|
 |
|
|
Frugal Friday: A life of less
 I stumbled across OwlHaven's 30 Days of Nothing Challenge last week and have been very inspired and motivated by it. We're in a season of life where we are splurging more for survival so I can't join in full-force, but I look forward to when our family can do something similar in the not-too-distant future. Contemplating this challenge, I realized that while we do spend much more money than we absolutely need to, we are quite frugal compared to most who live in the United States. We buy used clothes, used cars, and used furniture. We have basic cell phone plans and no cable service. We eat simple meals on Wal-Mart dishware, we plan our menus based upon what is on sale at the store and what we have on hand in our cupboards, and we have only spent more than $40 on a dinner out a handful of times in our married life. We don't have expensive addictions, we don't go to movies, we use our exercise equipment that we bought off of CraigsList instead of having a gym membership, and we don't pay for any newspaper or magazine subscriptions. We try to keep our furnishings and clothing to a minimum and only have what we love and use. The girls only have a few toys, we borrow books and movies from the library instead of buying them, and we are always on the lookout for ways to have free fun. Most of all, we only buy things we can pay cash for and we try to carefully evaluate our motives for all purchases made. Compared to most Americans, we are ridiculous for making the decisions we do and living the lifestyle we live. But you know what? We don't care; we long ago gave up worrying about what "the Jones' family" might think of us. Looking back, the first two years of our marriage were literally "Two Years of Nothing." Most of the time, we didn't have any wiggle room in the budget for anything that wasn't a pretty basic necessity and so we went without. I even fondly recall the week we needed to buy more fish food and I couldn't scrape together the extra $2 needed to buy it, so we had to wait until the next pay period. (Somehow the fish survived over a week with no food and went on to live another few years!) Those were difficult years and they were stretching years. We didn't make our needs known to anyone else, but we spent countless hours praying for God's provision. And what a faithful Provider He always was! We learned to rely upon Him for our daily bread and we never went hungry, were never without a roof over our heads, and always had clothes to wear. These "Two Years of Nothing" were some of the best years of our life! Our marriage was strengthened, our faith was tested, and our frugality was stretched. And we wouldn't trade it for anything. Yes, we've given ourselves a lot more wiggle room in the budget now than we ever had back then, but we've also found that there are a lot of things you can live without and still have a wonderful and satisfying life. So while we're not joining in the 30 Day of Nothing Challenge this go -around, we are actively pursuing a life of less. After all, I'd much rather live on less and have more money and time to invest in what's really important--those things which will last for Eternity! **Note: I did want to mention, lest anyone misunderstand, that I don't believe there is anything inherently wrong with buying new things, or going to expensive restaurants on a regular basis, or paying for subscriptions, and so forth. Not everyone needs to make the same choices in their life that we have made! After all, I know that we splurge on some things that other frugal folks would find very extravagant. And sometime in the future, in different circumstances, we might make different spending choices than we're making now. However, we want to always evaluate our motives for everything we do and every dollar we spend. If we don't have a good reason for doing it and we can't afford it, we need to step back and re-consider. -------------------- Have a frugal tip or thought to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Please do not post anything related to Halloween (email me if you have questions on that), remember to keep it family-friendly, and post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. Links going to the homepage of your blog or any other part of your blog besides the direct link to your Frugal Friday post will be deleted. Labels: Frugal Friday
Frugal Friday: A time to be frugal and a time to be practical
 As most of you know, my life has dramatically changed for a short season. Instead of cooking, cleaning, playing hide-n-seek with my girls, grocery shopping, and the myriad of other things I usually busy myself with, I'm spending most of my time in as-near-of-a-lying-down position as possible to attempt to keep my meals down. Yes, morning sickness has a way of causing one to step back and simplify. It's a hard season, but it's a good season. And the end result is something worth every single moment of nausea. However, I have to make it to the end of these nine months first, so that means shifting into survival mode. My usual frugal nature gets partially chucked out the window while I do what it takes to make it through each day. The hardest struggle for me when dealing with the first and second trimester sickness is meal preparation as I usually want to stay as far away from the kitchen as I possibly can. There's only one problem: we have to eat. I don't have a live-in chef or live-in maid and my husband is gone at work much of the day, so it's up to me to feed myself and my girlies. My husband and I decided that instead of getting carryout food multiple times per week, we'd substantially raise our grocery budget as a temporary solution. This extra wiggle room allows us to buy more "fast foods" that are also pretty healthful, too--things like Annie's Homegrown macaroni and cheese, beef hot dogs, and lots of finger foods for the girls. Raising our grocery budget by $30 or so per week is a big jump for our small family, but if it allows us a little bit more smooth sailing through these uncharted waters, it's every bit worth it to me. And in the long-run, I think it will also save us more money (not to mention being more heathful) since the default would likely be picking up dinner from a local restaurant three nights per week--and that adds up fast! It's only a season and it will pass. Hopefully in a few months from now I'll be all motivated to jump back into baking, bargain shopping, and cooking from scratch. In the mean time, I want to survive intact, and maybe with a smile, too! What about you? Are there seasons of life when you've had to let go of some of your frugal ways in favor of doing what was practical? And any great and extremely quick and easy meal ideas for me? I'm making a master list to work from over the next few months and would love your input.
--------------------
Have a frugal tip or thought to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. Links going to the homepage of your blog or any other part of your blog besides the direct link to your Frugal Friday post will be deleted.
If you don't have a blog, you are welcome to leave your tips in the comments section. Thanks so much for participating!Labels: Frugal Friday, Pregnancy and childbirth
Frugal Friday: Fresh juice the frugal way
 Always one to be on the lookout for ways to eat healthfully yet frugally, this past year we've been experimenting with making fresh juice. And believe it or not, we have found it's not that expensive to pull off! I did a bit of research and found a durable juicer on eBay for $50. We then started pricing costs of fruit and vegetables to determine how to get the best for our buck--both nutritionally and financially.
