Holidays are one of the most common ways to throw off your budget. The hard truth is that they shouldn’t be. The holidays come around the same time every year and you can prepare for them. You might think, “Oh, my husbands bonus always come around that time. We’ll be fine.” Then, guess what. One year it doesn’t and you don’t have a plan. What do you do? Resort to credit cards to cover the expense… except you can’t because we cut those babies up. Dip into your emergency fund? That takes away from a real emergency. No. You make a plan now with these 5 tips for a debt free Easter and stick too it.

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[bctt tweet=”Make plans now with these 5 tips for a debt free Easter and keep going strong on your financial goals. #debtfree #Easter #budget” username=”diyadulation”]

The cheapest way to fill an Easter basket is with candy because it costs so much less than toys or trinkets. Unfortunately, I hate having that much candy in the house.

The kids get candy for every holiday from the grandparents (3 sets) and on some occasions from the extended family as well. Since my kids only get 1 piece of candy a day, this candy hangs around the house forever.

That’s why I opt for gifts in their baskets instead of candy and still manage to do it for under $50. You can ready more specifically about that at How to Fill 5 Easter Baskets for $50 but right now let’s get on to the rest of the budget tips.

Set a Cash Budget

This is the most important step, first and foremost. Look at your budget for this month and determine what you can reasonably spend on Easter. Include everything that will cost you money.

Need a dish for the family dinner? That goes in the budget.

Need new plastic eggs? They go in the budget. Haha, just kidding. Those things seem to multiply like, well… bunnies.

The point is, anything you will be spending money on should go in the budget.

Need help? My subscribers can get a free printable Easter budget in the VIP resources library!

Use What You Already Have

This is another big one. Don’t go out and buy new baskets for the kids.

If their Easter clothes still fit, they don’t need new ones.

Do you buy rice in bulk? Use that to create a side dish for the family dinner.

When you get creative, you can find 50 ways to save more money.

Looking for an awesome reusable egg hunt option? Check out how to make DIY Easter Bunny Egg Hunt Bags!

Fill Baskets with DIY Projects

Feed your creative side and save money at the same time with DIY projects. I have several easy projects to help you out, just to name a few:

Buy In Sets

This is a great way to save money on basket fillers. Tons of kids toys and treats come in multi-packs.

Use that to your advantage. For little kids, think bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and figurines.

For teens and tweens try multi-packs of ear buds, nail polish, and notebooks.

You can find a lot of this stuff at the dollar store.

Host a Pitch-In

Save money on the big family dinner and host a pitch-in. Everyone brings a dish to share with everyone and you’re responsible for your own drinks.

That keeps the financial burden from falling squarely on one family’s shoulders.

Have a Family Brunch

Instead of a big Easter dinner, have a family brunch. Eggs and waffles feed the same amount of people for a lot less.

You still enjoy the day together with the extended family but everyone is on their own for dinner.

Tip:

Make the waffles or pancakes in advance. Then freeze them until the big day. When you need to heat them up, simply microwave them in batches. This will save you a ton of time on the day of the brunch.

Make plans now with these 5 tips for a debt free Easter and keep going strong on your financial goals. It is possible to have a wonderful holiday with your family on a tight budget.

Also, a bit of encouragement for when you feel like your money mistakes are cheating your kids: they aren’t going to remember what they got in their Easter baskets 5 or 10 years from now.

They will remember the excitement of the surprise, being with family, and having fun. So don’t stress momma. You’ve got this.

What other ways do you save on Easter? Any fun traditions you have that are unique to your family? Let me know!

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Convenient foods are your best friend during the week. Anything that can be thrown in the oven or in the Crock Pot is lifesaving. Unfortunately, prepping these meals for the freezer can take an entire day away from you. That’s why I love easy meals like these Homemade Freezer Bagel Pizzas and the easiest homemade freezer lasagna ever! These are prepped in minutes and get heated in the oven with almost no work on your part. Play that extra game with kids or curl up with a book for an hour while still getting a hot and delicious dinner on the table tonight.

Affiliate links may be used in this post. Ordering a product through these links may result in a commission at no extra cost to you. Read the full disclosure here.

[bctt tweet=”Convenient foods are your best friend during the week. That’s why I love easy meals like this easiest #homemade freezer #lasagna recipe ever!” username=”diyadulation”]

Here’s the funny thing: I actually enjoy cooking. Even in my teeny tiny kitchen, I put Buffy on my tablet or play my favorite podcast and get to work. Unfortunately, there are plenty of other work and responsibilities vying for my time. Eating out every night is not in the budget, not to mention the health risks, so how do you balance home cooked meals with everything else on your plate? You make it as easy as possible. With meals like this homemade freezer lasagna I don’t have to choose between productivity and my family.

Ingredients for the Easiest Homemade Freezer Lasagna Ever

Uncooked Lasagna Noodles
2 16 oz. Containers Small Curd Cottage Cheese
‎Favorite Red Pasta Sauce
8 oz. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Step 1

Start by lining the bottom of a glass baking pan with a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles.

Tip:

You can make clean up even easier by preparing this in aluminum lasagna pans from the Dollar Tree. You get 2 pans for a buck. Bargain!

Step 2

Next, cover the layer of noodles in your favorite sauce.

Step 3

Add a layer of cottage cheese over the sauce layer.

Step 4

Then add another layer of uncooked lasagna noodles.

