Saving Families Money Since 2007
I was so honored to be interviewed for an article on ProBlogger today.
If you’re curious about the how I got started blogging, how long it actually took to make a consistent income, ideas on blogging revenue streams, and tips that will help you be more intentional with your efforts to succeed.
2 pkg Organic Lettuce – Marked down to $0.99 each
1 pkg Pita Bread – Marked down to $0.99
Total with tax ($0.21): $3.18
1 pkg Fiora Bath Tissue – $1.79, used $0.50/1 printable (doubled) – $0.79 after coupon
1 Best Choice Mini Marshmallows – $0.59 after coupon
1 Best Choice Foil – $1
1 Jolly Time Popcorn – $1.59, used $1/1 printable (doubled) – Free plus overage after coupon
1 Lipton Tea – $2, used $1/1 printable (doubled) – Free after coupon
1 Best Choice Chocolate Chips – $1.29
Total before coupons and sales: $15.71
Total with tax ($0.47) after coupons and sales: $3.73
1 Honey Nut Cheerios – $3.99, used Free e-coupon – Free after coupon (Plus receive $0.25 back from Ibotta)
4 Yoplait Yogurt – Marked down to $0.25 each
1 box Raisins – $1.99
1 bag Frozen Peas – $1
1 dozen Dillons Eggs – $1.69 (Plus receive $0.25 back from Ibotta)
1 Kroger Frozen Orange Juice – $1.59
1 can Goya Beans – $1.19
2 Horizon Mac & Cheese – $1 each, used 2 $1/2 coupon from the Fall Mambo Sprouts coupon booklet – $0.50 each after coupon
1 pkg Stew Beef – $5.49
1 bag Kroger Slivered Almonds – $1.79
1 Psst Honey $5.29
1 bag Unsweetened Coconut – $1.25
1 canister Kroger Old Fashioned Oats – $2.99
1 bag Clementines (3 lbs) – $3.99
0.84 lbs Roma Tomatoes – $0.83
3 half gallons Dillons Milk – $1.33 each
Total with tax: $38.33
Total for all grocery items: $45.24 (Plus receive $0.50 back from Ibotta)
Menu Plans for This Week
Breakfast
Cereal x 2, Toast, Scrambled Eggs & Juice, Homemade Granola (I plan to make a huge batch of this this week.)
Lunches
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches, Tossed Salad, Vegetable Soup (I will make a big batch of this and eat it for several lunches this week.)
Dinners
Macaroni & Cheese with Ground Beef, Steamed Peas
Chipotle Beef Chili, Homemade Applesauce, Sliced Veggies
Chicken & Rice Casserole, Tossed Salad, Steamed Broccoli
Crock Pot Beef Stroganof, CopyCat Texas Roadhouse Rolls, Tossed Salad
Mexican Chicken Chili, Biscuits, Oranges
Pancakes, Scrambled Eggs, Bacon
Dinner with family
Guest post from Liz of The Quick Journey blog
As a wife and mom who is trying to save money for our family, trying “off-brand” products sometimes makes me nervous.
Will the off-brand items be as good?
Will they taste the same?
Will the products hold up as well as the name brand?
Those are all questions I have when I am about to place a cheaper branded item in my shopping cart.
If you shared these same concerns, I wanted to share a few off-brand items that I feel are equal, or better than the name brand items. These are items that I will buy without hesitation because I have had such good success with them in the past. These are items that taste yummy, hold up to wear and tear, and perform really well despite the lower price tag.
I am super picky about what diapers I use — I like a diaper that holds moisture well and doesn’t get saggy.
After diapering four kiddos (one is still in diapers), I will choose Target brand diapers every time. I much prefer them to the name brand diapers and the lower price point coupled with coupons and the Cartwheel app… you can’t go wrong!
When I have snacks and food inside a plastic baggie and then shoved in a full diaper bag, I need those baggies to stand the test of time! There is nothing worse than cleaning smeared PB&J out of a diaper bag.
My favorite, go-to, baggies are the Boulder brand from Aldi. I have tried every version and size of their baggies and they are just as good, if not better, than the name brand.
As I mentioned above, I have four kids, so there are a lot of messes happening in my house on a daily basis. While we like to limit our use of paper products, there are just times that require a paper towel.
