Pantry Challenge - Week 4 Update

{This is embarrassing.}

I joined the Pantry Challenge at Good Cheap Eats with good intentions but I have to admit that it's been a total fail for me. I intended to use up some random ingredients I have on hand:

Ronzoni Healthy Harvest egg noodles
Sweetened condensed milk
Canned cannelli beans
Cornmeal
Jam
Anchovies

I used some of the noodles, some of the beans, a little of the cornmeal, and actually had a lot less jam that I thought. So I still have quite a bit of this stuff to use up.

What I realized during this Pantry Challenge is that I can only multitask so much. I've been very focused on other goals, and I just don't seem able to add working in the kitchen into my routine right now.

But I really want to, because we eat a lot healthier when I cook more. So that is something I am going to work on in the coming weeks, to find a balance between accomplishing the goals I've been focusing on with cooking and baking (which I really do enjoy, when I do it).

Menu Plan Monday: 1/30 - 2/5/2012

Once again, I have no desire to make a menu plan, but it really does help me get dinner on the table, and that helps us save money and eat healthy. So, here goes:

Monday - Cauliflower & Sardine Pasta, Fruit

Tuesday - Roast Chicken with garlic sauce, flatbread, and salad

Wednesday - Grilled Pizza, Salad

Thursday - Chicken Salad Sandwiches, Sweet Potato Fries

Friday - Salmon Furikake, Rice, Simmered Squash

Saturday - Leftovers

Sunday - Super Bowl! {Dinner out}

See more weekly menus at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Tips for Organizing and Filing Your Taxes

It's the start of tax season, and unfortunately the best time for preparing and organizing your tax documents is the year before. But if all you have right now is a big mess of papers, then here are some suggestions for making the seemingly overwhelming task of doing your taxes manageable:

• Gather all of your documents. Taxes = lots of papers. For several weeks, the mail brings 1099s, W2s, and other tax-related documents. You may also have receipts for deductible donations and expenses. Getting everything together in one place is the first step. Be thorough. Any omission could cost you money - either because you failed to take a deduction to which you were entitled, or worse, because you failed to report income and the IRS has found out!



• Create a workspace where you can spread out. You're going to be creating piles, so a wide, flat surface is your best friend right now. Be sure to remove spillable items (like that giant Diet Coke) out of the way.



• Create categories based on your tax return. Some tax returns are more complicated than others, depending on your types of income and the type of return you file. General categories are income and deductions. Some documents, like your W2, may include information for multiple categories, and I tend to separate those out since there aren't many of them.
  
  My husband and I file a 1040, and I create categories based upon the sections on the form itself. Our income is separated into the following categories: his salary, investment income, prizes, my miscellaneous earnings (e.g., from surveys), and blog earnings. Our deductions get separated into the following: mortgage/tax deductions, charitable deductions, and other (e.g., dependent care expenses).

What you do next will vary based upon whether you file your own return, or whether you pay someone to do it, and just how much paper you have to deal with.

If you are filing a simple return like a 1040EZ, you can pull out the form and start filling it out at this point. Low to moderate income earners (generally below $50,000) can get free tax return preparation assistance. I worked as a VITA volunteer in law school, and prepared many 1040EZs for low income families - it's a legitimate program that can help a lot.

If you are hiring someone to do your taxes for you, this is a good time to find out how much more work they'd like you to do. Our old accountant would send us a worksheet that I would fill out, but our current accountant prefers me to hand over the sorted papers.

If you are doing your own taxes and are filing a 1040 or 1040A, pull out the form and just go step by step through the instructions and a draft version of the form. You may need to rearrange some of the sorting you did previously, but everything should be quite easy to find now that they're in general categories.

You have 82 days from today until the filing deadline of April 17. Good luck!

Week in Review: 2012 Week 3

Here's an update on how things went with my resolutions last week:

My healthy habit to master this month is exercise - and to make it a habit, I'm adding a mile to each day by using my rowing machine or treadmill. So far, it's going great, though admittedly I haven't been pushing myself (that's the habit I will build next month). Mentally, exercise is becoming much less of an obstacle, so I think focusing on building one healthy habit at a time is really working for me.

