 Photo Credit: Matthew Lancaster on Unsplash.com Here's an audio clip so you can listen to the Mom Tip while you drive your car through the carwash. Hi, I’m Regan Barnes from Momivate, and this is your two-minute Mom Tip empowering you to elevate your mothering experience.
America the Beautiful -- and the WEALTHY! We moan and groan about the prices of gasoline and groceries... but seriously?!? The poor among us live better than the kings of the middle ages. Living in an Abundant Society is a blessing... right?! Well, yes! I thank God every day in prayer for modern day luxuries and conveniences. But I’m convinced there are also Curses connected to Living in an Abundance The Seven Deadly Sins give us a framework to describe how our plentitude contributes to destructive vices. Could being wealthy encourage lust? Since we have so much free time and expendable income, we can afford to spend time and money on pornography & prostitution... yes, those forms of lust have been around since the beginning of time, but they are more accessible, and --worse-- more acceptable amidst abundance. Since getting a meal is as easy as driving up to the fast-food window and paying a minimal amount for a high-calorie, low-nutrition meal, our gluttony contributes to our obesity and the resultant healthcare crisis, a curse for sure. We’ve labeled an entire generation “The Me Generation” and talk worriedly about entitlement, a synonym for greed. Meeting survival needs so easily means that we can focus our efforts on other things -- or on nothing. We can be lazy but we won't starve. Abundance means there are no built-in negative consequences to discourage sloth. Why would having plenty lead to anger?! Opportunities to develop and practice patience, the antithesis to anger, are fewer and further between amidst abundance. Envy fuels debt so we can “keep up with the Joneses.” Debt is definitely destructive. Pride -- the attitude that having more than someone else makes you better than they are -- hmmm... Is abundance linked to pridefulness? Is childbirth linked to motherhood? America currently has money for all of our needs and many of our wants, plus enough to help other countries. My hope is that we'll enjoy the benefits brought on by wealth while conscientiously avoiding the potential curses it could contribute to. Mom, develop proper monetary attitudes with your children, discussing wants and needs so that living in abundance remains a blessing. Then share if this practice elevates your mothering!
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 Photo Credit: National Cancer Institute on Unsplash.com Here's an audio clip so you can listen to the Mom Tip while you chop up veggies for a salad! Hi, I’m Regan Barnes from Momivate, and this is your two-minute Mom Tip empowering you to elevate your mothering experience. Ya know, I wouldn't mind feeding my kids if they would just stay full. But no matter how much love I put into a meal, how much effort or energy or planning... they're hungry again in just a few hours. Over the couple of decades that I've been studying motherhood, I've determined that if I can make homemade meals less complicated, the more committed I’ll be to the work involved, and our whole family can bask in the many benefits: health, financial, and familial. I now have happy meal planning sessions because I just focus on including three elements in each meal: a protein (plant-based more often than not), a grain (ideally a whole one), and a fruit or veggie (bonus points for fresh produce!). I have removed some pressure from myself by teaching these elements to my kids, and having them do a mental checklist as they feed themselves breakfast or pack their school lunches. We have a list posted on the inside of a cabinet door so they can choose from things that are generally part of each week’s grocery trip. Oh, how I'd love to have a week's worth of dinners neatly typed up every Sunday night, but that's a battle I have only won periodically. Instead, I aim to know by 10am what we'll have for dinner that night -- and that has been a more victorious way for me to meal-plan! One way I thin-out the myriad possibilities is by assigning a theme to each night and finding a recipe that fits the genre. International night! Pasta night! Chicken night! Beans & rice night! Potatoes night! Seafood night! Leftovers night! I don't *really* want my kiddos to stop eating. I know it might keep my kitchen cleaner, but I've observed that kids with full tummies behave better, not to mention the obvious gains in physical growth. So, these simplified systems help me stay committed to healthful home-based meals and endure with confidence my family’s continual need for nourishment. Mom, what are some ways you can simplify this task that takes place at least 21 times each week? Increase how often you eat meals at home by brainstorming ways to meet the challenges inherent in this duty. Then share if this practice elevates your mothering!  Photo Credit: Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash.com Here's an audio clip so you can listen to the Mom Tip while you drive the kids to school! Hi, I’m Regan Barnes from Momivate, and this is your two-minute Mom Tip empowering you to elevate your mothering experience.
Today's tip is a book report. I'm going to share with you an older book called The Complete Tightwad gazette. The author is named Amy Decision. That's how you pronounce it like the word decision, but it's spelled DACYZCYN (and we have a link to purchase it on amazon on our affiliate page!) So many of the principles are timeless that you’ll barely notice that it’s a classic from the 90s. Amy has lived such a thrifty life, so she has a wealth of information to share, and she has fun sharing it -- her writing is witty and inviting. Sometimes the subject of saving (not spending) can come across as depressing, and requiring rigorous self discipline. In Amy's book, however, economizing is an adventure! She’s guiding us on a pursuit to find creative and ingenious ways to combat how expensive life is. We feel like celebrating every time she helps us figure out how to pinch those pennies. Amy is also primarily a mom, so it definitely feels like everything applies to our current profession: there are birthday party ideas, insights on how to grocery shop effectively and go garage "sale-ing;" she covers, fixing up the house, from decor to repairs. There are recipes and even instructions on how to make up your own recipes. Traveling often seems out of the question for those of us on a strict budget, but she even addresses this topic in a way that opens the way. She even teaches us how to save TIME, since, after all: Time is money. And that's why Momivate shares our tips in just two minutes, so that you have time left to practice what we preach! Read Amy’s book, Mama, then share if this elevates your mothering!  Photo Credit: Diane Helentjaris on Unsplash.com Here's an audio clip so you can listen to the Mom Tip while you fold the laundry! Hi, I’m Regan Barnes from Momivate, and this is your two-minute Mom Tip empowering you to elevate your mothering experience.
Today’s topic is your FAMILY BANK! What’s that? You don’t have one? Sure you do! Just grab a notebook and separate a few pages for an account for each child who’s over the age of 4 or 5. Draw lines to make a column for the date, a wider column for the transaction, a column for the specific amount, and then a column with the running total. Next, create a system where each child *earns* deposits into their account... Our family has four ways the children can earn money, an acronym called CLAP because we applaud their efforts! Monday through Friday, they can earn a point in each of these four areas: C for Chores, L for Learning, A for Attitude, and P for Preparation. So that’s up to 20 points by the end of the week. We pay a penny per year of age per point, so if the ten year old gets fifteen points, that’s 1.50 that week. As an added incentive, we are willing to double their money if they get within two points of a perfect score. The child is encouraged to give part of their deposit to a charity, another portion to their older selves (aka savings). The remainder they are allowed to spend -- or save -- as they see fit. When the child wants to buy something, they can decide based on their Family Bank account balance. If they have enough money, *they* decide to buy or not. If they don't have enough money, then that lack of money is the deciding factor. THIS IS SO NICE for me as the Mom... I am no longer the bad guy who says no! In fact, I can show love and sympathy when they don't have enough money! Heck, I've been there before myself. Plus, I can use it as motivation to get their CLAP done in the future. Older kids can even be in charge of paying for their own clothes and entertainment. Richard & Linda Eyre’s book The Entitlement Trap has several great ideas for this Family Economy. So grab a notebook, Mama, and get your Family Bank going today! Then share if this practice elevates your mothering! |
