A testimony from Reelika
Having a baby is always a miracle and a real blessing for entire family. But with all this excitement, huge lists of medical and delivery expenses come, as well.
I was in a hospital already three days before my son was born. I always knew I wanted to have a private family room and not to share the room with three other women and their babies — yes, this is how it is here in Northern Europe. The shared room is covered by health insurance, but the private one is not.
I never knew I’d have to stay in a hospital that long. But due to an emergency c-section it totaled up to a week and the cost of a room was calculated based on the number of days I stayed there.
The total cost of staying one week in a delivery room was almost my full monthly salary. But I paid it fully in cash!
Here is how I did it:
- I set my mindset earlier that a new life should not start with a debt.
- I did my homework and found out the potential expenses of a delivery room. I estimated the stay in a hospital up to five days.
- Once I found out about my pregnancy, I created myself a weekly savings plan for the delivery room.
- I learned to say "no" to many invitations that would have cost me too much money.
- I prioritized and focused on things that matter the most.
- I opened another savings account specifically for the baby and delivery costs. I had a portion of my money automatically transferred from the checking account to the savings each time I got paid.
- I took advantage of reading many educational books about finances and business as I also majored in.
- I made some extra income with freelance consulting.
- I decided to increase my emergency fund. I also went through my closets and sold any clothes I didn't need anymore.
- I got used to the new lifestyle of living below my means.
Although I had saved a lot, the delivery room still cost more than I estimated. But since I stayed in a hospital longer due to the emergency c-section, I treated the situation as an emergency as well.
I decided to pull 15% of the delivery costs from my emergency fund and pay the remaining 85% with my savings. Just like that, my delivery and one-week stay at the hospital were paid off with cash!
Reelika is a working mom, entrepreneur, Christian, philanthropist at heart, financial management lover, travel enthusiast, and baking fanatic. She blogs at Financially Wise On Heels about personal finance and entrepreneurship.
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The past few days, I've talked about the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle and told you about some of the resources and why I think it would be beneficial for your family.
Some of you have been hesitant about purchasing and you've emailed in or commented with questions. It makes me so happy that you are carefully considering your purchasing and not just jumping in and buying something because it seems like a good deal.
I am here to help you spend your money in the wisest manner possible. I turn down many opportunities on a daily basis to promote things because I only want to promote the best of the best here.
If you are not in a financial place to purchase the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle, will you do me a huge favor and just skip this post? The last thing I want to do is to encourage you to buy something that you can't afford.
Why I'm Endorsing the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle
For the rest of you, though, I want you to carefully consider whether purchasing the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle is a good deal for you.
As I told you earlier this week, I am very careful about what I promote here and turn down thousands and thousands of dollars in paid opportunities each year because I want to pick and choose only the very best stuff to promote here. And I believe with all my heart that the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle is worthy of being on my “very best stuff” list.
I want to share 9 reasons why I can rubber-stamp this deal and stand behind it:
1. It Will Teach You How to Cut Your Grocery Bill
Most people think that feeding your family healthfully is going to mean you have to majorly increase your grocery bill. But that doesn't have to be the case. With resources like the Frugal Real Food Meal Plans, Happy Mom, Healthy Family Meal Planning Workshop + Cookbook, and Grocery University, you'll learn practical ways to feed your family well — without breaking the bank!
Value: These resources by themselves are regularly priced at more than the cost of the entire bundle. So even if these are the only three books you read/courses you take, it will have been worth buying the bundle. Plus, the tricks and tips you learn for saving money on wholesome food will likely end up paying for the bundle in savings over and over again!
2. It Will Help You Learn a New Skill (FREE Craftsy Class of your choice!)
I feel like there's so much value in constantly learned and growing as a person. I don't ever want to become stagnant. And that’s why I’m always trying new things, reading new books, and attempting to learn new skills.
So, I have to be honest: One of the things I was most excited about when it came to this bundle was the FREE Craftsy Class of your choice — up to an $80 value! There are classes on Cake Decorating, Food & Cooking, Gardening, Knitting, Paper Crafts, Photography, Sewing, and much more.
I ordered one of the digital photography classes as this is an area I really want to improve in. I have glanced through the online class and been very impressed with what I see so far and I can’t WAIT to dive into it.
Value: With the Craftsy class, you can learn a new skill or improve in a skill you already know — from the comfort of your own home on your own time table. You might end up turning this skill into a part-time business or just use it as a way to bless others or refuel your own tank. Whatever you end up doing with the skills you learn from the online class, I have to say that I think this is one of the best bonus offers of this bundle!
3. It Will Give You Step-by-Step Help to Feed Your Family Better
Do you want to help your family eat better and feel better but you're just overwhelmed by all of the information out there? The Ultimate Homemaking Bundle comes with hands-on help ebooks like the Your Grace-Filled Journey to Real Food, Supermarket Ninjas, and Supercharged Food for Kids.
