Saving Families Money Since 2007
I’ve been so inspired by Lori from Moms By Heart over the years. Her post today on how their family of seven is paying for housing, utilities, water, garbage, cable, and internet for just $200 per month is really impressive.
Read her post all about how they are making RV living work for them and how they made the transition to this lifestyle over the past few years.
I saw this question on Facebook earlier today and really pondered it for awhile. What would your answer be?
Mine would be: You’re enough.
Stop chasing after people-pleasing, perfectionism, and performing. Just be you. Be all that God called you to be. Exercise your gifts and talents. Don’t wish you were her or try to be her. Learn from her. Be inspired by her. But don’t compare yourself to her.
Because you’re not her. You’re you. Embrace your talents and passions. Own the gifts you’ve been given. The world needs your gifts, your skills, and your talents. The world needs you.
Your turn. I’d love to hear what your two words (or four words — or however many words you need!) in the comments!
This easy homemade whole wheat bread will delight your tastebuds and likely be an instant hit with your entire family. It’s a great beginner recipe as it’s almost foolproof!
Guest post from Brigette Shevy
There’s nothing like homemade bread fresh from the oven! While I love baking and trying new recipes, this is my standard go-to recipe. It is healthy, super easy, and can be thrown together in less than five minutes if you use a bread machine.
I normally use all whole wheat flour (I grind my own using hard white spring wheat), but you can use any combination of white flour/ bread flour/whole wheat flour. I’ve even been known to throw in some other flours on occasion and make it multi-grain! The dough is extremely versatile and can be used for dinner bread, sandwich bread, rolls, and buns.
If you’ve never made bread before, this is a fabulous recipe to start with!
OIL: You may use any type of oil for this recipe, however, we highly recommend that you use coconut oil. I have made this recipe hundreds of times over the years, and the coconut oil absolutely does make a difference (especially if you are using all whole wheat flour). It makes the bread soft and light. I used to use various dough conditioners (wheat gluten, citric acid, etc), but found I didn’t need them anymore once I started using the coconut oil.
FLOUR: Store-bought whole wheat flour tends to be denser and not rise as much as freshly ground wheat flour. If you use store-bought wheat flour, I recommend doing one cup white or bread flour (or more) to two cups whole wheat for a better finished product. Another option is to add a couple of tablespoons of vital wheat gluten to the dough.
1. Put all ingredients in the bread machine, in the order listed, or in the order recommended by your bread machine model (I have a Zojirushi model).
2. Run the dough cycle (my bread machine has two dough cycle options, and I use the shorter one – 45min. total).
3. When the dough is finished, shape it into a loaf and place in a greased 8 ½ x 4 ½ inch pan, OR shape into rolls/buns and place them on a greased cookie sheet.
4. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30-40 minutes.
5. While dough is rising, preheat oven to 350ºF.
6. When the oven is preheated, bake bread for 30 minutes for bread (cover bread with foil after 15 min. to prevent over-browning), or 11-13 minutes for rolls.
7. Let the bread sit for 10 minutes after coming out of the oven, then remove the bread from the pan and cool on a wire rack.
8. Store in sealed bags at room temperature, or freeze for later.
1. In a large bowl, stir together 1 ½ c. flour, yeast and salt.
2. In another bowl, mix water, oils and honey until coconut oil is melted.
3. Add wet ingredients to dry and beat with a hand mixer for 1-2 minutes (or knead by hand for 10 minutes).
4. Gradually stir in additional flour by hand until the dough forms a ball.
5. Turn onto a floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes, adding additional flour as necessary.
6. Let rise in a greased bowl until double (approx. 45-60 minutes).
7. When the dough is finished, shape it into a loaf and place in a greased 8 ½ x 4 ½ inch pan, OR shape into rolls/buns and place them on a greased cookie sheet.
8. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30-40 minutes.
9. While dough is rising, preheat oven to 350ºF.
10. When the oven is preheated, bake bread for 30 minutes for bread (cover bread with foil after 15 min. to prevent over-browning), or 11-13 minutes for rolls.
11. Let the bread sit for 10 minutes after coming out of the oven, then remove the bread from the pan and cool on a wire rack.
12. Store in sealed bags at room temperature, or freeze for later.
Be sure to add the ingredients in the order called for (wet ingredients first) or your dough will not mix well.
Also, give your dough plenty of time to rise so your bread will be light and fluffy!
If you like a softer crust, brush the bread with melted butter immediately after it comes out of the oven.
Eat as much as you can when it’s still fresh from the oven!
