Saving Families Money Since 2007
Earlier this week, I discovered my business debit card all cut up.
Upon investigation, Kaitlynn (3) confessed to the deed. However, as soon as she admitted she was the culprit she said matter-of-factly, “But I thought we were supposed to cut up credit cards!”
Sounds like we might have a Dave Ramsey Jr. living at our house! 🙂
I’ve been spending all my spare minutes finishing up my book manuscript because my self-imposed deadline for the finished rough draft is in a few days, so we’re Eating From the Pantry right now. It’s been awhile since I’ve challenged myself to only use what we have on hand, so I’ve had fun being creative in the kitchen this past week.
It helps that we had stocked our freezer and cupboards pretty well over the last six weeks and it also helps that we’re not buying milk right now to see if it makes any difference in Silas’ cough/asthma. We are almost out of fruit, though, so a trip to Aldi will be happening sometime in the next few days to at least buy fruit and a few other basics.
In the mean time, I’ve enjoyed the extra time that not going to the grocery store or clipping coupons has provided and am excited at the progress I’m making on the manuscript (though I’m not going to pretend like it’s been perfectly smooth sailing or that my house is anywhere near tip-top shape right now! :))
Did you snag any great deals or bargains this week or save money in other ways? If so, be sure to post about them on your blog and leave your link below. Please remember that this weekly round-up is to share deals you personally got and/or money you were able to save this week. In order to keep this weekly round-up focused on helping and inspiring others in their efforts to save money, links which have little-to-no content other than promoting affiliate links, etc. will be deleted. Also, to make it easy for everyone to navigate quickly through the links, your link must link directly to your Super Savings Saturday post.
A testimony from Jen
We’ve been married for 8 ½ years and have two children. In early 2010, just a year after the birth of our second child, my husband and I decided that it was time to sell his 14-year-old truck and buy a larger truck or SUV that would fit our growing family. We had been driving two cars everywhere we went because we couldn’t all fit into just one of our vehicles.
Having taken Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University in the past, we committed not to finance vehicles, so we knew this was going to be a cash deal. It was time to sell the truck, and just hours after listing it online we had an offer. We took it and three days later we had a large wad of cash for our next vehicle!
We set our budget for buying a new truck and began searching. Two months later we found a Suburban that was within our budget and fit all of our needs. So we bought it — with cash!
A month after the purchase the our new-to-us automobile, the suburban’s engine blew. We were out. Out our truck and out our cash.
Not only that, but it was going to cost more to fix the problem than we paid for the vehicle! We had been scammed and I was mad; the kind of mad where steam comes out of your ears.
I got over myself, and we decided to cut our losses. We picked ourselves up, decided to sell the suburban “as is”, tuck the money away and start saving again for another vehicle.
Once again, we set a budget and decided when we reached that amount we would start looking. This time though, we decided that as we were looking we would continue to save. This way, the longer it took to find another truck, the more we’d have to spend. We began putting money away from each paycheck.
Fast forward eight months to January 2011 and we had reached our goal. It was time to start looking for a vehicle, but this time we knew we did not want to make a private party purchase. We were determined to buy from a dealership.
The search began and on February 12, 2011, we paid cash for a 1999 Chevy Tahoe! The dealer even sweetened the deal by including a three-month warranty because we were paying in cash! As you can see, it’s a beautiful truck, and we now have peace of mind about our purchase because we have a warranty.
The best part about our purchase was we were able to negotiate the price and walked away from the sale with $600 of our budgeted money leftover in our pockets! We were able to put the extra money back into savings for future vehicle needs.
Jen Lowman is a stay-at-home, homeschooling mother of two and lover of the Lord Jesus Christ! Her husband Chris is a wonderful man who also loves the Lord and works very hard to support and provide for his family!
Have you saved up and paid cash for something — large or small? Submit your story for possible publication here.
Guest post by Lacey Wilcox at Live Loved
Chances are that if you’re reading this, you’re on this website because you have a desire to save money. I’m right there with you.
Like many people, my husband and I have made achieving complete financial freedom as one of our goals for the new year. Together we’ve created a budget, told every penny where it is going to go, fought to maintain “gazelle-like” intensity (you’ll only appreciate that if you’re a Dave Ramsey fan), and worked to see that it all happens.
I have loved how each of us has our own unique role in this goal. For my husband, that role involves working to earn an income, being our spiritual leader, and taking care of things that are above and beyond me (things like knowing when it’s time to rotate the tires, or change the oil).