Our favorite frugal juice combination so far is orange/carrot juice. I usually buy oranges when they are on sale for $2.99/bag or less at Aldi and then we buy carrots for $0.99/bag. Altogether, this $4 investment will make enough juice for three breakfasts for all four of us. We usually serve our juice with either bagels, English muffins, or homemade bread for a total cost of about $$0.40/person for breakfast. If I have extra eggs, I might scramble up some of those for extra protein, but it's still under $0.60/person for breakfast.  One of the great things about the juicer is that I can use it for fruit or vegetables which might be getting past their prime or need to be used up quickly. This past week, we've had lots of tomatoes from our garden, so we've been throwing those in our juice in the mornings for a little extra Vitamin C punch. Better even than the ability to use up fruits and vegetables which might otherwise go bad before we can eat them, though, is that I've found I can sneak almost anything into our juice and the whole family will gladly drink it down--even the girls who aren't always the world's best veggie eaters. It's always nice to know we've started off their day with lots of nutritious vitamins freshly squeezed! -------------------- Have a frugal tip to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. Links going to the homepage of your blog or any other part of your blog besides the direct link to your Frugal Friday post will be deleted.If you don't have a blog, you are welcome to leave your tips in the comments section. Thanks so much for participating! Labels: Frugal Friday
Frugal Friday: Any helpful hints for set-in stains? **Also, note new rule for participants**
 I have a problem: I ran out of the world's best stain remover a few weeks ago. And in all the hubbub and busyness of life, didn't have a chance to get a new bottle of it before I did a number of loads of laundry. The end result? I have literally at least ten items of clothing with set-in stains on them. I am cringing at the thought of having to relegate these to the garage sale bin if I can't get the stains out. But so far, I've had no success at removing the stains. Anyone have great tips or ideas for getting rid of stains which have already been washed and dried in? I am pretty positive there has to be a way, I'm just at a loss as to what it is. Help me out here so the money spent on these clothes isn't wasted! ------------------ Have a frugal tip to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. If you don't have a blog, you are welcome to leave your tips in the comments section. Thanks so much for participating! **New Rule for Participants: In order to facilitate more efficient navigation for those visiting your links, your link must link directly to your Frugal Friday post. Links going to the homepage of your blog or any other part of your blog besides the direct link to your Frugal Friday post will be deleted.Labels: Frugal Friday
Frugal Friday: Transitioning from two incomes to one
 My husband and I have been married for about a year and a half. We are due to have our first baby this coming February.
My husband and I have felt convicted since we were engaged that as soon as the Lord blessed us with children I would stay home. Since we have been married, I have worked full-time and have carried the most consistent income. My husband, just recently, with the Lord's leading, signed on with a commission based mortgage company. We have felt peaceful about this career and feel that this is where the Lord wants us. However, the term "commission-based" says it all. We are not ever sure of what the income will be or when it will come.
For now I continue to work, but come the middle of January I will no longer be working. We have lived by a pretty strict budget for the past 8 months, however have enjoyed some luxuries in our budget that are hard to try and get rid of like eating out. My husband and I both grew up in unbelieving homes and both became believers in college. Needless to say we have some bad spending and neither one has ever seen a truly "frugal" life.
So with that I have some questions for you: What do you or did you do for health insurance? We do have debt- mortgage payment, car loan, student loans. Thoughts on this? What did your budget look like when you were living on $1000 a month? Thanks for listening and I welcome any wisdom you have. -S Hi, S! I can't say I'm any expert on giving financial advice, but I'm happy to share my thoughts on your situation based upon what my husband and I have learned the last few years. First off and most importantly, you mentioned upfront that the Lord has convicted you all that you would stay home after having children. Remember that God never calls anyone to something which He will not in turn equip them for. This should serve as a tremendous comfort to you. No, it doesn't mean you will be living in luxury, but it does mean God will provide your daily bread. Obedience to His commands in our life always brings His blessing. So, keep that ever in mind and constantly look to the faithfulness of the Lord to take care of you. He will never leave you or forsake you. As far as practical recommendations go, my first piece of advice is to completely cut off every form of debt in your life (i.e. do not allow yourself to use your credit card for anything else and do not take out any new loans on anything). Rip up your credit cards and switch over to a cash only/envelope system. Write down your basic living costs (tithe and basic living essentials) and take out enough money per pay period to pay each of these (stick the cash in individual envelopes and only pay for things out of the envelopes). Get a copy of Dave Ramsey's book, The Total Money Makeover today and read through it in the next two weeks with your husband. While you are still working, use all of the excess money you have leftover after you pay your necessities and basic expenses to pay off every bit of debt you possibly can. I have no idea how much debt you have, but I do know that the sooner you get your debts paid off, the easier your life will be in terms of finances. My husband and I purposed to stay out of debt through law school when we got married and it was the best financial decision we ever made. It isn't always easy, believe me, when you are living in a small place, have one old vehicle that seems to be on its last leg, and all your friends are buying homes and nicer cars. When he was finished with law school and passed the bar, we were so tempted to move into a nicer place since we are pretty much bursting at the seams where we are. We very much considered taking out a loan to buy a home, especially since he had a good job and it seemed like we could easily afford the monthly payments of a decent home. However, we didn't feel a peace about it and with the unexpected things that have happened in our lives in the last two years, we now know why. Seeing how easily life circumstances can change has really caused us to further resolve we will not go into debt unless our life depends upon it--even to buy a first home. I share our personal experience for the young people reading this who maybe have not thought too much about debt before. Avoid it, if you can at all