Hello Friend!

I have had so many people asking me how we spend so little on food and the answer is actually pretty simple.  I have been posting on claiming simplicity on instagram about saving money on groceries the last few months and I have had so many people say they are struggling in this area and have no idea where to start, so this episode is going to get you headed in the right direction to saving money on food that you may not have thought of..

Yes, it is true…..once I learned how to spend very little on food (at the time was when I had 3 kids under 3 years old) and it was out of necessity with a very small food budget and no credit cards to go in debt with, I found out how easy it really was!  I remember looking through recipes that would be filling and I would look through cookbooks and figure about how much it would cost to make the recipe.  I actually had such a low food budget that I would bring my calculator to the store to make sure I didn’t go over because I certainly wasn’t going to bounce a check!  Yes, cookbooks is where it all started, so I am dating myself as it was nearly 30 years ago when I began this journey, but I still use this process today because I would rather spend money on assets than food.  It took me some work to figure it out, but over the years, I learned skills that make it even more possible.

If you want to save over $6000 on groceries this year and cut your grocery bill in half, you are in the right place. 

The number one thing that people don’t realize is those unhealthy packaged snacks and meals are costing you nearly 10x more than they would be to make from scratch.  And no,  most of them are not difficult to make. Anything packaged is usually unhealthy and when you make homemade meals and items at home, you are only putting ingredients in them that you want in your body.  There are so many additives and unnecessary ingredients in them so once you start reading labels, you won't even want to put them into your body and certainly not your childrens bodies.  I’m working on a simple snack guide now that will give you simple easy snacks you can make from home on a budget and I know you are going to love it.  Watch for it on instagram!

Once you start making homemade meals, the next step for you will mostly likely be how to learn how to make all your own dressings, mayo, and mixes such as onion soup mix packet, ranch packets, or your own boullion which is another super simple way to cut food costs and add healthy options.  It really is a rabbit hole and once you learn how simple it is with such little time it takes, you will start making your own sour cream, yogurt, granola, vanilla, and pretty much everything in your kitchen!  You will not only save thousands of dollars every year, you will learn skills to be more self sufficient because you won’t need any started from the store once you make your own sour cream or yogurt and those type of items.  

Another way we spend so much less on food is buying in bulk and cooking in bulk.  Not only will you save money, but you will have so much less waste and will more likely not to spend wasted money eating out.  It blows my mind, that people don’t think it is possible to spend less that $75/ week on dinners for a family of 4.  It really depends where you live, but I can’t definitely show you how to cut your grocery bill in half.  We now spend less than $100/month on food since we grow a garden and raise our own meat, mild, and eggs along with hunting, but the $75/ week, I teach people to do from the grocery store with the grocery price list from walmart or aldi and it is very doable.

If you are thinking that you want to learn how to do this, here is the link to to a 1 week sample of the exact steps to how we save.

https://stan.store/ClaimingSimplicity/p/weeks-worth-of-dinners-in-just-2-hours-under-75

Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/claimingsimplicity/

Have a great week!  Love you friend!

~Monica

Hello Friend!  

We hit 100,000 downloads last week, so in appreciation, for everyone that adds a rating and review, I am going to put you in a drawing for $100 amazon gift card!!!  You just need to send me an email at [email protected] letting me know you left a review with your user name.  If you have already left a review, share with a friend and add me in your instagram stories and tag me and you will be entered in the drawing as well!  This podcast wouldn’t be as successful if it wasn’t for all of you, so I appreciate you all!  

I really want to talk today about 3 areas where you can easily simplify your life to live more intentionally with ADHD.  As I have talked about a few times here, I have never been diagnosed with ADHD, but I have many characteristics and that is really why I had to simplify my whole life to live with more intention.  I really enjoy slow living with my family now and I wouldn’t have it any other way.  When I was working as a full time nurse with 5 kids at home and all the activities and sports, it was exhausting, but once I changed the way I lived, I was able to quit my full time nursing job which gave me so much freedom to how I spend my days & more time with family.  

