Merry Christmas Friend!

In this episode, I talk about the importance of giving to the less fortunate and some of the things you can do to help those in need.  Are you giving at least 10% of your income away?  You might want to evaluate your budget for the new year if you are not.  God wants you to steward His money His way!

Enjoy your time with family and friends and have a great week everyone!

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Love, 

Monica

Hey Friend

When I think about all the money spent on Christmas,  the amount of gifts and stuff that is added to each household, and the thought of the small percent of those items that are even used or enjoyed, it makes me cringe!  

I am not the best gift giver because I am so practical, but when I was a young mom with small kids trying to buy gifts just to have something for everyone even though we didn’t have much of a Christmas budget, I realized that this is not how Christmas was suppose to be.

The hustle and bustle of getting gifts for people in hopes they will like them and then finding time to do the dreaded job of wrapping them(thank goodness my teenagers enjoy doing that now!) and if they were like me-they probably didn’t even use the gift and it would eventually be put into a donation box so it wasn’t just taking up space in our home.

We never went into debt because we were too poor to have credit cards, but we did eat alot of cheap meals to save extra money in October, November, and December ~even more than the normal frugal meals, but I don’t think the kids really even noticed!

Throughout the years, we have changed the way we do things and made the Christmas Season all around much simpler and a whole lot cheaper. We do alot of baking because we enjoy doing that this time of the year, so we make up small plates of goodies to give people instead of gifts. If you don’t bake, buy a  variety of goodies and split them up into different plates to give. 

Fruit baskets are always great too!  Usually much cheaper if you make your own!  If we have families that we give to, we will do a little basket of hot cocoa with a few different toppings such as crushed andes mints or candy canes, mini chocolate chips, marshmallows, toffee bits, caramel sauce and redi whip and you know that will get used because it is a nice cozy treat when you live somewhere cold like we do!!!! 

The simpler you keep the season, the more you are going to enjoy it and it is alot less stress when you are able to stay in your budget.  I think sometimes people end up buying gifts for people just because they have always done it and probably don’t realize the other person would be happy to lessen their gift giving as well!  Just talk to the other families if they want to do things differently!  More and More people are moving toward simplicity and minimalism and most would be happy to have less stuff to find a place for and keep organized. 

See you back next week!  Make sure to join our free Facebook group below for the NO SPEND JANUARY Challenge!

Join our Facebook Group ->

https://www.facebook.com/groups/claimingsimplicity/

Email -> [email protected]

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Have a fabulous week!

Monica

Hey Friend!

Welcome back to another week!  In this episode I talk about reducing stress so you can have more joy this Christmas Season.  Enjoy traditions with family and friends and make memories all while celebrating Jesus Birthday!

I don't want you stressed out and anxious this holiday season so you can enjoy every minute.  Christmas is not about how much money you spend, but focusing on what matters even when you are busy!  Save money and time this holiday season!

Once you can wrap your mind about simplicity, your whole life can change for the better!

Join our Facebook Group -> https://www.facebook.com/groups/claimingsimplicity/ 

Email -> [email protected]

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Enjoy and have a super week!

Monica

Happy Happy Holiday Season Friend!

I love this time of the year, but I like to keep it simple and meaningful!  When I was a young Mom, I thought I had to have all the best gifts and many gifts, but over the years I learned that Christmas is about focusing on our Savior and creating memories with family and friends and my focus has really changed!!

In this episode, you will find useful gifts to give to people and ways to create memories instead of filling up someone's home with items they most likely won't use or don't even want.  Time spent with people is more precious and has more value than any material item that loses it's shine.  

I don't want you stressed out and anxious this holiday season so you can enjoy every minute.  Christmas is not about how much money you spend, but focusing on what matters even when you are busy!  Save money and time this holiday season!

I pray you are blessed by this podcast!

Love you and appreciate all of you listeners!

Email -> [email protected]

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

Monica

Happy Thanksgiving Friend

Thankfulness has really been on my heart lately and I figured this would be the perfect week to talk about it with Thanksgiving in the United States this week.

This podcast is about thankfulness and contentment which should make you happy!

Be Thankful in everything!

Love Ya!

Monica

Hey Friend

How are you doing this week? It is snowing here in MN and we have our Christmas oils diffusing, so we are enjoying another beautiful day!   I know you are super stressed out about everything you need to get done in just over a month and the thought of it all is making you anxious, but it doesn’t have to be that way!  You can enjoy this season even more when you simplify!  Today I want to give you 3 ways you can do this easily and make more memories instead of more work for yourself!

Please take 30 seconds and rate and review this podcast so it can reach more people! Also, if you have any suggestions or topics you would like to hear about, please reach out to me! I appreciate all the love~you are all such a blessing to me!

