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Becoming a Financially Savvy
Mommy-Come-Lately®

1. Get creative with your food. Trim your grocery bill. I recommend Once A Month Cooking by MiMi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg and The Great American Supper Swap by Trish Berg to help plan meals. Print online coupons, planning meals based on weekly sales. The Grocery Game provides Teri's List, a weekly list of the lowest priced products at your supermarket matched with manufacturers' coupons and weekly specials. Try Teri's List for four weeks for $1. Purchase the 50% off meat and pop it in the freezer or cook it that day. Check out the variety of tips at MommySavers.com.
2. Don't forgo date nights. My husband and I enjoy great times together without spending a dime. We've hiked a local park (his idea), strolled through artists' shops (my idea), and used a gift certificate to a favorite restaurant. Use coupons offering buy one, get one free entrees. Or split an entree. Try a new restaurant with an early bird dinner specials. Instead of splurging on a meal, go out for dessert and coffee or share an appetizer and speciality drink. Go to a dollar movie theater, skipping the exorbitantly priced popcorn and soda. Better yet, snuggle on the couch and watch a DVD, sharing a bowl of homemade popcorn.
3. Pamper yourself by paying less for someone else's lack of experience. Students at AVEDA Institutes nationwide offer salon services like haircuts and facials at a fraction of the cost of a full service salon. Check out local beauty schools for inexpensive haircuts or manicures. One friend received free massages from a student at a massage school who needed to log in practice hours before graduating.
4. Figure out inexpensive family fun. Dig those board games out of your closet and have a game night with your kids. Enjoy root beer floats and a movie night. Pick a classic kids' book  like C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and read out loud to your children while they snuggle in bed. Instead of watching the latest movie release, pop in last year's family Christmas video and share some memories. Put together photo albums of favorite pictures, letting everyone design different pages.
5. Go Green. Do your laundry on off-peak hours, which change during the winter months. Check your utility company's web site for off-peak hours. Progam your thermostat so your heat is set lower during the night while you sleep--and then kicks on in the morning. Save money by replacing regular light bulbs with compact flourescent bulbs that last for years. Check out RealSimple.com for more ideas.

Instead of thinking of all the things you can't do if money's tight, begin to think of all the things you can do!

News to Know: Over-The-Counter  Cold (OTC) Medications

1. Do not give children medications that are labeled only for adults.
2. Only use the measuring device that comes with the medication or one especially made for measuring medicine.
3. Use OTC cough and cold medicines with child-resistant safety caps--and keep medicines out of the reach of small children.
4. Remember: OTC cough and cold medicines do not cure your child's illness--they only treat symptoms.

For more detailed information about OTC cough and cold medicines, check out Dr. Walt Larimore's blog.

Special Offer for E-Newsletter Subscribers:

The first 10 people who order a copy of my book Baby Changes Everything: Embracing and Preparing for Motherhood after 35 during November will receive a free  Mommy-Come-Lately® coffee mug!

Upcoming Speaking Engagement & Radio

• November 3: Teen MOPS group at Cherry Hills Community Church, 3900 Grace Boulevard, Highlands Ranch, CO at 6:30 PM.(map)
• November 7-8: Hearts at Home North Central Regional Conference in Rochester, MN.
• December 22: Radio interview with Lynn Ford, station WBCL (Ft. Wayne, IN), 7:05-8:00 AM (MT), Topic: Late-in-Life Motherhood.
  
  

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