Keeping a blog alive takes effort. If you are using your blog to promote your business, make money through advertising, promoting affiliate links or writing posts for money, it is vital that you keep your blog active.

It is not easy thinking up stuff to blog about everyday. And if you are into money making, every blog post has to have a purpose.  A little planning is what you need. I have just the tool to make your blogging life a little easier.

2012 Blogging Calendar

Lynette Chandler from BlogEnergizer has put together a 2012 Blogging Calendar to help you plan out your blogging days. Last year’s planner was a hit. They had over 11000 downloads. So you know this is something of value. This is a big help to work out all your posts through the year. Download it, print it, stick it in a binder and start planning. You could literally come up with months of blogging material by the end of the day.

Just click this link to get your free copy: 2012 BLOGGING CALENDAR

p.s. Have a blog and need to take it to the next level? Check out Blogging Starter Pack

We all want more money, but have you stopped to look at where you may be wasting your money?

Like a leaky tap that drips little by little, you don’t realize how much of your money is draining away. Well, let’s be smart and “plug up the leaks”. Putting on my thinking cap, here are some ways I think families can stop wasting their money.

1. Plan your grocery shopping
Don’t head out to the hypermarket without a shopping list. If you don’t plan what you want to buy, you’ll end up buying more than you need. If you are bringing your children along, let them know in advance what you will and will not allow. For example, you will allow one treat and no toys. Let them know you are shopping for essentials and not for whatever catches their fancy. You must be disciplined too and stick to your list. Don’t be distracted. Oh, and don’t go shopping when you are hungry. Definitely extra stuff will end up in your shopping cart.

2. Take advantage of sales, coupons and discounts
Do a bit of homework before you begin shopping. See which items are on sale and which stores have better prices on the items you want to buy. Maybe there are coupons that you can use too.

3. Don’t waste food
How much food do you throw away? Do you have a tendency to cook too much or buy too much food? I know that you don’t want your kids to go hungry. I feel the same way. But food wastage is one way money leaks out of the pocket.

4. Plan your meals
Eating in is certainly more economical than eating out, especially if you have many mouths to feed. If you can plan your meals for the week, it makes grocery shopping easier. You’ll know what ingredients you need. Without meal planning, you may buy food that you don’t cook and it ends up rotting in the fridge. For example, my mom bought some spring onions the other day because it looked so fresh and nice. She put it in a container with some water for the roots. However, we didn’t use it in any of our meals. It just didn’t go along with any of the dishes I had plan to cook. In the end the vegetable dried up and my son wondered if it was in my kitchen as an ugly decoration. It may not have cost much but still, it was wasting money.

When you plan your meals, you can also control how much you’ll be spending on food that week. You can balance out “luxury meal” days with “simple meal” days.

5. Cut down on electricity bill
Use energy saving lights and equipments. Make sure lights are turned off when not in use. Turn off the main plugs too so things like tv, radio, microwave oven are not on standby mode. You can buy an energy saving device that claims to lower your electricity bill. On really hot days I have my children bunk into my room so we only turn on one air conditioner. Running 2-3 air conditioners the whole night will definitely lead to high electricity bills.

6. Cut down on water bill
Turn off the shower when you are soaping. Turn off tap when you are brushing your teeth.

7. Stop indulging your children with toys and new clothes
I’ve learned that toys have a short life with children. It is fun for a few days. When the appeal wears off, it starts to gather dust in some corner of your house. You may think you are saving money buying cheap toys but in reality you are wasting money coz’ they don’t last.
Children also don’t need 3 closet full of clothes. Limit clothes buying to special occasions, when they’ve outgrown it or when clothes are worn out.

8. Get rid of cable TV
You don’t really need your family glued to the tv. If you really want to watch certain shows, you can go online and find cheaper and better options.

9. Turn off the car engine
I don’t know if you do a lot of waiting in the car but sometimes I do. I wait for the children to get out of school and I wait in the car as DH runs into the bank. It is so tempting to keep the engine on so I can enjoy the air conditioning and keep the radio on. However, fuel these days is expensive and turning the engine off is one way to safe money. How to counter the heat? Invest in one of those handheld fans

10. Simplify  birthday celebrations
When the kids are young (babies and toddlers), they don’t really need extravagant birthday parties. First of all, they won’t really remember it. Secondly, they don’t really have any friends. Your children will still enjoy a birthday that is simple but meaningful. Instead of you putting your focus in entertaining a whole bunch of people, maybe the focus should be on the birthday child like taking him or her to the zoo or a giant indoor playground. Forget about parties at McDonalds or KFC. It is expensive and you can do better for less. Seriously, you don’t really need to spend a whole lot of money throwing a grand party to make your kids happy. You could do without the unnecessary stress too.

