Welcome to The Simple Nickle!

Clueless about your money? Do you want financial security, but don't know where to start?

The Simple Nickle is a free web-based program to help you easily understand and control your finances in less than 15 minutes a day! We'll guide you step-by-step; it's as easy as checking your email! We'll also give you easy-to-understand financial education starting with the most basic aspects.

Cheap Eats: Recipes for Around $1 Per Serving: Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

This healthy soup is delicious and exciting...and did I mention how easy it is? Just dump everything and go, and by dinner time you have an amazing meal waiting for you.

Prep time: 10 min.
Ready in: 6-8 hours

Servings: 8
Price per serving: $.65

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast (frozen or thawed)
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes(lime and cilantro or mexican style preferred)
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Directions:

Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in corn and cilantro. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours. Serve hot with sour cream and tortilla chips.

Investing: Where Do I Start?

Investing is something that anyone-yes, even you-can learn to do. But where do you start? The beginning is always a very good place. Answer the following questions and you'll be on your way down the exciting investment path:

How much high-interest debt do you have?

The answer should be 'none.' The reason for this is that you are not ready to invest if you can't afford to spend the money you are shelling out. Compound interest, or interest paid on money already earned as well as on the original money, will work against you when you have high-interest debt. Instead, you want it to work for you.

How much money do you have to invest?

Knowing this will help you to figure out your options. Some investments require a certain amount of money to start investing. Others have no minimum requirement. When you know how much you have, you can choose accordingly. If you aren't lucky enough to have a large chunk of money just laying around, you can accumulate one over time. Begin by automatically paying yourself a set amount each month through direct deposit or transfer. Pay yourself as much as you can, and in no time, you will have a sizable sum to invest with.

How much risk can you take?

Investing means risking. However, the amount of risk is up to you. Generally, the greater the risk, the greater the possibility of return, and vice versa. It's also generally true that the more time you have to hold the investment, the more risk you can handle because you can weather the ups and downs. It is so important to be honest with yourself on this question. Investing is a life long process, and you don't want to make yourself sick over it.

Are you investing for the short or long term?

Unfortunately, we don't all begin investing when we are in junior high. You may be 5 years from retirement, or 50. You may need your money at any moment, or not for another 20 years. Knowing what and when you are investing for will help you determine the best investment options for you, and those decisions ought to change over time with your needs.

Are you ready to learn a little?

All good investing requires a little research. It is never wise to blindly follow advice about what to do with your money. Luckily, it's easy to learn about investing. A great place to start is at Yahoo! Finance online. They have more information about finances than you can shake a stick at, much of it aimed at those new to investing. Another good place is The Motley Fool, at fool.com, where they give you the basics with a sense of humor.

For those less inclined to the Internet, there are endless books about the subject. Personal Finance for Dummies is an excellent first source. If your employer offers retirement plans, that can be a great place to get your investing feet wet. You can quickly gain a good understanding of investment from these sources.

If you've decided that you're ready to start investing, you're already well on your way. Add action to that determination, and you're ready to get your money growing.

What kinds of things have kept you from investing?

Articles you might also enjoy:

What is an Investment Vehicle?

How To Build a Financial Safety Net

What is Interest? A Story of Grasshopper and Wise Master

Mom's Blogging Carnival!

Welcome to the February 18, 2008 edition of Mom's Blogging Carnival. Thank you to all the talented writers who submitted articles for this edition. We received 46 submissions and 30 of these have been accepted for publication in this edition of the carnival. A big thank you to Deborah for allowing me to host this edition. Happy reading and happy blogging!

Dawn Adams presents Homeschooler. Homemaker. Feminist? posted at Day by Day Homeschooling.

Micellaneous Mum presents Premenstrual Syndrome for (ex)beginners posted at Miscellaneous Adventures of an Aussie Mum, saying, "PMS is a nasty time in the month for any woman!"

Babies

Lightening presents The Birth of a Mother posted at Lightening Online, saying, "Some reflections on the birth of my firstborn, 10 years to the day after he came into the world."

Business

Louise Manning presents Maternal skills posted at The Human Imprint.

Pat B. Doyle presents How I Increased My Feedburner Subscriber Number By 47% In One Day posted at Pat B. Doyle.

Carole Fogarty presents Your Wealth Location for 2008: posted at THE HEALTHY LIVING LOUNGE, saying, "The East location of your home carries an auspicious energy this year which can attract abundance and prosperity into your life and we all need a little bit of that."