My weekly projects last week were tackling the box of papers that needed to be shredded, and filing the stack of papers on my desk. I was able to shred the box of papers in just one afternoon, thanks to my new Fellowes shredder. I can shred so many more papers at once and the machine is much faster, so what used to be a multi-day project now only takes a little over an hour. Yay! (And that just goes to show the value of having the right tools for a job.)

I did the filing yesterday evening, and I doubt I would have gotten to it if it hadn't been one of my projects this past week. So this weekly projects thing is working well for me too.

The housecleaning is also turning into a habit, which is fabulous. My Weekly Home Blessing Hour, which I do on Fridays, ensures the house looks great at least once during the week. And doing one small cleaning task each day, like cleaning one bathroom, is really making maintenance manageable. In fact, I hosted a playdate last week and all I had to do was get the toys off the floor. The cleaning was otherwise done. This is just something I have to keep up and really make a habit of.

For the coming week, my weekly project is going to be decluttering some bags and boxes I have sitting around. It feels really good to get rid of stuff we don't need!

Blogging 101: Ways to Make Money Blogging

When someone asks what I do now, I'm always greeted with amazement that I can actually make money from a blog. It's not much, at least compared to what I used to make as a lawyer, but it's still very helpful to our family's bottom line. If you're a blogger and looking for ways to monetize your blog, here are the three main ways I make money:

Affiliate and Referral Links - This is one of the two most obvious ways to make money as a blogger. It's also very simple - you include links that contain a specific code in your posts, and when someone clicks through and/or buys something using your link, you get paid. You'll need to sign up with the various programs and sites that you like to link to - not every site has an affiliate or referral program, and some programs have requirements that you may not meet. Be sure to read the fine print of all Terms & Conditions, as you are entering into a contract when you apply to be an affiliate. Also, each site has different payment terms and options, and there are a huge number of sites you can join out there. But here are some of my personal favorites:

• Amazon Associates - This is Amazon's referral program and maybe the biggest one around. It's not available everywhere, as Amazon has chosen not to have affiliates in certain states because of their sales tax laws. But I highly recommend it because it's easy to use, and their selection of products is so huge that pretty much any blogger can find legitimate reasons to link to it.



• Escalate Media - Escalate has advertising campaigns that you can share with your readers, including coupons, discounts, newsletters, free samples, and other offers. They are one of my favorite networks because of their outstanding customer service - it really feels like they care about their affiliates, they are responsive to emails, and they pay within fifteen days of the end of the month with a minimum payout threshold of $25.



• MySavings Media and Logical Media - Like Escalate Media, MySavings and Logical Media offer campaigns to share with your readers. Each network has some exclusive offers that you won't find elsewhere, and even if they have the same offer, sometimes their payout is different so it pays to check the value. All of these sites are easy to use, but note that MySavings pays out at a $50 minimum and Logical Media pays out at $100.



• Viglink - I'm fairly new to Viglink, but I like them as a "catch-all" affiliate link. In a nutshell, they are the affiliate of hundreds of sites, so inserting their code into your site turns un-affiliated links into affiliate links for Viglink (they don't do anything to your links that are already affiliate links). If they get paid for a purchase made through a link on your site, they'll share that amount with you. Basically, it's one way of making money through affiliate links without joining each and every affiliate program out there, although there are quite a few sites that Viglink isn't affiliated with. I think they miss some links, but overall I'm pretty happy with them. And if you are in a state that doesn't have Amazon Associates, you can still make some money from Amazon by using Viglink.



• Linkshare - Linkshare is an affiliate manager, meaning they handle the affiliate program for a number of sites such as Barnes & Noble. You have to join Linkshare, then apply to each program separately - each program has different requirements, like a minimum number of daily visitors or minimum number of conversions within a specified period of time.

Two big affiliate managers that I don't personally use but are worth mentioning because of their size include Commission Junction and ShareASale. I might join them at some point, but I haven't found myself linking to enough stores that use them to make it worth my while.

