By Melissa Batai

Does the thought of Christmas make you anxious? Do you look at the calendar and realize Christmas is only a few months away and you have little to no money saved for gifts and the extra expenses that come with the month of December? If so, you’re not alone.

Joyce Marrero Zahariadis, the blogger behind My Stay at Home Adventures, experienced several Christmas’ where she either went into debt or avoided paying other bills in December to buy Christmas presents. She’s since changed her ways and wants to help you change yours, too. Her ebook, Merry Debt Free Christmas: Holiday Solutions for the Financially Stressed offers a solution to this common problem.

The ebook contains the following:

Chapter 1: Why a Debt Free Christmas?
Chapter 2: Getting Mentally Ready for Christmas
Chapter 3: Setting Financial Goals for Christmas
Chapter 4: Creating the Perfect Christmas Budget
Chapter 5: How to Make Money for Christmas
Chapter 6: How to Save More Money for Christmas
Conclusion

Mental Preparation

The first two chapters in this book focus on getting mentally ready to have a debt free Christmas. Let’s be honest, there is a lot of pressure from advertisers, friends, family, and our kids to spend a lot of money to have the “perfect” Christmas. Yet, a “perfect” Christmas is a myth, and buying into that myth will leave you in debt come January.

Zahariadis emphasizes that we don’t “deserve” to spend our money and go over our budget in December because we worked hard all year. Instead, we deserve financial security.

Goals and Budget

After she has mentally prepared the reader for a debt free Christmas, Zahariadis then works on the nuts and bolts of the system—making Christmas goals and a budget. Too many of us enter the holidays unprepared, without a budget for how much we want to spend. After finishing this workbook, you should have a concrete plan for how much you’d like to spend as well as where your money is currently going.

Ways to Make Money

Zahariadis is a busy mom of four, so she doesn’t suggest that you get another job to pay for your Christmas. Instead, she suggests things you can do now, like tighten up your spending to find more money in your budget or do things from home like blog, use Swagbucks, or complete surveys to make extra money. The next chapter on earning money goes even further into ways you can round up extra cash for the holidays.

More Details about Merry Debt-Free Christmas

Each chapter is fairly short (the ebook itself is less than 60 pages long), and at the end of each chapter, there is a section for you to answer three to five pertinent questions about the material covered in the chapter such as, “How does your mindset affect your personal finances?” and “What are your budget struggles?”

Although I did not review it, there is also a 52-page workbook that goes with this ebook. The workbook includes pages for notes, forms to help you create a budget, and an income tracker, plus more.

If you’ve struggled with overspending during previous Christmases and you want this year to be different, this just may be the ebook for you.

Thanks to the North Dakota Tourism Division for partnering with us to share this content!

We live in Nebraska, just miles away from Native tribes that inspired the names of our towns and villages. I have traveled with my kids quite a bit in the surrounding areas, but one place we are most excited to visit to help my family learn about tribal culture is North Dakota!



It's not too far of a drive, and it's full of so many events and activities that bring the customs and traditions of the area to life for today's kids. As homeschoolers, we are naturally inquisitive, and with approximately 30,000 Native Americans living in North Dakota, there are so many things to learn!



Did you know? The name "Dakota" means "friend" in the Lakota language. This is certainly representative of those I know from the friendly state, and it's just one of the many ways tribal culture has influenced the state.

We are most looking forward to these destinations and events:

Buffalo Trails Tour - The buffalo has significance to the tribes that spans generations. Learn more about this majestic creature, the role it has played throughout history, and conservation efforts with this multi-stop tour to see habitat come alive!



Earthlodge Villages – Authentic destinations for North Dakota, these reconstructed earthen lodge communities are open to visitors to explore and some are available to sleep in! If you've never stayed overnight in a teepee, now is your chance. (I assure you that it is awesome!) Find this spot in New Town, on the north shore of Lake Sakakawea.



Powwows - My most vivid and happy moments as a child growing up near the reservations of Nebraska are at Powwows. North Dakota has gone above and beyond to open up their traditional dances to everyone! See the color, feel the music, and discover one of the most sacred and touching ways the tribal cultures express themselves. You'll never forget your first Powwow, and 2017 is full of dates to discover them!



On-A-Slant Indian Village - Home to thousands of Mandan Indians throughout history, this beautiful stop is now a popular destination at Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park.
Near and dear to our hearts, the tribal cultures are something I think everyone should know more about. My husband's family has Native ancestry, so we've always wanted it to be something that isn't strange for our kids to learn about. The tribes of North Dakota have done so much for the area, including making sure the natural resources of the area are treated respectfully and celebrated for their value to people today.



Which stop will you make first? See all of the beautiful destinations in North Dakota here.

Homeschooling a wide range of children can be challenging.  That's why we often find that online resources with a variety of tools for kids K-12 quickly become some of our favorites.  This week, we are sharing what we thought of SchoolhouseTeachers.com, an online site designed to make lesson planning and teaching simple for home educators of all grade levels.  We were given a yearly membership to help us discover all the ins and outs of the site, which I'll be detailing below.




