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.

Continue Reading

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. 

Continue Reading

                                                                                  

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. 

Continue Reading

 

I thought that for St Patrick's Day I would share my take on green smoothies. I got the idea from two of my favorite healthy blogs Passionate Homemaking and Heavenly Homemakers. They both have great recipes for green smoothies/slushies. I took both recipes and kind of made up my own yummy green smoothie. They are so good for you and even my 1 year old will drink them. Unfortunately my 3 year old will not, but she does not care for smoothies of any sort. Weird I know. Oh well. 

Green Smoothies (I tend to eyeball amounts)

Frozen strawberries

Frozen or fresh banana

A couple hand fulls FRESH spinach (Frozen tastes terrible)

A little juice (or water)

Yogurt or kefir (I use homemade for extra nutrition)

Honey if you like (I leave this out)

     

Put everything in the blender and blend very well. All of the spinach should completely blend away and leave you with a nice green colored drink. You can hardly taste the spinach. The fruit does a nice job of masking it.

The nice thing about this recipe is that you can add any fruit you like as well as change out the greens. Experiment with what you like to eat. Start out with only a little spinach and eventually you can add more as you become accustomed to the taste. This is a great way to get some nutrition down picky eaters.

One thing I discovered is that you do NOT want to use frozen spinach. It does not blend well and will leave chunks in your smoothie. YUCK! It also leaved behind a strong spinach flavor.

Head on over to Tammy's Recipes for more of today's kitchen tips. 

Continue Reading

Here are the coupon links I have find for healthy food...

$.75/1 Fresh Del Monte Pineapple here and here

$1/1 Cascadian Farms (Great frozen veggies)

$1/1 Muir Glen product 

$2/2 Ians natural chicken nuggets

$1/1 Country Choice Oatmeal

$1/2 Odwalla Juice

$1/1 Biokleen (Watch for this to go on clearance)

$.50/1 Method (At Target)

$1/1 Lifeway Kefir

$1/1 Sunspire baking chips

$1/1 Maranatha Nut Butter (Watch for clearance sales)

$1/1 Blue Diamond Nut Thins

$.75/1 Santa Cruz (Hand on to these. Kroger often has large jugs of lemonade on sale for $2 in the summers. After the coupon double that makes it $1 for organic lemonade!)

$1/1 Organic Valley cheese

Various Stoneyfield Farm products 

Various Horizon Organic coupons (These are nice when the gallon milk is marked down)

I will try to add to this list as I come across coupons. You can eat healthy with coupons you just have to plan. I know you can do it!

Just as a side note I found organic butter at Target today for $3.50 a pound. This is about $1 more then Kroger brand, but about $2-3 less then national organic brands. I feel that butter is a place I can splurge when I have the extra money to do so since most of the antibiotics and growth hormones are found in the fat of diary foods.

I am hoping to start a series on how to make most of the items we eat or buy weekly in the grocery store. It is so much cheaper and healthier to make your own. If there are any request as to what you would like me to start with let me know.

Continue Reading

I went shopping today and was able to use some coupons toward produce, organic bread, and other things. In another post I will try to share some links to some great natural coupons. I had hoped to show you a picture of my shopping trip, but my sweet husband had everything put away before I had a chance.  I can tell you that I only spent around $41. Coupons can be so helpful. Sometimes it is worth it to buy something that you do not plan to use just to get an overage toward the items you do plan to use. You can always donate the extras. 

Since I could not get a picture here is a list of what I got...

3 # organic apple

organic lettuce 

2.19 # organic banana

Nature's own organic bread

1 # organic beef

Kroger natural peanut butter 

2 jars Classico spaghetti sauce (I liked this brand because it did not have high fructose corn syrup or soybean oil)

1 Large can V8

1 can green beans

1 can peaches

2 cans pears

1 can madarin oranges

Daisy sour cream (This brand is cream only without additives)

apple juice (I prefer not to buy this, but my daughter needs to have as many fluids I we can get down her)

2 packs strawberries

Local whole wheat flour

2 boxes freezer bags

1 bag garbonzo beans

1 bag frozen stir fry veggies

1 bag frozen bell pepper and onions

1 sm container plain yogurt (To make my own yogurt with)

1 cucumber

1 bag Nature's own buns

World Market olive oil (My favorite brand)

1 box Always Infinity (I had a free box coupon, plus $2 came off that was already loaded to my card)

Coupons used...