Ads - Ads are the second obvious way of generating blog income, and perhaps the easiest way is through Google Adsense. There are no minimum requirements, it's easy to set up on your site, and you can choose from quite a few different customizable options. There are also private ad networks, such as BlogAds. Many of these networks have minimum daily visitor requirements, and it can be difficult to get in. One that I haven't tried personally but may be good for beginners is Project Wonderful. You can also sell ads privately, and will have to decide if you are willing to sell text link ads (which can cause a drop in Google page rank). Again, be sure to read the fine print in the Terms & Conditions (for example, you'll see that Google requires Adsense users to have a privacy policy).

Sponsored Content - A third way of making money by blogging is to publish sponsored content, or content that you are paid to publish. You can write it yourself, or simply publish material provided by the sponsor.

The biggest obstacle with the latter two methods is finding sponsors. The bigger and better your blog is, the easier it will be - which is why I recommend signing up for some of the main affiliate sites and Google Adsense, and then focusing on giving your readers good content. That will help build your blog, and instead of you hunting for sponsors, sponsors will come to you.

Keep in mind that in the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission requires that bloggers disclose any benefit received. Disclosure is good practice anyway, because who wants to read a blog by someone they can't trust?

In that vein . . . This post contains affiliate links that help support this site at no additional cost to you. Thank you for clicking through them! You can read CFO's full disclosure here.

Pantry Challenge - Week 3 Update

I know I said I was joining the Pantry Challenge at Good Cheap Eats, with the goal of using up some random ingredients I have on hand:

Ronzoni Healthy Harvest egg noodles
Sweetened condensed milk
Canned cannelli beans
Cornmeal
Jam
Anchovies

But I've made hardly any progress at all. As I mentioned when sharing my menu plan for the week, I haven't felt much like cooking because I've been focused on other projects. That's not a bad thing, but it's just not possible to do everything at the same time, let alone do everything well.

However . . .

I do want to make more progress with this pantry challenge before it ends. And my family will eat better if I do. So I'm planning to use anchovies in tomorrow night's Pasta Puttanesca, and I finally acquired the ingredients to make Key Lime Bars and Mushroom & Artichoke Chicken with Egg Noodles. I will also finally get around to making cereal bars, which will use up some jam.

I do really like cooking . . . I just need to plan better!

Menu Plan Monday: 1/23/2012

I've been feeling uninspired in the kitchen, and not much like cooking (I've been focused on other things so far this year), but a menu plan is key to saving money and eating healthy, so here goes:

Monday - Roast Beef Hash, Roasted Butternut Squash, Biscuits

Tuesday - Pasta Puttanesca, Salad

Wednesday - Mushroom & Artichoke Chicken with Egg Noodles

Thursday - Dinner out

Friday - Sandwiches, Soup/Salad

Saturday - {not sure what our plans are}

Sunday - Dinner out

See more weekly menus at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

How much sleep do adults need?

I met two of my girlfriends for breakfast a while back, and we got around to discussing an issue that's common for most (if not all) moms: lack of sleep. One of my friends said that she just read that women over 40 ideally should get about six hours of sleep per night. Since I'm not quite 40, it made curious about how much sleep women in their 30's need, and how that changes over the years.

In general, adults need seven to eight hours of sleep (though you, or someone you know, may thrive on as little as five or be cranky if they get less than 10). If you find yourself getting sleepy during the day, you are probably not getting enough sleep. Also, older adults sleep more lightly and awaken more frequently, so they may need to nap.

Basically, it seems like you need to find the right amount of sleep for you, whatever stage you're at.

Personally, I used to need a solid eight hours when I was in my early 20's, but now seven seems like the right number for me. I wouldn't object to more, though!

Week in Review: 2012 Week 2

Here's an update on how things went with my resolutions last week:

My healthy habit this month - exercise - is still going strong. I really like focusing on one thing, and one thing only. In fact, I'm not even pushing myself to work out hard. That will be a goal for another month. Right now, I just want to work out for 31 straight days and so far, so good.

Instead of one project for the week, I tackled two projects since both were fairly small. The first was doing the ironing - it's something I don't have to do often, but clothing had piled up and I kept putting it off. So, it got done last week. I also went through an area where clutter accumulates and emptied it out. Again, it feels to good to get rid of stuff!

My housecleaning strategy is still very much a work in progress. But I'm seeing improvement. As I said last week, when I actually do the day's cleaning task, it's not that bad and doesn't take that long. It's becoming a little more habitual, which is what I need.

