Greeno Bambino is on Eversave today only. The deal is for $26 worth of product for only $13. If you are new to Eversave you can sign up and get an instant $5 credit making your purchase total only $8.

Greeno Bambino has a flat rate shipping fee of only $5 which you can use your Eversave purchase toward.

I noticed in their sale section that they had LOTS of items well under $26! This could make for a very inexpensive gift.

Thanks Organic Deals

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This is something I wrote for my other blog Natural On A Budget last fall. It was such a hit over their that I thought I would repost it here. Beans and rice meals are a great way to save money when you are a stay at home mom and needing to stretch your grocery budget.

After buying a lot of bulk beans and rice last week I decided I needed to look for some inventive ways to use them so we do not get bored with just beans and rice. I have obviously not had a chance to try all of these, but I have made a few. All of which were quite good.

I tried to look for recipes that did not include meat to make these more frugal, but there may be some that do have it in the ingredient list. Of course you can always adapt the recipe to your taste and budget.

I also tried to find recipes that did not require strange or expensive ingredients, but were still varied and interesting, including two desserts. (Check out the recipe for chocolate hummus at the bottom.)

Italian and Mediterranean
Minestrone
Pasta e Fagioli
Italian Black Beans and Rice
Hummus and Veggie With Pita
Falafel

Indian
Curried Lentils and Rice
Chola (Channa Masala)
Butter Chickpea Curry
Lentil Curry Dip
Lentil Curry Snack
Dhall

Southwest
3 Bean Chili
Taco Salad
Rice and Bean Burritos
Taco Soup
Taco Pizza
Mexican Lasagna
Spanish Rice With Bean Dip
Bean Quesadillas
Layered Bean Enchilada Casserole
7 Layer Tortilla Pie
Pintos With Mexican Spices and V8
Arroz con Leche (Mexican Rice Pudding)

Southern
Red Beans and Rice

Soups and Salads
Chickpea Soup
Chickpea Pasta
Lentil Soup
Split Pea Soup
Black Bean Soup
Tuscan White Bean Soup
Lentil Curry Soup
Moros y Christianos
Chickpea Salad
Pasta Bean and Veggie Salad

Indian (American)
Indian Fry Bread (Tacos)

Asian
Pho
Chinese Fried Rice

Caribbean
Caribbean Rice and Beans

Misc.
Lentil and Rice Casserole (Easy, cheap, and YUMMY!)
Lentil Soup With Mashed Potatoes (Think shepherd's pie)
Black Beans and Rice Burgers
Bean Chili Over Baked Potatoes (Just like it says. Leftovers over baked potato)
Caramelized Onions and Beans
Lentils In Butter With Veggies and Cornbread
Sauteed Crispy Chickpeas
Savory Lentils and Rice
Chickpeas With Sweet Potato ans Summer Veggies
3 Bean Casserole
Black Bean Tortilla Bake
Chocolate Hummus (I think this sounds interesting)

OK, after putting this together I am hungry!

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I am sure that I am not the only mother out there who wished that there was some way to make money while still staying home with the kids. I have searched and tried so many things. Some that have worked and some that have not. Today I am starting what I hope will become a weekly feature on income earning opportunities that can be done either from your home, with kids in tow, or as your own business.

Today's income earning idea is to become a personal grocery shopper. I have actually considered doing this one myself many times. In fact I asked several friends what they thought of the idea and had a very positive response.

There are so many people out there who could use help getting their groceries...

• New moms
• Elderly
• Home bound
• Working professionals
• Working moms
• Those who have recently had surgery
• The list could go on and on

Here are a couple of places that you could possibly advertise...

• Country clubs
• Doctors offices
• Grocery stores
• Office buildings

Some of the ideas that I have had to help stream line this business would be...

• Ask each client to provide a pre-paid visa or store gift card so that you are not having to pay anything out of your pocket.
• Get different colored shopping bags so that each client could have their own color and tag them so that you can easily make deliveries.
• Get a professional catering cooler so that you are able to keep cold things cold and hot items hot. This would be extremely important. Nobody wants to receive melted ice cream.
• Make up a flyer highlighting what you do, your prices, and the reason why having a personal grocery shopper may benefit the individual. Don't forget your business cards. Vistaprint often has offers for free business cards.

