Part #3 of What To Do with Extra Cash: Emergency Hotline

Just before our first son was born we had a little bit of a family fiasco.  Our washing machine, refridgerator and stove all had to be replaced within three days of each other! It was crazy.  But, we have never been happier to have our emergency fund.  Well, maybe it was when the pipe busted in our cellar and water was spraying everywhere and a plumber had to come replace the pipe. I take that back... we might have been a bit more relieved when our car broke down during our "day trip" with our 14 month old.  A trip that was supposed to be just a quick trip for a day at the zoo and under $150 (including food & gas) turned into a three-day, two-night stay with rental car, hotel costs, a tow truck & a mechanic.  We definitely busted the budget! I will never again go on a "day trip" without an overnight bag - especially not with young kids!

Challenges and tough times come.  No one is excluded from that.  A God-focused outlook and prayerful attitude will see you through.  One thing that my hubby and I try to do is prepare for those tough times: spiritually and financially.  That's why we always put some extra money into our emergency fund.  Credit cards are great for quick access to funds, without atm fees, but interest rates... ugh.  I don't have anything nice to say about that. 

 A great rule of thumb for an emergency fund is $1000.  It sounds like alot to set aside in one sum, but it's a great number and covers the majority of emergencies we've faced.  Just remember: it's for emergencies ONLY!  For the unexpected.  We've dipped into the fund in the past for "non-emergencies" and it's usually not the best idea.  We always work hard to get the money quickly replaced, but it can to easily become a bad habit of dipping into the account. We actually have it set in it's own account at the bank.  It's not in an envelope at home (too easy to access) and it's not in our normal savings either (that pays a couple bills each month via autopay).  In short, set aside $1000 and keep it separate!  If you use a credit card to pay upfront, go home and pay the bill with emergency funds.   That's what we've done in the past and it's worked pretty well! 

So make a plan to set aside some emergcy funds - every little bit counts. 

Stayed tuned for Part #4 of what to do with extra cash: Stocking Stuffers!

Part #2 of What To Do With Extra Cash - Funny Money

As I mentioned before, my hubby and I work really hard to stretch those extra doses of income we get throughout the year, like bonuses and tax returns.  We really want them to be as effective as possible to our financial goals.  Although I do some childcare on the side, 90% of our income comes from my husband's job.  Over the years, we have casually developed this list of things to do with our extra cash.  A couple days ago I shared the first thing we do is tithe (see blog here).  After that first step, we pick and choose how to spend the rest of the money based on our current financial goals. 

One thing we almost always do is what we have come to call funny money! Basically, we set an amount (somewhat proportional to the amount of extra cash we have) that each of us gets as expendable income.  We usually go out to dinner an extra night, maybe something nicer than just ordering pizza.  But we set aside money that each of us gets to spend - no questions asked.  So, I can get my nails or hair done, buy as many mochas at Starbucks as I want, or buy a new shirt/shoes, etc.  My hubby can buy a record, put money into his "picking" business, etc.  It might only be $40 or it might be $100, but we each get the same amount and get to have fun spending it!  In short, it's fun money or funny money as we've come to call it!

The point is this: by determining in advance what we get to spend, we don't splurge on some big item that we don't need just because it looks like a good deal.  We also don't feel bummed out that we had extra money and didn't get to do anything fun with it.  By spending a little on some fun, we feel better about spending a lot on our long-term goals. 

At tax return time, I limited our amount of funny money.  My hubby was kind of bummed, but went with it because I made such a good argument for needing to save and all that.  Well, we did put some into savings (which I'll talk about next), but we also had a kid-free, weekend trip to Chicago for our anniversary.  We ate at some great restaurants, stayed in a nice hotel, and (most importantly) got to see a Bulls game!  With the economy as tight as it is right now, don't forget that it's okay to have a little fun with you're extra income.  Set your funny money budget and stick to it!  In the end, you'll feel better about what you're accomplishing with your money if you don't feel like you have to sacrifice everything all the time to get there.

Stay tuned tomorrow for Part #3 of What To Do With Extra Cash - Emergency Hotline!

The search is on for a great homemade oatmeal bar!

In an attempt to cut grocery store costs, I've starting trying some at home recipes for some of our favorite store bought snacks.  I'm currently on a search to find a great oatmeal bar recipe. 

Last week, I tried this recipe I found on pinterest.
First, I had to convert the measurements to standard system. Based on my conversions, here's the recipe I used:

2 bananas (mashed)
7 tbsp butter (melted)
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon *next time I'd only use 1
3 tbsp honey
2 cups quick oats

Put mixture in a greased 9x9 pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. 
Let cool. Cut into bars/squares.