However, if you have leftover, store it sealed bags or food storage containers at room temperature. This bread also freezes wonderfully if you want to make a bunch at one time. You can even slice it before you freeze it, which makes it really easy to just pull out one or two slices later on.
Dense or heavy bread is often the result of not kneading the dough mix properly. Another cause for dense whole wheat bread is because whole wheat flour has less gluten then bread flour or even all-purpose flour, and gluten is what allows bread to be soft, fluffy, and elastic, yet still maintain a good structure. You could try adding 1 T. of Vital Wheat Gluten to your dry ingredients when you mix the dough.
Making bread from a machine is marginally cheaper than buying it, as long as you eat bread frequently enough to offset the cost of the appliance — which will cut into your bottom line for a while! That said, homemade bread has a higher nutritional value, so you can weigh those “costs” as well when deciding if making and eating homemade bread is worth it for your family.
Yes. While most breadmaching recipes call for bread flour, you should easily be able to substitute all-purpose flour for any of your favorite recipes. Or, like we’ve done here, swap in whole wheat flour!
Make sure to share and save it on your favorite platform below!
Meal time just got so much easier!
Target Shopping Trip
1 Purex Power Shot – $3.99, used 10% off Cartwheel coupon AND $2/1 printable AND $1/1 Target printable – $0.59 after coupons
2 Easter M&M’s – Marked down to $1.59 each, used 2 $1/1 coupon from the 3/22 RedPlum insert AND $1/2 Target printable – $0.09 each after coupons
2 cans Del Monte Pineapple Chunks – Marked down to $0.68 each
2 Horizon Sandwich Crackers – $3.49 each, used 10% off Cartwheel coupon AND 2 $1/1 Target printable AND Buy One Get One Free printable – $0.49 each after coupons
Total after coupons: $3.11
So, I promised you all I’d post about A Day in My Life on Monday evening… and well, it’s Wednesday morning and I’m just now getting around to getting the post done. Such is life some weeks, right? 🙂
The last few days have been very full. Full of wonderful times as a family. Full of wonderful times with friends. And full of many other responsibilities that have been more important than blogging.
But I finally have a quiet morning to write and finish this post!
Monday morning started bright and early. We’d had a busy Easter weekend and I woke up early to try to get caught back up on things. It didn’t really end up happening, but it was a nice idea. 🙂
After my Bible reading and blogging time, the kids got up and ate breakfast and then got started on their Daily Lists. I loved how Kaitlynn creatively decorated her list with sticker paper. That girl is all about beautifying every part of life and she inspires me!
The kitchen wasn’t in complete disarray, because Jesse had stayed up the night before cleaning it up for me. He knows that a clean kitchen is one big way to show me love, so multiple times per week, he offers to clean it up for me.
Silas was working on the letter “S” today. This curriculum is very basic and a lot of review for him right now, but it’s been good to reinforce all the letter sounds and how to correctly write each letter.
After cleaning up the kitchen and helping Silas with his school, I set to work cleaning up the rest of the house. I laughed as I realized how much Easter had spilled into our house! (It actually sparked some deep thoughts for me — which you can read here.)
After the kids did their chores and got started on their independent work, I worked on picking up the rest of the house and on the laundry. I had hoped to get all of the massive pile of laundry done, but I only made a dent in it before my time was up and it was time to have Morning Time with the kids.
After Morning Time, the kids asked if the could play with playdough and do the Word Searches that Miss Tam had given them in their Easter baskets.
They all sat at the kitchen table and helped each other on the Word Searches for quite a long time.
I especially loved watching the girls help Silas find the words in the Word Searches.
While they finished up Word Searches, I chatted with Jesse, did a little more housework, and then handed off the homeschooling reins to him and headed out to run on the treadmill, take my shower, and get ready for the day.
The afternoon at the office space was filled with phone calls, emails, taking care of some business projects, working on some blog posts, and answering comments. Before I knew it, it was 5 p.m.!
The day before, our friends, the Hodges, had discovered we’d never gone to Chuy’s to eat before. So we planned a dinner date there with them and then we invited a few other families to join us.
So I met Jesse and the kids there and we had a FUN evening of good food and lots and lots of laughter and good talks.
When we got home, I spent some time working on a project with Kathrynne that she needed to finish up, we put the kids to bed, and then I did a little more blogging before crashing into bed… without finishing up the laundry OR writing this Day in My Life post. Oh well, it was a good day and there’s always tomorrow (or Wednesday!) for writing blog posts and finishing up laundry! 🙂
Just for fun! Leave a comment and win this stack of books!
