Saving Money

I admit, we have not always been the best with our money. There was a time when it took way too much time to use coupons, we bought on impulse and we had debt.  It was like a ball and chain literally weighing us down. Each month we had more going out than coming in and we felt like we were always one step ahead and then two steps back. That is no way to live. Then, we found a solution (*hint: it was not "make more money"). We made a plan and a budget.

I hated the idea of a budget, I mean really hated it. I resisted bad at first. Once I realized a budget was not a restraint but a key to financial freedom, I changed my attitude toward it. My husband and I sat down and honestly assessed our situation. We wrote down all our expenses and all our income and compared the two. That was hard to do. We did not play the blame game. We came up with solutions instead. We trimmed a few 'extras' we did not want to trim but we wanted to be out of debt worse than having the 'extras'. We made a monthly budget we could both live with. That was the first step.

I will be blogging a lot more about this subject, not because we are perfect at it but because we have learned a lot and I want to share what we have learned with others. Today, we are debt free except our mortgage, which  we have never borrowed against, so just our true first mortgage. We have paid off all our debts, step by step, and I can't even express the freedom that gives us! We have a savings account that continues to grow instead of shrink each month. We are not panicked when the tax bill comes or the doctor bills.

One key program that helped us in a HUGE way is Dave Ramsey. His Financial Peace University is an amazing program. I HIGHLY recommend this to everyone. It is important to go through this with a group of people if at all possible. It is hard at first. But, it is so great to know you are not alone, too poor or too far in debt to be helped. And, in the end, it WILL work and you WILL be free from debt that weighs you down!
P.S. I don't get any 'kickback' for promoting this...I just know it works!
http://www.daveramsey.com/home/

*Stay tuned for much more on this subject....

Meal Planning

 Before you groan too much, remember I resist all things "inside the box" including (but definitely not limited to) meal planning, budgets, planning, time management and so much more. But I assure you, meal planning will save so much money, time and energy in the long run, it is so worth it!

 I am a true free spirit who likes to just go with the flow. However, that actually does not work in real life and when we are managing a household along with the rest of life, we must learn to budget, plan, manage time and more. I have learned that putting these things in my life, actually allows me to live with freedom (if that doesn't make sense, stay tuned and I will break it all down sometime).

Which brings me to: meal planning. I admit, coming up with dinner each night can be a chore. I have one child allergic to red dye and truly does not like anything with any red sauce type thing so no pizza, taco, spaghetti, and so on. Now, I refuse to be a short order cook so if someone doesn't like what is for dinner, they are welcome to a bowl of cereal or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. With that said, I do like to try for meals everyone will like and still stay in the budget.

I'll be totally honest here: our weekly budget for groceries (includes all cleaning and household products, beauty products and food) is $150.00 per week. It used to be impossible for me to stay with in that budget for a family of five. Then, I started learning about how to really use coupons and it made a world of difference.  I now have anywhere from $50.00-150.00 per month left in the grocery budget each month. I will be posting much more on this subject in the days to come so stay tuned.

Back to meal planning. Planning out my weekly has become pretty simple. I base most of it on what is on sale that week. I have done monthly meal planning  but that is just too overwhelming for me, so I stick to weekly. We usually have 1-2 meatless meals per week and 1 breakfast for dinner meal. We have sports 2-3 nights per week and church on Wednesday nights so those are either plan ahead meals, crockpot meals, or just super simple meal nights.

Here are some good ideas for cheap, easy meals:
http://save.lovetoknow.com/Free_Frugal_Menu_Plan

This one has some good ideas too:

http://organizedhome.com/kitchen-tips/menu-planning-save-time-kitchen

Homemade Bread (easy, I promise!)

I am sure some of you are rolling your eyes right now thinking, "yeah, ok I'll go make my own bread quick a minute..." I did the same thing, really! I am no Martha Stewart  by any means so if I was going to make bread, it had to be quick and easy. I found this recipe and it is just that- quick and easy!  And, it tastes WONDERFUL!

