I am alive!

Good Morning!  Whew...what a glorious morning it is!  So here's my very condensed excuse for being gone so long ~ I really needed a break ~ So much has been changing here at my house and in my life that I really needed to focus more on my family, and less on the computer.  We just got back from an awesome trip to Pennsylvania and I feel so revived and re-energized!  I am ready to get down to business and be the Proverbs 31 woman that God has called me to be!

We have gone from 4 bodies living in this house to 8 bodies.  That's quite a jump in numbers!  It's mass chaos 'round here most of the time, and sometimes I feel like complaining...or crying...or sometimes laughing out of sheer exhaustion!  But God has us here in this present situation for a particular reason, and because of this, I am trying to be very open to all of the changes that have come.

The one main problem I have had with this whole situation is the fact the our water and electricity bills have nearly doubled since bringing more people in.  Okay...so we can't ask people not to shower or wash the laundry, and we certainly can't turn off the AC due to the southern heat...but I think that I have figured out some ways to conserve.

The two main ways I have come up with to conserve electricity is this ~
Hanging laundry instead of using the dryer and crockpot cooking as much as possible.

Hanging laundry is typically a no-brainer, but with so many people living here it's a little harder to get every body on board...but I think we've got it.

Crock Pot cooking ~  my original thought was to use the crock pot for a whole week...then I thought what about a whole year?!  I have since rethought this and come to the conclusion that we need to be a little more realistic.  So I think we shall try to use only the crock pot, grill, and steamer for a month and see how that goes.  I have been searching out meals and it totally amazes me what you can make in a crock pot!
Monday we had amazing beef stew, Tuesday we had chili, and tonight we are having creamy chicken over brown rice.  I have some really great ideas for next week after we hit the grocery store.:-)  I will try to keep you updated on this experiment.  I'm very excited to see how it all effects our electricity bill.  I'll keep you posted.

I would love to hear any more ideas that you all my have to conserve electricity.

Have a very blessed day and I am so glad to be back!

An Easy Way to Save

Good Morning everyone!  What a beautiful day it's gonna be today!  God is so good, isn't He!?
Well, I wanted to share with you an easy, affordable way that we have chosen to save money.  We started this plan a few years ago and in that time, we have saved somewhere in the neighborhood of $600.00, possibly more.  To some that may not seem like a lot, but for as little work as I do, this is an incredible savings!  Also, this is so easy that we never feel a pinch in savings or in spending it!  In fact, we never even think about it!  It's just something that happens behind the scenes!  Okay, I've made you wait long enough!
For explanations sake, I have created a fake check register and I'm going to post a picture of it.  I'm hoping that with a visual, I'll be able to explain it better!

Our plan is simply this...We round up debits and round down deposits in our check register!  That's it!
When I add a transaction in my check register I also enter the real number first, for reconciliation purposes.  When I enter in the last column, that's when I do my rounding.

 For instance at Target $4.23 was spent.  However, after rounding up, I enter $5.00.  Then I just start adding up the savings and keep track under the description in parentheses.
So with the Target transaction, we saved $.77.

Next, the feed store...we spent $25.16.  I enter $26.00.  Our savings end up being $.84.
Add $.77 plus $.84 and you get $1.61.

Deposit of $112.84.  Remember to round DOWN deposits.  I enter $112.00, which gives us a savings of $.84.
Add $1.61 plus $.84 and you get $2.45.

Finally at Home Depot, the transaction is for $6.88.  I enter $7.00 and that gives us a savings of $.12.
After adding $2.45 plus $.12, we have a savings of $2.57.

In just four transactions, we potentially could have saved $2.57!  I think that's pretty good!  It's like saving change in a jar without touching all that dirty money! :-)

With our savings, we have been able to give to others in need, go out on a special out-of-budget date, weekend vacations, buy a push lawn mower and purchase a TON of homeschool stuff!  The possibilities are endless!  For instance, besides what we have already used our savings for, you could make that your "Clothing Budget" for the year, or use it for storage/prep items, keep saving for future use, use it as your gift giving budget, and of course use it as a safety net if payday doesn't come on time or as expected!

What else could you use it for?  Does anyone else use this plan to save money?  Please share your ideas! 

If you have any questions about this plan, let me know and I'd be more than happy to share!  I hope that I explained it well enough! :-)

Blessings...