2 $.75 Nature's own (No longer available)

$1 off V8

1 $.35 off Kroger frozen veggie (mailer)

$2.50 off next order coupon

Free Always Infinity

$10 off next order coupon (This was a Walgreens Register Reward. I read at Common Sense With Money that if you ask your store some will take them as a competitors coupon. I decided to ask the cashier. She just said she would see if it would scan. Guess what it did!)

Total OOP $41.22

Total saved $34.72

I obviously could have saved more if I had gone to Aldi's to get my produce. I decided that I would rather spend a little more for better quality especially since I was planning to use the $10 off catalina. 

Continue Reading

I found a great recipe for homemade laundry soap on the Dugger website. I have been playing with the idea of trying it for myself. When I saw that this recipe worked well for a family of 20 I new that it must work well.

I have also found that using plain white vinegar in the rinse cycle makes a very frugal and natural alternative to fabric softener. Don't worry it does not leave a vinegar smell behind.

I am really excited to try this recipe for 2 reasons

1.) It costs much less then any prepackaged laundry detergent. According to the recipe each batch only costs about $2 and makes 10 gallons. Depending on the type of washing machine you have this will do anywhere from 180-640 loads of laundry!

2.) It is all natural and a very green alternative. I have children with very sensitive skin, and the fact that this recipe does not have any dyes or perfumes is a plus.

This recipe was taken directly from the Dugger's website. I felt it was best not to mess with any of the wording so that you can achieve the same results. I am not sure how to give proper credit for this.

TIPS FOR LAUNDRY SOAP: We use Fels-Naptha bar soap in the homemade soap recipes, but you can use Ivory, Sunlight, Kirk's Hardwater Castile or Zote bars. Don't use heavily perfumed soaps. We buy Fels-Naptha by the case from our local grocer or online. Washing Soda and Borax can normally be found on the laundry or cleaning aisle. Recipe cost approx. $2.

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value

4 Cups hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup Washing Soda
½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

Powdered Laundry Detergent- Top load machine

1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup Washing Soda
½ Cup Borax

-Grate soap or break into pieces and process in a food processor until powdered. Mix all ingredients. For light load, use 1 Tablespoon. For heavy or heavily soiled load, use 2 Tablespoons. Yields: 3 Cups detergent. (Approx. 40 loads)

Make sure to check out this website for tons of great frugal recipes and incredible parenting advice.

Continue Reading

After sales, coupons, and $$ off your next order I got all of this (plus a few things not pictured) for a grand total of $.87!!

I just realized I got a picture of my sweet husband making gnocchi for dinner.

I had such a great shopping trip today. After reading Crystal's tip about the Huggies coupons being used for single packs of wipes I decided I needed to go shopping today. I had already used all of my $5 coupons on diapers at Walgreens, but I had 11 $3 coupons left. I had access to 4 printers for these coupons in case you were wondering how I managed to get so many. The above picture was in 3 transactions. I am planning to donate all of the wipes and cereal to my church's food pantry. I am well stocked on wipes from Walgreens earlier this week.

Transaction #1...Dillons/Kroger

6 boxes Huggies wipes $2.50 each -6 $3 coupons
2 boxes Glucerna cereal $3.99 each -2 $5 coupons (I received 2 $2.50 OYNO coupons)
1 gallon Horizon organic milk marked down to $3.90
1 Big K gingerale
1 box Fruitabu organic fruit snacks marked down to $2
1 Russell Stover Private Reserve marked down to $.75

Total out of pocket $4.35
Received $5 back off of my next order

Transaction #2 Dillons/Kroger

4 boxes Huggies wipes $2.50 each -4 $3 coupons
3 Russell Stover Private Reserve $.75 each - Buy 2 get 1
1 large can Muir Glen tomatoes marked down to $1.75 - $1 coupon

Total out of pocket $1.13

Transaction #3...Leekers

1 can Pringles - Free item coupon (Special treat for family)
1.96 pounds bananas $1.31
-$1 off next order coupon

Total out of pocket $.39

Total out of pocket $5.87
Recieved $5 off your next order coupons
Grand Total $.87

Total savings $45.94

Continue Reading

If I had read the title of this post 2 years ago I would have completely agreed, and for the most part I still do. That said I would like to show you that there are some coupons out there that can be used for organic or natural foods. I still think that buying organic ingredients and making your own food is definitely cheaper, but not everyone is able to spend time in the kitchen cooking every meal. Later this week I will try and post some recipes that use whole foods that are frugal and easy to prepare.