I used to be a huge fan of the name brand towels that cost an arm and a leg, but I now use the Walmart Great Value brand of paper towels as I find them to be very durable and long-lasting when scrubbing yucky messes.
I have found, after much trial and error, that canned goods, like soups, veggies, fruits, sauces, are pretty much all created equal. If you are new to off-brand buying, canned goods is a good place to start! Definitely do your pocketbook a favor and save your pennies by buying off-brand canned goods.
These are just a few of the off-brand items I but to save more at the grocery store!
Liz is a stay-at-home momma to her four kiddos. She enjoys cooking, drinking a piping hot cup of coffee, and reminiscing with her “high school sweetheart” hubby. She shares her journey through motherhood on The Quick Journey blog.
I met her three days after we moved to TN.
My friend, Angie, invited our family to drop by this Monday evening “thing” they were apart of called Meaty Monday — where everyone brings meat for the grill and a side dish. My introverted inner self is not one to jump at the opportunity to go spend all evening with people I don’t know.
However, we were new to this area and knew the only way to plug in was to dive in head first — even when it was way outside comfort zones.
So we showed up to this Monday “thing” and there was Tam Hodge. Cute, spunky, funny, and friendly.
We chatted a bit. I found out that she and her family lived in our neighborhood, that they homeschooled, and that they had moved here a few years ago.
She texted me a follow-up text a few days later. We started texting. And from the get-go I told her that I don’t do fluffy friendships.
Don’t get me wrong. Those who know me well, know that I love to laugh, I love to have a great time with friends, and I can be goofy.
However, you can be sure that spending any length of time with me will also include hard questions, going deep, and authenticity. Because I don’t do surface-y friendships.
She didn’t seem fazed by my honest confessions of what I was looking for in friendship. In fact, she seemed genuinely open to that sort of friendship.
So I kept walking forward. We kept texting. We started getting together regularly. And a beautiful friendship emerged.
Tam has been God’s gift to me in our move to TN. She’s listened. She’s cared. She’s let me be brutally honest as I’ve processed. And she’s loved me — messes and imperfections and all.
As I’ve gotten to know her more, I’ve realized that there is so much more to her than first meets the eye. She’s beautiful. She’s warm. She’s hilarious. And she deeply cares for people.
But more than that, she’s a woman who has experienced some of the greatest suffering of anyone I know — including repeated abuse from multiple abusers, intense rejection by those closest to her, and incredible physical pain.
Of anyone I know, she could have reason to go through life feeling like a victim — hurting, reserved, sad. But those words are the exact opposite of my friend, Tam. She radiates joy and hope!
Instead of being a victim of her circumstances, she’s chosen to be a VICTOR. And every single day, her life inspires me.
I am crazy proud of her bravery and courage and hard work to write her story. Her book, And Now I Choose, releases today and I highly recommend it for anyone who has experienced the pain of abuse, abortion, divorce, rejection, and feeling broken and not good enough.
Tam’s story will give you hope. It will inspire you to overcome the odds. It will encourage you to choose joy. It will motivate you that you, too, can become a victor not a victim.
Go get a copy of her book, And Now I Choose. It’s available in ebook or paperback form on Amazon here. And you also might consider buying an extra copy for a friend who could use the encouragement of someone who walked through great trauma and tragedy and found healing and hope.