possibly avoid it. Second, start working to cut every expenditure you can. Write down all of your expenditures and start eliminating those which you can live without (cable, internet, cell phones, any monthly subscriptions, eating out, convenience foods, movie rentals, etc.). You might be surprised at how much you can cut just by evaluating every expenditure in light of, "Is this a basic necessity?"After you've pared down to the basics, then start evaluating those basic necessities in light of, "Is there some way I could reduce this cost?" How about moving to a smaller home, learning to grocery shop frugally, getting rid of one car, bartering for hair cuts, making gifts instead of buying them, shopping at thrift stores and garage sales instead of buying things new, and so on. Start thinking outside the box. Instead of thinking, "This will never work." Ask yourself, "How can we make this work?" You might be amazed at what some creative thinking can cook up! Third, after cutting expenditures, make a budget based upon the least possible amount you can live on and try to squeeze this out of your husband's commission check (once again, use the cash only system here). Pray that God would bless your husband's efforts and multiply them and give you creativity in making the most of his hard-earned income. Live on the least you can and if you have leftovers, put those towards savings (for a particularly lean time) and towards extra payment on your mortgage. (My husband recommends that, like Dave Ramsey says, you set up a $1000 emergency fund first and then put all of the extra towards paying off your debts.) Fourth, (if your husband is supportive of this) start thinking of things you can do from home to help bring in extra income. Since you are having a baby soon, please don't go overboard with this, but just keep it in mind and start praying for direction in this. Look around your home and find some items you are no longer using and sell them on eBay. Consider what skills you have which you could put to use to earn money during your baby's naptime. (Though for the first three months at least, I say to nap when your baby naps. You'll be needing all the extra sleep you can get!) In answer to your other questions, you can read detailed specifics of our law school budget here. Obviously, what worked for us, won't necessarily work for you, but it can hopefully be a help to you in thinking through expenditures. As far as health insurance, we did lots of research on this and for the first part of our marriage, we were on student health insurance. We are currently privately insured through Zander Insurance and were very pleased the rates we got. Check into that and other options in your area. You might also consider health insurance alternatives (such as Medi-Share or Samaritan Ministries), if you do not have any major medical concerns. I've heard of many who have very much benefited from these and it was something we looked into, but it wasn't going to save us money compared to our inexpensive student insurance, so we have never gone with it. Most of all, never take your eyes off the Lord. Claim His promises and step out in faith. Don't try to do anything in your own strength. Continually ask Him for guidance and direction and constantly be praying and discussing this with your husband. And see God do great and mighty things on your behalf! I'd love to hear from others of you who may have been in a similar situation as this couple and your thoughts and input for them.Related Links: If you're not already, be sure to check out my other blog, MoneySavingMom.com which is dedicated to helping women become better home economists. I also highly recommend Dave Ramsey's books, advice, website, and radio show. Originally published November 2006.
----------------------
Have a frugal tip to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. If you don't have a blog, you are welcome to leave your tips in the comments section. Thanks so much for participating! Labels: Frugal Friday
Frugal Friday: I'm drawing a blank
 Has anyone noticed I've been a little quiet here this week? Between the ebook sale that is going absolutely gangbusters, a minor car accident I was in (no one was hurt and it wasn't my fault, but the car was damaged and I've spent a lot of time on the phone with the insurance company, etc. as a result), coupled with some other possibilities looming on the horizon which could mean some big changes (and really good changes!) for our family in the next few weeks, I've not been in a state of mind to blog much this week. Thank you for being patient with me as I take care of things here on the homefront and process all that's going on. I hope to be able to share more soon of how God is working in our lives and directing and providing for us--it's been an exciting week! In the mean time, I'm afraid I have no frugal thoughts to share with you today. Well wait, I sort of have one: Have you gotten your ebook package yet? So help me out here, make up for my lack of wise words with your frugal links below! ------------------- Have a frugal tip to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. If you don't have a blog, you are welcome to leave your tips in the comments section. Thanks so much for participating! Labels: Frugal Friday
Frugal Friday: A simple, healthful, and frugal breakfast recipe
 With blueberries in season right now and ripe for the picking, it's pretty easy to find them on great sales. Better yet, you might be able to pick your own at a local farm and get them incredibly reasonable. Here's a good recipe we just made for the first time this week which is simple, healthful, delicious, and uses basic pantry ingredients: Blueberry Rise 'n' Shine BiscuitsMix together in a mixing bowl:2 cups whole wheat flour (can use white flour or half and half, if your family prefers) 1/2 tsp. salt 3 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. baking soda Cut in with a pastry blender until crumbly:4 Tbsp. butter (may use shortening, if you prefer) Add in:1 cup milk or buttermilk Stir lightly until combined. Then fold in:1 cup fresh (or partially-thawed frozen) blueberries Pat out carefully in a heavily-floured surface to 3/4 inches thick. With a biscuit cutter, cut out biscuits and place them on a buttered baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until lightly golden. While biscuits are baking, stir together the following ingredients to make a glaze:1 cup confectioner's sugar 2-4 Tbsp. milk 1/4 tsp. vanilla Drizzle glaze over biscuits as soon as you pull them out from the oven. Serve piping hot with butter--yum!  Recipe adapted from Martha's Family Cookery Book available from Marmee's Kitchen.
What are some of your favorite simple, healthful, and frugal breakfast ideas? I'd love to hear.
---------------------------
Have a frugal tip to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. If you don't have a blog, you are welcome to leave your tips in the comments section. Thanks so much for participating! As always, in keeping with the spirit of encouraging true frugality, business solicitations or posts solely advertising your business or product are not allowed.
Labels: Frugal Friday, Recipes
Frugal Friday: Taking a break from bargain shopping--it's okay!
