Saving Families Money Since 2007
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?
I went under budget on last week’s grocery purchases because I knew Dillon’s was having a Mega Sale the next 2 weeks and I wanted to stock up on baking/canned supplies. So I spent more this week than I usually do but hopefully some of these items will last us for a while.
2 pkg Organic Girl Greens – Marked down to $0.99 each
4 Oranges – $0.33 each
Total with tax ($0.24): $3.54
3 Grapefruit – $0.49 each
1 pkg Carrots – $0.99
2 Cucumbers – $0.69 each
1 pkg Rice Cakes – $1.29
1 Pineapple – $1.29
1 gallon Milk – $2.40
1 carton Half & Half – $1.89
1 Mild Salsa – $1.69
2 cans Green Beans – $0.49 (I bought these before I saw the sale at Dillons on canned veggies.)
1 pkg Grapes – $1.78
1 dozen Eggs – $1.59
Total with tax ($1.19): $17.94
(I made 2 trips to Dillon’s as the first time I just wanted to scope out the deals and hadn’t had time to print out all the coupons I needed.)
1.13 lbs Broccoli Crowns @ $0.99/lb – $1.12
1 pkg Heritage Farms Bacon – $1.99
1 lb Land o Lakes Butter – $2.99, used $0.50/1 printable (no longer available) – $2.49 after coupon
Items a part of the Mega Sale (Buy 10, Get $5 off instantly):
1 pkg Swiss Miss Cocoa – $0.99, used $0.40/1 printable – $0.59 after coupon
4 Hefty Storage Bags – $0.99 each, used 2 $1.50/2 coupon from the 8/10 RedPlum insert – $0.24 each after coupons
4 cans Carnation Evaporated Milk – $0.79 each, used 2 $0.55/2 printable – $0.51 each after coupons
1 Pillsbury Cake Mix – $0.79, used $0.35/1 printable – $0.44 after coupon
Total with tax ($1.07): $10.72
1 Yoplait Greek Yogurt – $1, used Free e-coupon (no longer available) – Free after coupon
1.79 lbs Bananas @ $0.59/lb – $1.06
1 Kroger Cottage Cheese – $2.29
1 Kroger Peanut Butter – $1.79, used $0.45/1 e-coupon – $1.34 after coupon
1 Green Mountain Coffee K-Cups – $6.99, used $1.25/1 e-coupon – $5.74 after coupon
1 Jello Pudding (4 ct) – $2, used $1/1 catalina coupon – $1 after coupon
3 Ramen Noodles – $0.20 each
1 loaf Nature’s Harvest Bread – $2, used $0.55/1 printable – $1.45 after coupon
1 Kroger Frozen Orange Juice – $1.59
Items a part of the Mega Sale (Buy 10, Get $5 off instantly):
4 cans Green Giant Green Beans – $0.49 each
10 cans Campbells Cream of Chicken/Mushroom Soup – $0.69 each, used 2 $1/5 printable – $0.49 each after coupons
3 Pillsbury Cake Mix – $0.79 each, used 3 $0.35/1 printable – $0.44 each after coupons (My son is having his birthday in a few weeks so these will be perfect for cupcakes!)
1 box Frosted Flakes Cereal – $1.99, used Free e-coupon – Free after coupon
1 big box Cheerios – $3.49, used $1/1 e-coupon – $2.49 after coupon (I had a free e-coupon loaded on my card but it took off this one instead. I guess I will use the free one next time.)