1 16-oz pkg Frozen Strawberries – $2.19, plus receive $0.25 back from Snap by Groupon – $1.94
1 3-lb pkg Frozen Chicken Breasts – $6.49
3 16-oz pkgs Baby Carrots (@$0.69/each) – $2.07
1 2-lb bag Red Onions – $0.89
2 3-ct pkgs Colored Bell Peppers (@$1.99/each) – $3.98
3 Avocados (@$0.69/each) – $2.07
2 Cucumbers (@$0.39/each) – $0.78, plus receive $0.25 back from Snap by Groupon – $0.53
1 head Cauliflower – $1.99
2 9-oz pkgs Fresh Spinach (@$0.99/each) – $1.98
1 3-ct pkg Romaine Hearts – $1.99
1 3-lb bag Oranges – $2.99
2 bunches Bananas (@$0.44/lb) – $2.08, plus receive back $0.25 from Checkout 51 – $1.83
1 bag Tortilla Chips – $1.19
4 1-lb boxes Butter (@$2.29 each – Yay! Hopefully this price will continue to drop as we head into holiday sales!) – $5.16
1 8-oz carton Heavy Whipping Cream – $1.89
1 32-oz carton Half & Half – $1.89
Total: $38.97 after rebates
2 boxes Betty Crocker Cake Mix (@$1.00 each) – $2.00, used $0.75/2 printable (doubled), plus $0.75/2 Harris Teeter evic, plus $0.75/2 SavingStar – $1.00 MM after coupons
1 box Cinnamon Sugar SuperPretzel – $2.00, used$0.75/1 SuperPretzel Item, exp. 12/6/14 (RP 10/26/14) (doubled), plus receive $0.75 rebate back from Checkout 51 – $0.25 MM after coupons
2 boxes Tetley Tea Bags (B1G1 @ $2.29) – $2.29, used 2 $0.75/1 Tetley Tea, exp. 12/31/14 (SS 11/09/14 R) (doubled) – FREE after coupons
2 Zone Bars (@$1.00 each) – $2.00, used 2 $0.55/1 printable (doubled) – FREE after coupons
10 cans Del Monte Green Beans (B2G3) – $5.00, used 2 $0.40/4 Del Monte Canned Vegetables, exp. 2/2/15 (SS 11/09/14) (doubled) – $3.80/10 cans after coupons
2 can Dole Mandarin Oranges (@$1.00 each) – $2.00, used 2 $0.40/1 printable (NLA) – $0.40/2 after coupons
2 boxes Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls – $4.00, used 2 $0.50/1 printable (doubled), plus $0.50/2 and $0.40/2 Harris Teeter evic (they both came off), plus receive $0.50 back from SavingStar – $0.60/2 after coupons
2 boxes Pillsbury Pie Crust – $4.00, used $0.50/2 Pillsbury Rolled Refrigerated Pie Crusts, exp. 2/7/15 (SS 11/16/14) (doubled), plus $0.75/2 Harris Teeter evic, plus receive $0.75 back from SavingStar – $1.50/2 after coupons
1 jug Hungry Jack Syrup – $1.99, used $0.55/1 printable (doubled) – $0.89 after coupons
2 boxes Bigelow Tea (B1G1 @ $3.19) – $3.19, used 2 $0.55/1 printable (NLA) – $0.99/2 after coupons
2 boxes Horizons Macaroni and Cheese (@$1.00 each) – $2.00, used $0.75/2 catalina coupon (doubled) – $0.50/2 after coupons
1 3-lb bag Grapefruit, reduced – $0.79
3-lbs of Apples, reduced – $2.00
1 bag of assorted Summer Squash, reduced – $1.11
10 8-oz bags of Shredded Cheese (B2G3) – $13.00
2 18-ct cartons Eggs (@$1.77 each) – $3.54
1 gallon Milk – $2.97, plus receive back $0.25 from Ibotta – $2.72
Total after all Sales, Coupons and Rebates – $30.60
Weekly Menu Plan
Breakfasts
Oatmeal and Fruit (using frozen fruit from some of my bulk purchases at the Farmer’s Market), Apple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oatmeal, Eggs and Toast, Protein Smoothies (for me), Cereal, Cinnamon Rolls (Saturday)
Lunches
Baked Potatoes with Cheese/Oranges/Carrot Sticks x 2, Leftovers x 2, Tossed Salad with Avocado, Tilapia or Chicken (for me), Veggie Omelettes, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches/Bananas/Peppers x 2
Dinners
Taco Salad (using ground turkey), Green Rice, Oranges
Spaghetti Carbonara (family recipe on my husband’s side), Green Beans, Homemade French Bread
Shepherd’s Pie (using mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes for the top), leftover French Bread
Crockpot Italian Chicken, Creamy Milk Rice, Steamed Broccoli
Chili (recipe from the Trim, Healthy Mama book), Raw Veggie Plate, Pumpkin Biscuits
Date Night (out to eat)
Leftovers
Snacks
Popcorn, Fruit, Angel Face Cookies
4 Xtra Laundry Detergent – $1.50 each
Used 2 $1/2 printable1 Dawn Dish Detergent – $1
Used $0.25/1 printable2 jars Lindsay Olives – $0.89 each with in-ad coupon
Used $1/2 printableTotal before coupons and sales: $15.75
Total after coupons and sales: $5.52
“You’re okay with me being completely honest?” I asked the producer yesterday as I sat down to film a piece sharing practical advice for engaged couples.