 Here's my simple and frugal tip for today: It's okay to take a break from bargain shopping. Really, it's okay. No, I'm not condoning the going out and blowing lots of money on overpriced foods and household items, but I am encouraging you to take a break every once in a while. Or maybe even more than every once in awhile. I know how easy it is to get caught up in saving money, using coupons, and scoring great deals. Believe, I know. And so long as you are buying things you need, using money you have budgeted, and not neglecting your more important priorities in life, using coupons can be a great way to stretch your hard-earned dollars farther and feed your family well in the process. However, it's also okay to step back for a week or two or longer. In fact, I think it is good to take a break or a breather from couponing now and then. Whenever I start to feel like I am getting overwhelmed with the deals or coupons or just plain burnt out, that is usually my signal to step back from it for a week or two and focus on other things. Since I use coupons and shop the sales and deals 40 weeks or more out of the year, I usually have a pretty good stockpile of extras built up, so I can take a few weeks off here and there without it affecting our food supply or household product supply much at all. When I take a break from using coupons and bargain shopping, I'll often still make a quick trip to the store for milk, fresh produce, and a handful of any other items we are out of, but I won't worry about checking the deals or planning to use any coupons ahead of time. I just zip in the store and zip out and I'm done for the week! You know what I've found? When I take a break from bargain shopping for a week or two, I find that I enjoy it more when I come back to it. And I usually also come up with new ways to save or streamline or just plain new inspiration during my breather from it! So, for those of you who are more "hardcore" couponers, do you take a break from time to time? What works best for you?
Related: To read more of my thoughts on keeping it simple and manageable when it comes to frugality, go here. ------------------- Have a frugal tip to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. If you don't have a blog, you are welcome to leave your tips in the comments section. Thanks so much for participating! Labels: Frugal Friday
Frugal Friday: Foraging for food
We recently discovered a nearby park has lots of mulberry trees. We've been having a blast going once a week and picking those beautiful dark berries as a family. What more frugal and fun family activity is there than picking fresh berries for free?
 Anyone have any great mulberry recipes? My attempt substituting mulberries for blueberries in muffins was a bit of a flop. They burned badly, but I'm not sure if it was the mulberries or the fact that I substituted yogurt for sour cream. Have you foraged for any food this Summer? If so, tell us about it!---------------- Have a frugal tip to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. If you don't have a blog, you are welcome to leave your tips in the comments section. Thanks so much for participating! Labels: Frugal Friday
Frugal Friday: Smoothies
 Summer is here and that means lots of hot and humid weather in the great state of Kansas. What's the perfect treat for a hot summer day? Smoothies! We loves smoothies in all shapes, kinds, colors, and sizes at our home and I've found quite a few ways to make them rather inexpensively. Here are just a few ideas: ::Buy yogurt in 16 oz. containers when it goes on sale for $1.50 or so. We prefer vanilla or plain yogurt for our smoothies. I add about a 1/2 cup per four servings. You can also make your own yogurt. I've done this before with good success. ::We also sometimes use homemade kefir instead of yogurt. If you have a source for fairly inexpensive milk, this is especially a great option. ::Use whatever frozen or fresh fruit is on sale. Bananas are always a good staple item to throw in smoothies, we get ours at Aldi for $0.44/lb. You can freeze them or use them fresh. We prefer frozen as it helps give a thicker consistency to the smoothies. When frozen or fresh strawberries, raspberries, peaches, blueberries, kiwi, or blackberries are on sale, I try to stock up for smoothies. You can also check for prices from u-pick places, find a friend who has their own fruit trees or plants, or grow your own! ::Add in water, juice, sweetener and/or ice cubes to your liking. We usually add in 1/2 cup or so of apple juice or whatever other flavor of juice we have on hand. This just helps the smoothie mix up more quickly and be a bit "smoother". I also sometimes add in honey or Stevia to taste. ::We like to add flax seed to our smoothies for extra nutrition. Just add around 2-3 Tablespoons per four servings. You can buy this in bulk from the health food store or find it in the health food section of many grocery stores.  How we make our smoothies:
I put the whole flax seeds into the bottom of the blender first (flax seeds are most nutritious when ground) and turn it on for 15 seconds or so until they are fully ground. Then I add the fruit, yogurt, and juice and blend until smooth (we prefer to use at least some frozen fruit to help give the smoothie a thicker, icier consistency). I add in extra juice, if needed, and Stevia, if desired. Pour into tall glasses and serve with straws! Delicious!
By buying the yogurt on sale and the fruit on sale and using at least a third or more bananas in the smoothies, they work out to be quite economical. And it's a very nutritional way to start off your day! Also, you can make a batch of fruit smoothies up and then just freeze into popsicles molds or Dixie cups with popsicle sticks for a refreshing afternoon snack. Related: My friend, Jessica, has a great Blueberry Pineapple smoothie recipe here that we've been using a lot recently. Does your family make smoothies? If so, what are your favorite things to put in them?--------------------- Have a frugal tip to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. If you don't have a blog, you are welcome to leave your tips in the comments section. Thanks so much for participating! Labels: Frugal Friday
Frugal Friday: Our little garden!
 I'm so excited to report that, after five and a half years of marriage we actually planted vegetables this year! We lived in an apartment up until the beginning of last year, so we tried planting things in planters but we never were successful since there was not enough sun. We were planning to plant at least a few things last year, but my pregnancy complications and fatigue ended uprooting our well-laid plans. This year, with no excuses and grocery costs on the rise, we jumped at the chance. We planted three different kinds of lettuce, basil, parsley, oregano, two different kinds of tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. It wasn't much, but we didn't have that much space to work with and I also wanted to start out small.  Our lettuce coming up--hooray!