Value: These 3 resources mentioned are (again!) worth more separately than you'll pay for the entire bundle. And the money you could potentially save on doctor's visits and medication could be substantial. But not only that, think of the gift you'll be giving your family by helping them live healthier lives!
4. It Will Inspire You to Exercise & Take Better Care of Yourself
Do you wish you could find a to follow through with all your great intentions when it comes to exercise and taking care of yourself? The Homemaking Bundle comes with a FREE $80 credit to the online Healthy Moving Class — a class designed to help you restore your natural physical alignment and take better care of yourself.
But that’s not all! It also comes with two high-value courses — The Healthy Home (a $95 value) and A Parent's Guide to Natural Remedies (a $99 value). Both of these courses will help you find ways to have healthier homes and healthier lives.
Value: These two natural living courses and the Healthy Moving Online Class are regularly priced at $260 total — that’s almost a tenth of the cost of the entire bundle! So even if you only use one of these three things and that is the only resource from the entire bundle that you use, it will be worth paying $29.97 just for that one resource!
5. It Will Help You Cut Your Monthly Budget & Save More
Wish you could have some hands-on help to cut your budget and put more money in savings? Help is here! The Ultimate Homemaking Bundle offers multiple books and courses, including the 21 Day Savings Challenge, Become a Frugalista: Money-Saving Secrets for the Frugal Family Manager, Build a Budget that Works, and How To Save Money: A 21-Day Challenge To Save $500/Month that will walk you step-by-step though how to use your finances more wisely and put more money in the bank.
Value: Spend $29.97 to learn how to save a few hundred dollars per month? That’s what I call a deal! {Note: some of you really amazing frugal folks might already be doing everything outlined in these books… if so, you can always request a full refund — see below.}
6. It Will Give You Practical Advice for Earning Money From Home
I receive many emails from women wanting to find a way to earn an income from home. I also receive many emails from moms who have a home business and are struggling with figuring out how to juggle everything.
The good news? This course has ebooks to help you with both. How to Blog for Profit (Without Selling Your Soul) is one of the BEST blogging books out there and I can’t recommend it highly enough, How to be a Work at Home Mom will give you some very practical ideas on how to set up a successful business, and How She Does It will help you figure out how to actually balance and juggle working, homemaking, and being a wife and mom.
Value: These three resources may be some of the most valuable resources in the whole bundle. Why? Because they might teach you ways to earn 5-10 times what you spent on the bundle — every. single. month. Now that’s what I call a good return on your investment!
7. It Will Save You Money on Gifts For Others
One of my very favorite things about the Healthy Living Bundle is that you are allowed to gift any resources or bonuses you don't plan on using or reading. Yes, you read that right! So if you only are interested in 10 of the ebooks, 2 of the courses, and 2 of the bonuses, you can give all the others away!
You could use these as gifts for a friend's birthday or an upcoming special occasion. You could split them up as gifts for multiple friends. Or, you could just share them as a way to bless someone who is interested in healthy living.
The bonuses would especially make great gifts! When you purchase the bundle, you’ll get a FREE $15 Credit to Hope Ink PLUS 2 FREE 8×10 Art Prints, a FREE Kids Discovery Box from Green Kid Crafts (note: this is a subscription offer so you’ll need to cancel after you receive the first shipment!), a FREE Stylish Spring Scarf from Deborah & Co., and a FREE book of your choice from Tyndale Rewards.
Value: If you used three of the bonuses/ebooks as gifts for friends for upcoming occasions, that could pay for the cost of the bundle itself — because you wouldn't need to spend any money (but the cost of shipping) on gifts for those three occasions!
8. It Will Give You New Recipes & Help You With Menu Planning!
If you are looking for recipes, encouragement, or inspiration for how to cook, bake, freezer cook, and menu plan when you have food allergies or you’d just love some menu-planning inspiration, this bundle is bursting with help!
You'll find a plethora of ideas in the ebooks like No Cook Freezer Meals, Gluten Free & Grain Free Breads, Batters, and Doughs, The Healthy Breakfast Book, Treat Yourself: Real Food Desserts, 7 Simple Steps to Better Grain-Free Baking, Gluten Free Aldi Meal Plan, and more!
Plus, this bundle comes with a FREE 90-day subscription to the She Plans Dinner Menu Planning service.
Value: You won’t have to scratch your head and throw up your hands in despair wondering what you're going to cook or bake. These ebooks will come alongside you and help you to feel like you can do this! You’ll find new recipes to cook, freezer meals to make, and lots of tried and true gluten-free recipes!
9. It’s a Risk-Free Purchase With a Money-Back Guarantee!
If you are still sitting on the fence right now wondering whether or not you should take the plunge and buy the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle, here's why you should: it's a risk-free purchase.
That's right! There's a 100% money-back guarantee on it for up to 30 days! So if you purchase it and then decide it's not as helpful as you'd hoped or that it's not worth the price you paid, you can get a full refund — no questions asked.