“Yes, absolutely.” He replied.
I pressed further, just to make sure he knew what he was getting himself into. “So you’re good with me sharing that marriage isn’t all rainbows and roses? Because I’m not here to pretend that I have it figured out or that our marriage has been a walk in the park.”
The producer assured me that’s exactly why they’d asked me to participate in this project. They wanted my completely authentic and honest voice.
As I talked openly about our struggles and victories while the cameras rolled, I couldn’t help but reflect on the past almost 12 years of our marriage and how it’s looked so much different than I expected it would on our wedding day.
We were blessed to go into marriage with similar core values. We were blessed to have a strong foundation of character and legacy handed to us from our parents.
But core values, character, and legacy didn’t make us immune to marriage struggles. In fact, I think it made us even more surprised when they came… because this wasn’t part of “the plan.”
We’ve weathered a lot of storms together… the lean law school years, multiple job losses, postpartum depression, starting multiple businesses, infertility struggles, quitting multiple businesses, struggles with anxiety, and years of baggage we’d never dealt with that we both brought into marriage.
{Our wedding day…Oh and in case you were wondering, I wore my mom’s wedding dress!}
The last thing our marriage has been is a walk in the park. There have been many moments when I’ve wondered whether we’d make. In the midst of some of the darkest times, I’ve threatened to leave.
Our idealist notions of “happily ever after” quickly crashed and burned. Our carefully mapped out life plan didn’t pan out.
But despite all the setbacks and struggles, our marriage is alive and strong today. If anything, I feel like the setbacks and struggles have woven the threads of our marriage tighter together.
It’s been a lot of hard work. But it has been worth it.
As the interview came to a close, the producer asked one more question. “What is your best advice for engaged couples as they go into marriage?”
“Choose to find the good and praise it,” I said. This has been key in our marriage.
We both have much to learn, many areas to grow in, but the glue that holds our marriage together is our mutual commitment to focus on the good.
When we first got married, I spent a few years tearing Jesse down, picking out all the things he needed to change, and nagging him about areas where he needed to improve. This was only a recipe for disaster.
A few years into our marriage when I realized all my tactics were only producing tension, I began to really step back and examine my heart. Slowly, God started chipping away at my pride and my lack of grace.
In the process, I started choosing to praise and thank my husband for all the things he was doing right, instead of spending my time pointing out all the things he was doing wrong. I was amazed at how this changed how I viewed him!
I had been so busy trying to nit-pick and change Jesse that I had failed to notice all the amazing qualities he had! And as I started to notice and praise him for his wonderful qualities, his great qualities only seemed to grow.
Today, we still have our moments and struggles, I still can get frustrated over stupid things, but for the most part, I spend my time blown away by what a wonderful husband I have. {And he truly is! He’s always going out of his way to help and bless me — like him ironing my shirt this morning for me because I was running late for a breakfast meeting I had, or him getting flowers for me this week, or him taking over all the homeschooling right now while I’m finishing up my next book… I could go on and on!}
You can always find something that is irritating and frustrating about another person. And if you spend all your time mulling over how annoying those things are, you will fail to notice all the good things about another person.
But if you choose to become a noticer of the good and the praise-worthy, it can transform your perspective. I dare you to try it and see if you prove me wrong. 🙂
For more marriage encouragement, read my post on 5 Keys to Have a Strong Marriage — Even During the Storms of Life.
Note: This post was written for couples who are in healthy relationships where both parties love each other and want to work on issues together and personally. If your spouse is abusive, please, please, please don’t hide the abuse out of fear or let your spouse convince you it’s your fault. Get help immediately.
A testimony from Anne of Modern Mrs Darcy
My husband and I set a big hairy goal more than ten years ago. We wanted to move out of our much-loved starter home (6 people, 1 bathroom, you get it) into a slightly larger place — while keeping our first home so we could rent it out. We wanted to do it before our oldest child — then a toddler — hit the teen years.
