I'm not that frugal...

Yesterday I headed out to the dollar store, with two cranky kids in tow.  I like the dollar store if I'm in the right mood, it's a bit like a treasure hunt.  There is always something good to be found, sometimes more than others, but you have to be willing to look past a lot of junk to find the treasures.

I needed some Christmas ribbon, and I looked and looked, knowing they must have some, but not finding it anywhere.  On my search through the store I found these adorable kids drinking glasses.  They had different Disney characters on each of them, and were perfect for Kylynn to use.  I thought they were adorable, but knowing that I run my dishwasher (because it's full) everyday, contained myself and bought up four of them.

I got home and wanted to put them in the dishwasher I was about to start and went to remove the different stickers, thinking it said something like "dishwasher safe".  Um, no, it said, "WARNING: This product contains a chemical known to the state of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm."

I think I'll pass, I'm frugal and all, love a cute glass for a dollar, but not frugal enough to give my children glasses containing a chemical that can cause reproductive harm!  The good news, they did have Christmas ribbon, I saw a man with some in his cart and he helped me find it, thank goodness for the kindess of strangers they were hiding that stuff!

If anyone knows where I can find cute disney glasses that won't cause harm to my children let me know, Kylynn was crushed to lose her princess glasses.

Get a flu shot, get $5!

If you get a flu shot this year between November 7th and November 30th, Lysol will give you a $5 rebate.  To print out the rebate form and see details head over here.

I didn't actually have to pay for my flu shot so I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get one, we'll see.  Good luck fellow frugal friends!

31 bits

This Christmas season I have a couple of goals when it comes to the shopping.  First, spend less money, we just paid for Chloe's adoption and so money is tight, so I really want to be mindful of every dollar I spend during the holidays.  Second, find creative gift ideas and great deals so that no one knows I spent less money on them this Christmas (unless of course they read my blog that is) :).  Third buy gifts from organizations who take my money and use it to change lives.

So far, so good, but I had yet to spend any money to meet my third goal despite knowing several great organizations out there, until today.  Today I headed over to 31 Bits, that sells jewlery made by women in Uganda, earning an income that allows them to rise out of poverty in a war torn country.  The mission of this organization is, for "the women [to] earn an income that allows them to provide for their families, receive financial and savings training, and maximize their creative skills and abilities. We strive to build a loving community that cares for individuals’ spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical needs."


Their necklaces, bracelets, and headbands are gorgeous and if you don't like anything you see, wait a few days their winter line is coming out on November 4th!  Go check them out and buy a gift that will make bring joy to the receiver and to the lady who made it.

Have I told you?

I think there are some things I've forgotten to tell y'all, some small things I wanted to blog about that got pushed to the side and forgotten. Since, I know you would hate to not know what's new with me, without further ado, here are some things I keep forgetting to tell you.

I have started making my own bread and popcorn at home. I haven't bought either from the store in a few months and I've loved this. I know making my own popcorn is saving me money, making the bread I'm not sure about, but I do know that I'm controlling what my bread is made of this way, no chemicals and only honey to sweeten it. We use our bread machine and there are hundreds of recipes online to choose from, depending on what you want to make. To make your own popcorn I use this recipe:

Fill a brown paper (lunch) bag with 1/4 cup of uncooked popcorn kernals. Cook in the microwave for about 2 minutes (listen and stop it if there is 3 seconds or more between pops). Season with butter and salt if you wish or just eat it plain.

I am re-thinking the places we spend our money. I feel a personal desire to shop at local stores where the people of this town that I love benefit directly and indirectly from my dollar, and as a bonus, have a much better shopping experience. I also am praying about the changes I need to make as far as not spending our money at stores that participate in actions that negatively affect people in the United States or globally. One of my goals this summer is to read some books on this topic, to further research places where I spend my money and to make sure that I am honoring God not just in what I buy but in who I buy it from. I'll share with you what I decide, and you will roll your eyes at me, but hey what can I say, it's just the way God made me :).

I finished my bike ride, well actually all four of us did. We rode 19 miles and I did it at a faster speed than I had during any of our training rides, I guess I'm more competitive than I thought because being in a group with all those people made me want to really push myself as hard as I could.