The first area you can simplify is your cooking, if you haven’t followed claiming simplicity on instagram, you should do that now.  A large portion of many family’s budgets goes to food, but it doesn’t have to.  I can show you how a family of four can eat dinners on $75/week and that is nutrient dense, healthy meals.  You don’t need fancy expensive meals and you certainly don’t need to buy convenience foods at the store but instead learn to cook simple homemade meals at home on a very low budget.

Next, declutter your home.  Living with less stuff really reduces stress.  You will also feel less overwhelmed when you have less stuff to care for - start with one room of you home and see the difference.  Always make sure you carefully think about each item you bring into your home.  I am going to do another declutter challenge, so email me if this is something you would like to be a part of.  It is for busy moms, so it will be steps you can’t quickly declutter in a short amount of time.

And lastly, you will want to reduce debt, living debt free can be rewarding in so many ways.  If you are spending more than you bring in, think about where you can make changes.  I will be doing another no spend challenge starting January first and this time I am going to do all audio.  If you are interested in joining, please reach out by email or DM me on instagram!

And with all of this, make sure you are putting Jesus at the center of it all!

Love you friend!  Have a blessed week

~Monica

Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/claimingsimplicity/

Email -> [email protected]

Happy Fall Friend!

If you haven’t visited claiming simplicity on instagram recently, you may not know that I have been teaching families how to eat dinners for less than $75/week and have taught over 3000 families so far after starting that in July and now I have expanded into a month of our favorite  crockpot dinners and am working on a snack guide to save money as well.  I love love love teaching people that you can eat healthy on a budget and it all started because that is what people were asking me.

Now, I have people reaching out that want to live the lifestyle that we have, so I’m transitioning into showing them exactly how I was able to quit my full time nursing job to become a homesteader & homeschooling mom and it all started with knowing how to save money on groceries and then once I had that figured out, then I would reduce wasteful spending in other areas like making my own natural cleaning supplies that saved money and now I create an income just showing people how I did it because that is just how it has evolved!  

I am very passionate about families raising their own kids and homeschooling….shaping them to be Jesus centered in everything they do is the ultimate goal in life.  You can’t take your home, your cars or material possessions to heaven with you, so why not chase something with eternal rewards and teach your children to do the same. Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.

If you are ready, I want you and your spouse to talk about this and see if it is something you both want & pray together about it. Talk about how you want your life to look and feel. My husband was on board and he found out quickly how much easier.

How much money do you actually need to live comfortably and where could you reduce expenses if you need to.  Figure out all of you bills and then you will need to figure out all the bills you won't have if you decide to be a SAHM or homemaker such as daycare, gas, convenience items, maybe even one less car or less insurance.  There are many ways to make it possible!  

There is so much peace and joy in intentional and slow living, that you will probably not ever want to go back to the hustle.  The time with your family will be treasured forever.  You can’t ever get the moments and memories back, so live in the present every single day. Freedom & Time are much greater asset than money if you value memories. 

If you have any questions about any of this, please send me an email or DM on Instagram, I would love to help you get started or even help you take next steps if you are ready!

Have a Blessed day!

9-15-25 EP 206 // 5 Ways to Start Simplifying Your Life Without Feeling Stressed & Overwhelmed.

Hello Friend! 

My life is very full with all of the things we choose it to be such as gardening and homesteading activities, but I make sure that I have time to just be, pray and think in the morning and that usually means getting up by 4:00 am. (Yes, I am in bed early at night so I get at least 7 hours of sleep)  It gives me time to see the sun rise, sit in silence  and just listen to what God is saying to me without any other disturbances.  

Our lives are shaped mostly by how we create them.  If you know me at all you know that little simple things make me happy.  I don’t need to spend money to be happy, I enjoy the birds chirping, the rooster crowing, a fresh Fall breeze coming throught the open windows, the sun rising, walking in the woods and we are now living what we have created. 