We did our research: our banker suggested we borrow a big chunk of change off our first house to use as a down payment for the second, but we didn’t want to. We were uncomfortable with cashing out our equity: the big crash of 2008 was still fresh in our minds, and we didn’t want to give up the margin we enjoyed because of our small mortgage. Besides, once we put our first home into use as a rental, we wanted that place to cash flow. That’s easy to do with a small mortgage, but much harder with a brand-new 80% one.
So that meant we needed to save up a down payment from scratch. While still paying the mortgage on our first home. Yikes!
To make a long story short, we did it. We moved into our new place in May, and our new tenants moved into our old home a week later. Here’s how we did it:
We have known for over a decade that 1. we wanted to move before our oldest was a teen and 2. we wanted to keep our first home when we did.
Richard Foster says that people overestimate what they can accomplish in one year but grossly underestimate what they can accomplish in ten. We were working with a ten-year plan.
Most Americans spend the most on housing and cars. We had a low mortgage payment on our first home, and we aren’t car people. (That’s a nice way of saying our cars are old and inexpensive to operate.)
Bonus: we don’t freak out when one of us dings the minivan backing into the stone wall at the park. Hypothetically speaking.
For years, we’ve relied on automatic deductions to take a portion of our paychecks straight out of our checking account and into savings. This was especially helpful early on when we were lacking in enthusiasm because we had so far to go.
The closer we got to our goal, the more motivated we became. For the last year we spent very little on nonessentials. The closer we got to the goal, the more we cut out because we were close enough to taste it.
Unexpected birthday checks, payments from consignment stores, yard sale funds, freelancing checks: whether it was $3 or $300, we banked all those extra income checks in a designated savings account at a not-normal-to-us financial institution that was really a pain to withdraw funds from.
Ten years ago, it was daunting knowing that we needed to save up a big chunk of change starting from zero. But we just kept plugging away.
We were inspired by Crystal’s own journey to pay cash for a house. Like her, progress came slowly at first, and then all at once.
It wasn’t easy, and it took ten years, but paying cash for the downpayment on our new house sure felt great!
Anne Bogel loves strong coffee, long books, and big ideas. She’s putting a timely spin on timeless women’s issues at her blog Modern Mrs Darcy, where readers engage in an ongoing conversation on womanhood today. A classic INFP, Anne couldn’t choose a favorite book – or child – if you paid her, but she would love to talk about your best-loved titles and what we can learn from heroines like Lizzie Bennet and Anne Shirley all the live-long day.
Have you saved up and paid cash for something — large or small? Submit your story for possible publication here.
If you are struggling and barely eeking by this Christmas, I highly encourage you to go read Victoria’s post on Having Christmas on a Zero Budget. I think it will inspire you!
Another blessing: beautiful snow while we’ve been in Colorado the past two days!
It’s November and I’m counting my blessings as part of the 12 Months to a Healthier You Challenge. Here are some of my blessings from this past week:
1. Getting to watch Kaitlynn perform her ice skating competition routine. (So proud of how hard she is working! See a video of her practicing here.)
2. Watching Kathrynne’s swim meet and seeing her confidence blossoming.
3. The love from my children… when I was feeling tired one evening, they all surrounded me and just loved on me.
4. Snuggling with Silas. That boy blesses his mama so much!
5. Turning in my manuscript to a group of friends who are critiquing it! So thrilled to have it be so close to being able to turn into the publisher.
6. Getting to spend time with some of my dearest friends at The Platform Conference.
7. A group of some of my very closest friends gathering one evening and pouring out our hearts in prayer together… such a beautiful thing.
Participating in the speaker’s panel at the Platform Conference
8. Getting to meet new friends and have some really deep conversations at The Platform Conference & Hearts at Home.
9. Facing a big fear in my life & punching it right in the face. (See picture proof & read more here.) Also, I’m so, so grateful for my manager and friend, Brian, being willing to spend over two hours helping me prep/organize for the talk and my slides the day before I gave it. I was feeling like it just wasn’t coming together and he jumped in and made it so much better than I could have ever done on my own.
10. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law graciously watching our children so Jesse and I could spend a few days together — at the Platform Conference and doing some filming with Focus on the Family.
11. Jesse being so kind to run out at 9 p.m. tonight to find a shirt to go under my jacket for the FOTF filming — after we realized that I didn’t pack anything that met their request for no black/no patterns. Note to self: always carefully read film shoot clothes requirements when packing, not the night before the filming when you are far from home. Oops!)
12. The encouragement of so, so many people this past week as I carried some heavy burdens. If you were one of those people, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
13. Unexpectedly getting to meet my editor (Bryan Norman) for my book, Say Goodbye to Survival Mode. He poured so much into that manuscript and I’m eternally indebted to him. So it was very special that he surprised me and showed up for my talk at The Platform Conference. I’m just sad I forgot to get a picture with him!
14. The encouragement, love, support, and cheerleading from Jesse. I’m so blessed to be married to him! He had to pull a LOT of extra weight this week while I was finishing up my manuscript and prepping for two conferences and he did it all so willingly and graciously. I owe so much to him!
My good friend, Erin, who blogs at The Humbled Homemaker, has a very comprehensive post up on How to Make a Full-Time Income Blogging.
In case you missed it, be sure to check out my post on my own journey to making a full-time income from blogging.
Guest post from Kimber of Let’s Do Some Good Today
As a mother, I learned something very quickly: everything I do, good or bad, is being watched by my children – and by watching how I live, they’re learning what kind of person to be. No pressure, right?
That can be kind of scary – especially when you hear your two-year-old sternly and grumpily putting her toys in time out (“Do I really sound that cranky?). But it is also absolutely amazing when you see your children learning the good things you have modeled.
With a little bit of intentional parenting, you can teach your children to be givers. And of the many things I want for my children, I can hardly think of anything that I desire more than that.
Are you with me? Do you want to teach your children to be givers? I’m so glad!
Sometimes, you might wonder exactly how to go about that — especially when money is tight. But I believe that there is always, always something you can do to make the world a little bit better.
And by choosing to give, even when you don’t have much extra in your budget, you are teaching your children a poignant lesson that will last a lifetime.
Here are a few of my favorite ways to teach our children to give on a budget:
Have you ever been to a park (or at a lake, or on a hike) and been frustrated by trash on the ground?
Whenever we’re going to be in nature, I try to remember to stick a plastic bag in my pocket. If we see a few pieces of trash while we’re out, we pick them up. As we do it, I teach my kids about what a blessing our beautiful surroundings are, and what a gift we’re giving the people behind us by making it a little bit cleaner.
Both of my children can be a bit shy, particularly my son. But every time we are checking out at a grocery store, I insist that they thank the cashier. If they have a name tag, I always read it. “Son, please tell Miss Jennifer thank you.”
It’s a very small act of kindness, and some people barely notice. Many times, however, we are rewarded with a huge smile. To be noticed and to be appreciated is something that everyone craves, and it’s extra special when it’s coming from a cute kid!
The nice thing is, after working on this for a long time, it’s now second nature to my kids. It’s not unusual for my son to pipe up with a “Thank you, ma’am!” or for my daughter to read the name tag of the employee herself.
During the month of October, we have a “service ghost” that floats around our home. When the service ghost pops up in your room, someone has done something nice for you – and you then get to pay it forward!
There’s something fun about sneakily serving others. You can adapt this to whatever holiday is coming up, or just leave behind a little note.
I’ve found that the child who does the service is usually even happier than the person who receives it. What a blessing, to learn that lesson at an early age!
Some people are “for” allowances and some are “against” it. Whatever your stance is, if you have even just a few extra dollars in your budget, I’d encourage you to find some way to allow your child to earn money – and then to give a portion of it away.
Find a cause your child is excited about, and then find out exactly what his or her money can do. For a child, handing over a dollar might be difficult. Encourage them by reminding them things like: “Wow, you just gave the animal shelter a dollar – that buys a homeless doggy food for three days!” or “Hey, your quarters means that a kid in our neighborhood gets to have new crayons to take to school”
This makes the gift tangible, and it allows your child to see that he or she really can make a difference.
Ask around to see if there are any places in your area that allow children to volunteer. Try to think of someone in your community who needs something that your family might be able to help with (like gardening or perhaps preparing a meal).