My finished product looked like this:

My ratings:
Recipe difficulty: easy
Time: took me less than 10 minutes to make, then 45 to bake
Ingredients: all things I had in my pantry
Taste: too much cinnamon for my first round, that's why I noted I'd only use 1 tsp next time
Texture: the downfall of this recipe  - too chewy/rubbery for my liking.  Judah (my-two year old) didn't seem to mind the texture.  He ate four one day for lunch!  But everyone else who tried them agreed that the texture seemed off. 

Would I make this again? Probably not. They're not bad for my first attempt, but since  I'm not hooked on the flavor or texture -  I'm convinced there's something better out there.

Hefty odor shield trash bags for $.10 each!

I

I'm always on the hunt for the cheapest price for essentials like toilet paper, paper towels, baby wipes, etc. The best generic brand, dollar store price I've been able to dig out for trash bags has been 45 bags for $5.

Yesterday, I beat that price on hefty odor shield bags at target! Found this box of 100 bags on clearance for $11.77. 

I had one target coupon for $1/1 hefty bags and one manufacturers coupon for an additional $.55/1. 

Bringing my total to $10.22 for 100 bags! Plus they're odor shield - which is an added bonus for this mommy with two boys in diapers!!! 

Leave a comment with your budget buys!

Part #1 - what to do with extra cash!

Today begins a blog series on what to do with extra cash!  As a homemaker operating a family budget that is partially based on commission sales, it's important for us to maximize the extra cash we get throughout the year.  My husband and I have a general list of what we do with extra cash.  It's helped us pay off some debt and keep up with our growing family! With the exception of today's post, these ideas are not listed in any particular order. 

First things first - TITHE!!!!

Tithing is giving 10% of your income to God.  Most tithers give their 10% to their home church - that's what we do, although I think giving your tithe to any ministry that's Bible preaching, Christ-uplifting fits the bill.  This is a starting point for giving - anything beyond the tithe is thus an offering.  Since we have a home church, our tithe goes to our home church.  If we have extra beyond our tenth to give, we look for specific project within our church, a missionary team, or even an outside ministry (like a radio station or program, etc) to give to. 

From personal experience, I can tell you that tithing can be a hard habit to start and maintain, especially if your on a tight budget living paycheck-to-paycheck.  That being said - I can also testify that it is totally worth it.  I have never regretted my tithe, even when it meant a bill was paid late.  Tithing is a discipline.  It's a way to demonstrate your faithfulness to God and your faith in God.  It's a way of saying that you're thankful for all God has given you and that you trusting in Him for supplying your  future needs.  I'm not telling you that if you don't tithe you're not a Christian or anything like that.  Or that there aren't other ways of demonstrating faith to God.  But I am saying that this one way. 

Some food for thought:

• Genesis 14:18-20 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying,
  “Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
  Creator of heaven and earth. And praise be to God Most High,
  who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
  
• Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.
• Matthew 6:25-33
  “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  ... So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

• 2 Corinthians 9:7
  Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Again, please hear my heart on this - I'm not trying to sound condemning or overly Pharisaical - I'm not one for operating my faith under the law - "for the law made nothing perfect" (see Hebrews 7:19).  I think it's very important for us as humans to "put our money where our mouth is" so to speak.  Putting our money where our hearts are and storing up treasures in heaven is SO IMPORTANT.  It reminds us to keep God in all aspects of our lives - which is exactly where He wants to be.  God wants to POUR out so much blessing we cannot contain it!  I would rather have His blessing, whatever that is, than money - wouldn't you?

 

Stayed tuned for Part #2 of What To Do With Extra Cash - Funny Money!

Felis catus and Canis lupus familiaris

As my sisters and I were sitting around the table yesterday afternoon enjoying some lunch and laughter, the topic of my not-so-exsist Friday blog came up.  It has been on my mind lately that perhaps I won't be blogging about being a homemaker... I just don't know if that's God's focus for me right now.  I mean, I am trying to figure out this homemaking business and my main job is caring for my kids, but I don't know that a blog about homemaking is another thing that needs to be on my plate.
 
Maybe you've seen it, God has been working out in me lately.  A big part of that is my taking the time and effort to let Him.  Another part of it has been entering this season of relative rest - not havnig a job outside the home, not being in a leadership role in a ministry through my church - but truly focusing on my relationship with God and my family.  So for the time being, I'm not going to be tyring to write a blog about anything imparticular, but just whatever's on my mind, whenever it's on my mind.  And we'll see where God takes us - together.

