Kookie Cut-Outs by Rachel Britz

Delivering cookies and good news.

The Mother Load: {ALL-IN-ONE} RESOURCE DUMP #TabooTuesday

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Managing money is not rocket science. And, you don’t really need my advice.

So, let’s pretend for a minute that I’ve invited you over for coffee and scones. We’re sitting on my sun porch talking about life, the kids, work, and so on. We’re telling stories. The ones that make big loops; think, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. The story begins simple, it connects to another, which leads to the next, and 2.5 hours later we’ve cycled our conversation to end where we began.

Photo:mybakingaddiction.com

TRUTH: We are all capable of successfully managing our money. Period.

MYTH: If you made more money you’d finally be able to get your financial ducks in a row. Wrong.

Here are 4 {financially} sorted areas we often desire to make a little brighter. Under each area I’ve UNLOADED a bunch of helpful resources and tips. I hope you find ONE thing that will help.

ORGANIZATION

How long should you keep important paperwork? What to throw and what to toss.

Need a checklist to help you get your $h!t together? Get a free download from this young widow.

Create a will. Stop putting it off one. more. day. If you need a reference for someone local please message me.

SAVINGS

Digital coupons with this great app.

Let the pros tell you where the latest HOT buys are.

Don’t have time to clip coupons? This place clips the coupons you select then ships right to your home.

Weekly shopping {grocery} lists with all the best deals.

Consider pushing the envelope. 

75 gas saving tips

GROWING

More than 25 income-earning ideas.

Invest your savings into a high yield savings account. Shop around for the best deal.

Earn cash for shopping online.

GIVING 

Where do we give? How do we begin? Here are a list of my favorite places to give my time, treasure, and talents.

The Raining Season – orphan care in Sierra Leone, West Africa.

Livestock Music Festival – mark your calendars for Saturday, June 21st, Saint Peter, Minnesota.

The Exodus Road – fighting to end child slavery.

Team World Vision – Run races for clean water projects in Africa.

Kickstarter– search for projects that you are passionate about then, invest. I love this one.

Poor House Inspired Savings #TabooTuesday

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Nothing spurs saving money than a visit to the poor house.  Recently my girlfriend was unexpectedly laid off from her job. These are the two things she did immediately:

1. She did NOT panic. Why? Because she had an emergency savings account. This bought her the most valuable thing in a sudden financial crisis, TIME.

2. She began slashing her EXPENSES…like, right away!

Photo: livesv.com

Over the years, my husband and I have encountered a myriad of financial set backs, unexpected loss of income, and tackling the beast of expenses. These are just a few of the ways we have been able to save money. 
1. Haul your trash and recycling. This wasn’t my idea. It was my husbands. I hated it and I really, really didn’t want to do it. Gross! But we went ahead and got ourselves {2} 30 gallon receptacles, one for trash and one for recycling, and now we haul it ourselves. Our only expense is the “special” trash bags required by our refuse center. We pay aprox. $1 per week for our family. 
2. Cancel your cable. At first I was afraid I would miss out on so much. What about the news, weather, and entertainment? We’ve been cable free for 5 years and I don’t regret ONE SINGLE DAY! Instead we get Netflix {$8.50/mo}, Amazon Prime {$6/mo}, and NO COMMERCIALS {priceless}. 
3. Cut the land line. Seriously, who calls the land line anymore? Savings begins around $30 per month.

4. Thrifty-is-Nifty. If you’ve followed this blog or been my friend for any amount of time you know that I am a sucker for thrift stores. When I consider all the things that need purchasing as the seasons change or another child goes through a growth spurt, the thrift store is always Plan A. Boots, coats, mittens, sweatpants, jeans and more. All of these items can really add up! Once you find a store you like get acquainted with their discounts and sign up for “text” sales. Yes, even thrift-stores spring for money saving deals.
5. Coupons. Clipping coupons from the Sunday paper still exists but in today’s technology driven world saving money from coupons is easier than ever. Coupons.com is a great printable website. Combine that with store coupons {ex: Cub Foods coupon mailer, HyVee exclusive online coupons, or Target’s cartwheel program} and the savings can really begin to add up. My two favorite weekly deal listing sites are Pocket Your Dollars and Money Saving Mom. Check them out and take their trusted advice!

Making a few slight adjustments now can mean big savings by the end of the year. Remember it’s not always about the money…it’s about what you want to do with it and how you want to add value to your life. Cutting things out often creates space for more simplicity. Cutting things out can help you achieve a dream you’ve been putting off. This is your year….BELIEVE it!

Bare Naked Truth

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This morning I write from my peaceful edge. A place of harmony, connection to the ONE, and yet I feel the residual effect of strained muscles and a weakened spirit.

Earlier this week, I felt like rambunctious destruction. My soul felt like a derailed train. At first, I blamed it on the weather. This unforgiving winter. This canopy forbearing light needs to be lifted. I want to shatter the confines of this forsaken snow globe. But then, I realized that this feeling had more depth to it. It took shape and had a voice. It’s my restless spirit. Again. I curled up and pulled on the strings of my hoodie, I wanted to hide and tell it to go away but it didn’t listen. Not right away, anyways. 

Photo: http://25.media.tumblr.com

My dreams.
This life.
Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock…
I am not.
I will never.
Slipping, sliding, spiraling…

It’s a crazy thing. This voice. It’s power. It’s not nice to me, and I know it isn’t from the ONE. So, I escape. I slip into the oasis of a hot bath and there, in that place, I am laid bare. Everything spills out.