For my children, participating in Operation Christmas Child has been a huge blessing. All year long, they are helping me keep my eye out for great deals “for the kids”. I LOVE to see their faces light up when they see a cute toy, and rather than asking, “Can I have that?”; hearing instead, “Can we PLEASE buy that for shoeboxes?”
Another way they’ve been able to serve is by spreading quarters around town. Loading up peoples’ carts with quarters at Aldi, sticking quarters into vending machines, leaving them in coin-operated cranes, even leaving them taped on vending machines at the hospital — this is such a simple way to serve.
I hope I’ve given you a new idea or two that you can use to teach your children to love giving and serving — EVEN if your budget has little to no wiggle room!
I’d love to hear your budget-friendly ideas to help your children give back!
Kimber is a wife, a stay-at-home mom, and as of recently, a writer. She blogs at Let’s Do Some Good Today, where she shares practical suggestions of ways you can make a difference in the world. Every Thursday, she posts a new service challenge. She’d love to have you join her!
I was inspired by reading this post on Huffington Post to re-share this post that I wrote for another site a few years back.
People are often quite surprised to find out I’ve never had a credit card. In fact, sometimes, they have to ask three times just to be sure they heard me correctly:
“So you’ve never had a credit card?” they ask incredulously.
“Nope,” I respond.
“Like ever?”
“Right, never,” I reiterate.
“Not even when you were younger—ten years ago or something?” They continue to quiz.
“No, really and truly, I’ve never had a credit card,” I reply, again.
Usually people just end up looking at me aghast like I’m from some other planet or something. That’s okay, I’ve gotten used to the fact that I’m weird.
But you know what I’ve also never had? Credit card debt.
Yes, it’s true. I’ve never had to worry about how I’m going to pay off the credit card bill that’s coming due. I’ve never had to hassle with being harassed by credit card companies because my payment was late. And I’ve never had to dread opening up a credit card bill to see how large it was.
Do I think credit cards are evil? No. I have personally seen that there is a small percentage of people who can use credit cards without being tempted to go over-budget. If that’s you, you can skip this article altogether.
However, if you are struggling to make ends meet and you are swiping your card on a regular basis, I want to encourage you to consider switching to a cash budget — at least for a short-term experiment. Here’s why I love using cash:
Yes, cash can burn a hole in your pocket and you can blow it. But here’s the thing: if you only use cash, when the money’s gone, it’s gone.
You either learn to pace yourself and your spending so that you have enough money to buy groceries at the end of the month, or you go without buying groceries. If you don’t have any grocery money to spend the last week of the month, you’ll probably think a lot more carefully the next month when you’re tempted to spend all your grocery cash during the first few weeks of the month.
When you use cash, you can’t mindlessly swipe a card—you have to pull green bills out and hand them over. It doesn’t take a month for the purchase to show up on your credit card bill; the pain of purchase is immediate.
This direct correlation can give you a much better grasp on your finances and on where your money is going. And it will probably also cause you to step back and carefully evaluate each purchase.
So many people say, “I treat my credit card like cash and always pay off my credit card bill in full at the end of each month.” That sounds great—in theory. But very few people are truly treating their credit card like cash.
Unless, before you make a purchase, you set aside the full amount of money to cover the purchase in a separate account and never touch that money until you pay your credit card bill, you are not truly “treating your credit cards like cash”.
If you don’t have the money set aside for the full credit card bill, what happens if you lose your job tomorrow or you have a major financial crisis that puts you in a big bind?
By using the bank’s money or store credit to pay for your purchases, you are presuming that you are going to have enough money to pay the bill when it comes. And if you don’t, you could end up getting hit with high interest payments on top of the money you owe.
When you pay with cash, you can’t buy something unless you have enough money to pay for it. This often means you have to work hard, scrimp, and save up to make a purchase.
This process of scrimping and saving can be grueling, but the satisfaction of exercising self-discipline and waiting to buy something with your own hard-earned money is every bit worth it in the long run.
And you know the best part about paying with cash? You never have to worry about paying anyone back. When you buy something, it’s yours—free and clear!
Am I the only crazy one who doesn’t have a credit card? Anyone else out there NEVER had a credit card?
