Freezer Meal Makin Mamma's

So this is the newest of my adventures. Four of us gals decided to meet up with two recipe's each and make our 8 meals together. We made quadruple the amounts and we each got one of each of the eight recipes to take home and freeze. I must admit I have eaten 2 of mine in just a few days. And one didn't even make it to the freezer. At this rate we will have to get together every other week. :)

There are more than a few reasons for encouraging you all to find other women to do this with. If you happen to be a male reading this, encourage your wife to do this. This is a great way to save money, enjoy some girl time, prepare healthy meals for your family and make life just a bit easier with a busy schedule. Taking a wholesome meal out of the freezer to thaw and throwing in it the oven, microwave or crock pot is extremely easy and awesome. Nothing like a day long to prepare meal made in just minutes.

So I encourage you to all get a group together and give it a try. Some tips:
1. Get together the week before and double, triple etc... your recipes to how many women are coming. Compile the grocery list.
2. One or more that can do the shopping. After, you split the cost. There you have it. (for 8/9 meals our cost was just less tahn $50 each. We got 2 meals out of the Taco soup recipe)
3.Bring plenty of crock pots, large pots, fry pans, cutting boards and be ready to be washing dishes hroughout the meal making process.
4.Start early on cooking day. Cook all the meats in bulk then measure to separate to each recipe.
5. Most importantly, if you are making soups or stews, start those first. Make them first. For a few reasons. The chopping and cutting take a long time. The cooking process for the ingredients to soften take quite a while AND you will want to pull off burner/turn off crock pot etc... and let cool some before measuring the soup our equally into freezer bags.
*Side Note... The freezer bags (Glad brand) DID NOT melt when we put the steaming hot stew into them. We gave it a try. So far it was a success.
6. Most importantly HAVE A BLAST!!!

Not only has this helped me with dinners it gave me new and fun foods for myself the the family to try. I also loved more than anything the fellowship I had with the women I did this with. That really was my favorite part. We have amazing conversations, laughed and left with only a few minor injuries. Okay, okay, so I was the only one who walked away with a small burn and a sliced open thumb. But all in all this was the most fun thing I have ever done.

I'll post some of the recipes soon. ;) Keep on living like noone else. Plan your meals so you are not tempted to waste money eating out. Continue to say NO to credit cards. Live on that zero balance budget. Happy meal making everyone.

Dave's thoughts on Cash for Clunkers

Dave's Thoughts on "Cash for Clunkers"


With all the buzz about Cash for Clunkers, it’s easy to think that it was a great way for people to get a better set of wheels. But was it really? No way! Cash for Clunkers was simply a way for broke people to buy cars that they really couldn't afford. It was a bad idea on multiple levels. But before digging into that, let’s take a little history lesson.

About a decade ago, a fair housing program was started, called a sub-prime lending market. The idea behind it was that everyone “needed” to own a home—including broke people. The government decided to start a program to reinvest in communities, which allowed pretty much anyone to borrow money to buy a house. Lending companies charged high interest rates, causing already struggling families to go even further into debt.

Basically, this was a program designed to encourage broke people to buy houses. Most people didn’t even know it existed until it unraveled and became the number-one cause of our recent recession. The government took those stupid loans back and securitized them, which created the financial mess last fall. Helping broke people buy houses didn’t turn out to be a great government program. Guess what? Helping broke people buy brand-new cars—and now home appliances—will turn out just as bad.

The Cash for Clunkers program was designed exactly for people who should not take advantage of the program. You trade your $2,000 clunker in for a brand-new, shiny $20,000 car, and the only way you can afford it is with a high-interest payment. That just means you really couldn’t afford it to begin with. Doesn’t this sound like the sub-prime mortgage problem all over again?

When you drive that new car off the lot, you’re immediately going to lose $4,500. The worst car accidents happen on the showroom floor. New cars go down in value like a rock. The government thinks it’s going to save the American auto industry by putting broke people into cars they can’t pay for. It’s going to come back to bite them—and the rest of us—in the form of taxes galore.

Another bad thing about this program is that we, the taxpayers, are paying for the new cars! It’s morally wrong of the government to take money away from us—against our will—in the form of taxes and give that money to someone else to buy a stupid car they can’t afford in the first place! This is theft, plain and simple.

Cash for Clunkers is a program that redistributes wealth in the name of the environment, and it’s going to be a curse on the car dealer and the manufacturer that carries the paper. It’s going to hurt the broke person who bought a car he couldn’t afford. And it’s already a problem for our country, because it’s adding dollars to the national debt.

There’s always a twist with government programs like this. They try to think of creative ways to help people, but the situation usually ends up worse than it did before they “helped.” In the end, I should decide what to do with my own money. If I want to buy you a car, I will! And if you can’t buy a car without actually paying for the whole thing, then you’re better off keeping your “clunker.”

So good riddance to a really bad program that has done more damage than good.



AMEN!!!!!

Tour de Faith

This is near and dear to us. I know that this is a random post at that but I knew when I heard this man was doing this again this year I knew I needed to post and repost to get the word out. Here is someone on fire for supporting those who wish to have their children in Christian education but may not be able to afford it. Poppa J is on his way to bike 1500 miles and is due back to the area in several weeks. He is riding for donations for the Tuition Assistance Program at our Christian school. The need is there like neverbefore. Not just due to the economy but for many other reasons. This is truly near and dear to our hearts because we have before used scholarship for our children to attend this wonderful school. Please take a moment to read his blog as he just left. Follow along and if after prayer and reading and following his journey on Tour de Faith you feel lead to help financially do not hesitate. Him and his wife will be maching the donations raised. It is due in part of the generosity of others that our children have had the opportunity to have a Biblical education. Not one penny has ever been aken for granted. And for the families who need it as well, it will not either.
Enjoy and thank you for taking the time to read his bike journey!!

Getting Ready for "Back to School"

Thought I'd throw in this picture. I love it! I enjoyed visiting Seattle this summer.

Okay, so I have avoided this blog this summer for a few reasons. We are not really throwing down any debt, which I mentioned in my last post, and because there isn't really anything new going on. There are so many things regarding money I really want to touch on but feel as though the timing is inappropriate. I have an interesting variety of people reading this blog. Some which I know and others in which I do not. Heading back to school and this time of year for us is really overwhelming. I have pondered how much to put myself out there. I will do so with some reservations.

We are hit each year with the uncertainty of where are kids will be attending school. We have been a part of the most wonderful private Christian school for the past 5 years. The school is small, the teachers are outstanding and the curriculum is fabulous. Although this is all wonderful it costs a lot of money. Any of you that are reading and have done private or looked into it know exactly what I am talking about. Every year we make our last minute decisions the week before school begins. It is overwhelming for me. Add on to that, uniforms, school supplies, tuition, classroom fees, registration fees, shoes, coats..... and the list goes on and on.

For the first time this year I will be making due with what we have. The kids will get a new clothing item as needed and not all at once. They will be used or on massive clearance. I will be going thru their school supplies from last year and get only what cannot be used again. They will reuse backpacks and lunch boxes, that's a given. I will get back on track making my own breads and anything bread related. I will not worry one bit about name brand clothes or items.

So with this said I recommend going to Phoebe's post on frugal back to school shopping! I ended her post feeling refreshed and okay with what I am about to do in the next few weeks as we look at going back to school. I refer to her blogs a lot. She was one of two people who inspired RJ and I to do Dave Ramsey.

Stranded for summer

This is how I feel with the debt reduction. Stranded!!! With RJ not working money it tight. There is not one ounce of debt reduction except minimum payments. We have however done a few great things to help us out in the financial area.

We had a very successful garage sale. We made over $350+. We are on a cell phone plan with my parents which saves us all a little money. We usually pay my parents but gave them our tv that was less than a year old and hardly used. They agreed to take the nice tv in trade for cell payments for the summer. Woohoo. Another area we saved. At the price of a silly material item, as much as we liked it.

We are learning more than ever that we have had way too much stuff. I always knew this but the reality hit when my cousin and his wife sold everything they own to go into missions. They will be leaving in a month for training. They also have lived the last few years following the Dave Ramsey book to get themselves debt free. Check out their story here. It's truly inspiring!!

I am still loving blogging and have missed doing it. Check out my other blog to follow the next book I am going to start. The Power of a Praying Wife. Wowzers is it ever a great book. I have started it twice but have never finished it. Follow along and pick up your own copy. It's better than the Love Dare. :)

Untill next time, buy only what you have cash for, only what you NEED, and conitnue to make great choices and talk to your children about money from an early age. It is rewarding as we are learning. And keep praying for your spouse!!!

Finding Freedom Friday: Frugal Flops

Over at Finding Freedom Friday, Phoebe asks what, if any, frugal flops we have had in our journey to becoming debt free. Make sure after reading mine that you head over to hers and read her flops along with others.



SO here I am wondering what my frugal flops have been. I know that I have flopped many times just at being plain frugal. Does that make sense? We try, we make it a way of life, we stumble, get back on track and it is this cycle that keeps going round and round.