1 Oscar Meyer Turkey Lunchmeat – $1.99
3 cans Casa Fiesta Refried Beans – $0.50 each
1 can Casa Fiesta Green Chilies – $0.50
4 Ronzoni Pasta – $0.69 each, used 2 $1/2 printable – $0.19 each after coupons
4 Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce – $0.99 each, used 2 $1/2 printable – $0.49 each after coupons
2 cans Carnation Evaporated Milk – $0.79 each, used $0.55/2 printable – $0.51 each after coupons
2 cans Dole Mandarin Oranges – $0.99 each, used 2 $0.40/1 printable – $0.59 each after coupons
4 Mott’s Fruit Snacks – $1.49 each, used 2 $0.50/2 coupon from the 9/28 SmartSource insert – $1.24 each after coupons
Total with tax ($3.95): $43.82
Total for all grocery items: $76.02
Menu Plan for this Week
Breakfasts
Cereal, Toast, Oatmeal, Eggs & Juice, Smoothies
Lunches
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches and Tossed Salad (we will do leftovers as well)
Dinners
French Toast, Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Fruit
Steak, Biscuits, Baked Potatoes, Green Beans
Salad Bar, Rolls
Chicken Fajitas, Chips, Fruit Salad
Chicken & Rice Casserole, Steamed Broccoli
BBQ Meatballs, Tossed Salad, Homemade Applesauce
Soft Tacos, Cheesy Rice Casserole, Grapefruit
CVS Shopping Trip
Transaction #1
3 Aveeno Shave Gels – $4.79 each (Buy 3 Aveeno products, Get $8 ECBs)
Used $3/2 printable
And used $1/1 printable
And used $3/$10 shaving items CVS coupon from in-store coupon machineUsed $5 ECBs from previous shopping trip
Total with tax ($1.17): $3.54, Received $8 ECBs
Transaction #2
2 Folgers Coffee K-Cups (12 ct each) – $5.99 each (Spend $12, Get $4 ECBs)
Used 2 $1.50/1 printable2 bags Hershey’s Chocolate – Marked down to $0.44 each
2 bags M&M’s – Marked down to $0.41 each
Used $8 ECBs from Transaction #1
Total with tax ($0.46): $3.14, Received $4 ECBs
Total for both transactions before coupons, sales and ECBs: $66
Total for both transactions with tax after coupons, sales and EBS: $6.68, Plus $4 ECBs leftover (like paying $2.68)
Dear mom who is so tired of living on a tight budget:
I know that you want to give up.
You’re worn down from watching every penny you spend.
You’re exhausted from carefully calculating how you’re going to stretch your grocery dollars to feed all those mouths that seem to never stop eating.
You wish you didn’t have to wait for ever until that item you need goes on sale for the lowest price so you can make it work to purchase it on your beans and rice budget.
You are tired of re-wearing the same thing over and over again. Tired of praying every time you get in the car, hoping it will start. Tired of having to turn down yet another get-together with friends because there’s no way you can afford to pay for dinner out at a restaurant.
You just want to check out of your money-strapped life and go have a latte and a massage. Or maybe money is so tight right now that you would just love to have a few extra dollars to spend on something you want at a garage sale, instead of having to reserve every nickel and dime for only the basic necessities.
Can I encourage you? The difficult choices and hard sacrifices you are making will be worth it… and they could make a major impact on generations to come.
Not too long ago, I was being interviewed by a magazine writer about raising financially responsible kids. I shared with this interviewer some of the things we’ve done with our kids, such as: letting our children handle money from the time they were young, giving our children opportunities to earn money, and encouraging our children to become givers.
As the interviewer continued to ask questions, she became more and more excited about the things I was sharing. At the end of our conversation, she said, “It seems like you’ve done so many things right as parents. Do you ever make mistakes with money or have you failed as parents when it comes to teaching your kids about money?”
I was able to share candidly with her that, yes, we’ve failed in many ways (see yesterday’s post for an example!), but because of our parents’ and grandparents’ examples, we’ve made a lot fewer money mistakes as a couple.
The sacrifices they made to live on a budget and get out of debt paved a trail for us so that it wasn’t as difficult. In addition, their sacrifices inspired and motivated us to want to stand on their shoulders and do even better than they did. We, in turn, hope to inspire our own children and grandchildren to go even farther than we have or will.
In those moments when you want to throw in the towel, when you are discouraged about your budget, when you are tired of all the short-term sacrifices, when you just want to pull out that credit card to buy something you don’t have room in your budget for, remember this: your children are watching. The example you set before them will impact them in powerful ways — either good or bad.
So don’t throw in the towel. Don’t give up on your budget, even though it’s tough.
Your children and grandchildren will thank you one day for your wise money management… and that will make it all worth it.
Don’t quit! The best is yet to come!
Cheering for you,
Crystal
I saved by fixing my eye glasses at home.
I saved by making Homemade Foaming Handsoap.
I saved by making my own Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice.
I saved by eating oatmeal for breakfast.
We saved by getting more proactive with earning more Swagbucks to get more free gift cards.
I saved by working out at home.
We saved by cutting Silas’ hair at home.