What is SchoolhouseTeachers.com? Our Review

Quite simply, it's a portal of classes and computer-based homeschool curriculum that parents can use to supplement their existing course curriculum choices OR act as stand alone coursework.  Many of the courses are available to download and/or print, and some include video components.  The range of grades is K-12, with most all "core" subjects covered, as well as many extracurriculars.

How Did We Use It?

I had been a member of SchoolhouseTeachers.com for a year prior to getting another year through Schoolhouse Review Crew, so I was pretty familiar with all the options.  We had 9th grade student who was a bit behind in her math, and we didn't feel comfortable using a boxed math curriculum until I was certain she had been caught up.  We went through the Pre-Algebra course according to the plan on the site, and she was at grade level in no time.

We also had her take a few extracurriculars during the summer to stay sharp and get in the habit of doing more written work.  We found the Media Socialization course to be a perfect way to spend extra school time; the discussion sheets and comprehension questions were well-presented and gave us lots to talk about regarding our faith, the media, and how popular culture has influenced and been reflected in both.

What Did We Like?

The variety was something I had never seen in other online resource sites, and it was presented from a Christian perspective with a very agreeable theology.  The ability to know just how many and what kind of credits a course will qualify for was made easy with the transcript tools for each course, and I could start any course at any time of year by starting at the beginning and working through at our own pace.  There is even access to archives, so if you want the course to be more intense, or you wish to make it a 12-month course, you can.

It was perfect for the mother who loves the idea of planning (like me) but has a difficult time actually implementing the creation of lesson plans.  I could simply access the course the week or even day before my child was to do the lesson, and print off all the course materials, including the answer sheet.  Each course's objectives were clearly outlined so you know what to expect (see below)!



For the parent who doesn't know where to start, or just needs to keep trucking through a difficult time in their school life with little to no planning (perhaps during the birth of a baby?), the Dailies resource is perfect.


With over 25 categories of learning for BOTH parents and students, you can simply click on the Dailies subject of your choosing and follow that day's lesson plan for a complete activity that satisfies many of the core subjects and common "extras" homeschoolers like to study.

Here are some examples:

K-5: Ditch the Desk gives weekly and monthly unit studies for elementary students that takes them away from the "Worksheet" and puts them in hands-on learning situations that are fun for teachers and students.  Some of the units are seasonal, but all are listed in the directory, so you can choose which ones to work on first.  Will you pick Birds, Candy Canes, or Growing up Dutch to start with?

Joy in the Morning is a weekly devotional series with a message for moms who are in the thick of child-rearing, homeschooling, and life in general.

Everyday Astronomy gives little learners a fascinating look at the skies with crafts, lessons, recipes, and stories to keep studies fresh and interest in science at an all-time high!

We personally really like the Copywork Daily, which has the same text for both print and manuscript students.  It lets all of my kids work together on one piece of literature at their own grade levels!



Extra Thoughts

As with any resource that is bursting with possibilities, it can be a little overwhelming to know where to start and not feel like you have to do everything right away.  As much as we come to new resources with good intentions, I came to my membership to The Old Schoolhouse's SchoolhouseTeachers.com with a mission to pick up 3-4 new subjects for our school.  If you are going to start using it for more than one student, I would recommend going slow, getting to know the site very well, and choosing one course to start with per week, until you get up to the number of courses you want to implement.  Keep in mind that much of the content you will want to access is actually listed in the Archives, as well.



(I would strongly recommend connecting with other parents and teachers who use the site for any questions you may have as you go.  There is an active group on Facebook for this, as well as a very creative and useful Pinterest board.)

How Much Does it Cost?

Access to the elementary version with AppleCore Silver is just $14.95 a month -- or get a discount when you buy a year for $139. If you want the most for your money, however, I recommend the ultimate membership, which includes gold Applecore membership and a few more course options. Get 2 years plus a free tote for just $169 with code SHARK

HSLDA Members receive a steep discount of $50 off; if you're a member, be sure to check out their Perkx program page for details. (This is how I first learned about the site and signed up for my first year.)



Would we Recommend it?

As I had mentioned before, I was a member of the site before this review and had been using it successfully for my high schooler to supplement and fill in the gaps of a boxed curriculum.  I believe that you can use it as a sole curriculum solution, although we like the variety of using several different curriculum vendors and keep it as an extra tool in our eclectic tool belt.  And with extras for teachers, such as printable planners, menu plans, and exclusive discounts, it really can't be beat on the value. Plus, you  don't have to buy any extra textbooks, although there are opportunities to coordinate courses with supplemental reading materials, if you choose. It's not mandatory, though.

For the family on a budget, it's really a solid choice. 

Growing up, our old farmhouse had a built-in bookshelf that went floor to ceiling.

I loved it.

It contained books, pictures, knick-knacks and was rock solid! It held years of reading and memories.

Now that I live in a smallish ranch-style home, there was no bookshelf, and it made me sad. My husband, who knew how much I adored this type of bookshelf, wanted to give me the same kind of storage, without as much work (or cost). He put together this amazing creation, and I love it so much!