I know that this is a very unflatering picture of me...why didn't I take the helmet off for the picture, like I need something to make my head look even bigger! But that's just how much I love y'all, showing you the real me, even when I'm in my very tight (with extra padding on the butt, no less) bike shorts.

Finally in case this post was a little boring, here's a video of Jack dancing to Elmo and Chris Brown singing. Unfortunately I didn't grab the camera till the second time I played it for him, the first time he was dancing so much I thought he was going to fall off his stool.

Happy Earth Day!

I love this day. I think it's a day that helps more people stop and consider their role in caring for our world and all of creation.

When I read God's word, I think it's pretty clear that God created the world and all that is in it, and that He loves all of His creation, not just us humans. We see in the gospels, that Jesus says that God clothes the flowers of the fields and feeds the birds. We also learn that all of creation is longing for Jesus' return and they wait with groaning for that day. It is clear to me that God has a special relationship with His creation, even though we cannot see it and that as with the other gifts He entrusts to us we are to be good stewards on this earth.

It is important to me to be a good steward of all God has given me, I often fail miserably at this, in many different areas, but especially in caring for His creation. However there are some things I've learned to do to better reduce my impact on this physical world. Below I listed some of the things we do that I hope are a little unique, I know these days we are overwhelmed with articles on living green and most of them say the same ideas over and over. Bonus, they'll all save you money too!

*I use dryer sheets two times, they work just as well the second time around, cutting down the number of dryer sheets I use by half.

*I use less detergent than recommended by the manufacture, it will clean just as well. And of course use concentrated detergent and never use more than recommended, it will NOT help clean your clothes any better.

*I got this idea from my friend Shannon, stop buying envelopes, instead use the ones that come in the mail with your bills. This of course only works if you pay your bills online, which I hope by now you are doing, it not only saves paper but about .50 per bill payed, that adds up! You get so many free envelopes in the mail, you could never use them all.

*I use cloth napkins, keep the same one assigned to the same family member and you can use them for up to a week before washing.

*I use washcloths to clean off Jack after eating, not wipes. Saving about 3650 wipes a year.

*We print on scrap printer paper from Kyle's office, just turn it over and print on it, this works for 99% of things we print. We also choose the "use black cartridge only" feature when printing, so as to not use up the more expensive color ink cartridge.

*We don't buy new printer cartridges, but instead have them refilled.

*We think before we shop, what is it I actually need or even want from the store, make a list, check to make sure I don't already have apples or a white shirt, and then put it off a day, maybe by tomorrow you'll have found a good replacement or decide you don't need/want it.

*Use freecyle.org to give and get free items people no longer want. Or pick up things people put out for the trash, we have so many items in our house that we got from people's trash, you would be shocked! I'm not kidding you, people put out great stuff by the curb just because they got something better and are too lazy to call Salvation Army to pick it up.

*Share. Not everybody needs to own a baby swing or a punch bowl or a yogurt maker or maternity clothes. I am a part of a great community where we are always sharing and there are so many things that I don't need to buy because I can borrow it during the times I need it.

Making me smile

Things making me smile today, two beautiful children and a way to bring the beauty of the outside in for free.

The Rules

Ok, so you want to have a financial fast of your own. You know you do, think of the great conversations you'll have at dinner parties! Well here are the rules (and yes I realize it is pretty self explanatory, but I love rules!)

"1. The fiscal fast should be at least one full week in length, with the starting and ending times determined in advance.
2. Everyone in the family should play. If everyone is not playing, nonplayers are prohibited from interference of any kind.
3. In regulation play, ALL SPENDING IS PROHIBITED, regardless of type of expense (e.g., food, clothing, entertainment, routine bills, commuting cost) or form of payment (e.g. cash, check, charge card, debit card). However some families may choose to establish agreed-upon exceptions before starting the fast. For example, commuting costs for working adults or writing a check for the mortgage.
4. No hoarding in advance! Intentionally stockpiling extra food and other supplies prior to the fiscal fast is strictly prohibited. Topping off the gas tank in the family car prior to the start of play is generally permitted.
5. In order to benefit fully from a fiscal fast, during the fast keep a household diary in which all players are required to make at least a short daily entry regarding:
*Challenges of getting through the day without spending money
*An estimate of how much money they would have normally spent that day, and on what
*An observation (positive or negative) about their fiscal fasting experience that day."