My life in His hands.
The dreams.
My work.
Not my will, right? 

It’s the same conversation, except the circle seems shorter. A heavily traveled course. And in the midst of laying these things bare, the other Voice speaks up.  
“I see beauty.” 
Gentle and assuring, a proclamation of beauty. So I exchange the ashes from the day, for what? For beauty? I don’t feel beauty. I feel weak and tired. 
Photo: http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/
I press my nose into scripture. I pray. I lay all these thing at the alter in my heart. Because I am weak, He promised to renew my strength. And He does. My husband speaks truth, and reminds me that His plan is too wide to comprehend. My role, my part, is in the simple everyday. I regain my strength, slowly. I worship. It’s this peaceful edge.
I have a sense that I am not alone. The restless spirit. The desire for truth. When was the last time you laid yourself bare? All of these things pressing and weighing you down, masquerading as winter bleh, and took them straight to the One? Exposing yourself in naked vulnerability. Letting go of my will be done for thy will be done.  Imagine what could be gained? 

Freedom.
Vision.
Beauty. 

P.S. Next week begins the season of Lent, the 6 weeks leading up to Easter. This year, I’m taking Margaret Feinberg’s #LentChallenge. A 40 day scriptural walk through the New Testament. Perhaps you have a hunger within that you cannot quench, what if this daily reading is exactly what your soul needs? All you need is your free reading guide, a bible, and a prayerful heart. Click on the button below to learn more and get your free copy.

Want to join me? Leave a comment so we can connect. 

  
#LentChallenge

The FFS Challenge #TabooTuesday

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Most days we’ve got it together. While others, not so much. I had a busy weekend preparing several cookie orders for a large fundraising event, a few birthday parties, and several dozen for an open house boutique in the Twin Cities.

Come Sunday, I felt great! I was ready for the day by 8am and feeling put together. Until, I looked down at my hands. Aww…shucks!

#busymom #betterlucknexttime #fingernailfail

Of course I’m just being silly here. I do have a point. Multiple.

They are:

1) Sometimes we over look things right under our noses.

2) We are not perfect. Period. Give it up and let it go!

3) We will always be too busy for some things.

For this edition of #TabooTuesday I want to talk about ORGANIZATION.

I know you, you’ve got a system. A process you go through to sort paperwork, pay bills, and manage the clutter. You’ve got a system, but is it a WINNING system?

Last year I met a young widow at a conference who began sharing with me the messy details of sorting through her financial affairs in the aftermath of her husbands death. She didn’t know where anything was, the details of what they owned, and some important passwords had not been recorded. She was lost. My heart broke for all she had to endure.

The solution is simple. Really, it is! And you can do it this week. Are you up for the challenge?

It’s called the Financial File System {FSS}. A home for your financial life, those important documents, and the context for your entire financial world.

Why do you need it? In any given moment you, your spouse, or someone you trust may need access to this information. Because at any given moment, messy stuff happens.

STEP 1: Find a home. A file cabinet, desk drawer, or a simple box will do. I’ve helped some clients get started and my favorite FFS boxes are the Snap n’ Go from Office Depot {Only $8.29}

STEP 2: You’ll need about 15 hanging file folders, tabs for the hanging file folders, one box of manila folders, and file folder labels. I recommend at least one binder, but thats optional.

STEP 3: Label each hanging file folder as follows: Personal Documents, Home Ownership, Checking / Saving, Credit Cards, Other Liabilities, Retirement, Investments, Insurance, Healthcare, Will or Trust, Children, and Tax Returns {I use a binder for this bad boy}.

STEP 4: Insert ALL appropriate documents into the designated folders.

In my MOTIVATE YOUR LEGACY guidebook I’ve sub-divided each category and given the specific documents you’ll want to include with each folder. If you don’t already have a copy this week I want to give you a copy for FREE!

All you need to do is SUBSCRIBE  here to receive inspiring emails and I’ll send the MOTIVATE YOUR LEGACY guidebook to your inbox via download.

Accepting the FFS Challenge means that you agree to stop overlooking this critical, easy-to-do task, and simply git ‘er done THIS WEEK! It’s not a matter of IF you’ll need immediate access to your financial world, but WHEN? You’re legacy depends on it. Take the challenge!

We Have a FIRST DRAFT, Ya’ll!

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I have an announcement. Remember the little project I’ve been working on, the story about the girl from Ireland…well, we finally have ourselves a completed FIRST DRAFT.

18 months. 
79,228 words. 
17 chapters. 
I’ll never forget the day that I accepted this work. This project. This art. August 2012, I was sitting at the beach with my kids. Oh, the thought of writing this story had been circulating for a few years already. Marinating. I sketched a few plot lines, created a couple definite characters, and had a few words written. But, it wasn’t until that sun blistering day that I nodded my head and swallowed hard. All in.

It’s really about telling a story. A message inspired to bring a little hope. Did you know you have a story too? We all do. And not just one. Every single day we’re given chances to tell a story. In the grocery store check out line, standing around the water cooler, and to our spouse at the end of a harried day. Our home, our stage, the platform with the biggest audience. Our children are picking up the petals of our story. Because one day, they will become story tellers, re-tellers. Our story is sending a message about who we are and what we believe. Does yours inspire?  

Perhaps writing a novel is not the thing you feel called to. Something is…what is it? What is tugging at your insides, keeps you awake at night, captivates your dreams. Perhaps your story, a piece of your identity rests in it. What are you waiting for? If not you, then who?

Today’s the day to begin. Just believe.

All in.