Menu Plan Monday and and Update on My Grocery Budget

What a beautiful day that the Lord has made!  It's warm and sunny here today and the birds are filling the air with heavenly melodies!  Today I am going to share my meal ideas for the week and also update you on my grocery challenge.  I am excited for tomorrow because I am going to share with you one of the biggest ways that the Mister and I save money!  But for today~

Sunday ~ Pizza Hut (The Mister just informed me of this!:-)
Monday ~ Open Range Chicken, Baked Brown Rice, Steamed Broccoli and Peaches
Tuesday ~ Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Peaches, and Homemade Rolls  (I know, I add this to my plan every week!  This week we really are going to eat it!!!)
Wednesday ~ Baby Back Ribs, French Fries, Tossed Salad and Steamed Corn
Thursday ~ Rotisserie Chicken (in my my new Rotisserie!:-), Roasted Herb Pototoes, Steamed Carrots and Pears
Friday ~ Taco Salad, Refried Beans and Apple Slices
Saturday ~ Ham, Pittsburgh Potaotes, Tossed Salad and Mixed Fruit

Breakfast Ideas
Yogurt with Homemade Granola x2
Scrambled Eggs and Homemade Bagels
Cinnamon Toast and Fresh Fruit
Baked Oatmeal
Hard Boiled Eggs and Peanut Butter Toast
Sausage Gravy and Biscuits

Lunch Ideas
Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
Tortilla Bean Soup
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches, Carrot and Celery Sticks
Ham Sandwiches on Homemade Bagels
Dinner Leftovers x3

Snack Ideas
Grapes and Triscuits
Yogurt
Homemade Crackers and Cheese x2
Soft Pretzels
Apples and Peanut Butter
Celery Sticks with Peanut Butter

Now, my update on groceries...

This week I only shopped at one store.  That;s unusual for me...I'm typically hit between 3 and 5!
My total spending, which included, staples for the pantry, some storage/prep items, food for our meals and even local honey which we desperately needed....
$50.25
I did go over...but I am okay with this!  I am still under budget so far for the month by $41.96 and because I saved, due to sales, coupons and bonus savings...
$24.50

After a few weeks of this challenge I am feeling the pinch a little, as we run out of things, which forces me to replace them.  But I am not discouraged and it is making me try harder to find sales, coupons and meal plan more carefully!  This challenge is truly turning into a learning experience!

Menu Plan Monday and and Update on My Grocery Budget

I hope everyone had a restful and very blessed Sunday!  The Mister and I actually had quite a bit to do this afternoon, so we kept unusually (for a Sunday) busy.  And this time change...whew...it has thrown me for a loop.  You'd think that a one hour change wouldn't make much of a difference but it does!  So here I sit at 12:32 am on Monday morning, with my Beloved eating reheated macaroni and cheese across from me and I thought...Aha!  Now's the perfect time to post my meal plan for this week!  So here goes...With some repeats from last week...

Sunday ~ Pizza from my favorite pizza place in town :-)

Monday ~ Ham, Pittsburgh Potatoes (mmmmm!), and Grilled Asparagus

Tuesday ~ Spaghetti and Meatballs, Tossed Salad and Garlic Bread

Wednesday ~ Grilled Chicken Salad (Pennsylvania Style!...french fries on top!) with homemade Breadsticks

Thursday ~ Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, and Pears

Friday ~ Homemade Chicken Strips, Homemade French Fries and Corn

Saturday ~ Barbeque Venison Sandwiches, Pasta Salad and Potato Chips

I also made a list of breakfast, lunch, and snack ideas to keep me inspired...If I don't write things down...I just can't seem to remember anything and what I end up preparing for my family is quite boring!

I'll share them  with you...maybe they will inspire you too!

Breakfast ideas...
Baked Oatmeal x2
Sausage Gravy and Biscuits
Egg Sandwiches
Pancakes and a breakfast meat
Fruit and Yogurt
Peanut Butter Toast and Hard Boiled Eggs

Lunch ideas...
Leftovers x2
Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches with Raw Veggies
Tortilla Bean Soup
Turkey Hot Dogs and Chips
Macaroni and Cheese and Fruit

Snack Ideas...
Popcorn
Pudding
Homemade Crackers and Cheese
Fruit
String Cheese
Yogurt
Soft Pretzel

There...now I am officially inspired to get creative with my meals...Are you?

Also I went grocery shopping for the week and I am pretty impressed with myself...I purchased all necessary items for this weeks meals, a few toiletries, some snack-y type foods and even some extra storage/prep foods...My grand total for the week came in at...
$44.99   ~    UNDER BUDGET...This is cause for a celebration dance!
But it gets better...Because of sales, coupons and a freebie promotion I saved a grand total of....
$30.18  ~     Wow!  That's a great savings!  One more celebration dance!  If you are in the mood...take a minute and dance with me...ready...go...Whew!

This savings inspires me to try even harder next week!

I would love to know what your week has in store for you?  What are you doing to Glorify God this week?  Any prayer requests?  Comments are truly welcome and thoroughly enjoyed!  So please share :-)

Blessings and I hope you all are sleeping right now!  I should be :-)

Thursday Evening...

