There are tons of ways to save money, but there are always some that totally change things. Over a year ago, I would get upset with Brad when he would ‘waste’ money on coffee. And likewise, he would not be too happy with me when I came home with new shoes.
We fully believe in a budget, and I will talk more about that next week, but what Brad and I ended up doing was having ‘blow money’. We set an amount for us both for the month and got it in cash. That is very important, because if you spend a few dollars here and there, you will not be able to keep track as well as if you have that money in your wallet.
We gave ourselves $25 a month. At first it sounded like a lot, but after one week and we both did not have any money left, we learned fast that we needed to watch what we got and make sure that it was really what we wanted. $25 is a good amount, but that is only a few cups of coffee and if you are lucky, one pair of shoes with some change.
Each month is different now, sometimes we have it all month, others it is gone fast. But we do not argue about how we spend that money. It is blow money and is meant to be spent! We both know we will not spend more than that … and having cash helps with that as well! Secondly, it helps with budgeting. It is so much easier to know how much blow money we each have and factor that in per month.
Next post will be more about budgeting, but if this is an area you struggle with, give yourself a monthly or weekly amount of blow money … and stick with it! People do not often ‘loose’ $50 here and there … it is more often $1 at a time! Hold on to those dollars!
Friday, April 27, 2012
Lessons in Cleaning
Since becoming a stay at home mom, my status updates on Facebook typically have something to do with cleaning. A good friend of mine said that my house must be perfect because I am always cleaning! I have to confess, my house is rarely clean. I blame my toddler who is like a tornado, and also my goofy cleaning stages. I will get hooked on a snack for a week or so, and I also get hooked on different chores. So for a week the bathrooms and floors will look great, but do not venture into the kitchen!
When we lived up in Missouri, I had a chore list. I know that it sounds childish, but it really worked! It was not a list of what chores needed to be done, but when. It kept me in order, as well as the house, and made sure that I did not leave anything out. My list had not been updated since I first created it about a year ago. So after a discussion about chores last night with Brad, I decided to update it. Hope everyone finds it interesting and I hope it motivates you all to get your chores in order!
Chore List
Morning Chores: Make beds, sweep kitchen floor
Evening Chores: Wash dishes, clean kitchen counters, quick pick up
Monday: Wash clothes, grocery shopping, clean refrigerator, vacuum living room
Tuesday: Wash towels, wash sheets, clean bathrooms, mop kitchen floors
Wednesday: Dust, vacuum all rooms
Thursday: Clean bathrooms, clean showers, clean garage
Friday: Wash clothes, vacuum living room, mop kitchen floor, mop entry way, sweep porch, iron
Saturday: Clean bathrooms, mop bathroom floors, clean microwave, clean pantry
Sunday: Couponing, shopping list
When we lived up in Missouri, I had a chore list. I know that it sounds childish, but it really worked! It was not a list of what chores needed to be done, but when. It kept me in order, as well as the house, and made sure that I did not leave anything out. My list had not been updated since I first created it about a year ago. So after a discussion about chores last night with Brad, I decided to update it. Hope everyone finds it interesting and I hope it motivates you all to get your chores in order!
Chore List
Morning Chores: Make beds, sweep kitchen floor
Evening Chores: Wash dishes, clean kitchen counters, quick pick up
Monday: Wash clothes, grocery shopping, clean refrigerator, vacuum living room
Tuesday: Wash towels, wash sheets, clean bathrooms, mop kitchen floors
Wednesday: Dust, vacuum all rooms
Thursday: Clean bathrooms, clean showers, clean garage
Friday: Wash clothes, vacuum living room, mop kitchen floor, mop entry way, sweep porch, iron
Saturday: Clean bathrooms, mop bathroom floors, clean microwave, clean pantry
Sunday: Couponing, shopping list
Monday, April 23, 2012
Frugal Fridays
Maybe I will change the name of these posts to Money Mondays! This past weekend we had Brad’s parents in town, Joanna’s birthday was on Thursday and her party was on Saturday. So between birthday stuff and visitors, blogging was off of my radar!
I am teaching (or sharing) with my MOPS group tomorrow about the freezer. Your freezer can be a huge money saver! Most people do not realize what all you can freeze; you can freeze just about everything!
I did my weekly shopping this morning and saved lots of money by using my freezer! Kroger had a good deal on chicken breast. If you are like me and like most people, you use chicken on a weekly basis. Do not buy it weekly, as next week it may be a dollar or more per pound more than this week’s price. Today I bought two packages, split the packages up and placed some in the refrigerator. The rest I placed on a baking sheet in the freezer for a few hours. I will then take them out and place in a freezer Ziploc bag in the freezer. This way, I can pull out the exact amount I need the night before without have to thaw out a ball of chicken pieces!
