Some Great Money Saving Ideas to Start Off the New Year!

Stocking Stuffer Ideas

Besides the goodies and the oranges and peanuts that Santa puts in our stockings, he seems to leave items that are useful or may come in handy. Of course there are also a few toys for the younger kiddos but if your looking for some handy or useful items here are a few ideas!


Survival Bracelets/Straps

Have you seen these? They are pretty neat and useful as well as fun to wear. My hubby learned how to make these when he went up to scout camp with our boys. Each bracelet has yards of paracord which you can unravel in just over a minute, and deploy the paracord for use in literally hundreds of ways—many of which could help save a life! They come in many different styles and colors.

Hand and feet warmers are always a great stocking stuffer, we buy these by the box full and have used them for all sorts of events. But my kids love to get them in their stockings and wear them to bed that night or save them for when they go out and play in the snow. They don't cost too much and they can last up to 10 hours.

My older 2 will be getting one of these this year. Multi-Purpose Tools are great and have so many handy things on them. Most have screwdrivers, scissors, knifes, needle nose pliers, etc.. Very hand and easy to carry. I keep one in my purse and have used it often, mine even has a flashlight. These come in many different price ranges depending on what you want.

5-in-1 Survival Whistles are wonderful and we have a rule that whistles are only to be blown outside. This year everyone is getting one of these so that they can add it to their 72 hour packs. The ones I purchased have a whistle, compass, signal mirror, water proof container and flint. Again, another inexpensive idea!

One last item is a personal mini first aid kit. Everyone will also be getting these in their stockings this year. Again, there are several types you can purchase and they come in various prices. The ones I have are similar to this picture and include 12 first aid items to clean, treat and protect wounds in a reclosable carton. Includes eight assorted Band-Aids, two antiseptic wipes and two gauze pads. Perfect to also carry in a 72 hour kit.

Hope this helps, what useful items do you have for your stockings this year?

Is A Debt Free Christmas Possible?

Are you ready for Christmas yet, are you doing it without going into debt? I am getting there and I am close to being done with my shopping and I am doing it all without any debt! Christmas this year has been my personal challenge. This year since we DO NOT use credit cards anymore, I had to figure out a way to pay for Christmas this year up front and in cash. The credit cards were sooo much easier to use, I just shopped, put my items in my cart, took them up to the checkout and whipped out my handy, dandy card, I rarely thought twice about what I just did, but I certainly did when that lovely credit card bill came the next month!

Planning Ahead
So this year I really had to plan ahead, this way took so much more work, but I know in the long run it will all be worth it! I first had to make a Christmas budget and I saved this year like crazy, now remember were still getting back on our feet and still have a lot to do at the new house, so I was not sure how I was going to save enough to pay for Christmas for my family, my hubbies family(we only buy something for his parents and we draw on the kids, we have 3 nieces this year with a $20.00 limit), my family(my parents and my brother and his family with a $15.00 limit per person, and my Aunt and Uncle). I saved, saved, saved like crazy and then in October I started going through all that junk, lovely stuff that was in my garage, some I donated, actually a lot I donated but some I knew had some value, so I turned to my local craigslist and ebay and have been selling as much as I possible can! I mean to the point my kids are getting worried about their stuff and even themselves! Seriously though, so far and this is just in one week, we have made $500.00 and I still have stuff to sell! Not to bad if you ask me.

I am very careful in doing this though and I always make sure that someone is home with me, I never let people into my house and I carry my cell phone just in case, but so far everyone I have worked with has been great and no problems.

I was also fortunate that at the end of my job in September, I won a $200.00 money card and that has been wonderful, I have only touched a few hundred dollars of the money I have been saving and like I said I am almost done.

The 3 Gifts
For our kids and to keep cost down and gifts more manageable we do what is called the 3 gifts.  The 3 gifts represent the 3 gifts given to the baby Jesus from the 3 Wise men(gold, frankincense and myrrh).  For our kids this means that they get something they want(usually the Santa gift), something they need and something we want to get them.  We also do a book(this year I made a memory book for each child), pj's and stocking items.  Santa also brings a family gift which usually has things in it for the entire family, this consist of board games, books, movie tickets and a book on CD.  Santa also fills the stockings.  We also let each child draw a siblings name to buy them a present which we pay for($10.00 limit) and give to them on Christmas Day!
I cannot tell you how much this has helped and has curtailed the amount of presents we buy and how much we spend.  You see they also get gifts from their Grandparents, Great Aunt and Uncle, Aunts and Uncles and then each other.  It ends up being quite a bit and I just finally decided they did not need so much stuff!  We help both sets of Grandparents to keep things down on that end too.