If you still have questions about running your own personal grocery shopping business I have listed several sites below that I have found that explain how to get this business off the ground in much greater detail.

• How to start a personal grocery shopping business- This article has great info including sample pricing and a ready made flyer.
• Brochure-Templates and Youtube video for making your own brochures.
• Another great article with a different perspective.

Let me know if anyone decides to try this and how things go. I am sure others would love to hear as well.

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I can not believe it has been a year and a half since I last posted on this blog. I am sure there is no one still reading it, but the last couple of days I have been praying and asking the Lord to show me a way that I can be a blessing to others and have a ministry while still being a full time wife and mother. I really feel that I am being led to pick up this blog again. We will have to see where things go, but my heartfelt prayer is that in some small way I will be able to touch the life of even just one person.

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This is an old post that had quite a few comments. I thought it was worth posting again. We are all looking for ways to cut back. Hopefully this will help....

I had a reader mention recently that she was about $500 short per month from being able to balance the budget and stay home. I hope that this post will somehow help others see that you can make this work. 

How much are you willing to sacrifice to stay home with your children? This is a question that I often have to ask woman when they ask me how I manage to be a SAHM on my husband's teaching salary. The other statement that I often get from people is "Oh, you are so lucky to be able to stay home with your children. Your husband must have a good job." I have to make sure that I am polite and say thank you I know I am lucky, but what I want to say to them is luck has nothing to do with it. I stay home by choice and I make choices daily that keep me there. 

What are some of the luxuries or so called "needs" that you may have to sacrifice to stay home? I have decided to put together a list of things that my family felt we did not need and truly have not really missed. I realize that some of these things we may be able to have again in the future, but for this season of our lives they are not necessities.

I am going to put an approximate dollar amount to the things on this list so you can see how quickly you can "find" that extra $500 in the budget. It may not seem that you will have any material comforts left at first, but I think you will soon realize, just how little you really need to be happy. The Lord said that he will make sure that we have food to eat, clothes on our back, and a roof over our head. This is the ultimate picture of true contentment. To be happy with the simple things in life. I will not say that I am not still struggling daily with contentment, but I am trying. 

• Cable tv Total we saved $100/month going with minimal cable, phone and internet.
• High speed internet (We do have DSL, but a slower version)
• Call waiting
• Caller ID (Ok this one I miss)
• Long distance telephone service
• Cut Blow money $50/month
• NO eating out except special occasions $50-$100/month
• Gym membership $50/month
• OnStar $15/month
• Budget groceries Depending on your family $100-$200/month
• Try to get your electric and gas on an average payment plan For us this saved about $50/ month
• Use less water, shower every other day. $5-10/month
• Eliminate trash bill (A little radical, but it can be done.) $30/month
• Cut back on your driving to save on gas (If you don't work this should be easier)$50-$100
• Cut family clothing budget. Try garage sales and thrift stores. $25-50/month
• Coupon shop or make your own cleaning supplies $10-15/month
• Put a $5 limit on gifts. This can force you to be creative. With coupons I still am able to come up with some nice gifts. $25-$50/month
• Cancel magazine subscriptions. $10/month
• Come up with free or cheap entertainment. Keep an eye out for coupons or free events, or try having a family night at home. $25/month
• Possibly sell one car $300/month
• Before quitting your job eliminate debt. $100-$300/month

As you can see these numbers can very quickly add up.

Realize that some of these changes will not be permanent. They are just some things you may have to sacrifice for a season to make your dreams come true. You can eventually start adding some small things back in. See Crystal's post here about living on a very bare bones budget of $1000 a month. It is amazing.

Think of saving money as your new "job." You are not technically being paid for it, but you are sort of making money. Remember all the expenses you will no longer have by not working out of the home. The average mom only makes a couple of dollars an hour after all the expense are paid so she can work, unless you have a very high paying job. That hardly seems worth it to me. 

• Work Clothes $25-50/month
• Dry Cleaning $25/month
• Work Lunches $50/month
• Daycare! $400-500 per child per month
• Gas $100/month

Things you will gain as a SAHM...