So tell me, what are some ways you see your family wasting money?

Grab the free report below on how to cut your grocery budget in half!

Becoming a work at home mom is not an easy decision. It is an ideal job that many mothers wish for but to be successful, you need to know what you’re in for. You don’t want to get all excited and jump in without much thought or planning. That road will only lead to frustration and disappointment.

If you are contemplating on becoming a work at home mom, what you need are steps to help you assess your dreams and goals, and of course a few action steps to move yourself towards your future as a WAHM. I’ve prepared a report to help you through that brainstorming process.

Click here to download

WHAT’S IN THE REPORT?

• The benefits of working at home
• The challenges of working at home
• How to manage your time
• What type of WAHM opportunity is right for you
• How to get started
• The basics of balance
• How to set goals, and achieve them
• How to finance your WAHM career/lifestyle
• How to plan for success
• And much more!

If you go through the report, it will give you a clearer idea of what you need to do to become a successful work at home mom.

More Resources:

• Need ideas on work at home businesses you can do, here are 15 ideas for you… 15 Work AT Home Ideas For Moms

It is fun to be home with the kids. Well, maybe not all of the time but most of the time However, times are tough and an increasing number of stay-at-home moms are looking for ways to contribute to the family income. Thankfully, with the advances of technology, moms today have plenty of choice on what they can do to work from home.

If you are exploring your options on work at home jobs, here is a report to get you started on ideas.

*This is a pdf file.

To access this free report, just fill in your information below. We’ll send you the report once you’ve opted in to our mailing list. Once on our mailing list, you’ll be entitled to additional reports, tips and offers that will help build a home business.

You want to make your Thanksgiving a memorable one, there are lots of things to think about: dinner, dessert, decorations and fun activities. Valuebookshop has come across a Thanksgiving ebook that covers all these topics. 15 bloggers have contributed to this free ebook. It is compiled by Mandi Ehman from “Life… your way”. The information is definitely gold. Here’s a list of some of the things included:

• No-bake appetizers such as Creamy Pumpkin Pie Dip, Smoked Salmon Pinwheels and Mini “Pumpkin” Cheese Balls.
• Pumpkin Dinner Rolls Recipe
• Holiday Cranberry Salad Recipe
• Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake Pots Recipe
• Pilgrim Hat Cupcakes
• Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Thanksgiving kids craft: Thankful Trees
• Too Cute Turkey Treats: Easy for kids to do
• Printables such as baking planner, budget worksheet, guest list, menu planner, recipes list, shopping list, master-to-do list etc….

There is more stuff. I can’t list them all. Click the following link the check it out for yourself.

Thanksgiving Your Way

“When is my birthday? Is my birthday coming soon?” This is a common question I get from my very young children. They just loooove their birthdays. I believe this is the same for almost all little children around the world.

That’s why, we moms find it difficult to resist throwing a birthday party for them. Not only do we want to make our kids happy, but birthdays signify reaching another milestone in their life. Definitely something to celebrate about.

If you are worried about throwing a kids birthday party, download this special report: [Download not found]

You’ll get ideas on what to do and it will walk you through the different areas you need to consider when planning a birthday party for your children. In short, it will help you keep your sanity. Don’t let the craziness of planning a birthday party overtake you.

You can get your free copy here. [Download not found]

[Download not found]

Now have a great time hosting the best birthday parties for your kids.

p.s. This is a PDF document and you will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software to view it. If you don’t have this software, you can get it here.

Articles of interest:

• Ideas for kids birthday party games
• Printable birthday party games

Halloween can be a very busy and stressful time for moms. Here at valuebookshop.com, we want to help mother’s save time, save effort, save money and stay sane. Therefore, I’ve put together a mini guide called “Mom’s Guide To Making Halloween Fun For Kids“.

Here’s what you’ll find inside:

• How to put together a fun, fun, fun Halloween party for your kids
• Ideas for homemade Halloween costumes
• Fun Halloween snacks
• Halloween games for kids
• How to save money with homemade Halloween decorations
• A Halloween alternative in case you are not really into Halloween Trick O’ Treating
• How to keep kids busy as Halloween approaches

What do you need to do to get it? Nothing. It’s FREE.
Just right click and save the file onto your computer for easy reading: Mom’s Guide To Making Halloween Fun For Kids

If you like it, you are free to pass on this guide book to your other mom friends.

If you want your blog to earn more money, there are some things that can help make the process easier.

• Use quality PLR
• Build a list and manage it well

Here are some free reports that will give you excellent ideas on what you can do to have better content, increase traffic and raise your selling power.