For this coming week, my projects are shredding (I have 1.5 boxes worth of papers waiting) and filing (there's a hefty stack waiting for me, as it's been a few months - I really need to go paperless on more accounts).

How's your year going so far?

Pantry Challenge - Week 2 Update

Ostensibly, I've joined the Pantry Challenge at Good Cheap Eats, with the goal of using up some random ingredients I have on hand:

Ronzoni Healthy Harvest egg noodles
Sweetened condensed milk
Canned cannelli beans
Cornmeal
Jam
Anchovies

From this list, I used all of two cans of cannellini beans last week.

Ahem.

I'd intended to use some cornmeal to make cornbread, but ended up making cream biscuits instead to use up some cream that was about to expire. And I didn't do any baking either.

So . . . I have two more weeks left to this pantry challenge, and I've got quite a few things still left to use up. I'm going to try Gina's Mushroom Artichoke Chicken, which sounds really good, and serve it with some egg noodles. I also foresee a caesar salad (anchovies) and cereal bars (jam) in our future. But obviously I'm going to have to kick things into high gear if I want to have these things used up by the end of the month!

Tips for Shopping with Kids

A week ago, when it was still winter vacation from school, I took my oldest son shopping with me and he was so good about it. We picked up a lot of bargains at multiple stores, including cheap cereal at Vons and $0.49 packs of batteries at Ralphs.* In retrospect, I realized I had done quite a few things to induce his cooperation and good behavior - things that I ought to keep in mind for future shopping trips:

1. Mental preparation - I told my son the day before that we would be going shopping the next day, and that the plan was to drop his brother off at preschool and then head to some stores. That mentally prepared him for the next morning, so that things got off to a smooth start.



2. Pick a "good" day and be flexible - My son woke up in a good mood (he usually does), but if he had been cranky, I probably wouldn't have started our marathon shopping session right after dropping his brother off. Maybe we would have stopped for breakfast first, or some other activity he enjoys, to get him in a better mood. If he had been in a particularly bad mood, I would have aborted my shopping plans entirely for the sake of my own sanity.



3. Plan a fun stop - I didn't actually plan this ahead of time, but when I saw Starbucks near Whole Foods, I realized it was time for a snack. My son gets very moody when his blood sugar drops, so we popped into Starbucks, where he enjoyed a cake pop (his drink was water that was in the car). Next time, when I'm (hopefully) better prepared, I will try to plan for a stop at a park so he can run around too.



4. Explain what you're doing - I always explain to my kids that I shop the way I do to save money so that we have money for other things, like their toys, or to put into savings for the future. My first-grader is beginning to grasp the value of a dollar, and even my younger son understands that money is not an unlimited commodity.




5. Offer lots of praise and thanks - I told my son repeatedly while we were out that he was behaving well, and I really appreciated his cooperation. If I recall correctly, we went to seven different stores in about three hours, and he was a real trooper.

*Side note: I've been able to get free AA and AAA batteries at the drugstores, Staples, and Target. But I take advantage of sales like the current one at Ralphs to get other sizes, which I've never been able to find for free.

Couponing for Good

Last month, I discovered that some friends were part of a giving circle and that they were buying holiday presents for a needy family. They graciously allowed us to join them in the giving, so we gave a gift for each family member, and I also put together a large collection of toiletries and beauty products. Most of the toiletries were free or super cheap thanks to The Drugstore Game, but I realized I had far fewer items to give than I could have because I hadn't shopped that much in the fall.

Prices have definitely gone up in the last couple of years, and I feel like I have to work harder to get the deals. Consequently, my stockpile is about two-thirds of the size it used to be.

So one of the things I want to do in 2012 is build my stockpile back up, so that I can give more. I've been going to one drugstore a week, usually CVS - so maybe I will start going to two drugstores a week to get more items.

Do you "Coupon for Good"?

Week in Review: 1st week of 2012

I think this might become a weekly recurring series, or at least, I wanted to share how things went with my resolutions last week.

As you might recall, I am establishing one healthy habit each month this year, and this month's habit is exercise, in the form of an extra mile each day. Since it doesn't take that long - about 20 minutes - so far, so good.