Brad eats high fiber bread and it is very expensive compared to other breads. This week the bread was buy one, get one free! So I bought extra and placed loaves in the freezer. You can then thaw the whole bag of bread later on, or slice by slice. I have bought lots of things in bulk and divided it up to freeze. Sam’s big bags of cheese, meat, bread, clearance yogurt, fruit … lots of things! So next time there is a great sale or clearance, don’t just get what you will use that week, but get extra and freeze! It is wonderful having lots of food in the freezer and not having to pay full price for items!
I am teaching (or sharing) with my MOPS group tomorrow about the freezer. Your freezer can be a huge money saver! Most people do not realize what all you can freeze; you can freeze just about everything!
I did my weekly shopping this morning and saved lots of money by using my freezer! Kroger had a good deal on chicken breast. If you are like me and like most people, you use chicken on a weekly basis. Do not buy it weekly, as next week it may be a dollar or more per pound more than this week’s price. Today I bought two packages, split the packages up and placed some in the refrigerator. The rest I placed on a baking sheet in the freezer for a few hours. I will then take them out and place in a freezer Ziploc bag in the freezer. This way, I can pull out the exact amount I need the night before without have to thaw out a ball of chicken pieces!
Brad eats high fiber bread and it is very expensive compared to other breads. This week the bread was buy one, get one free! So I bought extra and placed loaves in the freezer. You can then thaw the whole bag of bread later on, or slice by slice. I have bought lots of things in bulk and divided it up to freeze. Sam’s big bags of cheese, meat, bread, clearance yogurt, fruit … lots of things! So next time there is a great sale or clearance, don’t just get what you will use that week, but get extra and freeze! It is wonderful having lots of food in the freezer and not having to pay full price for items!
Friday, April 13, 2012
Frugal Fridays
Almost on a weekly basis, I have someone ask me a money-saving question. People often come to me with coupon questions since I have taught four classes to this date. But coupons are not the only way to save money! It is one of my favorites for sure, but there are several other tactics out there. I am going to try to give a short and simple way to save money every Friday. So check back every Friday during nap time for a quick way to keep your money in your pocket!
We had a super sweet family over for dinner last night. One of the kids asked ‘what are these?’. Fabric napkins! If you want to save money … look at what you are throwing away! If you are in a family of four and use paper napkins three times a day, you are looking at literally throwing away at least $60 a year! That is cheap napkins with coupons! You can find fabric napkins everywhere or you can grab some fabric and make your own. I personally think they look nicer and work better!
With paper napkins also comes paper towels. Many people do not think that they can live without paper towels, but you can! If you only use two rolls of paper towels a week (and most people use more!) that adds up to over $100 a year as long as you buy the cheep towels! You can use actual towels for most things. Or make or get some wash cloths for messy hands and faces, cleaning cloths and dust rags. I have different ones for wash cloths and for cleaning. And for your windows or glass, just use newspapers!
You will love being able to go to the store and not buy paper napkins and paper towels! And another benefit … it will cut down on your trash as well!
We had a super sweet family over for dinner last night. One of the kids asked ‘what are these?’. Fabric napkins! If you want to save money … look at what you are throwing away! If you are in a family of four and use paper napkins three times a day, you are looking at literally throwing away at least $60 a year! That is cheap napkins with coupons! You can find fabric napkins everywhere or you can grab some fabric and make your own. I personally think they look nicer and work better!
With paper napkins also comes paper towels. Many people do not think that they can live without paper towels, but you can! If you only use two rolls of paper towels a week (and most people use more!) that adds up to over $100 a year as long as you buy the cheep towels! You can use actual towels for most things. Or make or get some wash cloths for messy hands and faces, cleaning cloths and dust rags. I have different ones for wash cloths and for cleaning. And for your windows or glass, just use newspapers!
You will love being able to go to the store and not buy paper napkins and paper towels! And another benefit … it will cut down on your trash as well!
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Lessons From My Neighbors
A couple months ago, I got a knock on my door. It was a God knock … an unexpected knock full of many blessings. That very week, we had to change our insurance, making our income tighter. Finances, luckily, have never been an issue for us. God has always provided and taught us, but I also give the credit to my parents teaching me early about money and of course Dave Ramsey.
With a tighter income, that meant less money going into savings and it would take longer to get a bigger vehicle. My car (actually, Brad’s car now) is getting old and falling apart, plus we would like to add to our little family and my little car will not hold much more.