-The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches, by Jeff Yeager

Here are some websites referenced throughout the book:
www.bakingsodabook.co.uk
www.NewDream.org
www.ConsumerReports.org
www.newroadmap.org / www.yourmoneyoryourlife.org
www.UltimateCheapskate.com

And finally one final quote from the book,
"Yes, we are cheap, but we are generous, kind and happy because of it. We refuse to spend our time making moneyvso that we can buy things we don't want or need, particularly when so many others have so very little. Our lives and our time are more precious than that. We are cheap, but we are proud...and we are cool."-Jeff Yeager

*If you're doing a fast of your own, I'd love to hear about it, leave a comment or email me..maybe next year we can all co-ordinate our fast, oh yes next year!

Lessons learned

So we've finished our financial fast and it was overall a positive experience. It was not earth shattering but I think it is something we will add to our lives and do at least once a year. Here's what we learned about ourselves.

*We have a budget, split up into several catergories, and we even record everything we buy. However that does no good if we don't add it up as we go along so we know at the end of the month, this trip to Kroger can only be for 50$ or less. That is how we went over by such a huge amount more than once.

*I feel good about myself as the homemaker when my refrigerator is full of food. I also feel the need to replace everything once it runs out. We learned that it is worthwhile to put milk on the list when it runs out, not worthwhile to put almonds on the list when they run out, just buy almonds next time you need them.

*I have lost my love of cooking and creating food due to the sheer exhaustion I feel at the end of the day after caring for my children. When I take a 10 min. break of time just for me when Kyle comes home, I can cook a meal and have fun doing it.

*We often refer to ourselves as frugal and comparatively speaking we are, certainly we are savers. But on the rare occasions we go shopping for something other than food and on all trips to the grocery store we spend money as if it has no end, we do not stop and think through our purchases the way we should.

*When it comes to fun activities and family time, we're already really good at finding free activites, in fact I think 85% or more of everything we do as a family is free.

*It was really not a big deal or an embarrassment to say to our friends, sorry we're not going to buy anything we're doing a financial fast. In fact we've heard from more people about how neat they think it is....

And on that note why don't you give it a try. Come on you can do it, it doesn't have to be for 2 weeks like ours 1 week works great. I guarantee you there is a lot to learn about the value you place on money, where you could cut back, and the amazing family time you miss out on when activities always involve the wallet.

Check back in a couple of days and I'll post the rules!

Week 2

Ok so here's the rundown for our second and final week of the financial fast, as suggested in the wonderful book, The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches.

Friday- Jenny sees in the paper that tonight is First Friday in downtown Bryan, this is an event that they hold mainly to get you to spend money at one of the stores or restaurants located there, BUT it says that it has a free showing of Mary Poppins at the outdoor theater at 6 pm. Jack is fussy, so I send Kyle and Kylynn on a daddy/daughter date. Turns out the movie didn't start till 8:30, the event started at 6 (opps!). But they manage to have fun, lots of it without spending money. Kylynn dances to the music they have playing, one of the stores gives her a shiny piece of glass, and another store gives her a free cookie, and she found a "stone" on the ground-she is very proud of this. Plus, she loved the first 30 minutes of the movie. I got a night alone...priceless :)

Saturday-Kyle had previously (before we decided to do the fast) decided to do a charity bike ride. So he begins the day by paying his fee, but it's for charity so we still haven't broken our rules. However at the last minute a friend of Kyle's decided to come and do the ride with him and we decided that we just couldn't explain to him after 40 miles of riding why we had to scrounge for food at the house. So we officially broke our rules and went out to lunch. We got back on the fast wagon though and that afternoon continued looking at homes (for free) in the Parade of Homes. We packed the car up with snacks and drinks and all had a great time.