Want to win this stack of books + some fun goodies from The Tulle Box + a $50 iTunes gift cards? Just leave a comment on this post. I’ll choose and post a winner later this week.
The winner of this giveaway is: meghanbergunzi@ You should have received an email with details on claiming your prize.
Last week, we made some fun memories prepping for and celebrating Easter.
On Friday, our friend, Tam, invited us over to decorate eggs and have lunch with her.
As you can tell, the kids had SO much fun coming up with all sorts of creative ways to color their eggs and I felt incredibly grateful for the gift of friends who love my children like this. It’s a beautiful thing!
And then, Tam and her husband, Brent, invited us and some other dear friends over to celebrate Easter. She had made Easter baskets for all the kids and a special Easter egg hunt — complete with specially marked eggs for each child with notes they had written to each child, money, and candy.
I’m blown away by the way these families have loved us and welcomed us here in TN since we’ve moved. It’s humbling, heart-warming, and it teaches me so much how to be better friend and to love others well.
We were so blessed by attending our church’s Good Friday Service. You can read more about it here.
Then, Sunday dawned a beautiful day! Not only was it a time for celebrating the true meaning of Easter, but we also loved the opportunity to serve in our church’s café together. We had fun shopping for food and supplies on Saturday and then we all worked together to get up and around and out the door by 7:30 a.m. in order to be at church in time to serve at all three services.
We opted to go for use-what-you-already-have-in-your-closet Easter Dresses this year. (Kaitlynn wanted to wear her green dress, Kathrynne didn’t care, and I looked briefly but couldn’t find a dress that I liked enough to actually pay money for!) I didn’t even realize until we all got dressed that morning that all of us girls were wearing green and polka dots!
{I was kind of proud of the fact that I watched a YouTube tutorial for this Dutch Braided Bun hairstyle and actually pulled it off… As a girl who typically can never replicate anything from a YouTube video without a major fail, this is pretty epic!}
Here’s an update on how I did on my goals last week:
Marriage/Mothering/Homemaking Goals
1. Decorate Easter eggs with the kids.
2. Write a love note to Jesse.
3. Continue working on developing the habit of obedience in our home(I attended the Laying Down the Rails workshop at the recent homeschool conference and it’s really motivated and inspired us in our parenting. We’re choosing the habit of obedience to implement in our home for the next 6-8 weeks. Just a week of working on this and it’s already made a big difference. Watch this video here for a snippet of the workshop.)Personal Goals
4. Exercise at least 5 times.5. Finish at least two books.
6. Listen to at least two inspiring audios/podcasts while working/driving.(I’ve recently been challenged to do a better job of using those little cracks of time throughout the day to fill my mind up with good things and things that make me think and analyze life.)Local Ministry/Hospitality/Friendship Goals
7. Research how to make the best coffee with the new commercial coffee machine we got for our church’s café.
8. Host a Dessert Night at our house.Business Goals
9. Outline/write 3 substantive blog posts for next week.
10. Finish all final edits for the Make Over Your Mornings course.
This week’s goals:
Marriage/Mothering/Homemaking Goals
1. Take the kids on a field trip to the Nashville Zoo.
2. Write a love note to Jesse.
3. Continue working on developing the habit of obedience in our home (I attended the Laying Down the Rails workshop at the recent homeschool conference and it’s really motivated and inspired us in our parenting. We’re choosing the habit of obedience to implement in our home for the next 6-8 weeks. Just a week of working on this and it’s already made a big difference. Watch this video here for a snippet of the workshop.)
Personal Goals
4. Exercise at least 5 times.
5. Finish at least two books.
6. Listen to at least two inspiring audios/podcasts while working/driving. (I’ve recently been challenged to do a better job of using those little cracks of time throughout the day to fill my mind up with good things and things that make me think and analyze life.)
Local Ministry/Hospitality/Friendship Goals
7. Have a lunch date with a friend.
8. Have friends from out of town over for dinner.
9. Finish reading a friend’s manuscript & writing an endorsement for it.
Business Goals
10. Outline/write 3 substantive blog posts for next week.
How did you do on last week’s goals? What are your goals for this week? I’d love to have you share your progress on last week’s goals and your goals for this coming week in the comments. Of, if you’ve blogged about it, leave your direct link below. Let’s cheer each other on to live purposeful and productive lives! You can download a free customizable weekly goal-planning sheet here.
I have kind of a crazy request, but I’m trying to track down the reader who emailed me this tip about Cooking Clubs in 2008. If that was you or you know who it was, could you email me?