Flop #1- seedlings. They died 4 weeks after seeing them pop up through the dirt. I worked hard to take care of them indoors, taking them out for sun on sunny days. Well, long story short, we didn't get a garden area done when they really needed to be planted. Before I knew it none were able to be salvaged. They are gone and we have done away with the garden due to the small backyard we have plus a dog that is living back there too. :(



Flop #2- Homemade laundry soap. Argh!!! I haven't done this yet. I am disappointed that I haven't tried it yet. Why is this a flop, because you can't save money while NOT trying frugal ideas and ways of living. I think I am procrastinating because I love the really smelly smell of my Tide.



Flop #3- Homemade cream soups. Way too much work at the moment. I have a super small kitchen that has little counter space. I found it too much to make when I do not use them very often at all. However, I would really like to give cream of chicken a shot again since it is the one I use if at all.



Flop #4-Couponing at Walgreens. Truthfully I still don't get it, understand it and now don't care about it. :( Sad I know. I found myself using a few products that I wasn't sure I liked. By the time I was driving into town I wasn't saving at all. Instead I am now going to the brand sites I like and seeing who has coupons to offer. I am also using coupons out of the local paper I snag from the families house. I don't buy a paper. SO although I feel like I'm giving up on Walgreens, I am still couponing.



Flop #5- Wholesale shopping. Sometimes shopping at the larger wholesale places like Costco hurts the budget, especially if you do not take cash. There are many products that are WAY better per oz to get there but I buy too many items which means I then have spent too much money. We have reevaluated this shopping trip and the hubby will be helping more. He does a way better job of sticking to the exact list and not adding something here or there.



So there are my flops. They are a bit different due to our journey to be debt free only starting three and a half months ago. We are excited for our progress although our debt reduction slows for the summer.



Happy frugal living to all of you out there in this journey. I am proud of all the blogs I read and with that said proud of what we are doing. There is always room for more frugal living. Excited to read your stories too.

Blog Hiatus

Yep! That's what I've been doing. I have realized a few things in the past month. I have been needing to focus on a few other, should I say, more important things. I have had 3 friends suffer significant losses, the ones we as mothers can't hardly bare to imagine. One whose baby made it to just a few weeks shy of his due date, by the grace of God. He was diagnosed with a lethal genetic disorder and behind praying for ultimate healing, they prayed that God would give him some life outside of the womb. He answered that prayer and my dear friend had an hour and a half with their sweet Logan before he entered into the arms of Jesus.
Another friend just three days after sharing the news with me that they were expecting went in for her 20 week ultrasound, ecstatic to find out the sex of their baby, instead found that their little son had no heart beat. She was and still is devastated!
And the most recent, just a week ago a friend was pregnant with twins, her first children, was not feeling well for a few days. After terrible back pain that kept her from going to work for several days she finally got in to the dr who discovered in her ultrasound that one of the baby girls was taking most of the fluid/nutrients while the other was much smaller. The very next day she ended up in labor and delivery giving birth to one stillborn and one that breathed life for a short time before going to be with the Lord.
My heart is still so heavy for these mothers. I think of them and begin to pray for peace and strength and I just want to fall apart. If I could only take their pain, even if just for a moment so they can feel happy again. I know that it will come in due time but it still stinks. I have done meals, prayed and tried to offer help. I know that is well but still doesn't feel like enough. I decided to bag the blogging and just "be" for this past few weeks. Just focus on me and my family. To read my Bible. I have enjoyed it!
So I am back and feeling good. Summer is right around the corner. It is actually here for my hubby who just finished his last day of work today for the summer. This is exciting and good, however, as far as the budget it stinks. We hit a dead stand still. We will hurt just to make enough to pay the bills. But we will survive, we will make it. We are blessed that God has brought a few kids into the picture for me to watch, and maybe even share God's Word with. I see a wonderful summer ahead of us.
If you get a brief moment to pause I ask that you pray for my friends, my sisters in Christ who are hurting tremendously over the loss of their babies. Their names are Lisa (and Logan), Amanda (and Gracelynn and Madilynn), and Carla (and her baby boy). Thanks for the prayers.

I am excited to be back blogging. And by the way...... I still haven't bought bread from a bakery or store. I have made my own for 2 months now. Yahoooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!! That is bread, french bread, rolls, bagels, muffins, english muffins, etc.... Loving it! Especially the bread maker that does all the kneading for me.

Have a great weekend. I know that we will as we are getting the sun and some mid to high 80 degree weather. See you next week with Monday Madness!!

Being more Green AND Saving Money

Tupperware!!

So for those of you that know me know that I LOVE TUPPERWARE! I thought that if there is anyone else who does as well I'd drop you the website of the gal we go to for ours. I know many of you are thinking it is too expensive or don't want to go to a party for it. First, you can order through the website or from the book. No need to have a party to order. Second, is it really more expensive than all the sandwich/freezer baggies and Ziploc, glad ware and plastic containers that you use but you throw those away after a few uses if not after the first?

For those of you that are trying to "go green" consider this:

~Tupperware products are safe. The microwavable ware has NO harsh chemicals that seep out and into your food.They are environmentally friendly because you will reuse them a thousand times over.

~They are 100% lifetime, yes I said LIFETIME guarantee on chips, breaks, etc....If you have some old brown pc of Tupperware from 1973 and it is cracked or thrown at the bottom of the drawer, consider getting it replaced, for free. They have so many amazing products that I use in lunches alone. I DO NOT use sandwich baggies, I use sandwich keepers. I do not buy water bottles anymore or Capri suns, I use lids with cups, their travel tumblers, etc.. I don't use snack baggies for their snackies, I use the snack cups with lids.

~I use the Fridgesmart (The orange rectangle container in top photo) to save me A LOT of money with fruits and veggies. As soon as I get home from the store I throw my fruits and veggies right into the Fridgesmart. I have had lettuce last at least a month, strawberries for a good two weeks, peppers and carrots for longer! They save money because I have not thrown away a fruit or veggie since using them. MONEY SAVER!

~I use the modular mates and/or the cereal storer for all my cereal once opened. I have an overstock of cereal and we go in spurts with eating it. I have NEVER thrown cereal away, because it never gets stale. Also if you have any trouble with bugs, ants or any other critter (thanks goodness I haven't yet) then Tupperware is crucial to have.

Again, why is it better than all the other plastics at the stores?

~Because you purchase the item once and never have to again. The warranty is enough for me.

Sound like a sales woman?? I don't mean to be but I do have this secret obsession with Tupperware. They have great stuff for the freezer, storage, baking, cooking, serving and for kids. I am not having a party, just blogging on something that I have become passionate about due to trying to save money. Buying storage baggies and plastic containers to use once are not on the list, plus, half of the time they are not safe for the microwave.

Check out Melissa's website for the latest colors for summer. And GO GREEN/er and use Tupperware, not baggies and bottle and throw aways.
http://www.my.tupperware.com/melissavohland

I'm going to have a college graduate tonight

We are getting ready, as I type this, for a college graduation that is probably the most special one I will ever attend. So I am only 31, well Monday I will be 32, so it is obvious this college graduate is not my child. IT IS MY HUSBAND!!!

With all he has endured over the past 16 month I am so proud of him. You can check out my personal blog. It's a short post, check it out here. Praise God for getting us though this journey, providing energy, strength, patience, endurance, and the ability for RJ to stay awake while driving late night or needing to finish a paper and for still giving us time with him. God is good. Again we "praise God from whom all blessings flow!"

Lots and lots!!

So this week marks a lot of things that have been happening. We celebrated our daughters 7th bday,(which we spend a whopping $5 for sidewalk chalk for her as her gift) Only because we bought the food for two meals for family. That was WAY more than we thought it would be but there are a lot of us between both families. My cousin got engaged, someone close to me is pregnant, (Can't say who yet), my daughter was asked to be a flower girl in my cousins wedding, my sweet hubby is graduating from college with his Bachelor of Arts Degree in management. We are smitten about this. (God has been good to us during this journey)! I am feeling better from my cold, my sister and I are beginning a journey to lose weight, and I am down 4 pounds in 36 hours. Just by cutting back.

The meals in this house will change drastically. No more fatty, greasy, and unhealthy cooking. Maybe a splurge every so often but come on, being this big isn't fun. My knee hurts, I'm tired all the time, no desire to get out in the sun in shorts (my favorite thing to wear) and tired of not treating my body like a temple. God has blessed me with working parts and I ought to make use of them to my best potential. So my meal plans will look different. I will include recipes if anything spectacular. And cost effective of course.

Meal plan:
Monday-Hot Dogs
Tuesday- Rice-a-roni, apples, and bread
Wednesday-hot dogs at church (mmm, kids aren't tired of em yet)Pinewood Derby night!
Thursday- Roast, veggies and homemade rolls or french bread
Friday- ?? Up in the air. If home then Mac and cheese, from a box. ;) Salmon for me!
Saturday- RJ graduation, something quick, not sure
Sunday- Dinner at in-laws ?