My role, however, is a little different. I get the blessing of taking care of our home, and more importantly, our sweet baby girl. While my husband earns the income, I try to make sure we spend as little of it as possible. Websites like MoneySavingMom.com have become my best friend. Couponing is becoming an art form. And getting things at the lowest possible price is now, well, an obsession.
I think about it constantly, read tons of websites and ads throughout the day and cut coupons like crazy. (Please tell me I’m not alone. If I am, just don’t let me know.)
It’s a noble obsession. I mean, who doesn’t want to help their family save as much as possible? What could be wrong with something like that?
Nothing is wrong with it. Not one thing at all.
In fact, I think such a desire shows responsibility, diligence and good stewardship. For me, I feel it is a part of fulfilling my call as wife and mom, one that I am so humbled and honored to receive. So I repeat, there is nothing wrong with wanting to save money, and doing what is necessary to carry out that desire — unless it becomes an obsession.
The very definition of an obsession is something that eventually consumes you. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want saving money to be what consumes me.
And so, I find myself already tweaking my New Year’s resolutions (Okay, to be honest, I had never really set official resolutions to begin with, but you get what I mean).
I want to save money. I mean I really want to save money. But with everything I do toward that, I’m going to check my heart and mind constantly to make sure that my motives are coming from a pure heart, and not one that is consumed.
My guess is many of you have already been at this place. What suggestions do you have to help keep a right perspective on saving money, without making it an obsession?
Lacey Wilcox lives in the Panhandle of Texas with her husband, Kade and sweet baby, Selah, where they manage Panfork Baptist Camp. Lacey writes about adventures in marriage, mommy-hood, and camp life at her blog.
After my post on Bean Scooping, a couple of you suggested I try something similar with water for Silas.
Silas loved the water (as did Kathrynne and Kaitlynn!) I just laid down a towel on our kitchen floor, gave him some measuring cups and spoons and various bowls and tubs.
I added a little dish soap to the water to make it bubbly and he had at it.
Yes, there were a few puddles on the kitchen floor after he was done, but it kept him quietly and cheerfully occupied for 15 minutes while I cleaned up the kitchen, so it was every bit worth a little mess.
What kinds of fun and frugal activities have you been doing at your house recently? I’d love to hear your ideas!
Amy (who is my real-life friend and who also helps set up all the private advertising and giveaways here on MoneySavingMom.com) has an excellent post up today on the best way to save money:
Clipping coupons is great, but not if you spend 2 hours clipping and sorting to save $5 on items your family doesn’t like to eat.
Purchasing that cute shirt at a discount seems rational, until you get it home and realize it doesn’t fit… and then you never bother to return it.
Dining out with a free meal deal is fabulous, unless you have to spend outside your budget for the rest of the meals to get one “free.”
If we can afford the payments, is it smarter to finance part of the vehicle to keep our savings, or should we go ahead and pay cash (keeping $5,000 to $6,000 in our Emergency Funds still)? -Leah
First off, congratulations on building your savings to afford paying cash for the vehicle! Having just purchased a newer car for the first time last year after years of driving old and hand-me-down vehicles, I can empathize with how nice it is to have the money set aside.
If I were in your shoes, I would make sure that your Emergency Fund is enough to cover at least three months’ worth of expenses if something happens to your income. If you have enough after that is set aside to buy a vehicle with cash, I would go ahead and pay cash for the vehicle.
Is it “smarter” to make the payments and finance the vehicle? I would say, in short, no. You will be paying more for the car with interest payments over the next five years than you would if you just paid cash outright.
Also, touching on another discussion for another day, I think we have some serious inflation coming down the pike within the next few years. If you spend the cash now, I believe the money will be worth more now than it would be sitting in savings at a later date when you would use it to pay the interest payments over the next five to seven years. So, not only would you be paying more money due to the interest payments, you potentially could be paying more due to inflation.
Additionally, if you use cash, there is a greater potential at having your money go further by being able to negotiate a better deal. When I bought my car last year, I may not have saved that much money upfront by paying cash, but paying in cash allowed me to go an unconventional route and expedite the process.
After extensive research, I ended up getting my car through a dealer who got the vehicle at a dealer auction. The car was off-lease and had been wrecked and had hail damage but the dealership repaired it as good as new under the lease. The car I bought still had the original sticker in the glove box and we ended up paying half of the value of the original price for a three-year-old vehicle. The previous owner took the hit on depreciation and we were able to get a great deal. And going the cash route allowed us to finish the deal rather quickly.