I could have continued to climb the ladder working for someone else just  to chase after more riches, but nearly 30 years ago, we made a life plan of how we wanted to live, raise our family and what was important to us……and guess what-not any of what was important to us was new cars or material items-it was Jesus, time with family and freedom to do what we want, when we want and it seems as if God has been just chasing us with blessing after blessing.

Things have shifted slightly as God is giving us a new direction and so we will reveal where that is going as time goes on.  Right now, we are at the stage of really God?  You want us to do what?  So I don’t know any details right now, but I do know that He wants me to help you get back to the root of what is most important. 

I want to give you 5 simple steps to get started on this simple living journey, and I will saved the #1 way to the end.

~ 1st, Become so clear on what you value and make sure your time matches up with your values.  You say you want time with your kids, but then you spend all day at work, or you might say you value giving, but your pocketbook looks like you spend more on things for yourself.  It has to match up or you will not ever feel at peace or aligned.  

~ Next, Make your life plan-do you want to be a SAHM and homemaker, do you want to living in the country, want to homestead or learn to cook from scratch to save money?  What kind of house do you want to live in?  Be so clear that when you move to a house, you realize it was exactly what you handwritten out in detail many years prior.  Your life might not start out exactly as planned, but I can definitely tell you if you have a vision and a plan in written for, you will most likely get to that place!  I even put in my plan I wanted to be a Grandma that was available for my Grandkids whenever they needed me or had events and I am thankful to be able to spend time with all of them quite often and love it!

~After that you will want to make a plan you reduce your debt.  Maybe you need to sell a vehicle with a payment and get a used vehicle-there is certainly not anything wrong with having an older vehicle.  I was just trying to figure out the last time we had a car payment-probalby over 15 years ago!  Spend your money wisely and living a debt free live is so rewarding.

Then you need to put your plan into action-just start-it is an incredible feeling to know what you are working toward!

And the absolute #1 step that is the most important is reading your Bible and putting Jesus first in everything that you do.  When you walk the narrow path, there are many rewards.  I’m not saying there will be opposition, because there certainly will be, but the rewards far outweigh it. 

1 Start reading your Bible

I want you to send me a message and let me know how this is going for you and if I can help you in any way.

Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/claimingsimplicity/

Email -> [email protected]

Keep it simple and God Bless!

Monica

Hello Friend!

Here are a few of my thoughts about living boldly for Christ based on Charlie  Kirk's life. 

We need to rise up and create a world movement as the time is getting closer to Jesus Christs return.

See you next week!

Monica

Hey!

Welcome back on this beautiful September day!  If you are new here,  I’m Monica and I love to simplify and streamline everything and I enjoy sharing all I learn with you, so grab a cup of coffee and enjoy!

After a summer of probably saying yes to too many things and feeling exhausted, I realized I needed to be reminded of my own advice to keep things simple with less stress.  If you know me at all, which you probably know me pretty well if you have listened to any amount of podcasts here, but I’m sure you know I like to do all the things, I love to learn and sometimes that comes with getting too much on my plate.  

If you want to reduce some of your mental load & enjoy a slow and intentional life, the first step is to create it by centering your life around what is important to you.  For me, it is my faith, family, and time for being present.  To me, time is our precious commodity and I don’t want to get to the end of life and wish I would have done things differently.  Depending on what season you are in, living intentionally may look different than slow living, but you have to know what you really want life to look like and make a plan so you can stop spiraling out of control and feel like you are going backwards.

Next, you need to start saying no to some of what you are doing.  If you are saying yes to please others or just because you think you are supposed to do something, you will burn out fast.  I remember when my kids were in elementary school, I thought that I should volunteer just because I stayed at home (because most people done understand what WFH moms do!), but I whenever it came to going, I just dreaded it because I had so many other things I needed to do.  I have always had side businesses as I’m not someone that ever sits around, so I have to plan my time carefully.   I have learned to say, thanks for thinking of me, but right now I am unable to …..whatever it is.  You don’t have to say any more or try to make up excuses.  Just imaging what all the things you will be able to say yes to because of the no’s you had to tell people!