We are living scarcely this next few weeks. Doing the zero balance budget is a great way to be accountable to the extra spendy but makes for being bummed when you want to splurge but there isn't enough $ to do so. We have about 30 bucks for emergency food buying. We will live on what is here, mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, etc... The freezer will be empty like the fridge is now. We are resorting to what is in the freezer and cupboards. But it will be enough. Just gotta get creative.

My weakness: I love Tupperware. I use it for everything and rarely use baggies. Saves me unnecessary $ on lunch Baggies that get tossed just to put bread or a sandwich in one time. I could spend on Tupperware like mad. It is lifetime guarantee. For life. They will literally replace anything that breaks. As long as you didn't put it in the microwave when it says not to. ;)

SO I am smitten this week with a lot of great things happening. God is good and remains faithful in our home, family, schools, friends, and even in our budget.

Have a great week and continue to find changes you can make to save money and not charge on credit cards. Summer is coming. Are you having a garage sale? If you haven't used it in the past year or worn in in the last 6 months, it must go. I'm having one soon. :)

March Madness

March madness in this house wasn't being consumed by basketball for several weeks. It was the sad reality that when you DO NOT live on a ZERO BALANCE budget you spend, aka blow, money you wouldn't have otherwise, it is TOTAL MADNESS! We learned. I never claimed nor believed that we would do this journey and never screw up, have regrets, or even wake up calls. We had a minor stumble block and made some seriously stupid choices. WAY overspent at the grocery store. Did not take cash, killer one. We got selfish and got too much fast food. A dollar here and dollar there. Killer two (and not one nice sit down dinner in that mix) Not worth it! I am not even going to say how much in four weeks we blew. Hmmm! Maybe a huge part of the reason we are where we're at. Totally sucks! We cut cable BUT bought stuff to set up an antenna. Free tv now but money went out first to have it.

So enough complaining. The reality is we made some cruddy choices. SO much that for two paychecks we did no snowball growth. :( We sat down last night and wrote out our budget for the next two weeks. Here's the rundown:
*Vehicles just filled up, so we think $160 will get us till then.(2 fills ea.)
*$100 for food/groceries. I have plenty in the cupboards and freezer, we will have to make it work. We have lots of Mac and Cheese if needed. ;)
*We had several dr bills that were slightly overlooked previously due to insurance not having pd their part yet so we didn't get the bill. We are out $600 in just the deductibles. Of course it has taken a few months for them to get their end pd, now we are getting the bills.
* Along with deductibles, we had 2 visits to Urgent Care, and MANY visits to the dr in the month of March. A few pretty pennies went/going here.
*RJ has worked some major OT this last pay period which helped us be able to pay $800 towards a mattress we had on a no intrest no payments option. It is up in June. We have to have it pd, plus it's next on the list anyhow.
*I have not bought bread in 5 weeks, the kids and hubby (oh yeah, and myself too) are eating up the homemade like crazy.
This is a blessing.

So there is more I am sure but April is almost over. Sad, sad! I know. See you back here soon. (Not doing a meal plan this week since I am making some meals I didn't get to from last week and we have a graduation dinner for RJ (YAYYYYYY!!!!!!) this week as well. No need to rewrite what I already have written down just last week. Hope you enjoyed my monthly wrap up of March, in April. Owell. I am a mom of four. Is that good enough reason???? ;)

Have a wonderful last 11 days of April!!

~Blessings~ (and Monday Madness and Meal Planning)

I was stressing a little the past few weeks on my blogging. I was feeling really overwhelmed and wondering if it's even worth it. After a little venting I know that I am #1, documenting our journey! And second it is a hobby. I love to talk and blogging is such a great outlet. When I discovered people really didn't want to hear RJ and I talk about the things we were doing, this made perfect sense. Put it out here. If people want to read and know how we are doing it, what our progress is then they can visit here at anytime. If not, they don't have to. Makes sense. I also feel a little off about the content. I am at a stand point in the book. Sorta just in the snowball phase. Not much new info to go in depth about.

I didn't want this to turn into a "food blog" but must say that as the woman and care taker of the home, oh yeah, and the chef, I am doing so much food wise to help us save. I am excited so I want to share. I also LOVE the things that happen when you put yourself out there.



With Easter being yesterday I thought I would share some of our recent blessings.....

First and most important.... Our blessing of Easter! He is RISEN! I must say that as a follower of Jesus this is my most favorite holiday! The music in church is wonderful too. On my other blog I posted THIS so everyone could hear my most favorite song. I hope that you take a few minutes to listen to it and let it move in you. This was the most important blessing we celebrated this past week. Here are a few others....



Our friend Lisa made it through the past week as she layed to rest her infant son. If you listened to the song above you may have saw and clicked on her site and read her story. She is such an amazing woman. She is a blessing, her family is a blessing and baby Logan is a blessing! God is so good!



Some less important but special blessings~
Piano Lessons:
We decided to add to our budget piano lessons for the older two girls. I know that Dave may or may not support that. Sometimes there is so much focus on sports and other activities that as an adult you rarely get to continue doing. We both wish we would have had some sort of piano/music lessons. Hmm! Living through our kids?? ;) So we felt it was important. And they have been asking. We have the cash and it seems to be a small sacrifice with life long benefits. Blessing #1!

Teacher! The wonderful person doing lessons is doing it for a very small charge. He is incredibly talented with a music degree. He plays many instruments and leads the choir at our church and sometimes the worship. (and he is in his mid-twenties) He is blessed. Blessing #2!

A piano! We do not have one but my parents do. They literally live a half mile away so we can stop by there on the way home from school to practice. Blessing #3!

Ideas! We went to in-laws to celebrate my niece and nephews bdays. Another family there suggested our local Craig's List for a used piano. They found one for $100. They said it is great to have a piano so close by BUT it is hard to go each and everyday and has been beneficial to have one in their house. What a great idea. With that I began searching and saw many for around $100. Blessing #4!

Generosity! I decided to go out on a limb and post on my FB status that we were looking for a piano. I have had a few people message me regarding knowing someone who is selling one. A young lady from our church has one that they used as children in their home and she talked to her mom. Her mom said that we could have it!! Can you believe the generosity of people? BIG blessing #5!

I think we will say we are borrowing it long term just in case one of the kids want it back when they have a house/family! But this is a huge blessing. The girls were so happy when I told them.


Blessing #6 FOOD to nourish our bodies~
MEALS THIS WEEK

Monday~ Pork Roast, steamed broccoli, homemade bread of some sort.

Tuesday~ Mac and Cheese with fruit, green beans

Wednesday~ Homemade Pizza and homemade sauce, cheese and peppers.

Thursday~ Aunt Betty's Chicken. Will share this recipe soon. It is SO good! Corn and fruit.

Friday~ Breakfast for dinner. Homemade French toast using my white bread recipe in bread maker, bacon, and fruit.

Sat/Sun~ Leftovers and meal at in-laws. Trying to remember if there is a bday party this week. ;) (so many this time of year)

Enjoy your week. Monthly wrap up may not come for March. My intentions are their but we have had a lot going on and RJ is using the computer a lot more with his final home stretch in school before graduation. Will work on it though. :)

Monday Madness & Menu Planning

This week is quick and simple. RJ gone a lot again. He is down to the wire in school. Only a few shorts weeks before graduation. Wow! I recall when he decided to embark on this journey and we couldn't imagine 16 months of papers, research, power points, projects, late nights and more reading than he has done in ten years. Here we are on the final home stretch. I am so proud of my sweet hubby! He is a hard working man and has always worked hard so I can be home with the kids. What a GREAT man. A man following God's calling to serve his wife and children by being the provider. When he is not busy providing he is almost always home with us. I take this for granted sometimes and I really wish I didn't. I have to remind myself often of how greatly I have been blessed.I cannot imagine how excited God was when he had in his mind to bring the two of us together. I know how I feel, and I know my feeling are small to Gods.

This week we will have only 2 meals out of 5 as a complete family. We will have to make it a point this weekend to spend some extra time together. Speaking of this weekend, which actually has something to do with finances, or saving money..... I planted my seedlings today. RJ is going to rent some equipment Saturday and work on a small area in our yard for a garden. Well we are going to attempt it. We have a small yard, a dog, and a pool that goes up for the summer. So it will be a tight squeeze. I purchased things that are our favorite. If it works we will be saving about or between $20-$50 after everything. Worth it? maybe not BUT it is some money AND a great thing for the kids to do. It will be fun.

Our meal plan this week......

Monday~ We FINALLY had Creamy Chicken Enchiladas. They we so delicious! I also made homemade rolls. Mmmm! Feeling the total carb overload!

Tuesday~ Beef Noodle Casserole and green beans. This is my moms recipe and I love it. Will share one of these days on my family blog for Thursdays Radical Recipes.

Wednesday~ Papa Murphy's Pizza in Tillamook OR. Heading there to visit my dear best friend Trish. Cannot wait to spend a whole day together. The kids will have a total blast!!

Thursday~ Nachos, nachos, and more nachos with cheese, salsa, sour cream, and poss a meat. ? The kids love it when they get to eat chips for dinner.

Friday~ Baked Potato with all the fixens (chili, cheese, sour cream, and bacon, if the kids don't eat it first.

