I am taking a break from the budget posts--how are you doing on the budget by the way?--to highlight a few really cool blogs!
First, Recycle That: http://recyclethatstuff.blogspot.com/ has ideas for reusing paper towel and toilet paper rolls--smart ideas!
Next, Maple Valley Farm: http://eclecticculturefarm.blogspot.com/ this is my sister in law and brother in law and their family. They live on an Amish farm 'off the grid' with no electricity and they farm with horses. Their blog is always inspiring and really fun to read!
And finally, here's one for online writers: http://freewritingtools.blogspot.com/ this one has a lot of good information if you are currently writing online. If you are just thinking about writing online or have just started, this might be a little confusing :)
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
More Budget Fun
Wow, it has been a long time since I made a post! I am getting back to it now, promise. :) Ok, I am going to talk just a little bit more about....budgets. Yes, I know it's not the most exciting thing to talk about but once you have a "name on every dollar" (as Dave Ramsey would say), you will find you love to keep a budget more and more!
A budget is not only for people on a "limited income", not at all. A budget should be for everyone, and chances are, most wealthy people have a budget, stick to a budget and have become pros at keeping a budget--this is a step to obtaining wealth.
Where to start: Record everything you spend for one month. Every single dime. This will give you a guide in setting your budget. Before the next month starts, sit down and work out a budget. Here is a helpful tool.
http://www.budgetworksheets.org/
If you are married, sit down with your spouse and come up with numbers you can both be happy with. This will take a little effort and 'give and take'. If you can not agree on a number for a particular area, use one person's number one month and the other person's number the next and compare after 2 months. Which ever number worked better, use that one in the budget.
If you are married, agree to re-visit the budget every so often. Some people like to do it twice a year some like re-visit it more often.
Try it out and see how it changes your marriage and your money!
A budget is not only for people on a "limited income", not at all. A budget should be for everyone, and chances are, most wealthy people have a budget, stick to a budget and have become pros at keeping a budget--this is a step to obtaining wealth.
Where to start: Record everything you spend for one month. Every single dime. This will give you a guide in setting your budget. Before the next month starts, sit down and work out a budget. Here is a helpful tool.
http://www.budgetworksheets.org/
If you are married, sit down with your spouse and come up with numbers you can both be happy with. This will take a little effort and 'give and take'. If you can not agree on a number for a particular area, use one person's number one month and the other person's number the next and compare after 2 months. Which ever number worked better, use that one in the budget.
If you are married, agree to re-visit the budget every so often. Some people like to do it twice a year some like re-visit it more often.
Try it out and see how it changes your marriage and your money!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
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....
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....
Thursday, January 27, 2011
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
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
Saturday, January 22, 2011
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/
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/
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
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!
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!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
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.
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.
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