Molly’s Money-Saving Digest: Evaluate, Prioritize, and Organize - January 2010
If you haven’t read Molly’s Money-Saving Digest yet, you are missing out on a real treasure. I don’t think I know anyone these days who couldn’t use some ideas for spending less, making more of what you have, and just all-around better managing life. While I’ve purchased a couple of issues in the past, I may just be due for a subscription. I received the January, 2010 issue for review and there’s just a wealth of information and tips in a mere 51 pages.Learn about making pies from scratch. Not just a basic recipe for making a pie, but all sorts of information, from making and freezing pie dough to numerous options for using your delicious pie crusts.
Find out what’s on sale that month (i.e.; carpeting, appliances, computers, etc.). I know there are lists with this information, but I can never seem to keep track of the list. How nice to have a monthly reminder!
Cute, decorative, printable forms to better organize your life. Print them out and put them into a binder for your own Mom’s Control Center. This issue included: financial and budgeting worksheets, a calendar, Daily To Do List (sorted by categories), and a Family Clothing Inventory.
I absolutely love the home décor article! She shares a couple of frugal and fun ways to create beautiful artwork using your computer or photos. I’m looking forward to creating the photo canvas with some of my own pictures. She also has a wonderful idea for displaying photos and organizing jewelry from Songbirdtiff (who, by the way, also has all sorts of terrific and inexpensive tips).
Ideas and links for healthy eating, along with a week’s worth of tasty-sounding, thrifty meals, complete with a shopping list.
Kids Corner, which focused on teaching your kids valuable lessons about money, specifically having a checking account. She walks through the process of opening a checking account and also includes forms to practice writing checks and maintaining the register. In future issues, she went on to teach how to make deposits and balance your checkbook.
Molly also provided some excellent tips for evaluating, prioritizing, and organizing three important areas of life: time, money, and stuff. I don’t think I know anyone who has all three of those under control. I know I certainly don’t and I plan to implement a couple of her ideas.
There was a very sweet biography from Amy Howard, who writes for Molly’s site, Econobusters. For those of you know Jim Bob Howard, this is his wife. She shares their journey in frugality and how she came to write for Econobusters. I have to say that I love reading biographies. It’s such a pleasure to learn a little more about what makes others tick (not in a nosy, Gladys Kravitz kind of way, though).
Last, but not least, Molly has a big old list of resources and links. It’s a one-stop shop to all sorts of amazing and helpful information. Since it’s a pdf magazine, you merely click on the link and voila – you’re transported through the magic of the internet!
If you haven’t read any of Molly’s Money Saving Digests yet, I highly recommend you do. You can purchase a single copy for the very reasonable price of $4.95 (no advertisements to bother with, either!), or you can save $1.00 per issue, plus receive a myriad of other benefits, by subscribing. Either way, it will be money well invested. 
I was provided the January 2010 issue of Molly's Money-Saving Digest by the TOS Homeschool Crew and the opinions expressed are my own.