Saturday/Sunday~ Lots of bday parties and Easter Celebrations. He Is RISEN! Ah, love this time of year!


Sack Lunch tidbit:

I have chosen to use Tupperware, gladware and ziploc containers in the kids lunches instead of sandwich baggies. I have bought the containers slowly over the years, and with lunch meats so I think it compares in cost. Just a thought. I like using them. And the kids love em. Less garbage and less costs. We also use water bottles for juice or water or a sports drink instead of pouch or box drinks. The kids love water so I am happy about that. Anything different they love since I am always saying "no" to everything. ;)
If you have any lunch ideas, things that work for you PLEASE share. This is a big dislike of mine in the mornings. I try ot get most of it done the night before but I just wish they could have hot lunch each day. :)

Way behind on my monthly wrap up so March's is coming soon. I will be without a computer for a bit so maybe this weekend.

Hope you all had a great Palm Sunday!

Award Winning Bread??

You Bet! Honey Wheat Baby!!

ABOVE: After baked. All thats left of the round loaf.

BELOW: This was the bread after rising


So if you have been following my blog at all you know that I have been passionate about finding an "award winning" bread recipe to completely replace the store bought bread we use for sandwiches for lunches and toast.

I began baking daily about 2 months ago and recently started making my own breads, bagels, and Sin-a-mon Rolls. Breads I am making are Honey Wheat, Wheat, and French breads. Haven't found a good light white bread yet. I am really enjoying making the breads. They are SO VERY cost effective. Although I need more time in the day, I survive knowing that I am serving my family and home by providing healthy wholesome foods while saving money on the foods we love. Well, the carbs that is. ;) I love to cook. I am feeling it on my waistline. The cooking that is. Ugh! Time to do an evaluation on what I am eating and how much. Okay, so really it is all about how much I am eating. :( I like food. I love food. I love to eat. Especially now that I am cooking.

I just have to share my recipe. I doctored up one, sort of combined two and then added to it. So here is my recipe. I really, REALLY hope that you try it, especially if you are a bread making person.

Honey Wheat Bread

*2 pkts Active Dry Yeast

*1/4 C. Warm Water (105 to 115 degrees)

1.) Mix these two together and set aside

*1/2 C Honey

*1/4 C. Butter Softened or Room Temp.

*4 tsp. Brown Sugar

*3 tsp. Salt

*2 1/2 C VERY Warm Water (120-130 degrees)

2.) In large bowl, mix these ingredients together and let sit for 5 minutes.

*2 T. Wheat Gluten (found in flour isle, optional)

*4 1/2 C. Wheat Flour

*3-3 1/2 C. Bread Flour (or all-purpose works fine too)

3.) Mix 3 C. of the Wheat Flour and Wheat Gluten together and then add to the honey mixture Beat for 30 seconds using hand mixer. Scrape bowl and beat medium speed for 2-3 minutes. Beat in remaining 1 1/2 Wheat Flour until moist.

4.) Mix in 2 1/2 C. Bread or All-purpose flour with a wooden spoon. When it pulls away from bowl turn out onto lightly floured surface and begin kneading the dough.

Add the remaining 1/2 C.-1 C . Bread/All-purpose flour as you knead (for 5-10 minutes). I knead about 8 minutes until it feels smooth and springy.

5.)Place dough in a greased (I use Pam spray) bowl and cover with a clean towel. Place on top rack in oven with a bowl of hot water on the rack below and close door. Turn oven light on as well. This is a draft free place and warms oven just enough to help aide in the rising process. Let rise for 45-60 minutes, until about doubled in size.

Grease 2 loaf pans or a baking sheet/s if making round loaf.

6.) Gently punch dough to deflate and turn out onto the lightly floured surface.

Divide the dough in half.

7.) Pat dough into round loaf if making round and place on greased sheet.

If making loaf in loaf pan roll out the dough into about a 16x8 and roll up starting with the short side (it needs to fit into your pan) ;)

Pinch edge into loaf and pinch and tuck ends under and put into greased loaf pans.

Cover and let rise again in warm place about 45 minutes.

8.) Take out of oven, uncover, and turn oven on to 350. Once pre-heated bake for 20 minutes. Remove and check, will need to cover top with foil and place back into oven. Bake for another 15-20 minutes. I check at about 15 minutes for top to sound hollow when you knock on it.

~REMOVE from oven and remove bread from pan immediately and cool completely on wire racks. ~

Or cut while warm, and add some butter. Before you know it you will have eaten too much. And thanks goodness for that second loaf!!

Don't do what I did and offer one to someone else. :)

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!

A Few Blogging Thoughts

As I read and read and read others blogs I sometimes feel a bit overwhelmed. That maybe I am not doing enough for people to get anything out of my blog. Then I realized that it doesn't matter what and how often I blog, it is what I am doing. It is working for me, someone who never thought it could work for them. So I am a walking example. I may not be the perfect housewife, cook, mom, organizer, declutterer, blogger and money pincher but I have started. We all have to start somewhere right?



I have four kids, I am tired. Tired all the time. I stay up late at night just to have those precious moments with my husband, to cook those Homemade Bagels so the family has something fresh and fun for breakfast, to get those loads of laundry finished and put away even though it is the kids job to put their own away. To get those dishes washed because there is nothing worse than waking up in the morning to dishes in the sink. I am up a few times a night helping someone go potty, get a drink of water, need consoling after a bad dream, give medicine to the one coughing all night. I am tired!!!



Why all this babble?? Today in Bible study I learned a few things. I know that there are many things to being a Christian. I sometime feel like I have it all figured out. Really?? That's news to God. If I had it all figured out I wouldn't feel the need try a little harder, include my kids more in the kitchen, not be so lazy, give without reservation, and be happy doing all the things in the previous paragraph. And not worry about being tired. We all are blessed with talents and gifts for serving and giving. I sometimes feel like I am not sure what mine are. After this morning I now know that my first priority after Christ is the home. I am accomplishing great things, cooking, and baking things I never imagined to save us money, help be frugal in groceries, food, meals, and spending. I am serving God by serving my family. You know, I did kind of know this but sometimes when I am just feeling in the dumps its a great reminder to why and who I am ultimately serving.



SO no matter where I am in this financial journey I cannot compare myself to anyone else. They all started somewhere. Their ideas came from trial and error at times. They may have had days where they don't want to blog, or cook, or clean, but we keep going. I am so grateful for the blogs I follow and even some other I am not following publicly but read. ;)



So keep on the keep on. I know that the benefits outweigh the stress of this all. The snowball is slow when you don't' have anything left to sell. :) It feels a bit discouraging. But I will move past this moment and know that I am doing! Doing something that is and that is what matters most. I am serving a great and mighty God. We are being better stewards with our money. We are giving like never before to our church, each other and to others that need it. We are seeing a future of freedom from our bondage of debt and that is what this is all about!



As my kids love to sing in children's worship, "My God is so great so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do". Thanks kiddos for the beautiful reminder. All things are possible through him!!!

Monday Madness and Meal Planning

I feel MUCH better this week than the past two weeks. I have a slight cough left but other than that the energy level is back up.

I have so many things I want to try and get done this week. Lots of cleaning and organizing and cooking too.

This Weeks Menu

Monday- Roast and Mashed Potato's w/homemade Gravy, Broccoli

Tuesday- Chicken Toquitos w/sour cream and salsa, corn for the kids. (I will have grilled salmon).

Wednesday- Crock Pot Lasagna half plain and half with peppers.and green beans, homemade French Bread.

Thursday- English Muffin (homemade) Pizza's with homemade sauce and cheese and peppers. Fruit.

Friday- Creamy Chicken Enchiladas SEE POST BELOW (since I didn't get to make them last week) corn, fruit.

Saturday/Sunday- Leftovers, misc meals, and dinner at the in-laws.

This month has quickly come to an end and RJ has had his paycheck for a week now. Our zero budget has been great and proven to get the bills paid and the snowball rolling. However this past paycheck we have had it sitting in the bank. I overspent at the local Warehouse, twice! and we went out to eat several times. Probably blew a good $50 in eating out. We have vowed not again until it is agreed upon and budgeted. I will do my monthly wrap up tomorrow. I will once again be candid in our bad choices and learning experiences. Also I will be delighted in the successes for the month of March. Yahoo! Have a great week.

And tell me....What kinds of things are cooking in your kitchen this week? Feel free to give recipe's. I am always looking for fun and new things to try.

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Over at The Grocery Cart Challenge they are having a recipe swap. This is my first time posting but am an avid follower. She is also a fellow Oregonian. ;) Head over there to check out many other recipes. You will NOT be sorry you did.

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
10-12 Four Tortillas
2 C. Cooked diced or shredded Chicken
2 Cans Cream of Chicken Soup
1 C. Sour Cream
1- 4 oz can Diced Green Chili's
1 Can Olives sliced
1 Small Onion chopped
2 C. grated Cheddar cheese
1 C. Monterrey Jack cheese
1/4 C. Milk to thin sauce

1). Mix soup, chicken, green chili, olives, onions sour cream and 1 1/2 C of the cheese. Thin with about 1/4 C milk. (More or less to your liking)

2). Spread small amount on bottom of pan

3). Spread tortilla with mixture 1/3 C or so, spread it out as much as possible, then roll as tightly as you can. Placing seam down in pan. reserving about 1-2 C sauce for when pan is full.
Repeat with rest of tortillas till pan is full.