Step 5

Repeat steps 2 and 3 with sauce and cottage cheese.

Step 6

Add a final layer of uncooked lasagna noodles.

Step 7

Next, cover the noodles with your remaining sauce.

Step 8

Lastly, top the whole thing with shredded mozzarella cheese.

How To Freeze

Cover your pan with aluminum foil and stick in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
When you are ready to cook, remove from the freezer the night before and let it defrost in the freezer until an hour before you plan to eat dinner.

How To Cook

If you are not freezing before cooking your lasagna, let sit for at least 1 hour before cooking to soften the noodles. Otherwise, they won’t come out tender after baking.
Pre-heat your oven to 400° F. Bake your lasagna covered for 1 hour then remove the foil and heat for another 10-15 minutes until the cheese on top is melted.

My family loves this ooey gooey and cheesy dinner and I love how easy to is to make. After you’ve tried the basic version of this homemade freezer lasagna, customize it to your family’s tastes by adding other ingredients between the sauce and cottage cheese layers.

I love mushrooms but if I add them it’s a fight with the kids who prefer Italian sausage.

Luckily, you can personalize this so I put sausage on half and mushrooms on the other half.

It is also delicious with a side of homemade garlic bread. Yum!

Easiest Homemade Freezer Lasagna Ever

Name: Easiest Homemade Freezer Lasagna Ever
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Ingredients: Uncooked Lasagna Noodles; 2 16 oz. Containers Small Curd Cottage Cheese; ‎Favorite Red Pasta Sauce; 8 oz. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes

Ingredients

Uncooked Lasagna Noodles
2 16 oz. Containers Small Curd Cottage Cheese
‎Favorite Red Pasta Sauce
8 oz. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Instructions

Start by lining the bottom of a glass baking pan with a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles.
Next, cover the layer of noodles in your favorite sauce.
Add a layer of cottage cheese over the sauce layer.
Then add another layer of uncooked lasagna noodles.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 with sauce and cottage cheese.
Add a final layer of uncooked lasagna noodles.
Next, cover the noodles with your remaining sauce.
Lastly, top the whole thing with shredded mozzarella cheese.
Pre-heat your oven to 400° F.
Bake your lasagna covered for 1 hour.
Then remove the foil and heat for another 10-15 minutes until the cheese on top is melted.

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How many times have you come to the end of your day and feel as though you got nothing done? Somehow you feel absolutely exhausted. Where did the time go? Find out with these 4 steps to find balance as a SAHM (stay-at-home mom).

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[bctt tweet=”Stop feeling unproductive and depleted with these 4 steps to find balance as a SAHM. #momlife” username=”diyadulation”]

This problem is not exclusive to SAHM’s but it is uniquely more difficult to overcome. Why? It is because you don’t have any of the external forces determining structure for you. You don’t have a desk dictating when your day starts and ends. There is no incentive to shower each morning. Every day is a blank canvas waiting for you to structure it. That’s hard!

Don’t be discouraged during this process. You might find out you’re spending hours binging on Netflix each day like I did. It’s sobering to see what you really spend your time on. However, it doesn’t have to stay that way. I’m now more productive than ever and can take a break guilt-free.

Step 1: Get an Hourly Tracking System

The first step to finding balance is to know where your time is being spent. Before you can do that, you need a system to track your time. Luckily, there are multiple ways to do this.

You can create a note on your phone to do this digitally. Grab a piece of paper and use it to track your time. My favorite option (and the one that I personally used) is an hourly planner sheet for my Happy Planner. The reason this is my favorite is because it can also be used later when planning your day.

Step 2: Track Your Time

This step is done in one week, Monday through Friday. Set an hourly timer on your phone. Each time it goes off, reset it and write what you are currently doing in the corresponding time slot of your tracker.

The key here is not to change your current habits. If you are scrolling through Facebook, keep on scrolling after you take a moment to note it. At the end of the week you will have a typical week mapped out.

Step 3: Evaluate Your Results

Now it is time to evaluate you results. Grab a set of highlighters and follow the steps below:

Create a color-code key with the highlighters. (See the photo above for reference.)
Next, use your key as a guide and highlight each hour on your tracker according to what category it falls into.
Use the colors as a visual guide to where you are wasting time and what needs more of your time.

Step 4: Restructure Your Day

Once you’ve evaluated how you spend your hours, it is time to restructure your day. Think of this like a budget. Just as you have to tell your money what to do with a budget the same goes for your time.

If you don’t tell your time where to go you will find it gone with nothing to show for it. Lay out activities on your hourly planner for each day of the week. Color code those activities as well to ensure that you are balancing your time.

Important Tip

Don’t fall prey to believing that every day has to look the same or equally balanced. Some days involve more homemaking tasks and others will be heavy with family time. That’s okay. Instead of trying to balance all of your responsibilities each day, strive for a weekly balance.

These 4 steps to find balance as a SAHM are a lifestyle change. You can write down your restructured day then not follow the plan. That is like creating a budget but not spending your money according to it. Planning is only the first step. Action is what makes it a reality.

See where I’m linking up!

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5 Tips for a Debt Free Easter + Printable Budget

Set a Cash Budget

Need help? My subscribers can get a free printable Easter budget in the VIP resources library!

Use What You Already Have

Fill Baskets with DIY Projects

Buy In Sets

Host a Pitch-In

Have a Family Brunch

More Ideas You’ll Love: