Saving Money on Groceries with the Internet

We use the internet for everything these days. And now with smartphones keeping the internet with us at all times, there are plenty of ways we can use the internet to save on our grocery shopping. Here are the top five apps for saving money on groceries.

1. ZipList

We need a list to go grocery shopping, correct? Well, we should have one. That right there is a huge money saver. Getting only what you do need and nothing you don't, but keeping up with the list or remembering to bring the list with you is always my downfall. I do always have my phone, though. And with ZipList, all of my list making troubles are over.

Not only is this great at keeping your recipes all in one place, but it can help you create a shopping list with the items you need. It can even organize your list based on the layout of your store. What better way to keep those impulse buys at bay?

2. Weekly Ads & Sales

This app is great for more than just your grocery shopping. Really, it's no wonder that newspapers are struggling so mightily in this information age. This takes away the need for your weekly Sunday paper. You can get all of your local stores weekly sales and deals right there on your phone. This way you can decide where the best place to shop for what you need is right at the touch of your finger.

3. Grocery iQ

This is another grocery list which allows you to check off things as you go. You can completely customize and sort your list. You can even use your phone to scan the barcode to add things to your list. But on top of that you can also find coupons for the items on your list. No more forgetting your coupons when you go shopping.

4. SavingStar

This is more ways to get coupons. SavingStar will take all of your stores loyalty cards and store them and give you exclusive savings on the items you purchase. You can get ecoupons to use. No more coupon clipping with this app at the ready. Beyond that, you get savings when you shop online at places like Groupon, Travelocity, LandsEnd.com, and ProFlowers.

5. Cellfire

This might be the perfect app for everyone. There's really nothing for you to do. It will alert you to special savings as soon as you walk into a store and automatically loads coupon savings onto your loyalty card so you no longer have to worry about those coupons. It's just that easy to save money on the things you buy. This will even work at restaurants, department stores, and entertainment as well.

Grocery shopping has really gotten much easier with all of these great coupon apps you can add to your phone. And you'll never forget your list again. With your lists stored into these apps, it will make it that much easier to remember all of the ingredients you need to make your favorite recipes.

Saving money using the internet has become so much easier. Aside from using your phone and apps, don't forget that a Google search will often reveal helpful coupons and where the best sales are. So make the internet a part of your weekly grocery shopping. It will not only save you time, but it will also save you money.

Maryjane Angelo

Maryjane: Enjoy Simplicity and Simple Pleasures

Maryjane: Enjoy Simplicity and Simple Pleasures: Entire books have been written on how to slow down, enjoy simple pleasures, and lead a simple lifestyle. These books exist because people o...

Enjoy Simplicity and Simple Pleasures

Entire books have been written on how to slow down, enjoy simple pleasures, and lead a simple lifestyle. These books exist because people often long for simplicity, but don't know how to get out of the rat race long enough to learn it. The good news is, you can start small by implementing some simple tips and suggestions. Here are some ideas.

Ten Minutes

Ten minutes is a doable time increment for even the busiest person, so it's a good place to start. Pick when your ten minutes will be - right before bed, maybe, or at noon. The point is to be quiet and focused during those ten minutes, and to enjoy a simple pleasure for that time. Draw a picture, read a book, meditate, write a few lines in a journal. Make it a quiet ten minutes - no phone, no television, no computer.

If you do this every day, you will carve out an hour and ten minutes each week. Think of it as a small investment in your simpler future.

What's Necessary?

Many of us feel driven by what we think we must do; we live in a world of "have to's" and "need to's." But do we really? Sit down and evaluate things for a moment, and consider what you really need versus what you want.

Are you running around with no time to breathe because you have too many commitments? Ask yourself tough questions - do these things/events/people really need you there? If you said no, could they still carry on? Chances are, yes, they could. The same goes for your kids' activities. Where can you say no? When does an opportunity become a burden? No one can do everything. Sometimes, you really have to pick and choose.