4). Pour rest of mixture onto top of enchiladas ans sprinkle with remainder or cheese.

BAKE 375 for about 45 minutes

Serve with salsa and chips (optional).

*This is a recipe from my SIL Michelle and is literally one of my favorites. I can eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I even love to take a bite before reheating them.

If you try these, again leave me a comment and tell me what you thought, variations you tried etc....

Monday Madness and Meal Planning

I must admit after a terrible week of illness I am not up for any sort of meal planning. I am tired, run down and make it through a shower and then need to rest. I had no idea how much influenza can kick someone down. It has gone through our house like mad. I ended up the worst but my poor baby was a close 2nd. For those exciting few days you can click on this site: http://bestoftheworsts.blogspot.com/



My menu this week is going to be simple.



Monday- Leftover pizza, fruit



Tuesday- Quesadillas (Since we didn't have em last time), with cheese and Chx, fruit medley and corn.



Wednesday- Crock pot lasagna. Not sure on the recipe but if it rocks I'll post it.



Thursday- Breakfast for dinner. Eggs and french toast with strawberries & whip cream (If I can get to the store).



Friday- Creamy Chicken Enchiladas



Saturday/Sunday- Cannot even think this far. Will edit later this week.





I am lacking on groceries since we were all sick this past week. I learned a lot about unexpected things in the budget. Not only were we in survival mode this past two weeks with our budget we were in survival mode in surviving. :) Plagued by the flu, horrible coughs, congestion and fevers, this house was a sad place to be. We were a little stressed over RJ's unexpected less of a paycheck 2 wks ago and with several dr visits now under our belt we will be most likely putting a hold on lour snowball. We already borrowed from the E Fund, but that's okay. We are learning and have learned quickly that we need to be prepared. Without those credit cards to fall back on.....



SO with all of this it will feel good to go over our budget for the next two week. Get areas replenished and pay off those pesky unexpected nuisances. On top of that we need to budget better and lower for groceries since we did some drive-thru and take our while under the weather. Have to admit the hubby made lots of grilled cheese sandwiches while I was down. They weren't too bad either. Think the kids are a little worn out with them but he did good!



This week on my list in home made laundry soap. I'll let you know how that goes. 1st time to make it so we will see how it goes. We will need to have some sort of scent in there or it will drive us crazy. If we can handle it we will continue it, if not then o'well, we gave it a try.



Here's to a much better week.

Just when we have it figured out....

I cannot understand why just when we think we have things figured out it can change so quickly. I learned that with the Tahoe. In an instant plans change. In just a few hours things took a turn for the worst with me. Tuesday I was feeling pretty sick. Headache that was just getting worse and aching all over. Over the next 24 hours I got really sick. Needless to say more unplanned expenses as we took a trip to Urgent Care today. You can read my story here. http://bestoftheworsts.blogspot.com/2009/03/influenza-dishes-and-tampons-oh-my.html. Expect the unexpected. Living and learning. Its just money anyway, right? I guess I now know that we need to budget dr visits a little better. That will be top of our list on Tuesday, budget/bill day.
*Not sure why the linking isn't working for me. So we are going old school with the huge link. Yay!*

Sacrifices=Success

We went from this.... :)

To this!
The picture doesn't do justice. The truck looks way worse than this picture captures. :)

Never in a million years would I think we could pay off $14,000 in debt in a year, let alone 6 weeks. But we did it. We took all of our tax return and pd things off. 2 credit cards and 1 tire place, to be exact. We also decided to sell the Tahoe which kicked us over our goal. We haven't even had the paycheck this month where we get to roll our snowball, that is coming. SO this is very exciting. With 6 weeks under our belt and the big chunks being paid we know that our snowball will surely slow, but we made our goal for 2009 to pay off $14,000. RJ and I are in shock and so happy. We get to sit down this coming Tuesday and reevaluate our goal. Lovin it. Who would have thought that a little soul searching, faith, and following would have had this much benefit. We choose to "live like no one else, so later we can live like no one else".
These things are material anyway. We have been so blessed with money from God and it feels even more of a blessing to serve God with that money. To do as we are, be responsible and keep ourselves from living out of our means. Not from borrowing from companies, or worse yet family. I know that we are on the right track and I pray that we will keep on pressing towards the goal. I cannot wait to live like no one else.

I know I asked a few weeks ago what you are doing to help reduce debt or save money. Gym memberships and cable was a big one. Anything else?

Keep me posted. And remember you can comment anonymously. Would love to hear from you and be encouraged by you as well.

**My links are not working for some reason. Hope to resolve this soon.**

Monday Madness and Meal Planning

SO, this week is a tough one. I have plenty of food but money is very scarce until the 24th when hubbies next paycheck rolls in. Not much left, well nothing at all. Not even for gas. RJ is going to donate plasma twice this week just to get us gas money. I guess there is the "E-Fund" but hate to touch that. We still need to pay that back on the 24th. Sad I know but we do what we gotta do. We will survive......

Monday- Shredded Chicken, Rice and Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes.

Tuesday- Quesedillas with Cheese and leftover Chicken, with salsa/sour cream, and green beans

Wednesday- Leftovers

Thursday- Salmon (DH will be gone) He grew up on fish in AK so he will be happy to miss out. Green beans and possibly rice again.

Friday-Sweet and Sour Chicken (will link this recipe after I try it out.) Wouldn't want to post something gross. ;) And going to attempt Chinese Rice.

Saturday/Sunday- Homemade pizza. Crust and sauce from scratch.

Sack Lunch tidbit:
I have finally found a Wheat Bread recipe that I love. The kids and RJ and I ALL love it! I am hoping to replace store bought bread with a bread we love that is soft enough for sandwiches for the kids and DH lunches. This will save me close to or about $1.25 a LOAF (takes a loaf and half to equal store bought loaf. Although home made is much more dense which means using less). We go through about 2 loaves of bread for lunches alone. Not to mention if we have toast, or use bread for dinners (grilled cheese, french toast, sandwiches, etc..)

**ATTENTION**
I have tried a few recipe's and am still wanting to try new ones. Any ideas? I figure since we are all following one another for specific reasons, we can continue to share the wealth with one another. Please send me your recipe so I can find an award winning one. I have no prize for you; just the credit that it is yours and sending more veiwers your way. I will list it on my other blog as well.( http://bestoftheworsts.blogspot.com/ ) Can't wait to hear from you with your ideas and recipes. And thanks for your help in finding the best recipe to suit my family!!

My new #1 bread recipe:

Wheat Bread

1 cup warm water (I microwave 1 C water for 1 minute.)
1 tablespoon milk
2 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1.Mix the all-purpose flour, wheat flour and yeast in bowl.
2. Add the warm water, milk, oil, brown sugar, honey and salt.
3. Mix together with a wooden spoon as much as you can. When it gets into a ball form put onto a flat surface to knead.
4. Knead for a good 10 minutes on a lightly floured surface. Adding dusting's of flour as needed to keep it from sticking to your hands or mat. Knead until smooth and elastic. (If you knead for at least ten minutes it should be fine.
5. Place in bowl that is lightly greased (sprayed) and turn over. Both sides should have a light greasing on them. Cover with a clean towel.
6. Let rise in a warm place 45-60 minutes. Should be about doubled in size. What works for me is placing the dough bowl on top rack of stove with warm bowl of water under on lower rack. The warm water makes oven just warm enough without the draft of the air. Lightly grease (sprayed) loaf pan.
7. Punch dough and turn out onto kneading surface. Knead a few times and form into a loaf shape. place in greased loaf pan. Place back into oven to rise in warm place for about 45 minutes or until about doubled in size again.
8. Bake bread for 30 minutes on 350, covering with foil if getting too brown half way through. I personally like my loaf very light in color. I covered at 15 minutes. Ovens vary so keep eye on it for your top color liking. (My oven cooked this loaf in about 20-25 minutes total.
9. Cool in pan for few minutes then remove and cool on wire rack covered with a towel.
Last but not least..... Enjoy!!!!

My personal review: "Incredibly soft, dense and moist. I was very surprised. It tastes good toasted although I personally felt it made it more dry, but add a little butter and jam and it was good. MY FAVORITE is the PB and J sandwich I am shoving in my mouth as I type this out. Unbelievable and for sure the best PB&J I have ever, EVER had!!!!" (And I am not even using our homeamade jam).

** If you like homemade bread give this a try. I am determined to save money on things I can bake at home for a fraction of the cost. This loaf, roughly 69 cents. Maybe even less.It hasn't lasted long. I have to make another loaf today. May have to make 2 at a time. ;) **

PRAISE GOD! Sold-Sold-Sold

It has been the song of the week. "Praise God from whom all blessings flow". I have seen God's hand in more things this past week than I have ever before. His timing, His presence, His guidance, His work, His faithfulness! We have had so many little things happen that I know it was in His timing or because He totally had his hand in it. Just today some big blessings:

1. I had a good Dr appt. I had little reason for concern to begin with but have a small anxiety issue when going to the dr. Not sure why. I've never had an unpleasant visit. So God had his hand in being with me at this visit without a doubt.