And the last way you can lessen your mental load is to declutter.  There is a direct correlation with mental stress and clutter, so make sure you are clearing spaces in your home.  Since we have moved into our home 2 years ago, we have done so mych outside, but I still have totes with my hobbies and it bothers me everytime i see those totes because it is something I just haven’t had a chance to get to yet.  As my business has grown, it is something that got put on the back burner!  I know when I have clutter on the counter or around our home, it makes such a difference in how stressed I am.  If you do 1 thing today, start with clearing off your cupboard and getting the dishes done every night.  After a week or 2 add in another thing and try to clear your space you are in most of the time first.  You will wake up feeling much better when you go to make your coffee and don’t have the stress of the mess hanging over your head.  

I want you to start implementing this right away and let me know how it goes for you!  

Remember Keep it simple and have a great week! 

Love ya friend!

Monica

Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/claimingsimplicity/

Email -> [email protected]

Hey Friend!

Wow, can you believe it is back to school already?  We had a very different summer this year, but God’s hand was in all of it and I wouldn’t want it any other way.  If He is in the middle of whatever is happening, there is peace.  One of the many things I love about Fall is that even though here in MN things start to die, there is also a new and refreshing energy I feel.  I love the crispy air and sweatshirt weather and like it to last as long as possible before the deep freeze, but for me Fall is so abundant.  It is a very full season for us with all the garden produce, apple orchard harvest, bear hunting that starts at the beginning of September and then deer hunting.  This is when we store most of our food for the year, so it is very productive.  We only get bear tags every 6 years and our 15 year old daughter has one this year, so hoping for success for her as this will be her first one.  My husband gets pretty excited getting everything ready for the hunt which starts in August.  It really is such a blessing for them to get to experience it and I am so thankful they are so well rounded in so many areas of life and have more skills than 95% of their peers.  I truly believe they are going to be so much further in life with the every day life they have learned over the years.  From how to save on groceries and cook from scratch to hunting for food, processing it all along with all the life skills they learn on a homestead with animals!

I am so grateful for all of you that reach out and are loving the podcast and now the instagram content!  I am so so thankful for all of you-who knew this would grow so big just a few years ago when I had no idea what I was doing!  Just trying to share everything I know to live a simpler life.  Sometimes I feel like I’m failing you because I don’t have consistent content, but then I remember that I’m doing the Lord’s work and I don’t have to burn out or give up my values especially after last year and knowing that rest is needed.  Thank you for the grace.

So this summer we have been getting ready for next Spring as we will have a graduation here for our daughter that is a senior. We have been moving flower gardens(they were full of the most gorgeous flowers along with many thistles and grass that I couldn’t get rid of, so we made new garden beds for them. We have been staining and other miscellaneous things around here with the help of many Grandkids we have had over the summer with their daycares being off quite a bit which is fun ~ they just love it here and so fun for them to learn about the animals and milking, gathering eggs and all the fun that happens on a farm.  Most of our fencing and barn work is done for now and it helps to have portable electric fencing from premier one.  That works so nice for rotating the animals easily and often.

There was a time in June when I couldn’t get out of bed for 5 days, even lift my phone and I ended up having anaplasmosis, so glad I finally went in.  I’m a little stubborn knowing that most viruses they can’t do anything for, but after not getting better, I knew it had to be something other than the flu or covid and i didn’t even I had been bitten by a deer tick, but I did have several of them crawling on me at different times I hadn’t thought much of.  That took some time to recover from and then my husband’s job unexpected was off work for a while, so he ended up going to a different company putting in natural gas, so there has been alot of change around here.  My 15 year old started working in the spring as a phenomenal sourdough bakery that just opened up and she still needs rides, so glad it is only 15 minutes away and our other daughter is working in a kitchen at a resort, so they have been busy girls between working, sports, 2 large lawns they mow and numerous church camps.  It was just very different to not see them as much, but I am thankful to have such responsible kids.