Sunday-Church is free, good. Took naps/mowed the lawn depending on who you are. Kyle says what he really wants to do is go to the pool. Yeah! We can do that, it's open, and I have a pass I bought in 2007 that still has 10+ visits left on it (they let you keep using it, I asked). So we went to the pool for free and had the best time we've ever had there. Both kids loved every minute and we spent almost 2 hours there, brought our own snacks, and even rode our bikes there and home.

Monday-The kids are continuing to drive me nutty. I decide to take them on a walk and to make it more fun let Kylynn push her stroller while I carry Jack in the carrier. Very bad idea (but free), Kylynn cannot walk nearly as far as I thought and this is going to be a long day! I am at the end of my rope with figuring out what to cook from the things in the house and both Kyle and I are generally hungry after 1.5 weeks of not eating as much as we're used to. Kyle gives me a great idea and I run with it, we end up having our best meal since the fast began, even cookies for dessert. It feels so good to eat a real meal again.

Tuesday-Go to the park for lunch with daddy, always fun for all of us. Kyle however doesn't want the lunch I packed because alas, he has gotten pizza from work (free to him). I realize that this financial fast is much harder on a stay at home mom than it is for a working dad, at least in regards to finding ways to eat up all the odd food (he is often saved from his strange lunch by a lunch work provides). Play with friends in the afternoon, one of our favorite free activities.

Wednesday-I am inspired by my positive experience with the dinner Monday night and think of lots of fun ideas for today. We go to the (open) library, have a great time. Come home and eat a good lunch. After nap we play in our baby pool in our backyard, which is placed so that Kylynn can use her playground to slide into it. When that becomes old we play with the art easel (which we saved from someone's trash). We have a great day! Funny I finally feel like I'm getting in the groove and enjoying this now that it's over.

Next: The rules for your own fast (according to the book) and what we gained from the experience.

I hate it

Fasting from spending money that is. The book says there is two types of people, those who hear of this money fast and think, "that's impossible" and those who say, "piece of cake". We were the piece of cake people, he goes on to say it is us that will have the hardest time. He ain't kidding!

Thursday: Kyle goes out to lunch with a friend, a regular meeting, and eats and drinks nothing (to be fair to the restaurant he did not want to bring in food and/or drink "free" water).
Jenny wakes up with the strongest desire I've had in years to go out and buy anything, just because I can't.

Friday: We take the kids out for a drive then get out and walk around an area we like, we do this most weeks and always either get a drink at Sonic or pick up dinner on the way home. We are both having a hard time denying this tradition. Watch a movie a friend loaned us.

Saturday: We go to Parade of Homes, it is free in our town, and are happy for the opportunity to do something we were planning on already that is free. We again miss picking up a drink or treat while out driving around. But enjoy the day as much as any other year, good time together as a family out and about.

Sunday: There is still food aplenty, by the looks of it we would need to fast for a month to eat all this food up (I know that's bad). We perhaps bend the rules (although not the ones we gave ourselves) and spend a gift certificate/coupon to get ice cream out. We have a problem spending our gift certificates so we thought these two weeks were a good time to do that.

Monday: Jenny has a doctor's appointment, no fee, will bill insurance, whew! It begins raining and says it will rain all week. I am filled with trepidation...no playing at FREE parks due to rain, what will we do!

Tuesday: Kyle is supposed to bring doughnuts to bible study, and says he will break the fast since it's not for us. I think he's breaking the rules but tell him it's up to him. When I get back from the gym I see he's made a breakfast bread from ingredients we had on hand, he felt like doughnuts broke the rules :) He later told me it was a huge hit, and they ate it all up. The kids are definitely going to make me lose my mind, it is still raining, suddenly I have a genius idea: the library, of course! Get to library it is closed Monday to Thursday afternoon. Cannot think of another free thing indoors go home defeated. Kyle works till 8pm, wants to pick up dinner, uses a free coupon for a chickfila sandwich. Gets only that brings it home to eat with a salad we have at home.