Behind that knock was my elderly neighbor. She needed a new worker to come and clean her house. She is in her late eighties along with her husband. Her husband, Herb, is not doing very well and is now on hospice. This flexible, part time job was perfect for my family. Did not have to drive anywhere, flexible hours and great pay for cleaning. I thought that this would be a simple job in which I could earn extra money for our ‘car fund’. The money has been a blessing, but it has not been the biggest.
When I am old, I want to be like them. Norma is so sweet, always talking about how ‘messy’ her house is and how much junk they have. Her house is always neat and their closets are half full … still have not found all this junk she has been talking about. I love watching her make her grocery list, figure out what she is going to cook for Herb and taking her to the store to shop. One of my favorite things is when she makes the beds. She always talks about how hard it is to make Herbs hospital bed, and it is hard! But she is so careful, the blankets have to be a particular length and no wrinkles at all. Herbs lungs are failing so he spends a lot of time in bed, taking multiple naps. She is so faithful, I have no idea how many times she makes that bed. I remember one day I helped make the bed. About ten minutes later, Herb was back in bed. I would have been so upset with Brad if he did that, but Norma did not even blink.
Herb struggles with every breath, but every breath, he is smiling and so grateful to God. He knows he is dying, and he is fine with it. He is so pleasant, always calls me ‘pretty girl’ and always wants to know how Joanna is doing. I love his smile and his routine. He eats the same cereal for breakfast every morning after thanking God for it first. He reads his paper, then goes into his office and reads the Bible on the computer. He does not stay awake for very long and is back in bed asleep. But I love how every morning before he gets out of bed, he thanks God in a quiet voice for the day.
A few days ago, I stomped over to their house. That morning, Brad and I had lots of things to do and all Brad seemed to talk about was going to the coffee shop. I basically got mad at Brad and told him that he a message to write that morning and two egg hunts to get in order and that all he was concerned about was coffee! 9:30am hit and I was next door. I walked in and Norma was upset with Herb. We were making the beds and she started talking about how Herb was complaining that he did not get enough food for breakfast. I told her about Brad wanting coffee, then we both looked at each other and just laughed. It was a good reminder that no matter how long Brad and I are married and how old we are, we will have those times when we disagree. It was such a little thing, we both realized how silly we were and then went back to our work.
I love going over to their house, it is a chance to learn. I hope I continue to learn to be a faithful and serving wife, even in the hard times. I hope that when I get to the point when I am old and dying, that I will still approach life with a grateful heart, always praising and learning about my Lord.
With a tighter income, that meant less money going into savings and it would take longer to get a bigger vehicle. My car (actually, Brad’s car now) is getting old and falling apart, plus we would like to add to our little family and my little car will not hold much more.
Behind that knock was my elderly neighbor. She needed a new worker to come and clean her house. She is in her late eighties along with her husband. Her husband, Herb, is not doing very well and is now on hospice. This flexible, part time job was perfect for my family. Did not have to drive anywhere, flexible hours and great pay for cleaning. I thought that this would be a simple job in which I could earn extra money for our ‘car fund’. The money has been a blessing, but it has not been the biggest.
When I am old, I want to be like them. Norma is so sweet, always talking about how ‘messy’ her house is and how much junk they have. Her house is always neat and their closets are half full … still have not found all this junk she has been talking about. I love watching her make her grocery list, figure out what she is going to cook for Herb and taking her to the store to shop. One of my favorite things is when she makes the beds. She always talks about how hard it is to make Herbs hospital bed, and it is hard! But she is so careful, the blankets have to be a particular length and no wrinkles at all. Herbs lungs are failing so he spends a lot of time in bed, taking multiple naps. She is so faithful, I have no idea how many times she makes that bed. I remember one day I helped make the bed. About ten minutes later, Herb was back in bed. I would have been so upset with Brad if he did that, but Norma did not even blink.
Herb struggles with every breath, but every breath, he is smiling and so grateful to God. He knows he is dying, and he is fine with it. He is so pleasant, always calls me ‘pretty girl’ and always wants to know how Joanna is doing. I love his smile and his routine. He eats the same cereal for breakfast every morning after thanking God for it first. He reads his paper, then goes into his office and reads the Bible on the computer. He does not stay awake for very long and is back in bed asleep. But I love how every morning before he gets out of bed, he thanks God in a quiet voice for the day.