I am always on the lookout for organic coupons. I seem to find them everywhere. If you have a health food store anywhere near you make sure to check them out. They often have coupons in their magazines or in my case a whole book of coupons that comes out every couple of months. I always grab several. The nice thing is that the coupons are for REAL food like butter, milk, veggies... A couple of weeks ago I was able to get 2 bags of organic carrots for $.99! I have also been able to get Cascadian Farms fruits and veggies for $.50 a bag buy combining coupons and sales.

Make sure to keep an eye out in your local grocery store as well. In either March or April of last year they had coupon books for Earth Day. These came in very handy. I always check to see what items might be on closeout in the health food section and then see if I have coupons for them.

If you remember to buy your produce in season you are usually able to get organic items for the same price or less then conventional. Here is a good list of seasonal produce in your area. Also see if you can buy locally at a farmers market. Or better yet grow your own. Even if you only have room for a container garden you can grow fruits and veggies. If you have noticed from some of my shopping trip pictures I rarely buy cleaning products or processed foods. I will admit that I cave and buy a few junk food products when a craving hits or I can get something for free. These items are either saved as treats for my kids or donated to my church's food pantry. Sometime I feel bad donating food that I prefer not to feed my family, but I also want to help as much as my budget will allow. I would hope that if I ever were in a position to need help that someone would help me. When I do donate I try to make sure the food is at least somewhat healthy.

If you are looking for coupons for "real" food there are numerous sites that you can go to. Often if you will go to a manufacturers web site they will offer you a coupon. For example Seventh Generation and Muir Glen tomatoes.

Here are some great articles on buying organic food with coupons.

How I Buy Organic Fresh Food For Pennies

Tips For Saving Money On Organic Foods

HUGE List Of Organic Coupons (I mean HUGE)

Continue Reading

I have really been thinking about stopping blogging altogether, as I am sure you have noticed by my extreme absence. For some reason I keep coming back. I seem to miss it. If I still have anyone reading I think I will try to take this blog in a new direction.

I do not like just posting about deals and grocery trips. To me that seems to defeat my original purpose for starting this blog. I still have lots of friends asking me how on earth I find such great deals. This also seems to be the top thing that people visit this blog for. We are all trying to cut back and simplify these days. My goal will be to help those who are interested learn how to still eat a natural whole foods diet and stay within their budgets.

I think I will still post about the good deals when I see them, but not everything. There are so many other bloggers who already have this covered and do a great job. I would really like to concentrate on helping wives and mothers take care of their families in the most frugal yet most natural and healthy way. It is a passion of mine to learn about Biblical principals for raising a family, being good stewards, natural health care, healthy cooking (especially for kids) and more as decide what will work with this new direction.

I will still be posting on how to make the transition from work to home, but also adding in some things about how to live a more natural yet frugal life.

Continue Reading

This is a picture of my Walgreen shopping spree this last Sunday. I was down to 2 packs of diapers so I decided it was time to restock my supply. I have considered going to cloth diapers recently for a greener alternative. I even have a friend who has offered to loan me her's. I am still trying to decide what direction to take. I guess I figure that since Jack is 16 months I will hopefully be able to start potty training in a couple of months. His sister was finished potty training my 22 months. I have heard that boys are harder.

Total for the above....

6 bag diapers
5 184 count bags of wipes
2 packages of raisins
1 Glade Sense and Spray

Total oop about $24
I received $30 in Register Rewards
Total saved over $60

I could have saved $6 more off of my total making it $18, but Walgreens only had 1 Sense and Spray. I needed 2 to get $4 overage. I also had to use a $3 coupon instead of a $5. I could have printed another one at my mom's, but I decided it was not worth the drive to her house and then another store. Considering 1 pack of diapers is on sale for $10 I think I did pretty well.

Continue Reading