Sleep for you & your homeschooler

The importance of sleep for you and your homeschooler. 

 Sleep is important because it stabilizes blood sugar levels, reduces inflammation, helps improve memory, helps build muscle, reduces stress level, helps with weight loss, and increases creativity. While you sleep your cells repair themselves, your body releases important hormones, and your brain recharges. 

 To get good sleep try doing these things: 
1. Make sure your room is dark, cool and quiet. 
2. Have a bedtime routine: take a hot shower, read a book, or listen to quiet music. 
3. Avoid eating big meals before bed. A good rule to follow is no food after 7 pm. 
4. Exercise during the day. Do you have PE lined up for your kids? This would be a perfect time to fit the exercise in. 
5. Don't drink caffeine near bed time. The caffeine will keep you awake longer. 
6. Try to go to bed at the same time each night. 

 How much sleep does everyone need?: 

       AGE                                            Amount of sleep 
 infant- 2 months                                 12-18 hours 
 3-11 months                                         14-15 hours 
 1-3 years                                               12-14 hours 
 4-5 years                                              11-13 hours 
 6-10 years                                            10-11 hours 
 11-17 years                                            8-9 hours 
 18+                                                        7-9 hours 

 What happens when you don't get enough sleep and you're sleep deprived? 
 Lack of sleep: 
 1. Makes you irritable 
 2. Can cause tremors 
 3. Can decrease body temperature 
 4. Can cause memory lapses 
 5. Can cause decreased reaction time and accuracy 
 6. Causes risk of Heart Disease 
 7. Can cause body aches 
 8. Causes risk of obesity 
 9. Can cause cognitive impairment 
 10. Can cause hallucinations 
 11. Can cause growth suppression 
 12. Causes risk of Diabetes type 2 
 13. Can impair moral judgement 
 14. Can create severe yawning 
 15. Can cause symptoms similar to ADHD 
 16. Can increase heart rate variability 

 As you see, sleep plays an important role in your physical and mental health. Millions of people don't get enough sleep and suffer. Make sure you and your child are getting plenty of sleep for school, you'll need it!   

What ways do you relax before bed to get a great night sleep?

Money Saving Hacks

                        Money Saving Hacks - 15 ways to help you save smarter!

This post is a continuation of the " Money Saving Apps" post.
I have stuff here you may already do, but I also have things that you might not have even thought of before. I hope this post inspires you and helps you to be able to save your money easier.
Here is a list of life hacks to save money:

 1. Eat at home: Everyone should know that it's cheaper to eat at home. If you're not convinced take a pad of paper and pen with you throughout the week. Write down every dollar amount you spend eating out, getting a soda, coffee, snack, or anything else you get that isn't prepared at home. At the end of the week add up your total, then go grocery shopping with a list of meals for the week. You'll find that it's cheaper and healthier to eat at home.
   If you're worried about the time it takes to prepare a meal, set one day aside per week and pre cook all of your meals, then freeze them. When its time to eat just heat it up and enjoy.

 2. Couponing & grocery lists: This goes with eating at home. Make yourself a list of meals you plan on shopping for. Save your coupons, some stores will take expired coupons for up to 3 months. (Check with your local grocery store first). Find the coupons you need for the items your getting on your list. You could also plan your meals around the coupons you have and create your list from there. There is a lot to be saved with coupons! If you don't like couponing, you can read the "Money Saving Apps" post. There are apps that have coupons and you can show them at the register.

 3. Eat leftovers: Part of eating at home is eating leftovers. It saves money by not having to get groceries for more meals and eating out.

 4. Farmers Market: Shop at your local farmers market for fresh produce that is cheaper than the stores. Most farmers markets have a huge variety of produce to chose from.

 5. Dollar Store: You can save big at the dollar store. Instead of buying bread at the grocery store, you can save by getting it for $1.00. Same with canned goods, snacks, and a lot of other items. Not only can you save with grocery items but you can also save of toiletries, party and school supplies.

 6. Sams club/Costco: Buying in bulk can usually save you quite a bit of money too. There is an app called "Boxed" that you can buy in bulk from and have it mailed directly to your house.