I'm also doing 52 projects this year - one per week. Since school didn't resume until this week, I had my first-grader home with me all last week (I took my younger son to preschool every day so I only had one at home for most of the day). Since I wasn't alone, I wanted to keep the week's project fairly small. All I did was itemize our donation items and drop them off at the Salvation Army on Friday. (I would have liked to have done this before the end of last year, but December was a huge whirlwind that started and ended with me being sick so that kind of thing just didn't get done.) It feels really good to have all of that clutter out of the house.

As for my housecleaning strategy, I had a couple of days when I didn't do my cleaning task for the day. So this strategy is obviously a work in progress. But I still think it can work for me, as part of the problem is that I dread doing the task - and yet, when I actually do it, it's not that bad and doesn't take that long. As with my healthy habits, I just need to establish housecleaning habits so that it gets done without much thought.

Pantry Challenge - Week 1 Update

I decided to join the Pantry Challenge at Good Cheap Eats last week, with the goal of using up some random ingredients I have on hand:

Ronzoni Healthy Harvest egg noodles
Sweetened condensed milk
Canned cannelli beans
Cornmeal
Jam
Anchovies

From this list, I used one package of egg noodles to make what was supposed to be Tuna Noodle Casserole, but as I posted on Facebook, I totally forgot the tuna and ended up with a sort of macaroni and cheese dish. It still tasted good, and I did use up a bag of noodles, but I felt rather foolish for forgetting the "tuna" in "tuna casserole."

I also used about 1 1/2 cups of cornmeal to make calamari (I soak the squid in buttermilk, then coat in seasoned cornmeal and fry).

I realized that having a written-out menu plan will help me use up these items faster, although the only items I worked into this week's plan are the cannellini beans (in Friday's soup) and more cornmeal for cornbread. But I'm also using up a couple items that aren't on the list, like an almost full but open bottle of red wine with tonight's short ribs, and the carton of cream of mushroom soup that's already open in the fridge.

Also, now that both kids are back in school, I'm hoping to have some time to bake, which should help me use up some condensed milk and jam. I'll probably make some Key Lime Bars to used up the condensed milk, since it's been a while.

I am going to have to think harder about how to use up the rest of these ingredients in the coming weeks . . .

Menu Plan Monday: 1/9 - 1/15/2012

December was just a crazy month, but now that school starts back up today, I'm feeling the urge to plan ahead and get more organized. That includes planning out the menu for the week to use up items for the Good Cheap Eats Pantry Challenge.

Monday - Ina Garten's Beef Short Ribs, Steamed Broccoli, Artisan Bread

Tuesday - Chicken tacos with the fixings

Wednesday - Sandwiches, Cream of Mushroom Soup

Thursday - Pasta Bolognese, Salad

Friday - Portuguese Bean Soup, Cornbread

Saturday - {not sure what our plans are yet}

Sunday - Dinner out

See more weekly menus at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

When to use or save a great coupon

Unless you're one of those rare coupon users that can get their hands on as many coupons as they want, there will come a time when you wonder if a deal is one you should use your coupons on, or if it you should pass it up in case an even better deal comes along.

When this happens, there are a few questions to ask yourself:

Are there preview ads? You can often see the ads for upcoming sales online. The forums for specific stores at A Full Cup are a great place to start. Check the ads to see if there's a better sale around the corner.

Will the coupon make the item free or a moneymaker? My general rule of thumb is to go ahead and use the coupon if it makes an item free or a moneymaker. Maybe a bigger moneymaker deal is around the corner, but unless I know that for sure, I'd rather grab the sure thing while it's available.

What's my target price? I recommend everyone have some kind of price book, which is a record of the lowest prices you've paid. A price book makes it easy to determine whether a sale price is a "stock up" price that you should take advantage of. If the answer is yes, then consider:

How long until the coupon expires? If it expires soon, say within a couple of weeks, then you might want to go ahead and use the coupon now. On the other hand, if the coupon doesn't expire for a long time, you might want to wait.

What is the sales cycle for this type of item? Some stores have predictable sales cycles. For example, there are grocery stores that have a great sale on pasta every six or eight weeks. Knowing the sales cycle can help you predict whether there's a big sale coming up. Seasons and holidays also make for predictable sales. For example, if the coupon is for hot dogs and it's May, you'll know there will be upcoming sales for Memorial Day and Fourth of July barbeques.