This recipe makes 2 nice sized loaves and honestly takes just a few minutes of actual "labor" and only an hour from start to finish. It must be practically fool- proof too because mine turned out perfect the very first time! I think this is going to quickly become a staple in our house!

I probably should have saved this for one of my "secrets" but I want everyone to enjoy this simple and VERY tasty recipe.
One Hour Bread (and there is even an instructional video!)
http://www.lafujimama.com/2009/09/simple-one-hour-homemade-bread/

Tip Tuesday

Happy Tuesday!

Since I haven't posted in several days, I am going to 'make up' for it with several good tips and links :).

First, I want to tell you about one of the BEST, CHEAPEST and most natural cleaning products to clean with:  Baking Soda!

I know some of you use baking soda already but if you don't, you should! There is no reason to spend any money on Comet or whatever you use to clean your sinks--baking soda works wonders!

Also, did you know Baking Soda can put out grease fires? It can. And best of all, it won't damage the way chemicals from a fire extinguisher will.

Also, baking soda can sooth burns, polish silverware, clean burned on food from pans and much more! Really, it is pretty amazing stuff! The only down side is you do have to rise well and dry in order for it not to leave a white film.

Here is a link with tons of great tips:
http://www.thefarm.org/charities/i4at/lib2/60soda.htm

Another great cleaner that is cheap: Vinegar! I keep several spray bottles 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 water on hand to clean pretty much everything.

*Note: you will smell a vinegar smell for a few minutes after cleaning. This smell goes away completely once it is dry. If it bothers you, add a couple drops of essential oil to your cleaning solutions.

Here is a great link for ideas:
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/vinegarbakingsoda

The link above also has ideas for vinegar and baking soda together; which is super powerful to clean pretty much anything!

Stop Coughing at Night

There is nothing worse than laying in bed, coughing all night...ok, I can think of a few worse things but it is annoying none the less. :)

When someone told me about this little trick, I was skeptical so, of course, I had to try it. That very next week after my friend had given me the tip, I started a cold and I was coughing all night that first night. The second night, I tried this trick and guess what, it worked!

Here is the article on  how to stop that bothersome coughing at night. It works with children too!

http://www.ehow.com/how_5715575_stop-using-vapor-rub-feet.html

A couple extra tips: put a nice thick layer right in the bottom, center of each foot and cover your feet with thick, warm socks.

Clean Your Keyboard Quick, Easy and FREE!

Happy Wednesday! We are half-way through the week already!

First, I want to again say a huge thank you to all the people who follow this blog! Also, thank you for all the nice comments and interaction you all have given to the blog! Please feel free to let me know what you might want to see on the blog and if I don't know it or have a link to it, I can probably find someone who does! :)

Today's tip is a household/computer tip. Again, this may be an obvious tip that some of you have always done. For me, I had never even thought of it until someone mentioned this is the way they clean their computer keyboard.  We always purchased that 'canned air' (I know, first they sell us water and now they sell us air-yikes!).  Well, this trick works just as well and it is free!

http://www.ehow.com/how_6165942_clean-keyboard-quick-easy.html

Tueday's Tech Tip

Happy Tuesday!
 
This Tuesday is going to be a computer tip or a "tech tip". Some of you might think this one is really lame. If you do, it's ok just skip it and wait for something more exciting tomorrow :). I was reading the other day about using Firefox vs. Internet Explorer (IE) for Internet browsing. In the past, I had always used IE without giving it much thought. I do still use IE sometimes, mostly just out of habit. I am not saying IE is "bad" but it is now a known fact that IE has many more virus attacks, for instance.

For me, I prefer Firefox. You can easily download the Firefox browser here:

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

Again, there are many different browsers and everyone has their favorite but I think Firefox is a little 'smarter' and a little safer than the IE browser.