Andrea J. Stenberg, The Baby Boomer Entrepreneur presents De-cluttering Your Mental Spaces posted at The Baby Boomer Entrepreneur by Andrea J. Stenberg, saying, "Worry and unfinished tasks create mental clutter that kill our productivity."

Children

Joanne presents 10 Adoption Profile Tips posted at Forever Parents.

Angela presents Applying a Firmer Hand With Greater Love: Supporting the Strong-Willed Child posted at Reality Testing, saying, "My first child? She helped me develop some confidence as a parent. My second one? She keeps my ego in check. Parenting a strong-willed child, I've learned, can be a nightmare or a blessing of sorts. The choice is really mine."

Health

Peta Fletcher presents 15 Tips For Losing Weight After A Twin Pregnancy posted at Twin Blog.

Homemakers

The Simple Nickle presents Cheap Eats: Recipes for Around $1 Per Serving: Dark Molten Chocolate Cakes posted at the simple nickle, saying, "These individual chocolates cakes are perfect for Valentine's Day or another special occasion: simple, delicious, and always impressive."

Tea Party Girl presents Would You Help Me Answer a Question? posted at Tea Party Girl, saying, "I talk about my struggle running a home and ask for feedback from your readers on the number one problem they face running a home."

Other

What Works For Us presents Purge-atory posted at What Works For Us.

VH presents Friday Frugal Crafts: Kiddie Pottery...or Parents' Deco Tiles posted at Funny about Money.

Holly Ord presents Do You Know What’s in Your Cosmetics? posted at Woman Tribune.

Tali presents The Veil Fetish Pinup posted at The Pinup Shop Blog, saying, "A lot of noise has been raised in the feminist and Muslim communities over the art of Makan Emadi and the appearance of a new “misogynistic male fantasy”: Veil Fetish"

Customized Girl presents Best Spring Break for your Buck! posted at CustomizedGirl Blog, saying, "This article has some great ideas on how to save money for spring break."

Parenting

Cellobella presents How to know if you’re a good mother posted at SultanaBlog, saying, "Reflections on the importance of giving young mothers positive feedback and how lonely it is as a new mom."

Renae presents Preserving Sanity posted at Life Nurturing Education.

Joanne presents Adoption Life Books posted at Forever Parents, saying, "Your childs lifebook is their story. It's their past, present and future. It's a record of their life though words, photographs, memorbilia, artwork and more. There is no wrong way to do a lifebook. It's really more of a concept."

Our Blogs presents Raising Boys and Protecting Their Feelings posted at A Guide to Raising Great Kids.

Carole G. McKay presents A Blind Eye posted at McKay Today, saying, "A lifesaving message."

Tracy presents Dear Paige posted at Mommy Weirdest.

Relationships

Karen Alonge presents thoughts on breaking up posted at postcards from nowhere.

Tip Diva presents Top Ten Tips - A Day With No Valentine posted at Tip Diva, saying, "Hey, you. Are you going to be single and alone for Valentine’s Day? Yes? Well, you don’t have to mope around. Whether you usually like the day or think it’s some Hallmark conspiracy, a single night doesn’t have to go to waste. Here’s how to make a no-date Valentine’s Day great."

Travel

Christine presents Our Berlin Film Festival (Berlinale) Travel Plans posted at Me, My Kid and Life: An American Single Mom Living in France.

Debbie Dubrow presents DeliciousBaby Journal Watching Myself on the News posted at Delicious Baby, saying, "How an article on my blog about old, damaged child safety seats at an international rental car agency spawned two undercover news investigations and lead to a sweeping change in that company's corporate policy."

Marsha_tm presents Romance without Reservations, LA Style posted at Kango Blog, saying, "Romantic getaways aren't just for Valentine's Day. And sometimes they don't take a lot of planning, either..."

Work

Rebecca Suzanne Dean presents How To Research 5 Times Faster posted at Rebecca Dean.

Sophia Levis presents How I made $45,624.08 Last Year Writing on the Internet posted at Sophia's Blog, saying, "Sophia Levis talks about her life as a work-at-home mom, how she has experienced success in her career, and how others can experience the same."

That concludes this edition. The next edition of the carnival is scheduled for March 3, 2008 and will be hosted at Go Girlfriend - Travel With Confidence. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Mom's Blogging Carnival using our Carnival Submission Form.Past posts and future hosts can be found on our Blog Carnival Index Page.

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