How badly do I want/need the item? Most of the time, this is the deciding factor for me, especially if I will be going to the store primarily for the deal in question. Many times, even if the deal is a good one, I'll decide that it isn't worth the effort and time to go to the store. On the other hand, if the deal is for something I'm running low on, I'll sometimes make a special trip to use my coupons.

My Housecleaning Strategy for 2012

In the middle of last year, I shared my latest housecleaning system, which involved a list of tasks that were to be completed weekly, monthly, or annually. The system had been working well for me at the time, but it's failed to be a long-term solution for me.

So I have new plans for 2012. The main one is to do one weekly cleaning task per day - something like cleaning a bathroom, mopping, etc. My theory is that this should keep the house in pretty good order most of the time, especially since I'll keep up with my weekly home blessing hour, which will take care of things like vacuuming.

The other part of my strategy comes into play with my 52 projects this year. Some of my weekly projects will involve decluttering - not only will the house feel better with less stuff in it, it will be easier to clean. Also, as Flylady frequently points out, you can't organize clutter. Other weekly projects will involve the "bigger" housecleaning tasks, like steam cleaning the carpet and cleaning the blinds in each room.

I'm optimistic that this two-prong strategy will get and keep my house in company-ready condition at all times. (I'll give you an update in a few months to let you know how it's working out.)

January 2012 Pantry Challenge

I don't have an overflowing pantry at the moment, as I've done a pretty good job using up many of the items that I had on hand. But what I have is an abundance of some random items I don't use much, and that I'd like to use up. These include:

Ronzoni Healthy Harvest egg noodles
Sweetened condensed milk
Canned cannelli beans
Cornmeal
Jam
Anchovies

So . . . I'm joining the Pantry Challenge at Good Cheap Eats, with the goal of using up most, if not all, of the items mentioned.

The really good thing about this challenge is that I'll have to make things I normally wouldn't, and that will help keep my menus fresh.

Got any (frugal) suggestions for using up these ingredients?

2012 Goals and Resolutions

Every year, I make about ten resolutions, and every year, I achieve some of them and have to admit failure at others. My successes are usually financial; my failures are usually weight-loss related.

So in 2012, I'm going to try two new strategies:

1. I'm going to master a new healthy habit each month.

2. I'm going to tackle 52 projects during the year - one each week.

On my monthly habits:

I've read that it takes 30 days of doing something to make it a habit, so I'm going to make gradual changes. My healthy habit for January is exercise. Since getting plantar fasciitis nearly two years ago, my workouts have been severely limited. It doesn't affect my everyday activities much anymore, but exercise is a different story. We recently bought a rowing machine for me, and I am going to make the most of it this month. I'll add an additional mile to my life every day, either by rowing or using the treadmill (for a change of pace, since I can't do it every day). Future habits will include smaller portions, eating 5 servings of fresh fruit and veggies, and quiet meditation.

On my 52 projects:

I'm building my list of 52 projects, which I hope will help me accomplish a myriad of tasks I'd like to get done. They range from things like cleaning out the closet to getting a new filter for the kitchen stove to making some changes to the blog (nothing major, like the switch to WordPress was last year). By the end of the year, I hope I will have accomplished many things by doing them one at a time.

Other goals:

My big financial goal for 2012 is the same as it was last year: to save lots of money so we can pay off the mortgage and/or pay for private school in a few years.

Some of my goals are the same each year: to be the best wife, mother, daughter, and friend I can be; to improve and grow Chief Family Officer so it continues to be a place where you can find tips for improving your life; and my constant, overriding goal in life, to continue to grow as a person and be the best me I can be.

What are your goals for 2012?

Happy New Year!

Wow! I can't believe another year has gone by, but I'm happy to welcome in a new year.

December was so busy that I didn't get much chance to reflect on the last year and what I want for this year, so I plan to take some time to do that in the next two weeks. I'll be a little late with my updates on 2011's resolutions, and revealing my plans for 2012 but I'd rather be late and get them right, so to speak.

In the meantime, if there's something you would like to see here at Chief Family Officer in 2012, please let me know. And as always, thank you for reading and supporting CFO!