 7. Loyalty cards: Almost every store has a loyalty card. Each store works differently but they are all made to save you money.

 8. Student ID Discount: Use your student ID card or your child's to get a discount. Some restaurants and stores give discounts for students.

 9. Back to school deals: In July, stores have savings on clothes with up to 50% off. In August, stores have Fall clothes for up to 25% off.

 10. Thrift shop: Thrift stores are one of my favorite places to shop. You can get really good deals on things and their clothes are in great condition. You can find just about anything at a thrift shop.

 11. Energy efficient: Save as much energy as you can. Turn everything off when you leave the room. You'd be surprised how much you could save by doing this.

 12. Save your change: Save all of your change in a jar. Don't touch it for 1 year. At the end of the year, count up all the change you collected.

 13. Library/e-books: You can save money by going to the library and reading free e-books instead of buying books. You will save a lot of space this way too.

 14. Pre-paid phones: Buying a pre-paid phone isn't as bad as you think. The price is cheaper for the same type of service with contract phone. You still get 4G, unlimited talk & text, etc. Why not save a chunk of change by switching to pre-paid?!

 15. Dumpster dive: I don't mean going through trash for food. I mean find great pieces of furniture that someone threw out, bags of clothes someone didn't want anymore that are still in great condition, movies, books, the items are endless.

I hope this list has given you some great ideas for how to save some money. Another great idea is use Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University tool. This is a great way to budget.

Please share with us, what are some ways that you save money?

Money Saving Apps

  If you're like me, you don't have the patience to sift through coupons, cut coupons, print coupons, sort coupons, make lists, and organize all of it just to get free groceries with those coupons.  I would rather use an app or a money saving hack to save money.

  Here are some great money saving apps that are good on apple and android.

  1. Retailmenot: This website is great for coupon codes and discounts. You just brows through your favorite stores, go through their coupons or coupon codes, select the one(s) you want, and show it to checkout. You can even print the coupon or enter the coupon code online. Brows thousands of coupons from hundreds of stores.

  2. Shopkick: You can earn points by:
          -Making purchases
          -Simply walking into the stores
          -inviting friends
    The great part is that your points can be turned into gift cards!

  3. Wal-mart Savings Catcher: This app is great for checking prices after you have already shopped. You can scan your receipt and it will check other local stores for cheaper prices. If the app finds a cheaper price you get the difference loaded onto a Wal-mart gift card.

  4. Groupon: This app is great. You can scroll through the advertised discounts at stores in the area. Once you find the deal you want, you purchase the product through the app, print out or save the code, and show the retailer once you get there. (This also works for restaurants, spas, salons, chiropractors, and many more things) Just scroll through all the different discounts and select the one you want. Savings are between 50-90% off.

  5. Amazon Local: This app is a lot like Groupon. No need to print coupons. Purchase from your phone after making your selection. I have see deals for as little as 36% off up to a generous 96% off!

  6. Mint: This app Keeps track of all your financial accounts. It will create a budget, its password protected, and it's free!

  7. SavingStar: Two ways to save!
       1: Select offers on the web or mobile app. Check often for changing deals including their 100% cash back freebies.
       Use card at checkout or take a picture of your receipt. You can do this through the app or the website.
       Get cash in your SavingsStar account. Discounts arn't given at checkout, they will send you an email within 2-22 days (depending on the store) to get your credit.
(OR)
       2: Click the retailer link on SavingStar.com. When you click shop now, you'll be taken to the website of the retailer of your choice.
       Shop online. Your savings will post automatically to your account within 10 days.
       Get cash in your SavingsStar account. Have the money go to directly to your bank or   PayPal account, you can even chose to donate to charity.

    Bonus: If you get the SavingStar American Express Card you can earn 1-10% cash back.

  8. Bill Tracker app: This app is for Apple only. however, there are apps like it on android.
      This app is great for staying on top of your bills. It is password protected, you can keep track of your due dates, track amount totals, and you get notifications for payments due.

  9. Boxed: This app lets you buy in bulk without having to go to the local members only store like Costco or Sams Club. You get free shipping on orders of $79 or more. They have hot deals and gift cards. Best of all the membership is FREE!

Do you have a favorite Money Saving app on your phone? What do you use?