2. I helped at the School Auction where my 3 girls attend. First the enrollment was down almost 50% this year from the last. Second, the donations were down. I helped make calls and it was tough to be turned down and know it is from the suffering times. Third, the giving within the community and people who attended was down as well. This was to be expected, but boy is God great. The out poor of prayer from family and friends and faithful supporters of the school was tremendous. People still gave, some gave generously the hard earned money they made, some I am sure gave just what they had. I believe that the auction was a great success. I cannot wait to find out the actual numbers.

3. I was able to help someone due to Gods perfect timing. On my way home from the auction I noticed a vehicle at a McDonald's that was being pushed through the drive thru. I instantly recognized the car, my DD Pre-k teacher, and was able to pull in and see if I could be of any help. Right before that I had dropped my sister off. We decided to chat for a bit. Isn't it amazing how 30 seconds sooner I would have missed them needing help getting jump started. God surely had his hand in that as well.

4. We finally sold the Tahoe. The drastic measure we have taken to help get ourselves out of debt have been followed by hurdles and unexpected trials. Through uncertainties, God, like always, remained faithful. WE knew without a doubt that the perfect person to buy this vehicle would be brought a long. It turns out that person came along today. A wonderful couple about our age, have four children just as us, and best of all, Believers in GOD! My husband spoke to them for quite a while and through conversation even a small friendship formed. They even gave credit to God in the sale and purchase of the Tahoe. God kept it in our possession until they found it. Isn't God great?? There is more to the conversations they had that I wish I had time to share. If you have time check out those two links (hurdles and unexpected trials) You will better understand how we see nothing but Gods perfect timing in all he is doing.

We feel so blessed to not only have all these things just today but that God has really opened our eyes to see these things at all. We have wasted so many hours and days of our lives not appreciating the fact that we can see God in ALL things, at any moment, yet we don't give him that credit. It's not that I purposefully didn't want to, I just never looked for it. Now I do all the time. Just wanted to share. When I know that the transactions are made I will excitingly see my little $ sign at the top of my page get a little closer to wear it needs to go. To ZERO!

Praise God for a successful and blessing filled day!

Finding Freedom Friday

I have started taking part of Phoebe's Finding Freedom Friday. I love her topics and her ideas. Not only her, but she has links set up from many people like myself trying to budget, live frugally, spend less and save more. As far as I have seen most of us are mothers. Stay at home moms, part times working moms, and more excitingly, believers! We have the same goals and being able to share them with one another has been wonderful. Make sure you check out her site and the other ladies links that are on there. You will get a few, okay so maybe a lot, of ideas!

Budgeting and How it's working for us...

Most importantly, it's working. We have been on a budget only since Feb 1 of this year. Yep, a measly 6-7 weeks. We have learned SO much. Every penny in designated to a bill or debt. Okay, so maybe not every penny. Lets put it this way, almost every dollar. We plan bi-monthly with the paychecks. We set aside money for gas and food. The rest goes to the bills and debt. Our snowball is getting bigger. In just this short amount of time we have saved Thousands of dollars. By that I mean, we have used it wisely, paid a few things off, not bought anything that is not a necessity. As Phoebe stated in her blog we are not perfect. We have spent money that we shouldn't have. Its hard as we have sold things on our local CL and the $10 here and the $10 there is sitting there and we think, just this once. Well, this area is the only one at this point we need to remain accountable in. We get selfish with our time, I don't want to cook, or clean the mess from dinner so we spend. Argh! It's done, forgiven, will do better this week. One week at a time. For us it is one day at a time sometimes.

Being on a budget has been life changing for us. No exaggeration either. The real thing we ever really argued about was $. Not anymore. We are on the same page, in agreement and love what we are doing. We are accomplishing a huge thing together. I am cooking more and buying better foods. The savings I am seeing in making my own things like pizza, Bread and bagels is unreal. These are things we eat a lot of and the money saving are incredible. Cutting these out of our budget has been great even just this week. We estimate we have saved about $8 just in bagels. Yahoo!

Have great "stick to the budget" weekend. And thanks for stopping by.

Thank You Emergency Fund

I must say that I am so grateful for our emergency fund. We had to have some work done on the truck for some electrical issues. Turns out that store gave us the wrong plug and it shorted everything. After many attempts, which would make for a great blog, we gave up and took it to a professional. It costs a pretty penny to fix it. We had to borrow from the E Fund. I was freaking out a little when RJ told me the final bill was $300. Eeek! We did have another few knick knacks done to it with the locks and window which we know now wasn't really a necessity. His paycheck on Tuesday was short his stipend pay too, Shoot! The last paycheck 2 weeks ago we got our budget to zero. Nothing to fall back on for the next two weeks. Frugal living for sure! RJ sweetly reminded me that we have the E Fund and that is why it is there. (Reminder that we cut all credit cards). I was so relieved and almost had forgotten about the fund. I literally had to go to the bank and draw the $ out. I can't wait for his next paycheck so we can replenish it. I feel like I'm going to go crazy now that there isn't that $1000 in there.

Also the vehicle is back up for sale. Lots of hits but no grabs yet. We are lowering the price a smidgen. Either way it should sell. It is just under KBB so a great deal, and for a nice vehicle (sigh). I'll miss it when it sells.

Have you had to dig into your E Fund? If so how did it make you feel and how quickly did you get it paid back?

Monday Madness and Meal Planning

Here we are yet another week has passed. I was so stressed last night as I didn't have my weekly menu planned. In just two purchases I have several meals for this week. We stayed within our budget with food. Originally we assumed that to feed the 6 of us we could do it on $250, which can be easily done, but that originally included household things like toiletries, cleaning supplies, etc... We now know that we need to cut back in some way or have those needs budgeted separately.

Meals for the week

Monday- Taco Soup
>

Tuesday- Left over baked Potato and fajitas or chicken burritos as the kids know it. (which was the chx/rice last week)

Wednesday-Broccoli and Cheese Soup. Not sure what recipe I am going to use yet. But I have broccoli that must be used.

Thursday- Taco/Burritos

Friday- Breakfast for dinner: French Toast and eggs.

Saturday- Pizza/pizza leftovers (Have neices bday party to attend).

Sunday- Dinner at the In-Laws. :)

Penny Pinching Rewards...

Day 7 No Television
Oh, how I miss my shows. Well, I have access to them via the Internet, however, they are not as easily accessible. AND if we want to catch up on a show then I don't get to have the computer on my lap. Ahhh! The price you pay to save. We were paying $60 a month for Dish. We called to cancelled and for no reason at all they were able to knock off $20. Just for calling and trying to cancel. We took the deal and hung up with intentions of still cancelling. Fast forward 2 weeks..... I called to cancel. She offered to take an additional $10 off our price. So, same package for half the price, Hmmm! I questioned her on how she could do that. Then I gave a her a few thoughts of my own. I made it clear that if they were able to screw me out of $30 a month this long that I have NO intention of keeping our service. She made it clear that I was responsible for returning ALL of the remotes, the receiver and even the little round thingies UP ON THE ROOF on the satellite things. REALLY?? They refused to send someone to come take those down. And to make it worse, if we break either one of the two that are out there then we are responsible for the cost. Wow! After all this and her not being very kind they can have all their crud back. We are happy using the Internet, commercial free, to watch our shows for free.

Long story short, I got it cancelled. About 3 minutes after we hung up I had no local channels, no pkg channels and a whole lot of shopping networks.



I must admit that in the 7 days we have not had TV the girls are playing and interacting more with one another. Hubby and I are having great conversations and I have a lot more time for my Bible. So, it is a great thing to get rid of it. Good choice and in a matter of one month we have now freed up $60 additional to roll into our snowball. Yahoo!!



What do you have that you have/can get rid of, lower, or downgrade?? I'm curious.....

*I changed my settings so now anyone can leave a comment.*

Up for Sale AGAIN...

So, we have the Tahoe back on the market. For our faithful readers, which there are MANY of you.... ;) Please pray that the vehicle will sell in a timely manner. This would not only be helpful for our debt, it will help tremendously with our monthly budget. Thank you for keeping up on our blog. I really hope to hear from any of you that are reading the "TMMO" book also, or any of you that are trying anything that we are. It would be great to share our thoughts and ideas. Even one change is a great thing. Lets hear about yours...... (please, followed with a beg....)

Monday Madness and Meals Planning

This weeks Finding Freedon Friday from Phoebe was meal planning.

SO here was my repsonse:

I am so happy to say that for the 1st time ever I am meal planning. I plan 1 week at a time but purchase food for the month. I plan three good wholesome meals and 2 random ones due to schedules + leftovers. We keep our reciepts and I have a budget journal that I write it all in. I have been searching many cookbooks, family recipes and blogs to find recipes that I want to try so this is mainly how I get my ideas. It has helped us eat healthier, for cheaper, we are on strict budget and it helps us stick to it and most importantly we are eating more as a family. We have estimated we dropped our eating out by 90% in 5 weeks. (Sad to say we ate out a lot!) Happy to say we DO NOT anymore! :)

Here I am again getting my thoughts in order for what we are going to be eating for the week. SO here goes it.....