Wednesday: Kyle comes home early, we take the kids out. Cannot really think of what to do, drive around and look at some house and lots, the kids are screaming the whole time, no one is happy. I hate this fast! We decide that after one week we will go to the grocery store to get anything that is essential for Jack (it was part of our rules before we began). We get whole milk, 4 jars of baby food, two sets of pediasure, yo baby yogurt, pears, and dog food (for the dog, not Jack :). We are amazed (and I'm slightly releived that I'm not crazy) that the total comes to 55$. Our cupboards and fridge are looking a little more bare, the freezer is still stuffed.

Thursday: Kyle goes to lunch with a consultant that the company pays for, I think this is cheating but am probably just jealous. I've decided that my love of food and the way I use it to cope when I'm stressed has gotten worse in the past couple of months with Jack's fussiness. This fast is making that crystal clear to me as I look in a fridge filled with food and get frustrated because it does not have a "good" snack in it. We go look at houses in the afternoon with our Realtor, and come home without dinner (again). I see that there is a neighborhood wide garage sale this weekend that I was really wanting to go to...I feel pain!

One more week to go!

Here I go again...

If you follow my blog you know that I was "crazy" enough to do a two month TV fast last summer. Well, here I go again. Kyle and I decided to do a two week financial fast, that's right spend no money for two weeks.

I'm reading this book,The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches: A Practical (and Fun) Guide to Enjoying Life More by Spending Less. It is a great book and is about something more than I thought when I picked it up at the library. It is of course full of tips on how to be, well, a cheapskate. But it is also a reflection on what most of know, spending money often doesn't lead to the fulfillment we were looking for, where spending the evening playing a game with your family can be the best time you've had in months.

While catching up on recording my monthly spending, I saw that we spent 1.5 times our allotted grocery/disposables budget. I was shocked by just how much we had gone over, although I'm not sure why, if you looked in my fridge/freezer/pantry you would know, this lady buys too much food. In my pursuit to save money, I was buying everything on sale, just to repeat it the next week and the next, never able to keep up with eating all the food I was buying. So it was the need to eat up the extra food, and spend 1/2 our normal food budget that I thought we need to do this financial fast. Kyle was thrilled-remember it pains him to spend money, ever, he never wants to know how much something costs.

Next post, our first week reflections on not spending any money.

Jack's Room

I wanted to show off Jack's room because I'm really pleased with how it turned out. In case you don't know me, I tell you I'm very frugal, so I'm extra proud that I didn't buy a single thing for it, everything was either from Kylynn's old room or things that were meaningful to Kyle and I that we had previously had. The only exception is the traditional Korean outfit hanging on the wall, however I bought it for him to wear on his first birthday (as is tradition) and so it's a bonus to have a second use for it.

Crown

I have just finished an amazing bible study, that really changed my perspective on this world so I thought I'd let y'all know about it. It is called the Crown Financial Bible study.

When Kyle took the training to be a leader I stayed home with Kylynn so when he said that he wanted to lead this study this year, I was bummed. I didn't want to spend 10 weeks on a financial study. I thought this study is not for people like me, I don't have debt, I have a budget, I'm a saver, and I love to give. Well turns out God really does know what I need more than I do :) I was blown away by this Bible study!

If you ever have the chance to take part in their 10 week Bible study or their one day training, do it!! This is not a study unique to my church or area, it's world wide for more information you can go to: crown.org . This study is about finances yes, but it is really about living your life with an eternal perspective. It really changed the way I viewed "my" money, not thinking 10% belonged to God but that it all belongs to Him. Kyle and I were really convicted reading the chapters on honesty, submission at work, and caring/providing for the needy.

This area is still hard for me but one way I am different today then I was before I took the course, is if I want to buy something even if it's just a pair of jeans I try to remember to pray and ask God what He thinks about it. And even harder for me, I try to look at the decisions I make each day with how I spend money and time and choose those things that I will be rewarded for in heaven not those that will disappear with this earth.

It is amazing how much your relationship with God relates to the way you view money, the Bible has over 2300 verses relating to money or possessions, there must be a reason for it. So even if you never get a chance to take the course you can read the book that the course is based on: Your Money Counts by Howard Dayton. I challenge you to see what God has to teach you.