All You magazine would like to use the example in their print magazine, but I need to connect them with the reader so they can get written permission to use it.
If you didn’t write that comment, but you have participated in a Freezer Club or a Cooking Club and you’d be willing to share about your experiences and possibly be quoted in All You magazine, can you email me, as well?
My email address is: crystal @ moneysavingmom.com
Thanks so much!
Guest post from Jennifer of The Intentional Mom
I love the change of seasons because it provides me with the opportunity to dress up my home in a whole new way as I accessorize with the colors and themes that each new season brings.
This past year, I found myself getting bored with the same accessories, but with a tight budget, there was just no wiggle room to allow for anything new, no matter what kind of deal I could find.
Determined to still make this happen, I decided to weed out decorations that I was tired of in hopes of selling them to earn the extra money that would allow me to turn around and buy some new and “new to me” things, too.
My plan worked like a charm!
I went to town weeding out things that I didn’t love, and if I hadn’t displayed it during the prior season, it went, too. At first it was hard, but as I got going, it was rather freeing to clear things out. I got rid of some cool wall sconces and a Pottery Barn wrought iron wall decoration in addition to candles, flowers, tablecloths, and pictures.
I sold some of these things in my garage sale, others I sold on Craigslist, but the bulk of what I sold was done on Facebook garage sale pages.
It took some time, but over a few months I had sold it all, leaving me with a little cash to play around with. Altogether, I had $174 to spend on new treasures!
In looking for new decorations, I knew the kinds of items and colors that I was looking for. With this in mind, I just waited patiently until I found things on Craigslist, the Facebook garage sale sites, and in stores that I got on sale and combined with a coupon.
I scored some amazing deals. I got a huge amount of “bang for my buck” when I bought someone’s former bridesmaids bouquets of artificial green and pink hydrangeas, orchids, and some greenery along with a bunch of tulle. I paid just $20 for over 75 stems altogether plus the tulle! I used what I needed in three different arrangements and then turned around and sold the extras I had left.
Among my other treasures were some handmade rustic items like a dining room table decoration with jugs, a large FAITH sign, and a fun hanging picture frame for a grand total of $40. I bought a new picture for my bathroom and some other hip vases and things, but the most amazing purchase was two brand new chevron chairs from Kohl’s for $25 each on clearance with a sale and Kohl’s cash during the holiday season!
Over the course of about six weeks, I had everything I needed and wanted. With all of my selling and buying done for now, I still have about $32 left over to spend on some new things for this upcoming summer or fall.
Had I never purged my home of the old things, I wouldn’t have had the resources to give my home a whole new look. The old saying, “out with the old and in with the new,” paid off for this frugal girl in a major way!
Jennifer is a busy, homeschooling mom of seven who enjoys keeping a home, living a frugal and active lifestyle, and loving the little and not so little people in my life. My mission is helping other moms find contentment in living intentionally every day over at her blog, The Intentional Mom.
Good morning! I hope your day is off to a great start!
After a full and wonderful weekend, my cleaning project for today is to just get our house back in order and to get back on top of our laundry. I let both slide in favor of time with friends, family time, memory-making, celebrating Jesus at church, and taking time to just rest.
This evening, I’ll share a post about how our day went and give you an update (with pictures) on my progress on our house and the laundry pile. 🙂
Need some motivation? Check out my post on 10 Ways to Make Cleaning More Fun.
Want to join me? Leave a comment to let us know you’re participating! If you have time, tell us what your morning plan is, too.
A Day In My Life: Flooded Bathrooms, Leaking Ceilings, and Entrepreneurial Kids
When You Feel Like You’re Failing at Everything (6 Things to Do)
Make 10 Organic Freezer Meals From Costco in 60 Minutes
How to Make a Homemade “Latte” in Less Than 2 Minutes
How a Family of 4 Happily Lives in a 700 Square Foot Home
How to Become a Successful Blogger (video)
12 Goals for 2015 + the Progress I Made in March
Walmart
1 Cantaloupe – $0.99
1 pkg Strawberries – $1.29
1 bag Halos – $3.75
1 Pineapple – $1.29 (Price matched to Aldi)
Broccoli – $1.31
Bananas – $1.29
Total with tax ($0.75): $10.67
Dillons
1 dozen Kroger Eggs – $1.79, used $0.25 Snap rebate and $0.50 Ibotta rebate – $1.04 after rebates
1 pkg Pecan Pieces – $2.57
1 bag Kroger Chocolate Chips – $2
1 Red Leaf Lettuce – $0.99
3 Chobani Yogurt – $1.25 each, used $1/3 printable – $0.92 each after coupon
1 C&H Brown Sugar – $1.49
1 gallon Dillons Milk – $2.59
2 Brut Deodorant – $1 each, used 2 $1/1 coupon from the 3/22 SmartSource insert – Free after coupon
1 Kroger Salt – $0.57
1 Orowheat Bread 24 oz – $2.50, used $1/1 printable – $1.50 after coupon
1 pkg Chicken Thighs – Marked down to $3.30
1 Johnsonville Sausage Links – $2.50 (I thought I had a coupon on my Dillons card for these but it turns out I didn’t. Oh well!)
