I’m so excited to be a part of the 1st twitter party, Open Sky Family Fun, as one of the hosts! We’ll be partying from 7-9pm so stop by! I’m hosting along with Jennifer from Savor the Thyme and Paula from Bell’alimento.

I will be offering a super deal on one of my family’s favorite toys. Hint: it’s in my shop!

There will also be a giveaway for one lucky winner-RSVP below to be included in the entries! You can also leave a comment telling me: What’s your favorite thing in the ¢entsible shop? If you don’t like any of the items (boo hoo) tell me what you’d like to see in there in the future.

The hashtag w’ll be using #OSfamfun. Be sure you are following the hosts: me (@centsiblelife), @savorthethyme, @bellalimento and the awesome people from OpenSky: @OpenSkyProject, @lindslj123, @jazzybee09, and @tedrubin. You can follow along on our custom tweetgrid here.

Hope to see you there!
Kelly

I received a package of mirra products to try from Global Influence. I have been using them for just over 2 weeks. I received shampoo, conditioner, nightime cream, daytime cream, exfoliating scrub, and hair gel.

I was initially disappointed when I realized I had received smoothing shampoo and conditioner as my hair tends to be oily, but after using it for awhile I have totally changed my tune. The smoothing products helped tame the static that my daughters and I get during the winter, and kept all our smooth and shiny.

Of all the products I got my favorite was the exfoliating scrub. It left my skin feeling smooth, and soft and I think has made an improvement in the tone of my skin.

I didn’t like the nighttime cream, but again this is due to my personal skin type. I tend to be oily, and this was just too much moisture for my skin. I will be passing it on to my mom who has dry skin.

I mainly use organic/all natural products, so the mirra line was a slight departure from that. I like that it combines science with as many natural ingredients as possible since many natural products don’t work.

From the press release: mirra products are made with natural ingredients, such as olive oil, aloe leaf juice, and cranberry, bamboo, honey and chicory root extracts. Proven technologies are used for many of the products too. For example, the revolutionary oleosome emulsion technology is used in skin care products to deliver long lasting moisture that keeps protecting and nourishing skin long after application.

Go to Kroger’s site for a coupon for $5 off the purchase of two mirra products at Kroger and Kroger banner stores.

How to enter:

Now for the fun part, you can win a goodie box full of mirra products!

• Leave me a comment below telling me what your “can-not-live-without-it” product is.

• One entry per person.

• Giveaway ends on Sunday, March 14th.

Good luck!

Kelly

Disclosure: I received a box of mirra products in exchange for my review.

Samantha “Sam” Duckworth is a 20-something college graduate with an emerging interest in all things financial. Sam’s Ducks and Dollars which was started in November, 2009.  Sam is motivated to show others that it’s not impossible to set financial goals and to actually meet those goals.

I recently wrote a blog post about the benefits of working from home.  I’m writing this follow-up to share why I chose to leave my work from home position and return to a physical office.

I should start by giving you a little background on how I became a remote (work from home) employee.  A couple years ago, my Husband and I decided to finally make the move we had been waiting to do.  We decided to move to a new state.  Other than family, neither of us had connections in our new state, so we were both concerned about how we would find employment.  On occasion, my employer would let me work from home.  So I asked if they would allow me to move to a permanent work from home role.  The idea was that I could keep my job (which I enjoyed) and have some money rolling in while my Husband was job hunting in our new state.  To my surprise, they agreed.  And the rest is history, as they say…

At first, being at home was great!  I really enjoyed skipping the daily routine of getting ready for work and commuting.  I could roll out of bed and strait to my desk.  But as time passed, I became less and less satisfied with my job at home.  There were a number of reasons.

• First, I was missing people! We moved to a new place where we knew no-one (except family) and my only major interaction with people was through email and an occasional phone call.  When I tried to get involved in groups or activities outside of work, I ran into constant obstacles.
• Second, there was zero job growth. This was no-one’s fault.  It’s simply the nature of being a remote employee.  I was doing the same job day-in and day-out and there was no sign of moving up or around the company.  Perhaps I could have pursued this further, but being a remote employee made this a challenge.
• Third, I was exhausted! I was in an on-call position.  Holidays, weekends and vacations were not off limits.  If there was an issue that needed to be addressed, I had to take care of it.  Being that I was working from my home office, the work-to-life ratio got out of control!

After one long, frustrating day, I had the realization that it was time to move on.  I wasn’t going to be able to get the things I needed out of my work from home career.  I needed to be around people and needed the opportunity for job growth and most of all, I needed some separation between my personal and professional life.  Please don’t misunderstand me – working from home has been a great opportunity and one I’m very thankful for.  Given the same opportunity under different circumstances and I’d likely jump at the chance to work from home again.  But for now, it’s time for me to move on to something new.