I figure I will have probably spent a total of $700.00 for 20 people and a dog and cat(have to get something for them for all they put up with).  Not to bad actually if you ask me and I wont have the buyers remorse because there will be no credit card bills coming in the mail, that is the best part!


A Few Other Suggestions
A few other things I have done to curb cost is:

• Look for sales
• Look for free shipping when buying online
• Look for online coupons
• Buy a package deal that you can split up between people(I did this with a Star Wars Figure package)
• Stay with the limits you have set and don't go over that!
• Make a list and stick to it
• Have your kids make a list to give you some ideas and alternatives
• Use coupons or price match when you can

These are just a few suggestions, how do you shop for Christmas and how do you keep your cost down?  Most of all do you use credit cards to pay for Christmas?

Greek Starvation Recipes

If you have been following what has been happening in Greece, then you know its a bad situation and that we in the United States are being told that we are embarking on the same path.

One thing I learned about not having much money is that you have to get creative with food because its one of the largest expenses usually in your budget(depending of course on the number of mouths you feed). Yes, we did go on food stamps for 6 months but during that time I wanted to make the most of what I was given and be very conservative with what I had.

The other day I heard on one of our local AM radio shows Austin Hill about a cook book that recently came out in Greece called "Starvation Recipes". Fun title I know but as I did some more research on it and read the following article at the Blaze. The recipes in this book are ones that were used during the second World War, when people in Europe were quite literally starving to death and rationing everything they had as well as becoming quite creative on food.

Times were tough for them and it really got me thinking on what if that happened here or what if I had no money again and there was no food stamps, what would I do? Now I know there are other ways to get food right now besides food stamps, there are churches, food banks, etc.. But as I read on why this women created this book and especially why its selling out in Greece, it got me thinking again on why its important to be prepared and to be frugal, maybe not as extreme as this right now, but you never know do you? Also, what if it happens one day that there are no more food stamps, no more churches or food banks giving out food, what would you do to feed your family?

I also wanted to share a site that I found that is called Cooking Economy, you should really check it out! It goes along similar lines as the cookbook but not to the extreme! I really want to try some of the recipes on there, they look pretty good and I really believe it would be a good idea to know how to make some of these meals.

That said, how is your food storage?

Do you have enough food in your pantry to last your family for a little while? I will be talking more latter about how you can easily put together a 90 days worth of meals. These have been tried out, bought and tested and it wont break the bank! Did you know that most grocery stores only have enough on their shelves and in their store rooms to last for 3 days! In an emergency or a run on the stores those shelves and the store for that matter are cleared out in a matter of hours! Bottom line is to have enough food in your home to last for a little while but will touch more on that as I said latter.

See what you think about both and leave me a message!

Thankful and Snakes Bite!

So is everyone ready to stuff their stomach's tomorrow? While you are at that task don't forget all the things you are grateful for. There are so many, even though this year has been tough, I am still very grateful for many things; my family for one, a house to live in, my husbands work, health, friends, faith, the list goes on. One thing I am also thankful for is to have not used any credit cards in over 6 months!

Now I know this sounds strange and why in the world would I be grateful for something like that! Well I tell you, I have had credit cards since I was 19, I always thought I could control my spending and I did a great job for the first few years, even after I was married. But then, I think I got comfortable with using them and eventually did not worry about paying them off at the end of the month anymore. Sometimes it was not my fault, completely at least. We would have those regular purchases, a little here and a little there, then we would have those major purchases, such as car repairs or hospital stays or Christmas, those are the ones that put us over where we needed to be.
We and I say we(him and I) have been in and out of credit card debt 3 times and I mean completely vowing to never again get ourselves into that situation. The longest it lasted was 6 months and then the cycle started over, the snakes would bite us every time no matter how much control we thought we had over the snakes.

When we went through our financial downfall in 2010, I could no longer make those credit card payments(couldn't pay the house either) and unfortunately the companies will not work with you until you become behind, I still don't understand that but that is how they work. I even called Mr. Dave Ramsey for advice on my situation in whole as well as for some guidance and help, he helped put my mind at ease because I had never been in a situation like this before and had always made my payments on everything, this felt really wrong but there was nothing else I could do.