Total with tax ($1.99): $23.29
Homeland Trip #1
2 cans Peanuts – $1.69 each, used $1/2 printable (doubled) – $0.69 each after coupon
1 pkg Honey Buns – $1.25, used $0.95/1 printable (doubled) – Free plus overage after coupon
1 Keebler Crackers – $1.99, used $1/1 printable (doubled) – Free after coupon
2 Birds Eye Steamfresh Veggies – $0.79 each, used $1/2 coupon from the 2/22 SmartSource insert – Free plus overage after coupon
2 Kraft Shredded Cheese – $2 each, used $1/2 coupon from the 3/29 SmartSource insert (doubled) – $1 each after coupon
1 McCormick Vanilla Extract – $2, used $0.75/1 coupon from the 3/15 RedPlum insert (doubled) – $0.50 after coupon
1.89 lbs Tomatoes – $2.17
2 pkgs McCormick Brown Gravy – $0.50 each, used $0.50/2 coupon from the 3/8 RedPlum insert (doubled) – Free after coupon
Total with tax ($0.92): $6
Homeland Trip #2
1 Honey Buns – $1.25, used $0.95/1 printable – Free plus overage after coupon
2 pkgs Kraft Cheese – $2 each, used $1/2 coupon from the 3/29 SmartSource insert (doubled) – $1 each after coupon
1 pkg Kraft Chipotle Cheese – $2, used $0.75/1 printable (doubled) – $0.50 after coupon (I now have 15 packages of cheese in my freezer after getting such great prices the last few weeks! I’m so happy to be stocked up for a while.)
2 Birds Eye Steamfresh Veggies – $0.79 each, used $1/2 coupon from the 2/22 SmartSource insert (doubled) – Free plus overage after coupon
1 McCormick Vanilla Extract – $2, used $0.75/1 coupon from the 3/15 RedPlum insert (doubled) – $0.50 after coupon
Total with tax ($0.15): $2.19
Total for all grocery items: $42.15
Cereal x 2
Toast & Eggs x 4
Biscuits & Gravy, Pineapple
Cheese Quesadillas, Fruit
Cheese/Crackers/Fruit/Veggies x 2
Peanut Butter & Jelly on Ricecakes, Oranges
Baked Potatoes, Steamed Carrots
Oven Fried Chicken, Green Beans, Mashed Potatoes, Butterhorn Rolls (Easter Sunday lunch)
Leftovers
Spinach Smoothies x 5 (for me)
Homemade Cheese Pizza, Smoothies
Venison Burgers, Steamed Peas, Cantaloupe
Spaghetti, Biscuits, Green Beans, Tossed Salad
BBQ Venison Meatballs, Mashed Potatoes, Fruit, Steamed Broccoli
Salad Bar
Leftovers
Dinner with family
Double Fudge Banana Muffins, Peanut Butter Oatmeal Choc Chip Cookies, Banana Protein Shake, Applesauce, Yogurt
Tshanina from Thrifty T’s Treasures emailed in the following tip:
I always cringe when I hear friends share their excitement about getting a tax refund. It’s as if they’re getting an unexpected bonus every Spring.
What they might not realize is that their tax refund is actually their very own money and the government’s been keeping it all year! Yes, you heard me right, the government has been earning interest on your hard-earned money!
How would you like to give yourself a raise?
If you consistently receive a tax refund every year, with just one simple step you can give yourself a weekly raise. All you have to do is change the withholdings on your paycheck.
Talk with your H.R. person at work and take a few minutes to change your withholdings. If you’re not sure what your withholdings should be, ask your tax person or accountant.
So, I guess I’m on a small house posting kick this week, but I just couldn’t help but share this tour of an 86-square-foot apartment!
I was blown away by how minimalist it was and how functional it was. You have to watch the video and then let me know: would you love to live in a space like this? Why or why not?