A few days ago, I stomped over to their house. That morning, Brad and I had lots of things to do and all Brad seemed to talk about was going to the coffee shop. I basically got mad at Brad and told him that he a message to write that morning and two egg hunts to get in order and that all he was concerned about was coffee! 9:30am hit and I was next door. I walked in and Norma was upset with Herb. We were making the beds and she started talking about how Herb was complaining that he did not get enough food for breakfast. I told her about Brad wanting coffee, then we both looked at each other and just laughed. It was a good reminder that no matter how long Brad and I are married and how old we are, we will have those times when we disagree. It was such a little thing, we both realized how silly we were and then went back to our work.
I love going over to their house, it is a chance to learn. I hope I continue to learn to be a faithful and serving wife, even in the hard times. I hope that when I get to the point when I am old and dying, that I will still approach life with a grateful heart, always praising and learning about my Lord.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
My Little Brown Thumb
My thumb is not really brown, at least not on a regular basis. I have tried the last two years to grow things. Had a few random plants, a small herb garden, neither made it. Some lived longer than I thought, but working a week at a time and then switching to part time work while being a ‘single parent’ with Brad still working at the children’s home, never helped my little plants. They all died.
When we moved last summer into our house, I really wanted to make a garden. Brad has told me the last two years that I have a brown thumb … that I kill everything that I touch! I am hoping to prove him wrong this year!
I actually started about a month ago. Got some books from the library and started planning out what I wanted to do. Planted a few seeds indoors in March, some did well once we planted them outside, others … not so well.
Brad and I made two raised beds. They are about four feet by eight feet, enough room to grow lots but I also do not have to step in them! We planted tomatoes, spinach, lettuce, onions, cucumbers and broccoli in one. The broccoli did not make it, so I have been trying to find a small broccoli plant but no luck. Thinking about putting in strawberries instead. The second one has tons of yellow squash and zucchini, I am planning on thinning them out in the next week! Also have peppers and green beans in there.
We will see what happens with the plants. They seem to be growing well, which we have had lovely weather. Hope it stays like this! I have enjoyed going out there every morning to check on them with Joanna. We worked in the front flower beds this week, trimmed bushes and planted some pretty flowers. I taught her how to pull weeds, so she enjoys helping, I just have to make sure that she pulls the right things!
Right now my thumb is brown … brown because of dirt. And I like it that way! I am hoping this summer it will turn a little green, so I can prove to Brad I can grow something and also to have tons of fresh veggies! But for now, I am enjoying the lovely weather, tending to the garden and just hearing Joanna play while listening to the birds.
When we moved last summer into our house, I really wanted to make a garden. Brad has told me the last two years that I have a brown thumb … that I kill everything that I touch! I am hoping to prove him wrong this year!
I actually started about a month ago. Got some books from the library and started planning out what I wanted to do. Planted a few seeds indoors in March, some did well once we planted them outside, others … not so well.
Brad and I made two raised beds. They are about four feet by eight feet, enough room to grow lots but I also do not have to step in them! We planted tomatoes, spinach, lettuce, onions, cucumbers and broccoli in one. The broccoli did not make it, so I have been trying to find a small broccoli plant but no luck. Thinking about putting in strawberries instead. The second one has tons of yellow squash and zucchini, I am planning on thinning them out in the next week! Also have peppers and green beans in there.
We will see what happens with the plants. They seem to be growing well, which we have had lovely weather. Hope it stays like this! I have enjoyed going out there every morning to check on them with Joanna. We worked in the front flower beds this week, trimmed bushes and planted some pretty flowers. I taught her how to pull weeds, so she enjoys helping, I just have to make sure that she pulls the right things!
Right now my thumb is brown … brown because of dirt. And I like it that way! I am hoping this summer it will turn a little green, so I can prove to Brad I can grow something and also to have tons of fresh veggies! But for now, I am enjoying the lovely weather, tending to the garden and just hearing Joanna play while listening to the birds.
Goals for April ... whatever happened to March?
Umm …. I am not sure what happened to March. I think I blinked and my eyes stayed closed longer that normal! It was a busy month and went by so fast, to the point that I did not blog at all and never posted my goals! Does not help that we had no iternet for a week! Between church things, a huge garage sale, Spring Break and a trip to Texas, not much got done in March!
As a mom, I have to realize that sometimes my goals are good, but the only thing that is going to get done that day is the basics. People cleaned up, clean clothes and food on the table. It may be something I pulled from the freezer for dinner and the clothes may come directly from the drier, but I am learning that sometimes that happens. Being a minister’s wife, I am learning that Brad is always ‘on call’ and hours are off, which means that mine are too. I want to continue to make sure my family is on the top of my priorities list, but sometimes the house will be messy and dinner is sandwiches.