I can't tell you how exciting it has been for our whole family to see our plants peeking their heads out of the ground or the first flowers appearing on the cucumber plants. And lo and behold, we have five peppers so far! We're especially anxious for the tomato plants to start producing as garden-fresh tomatoes are one of our very favorite Summer delicacies. If things continue to grow like they are, in a few weeks, we'll have fresh salad ingredients right out our back door--for pennies a piece. My only regret? That we didn't plant at least five times as much as we did! I think I'm going to buy as many planters as I can get my hands on next year and we'll do full-fledged container gardening. Not that we know what we're doing, but we can certainly make a learning experience of it!
If you only had a small area of ground to work with, what would you plant? Have you tried container gardening before? If so, any tips, hints, or suggestions for me?
---------------------
Have a frugal tip to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. If you don't have a blog, you are welcome to leave your tips in the comments section. Thanks so much for participating!
Labels: Frugal Friday, Gardening
Frugal Friday: Lessons from my Grandpa - Part 2
(My apologies on the lateness in getting this posted; Blogger has been fussy and been refusing to upload pictures or posts for me this week...)Last week, I introduced you to my grandpa, a hard-working man who knew how to pinch pennies to the extreme! Here are a few more lessons on frugality I learned from my grandpa: 3) My grandpa never went into debt for anything but a house. Back in his day, that was probably pretty normal; debt was not something that everyone just did as a way of life. But I think we would all do well to remember that often working for, saving for, and waiting for something until we can afford it is really the best course of action. Not only will we appreciate it more, we'll also likely save ourselves a good bit of trouble down the road. One of my favorite stories shared at the funeral was that when my grandpa was a teenager, he worked all Summer long for $2/day in order to buy his first car. I couldn't help but wonder how many teenagers today would do something like that? Isn't it just so much "easier" to get a loan? No wonder so many grown men and women are having financial struggles these days; they never learned in their teens years to wait to buy something until they could afford it. One of the things my grandpa strongly impressed upon my dad when he was growing up was that you should never go into debt for anything except a house. To this day, my dad has always abided by this principle handed down to him and it was one thing which was a huge help in motivating my parents to work hard to pay off their mortgage early and never get another mortgage again. This example has now been passed down to my siblings and someday, Lord-willing, will also be handed down to our children. 4) My grandpa never wasted anything. If there were every anyone who followed the, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without," it would be my grandpa. We sometimes chuckled at how long he would make things last--his worn out, holey hats and sweatshirts would never be thrown out until there was not a drop of life left in them--but, in reality, it speaks volumes to how wasteful we've become as a society. Instead of using something for as long as possible and then thinking of creative ways to re-use it once it is no longer sufficient for that use, we normally just throw the item out and get a new one. I think we would all do well to remember the wisdom of our grandparents and great-grandparents in getting the most mileage out of our belongings. There are many more lessons I could share that I learned from my grandpa, these were just a few he taught me in the area of frugality. We will all miss him, even his quirky little things, but we are thankful for the opportunity we had to know him, love him, and learn from him during his days on this earth. ---------------------- Have a frugal tip to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. If you don't have a blog, you are welcome to leave your tips in the comments section. Thanks so much for participating! Labels: Frugal Friday
Frugal Friday: Lessons from my Grandpa - Part 1
 As some of you know, my grandpa died last Saturday. We traveled out of town on Wednesday to attend his funeral and while listening to his eulogy, I was struck again with what a great example of he was--especially in the area of using his money wisely. Over the next few weeks, I wanted to share just a few of the lessons he taught me as it relates to frugality: 1) My grandpa was an incredible example of diligence. Never one to shirk responsibility, from the time he was a young boy up until late in his life, he always held at least two jobs. Even when he didn't need to work anymore and could have comfortably retired, he chose to continue working. He was never idle and was always engaged in some type of project around their home--fixing something, building something, or drawing up plans for the next project. I don't know that he ever called a repairman for anything as he would just find a way to fix things himself. And if you needed something fixed, he was the person to go to for help. Even when he was over eighty years old, he would get up at the crack of dawn each morning to take a long walk and get on with his day. Up until the last year of his life, he was a very healthy man and I think his diligence was one reason. 2) My grandpa always looked for the best deal. When we went through his house this week, we found stockpiles of laundry detergent, toilet paper, soap, peanut butter, canned goods, coffee, and much more--all things he had bought in bulk when he'd found a good sale. I doubt he ever paid full price for anything. He was constantly on the lookout for ways to get a better deal and make his dollars go farther. Even when later in life he was in a great position financially and could have afforded a much more lavish lifestyle, he still shopped at Aldi and lived simply. For as long as I can remember, he collected aluminum cans. He'd find them on his morning walks or stop and pick them up when he was out and about. He discovered that once a year, you could get a much better price for aluminum, so he'd save all his cans and bring them in on that day. We were always amazed at how many cans he would collect in a year's time and the profit he made off of them was quite hefty! There were so many little things like this that he did which, though they might seem so small, added up to substantial savings for him. And while he never had a high-paying job, by being very careful with his money, he was able to save enough so that later on in life, he and my grandma never had to worry about anything. To be continued next week...
----------------
Have a frugal tip or deal to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. If you don't have a blog, you are welcome to leave your tips in the comments section. Thanks so much for participating!
Labels: Frugal Friday
Frugal Friday: Keep it simple!