A big sigh of relief now that's of my chest and we can begin with something that God has been brewing in me. 

Do you know what "Felis catus" means?  How about "Canis lupus familiaris"?  Good guess, they are the scientific species name for the domestic cat and dog, respectively.  Notice, they're different.  If I asked you in my best teacher voice to do a quick compare and contrast between these two species, you would probably come up with 10 or 15 things that they have in common and perhaps an equal number of areas where they differ.  Great! 

2 Corinthians 5:17 "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come."  Now, I'm not a scholar of ancient language, but from my personal study it seems to be that the word creation here literally is translated as a new SPECIES.  So, when we come to Christ, we are no longer Homo sapiens but a new species entirely!

But you say, "I don't feel like a new species".  Often times as believers its easy to forget how much God has done for us and in us.  We feel like the same old us trying to do all the God stuff too.  Take heart!  You are a new SPECIES.  You're not the same old you, even if you don't feel different. You don't have to do it all.  As a matter of fact, "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" Philippians 1:6.  God began the work in you and HE will carry it out. Our job as a believer is to have faith and act in obedience. 

Leviticus 22:32-33 " I am the LORD, who makes you holy and who brought you out of Egypt to be your God.  I am the LORD."
2 Corinthians 6:17 "Therefore come out from them and be separate..." 
From the Old Testament to the New Testament, God has been calling his people to be separate. He has been pulling us out of the world, out of our comfort zones and  Then he names us a "new species"! We are DESIGNED to be DIFFERENT.  From a girl who has spent her whole life desiring to fit in, I'm finally starting understand that I'm not supposed to.  So, I'm done comparing cats and dogs and expecting to not find any differences.  As a being in God's new species, God calls us to act different.  We might even behave in ways that seem crazy to the world. But God's been calling his people out of the world since Genesis.  And it's not to make us feel bad, but it's to make us holy.  it's to glorify Him - so that people might see Him in us. 

Father God,
thank you for making me in your image. for calling me out of this world.  Although, I don't always understand your plan - I know you are working out in me.  I trust you to continue that work.  Help me to live according to your WORD and not my feelings.  Let me be set apart for your glory.  In Jesus' name, Amen. 

a confrontation of the heart

Today I find myself in a kind of odd situation.  See I fully intended this blog to be about being a homemaker, but today I feel lead to write about something different. Over the last few weeks God has been planting little seeds here and there in my heart as he was preparing me for some changes he’s working out in me.  A lot of little words have all of a sudden been knitted together in this beautiful concept.  I feel like I should share it with you.  I hope you don’t mind. 

Did you know we are all sinners?  I know it sounds so basic, but God really has given me a new understanding of how true that statement is. When Jesus came and began his ministry, one of the points he made at the Sermon on the Mount was completely redefining the way people saw sin.  It wasn’t good enough just to not have committed a sin, but you couldn’t have even thought about it.  There’s a lot of sins we can probably say we haven’t done – hey, I didn’t murder someone, great! – but what Jesus said was that our standards are just not high enough.  God’s standard is perfection.  

With that understanding marinating in my spirit, God lead me to this next step - Confronting sin.  There are some sins we commit knowing that it’s a sin, while others we may commit accidently, etc.  Whether you intentionally commit sins or not, we still sin.  I was hit with a need to confront it.  Not just quit sinning, but really confess my sin to God and admit it’s something that I need his help on.  I needed to know that I wasn’t quitting this sin on my own – not by my own power, but by His Spirit.

Then today, I hear a preacher on the radio preaching out of Leviticus, let me outline it for you.  The Israelites are stuck in this rut, so to speak between slavery (Egypt) and their promised land.  And God lays down the law.  Literally.  Leviticus is probably one of the most challenging books of the Bible for many Christians because it was where God outlines to the Israelites how to consecrate themselves to God.  Rules, rules, rules.  But what God was really saying to the Israelites is that “you are in the world, but not of the world.” See they were entering the promised land, where lots of other people were already living.  Those other groups had customs and gods that were not GOD.  And God wants his people to be set apart for him.  So while the Israelites were called to live in this promised land, they were not called to live like the people who already were there.  Sound familiar?  Jesus has given us the same commandment – you are living on this earth, but don’t act like the world, don’t act like everyone else already living here. 