The winner of the $100 Target gift card from the last How I Saved post giveaway is Lynn {lynn1015@}. Her comment on how she saved:
My most money saving thing this week is preparing full salads with protein for my husband’s lunches using Sam’s whole cooked chicken $4.98 & romaine in a bag for around $3. It is paired with marked down produce from a local produce store and he loves it! I have a salad container which is great with it’s own space for dressing so it’s not soggy at all. The chicken lasts ALL WEEK even with a generous amount of chicken daily. Lastly, my husband is surprised daily as I mix up the veggies, and protein occasionally with left overs from dinner so he’s REALLY a happy and HEALTHY husband! I’m happy for the $$ saved too!
What were some of your favorite ways you saved in October? Any savings victories or goals reached you’d like to share?
Jesse and I spent time really discussing what my focuses should be for 2014 and we nailed down four areas that are my priorities for this year:
Having these specific areas determined at the beginning of the year is really helping me to prioritize and giving me much clearer direction on when, where, and what to say no to this year.
Here’s an update on how I’m doing (or not doing, as is the case with many of these!) on my goals this year:
1. Read 6 marriage books. (I’ve almost finished 5 marriage books so far.)
2. Write 50 love notes to Jesse. (I’ve written 40 love notes so far.)
Kaitlynn with the French Toast that she made almost entirely by herself!
3. Read 40 books aloud to the kids. (We’ve finished 9 books so far — yes I’m probably going to fall woefully short on this goal this year.)
4. Finish memorizing Romans 1 together.
5. Go through a cooking course with the kids. (I have been teaching the kids quite a few different cooking skills the past month. We haven’t done any official course, but they’ve learned a lot more cooking skills this year.)
6. Read through the Bible. (I paused this goal to instead dive into the She Reads Truth Hospitality study that I got at Allume. I am LOVING it — and it’s been a great change after years of just reading straight through the Bible. I’ll probably blog more on this soon just because I love it so much!)
7. Memorize Romans 2. (I’m working on this.)
8. Run a 5K race and go through P90X again.
9. Read 150 books/ebooks. (I’ve read 73 books so far this year.)
10. Write 150 substantive content pieces for the blog.
11. Write 50 DIY/Recipe posts for the blog. (I’ve written 37 DIY/Recipe posts so far.)
12. Blog about/participate in the 12 Months to a Healthier You Challenge.
Did you set goals for 2014 yet?
If you’ve posted an update on how you’re doing on your goals for 2014, I’d love for you to share your link in the comments. Or, if you don’t have a blog, feel free to just leave a comment with an update on how you’re doing on your goals. Let’s encourage one another to live lives of intention and purpose!
If you’re brand-new to goal-setting, be sure to read my post on How to Change Your Life By Setting Goals.
Expressing gratitude doesn’t require money. It doesn’t require much thought or effort. But it can change our whole outlook on life.
I started keeping a gratitude journal two years ago. It helped me to keep a positive, thankful attitude in the midst of some health problems I was experiencing.
But once those health problems were resolved, I saw such benefit in recording my blessings every day, that I continued doing it. To keep it simple, I’ve just been using the one-line-a-day journal my mom gave me for Christmas.
Every morning, when I first wake up, I read my Bible, pray, and write down at least one line of blessings from the past day. Some days it’s easier to come up with blessings than others, but I can always come up with at least a few good things from the day before — even if it was a hard day.
I’ve found that starting my day by recounting the blessings from the previous day puts me in a different state of mind. And it gets the day started on a great foot! Plus, it reminds me to live with a grateful, thankful spirit.
During the month of November, I’d like to encourage you to join me in this practice. Get creative in how you record your blessings each day: Buy a journal at the dollar store, use a notebook you already have, share your list on Facebook or Instagram, post it on your blog, or write it on a white board or chalkboard on your wall each day. Whatever works for you! The important thing is to take time to recount and write down your blessings!
Psst! Coming later this month, I’m releasing a brand-new Gratitude Journal. We’ll have it available in our online store and it will be available in some bookstores nationwide, as well. If you’d like to go ahead and purchase a copy, it’s available to order from Amazon already.
Are you joining us for the November Challenge to write a list of a few things you’re thankful for everyday? Let us know if you’re joining us by leaving a comment on this post. I’ll be blogging my list of blessings every Monday and would love for you to join me and share your blessings on that post each week, too!