Soon, the companies of our credit cards were sending us letters letting us know that they were parting ways with us and closing our accounts, I was actually happy to hear this and would happily pull out the credit card and cut it up and throw it away. Since our credit score was quickly going down, it did not take long before all 5 of our creditors closed our accounts, this left us with two cards that we owed money on to the tune of around 20k. One card let me make a settlement of half, the other let me start making payments.

The only cards now that we have our debit cards and store saver cards, no credit cards do we keep nor use. Hopefully by next summer we will have the other card done away with as well. This of course has helped us to better prepare ourselves financially, we save, we keep track of our money better, save for things we need and cannot purchase right away and also make better spending decisions(do we really need it). We saved for Christmas this year and will be paying cash for everything we buy, we have a budget and will gladly stick to it.

Some people can play with snakes and not get bit, most are not so lucky which is why credit card debit is at an all time high. I know I am one of those that cannot play with snakes and so I don't anymore.

Happy Thanksgiving and be grateful!

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Social Networks

I have linked this blog to a few social network sites, hopefully it will work, enjoy!

Morning of the Sheep..

When you live in the country sometimes the unexpected happens! Today, my older two boys left for school. A few minutes latter I noticed that they were standing on the end of our drive and had not made it to the bus stop yet. Knowing the bus would be here soon, I went outside and told them to get moving and go to the bus stop and why were they just standing there. They quickly told me that they could not go because a million sheep were coming down the road! I thought they were pulling my leg so I took a peak and sure enough this is what I saw!

I guess the crossing happens a few times during the year, the sheep herders use our street as the way to get the sheep back and forth. It was the coolest and craziest thing I have ever seen, it did make for an exciting morning for us and our neighbors as no one could leave or move anywhere while the sheep were crossing.

One of my friends saw my picture and she brought up a good thought to go with it on patience. She said "Makes life even funner when you're in a hurry to get somewhere I'm sure...how nice to be empowered by the value of patience!!" I think she was looking at the bus and how it could not go anywhere, I am sure the bus driver was in a hurry to get to the bus stops on time and get everyone to school on time, but what could he do? He certainly had to have patience.
I guess its just one of the many perks of living in the country!

Downsizing and All That Goes With It!

Did you ever wonder what it looks like to go from a 2800 square foot house to a 2000 square foot house? It's not pretty and before I show you what I mean ponder this...Why and how do we end up with so much junk? I mean we hang on to everything and anything(most of us do at least, right?).

Do we REALLY need all the stuff that we have or can we manage with less? Now I know that my family of 7 will have more than my friends family of 4, more people mean more things usually. BUT, this time or should I say this move has gotten me to think how much stuff do I we really need. Then I decided I could not handle it anymore and took action. During our big move I honestly wished I was a gypsy, I hated that we had anything and wished so much that we could each just take a suitcase and call it good, you'll see why in a minute.

Now, before I show you the dreaded, not proud of one bit picture let me just say before our move I gave a driveways full of stuff to charity, it was a lot of stuff because I knew I could not take it all with me as it would not all fit in the new house and I felt really good about getting rid of it(lots of it I had wanted to sell but never had the time to do so). I also have a yard sale every year(except for this one, too busy this year)so I had gotten rid of quite a few things then too, my rule is once it goes out it does not come back in! I don't hang on to stuff too badly, I just usually don't have the time to go through it all and I don't have much help from the other family members, but I know that its not enough, I have to make time and I have to get it done, I really want to be able to park in the garage one day!
Ok, well here is the picture of the garage, please don't scream, but I will understand if you do!

You screamed didn't you? It looks really bad, but it could have been sooo much worse IF I hadn't gotten rid of all the other stuff before the move. The sad part is that my house now is pretty much full, so not much of this stuff is coming in, it either has to stay in the garage, a shed or its gone!

I have decided that it is time to continue de-junking, it just has to be done. We are a consumable society and we are always adding more and more to what we have and not getting rid of much. Have you watched those shows on T.V. about people and the stuff they have and it has over run their lives and they don't know what to do and so a cleaning/organizing team comes in and saves the day? I watch them a lot every once in a while, waiting and wanting for someone to come in and do the same thing with my house but I then realized that it probably was not going to happen any time soon and so I needed to be the team to save my day! I have been gathering items, going through boxes and when the phone rings from my local charity asking if I have anything to donate that they can pick up I say YES!