And here’s where it all hits home, before the Israelites could enter the promised land they had to consecrate themselves for God.  They were already drawn out of slavery (the equivalent to our generation of being saved) and were preparing to enter the promised land (their destiny, as the preacher put it).  But before they could enter into that destiny, they had to make the choice to consecrate themselves for God – they had to confront their sin.  God has given us the plan by which we can be saved; he has prepared the tools for us to consecrate ourselves to Him, he has laid out our promised land on this earth and in the next – but it is our choice whether or not we will walk that path with Him or not. 

I don’t know about you, but I want to be an Enoch, a Noah, a David.  Who walked with God, had faith in what he’d never seen, and sought God’s heart. So that’s my prayer today.  To serve him alone, forsaking all others.

Menu planning is for...

ME! at least, I hope that's how you finished that sentence!

 As a teacher, I spent time each day planning lessons, modifying lessons, etc.  I also spent time planning the coming weeks and planning my assessments and my activities and... well, let's just say that there's alot of planning.  You learn when to follow your plans and when to wing it, but I always had a general outline.  I was a little skeptical when I first started planning my meals, but the more I thought about it... well, the more it made sense.  I planned so much as a teacher, so let's give planning a shot at home. 

If you don't already plan your meals, try it- maybe you'll be surprised.  I know I was.  We all know what's its like to hear "what's for supper tonight?"  It's not a problem if I know the answer, otherwise it's kind of annoying.  So I found this system, which works for me. It takes me about 15 minutes to make my menu/grocery list. however, I save time & money in the store! with two little boys accompanying my shopping trips - what could be better? 

Start here:
what's in my pantry?
I try to make at least one meal a week from things I already have at home in my pantry, freezer, etc.

what's on sale?
Shop your ads.  We get the grocery store fliers delivered to our house in the mail for free, but you can always access your fav stores online or on your smartphone.   You can generally find awesome deals on fresh chicken or hamburger, etc.  Last week, I bought a ham for only .79 / lb because of Easter. 

do I have any coupons?
Combining coupons with sales makes me smile! =)

what can I make?
I'm currently compiling a list of my favorite recipes (and where I can find them!) and sorting the list by main ingredient so I can easily look at recipes that would include my sale items.   As I'm making my menu, I write down what items I'll need to buy at the store.  If you shop multiple stores for your groceries, you probably want to have a list for each store.  I usually make one list to start and then can further separate it if needed. Or if you only want to use one list, start items from one store at the top and items for a second store at the bottom.

any tips?
Don't be afraid to deviate.  If I wrote down tacos on Tuesday, but it just doesn't sound good - I just switch my menu around. I also leave one night a week for leftovers.  Take into consideration what your family wants to eat... Usually the boys don't care what I make, but every once in a while my hubby has something he's been craving that I can add in. 

Check out my menu printable and recipe lists!  If you have any additional ideas, feel free to leave a comment!  Happy menu planning!

Step one... for me anyway

As a teacher, my day was pretty much scheduled for me.  I knew what classes I had at each time slot of the day and I knew over the course of the year what content should be completed in each of those classes.  Now the day-to-day class activities were all things I was able to plan and section out in such a way as to fit my students and my teaching style, but the "big rocks" were all chosen for me. As a homemaker, however, not so much.  In my first few months at home, I had a hard time accomplishing much of anything.  Don't get me wrong, I know that being at home with two boys under two is certainly nothing to scoff at - and some days I still don't get much done- but I had these IDEAS that never seemed to translate to DONE. 

One day I was listening to the radio while washing dishes (thanks to my wonderful hubby for the kitchen radio for Christmas!).  Pastor Colin Smith does a radio broadcast called "Unlocking the Bible" (visit www.unlockingthebible.org) and was preaching a series on the Ten Commandments.  Now, the whole series is fantastic so if you want to learn how these commandments of the Old Testament apply to today, just check it out 'cause it's phenomenal.  On this specific day, he was preaching on the Sabbath day.  And he started by asking a question I had never wondered about - why would God, who could have created everything in an instant, take 6 whole days to create ... creation?  Pastor Colin explains that God was setting a specific example for us to follow - setting aside time for rest.  Essentially, he states that some occupations, like homemakers, don't have externally set directives.  For those people, he suggests taking some time to write down the list of tasks you would like to accomplish in a day, a week, a month, a year. Leaving time in each day and a day in each week for rest (the Sabbath).  I was totally inspired!  So I did exactly as he suggested.  and honestly, I was kind of embarassed that I hadn't thought of it myself.  As a teacher, I was totally organized-- probably on the verge of OCD.  Color-coordinated folders, post-its, homework schedules, clipboards and binder clips - one color for each class, etc.  So why I hadn't immediately taken that approach to homemaking really surprised me.  It simply came down to the fact that I didn't make time to make time. 