So what are you waiting for? Click below to purchase your Ultimate Homemaking Bundle while there's still time!
P.S. Remember, this offer ends tonight (April 27, 2015) at midnight! Get it while you can!
Confession time: I stayed up way too late last night reading books I downloaded as part of The Ultimate Homemaking Bundle. There is so much good stuff in this bundle — and I wanted to highlight 5 of the books that are my favorites so far.
{By the way, this sale ends tonight at midnight so today is your last chance to get all 99 of these resources for just $29.97! Go here to read more about The Ultimate Homemaking Bundle and why I’m highly recommending it!}
How to Blog for Profit Without Selling Your Soul is written by my friend, Ruth Soukup, who I think is positively brilliant — a term I don't use lightly. The way she thinks and processes just blows up my brain.
She's always experimenting, testing, tweaking, and strategizing. And she's freely shared the resulting lessons and light bulb moments with me.
All I can say is "wow!" Because what she's figured out really works. Case in point: by implementing the Pinterest strategies Ruth has shared with me, I have increased my site traffic by over 500,000 unique visitors per month!
Yes, I told you she's brilliant! 
Her ebook, How to Blog for Profit Without Selling Your Soul, is hands down the BEST blogging book I've ever read. It's comprehensive, but not overwhelming, and packed with amazing information.
I love, love, love Tsh and her blog. She's a huge inspiration to me in so many areas.
And her ebook, One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, is fabulous. I read it over the course of a week and a half as I was doing my warm-up and cool down on the treadmill before my morning run. I enjoyed the book so much that I had trouble getting off the treadmill every day because I just wanted to keep reading. I guess that's not a bad problem.
As you probably well know, I love the concept of breaking things down into bite-sized manageable pieces. And Tsh's ebook does just that. It gives you 52 bite-sized steps you can take to become more efficient, streamlined, and organized.
You know those things you always say you want to do someday? Like planting a garden, switching to natural cleaners, composting, setting up a system for paper clutter, organize your photo collection, learning to cook from scratch, setting up menu plans, planning regular date nights, or regularly turning off technology? Tsh gives you the tools, motivation, and encouragement you need to slowly make those positive changes you've hoped to make. And she makes it simple and doable.
Now I have to tell you: Tsh suggests that you pick one project per week for a year–thus the 52 projects. However, I'd suggest to maybe slow the pace down a bit and just pick one project every other week or once a month. That way, you can really take your time and let the changes really sink in before moving onto something else.
If you are struggling with balancing work and family, I think you'll find this book by my friend, Anne Bogel, very insightful! From the Amazon description:
In How She Does It, author Anne Bogel unpacks these trends in family & work culture, and gets to the core of HOW you can make your work goals fit into your unique family situation.
Inside, you'll find the personal success stories of 30 women who found – by playing to their unique strengths– solutions that really work for their families.
How She Does It will show you how to:
• Explore options for the shape of your work life, and plan ahead even before there's a husband or kids in the picture.
• Abandon old limitations on home life demands leftover from previous generations.
• Embrace this changing landscape where it's easier than ever to find time to work and be there for your family.
• Squeeze in more work hours without increasing childcare.
• Overcome common barriers like a tentative husband or a seemingly inflexible boss.
• Set priorities for your personal, budgetary, and family goals.
• Create a plan for your unique family situation.
• Adapt your work and family rhythms to the changing seasons of life.
• Meet other women like you who have walked the path of blending work and family–and succeeded.
How She Does It is the roadmap you've been looking for – packed to the brim with the creative solutions, encouragement, and resources you need to make a plan that works in the actual, every day life of your family.
Project Organize Your Entire Life: The Quick Start Guide is packed with step-by-step encouragement to simplify and organize almost all areas of your home and family.
Stephanie is encouraging, realistic, and down-to-earth. Plus, she gives you ideas that you can tweak and adapt for your own family's situation. There are also links to printable forms and lots of helpful articles and resources at the end of each chapter.
Okay, so this isn’t a book, but I still wanted to highlight it since it’s out product and all!
Grocery University is a 2 hour, 19 minute audio course that will teach you everything you need to know about making the most of your grocery budget, regardless of whether you're new to bargain shopping or have been a super-shopper for years.
This original, in-depth course goes deeper than anything you've ever seen before and will have you stretching your grocery budget further than you ever thought possible! It's produced by my good friend, Carrie Isaac, a mom of five and owner of Springs Bargains.
In this course, Carrie has taken her years of experience teaching live seminars and developed a comprehensive strategy that's proven to reduce your grocery budget. Carrie produced this course in 2010 and sold it successfully to thousands of people. This past year, we bought the rights to the course from her, updated some of it, and are offering it as one of our products.
10 other books I read and found very helpful, too:
Grab all of these ebooks + 84 more ebooks, printables, and resources for just $29.97! This offer is only valid until midnight tonight.
