Lighten Up by Peter Walsh

Fun Find- "Lighten Up" ($15) by Peter Walsh is about taking Walsh's clutter-busting principles to assist readers in organizing their financial lives.  The concept is all about applying the less is more approach to life. 

Peter Walsh, the host of “Enough Already! with Peter Walsh,”  on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network is a clutter and organizational expert.   His previous bestselling books include, It’s All Too Much and Enough Already, which showed readers how to get rid of clutter room by room.  Walsh likes to explore the impact that clutter has in our emotional and spiritual lives in his books. This is something I believe in as well so his books hit home.  

"Lighten Up" helps readers understand and clear out their financial clutter. With the economy the way it is today this is a great way to really learn to live the motto, "less is more".  I know it is something I can relate to and learn to apply in my daily life, especially around the all consuming holiday time. 

"Lighten Up" is available on the Peter Walsh website and online at Amazon.com

Prosperity 4 Kids Piggy Bank

Created by a mother, Prosperity 4 Kids is a wonderful set that every parent and child can learn from and utilize.  Set up to teach kids how to save, give, invest and spend the Prosperity 4 Kids set includes a ceramic piggy bank, story book and CD ($39.95).  The bank is divided into four compartments that children can store their money in depending on what they want to do with it.  You want to give, put it in the charity pig.  You want to invest your money for the future then deposit it in the corresponding pig. The storybook describes to children the values of each category and how they can work for the child now and in the future.  It's actually become a pretty regular bed time story selection in our house since we received it.  I can't think of an easier way to describe this money management to my kids than with this bank and book.

Lori Mackey, the creator, is a leading expert on kids and money.  She is behind this masterful book, Mama Money and the Three Little Pigs.  We received another bank very similar to this a while back and we explained the how and the why to the different compartments in the bank as best that we could, but I was never sure that my child understood it all very well.  The story in the book with the Prosperity 4 Kids bank is the key.  It is an engaging, fun and smart way to get everyone in the family into thinking about how they use their dollars and cents.  We love this bank and book!

Prosperity 4 Kids banks, books and more can be purchased in sets and a la carte.  You can find them on the company website.

MPR Rating:  Five Stars.

Disclaimer:  MPR was not paid for this post.  Products received are for review purposes only.  Opinions are MPR's only.

My Kids and the Refrigerator Door

I am thankful that when an appliance breaks you don’t always have to buy a new appliance. I have an old Whirlpool refrigerator that has been keeping my family’s food and beverages cold and fresh for over ten years and I really don’t want to get rid of it. Luckily when it finally did break I was able to get Whirlpool parts from my friends over at www.AppliancePartsPros.com. Here’s my story.

I have three kids, all teenagers, and my refrigerator door gets a workout every single day. Between the trips in the morning while they’re scrambling to get out to school and the fly-bys in the afternoon, that door is probably opened and closed over a hundred times a day. I suppose it was inevitable that eventually something would break.

It was a warm sunny afternoon in May and the kids were out in the yard playing basketball. This type of activity is always particularly tough on our old Whirlpool refrigerator because our household population doubles with friends and the trips in and out are multiplied by the need for a constant supply of cold beverages. It was about halfway through a game that was being contested to twenty-one when my son came out of the house with the refrigerator handle in his hand.

“Dad,” he said, “It wasn’t my fault.” If I had a dime for every time I’ve heard those words I would be a millionaire. My first instinct was anger but the look on his face made me laugh. It really wasn’t his fault. That old Whirlpool refrigerator had given us its all for ten years and it was bound to break at some point. I was just happy it was only one of the two refrigerator handles and not the appliance that had broken.

After checking to make sure the door itself wasn’t damaged, I went on line to Appliance Parts Pros and found the handle I was looking for at a price of just $33.13. It was a Whirlpool part and could be shipped that day so I could have it in hand and on the door before the week was out. I ordered the appliance part and went back outside to watch the end of the game. The whole process, from the break to the confirmation of shipping, took me less than half an hour and I had an opportunity to look through the Appliance Parts Pros website while I was ordering. They have over 1,000,000 appliance parts from all different manufacturers. I’ll never go to the hardware store again.



By: Michael B.

SmartyPig Giveaway

Saving is all the rage these days. SmartyPig is there to help. Using its one-of-a-kind technology individuals and families can set aside savings to reach certain goals and do it privately or publicly. It's a wonderful way for grandparents to add money to their grand children's savings accounts (that is the public part) and for anyone to save up money for a vacation, special items and even holiday gifts. We all say we are going to do more saving these days and SmartyPig can help us reach that goal.

SmartyPig is FDIC insured up to the maximum allowable amount and has a 3.25% interest rate. It's simple to use too. All you have to do is create an online profile, set up an account and establish a goal. You can meet this goal by having the money automatically deducted from your account each month and even invite friends and family to help you meet your goal all while keeping your information safe and secure. People are using it for weddings, school supplies (those hefty college text books do not come cheap!) and more. SmartyPig is also combining their forces with top retailers such as Best Buy, Amazon and Royal Caribbean. Even better is that these retailers will offer cash incentives with up to 6% of your savings interest when you choose a retailer gift card.

SmartyPig really is simple and smart saving.

MPR Rating: Five Stars.

I'm giving away a $50 SmartyPig gift card to one lucky reader! To enter simply comment with your own savings idea and a winner will be chosen at random on March 20 (ending at noon EST).