Kelly’s notes: Congratulations on the new job!

photo credit: georgivar

Man vs. Debt is one of my favorite must-read blogs. If you’ve never read Adam Baker’s blog before you are in for a treat. Adam and his wife have a young daughter, but they don’t let that keep them from living their life the way they want. They bucked convention. Instead of piling up debt, buying a house and holding down regular jobs they moved across the world. First they traveled to Australia, then New Zealand, and then moved on to Thailand. Now they are back in the US, and who I’m excited to see what they have in store next!

Adam just launched an e-book called Unautomate your Finances. It’s his first product, and as a blogging buddy I got to take a sneak peek and offer some feedback. There wasn’t much to give! Adam’s book offers you his unique perspective on mastering your personal finances. I don’t want to go into too much detail, but I will say his book had me rethinking EVERYTHING.

The e-book includes (in Adam’s own words):

• A comprehensive 83-page eBook, featuring “The Unautomation Theory”, “The Science of Unautomation”, and “Applying Unautomation”.
• A 27-minute video interview with Leo Babauta of ZenHabits.net.
• A 29-minute audio interview with J.D. Roth of GetRichSlowly.org.
• A 2-page, custom-designed PDF version (printable) of the minimalist budgeting system discussed in main guide.
• A bare bones Excel template for those who want to take the minimalist budgeting system digital.Free Extended Updates!
• Money back guarantee: Not a 30 day guarantee, not a 60 day guarantee, but a LIFETIME guarantee! Adam asks that you send him a one line email at any time for a full refund.

To purchase the e-book, go here to purchase Unautomate your Finances .

Kelly

Disclosure: Includes affiliate links.

While my blog primarily focuses on money issues, I am a mom of 4, so I thought it would be fun to talk momming one day a week. Mom Monday is my new feature where I will be tackling mommy issues. My hope is that even my non-parent readers will stop by and comment, since you were kids once too!

As I type this my 2 boys are across the hall building some crazy creation out of Legos. People often ask me how I get so much done (which makes my husband break into a fit of giggles), and the truth is I get done what’s important at any given moment, and the rest slides.

I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been alone at home. My oldest son is homeschooled, so 5 out of 7 days of the week he is home, and my youngest isn’t starting preschool until next year.

3 days a week I have the 2 boys, and my youngest daughter comes home from school at 11:30. The other 2 days I have the little dude for 3 hours alone, then we pick up his sister, and then 2 hours later we pick up big brother. If you didn’t follow all that, don’t worry. I don’t follow it either, and it’s my life!

The only way I can get things done is by squeezing work in around the edges of family life. Between laundry loads, dishes, and keeping the kids from killing each other helping them play nicely, I find 5 minutes to blog, or 10 minutes to email. I also work on the weekends, and hired a friend to babysit once a week for 5 hours so I can have uninterrupted time.

I don’t hover over the kids. I don’t spend my time policing them. I let them play. Even though my agenda right now says it’s time to clean up the boys’ room with them, and reorganize it they are playing nicely, so I let them play. Kids need time to just be kids, and I totally benefit from them playing together.

It wasn’t always this way. When they were little it was all about naptime. It was crucial they have naps so I could have some peace and quiet and time to get things done. If you have little ones at home know it does get better, but the flip side is no naps!

How do you find time to get things done? What gets shoved off your to do list in favor of letting the kids play?

Kelly

*note: before this post was done my 4 year old came into the office to show off his new creation

Disney Family.com knows moms are short on time, and budgets are tight. They recently added new beauty-related content to their site in the Makeover Mom section, including how to build a better wardrobe, how to make the most of drugstore makeup, three steps to beautiful skin, and more. Disney Family.com is also hosting a Mom’s Makeover Madness Sweepstakes for a chance to win a glamorous trip to LA for you and a girlfriend!

To spread the word about the new beauty resource, Disney Family.com is offering one reader a beauty must-have kit!

Included in a Family.com branded makeup tote are a sleep mask, mini manicure set and Bath & Body Works Aromatherapy candle (approximately a $60 value.)

To enter:

• Subscribe to my RSS feed or sign up to get the ¢entsible life in your email inbox.

• Leave a comment telling me how you make the most of “me time” or let me know your biggest indulgence when it comes to pampering yourself.

Giveaway Rules

• Giveaway winner will be chosen by random.org

• One entry per person.

Good luck!
Kelly

Disclosure: Disney Family.com is providing this giveaway for my readers. I did not receive compensation for this giveaway.

I’m so excited to share this giveaway with you! (and yes, secretly jealous!) I’m pairing with online coupon site FabulousSavings.com to give away a FabulousSavings.com-branded Flip Mino Camcorder* valued at $200.00!

How to enter:

• Follow @fabuloussavings & @centsiblelife on Twitter

• Tweet about the contest using the following phrase: “Capture each moment w/ a Flip cam! Follow @fabuloussavings & @centsiblelife to enter. http://bit.ly/FLIPcontest”

Official Rules:

This contest runs from March 6 to April 6 at 1:30pm EST.

Winner will be determined using Random.org and contacted via direct message on Twitter on April 6 after 1:30pm EST.

Winner has exactly 24 hours to respond via e-mail. If winner fails to respond, another winner will be selected. Limit of one entry per person. Spam accounts and tweets will not be accepted. No purchase necessary.

To be proclaimed a winner in this contest, you must be:

• At least 18 years of age
• A US resident

Fabulous Savings reserves the right to cancel this contest at its discretion. Fabulous Savings shall not be responsible for any possible technical difficulties or delays which might otherwise affect eligibility.

This prize is being awarded by Fabulous Savings, and should the contest be cancelled the centsible life is not liable for fulfilling the prize,  but will provide an alternative prize.

Kelly

Disclosure: For hosting the giveaway I am being compensated with a gift card.

* = affiliate link to Amazon.com.

Head over to my the ¢entsible shop for 20% off this awesome Melissa & Doug pattern block set.

It normally retails for $15.19, but with the coupon the total comes down to $12.15! A great deal. Use the code: Centsible20.

This is a creative toy kids will spend hours playing with. My kids love to use these pattern blocks to make stories and games up, as well as using them to make patterns.

Let me know if you pick it up, I’d love to know what you think.

Kelly

This is a guest post from Liz Muirhead, who blogs about health and fitness at Looking Good (for a mom). Liz is a thirty-something working mom of two wonderful kiddos, who got fed up with using her kids to explain her flab and found a way to get the best body of her life!

So you want to get in shape, do you?

Well, I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to go into debt to succeed! I’m Liz, author of a fitness and nutrition blog called Looking Good (for a mom). While I write about eating healthy and staying fit on my own blog, I love reading about personal finance and living frugally. That’s why I’m thrilled to be writing for The Centsible Life to help Kelly’s readers get in shape and healthy on a budget.

In the first post in this series, I’ll be helping you determine what equipment you need to start getting in shape. Rather than spending $20-$100 per month on a gym membership, or $3,000 on gym equipment for your home, there are a few ways to build out an inexpensive home gym.

When investing in items for a home gym, focus on resistance training (weight training). It’s more effective and efficient than traditional cardio for weight loss, so you’ll get more results out of an investment in resistance training materials than you would in spending $800 on a treadmill or elliptical machine. Besides, cardio is cheap! You can run outside, jump rope, or do calisthenics to get a great, high-intensity cardio workout.

Bargain home gym (about $40)- all you need to start bodyweight resistance workouts:

• Stability ball — Generally priced from $15-$30, a stability ball is a versatile piece of equipment that open up a wider range of bodyweight exercises.
• Chin-up bar – The bargain in this category is the portable Iron Gym at $20, while the Cadillac systems generally affix permanently to a wall and cost around $80-$100.

Mid-range home gym (about $150-200)- start with the above and add:

• Weight Bench – You can get just a bench (that inclines, lays flat, and declines) for about $50-$60. There are more expensive configurations, but they’re generally full of gimmicks or for people with an olympic weight set.
• Adjustable dumbbells — You can buy an inexpensive adjustable dumbbell set for around $50, but it will take a lot of time to change from one weight to another. If you want a really versatile quick-changing set that’s easy to use, you should expect to spend closer to $400 (the price of the Powerblock dumbbells in our home that go up to 50lbs per hand).

-OR-

• Suspension trainer – As an alternative to the weight bench and adjustable dumbbells above, you can take your bodyweight workouts to the next level by investing in a TRX Professional Suspension Training system for $150. The TRX increases the range and intensity of bodyweight exercises you can do, and is a great system that’s earned the respect of many professional trainers.

Although the items listed above are fairly affordable, you can occasionally score items for an even better price if you watch Craigslist or his a local second-hand store. One of the best times to find items is just before summer, as people who purchased items at the new year come to terms with the idea that their purchases are just glorified dust and/or clothing collectors.

Want a bodyweight workout you can use with your $40 bargain home gym? Subscribe to get email updates from Looking Good (for a mom)’s RSS feed and Liz will send you one!

photo credit: DrJimiGlide

Kelly’s notes: I am thrilled that Liz will be coming on as a sometimes writer for the ¢entsible life! Look for her posts in the Health section.

If you are reading this in RSS, or in email you may not have noticed the adorable new look courtesy of Mrs. Money. She helped me choose a super cute piggy for my logo, designed the logo-which with someone like me is not easy!- and then redesigned the colors to match my pretty new logo.

Swing by and take a look, I’d love to know what you think. My apologies for sending this out about 5 days after the redesign-I’ve been swamped!

For affordable design services, I highly recommend Mrs. Money’s design services.

Kelly