Monday- Pizza night. (DD has an awards night) This was budgeted about 3 weeks ago with cash set aside. (we will be spending $12 for the 1 pizza, drinking water.)

Tuesday- Leftovers. (DH has class) Yes it is Baked Spaghetti AGAIN. We made a little too much last week. With green beans and apples with PB. (Free Baked Spaghetti since it was already accounted for, green beans and apples with PB will land about $1.25)

Wednesday- Potato Chowder and sourdough bread. The bread was more than the soup. Eek! ($6.69 total)

Thursday- Chicken, rice and carrots. (Est. $5)

Friday- Leftovers. If leftovers are slim then I will make homemade Mac and Cheese and fries. Carb overload?? Owell, its cheap. (Free if leftovers. If not then $2.75)

Saturday/Sunday- Baked Potato with the goods cheese, sour cream, chili ($2.50) and/or grilled cheese sandwiches/tomato soup ($3.00). Fruit ($1)

Estimated total for the weeks dinners is around $31. (NOTE: This estimate is a little low as I did not look at my recipes and actually tally to the penny. My goal is to do this for the nest weeks menu. Obvioulsy it is cheaper to eat in than eat out but I like numbers so I will have it acurate next week.

There it is. I have a few other things I am anxious to try but will have to wait. I cannot cook big meals each and every night so I will have to be patient. Which I'm not real good at.

I am going to work on the sack lunches ideas. I am very simple and don't care for super strange lunches so my ideas are VERY easy that virtually anyone to do. Plus I'd love ideas, so if you have any leave me a comment. :)

Monthly Wrap Up

This month flew by now that I look back on it. It seems that we wait impatiently for those paychecks. As I mentioned before we are not impatiently waiting due to needing the money because we are strapped but to use the money to be good stewards. We are giving more than ever before to our church. Sad reality but it was the truth. We were inconsistent, undisciplined and selfish. We thought we didn't have any extra. Ugh! What a sickening thought. We had it so wrong. Our tithe is the first check that is written on payday. Not a second thought about it. It is Gods money to begin with. He has blessed us with enough to live and give and to pay down debt.
I am still in total shock at what we are doing. We have officially been on our TMM challenge for 1 whole month. In the month of February we have paid over $6000 off of our debt. It is awesome.

You may be wondering how. Well, I will tell you. First we did our taxes and due to the number of kids we have, the write offs we had and the amount of clothes donated from all the kids we have, we had a nice return. On top of that we have managed to "come up with" much extra. We even had a few set backs. New to us, but very old truck, needed new tires, difficult built car needed wheel barrings, and not to mention the Tahoe deductible to get repaired.....

We continue to try and sell items on our local Craig's List. We have had spectacular success in this. We have made easily over $1200 (a guess at this point, but I'm sure it's a bit more) in just 6 weeks. We have sold things in and around the house and garage that we either, do not use, have not used, or know we will not use. We have sold things that we can do without. We use digression in our sales and what we sell but we try selling before donating. We are stocking up for a huge garage sale.

As of today we have NO MORE TV. It is cancelled. We are off to reading more, talking more yeah, yeah, it can be done with even me...., and blogging more. ;) Yay for you, right?

Finally, we get the paycheck, estimate our gas for the vehicles, food for the next two week according to my meal planning, and then pay the bills. Minimum on all but the one small one. After seeing how much money is left in the checkbook we take that amount and pay the next little thing/s off/down. That is how we are electing to take care of it. February brought a lot of Dr bills that were left over from 2 kiddos surgeries and a record high of visits, not to mention that darn deductible. Those are gone, paid, adios forever! (Well, I guess till the next dr visit comes along.... )

If anyone is reading this I urge you, beg, whatever it is, to sit down and write all your spending out. (Of course if you are as sick and tired as we were of being controlled by our money and debt). We all "think" we have a budget but really getting a bill and paying it, even if you know what money you have on debts and where it is going, isn't a budget. A budget is taking control of your money. Telling it where to go each and every pay period. Give it a try.

Again, we are on a zero balance budget. We have very few dollars in our checking for the next 9 days. What if something comes up and we need money? Well, we have the cash for gas, a little for misc food items to complete a meal, and grabbing a quick bite from McDonald's doesn't quite fall in to the emergency category. IF something does come up then that is why we have our emergency fund. We can walk into the bank and borrow from that. But only in an emergency. Car repair, unexpected medical bill, household repair, etc... That's an emergency.

Have a super first week of March. And by the way, we managed to celebrate our DD 5th bday on a small amount of money. We bought 3 boxes of cake mix, 2 cans of frosting, marshmallows, candy drops to make/decorate cupcakes (for 3 different "parties"), and three books as her gift for a total of $25.00. The books alone were almost $21. I spent 4 bucks on cupcakes, and a few hours to make and decorate. But this was all she got and she was FINE with it. Cutting back on the bday parties is A-OK with us. She has had just as much fun too.

LITTLE changes produce BIG rewards!!

Monday Madness and Meal Planning

Mondays are always a mad dash around this part. I have decided that part of saving money is to plan meals and try to go as cheap as possible. I am not good at this shopping stuff and especially coupon cutting but vow to work on it.
We do a huge amount of grocery shopping every 4 weeks and the other weeks is little trips for misc things. We are really trying to keep our monthly (or 4 wk) grocery bill at about $250. (Including bath/toiletries cleaning etc..) This is hard work, for we are feeding ourselves and 4 kiddos. Not only do I have to plan dinner I have 2 home for lunch. I have to really try and change things up. We are no longer going thru the drive-thru so it has made me more creative. Along with 2 home for lunch I must make sure I get lunch for the older two and daddy made. I will blog on healthy, simple lunch ideas another time since my kids only get hot lunch once a week.

For the next week our main dinners will be as planned. Tentative of course:

Monday- Pulled Pork Sandwiches and carrots ($12 max total, leftovers for 6+) This made at least 17 sandwich rolls. Rolls were about the size of the palm of my hand.

Tuesday- Dino nuggets/mini corndogs for the kids, apples with PB and baby carrots & Leftovers for us. (Daddy has class so we are on our own) ($2-3, only fed 3 kids)

Wednesday- Vegetarian Baked Spaghetti, french bread and fruit salad (apples/banana's w/cinnamon) ($6 total and have so much leftovers I'm trying to give to family)

Thursday- Leftovers for sure. MIL and FIL will help eat the baked spaghetti (DH has meeting/dinner we are going to) . (free) ;)

Friday- Bagel Pizza's ($4 total for all of us)

Sat/Sun- up in the air due to schedules and Bdays coming up. Leftovers it is though for sure!

You may be wondering "why all the leftovers?" Well, we have bird eaters here and I cook enough for about 2 meals worth when using the crock pot or making cassarole dishes. I will either freeze unused portion when using crock pot or we eat another night that week. (sometimes I even give my family leftovers when I'm not feeling selfish) :) When we are very busy we do "quick" like dino nuggets or mini corndogs. This is a huge treat now for the kids.

So this is my menu for this week. It helps tremendously to have it and have my shopping done for it. It keeps us from not having anything and going "out". (Which we all know how much that costs). And if you don't realize how much it costs go thru your receipts and bank staements to see where and how much of that money has gone. We were in complete SHOCK when we realized how much we blew on eating out. (nickle and diming might I remind you).

If you are interested in any of the meals I am making let me know and I will post the recipe's. When I get a little more organized I plan on getting the costs up here too for each meal/serving. I will learn right along with you which is cost effective and what is not.

Hurdles

Of course I am sitting here with hesitation to even writing. Yesterday was the day we were going to finally be able to meet the buyer of our vehicle, hand over those keys and wohoo, be a step closer to our goal. As we all know, God sometimes has other plans. A lot of times I think I have it planned out, worked out and went over all the details in between. Yesterday on my way home from doing childcare at a local Bible study, I got into an accident. In the car we were about to sell. It WAS sold. It had been sold for four days. We had tried to get it all transferred over on Saturday but time didn't permit. Unbelievable! Of course after the adrenaline past it was a very emotional day. Once I realized that both parties were involved were okay, I was devastated. I instantly said, Okay God. I am not sure where this is going but I KNOW that you had a reason. Maybe it was a lesson, maybe it was in his plan to have us in the large vehicle and not the small car that day. Maybe it is Satan's way of trying to discourage us in our journey. I choose to look at the positive. I know that there will be many things that will come up. Ron and I are calling them "hurdles". We have had some little ones already but this was a big one. For the time being it is big.

We have also learned over the past week that we are going to need to budget more or something into that extra fund. We have had a few things come up that were not scheduled and have taken some cash. So that is something that we get to reevaluate. We are patiently waiting for the next paycheck so we can pay down debt.