 Here are just a few ways we keep things simple at our home and save time, energy, and money:::We drink primarily water. Aside from my daily pot of tea and our occasional splurge on soda, coffee, or juice, we keep it simple by drinking water. Hey, it might be boring, but it's good for you! (We use this filter for all our drinking water.) ::We stick to simple meals. Our meals are usually two to four simple items (and most recipes have six ingredients or less) and most of our dinners can be made in 30 minutes or less. I enjoy cooking, but quick, simple, and nutritious is the name of the game for me right now. I cook up extras and freeze them whenever possible, use time-savers like the crockpot and bread machine, and am constantly on the lookout for new ways to streamline and be more efficient in the kitchen. ::We try to only have what we need and use. A few examples: Clothes/Accessories - We each only have around 6-8 outfits and 2-3 pair of shoes per season. I only have two pair of earrings and wear pretty much the same make up and hair style for every occasion.
Toys - The girls each only have a few toys: Legos, a few dolls, a few stuffed animals, a play kitchen with dishes, and a trike and wagon. (I'm probably forgetting something, but that's about the extent of it.) We've found that they much prefer to help Mommy, play with pots and pans, read books, color, explore, or dig in the dirt to toys so we've paired down to only having the toys they use and play with on a regular basis.
Kitchen Appliances - There are all kinds of gizmos and gadgets out there, but most I've found unnecessary at this point in our lives. I have a few that I love and use: bread machine, wheat grinder, crock pot, blender, and juicer.
Cleaners - We use Basic H, Basic G, and baking soda for all of our cleaning. Because the Shaklee cleaners come in such concentrated form, one bottle has lasted us for over a year and we've not even used 1/3 of it! While we certainly have much more than we truly need (I'm sure some in third world countries would think that our "simple" lifestyle is actually quite lavish!) and we definitely are not opposed to occasional budgeted splurges, we try to stick with the basics and keep things simple in order to be more efficient (less stuff takes less time to maintain and keep organized!) and save money (learning to live with less has saved us hundreds, if not thousands, over the years). Many of these ideas you may already be doing or they may not work at all for your family, but hopefully something might inspire you to eliminate needless clutter and stuff from your life. Less stuff really does free you up for more important things! How do you save time, energy, and money at your home by keeping things simple? I'd love to hear your ideas!
------------------
Have a frugal tip or deal to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. If you don't have a blog, you are welcome to leave your tips in the comments section. Thanks so much for participating!
Labels: Frugal Friday
Frugal Friday: Getting the best deal on contact lenses
 I wear contact lenses full-time and over the years I've been on the lookout for the least expensive ways to purchase them. My philosophy is that if it's something you have to buy often, you might as well find the best deal on it! There are a number of websites offering contact lenses for less than what you'd normally pay ordering them at retail from your eye doctor. My best success to score deals and get the lenses I need has been from VisionDirect.com. We've found it's usually at least $20 less expensive to order from VisionDirect.com plus they often have specials and discount codes to get the price down even more. (For instance, right now you can use the code 15New and get 15% off your order if you are a new customer.) However, there are some disadvantages to ordering online. Last year, my eye doctor switched me to a new kind of contacts to clear up some eye issues and I was unable to find this new brand online. I ended up ordering a different brand and these burned my eyes really badly. I finally just forked out the extra money and ordered directly from our eye doctor. I needed to order new contacts this week so we decided to look online to see if VisionDirect.com might possibly have started carrying the brand I'm using. Sure enough, the did. And sure enough, it was over $20 cheaper to order it from them than to buy it from our eye doctor. However, when Jesse called up the eye doctor to get my exact contact prescription, they said they would price-match the best deal we could find online! This is truly the best of both worlds! Not only will we not have to pay shipping, we also can pick the contacts directly up from the eye doctor (whose office is about a block away from our home!), and if there are any problems with the contacts, they have a guarantee so I can go in and get a different kind, if need be. So far, that's the best deal I've found. What about you? I'd love to hear any tips you have for saving on contact lenses!------------------ Join in the fun! Have a frugal tip or deal to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. Thanks so much for participating! Labels: Frugal Friday
Frugal Friday: The cost of disorganization
You know how I always strongly encourage you to buy things when they are on sale and to buy enough to last you until the next sale? Well, that's usually what I do--especially when it comes to medicine since I am often able to pick them up for free with the deals at CVS. And I usually have more than enough to go around. However, I recently cleaned out our supply and gave a bunch of medicine and household products away to a church who has a ministry to the homeless. I thought I had saved enough back to last us for two months or so but apparently I didn't inventory things well and in my haste, I got rid of all of our new children's medicines. You know where this is going, don't you? Kaitlynn has been struggling with teething this week and the only thing we've found to help her is Children's Tylenol. We used up the last of the bottle before bed last night but I was sure I had at least a bottle or two unopened in the cupboard so I didn't think twice about it. Two hours later, Kaitlynn woke up feverish and crying and writhing in pain. We tried our usual remedies but when those didn't relieve her pain, we went to get her some more Tylenol. And then it was that we both discovered there wasn't any Tylenol. None. Nada. In fact, we turned the medicine cabinet upside down looking for some and there was none to be found. After an hour of searching and attempting to calm Kaitlynn, we both realized that the only way any of us were going to get sleep was with some Tylenol. So, at 2 am, Jesse made a trip to Walgreens to buy a bottle of Tylenol and a bottle of Motrin (just in case the Tylenol didn't work). I wasn't even thinking clearly enough to send coupons with him so he paid the full price for both bottles--to the tune of $17 dollars total! Folks, that's a whole lotta money to spend on medicine when you are used to buying it for free or more-than-free. However, at that point, I didn't care; I just wanted Kaitlynn to have some relief. Gratefully, the Tylenol did the trick and she settled down somewhat and we were able to get a semi-restful few more hours of sleep. But in the morning, it dawned on me that my lack of organization to realize we didn't have any Tylenol left--or to not donate our last unopened bottle in the first place!--would have saved us a lot of trouble, missed sleep, and $17! And Kaitlynn could have gotten relief much sooner. Moral of this long story? Being organized really does save you money and frustration. Maybe next time I'll remember that when I'm handing out the last dose of medicine in a bottle or taking inventory of what we have in our medicine cabinet. And maybe my sad little tale can serve as a reminder to you to do the same so you don't have to make a medicine run and pay full price for it at 2 in the morning! ------------------------ Join in the fun! Have a frugal tip or deal to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. Thanks so much for participating! Labels: Frugal Friday
Frugal Friday: The Total Money Makeover Live Event
 What could be more frugal than attending The Total Money Makeover Live Event last Saturday? Okay, well, it does cost around $33 to get in, but it's likely one of the best $33 investments you'll ever make! At least we certainly think so. This was our second year to attend a Live Event and I have to say that there's nothing quite like being in the same room for five hours with over 11,000 people who are all ecstatic about "living like no one else". In a world where being debt-free, taking personal responsibility, exercising self-discipline, and wisely stewarding your money is practically unheard of, this was quite the breath of fresh air!  We know by heart many of the things Dave shares since we are practically Dave Ramsey "groupies", but we can always use a refresher course to give us new and revived motivation for why we're doing what we're doing. It's easy to lose focus or get off track without constant reminders to prod us on to continue making sacrifices now which will, Lord-willing, allow us to bless many others in the years to come and also to, as Dave says, "change our family tree". The biggest blessing of attending the Live Event was the realization of how much traction we've made in the last year towards our financial goals. It was especially exciting seeing as we've had a number of setbacks this past year: my hospital stay and health issues, Kaitlynn's birth, needing to buy a new-to-us vehicle, and Jesse being unemployed for a few months. God has been so faithful to us in providing for us and I also must say that this frugal living stuff really does pay off, even if sometimes it seems like we're making a lot of sacrifices and seeing very little light at the end of the tunnel. We were able to step back and look at the bigger picture at the Live Event and it was so thrilling to clearly see the difference that a year of "living like no one else" has made!  The girls and myself at the Live Event--nevermind how tired we look. (This was after three days of having a garage sale, four days of having colds, and five or more days of too little sleep. Needless to say, by the end of the weekend, we were completely wiped out! But it was worth it!)---------------- Join in the fun! Have a frugal tip or deal to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. Thanks so much for participating! Labels: Frugal Friday
Frugal Friday: Two quick deals and a link
 Thanks for your patience with my lack of posting this week--I had to shelf blogging for other things this week. However, I hope to be back in the saddle early next week as my brain is brimming with posts.
Two quick deals of note for Frugal Friday today:
 Sign up here to receive a coupon for a free Stonyfield Farms YoMommy 4-pack. Yay! Just my kind of freebie--we love the YoBaby yogurt so I'm excited to try out the YoMommy yogurt, too!
 Wal-Mart has their Kashi cereals on sale for $2 box. Use this coupon and get them free! Yummy! Also, for those who didn't have a chance to read it, I posted on saving money and simplifying your life from the clamor of "activity clutter" here. ---------------- Join in the fun! Have a frugal tip or deal to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. Thanks so much for participating! Labels: Frugal Friday
Frugal Friday: Simple, frugal decorating
 Wreaths were on sale for $12.99 at JoAnns last week and I had some wiggle room in the home decorating budget, so I splurged and bought one for our fireplace and then added some candles we already had to create a simple and fresh look for Spring and Summer.  It's amazing what a simple thing re-arranging and sprucing up a bit can do to lift your spirits and give your living areas a fresh new look--all at a minimal cost! -------------------- Join in the fun! Have a frugal tip or deal to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. Thanks so much for joining us! Labels: Frugal Friday
Frugal Friday: Free stuff, deals, and links of interest
 I just spent two hours clearing out an email inbox that I'd not checked for over a year--I suppose that could count for my Anti-Procrastination project for the day! At any rate, I'm a bit brain-fried from wading through over 5000 emails so I'm going to just share a few quick links:-If you've not signed up for RevolutionMoneyExchange and can use an extra $25, be sure to do that. Read the comments here for a lot more information, links to articles, and more. I've thoroughly checked this company out and believe it to be very legitimate--they are just using creative marketing (giving away $25 to everyone who signs up!) to get lots of free advertising and new customer sign-ups! (And if you're a fan of Tammy's Recipes, like me, I'd like to encourage you to use her link here to sign up and she'll get $10 when you do so!) -Go here to get a $5 off a $5 or more purchase at Kohl's! It takes a few days to get the coupon, but with all the deals Kohl's is constantly running, it is not hard to find something for right at $5 which would be free after this coupon. -Joann's Fabrics has a lot of sales going on right now, including $0.99 McCall's patterns. I just went there today and stocked up on some great sales and am all inspired to whip out the sewing machine and get busy sewing! -See our $40 menu and grocery shopping trip for this week here.-Get a coupon for a free Scotch-Brite toilet cleaner starter kit here. (These are $4.97 at Wal-Mart, by the way.) Like freebies? Click here for oodles more! - And, if you are overwhelmed as a wife, mother, or homemaker, don't forget to sign up for our giveaway of two copies of Queen of the Castle: 52 Weeks of Encouragement for the Uninspired, Domestically Challenged, or Just Plain Tired Homemaker by Lynn Bowen Walker. ---------------- Join in the fun! Have a frugal tip or deal to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. Thanks so much for joining us! Labels: Frugal Friday
Frugal Friday: CSA's?