So keeping in mind the other members of my household, I began with cleaning.  As any homemaker will tell you, cleaning is a big part of your everyday. and the bigger the house and the more people in it, the bigger part of your day it becomes.  I wrote down all of the cleaning that I wanted to accomplish.  Then I sectioned it down to daily, weekly and monthly tasks.  After a week or two of fine-tuning, I came up with this:

In all the things I do - there's never any cleaning, errands, etc. on Sundays.  I don't even put Sundays on my lists.  Sundays are my day that I set aside for church, rest, time with family, lounging on the couch reading a great book with a fantastic cup of my favorite coffee.  NO WORK!!! for me, that means no laundry and no dishes.  Now, I'm too much of a cheap-skate to print this out every week (ink's expensive!!) so I keep it in a clear binder sleeve (or you could use a cute picture frame) and use a dry-erase marker to check things off.  wipe the weekly stuff clean on mondays, wipe the monthly stuff clean on 1st of the month.  If I don't get to something, I try to grab it on another day that week, but otherwise I know it's not a big deal if it waits.

I know how cheesy this all sounds, but it's really working for us.  By chunking it out - I get more done, have more time to rest and play with kids.  I organized my list around Thom's work schedule.  He gets off early on Thursdays, so the rooms that take the least amount of time went on Thursdays and since he only works one Saturday a month, the office is on Saturday, since I don't have much to  do in there on a weekly basis anyway.  Friday's are errands, Tuesday's are outings to parks, zoo, library, etc.  Mondays are lazy days - Thom doesn't work till ten so we all sleep in and the boys and I usually don't go anywhere either.

As most teachers/parents can attest to, there's just certain parts of your personality that are more dominant in the work place versus at home. and all this made me realize how much of my "teacher-self" I hadn't been utilizing in my "homemaker-self".  I love having a clean home and organized work space. Plus, I really enjoy organizing too! So I've started a new series of projects at home to get our house running more efficiently. I'll be sharing a little bit each Friday about the projects I've been working on that week and what I've learned along the way! Happy scheduling!

Let’s talk…

The backstory.
I started working in an office over the summer when I was 14.  I picked up the same office job the following summer (and pretty much every summer until I turned 22).  During the school year, I worked at local fast food place, was in drama and speech team and was heavily involved with my church and youth group.  I started college right out of high school.  Took full course load each semester and classes over the summer, plus I worked full time.  Now, I’m not saying that to be all “yay me” or anything, but it makes what I’m about to say, well a little more powerful…

The twist.
after all that hard work, I quit my full-time TENURED teaching position in, if I’m honest, an extremely financially secure school district in the middle of an economic depression.  Why? So I could be a SAHM to my two young boys. For all you who are confused right now, as I was at first, SAHM = Stay At Home Mom. Now, seriously, it’s not like we didn’t think it through. but the more my hubby and I prayed on it, thought about it and examined it (and our budget) it became more and more obvious that it was the right decision for us.

The truth.
I’m one of those people that is so used to being busy that I thought I would go crazy being a SAHM – honestly, I wondered what I would do with all that free time.  So, now that that’s out in the open, I can honestly tell you that being at home all day is SCARY! It’s the hardest job I’ve ever had! All veteran SAHMs are saying “Amen” and laughing right now.  I have no idea what to do with my “free time” because it doesn’t exist. And oh yeah, there’s so much to try and keep up with that I get overwhelmed because there’s no formal structure, like hourly bells, to tell me when to change gears. 

The premise.
and now we arrive at the premise to my “revamping” my blog and this really long tale.  I’m going to let “you all” in on my journey to becoming a homemaker. I’m not going to call myself a SAHM, and the reason is two-fold.  1) there are few days we actually stay at home 2) there’s a connotation among many in my generation that SAHM are not the hardworking, diligent women that most of them actually are. So I am a homemaker – a woman who is actively engaging in the daily work of building and maintaining a house and home – or at least that’s what I’m working toward. 

The qualifiers.
Now, if you were to ask my husband about all of this, he would probably tell you how amazing I am and how I do all this already, blah blah blah.  but my goal is to break it down, share my journey, my successes and many failures.  And in the process be very real about it all.  I’m not perfect and not creative, mostly I follow the motto of teachers around the world – I beg, borrow and steal great ideas from fellow people and then tweak to make it my own.  I’ll do my best to give credit to whom it’s due.  Hopefully, someone will be encouraged by what they read, maybe someone will get an idea of their own, or maybe – if I’m lucky – someone will decide to come along side me in this journey of becoming a homemaker.