If you can afford the payments now when you have everything saved up, I would go ahead and use the already-saved money to buy a vehicle. Then, I would take the money you would have been paying for a car payment and set it aside for your next vehicle purchase or another savings goal. When setting aside money for something, I’ve found it helpful to already mentally “spend” the money while it is being set aside. Then, when it is time to write the check, it does not hurt as much. 🙂
What about the rest of you? Would you recommend paying cash for a vehicle or would you finance a vehicle and keep more money in savings?
Jesse Paine is a licensed attorney who owns his own law firm. He’s married to Crystal and is the numbers nerd of the MoneySavingMom.com team! If you have a question you’d like him to answer in a future column, you can submit it here.
The content of this column intended for informational use only and is not to be construed as providing legal, investing, accounting or other professional advice. Your situation is factually specific and you should accordingly seek qualified professional counsel concerning your specific legal, investing or accounting needs.
Guest post by Sia Hills at Centsible in Seattle
Even more than frugality, I love generosity. When there are opportunities be frugal and generous, I get really excited.
Opportunities exist to get something for free, while giving to another. Others provide great leverage for your dollar: when you purchase something your money will be doubled and you will get product.
Regardless of your budget, there are opportunities for everyone to give. Here are a few of my favorite ways to give:
At WeGiveBooks.org, you choose a book to read online. You then select a charity to donate a free book to a child in need. My girls love this program, and it teaches them about giving at a young age.
You can donate items to your local food bank or homeless shelters. Check out Feeding America for a food bank near you.
Do you ever wonder what you might be able to do with all of that free soap and shampoo you have stockpiled? Send it to Clean The World and recycle your soap to save lives. Diseases like Cholera are addressed best with soap and water. Your extra soap and shampoo can save a life. Work with others you know to combine your stockpiles and share shipping costs.
Another great option is to fill a shoebox with with school supplies, small toys, toothbrushes, etc. for the children in need in poor areas of the world through Operation Christmas Child.
If you’re a coffee lover, be sure to check out OneCup.org. For every $11 in coffee you purchase, $11 will be donated to help humanitarian aid work in Africa.
In addition, Doughnut Girl Coffeeprovides an opportunity to get coffee and help another. Pay $9 for coffee and 100% of profits go to Salvation Army.
Heavenly Treasures, one of my favorite sites, offer the opportunity to purchase items that have been handmade by an entrepreneur in a poor country. These are recipients of Micro Loans, and you are supporting the growth of their business. They offer unique and affordable one of a kind gifts (many start at around $5).
For every pair of shoes purchased, Tom’s Shoes gives a pair of shoes to a child in need. What is great about Tom’s Shoes is that they work from a replenishment model: the child who received the first pair will continue to get a new pair as they grow out of them or wear them out. Besides the comfort of wearing shoes, it has a significant impact on health issues for the children that receive them. The shoes are not cheap, but your purchase will impact a child’s life!
Sia Hills is a wife and mother of three, who in addition to blogging works in the humanitarian world. She loves to share money saving opportunities, as well as ways to give and live generously. Her blog, centsibleinseattle.net, focuses on sharing savings opportunities available in the Pacific Northwest.
What are your favorite ways to give, even on a limited budget?
I’ve been working on a secret project since the beginning of January. I’m no good at keeping secrets, so I’ve been bursting at the seams to tell you all, but I had to wait until a bunch of details were in place before I could do so.
And the day has finally come.
The secret? I’m writing a book!
How it all came about was a crazy, bizarre set of circumstances and I’m still pinching myself that this is really and truly for real.
Writing a book has long been on my list of “things I hope to do someday”, but it was one of those big dreams which seemed very much out of reach right now. So, the idea’s been tucked into the back part of my brain and left there. I figured once my children were older, it’d be something I might pull back out and pursue.
Well, God had other plans. In November of 2010, a vice president at a publishing company happened to stumble upon my blog. He emailed me the same day and asked me to call him about a book deal.
When I got the email, I wondered if it were a fluke or a prank. But no, investigation showed he was the real deal. I was incredulous that anything would come of it, but Jesse and I decided to go ahead and call him.
I was shocked when I called him and he basically said, “We’d like to offer you a book deal. What do you want to write on?”
He was very thorough in explaining how it would work, what they were expecting from me and the time frame they were thinking. I just sat on the other end shaking my head. This can’t be for real.
But it was real and I had to face reality and decide whether I wanted to take the plunge into a completely unknown world. It was daunting and I was scared.