I still need goals, or I really will not get much done! My spiritual goal is the same, I am still working on reading the Bible through. The Bible is not as small as it looks! I am still in the Old Testament, but I have enjoyed just sitting down at night and reading it. The Bible takes on another taste when I just sit and open it up like a book, not paying attention to the chapters, and just reading it. I have no idea how much I will read this month, but I am going to read at least a little each day, hopefully some days that will turn into a lot.
My family goal is two parts as I am ‘splitting’ up my family this month! With Joanna, my goal is to completely potty train her this month. She does so good, but she only does as good as her mommy does. If I focus on her and we are home most of the day, she does great. But with a trip to Texas last week and several full days at church, it has been hard. We are also struggling with her going potty outside of our house. It is going to take time, she is doing good with it, we just have to keep at it!
Brad and I have focused so much on church things that we need to refocus on each other. Brad is typically gone from 7:30am to after 5:00pm, but is at church Tuesday nights, Friday nights and of course Sundays. This April though, each Saturday there is something as well. It is just a busy time of the year and I have to make sure we spend time together. We are so bad about turning on the TV after Joanna goes to bed and just watch two hours or so of … not sure what. Random stuff, and we chat about the show, the commercials, but don’t spend time together. We have started turning the TV off at 9 and going to our room. It is early, but we have enjoyed spending time reading, talking, and praying together. It is a wonderful way to reconnect and just spend time together with no distractions.
My personal goal for this month is pretty predictable. It is spring … time for spring cleaning! Monday morning I am going to start and hit every inch of the house hard. Do not know what ‘method’ I will be using yet, but I will have some kind of list or plan. I am actually hoping to have everything done in two weeks as we have Brad’s family coming down for Joanna’s birthday.
Each day will be different, and each night I often ‘judge’ myself. How good of a spouse was I? Or a mom? Or a cook? Or a house maker? Or a minister’s wife? I never live up to my expectations, but I need to make sure I live up to Jesus’ expectations. And He expects me to love and obey. That is all. Pretty short to do list.
As a mom, I have to realize that sometimes my goals are good, but the only thing that is going to get done that day is the basics. People cleaned up, clean clothes and food on the table. It may be something I pulled from the freezer for dinner and the clothes may come directly from the drier, but I am learning that sometimes that happens. Being a minister’s wife, I am learning that Brad is always ‘on call’ and hours are off, which means that mine are too. I want to continue to make sure my family is on the top of my priorities list, but sometimes the house will be messy and dinner is sandwiches.
I still need goals, or I really will not get much done! My spiritual goal is the same, I am still working on reading the Bible through. The Bible is not as small as it looks! I am still in the Old Testament, but I have enjoyed just sitting down at night and reading it. The Bible takes on another taste when I just sit and open it up like a book, not paying attention to the chapters, and just reading it. I have no idea how much I will read this month, but I am going to read at least a little each day, hopefully some days that will turn into a lot.
My family goal is two parts as I am ‘splitting’ up my family this month! With Joanna, my goal is to completely potty train her this month. She does so good, but she only does as good as her mommy does. If I focus on her and we are home most of the day, she does great. But with a trip to Texas last week and several full days at church, it has been hard. We are also struggling with her going potty outside of our house. It is going to take time, she is doing good with it, we just have to keep at it!
Brad and I have focused so much on church things that we need to refocus on each other. Brad is typically gone from 7:30am to after 5:00pm, but is at church Tuesday nights, Friday nights and of course Sundays. This April though, each Saturday there is something as well. It is just a busy time of the year and I have to make sure we spend time together. We are so bad about turning on the TV after Joanna goes to bed and just watch two hours or so of … not sure what. Random stuff, and we chat about the show, the commercials, but don’t spend time together. We have started turning the TV off at 9 and going to our room. It is early, but we have enjoyed spending time reading, talking, and praying together. It is a wonderful way to reconnect and just spend time together with no distractions.
My personal goal for this month is pretty predictable. It is spring … time for spring cleaning! Monday morning I am going to start and hit every inch of the house hard. Do not know what ‘method’ I will be using yet, but I will have some kind of list or plan. I am actually hoping to have everything done in two weeks as we have Brad’s family coming down for Joanna’s birthday.
Each day will be different, and each night I often ‘judge’ myself. How good of a spouse was I? Or a mom? Or a cook? Or a house maker? Or a minister’s wife? I never live up to my expectations, but I need to make sure I live up to Jesus’ expectations. And He expects me to love and obey. That is all. Pretty short to do list.
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