I have a 14 year old son and am trying to teach  him about saving and living a thrifty lifestyle.  Living in a somewhat affluent area it's often a challenge.  

We're able to live where we do because we've always been frugal..  We bought a fixer-upper a few years ago; I drive a car that is 11 years old; and I can't remember the last time I shopped for clothes any where but a thrift store.  We are certainly not the norm for our neighborhood - an area where most people own boats, drive SUVs and give their kids cars before they even turn 16.  

Knowing that times are tougher than they've ever been, my son has really been making an effort.  He had a summer job last year and put 20% of every check into his "saving for a car" account.  He's been using his own money for his entertainment and clothes.  

Two things happened this week that made me think J is beginning to think more like a frugal person and less like a "I want it now" teenager.  After some warmer weather we had a little cold snap this week.  On Tuesday evening J asked if he could make a cup of hot chocolate.  He said he thought the cost of running the microwave would be less than bumping the heat up or burning the last of our firewood for the season.

Then last night J was supposed to have dinner with a friend.  As often happens with teens, that didn't work out and I ended having to unexpectedly feed them instead.  Tomorrow is pay day so the cupboards are fairly bare, but I knew I could make a healthy meal.  I made a scrambled egg mix with vegetarian sausage, mushrooms and onions with toast and butter on the side.  The boys loved it and there were no leftovers.  What impressed me most was my son.  Just a few short months ago he would have asked us to order a pizza.  But he understands now there is a big cost difference between pizza delivery and what you can make at home. 

I love being a Mom and being a Mom who is teaching her son how to plan, budget and be thrifty.  What suggestions do you have for raising a thrifty teen?

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Only 2 months til my birthday. I've set a couple of goals for myself. . .things I really want to accomplish by then. I'm one of those annoyingly organized people who makes lists and sets goals. I know it doesn't work for everyone, but it works for me. With any luck, blogging will help keep me on track as I work toward my goals. One of my goals for this weekend is to finish wrapping the Christmas gifts I've bought. We buy gifts for about 45 people each year. I'm done shopping for about 30 of those 45, but have only wrapped about half of what I've purchased. Since it's the Ravens bye week, I figure I've got time on Sunday to get some more wrapping done. So, what are your goals and how do you stay motivated to accomplish them?

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I'm one of those people who is pretty strict about routine and organization. My husband and son laugh at me some times and tell me I need to relax. But I know these routines are important and this morning I actually got a chance to show how being organized makes our lives run more smoothly. I almost always wake up before the alarm goes off. So this morning I woke up thinking it felt a lot later than 6:00. I looked a the clock and it was 7:23. Ugh!!! I couldn't believe we had overslept, but we had. My son is supposed to be on the school bus at 7:15 and I am supposed to be at work (which is 45+ minutes away) by 8:30. After waking my son and husband up, I headed downstairs to "fix" coffee, breakfast and lunches. The coffee was ready to go - just a push of a button and it started brewing. Lunches had been packed last night so I stuck one in my son's back pack and put mine by my purse. For my son's breakfast I took a frozen muffin out and stuck it in the microwave. By the time they were dressed and walking out the door for my husband to take my son to school, I handed each of them a travel mug of coffee and blueberry muffins for the ride. I know if I had not taken the time last night to set everything up we would not have been able to get out the door on time. Having a place for everything and having everything in it's place sounds like a lot of work but this morning it was a lifesaver.

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