Entertainment

This is an area where people often feel conflict. Many of us admire people who can do without television and movies and computer games, and who get their pleasures from simple things like a walk in the forest. But although we may admire them, we don't feel like we can do the same. Chances are, though, that those simple-pleasure people you admire were once in the rat race, too - talk to them about it (more on that below).

In the meantime, think about your entertainment choices. Entertainment is a pleasure, and if you're moving toward enjoying simple pleasures, maybe you need to think about where you get that pleasure.

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One idea is to start with one simple replacement. Instead of watching a television program, take a walk. Notice the landscape, the colors, the shapes and lines. Little by little, replace electronic, complicated pleasure with simple ones.

Talk to Each Other

Prioritizing relationships is key to living simply. In fact, as you connect with others who live simply, you can ask them about how they came to that place. Putting people ahead of tasks and "to do's" is a way to connect with your community and enjoy the simple pleasure of companionship.


Maryjane Angelo

Educational Toys

Many parents are on the lookout for educational toys. The reasons for this are varied; some parents find that they want their "money's worth" in the toys they buy, and find that educational toys last longer and hold children's attention longer (even for years). Others choose educational toys as a way to jump-start learning and give their kids the best start in life. Some educational toys can be used to help children with disabilities as well.

What constitutes an "educational toy"? Generally, educational toys have learning as their primary purpose. While a child can learn through free play with random objects, educational toys often have a particular agenda such as learning colors, the alphabet, or how electricity works. 

Examples of Educational Toys

Some examples of educational toys include the following:

* Wooden building blocks - Did you know these are considered educational toys? Many of us grew up with these sturdy toys that teach young children important concepts such as spatial relationships, three-dimensional shapes, and the principles of building. Alphabet blocks are helpful in learning letters; children will recognize the names and shapes of letters when it comes time for school.

* Models - Learning to build model airplanes, boats, cars, and so forth is quite educational. Children learn how things go together and fit, not unlike a three-dimensional puzzle.

* Puzzles - Speaking of puzzles, these are considered educational toys as well. They are said to improve hand-eye coordination, enhance problem-solving skills, and sharpen fine motor skills.

* Musical instruments - Children tend to gravitate toward musical instruments, and learning to play an instrument can help children learn discipline and foster a sense of achievement.

* Electronic and Musical instruments - From learning about how electricity and circuits work to building a motor, this category of toys teaches children the principles of science and may help them with learning across the spectrum.

What are the Best Educational Toys for Babies and Toddlers?

* Activity tables - These engaging toys are rated as top toys for toddlers.

* Refrigerator magnets - Believe it or not, there are singing magnetic alphabet letters for kids to use on the refrigerator! Children can form words with the magnets and learn the names and sounds of letters.

* Wooden toys - Generally speaking, wooden toys have advantages over plastic ones. For one thing, wooden toys do not contain any BPAs or other dubious or harmful chemicals used in the making of plastics. For another, wooden toys tend to last a long time - even a lifetime - and can be passed on to another generation.

* Art supplies - Clay, watercolor, pencils, markers, and so forth enchant many a toddler and help them learn as well.

Maryjane Angelo

Free Play in Children Is Important...

Free Play in Children Is Important...
.but unfortunately, this essential component of childhood is often denied in today's hectic world of school, extracurricular activities, after-school childcare, and after-school clubs. Children's time is largely scheduled, leaving little to no time for children to engage in unscheduled, free play time.

How Important Is Free Play?

According to research, very! The childhood obesity epidemic is telling us something; but also, children's cognitive, social, psychological and emotional development are all said to be affected by free play (or the lack of it). Play is also an opportunity for parents to engage with their children without interruption. (This can be really fun for adults!)

The American Academy of Pediatrics put out a recent report about the importance of play in children's development. Here are some of the ways children benefit from free play:

* Creativity is employed as children imagine scenarios and act out as characters. This prepares them for adult scenarios, much the same way that baby animals' play is actually preparation for adulthood.

* Children learn about their strengths and abilities during free play, which may boost confidence. They discover areas of interest and things they care about.




* Playing is an effective way for children to learn how to work together in groups, to give and take, and to resolve conflicts. Free play also encourages decision making, an essential life skill.

How Can Parents Implement More Free Play in Their Kids' Lives?

Parents can help their kids be free from the hurried, hyper-scheduled lifestyle that is so prevalent today. Here are some ideas on how to do that.

* Give your kids "real" toys, like wooden blocks and dolls that are not patterned after a preconceived character. Doll houses, cars, trucks, stuffed animals, and other toys that encourage imagination help toward encouraging free play.

* Parents may want to rethink their ideas of "success" for their children. Academic preparedness and performance and excelling in multiple areas are not the only measures of success, the AAP reminds us. Creativity, philosophical intelligence, imagination, negotiation, and artistic integrity are also measures of success and character.

* Let your kids play outside without an agenda. Sometimes, it takes an agenda to get them out there - say, collecting leaves or something - but once outside, try to pry yourselves loose from an agenda and just enjoy playing.

* Invite other kids to play, too. Although "play dates" are scheduled, it's non-scheduled time you're scheduling in! Arrange to meet at a park, at one another's house, or other area where free play can take place.

Maryjane Angelo

Gentle Discipline Instead of Harsh Discipline and Spanking

The benefits of physical discipline and spanking have come into question, and the whole question of spanking has come to the fore of national consciousness. Some of this is because there have been injuries and even deaths of children recently, children whose parents claimed to hold to a prescrembed manner of spanking. Besides, sometimes parents just want to know of an alternative to hitting their kids.

So many of us were raised in spanking households that we aren't sure what non-spanking discipline looks like. If you don't spank, what do you do? Does not spanking mean being permissive?

Non-spankers are not permissive (and some spankers are!). Instead, they implement a different discipline approach. Here are some tips on alternatives to spanking, and how to implement gentle discipline.

Remove Spanking from Your Toolbox

First, take spanking out of your disciplinary toolbox. If you always hold it in the back of your mind that you might, just might pull out the spanking weapon if things get bad enough, then you are more likely to spank out of emotion or at the wrong time. So just take the notion of hitting as a means of discipline out of your toolbox.

Fill Your Toolbox with Alternatives

Now it's time to be proactive! Fill your parenting toolbox with creative discipline ideas that you can draw on in those difficult moments. This is key to preventing emotional reactions and decisions made in the heat of the moment. Read on for some alternatives.

Laugh

Laughter is a wonderful way to diffuse a frustrating situation, and it can go a long way in garnering a child's cooperation. Make funny voices and mock the situation (don't mock the child), and laugh at it together. For example, if your child constantly leaves his toys in the middle of the living room floor, you could give the toys funny voices and have them "beg" your child to put them away before they get stepped on and "hurt."

Engage

Engaging your child is a way to build the close relationship that makes discipline much easier. Engaging her means looking at her, explaining step-by-step what you want her to do, and being clear about consequences. For parents who were raised in non-confrontational households themselves, this can be challenging - but it may be very helpful if you can work on directly engaging your child and let her know what you expect very clearly.

Consequences, not Punishment

Consequences are more true to life than punishment when you think about it. If you are caught embezzling money from the company you work for, for instance, you are not going to get hit on the bottom and told to go on about your business. No, you'll suffer consequences - the loss of your job, legal prosecution, and possibly prison.

So if you can arrange for consequences, it can help shape your child's behavior. For instance, instead of threatening your child with a spanking if he doesn't clean his room, just calmly lay out the consequences: if he doesn't clean up his room, you will "clean" it - by throwing everything in a garbage bag!

These are just a few ideas. The important thing is to plan ahead and be ready so you aren't trying to discipline off the cuff. And you may end up with a much happier child who is better prepared for the real world.

Maryjane Angelo