I'm sitting here in my dad's house on this lovely Thursday evening and trying to decide what to blog about!  I'm having writer's block!  So I asked around for ideas and here is the only one I got...and it's a pretty good one!
One of my step-sister's is here for visit from up North and it has been a pleasure having her here!  We'll call her Beth Handler... (she made up that alias by the way :-)  She's a college student majoring in Communications, although I think she should be majoring in Culinary Arts!  She has an amazing ability for creating such delicious desserts!  In fact, she isn't leaving here without making the Mister a batch of her world famous Buckeye Balls!  What a pleasure it is having her as a step sister!  On Saturday her older sister is coming for a visit!  She'll be here for a week also!  We'll call her Monkey...as per request of her mother!:-)  She is also a college student, majoring in Mechanical Engineering.  It truly is a pleasure having them as part of the family.  They are both kind, generous, and very sweet, and incredibly fun to laugh with!

Talking a little about sitting in my dad's house brings me to another subject I wanted to talk about.  I live really close to my dad.  I mean...really close.  In fact, we live under the same roof!  One way that we have chosen to save money, and prepare for an economic downturn is to share expenses.  I know that some people would NEVER choose to do this, and I used to understand.  It's hard living with other people, and in our society...at some point in history...decided that children needed to move away from their parents and establish their own lives.  Now, I do agree that we need to live our own lives, but I don't think it takes moving away to accomplish this.
Let me explain...
We bought a beautiful modest home and we share it!  We have converted the garage and the downstairs master suite into another home.  My dad and his wife live there, and have there own entrance, kitchen, living room...everything.  And because of this we not only share the home but we share expenses.  We split all of the bills!  Now that's a great way to cut back on expenses!  I really have nothing bad to say about our arrangements!  We have grandparents close at hand for Arrow, I have a very kind "neighbor lady" whom I can borrow a cup of sugar from,  we have company close at hand to laugh with, share a meal, talk seriously with, and enjoy!  And we have a door between our homes that closes when we need our privacy and family time!  And I can't stress how much of a blessing it is sharing expenses....I know, I know...I keep repeating that!  But it's so important to why this setup works for us!  I'm sure it wouldn't work out so well, if our lifestyles were different, but they aren't.  We are all Christians striving to live a godly life.  Doing the best we can and worshiping the One True God of Heaven!  We go to different churches, but we still love the same YHWH!  Being able to "co-habitat" is nothing short of a God Miracle, in a time were independence-at-all-costs is stressed so heavily!  This works, and I credit it all to God!  What a blessing He has given us! 
The Bible tells us that when we marry we are to leave and cleave!  Trust me...I have!  I rely solely on my husband's leading (and of course God's leading....that goes without saying!)  I am emotionally, physically and psychologically my husband's other half!  Although we technically live with my dad, we, my husband and I, lead our own lives!  We may share expenses and some really good times, but we live as if we were totally alone!  All in all, this works for us and we are able to save money in the process!  If anyone has any questions about this setup, please feel free to ask!  Also, I would love to hear about ways you save money and may be preparing for an economic downturn...which I believe is almost inevitable.
Blessings on this beautiful Thursday evening...

A New Budget and a New Challenge

Well, my husband and I sat down a few weeks ago and discussed our non-existent grocery budget.  We are not huge spenders and I typically go to the store with a list after completing a meal plan, but extras always seem to sneak in the cart! :-)  We are trying to trim our spending in all categories and as we came to this one, the Mister suggested that we try something new.  A challenge of sorts.  He asked me to try to spend no more than $200.00 monthly on groceries.  There is typically three of us for 2 sometimes 3 meals a day, unless we have company or if the Mister is working late.  For some, this may not seem difficult.  I am not sure what other families spend, so I would love for you all to share with me what your budgets are on average.  The Mister has set a goal of $200.00 a month, but I am shooting more in the range of $175.00 a month.  Now, we do have a well stocked pantry and chest freezer, so the first few months may not be difficult.  After that, I'm not sure.  Any suggestions on how to save on groceries, other than couponing (I'm trying to get into this.  It just seems like more of a hassle than it's worth.  Trying to change my mindset though)?  I plan on putting $50.00 away every week even if we don't need groceries, so when we need to get some, the money is there waiting for me.

After church on Sunday, we stopped by a local grocery store and picked up a few things that were on sale.  We didn't need any of them, but put them in our stock.
I spent $12.80 and saved $4.63 with store sales and a freebie promotion.  This bill also included $6 allergy medicine for Arrow.  If it wasn't for the medicine our weekly grocery bill would have been only $7.00!
I am so excited about this challenge and I know that I can make a huge difference in our spending and in turn, make a huge difference in our eating habits!  Less spending money = Less junk foods!  Pray for me in this endeavor and I challenge you to take on the challenge of a trimmed grocery budget!  Let me know if you are going to join in!  I'll keep you updated on my progress and I'd love to hear about to progress!

Blessings...