We have seen God’s hand in all the hard things this summer and after testing instagram again for a couple months, my business grew really fast, so I’m working on creating more content to save you money and if you have not already, make sure you are following @claimingsimplicity on instagram.  I actually niched down to talking about cooking from scratch and how to cook dinners once a week for under &75 because that is what you wanted more of, so I’m slowly but surely working on some products around grandkids, kids, farm and all the fun that summer brings!

Now that we will get back to a semi normal routine, I hope to be back here weekly!  As always, please reach out with any topics or questions you have!

God Bless you!  Have a fantastic week!

Monica

Hello Friends!  

I am thankful to be able to do what I love every single day!

I had to go back to what I love as I could go in many different directions since I am so multipassionate with undiagnosed ADHD.  I enjoy working 2 hours a day with my business, but I had so many other people reaching out and wanting me to coach them to make money online and that really wasn’t my passion, it is a portion of it I love though!

My passion is simplicity and having a flexible schedule to enjoy the things I love. 

I absolutely enjoy teaching my homesteading and cooking from scratch skills to beginners that have no idea how easy it is. Both in person and online, but I also am passionate about working with my hands - Getting in the dirt, making bread and being available when my goats and pigs are birthing.  

I enjoy teaching you as a busy working mom to save money so you can eventually be at home raising their own kids because I don’t believe there is a more important job~especially in the days we are in.  I enjoy showing you there is a better way and you don’t have to keep up with the Jones.

You have your own skills to share and it is fun to learn from each other.

I know friend if you just sit and listen, you will get direction so you can enjoy every single day.  

If you are interested in joining a group of like minded Moms, you are welcome here.  I will be opening up this group soon, so get on the list below!

Simply Set Society -> https://stan.store/ClaimingSimplicity

Living Simply!
~Monica

Hello!  

I just wanted to catch you up to let you know that I am still here and all is good!

Winners, email me to claim your amazon gift cards!!!!

Blessings!

Monic

Email -> [email protected]

Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/claimingsimplicity/

Hello!

I was thinking back to my life when I was stressed out and overwhelmed. It felt like everything was hard and even little tasks seemed difficult.  I don’t ever want to go back to that and I want you to know that even as overwhelmed as you may feel right now, there is a way out.  You feel overwhelmed and stressed out when your priorities are out of whack and your time spent is doing things that aren't your top values.  

Before you start to change your life to living simpler, you have to really know how you want to live and what really matters most to you.  For me, flexibility and freedom to spend time with family and grandkids making memories and making sure they know Jesus is a top priority for me, so being able to send them to camp and go to family camp for 10 days in the summer is very important to me along with being able to help them grow in their faith.  

I also value living a natural life and being as self-sufficient or self-relient as we can by growing our own food and animals and teaching the next generation of the importance of canning and preserving food in different ways like freeze drying, but I certainly didn’t start there when I began this simple living journey.  

I was in my early 20s with 3 young kids when I learned how to preserve green beans and tomato sauce by a neighbor I babysat for as a teenager, but I did not grow up with a garden or preserving any food, so no matter whether you did or didn’t learn these skills, there are so many resources to learn from with the internet and you just have to make time for it.  I did grow up on a farm and I did have chores in the barn to do, some cooking, but I was also involved in sports and many other activities at school, so I was rarely home after I hit 12 years old.  

So after you decide what is important to you, start to minimize the things in your life that are NOT important to you.  As you start to minimize the less important items, you will start to be able to breathe easier and feel less overwhelmed.  Once you begin to feel less stressed, it will be addicting to do more to minimize the things in your life that are less important.  I am not talking about only minimizing physical items, but schedules and where you spend your time.  

I am so excited for you to begin your simple living journey if you have not! 

Monica

Email -> [email protected]

You Tube -> https://www.youtube.com/@claimingsimplicity/