I have also decided I don't need(and neither does my family) all the stuff we have, especially if it has been sitting in a box for a while. I try to go by 5 rules to help me decide what goes and what stays. First, have I used it or have I even seen it in the last 6 months. Second, do I really need it? Third, do I already have one or anything similar? Fourth, could someone else use it or need it more than I? Fifth, should I sell it, donate it or just throw it away.

De-junking or getting rid of things is a great way to help you in being prepared, by knowing what you have and where it is, it can help you at a time when you may need it most! It also makes room for items that are more necessary or for things you might really need in the future. Its also a benefit to rid your items in two other ways, you can sell items and make some extra money(we can all use that right!), my hubby thinks its a waist of time but I would always rather have a garage sale or consign my stuff first and try to get something out of it before I give it away. Second, you will feel so much better about your surroundings with everything in order, you know the old rule, a place for everything and everything in its place, it really does make a difference and does wonders to your stress level!

This has been quite a challenge for us since when we moved, we had 20+ people helping us and boxes were just placed wherever, most in the garage. My keys were packed away in a box on accident and I literally scaled boxes in the garage to find my keys, I could touch the ceiling with my head, scary! But slowly and surely we are making head way and organizing by getting rid of the extra.

This time of the year is when I normally go through all my kids stuff, I get rid of the items I know they don't use or play with and then let them go through the other items and have them curtail it all a little more. All the toys we give to charity or to families that are struggling.

I encourage you to do this, start small, don't make it overwhelming. Even if its just one box a day, do it! Being prepared and handling challenges is important to do. Oh, and if you would like to share how you de-junk, please feel free, I love ideas and suggestions or anything that can make my life easier or help me feel I am not alone!

Milton Friedman - Greed

Had to add this clip my friend sent me, thought it was very interesting even 30 years latter. Rely on yourself and prepare yourself.

72 Hour Kits

One thing I have learned for sure is the importance of being prepared.  Now, I am not just talking about being prepared for financial disasters but on disasters in general.  Have you noticed how many "disaster" type things are going on and have been going on the last little while.  I don't think a day goes by that I don't hear about a disaster of some kind or another and it doesn't need to be a huge one either.  Right now my sister-in-law lives in New Jersey and they had a terrible snow storm go through and knocked out the power for a few days, they could barely travel anywhere because of the conditions and had hardly any food in the house, let along water.
One way we as a family decided to get prepared is to have a 72+ hour backpack put together just in case.  There are several different types you can make with several different budgets(and our was done with a budget)but basically you want to have food, water, fuel, lighting, some equipment, personal supplies, clothing and a first aid kit.  Remember you are planning for at least 3 days and that is to give you time or rescue/utilities workers time to help.
Start with a backpack of sorts, larger sizes work good for older children and adults and smaller for young children and the elderly.
Here are pictures of some of ours. This is just our food items.

 The above picture contains 3 of the following:  Oatmeal, instant breakfast drink, fruit snacks, hot chocolate, breakfast bars, trail mix, and cookies.  This also has, tuna fish and crackers, instant mac and cheese, powdered milk, gum and candy, apple cider, instant soup, 2 box drinks and canned pork and beans, chili, beef soup, green beans and pineapple.  Not including the back pack this totaled around $15.00 in price.  I usually pick up my back packs at the thrift stores, they don't have to be expensive, just durable and able to hold what your going to put in them, comfort is also a good idea!

Here is another you can do:

As you can see, there are some similar items but also a few different items such as Mountain House meals, fruit cups, pasta noodles, instant potatoes, drink mix, peanut butter cups, Ramen Noodles and SPAM.  There is also a lighter, head lamp, small cooking oven, hand sanitizer and a first aid kit with medicine.

The easiest way to decide what you need is to see what items you would use that are easy to carry and prepare.  We have traveling water filters so that would be our main water supply that we could use for drinking, cooking, etc..  You don't want you back pack to be heavy and its better to put anything that moisture could get into into zip bags.

 Another neat idea is to put your 72 hour kit in a #10 can, the only draw back to this is that its sealed which is good to keep moisture out, but you have to be able to open it(hence the little razor can opener).  Here is what the can looks like(you must have access to a sealer to seal the lid to the can) and also a list of items that are in the can and the itty bitty little razor that I don't know how to use, yet!

