to have to put in a lot of time and effort when it comes to building your business, but you can do it. It is ok to take a “mental health day” once in a while, but when that day is over, you need to get up and start working again.

Stay motivated by hanging up pictures of your kids near your computer or phone and writing down what you want to accomplish by working at home. Maybe you want to pay off credit card debt or save for retirement or buy the kids a pool. Whenever you feel discouraged – read what you wrote down or look at the pictures of your kids. It will inspire you to keep working!

Try to find a mentor – someone who has already found success in the work at home field you have chosen. They know exactly what you are going through and can offer advice when you ‘get stuck’ on something. They can also help keep you accountable when it comes to your goals.

If you haven’t taken the time to write down your goals, take the time now. By having your goals written down on paper you will have a clear definition of what you want. Once you have them on paper, take a closer look at each one and write down specific action steps you can take now to achieve them. For instance, if your goal is to build a website, what are three things you can do today to accomplish that? Keep looking forward toward your goals and you will find yourself achieving success!

Walking the WAHM tightrope – balancing work and family

Sometimes, being a work at home mom can feel like walking on a tight-rope! Balancing your work-time and you family-time can almost feel overwhelming, but it can be done. As a WAHM you are ahead of the game. The following are some tips to help keep you balanced – and sane!

You have the ability to set your own hours, so take advantage of that right now. If you can handle some tasks at “odd hours”, you will have more family time during the day. Are you a morning person? If so, try to get up an hour before your family to take advantage of some “quiet time” to focus on your business; night owls can take care of emails and other administrative tasks after they have put their children to bed.

If you pick your children up from school, use the time you spend waiting for them to get out of class to return customer phone calls.  A wireless headset for your cell phone will allow you to keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road if you make calls while driving.

During the week, when schedules are busiest, plan speedy dinners. Let your kids help out in the kitchen while you cook – you’ll be spending time together and teaching them skills they will need. There are plenty of cookbooks out there dedicated to “kid friendly recipes” if you need some inspiration on what to make.

Blend family time and work time by getting your children involved in your business. Smaller children can affix the stamps or mailing labels; older children can help hang flyers; and teenagers can take on some administrative tasks such as data entry.

Set aside some time each day to spend with your children with no distractions. You don’t have to go anywhere special; the time can be spent reading a book or playing a game. The point is just to let your children know that they come first, and the business comes second. Remember – you became a work at home mom so you could spend time with your family. Don’t forget to take some time out to enjoy them!

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