• Seeing all your child's firsts and not hearing about it from the sitter
• Being able to go to all school events and field trips
• Showing your children by example how to live a Godly life
• Seeing those beautiful smiles first thing in the morning and knowing you will not have to leave them with someone else.
• Being able to stay home with a sick child and not miss work
• Home cooked meals
• A happier family because mom is not stressed out
• Time to plan a menu, shop, and save money
• Quality time with your husband
• This list could go on forever. You can add some of your own perks.

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Ok I have to start out by apologizing for not getting pictures of my butter making adventure for you. I know it helps to see the steps as they are described. This is the first in my series of making your own groceries.  The cost of a gallon of raw milk for me is $2.50. I used 2 gallons to make about 8 oz of butter. So for $5 I will have milk, butter, cheese, and whey. Not to bad, plus it is much healthier.

Here is what I am planning for future posts...

Bread

Yogurt

Tortillas

Mozzarella cheese (I will be making this for the first time)

Pita

More as they come to me. I have lots of ideas.

 My husband and I are striving to either make, grow, or raise as many of our own groceries as possible to save money, and also this will help us know exactly where our food is coming from. I think it is kind of a fun adventure to learn so many things that women used to do everyday without even thinking it was anything abnormal. I want my children to know how we get food and not to just think it comes from a grocery store. 

One thing I find interesting is that from 2 gallons of raw milk you can make butter, ricotta cheese, and mozzarella cheese. 

I forgot to mention that I finally found a source of raw milk about 30 minutes from my house for $2.50 a gallon! That is a steal compared to the $6 a gallon I have been paying for organic milk. 

Here are the steps for making butter...

1.)Skim the cream off of the top of raw milk. You can buy cream if you want, but it will defeat the purpose of saving money. 

2.)Fill a food processor 1/3 full of cream. I filled mine to the max liquid line.

3.) Set the food processor on high and let it run for about 10 minutes. 

4.) At this point you should have the fat separated from the milk. You should see chunks of butter in the milk. Scoop all of the butter out into a clean bowl.

5.) Run COLD water into the bowl and squeeze out all the excess milk with a spoon. Repeat this step until the water is clear. 

6.) Squeeze out all the excess water and you should have a nice ball of butter. 

For a much better tutorial on this with pictures go to Heavenly Homemaker. 

I promise for the next post I will remember pictures. 

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Our dryer decided to quit drying clothes about 3 or 4 months ago and ever since I have either line dried them in the house or have taken them over to my parent's house and used their dryer. I tried hard not to complain, but it was getting to be a little old considering I have 2 small children and I babysit 2 more on Tuesdays and Thursdays. You can imagine the size of my laundry pile. 

We thought we would have enough to get a used one, but February was an expensive month. Jack had pneumonia twice, Madison and I both had doctors visits, and I had to go to the dentist 4 times to have old fillings redone. To top it all off our insurance was supposed to cover Jack's nebulizer in full, but we later got a letter stating that they would be applying it to our deductible and we would be responsible for paying the entire bill. Thankfully we do have insurance so a lot of the above was covered. In total we paid nearly $1000. We do have money in savings to put toward paying off our car, but we hated to spend it. So I just kept drying clothes without a dryer.

I now have 3 things to be thankful for...

1.) We are all healthy again

2.) We were able to pay cash for our medical bills. We did not have to go into more debt.

3.)My dad showed up at my house yesterday with a BRAND NEW dryer in the back of his truck. Not used but NEW. He said he would be back later to install it and haul away the old one. To say the least I nearly started to cry. Especially when I found out where the money came from. 

My grandmother passed away nearly 2 years ago and my dad finally got her life insurance money. He had planned to buy himself a four wheeler to go hunting with, but instead he decided to pay off his credit card (this is a huge step for him), buy me a dryer, and put the rest in savings. So my grandmother sort of bought be a dryer. It was so nice to see such a selfless act. It makes me want to do something for someone else. 

What are you thankful for today? Head on over to Heavenly Homemakers for more Gratituesday. 

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