We have made sure that each family member has a 72 hour kit, there are many ideas available on the web.  Also, make sure you keep some money in your kits, small dollar amounts are recommended.  ATM machines may not be working and so its good to keep some money in them, also if you have kids let them pick out some FUN items to put in their bags, items such as a word search, cards, coloring book and crayons just to name a few.  Remember this is all for just in case but you never know if or when you may need them!

What Happened??

No Money!

We were your typical urban family. In 2006 we had just built our dream house, had our 5th child and my husband was doing well in his line of work. We put a lot of sweat equity in our home and had things just the way we wanted them. We could tell the economy was starting to change when my husband’s work gave notice that they were pulling out of the U.S.(his company was owned by Canadian's). He and a co-worker decided that they would keep the service running as their own business here in the U.S. The company before had been doing pretty well and there was a large demand for the services they had to offer, many contracts were being negotiated and all seemed well. Then in 2009 the economic crunch hit and several of their clients could not afford their services, such companies were government agencies, school districts, hospitals, etc..

We knew that if this continued things were going to go downhill fast, my husband being the hard working, never give up sort of guy was doing everything he could to make things work. I being the one who takes care of the bills, checking account, etc.. could see that things were not looking good. I decided at that point to start putting some plans together just in case.

What To Do And Car Crash Miracles..
Then in 2010 things continued to get worse and not better, my husband was not bringing home any money, I thankfully was able to find a part time job to do at home, but it did not bring in much. The bills were piling up and our savings was dwindling fast. As fate would have it, I was in a head on car accident that year which totaled my vehicle, this gave us some extra money to live off of and bought us a little more time to see what we could do.

My husband finally realized that the business was too far gone to try to recover it, his friend wanted to keep going but we could not sacrifice anymore. We were now several payments behind on our mortgage, our credit cards, our HOA dues, we were on food stamps, I was looking into housing assistance, health insurance for our kids, and anything else I could do to help out. I was still working very part time, couponing and doing everything in my power to pinch our pennies, but time was running out.

  Too Far Gone.
In 2011 we decided that our home was too far gone to try to save it ourselves.   At this time it started to roll around in my head as to what options we had available and "if" we truly wanted to try to stay where we were. Because of the economic crunch we were not only behind in our payments but we lost all the equity we had in the house which was cash and work we had put in, home prices were dropping quickly and we were now very upside down with our homes value. We loved our urban home; we had designed and put a lot of work into it ourselves. We also loved our neighbors, the kid's school, and the church we attended but was this going to be the best option for our family still? I started to look around the area we lived in but decided to see what else was available, maybe something with some land as prices were quickly dropping in the housing market and land would give us more independence. We could grow our own food and have animals such as chickens, pigs, goats and more. It would also give our children an opportunity to learn some traditional work ethics and how to take care of and be responsible for something other than themselves. I spoke with my mom about this idea and she thought that that may be a better thing to do as well. My husband was not initially sold on this idea, but the more I talked to him about it the more he realized that he liked the idea!

  Just In Time!
We found a few different places that would possibly work for what we were wanting and that was affordable to my parents as they would have to help us, after all our credit was shot and we could not buy another house. We found a house with an acre of land but that was much smaller than the home we were currently in. I felt really good about it though even knowing we would have to significantly down size and the house and property needed a lot of work!

We did a lot of praying and our prayers were starting to be answered. Just before our savings ran out, my husband was fortunate enough to land a job after many applications and only a few interviews, but he was going to be making far less than what he had been making before. Money was still going to be tight, I was still negotiating with our creditors and we were still responsible for the mortgage of our house even thought it was now up for a short sale and an auction date had been set if it did not sell.

  The Short Sale Happens..
Not too long after this we received an offer on our home for the short sale and my parents offer for the other property had been accepted. Time was of the essence because the new house had to close so we could start the work that was going to need to be done on it(flooring, paint, doors, lights, etc..) so we could move out of our house and into the other as the short sale of the home we were in had to close before the auction date arrived. This all had to happen and be finished in 7 days, talk about needing a miracle!

  Farm Life Begins.
All went well and everything happened as it needed too, I thought I was going to die but God was truly watching over us. We moved out of our house and into the other even though all the work was not yet finished and we were still lacking downstairs flooring and a few other things but we moved in. With boxes piled high, everything in a mess, we were ready to start our "new" life in the country on our mini farm which we knew nothing about...yet! (Oh yes, did I mention we had already purchased 4 goats and 12 chickens that we had been keeping in the garage of our old home).