 I have a question for anyone who can help today: Have you bought a share in a CSA before? If so, what was your experience? Did you find it saved you money on produce while allowing you to get better and fresher fruits/vegetables? What advice would you have for someone who is considering buying a share in a CSA?We're seriously considering doing this this Summer and from the research I've done, I think it would not only save us a little money--a half-share is around $12-$15/week at most farms here and we normally pay more than that for our produce for the week-- but it would allow us to get much better produce, and hopefully more bang for our buck. However, I know very few people who have done this before and certainly don't have a clue what I should be looking for in a CSA or what questions I should be asking. So, for those of you more experienced than me, could you help me out? For those who are unfamiliar with the term CSA, go here to read what it's all about. ---------------- Join in the fun! Have a frugal tip or deal to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. Thanks so much for joining us! Labels: Frugal Friday
Frugal Friday: Saving on Organics (Guest Post)
 Guest Post by Hope Ware Everyone wants to eat healthier and organic foods seem to be the "gold standard" of right eating. But, organics are costlier. So, the question often presents itself to the frugal homemaker, "How do I serve my family the BEST that I can and still remain within budget?" Our family embarked upon a journey towards whole foods several years ago and I wanted to share some of my top suggestions: Do your research. Read, read, and read some more. I read several books, articles, and talked to others who were more knowledgeable than I before I took too many steps. Take baby steps. Each year our family would select a "target area". One year it was replacing all refined white flour with whole grains. One year we switched all of our grains and beans over to organic. One year it was using more natural sweeteners. To make the giant leap to whole grains, I bought a grain mill. Go to Urban Homemaker for lots of helpful information on grain mill. A good electric grain mill will cost you about $200. However, consider that you can now grind grain and make all of your family's bread, pasties, muffins, pancakes, etc. from whole grain and you'll see that the mill will pay for itself in a couple of years.
I estimate that I can make my whole grain bread (using locally produced raw honey as a sweetener) for about $1.00 a loaf. You won't find that price in a store! Plus, I have a baking day once a week in which I bake all of the breads needed for the following 7 days. So, I don't constantly have my oven in use. Next we tackled the area of beans, oats, and other grains. We joined a whole foods co-op. If you don't know of any in your area, check on-line at www.unfi.com. United Foods is, without a doubt, the largest distributor of whole foods in the nation. They deliver nearly everywhere. If there isn't a co-op in your area and you have several other like-minded families, chances are that you could form your own co-op. Delivery times vary with each company as well as the minimum order.
Our co-op has about 10 families that regularly order. We must have a 500 dollar minimum order and have items delivered every other month. We purchase 25 pound bags of beans, grain, rice, and oats. This is very cost effective and can be stored in large Rubbermaid containers. If that's too much for your family, split the cost and the beans with another family. Natural sugars tend to be expensive. We have banded together with several other families for a twice-a-year honey order. We all order 1 gallon increments of raw, locally produced honey and one family volunteers to make the drive to the country to pick up our order. We spend $25 per gallon of honey and I have found this price to be fairly normal when comparing with friends from other locales. Organic produce is another area to consider. I can't say enough good about those wonderful farmers that take the time and effort to produce organic produce! We visit our local farmers market regularly beginning in late May until late October.
Get to know the farmers--they are happy to share recipe ideas and other very helpful information. Our farmer gives a discount to our family if we purchase a large amount of one item. She also sells bushels of apples and potatoes at a discount at the end of the season. Organic produce is their passion! They often know of other farmers who raise eggs, chickens, or beef. They can "hook you up" and allow you to network to find the best prices locally. Be sure to patronize their booth though, if you are going to make use of their knowledge. We go almost strictly to "our farmer" and she knows it. Matthew 4:4 says: "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." We cannot allow food to become our "god". It is our responsibility to do the very best that we can--within the resources with which God has entrusted us. But, we must believe that God is able to sustain us--even if we eat something that is not organic. We must place our trust for our health in God's hands. -Hope Ware has been married to Larry for nearly 20 years. They are both lifelong residents of Central Illinois and enjoy spending time together as a family. They are homeschooling three boys - ages 11, 9, 3, and a brand-new baby. Hope enjoys cooking from scratch, budgeting, singing and writing.
Related: Read my post here on baby-stepping our way to better nutrition. I'd love to hear your thoughts on eating healthfully on a budget. Also, is buying organic important to you or not?
-------------------Join in the fun! Have a frugal tip or deal to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. Thanks so much for joining us! Labels: Frugal Friday
Frugal Friday: Brain-fried
 I came down with the same nasty flu earlier today that my husband had last week so my post idea for this week will have to wait until next week--my fever seems to be burning up all coherent brain cells! So, please make up for my lack of great ideas by leaving your link to your blog post with thoughts or tips on frugality below! And it's back to bed to rest and recuperate for me...Labels: Frugal Friday
Frugal Friday: Keep it simple
 If you've read my blog for any length of time, you'll know that one of my mantras is "keep it simple." I think we all have a tendency to overspend, over-complicate, and overwhelm ourselves and, in the process, miss out on some of the beauty of simplicity. Last night our family enjoyed a wonderfully simple outing as a family which required almost no effort on our parts and cost us hardly anything. The weather was beautiful here yesterday and we were all feeling a bit of "cabin fever" after lots of cold and snow. So instead of our usual evening at home, we hopped in the van and went to the park for an evening walk until dusk. We were able to show the girls numerous deer up close, got stuck in some mud as we tried to detour off the path (not a good idea!), and Jesse and I found ourselves constantly chuckling over the girls' antics. We also got some good exercise, some fresh air, and lots of family time. When the last rays of sunlight could no longer be seen, we headed for Taco Bell and bought a few things off the Value Menu to sha | | |
I stumbled across OwlHaven's 30 Days of Nothing Challenge last week and have been very inspired and motivated by it. We're in a season of life where we are splurging more for survival so I can't join in full-force, but I look forward to when our family can do something similar in the not-too-distant future.