• PLR Checklist: Make The Most of Your PLR
  Do you have lots of content sitting in your computer’s harddrive under-utilized? Maybe you’ve downloaded loads of PLR but you don’t know how to use them effectively. Well, here’s a handy checklist with ideas for making content more uniquely yours, earning money from your PLR and more.
• Fire Up Your Blog with PLR Content
  If you’re a blogger (or want to be one) and are looking for ways to create more content, traffic and income opportunities for your blog – this free report is going to come in handy. Iit explains 6 attractive benefits to using PLR (private label rights) content with your blogging, 12 creative ideas for using PLR and more. It’s a quick 3 page report with plenty of ideas you can use right away.
• PLR Content Quick-Reference Sheet
  Never Run out of Ideas for Your PLR Content. A very handy and easy-to-reference guide with 20 strategies to make the most of PLR content. Creative ideas that are sure to help you gain more readers, clients and customers.
• Quick & Easy Ways to Market to the Multi-Billion Dollar Market of Mothers Online
  Do you know who holds the spending power these days? MOMS. Yup, moms are the ones that overlook the household expenditure and influence the buying decisions of family members. So if you really want to target a market, you should be targeting moms. This 9-page report shows you:
  -Just how big and influential the mom market is
  - Why moms use the Internet & what they do there
  - How to reach moms and gain their confidence – all on a shoestring budget.
• How to Use Your Autoresponder Series for Maximum Affiliate Profits
  You want to increase your chances of making online sales, you need to build a list. But building a list is not enough, you need to build a bond with them. If you struggle to regularly communicate with you subscribers or are afraid to sell to your list, this short report is for you. Get ideas for building your mailing list, creating trusting relationships and more.

If you want to download all 5 reports at once, here is a zip file: 5 Free Reports

These are all PDF documents and you will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software to view it. If you don’t have this software, you can get it here.

Homeschool Freebie Directory

Who doesn’t love freebies? In the homeschool community, free is a reality, particularly when you come to The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine’s annual Homeschool Freebie Directory. In these pages (and on their website), you will find a good number of freebies and samples to get you familiar with what this vast community has to offer. Start contacting these companies for YOUR freebie gifts today. And tell your friends! It’s all FREE!

Homeschool 101 Supplement

Are you considering homeschooling, or are you curious and simply want to know more? What if you were offered a commendable, complimentary class on homeschooling taught by experienced educators that included hands-on tools for your personal use? The course is called Homeschool 101. Would you like a front-row seat? The Old Schoolhouse® is thrilled to share with you this FREE resource, a digital supplement to the Schoolhouse Expo: The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine’s Homeschool 101 Supplement. With almost 200 pages full of supplemental homeschooling articles and advice, this is a resource you won’t want to miss

Your Guide to Examining Curriculum

Have you struggled to find quality curriculum for your homeschool? With thousands of choices available to you, how do you find the resources that fit your family perfectly? Is it even possible? Members of the TOS Product Review Team work hard to check out a variety of products in their own homeschools, and then they report on them with extensive written reviews. The team is delighted to share this FREE resource with you–another quality digital supplement to The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine.

The New School Year

Get ready to plan a year of enthusiastic homeschool learning with consistent input from the Lord! Take the guesswork out of your planning, systematically organizing your homeschool this year with the E-Book The New School Year: Planning Your Course and Letting the Lord Determine Your Steps. Written by homeschoolers from a biblical foundation and using plenty of personal experience, this book will help take your homeschool to a whole new level. From curriculum to field trips, and from co-ops to homeschooling with the heart in mind, God is by your side. Let Him be your guide!

Homeschooling With Confidence

Could you or those you know use a little more confidence? TOS (The Old Schoolhouse) Homeschooling With Confidence brochure answers ten of the most commonly asked homeschool-related questions. We trust it will be a blessing to the families in your area. Share it freely. It would be perfect as a handout at an orientation meeting!

How great is the content on your website? Are you able to connect with your customers?

If you want to get a good amount of traffic, you must give people the information they want. However, writing valuable content can be time consuming. First you have to do your research, then you have to think of what to write. How you write is important too. Don’t you wish writing didn’t take so much of your time?

There is a way out. It’s called private label rights.

And I have here for you some free private label rights for your taking. No need to register or leave your email address. If you’re smart, you’ll take advantage of these now.

• Health PLR Package
• Finance PLR Package
• Articles for Moms PLR Package
• Business and Marketing PLR Package
• Eco-friendly or Green PLR Package
• Craft PLR Package
• Travel PLR Package

They all include 5 free articles for you to use. Click and download now so you can rest from writing for a little while.

Less effort + Less Time = Great Content + Increase Traffic + Increase Sales

This is what PLR can do for you.