~Trying to be good stewards!~

~Patience~

I think that will be a word I will remind myself of many times through this journey. Patience as it will seem like forever between paychecks. Patience as it will not happen over night. Patience as I am criticized for putting our personal finances out there. Patience as we make tough decisions that only WE understand. Patience as we follow God's voice. And patience to discern between all that it takes to be debt free.

We also are learning to be patient as we did not get to hand over our vehicle to the man who bought it. The bank was closed before we could both get there to get all the nitty gritty done. So, we are looking at tomorrow as being the day that we give up our beautiful family vehicle and pick up our "new" truck. I am dying to post picture of it. I will share the story behind knowing that God brought us that truck over the minivans we were looking at and test drove.

We have gone from desperately waiting for the next paycheck so we can pay a bill, to anxiously waiting for the next paycheck so we know exactly how much we get to pay towards a bill.

Thank you for reading but more importantly thank you for supporting us on our journey!

Baby Steps or Crazy Steps

As I sat here at home with a sort of empty feeling I felt I ought to just spill my thoughts and feelings. Part of this whole journey is to document how we are doing this debt reduction. I mean, debt FREEDOM. We are not reducing debt, we are getting rid of it. It is by far the hardest thing my most favorite man and I have ever done. We love our kids and our future too much to just throw our money away in interest and on unnecessary things.

As I write I am overwhelmed, yet relieved. We have been selling many things as I stated before. As of today, we have gone as extreme as selling our main, nice vehicle. I have just a few hours before we hand over the keys and title. I feel so good and excited, yet sad all in one. I did bring two of my babies home from the hospital in the car. We have gone camping packing the car to the rim with stuff. We have gone to the snow and had our first family trip to get a Christmas tree in this car. It is nice, it runs great, it looks good too. You may be asking, "why sell it then?" Because we are doing everything that we can to get debt free. And as quickly as possible. That car payment each month will now be gone. That $430 will be used and carried over to the next thing we are working on. We did take a hit however, on selling it. We will owe a couple thousand more but we did just eliminate our debt by $9,000. WOW! When you look at that it makes it all worth it. Plus the previous monthly payment we had on it goes ALL towards things owed. We will see a pretty big snowball going on really quick! I truly believe that we will see and exceed our $14,000 goal for 2009. And we ahve only been on this plan since January 30 THIS YEAR. I honestly think we may get to reevaluate it really soon.

There is one bad thing though. We now are in need of a vehicle and fast. We have been looking but it is hard to find what will work for us and in the price range we have. We are now going from "looking" to "extreme need". Now is not the time to be picky. If it runs well and gets us where we need to go, then it will be just fine. I may be a little embarrassed to drive it but it is temporary. Few years right? I sure hope so.

Many people that have done this program continue to live very simple after becoming debt free. They just add to that savings. They save for a small amount of time and pay cash for their things. What a beautiful thing. That is where my thoughts need to be as I say good-bye to a silly ole material item.

I will leave with one last thought. It has carried me through this past three weeks and will be one of the only things to keep me going some days.....

When people start questioning what you are doing in this plan, you know that you are doing the right thing! So keep on doing!!!!

I am going to attempt to make homemeade laundry soap sometime in the near future. This should be good, and interesting. So stay tuned.

Getting Started

The main reason why I am choosing to blog about this is so that I can document and be reminded of all that we are doing to better our future. At some point to look back and think, "Wow! Can you believe we were once here?" Right where we are today. It is unreal to think that I will look back and read these first entries someday praising God for the chance we had. I cannot wait until that day of course. I wish I could snap my fingers and be there. I suppose that nothing good would come out of that. Can you imagine how life would be for all of us. No accountability, just a snap of your fingers and all trouble goes away. The other reason for putting this out here is to open readers eyes to the financial lifestyles we are living and how to be accountable to them and be debt free. "Our greatest financial investment is our own income", states Dave Ramsey. The average American will make around or over 1 million dollars, if not more, in their lifetime.



The MOST IMPORTANT thing before having a budget and starting on the road to being free from debt is that we MUST be in TOTAL agreement with one another to tackle this together. It will not work if only one of the partners wants it and the other isn't involved or doesn't want to do it.



The very first thing we did was call all of our credit card companies to get the exact current balances and to try and lower the interest rates. Then we wrote everything down. We elected to start off by having 4 categories: Debt, Monthly, Food/Gas, and misc. We then wrote down each and every debt.
*First was debt like credit card, line of credit, large dr balances, vehicle, department store, family, secod mortgage etc...
*Second, we wrote down all our monthly bills and musts like tithes, house, electricity, water/sewer, school tuition, phone, cell, internet, tv, etc.. (NOTE: Dave Ramsey does not count the home mortgage as a snowball debt at first. A second mortgage YES, but not the original. So we count it as monthly and not debt.)
*Third is food/gas. How many times to we each fill up a wk, multiplied by 4 wks. We gave ourselves a little breathing room for any extra driving ($25). We came up with a number for groceries and household products, (TP, cleaning supplies etc), We elected $250 for our family of 6 a month. I know that isn't much but I am mainly providing breakfast, box lunches and dinner. (will let you know how this works). We will adjust accordingly or as needed.
*Lastly we added misc for things like co-pays, and any dr bills from here. We elect this since we pay our dr bills as they come in. Unless it is a monthly bill due to a lg amount owed you would have it as debt. Also in this section is anything extra that may come up. Extracurricular activities for kids cost money, bdays, date night, allowance etc... (We have no set number yet. But it will be small.)



Once writing out our debts and bills, we did a lot of math. How much money goes where and what is left after all of this. We made any adjustments that were needed. We also know that we will have to adjust as time goes on. We sit down every two weeks when gets paid and we TELL our money where to go. Different months call for different budgeting. This is why it is crucial to sit down each and every paycheck and discuss and agree so we both know exactly where the money is going.



Another thing to do once you get your numbers all on paper is decide what works for your family. We have elected NOT to eat out for the time being. We do have reserve for a few things that are coming up but eating out doesn't seem worth it yet. If you elect to have an allowance then that must be written down as well. All money must be accounted for. Every last dollar!! Why? It's too easy to nickle and dime. Isn't that how we all got into debt in the first place. Little here and a little there. Before you know it you've spend $500 or a $1000. And we all know where it goes after that.



Then comes the hard part.... We CUT those credit cards. No need to "save" one for an emergency. We will not need it. We have not closed any accounts just cut the convenience of having a card for easy escape. From this point on we will be using our hard earned cash and not borrowing from anyone anymore!!!! (We do, and have kept our debit card. That is the only card and we ONLY use it for gas which we discuss the day before or morning of needing filled.)



Establish and Build an Emergency Fund
Save $1000 for emergencies.
After plugging the numbers we began to save for our emergency fund. We sold things that were no longer used, needed or wanted. If we can live without it we sold and are selling it. I love the quote from Dave Ramsey where he says "Sell so much that the kids think they are next." I thought that was humorous. Of course our children do not think they are next nor would we want them to be. We put every dollar that was earned and wasn't going to bills and debts to this fund. We have an account that is separate from all others. We have access to this account one way and one way only; Driving all the way to the bank (not real close to our home) and walking in and pulling it out. The more inconvenient it is to get it the less likely we are to be tempted to use or borrow from it. (which we shouldn't anyway. It is an emergency fund not a I spent money we didn't have and now need some to pay it back.)



Now that we have our $1000 in our fund we get to start rolling our snowball. This is where we are at now. All money in accounted for. Every last dollar. Whichever is the smallest balance (debt) is what we are attacking first. It is where the remainder of our paycheck goes. After the first month you will know and see where and how it will work for you. Whatever money is left over isn't a spending spree money or we have a hundred dollars to go get a pair of shoes I really wanted, it must go to the making of your snowball. So if I paid all my bills, debts, have my grocery cash and gas money put aside, I take the rest of the money and put it towards that first debt that I am attacking. Every penny counts for something. An individual snowflake will do nothing but with hundreds and thousands of them we can have a small snowball. The more we put towards debt the larger the snowball and the closer we are to freeing ourselves from the bondage on our debts.



Getting out of debt takes a lot of discipline, hard work, saying no to things you used to not even think twice about. For us personally, we have completely given up going out to eat, canceling our tv service, it can be watched on the Internet anyway, our land line, unnecessary driving, looking for coupons on the products I use, selling whatever isn't needed or used, downgrading vehicles (hopefully soon). When we need diapers we walk into the store and ONLY get diapers. No nick knack here and M&M's there. We have gone as far not purchasing gifts for extended family and friends this year. Our children will have small simple bdays that will not require money to be spent. Are people going to criticize us? Yes! Be upset with us? Yes! Not understand us? Yes! Is this extreme? Yes! Is it worth it? You bet! Is this sort of living temporary? Yes! To a point. We can have nicer cars later. We can buy gifts for family and friends with cash later. We are willing to live drastically now so that we can become free from the lenders that are sucking the life out of us. So we can live like we dream of living. So our children can have the option of a private school education, college fund, and even the weddings they dream of. All without refinancing, borrowing, and owing more and more and more and more! We are mad and ready for the life we have always dreamed of and wanted!