Email -> [email protected]

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

Have a wonderful week!

Monica

Hello Friend

I am often asked how I do all that I do!  Honestly, I don’t do it all because I have learned to say no, but I do have some simple tips to help me to have energy to do all the things I do get done. I should also tell you the things I don’t do-I don’t regularly get massages or my nails done and I am terrible about getting my haircut more than 3 times per year!  I rarely watch TV or movies and I make lists to shop so I only have to go every few weeks for the most part because that takes time and I don’t like to waste any time and try to be as efficient as I can!  

As we enter the holiday season, I think our energy gets depleted even faster with all the extra activities we have, so today  I want to give 6 simple ways to improve your energy every day, so don’t take these lightly even though they seem simple and you will get so much more done every day.

1. Go to bed at the same time every night! d love to help you.

I hope that you can implement a few of these simple ways to improve your energy and I would love to hear your results!!!!!!!  Also, If you have not subscribed to my podcast, just hit the plus button and you will be able to listen every week!

Thank you so much!

Until next time friend, God Bless you!

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Hello Friend!!!!

I remember when a someone made a comment years ago about me being frugal and was trying to degrade me by saying that, but it made me proud to know that people see that I do not value material items, but  value experiences and relationships more than having to “look good” for other people!  Seriously friends, you can’t take your designer clothes, shoes, vehicles, or purses to heaven with you!  Start living an amazing life of making a difference and enjoying each day!

I would love to hear from you!

Email -> [email protected]

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

God Bless!

Monica

Hello Friend!!!!

Thank you so much for you support of this podcast!  I can't thank you enough!  Im leaving on vacation and see my 1 year goal of 10,000 downloads has nearly been accomplished much ahead of time thanks to you, so I want to bless you for your support!

I appreciate each and every one of you and would love to know more of what you want to hear and what you are enjoying!  

Please give me a 5 star review on Apple podcast so this podcast can reach more listeners and also share this with any other mom that may be interested in simplifying and living a more joyful life with more time and more meaning!  Also, hit the plus button and subscribe so you don't miss any episodes because I have some really exciting things happening this next year!!!!!!

Please contact me and let me know what you are loving!

Email -> [email protected]

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

Love you all!

Monica

Hey Friend

This week’s show is a very important topic to me because we can not get our time back.  We all have the same amount of hours every week and I don’t want you to waste them.  The years go so fast and if you aren’t spending time on what you value, you might be feeling less joy than you could be.

We are all wired different and we all have our own passions, but I see so many people get into the rut of the day to day grind and miss out on what their purpose really is and that breaks my heart!  So many people are miserable, but feel like they have to work to buy all the material possessions to keep up with their neighbor!  Yes, it is important to have an income because of the amazing impact you can make on others, but are you trading time for someone else’s dream?  I have worked with so many people over the last 30 years that didn’t enjoy what they were doing, so first I want you to ask yourself to ask you if you are spending more than you make or breaking even?  That might be a spending problem-in order to live a life you vision in your dreams, you need to live below your means and stop spending money on things you don’t need-many times spending is a coping mechanism for people that makes them feel good, but that is only temporary. My second question to you is, do you love what you are doing?  If so, keep doing it!!!!!!   Most likely your top values are balanced with your time.

If not, what is stopping you from living your dream of doing what you love? Find something where your income isn’t tied to the time you put in.  Find a business where you can enjoy doing it every day, but you have flexibility to work it around your top values, so you have more balance and peace.  You can turn your passions into your work no matter what it is, you just need to start to dream again, be persistent and most likely, you will enjoy the journey and probably make alot more money in less time than a 9 to 5 job.

It doesn’t matter what age you are, you can do anything!  Many of you are not living your ideal life simply because you have to have brand name items,designer clothes, the newest phone or gadgets or fancy cars and houses, but after a while they don’t make you happy.  I remember when we bought a newer suburban and I loved it because it fit all 5 of our kids in it comfortably even with 2 carseats, but then I had to make the first payment and I am not someone that has ever liked to have debt.  I felt a burden of having that amount of debt and didn’t ever want a vehicle payment again!

I want you to have lasting JOY.  If you want to be happier, you could start by shifting from material goods into experiences!  What experiences do you like?  Write down what you value-what you TRUELY VALUE. Experiences connect us and give us lasting memories!  Do you want to travel and make memories with your family, do you want to raise your own kids with your own values and not the world’s values, do you just want to make your own schedule so someone else can’t tell you when you can and can’t take vacation?  Take back control of your life!

Email -> [email protected]

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Blessing until next week!

Monica