Jesse and I spent the next few weeks praying about it and seeking the counsel of people who know us best. I was a lot more hesitant than Jesse as I could only imagine what effort would be required to write a 50,000-word manuscript in a short time frame. But Jesse continued to assure me he thought I should do this and that he would be right by my side as my biggest supporter and cheerleader (which he totally has been!)
I knew I’d have to delegate some of my other responsibilities in order to devote time to writing a book (I’m not superwoman!), so I prayed that if God wanted me to accept the book deal, He would provide an assistant for me. It was a tall order because I was looking for a very specific skill set in a person as well as a certain type of personality and I was really not sure anyone in our area would fit the bill.
God’s pretty amazing at answering “tall orders”, though. That very same week, God brought Megan into my path. She had all the skills and qualifications I was looking for, she was already considering a job change and she and I just “clicked”. I hired her in January and she’s taken a huge weight of responsibilities off my shoulders so I can focus on writing, blogging and being a wife and mom.
With all the lights staying clearly green to us regarding the book deal, I accepted the publisher’s offer in January and embarked on this new adventure. Truly, I’ve loved almost every moment of it, even if it has been a little grueling at times.
My manuscript is due to the publisher on May 1, 2011 — yes, about five weeks away. Needless to say, it’s crunch time around here and I hope you’ll bear with me if you email and don’t hear back from me until after May. I promise I’m not ignoring you personally, I’m just pretending my email is not piling up so that I can focus on cranking out this manuscript. 🙂
In addition, for the next five weeks, I won’t be posting weekly menus, likely won’t be sharing details and pictures of my shopping trips and will most probably not be posting quite as much. I’ll still be sharing lots of deals, great guest posts and reader tips and writing posts as I’m able, but if you don’t see updates quite as often or I don’t have a chance to respond to your comment, you’ll know why.
Never fear, once May 1 arrives, I should be back to my usual posting schedule. (And you just might hear a big sigh of relief coming from this part of the country!)
Thank you, in advance, for your patience. And if you think of me, I’d so appreciate your prayers as I finish up this project.
If all goes as planned, the book will be available for sale in January 2012. All of my profits from the sale of the book will be donated to Compassion — a ministry our family whole-heartedly believes in and is thrilled to support.
“There are no hopeless situations; there are only men and women who have grown hopeless about them.” -Marshal Ferdinand Foch
Other than shopping at Dollar Tree this week for bread, I didn’t do any other shopping.
Jesse stopped by the store to pick up milk, chocolate milk, three bunches of bananas and cereal. Plus, we bought three dozen farm-fresh eggs from my brother.
But that was it for our shopping this week. What about you?
_________________
Did you snag any great deals or bargains this week or save money in other ways? If so, be sure to post about them on your blog and leave your link below. Please remember that this weekly round-up is to share deals you personally got and/or money you were able to save this week. In order to keep this weekly round-up focused on helping and inspiring others in their efforts to save money, links which have little-to-no content other than promoting affiliate links, etc. will be deleted. Also, to make it easy for everyone to navigate quickly through the links, your link must link directly to your Super Savings Saturday post.
I feel like so many of the books I’ve been reading recently I’ve dubbed “excellent”. It’s becoming a bit redundant or overused, but seriously, Becoming a Person of Influence is yet another superb book.
I was inspired to listen more, encourage others more and go out of my way to build up and believe in other people. While I love to motivate people, I sometimes can become so focused on my projects and to-do list that I don’t make people as much of a priority as I should in my life.
This book challenged me in many ways. The biggest? If I want to make a difference in others’ lives, I have to take the time to invest in their lives.
I look back at some of the people who’ve had the greatest influence on me and I know it was because they weren’t too busy to listen, to help, to encourage and to take time for me. I want to be that kind of person for others, as well. This book truly inspired me to do so and gave me ideas for how to practically implement this.
The Possibilities of Prayer — I’ve read a few of E.M. Bounds’ books before and have always been blessed by them. While this wasn’t my very favorite book of his and I disagreed with some of the theology, it was full of encouragement regarding the necessity and blessings of prayer.
ReWork — Hands down, this is one of the best business books I’ve ever read. In fact, if you know me well in real-life, you’ve probably heard me blabber on about it the past few weeks since I loved it so much. I read it in one sitting because I just couldn’t put it down.
The premise? Break all the rules of the “experts”. Think way outside the box. Be a teacher: if a business idea works well for you, share your secrets and people will respect you more. Stop worrying about your competition and start being a trend-setter. Keep your company small for as long as you possibly can. Don’t grow until it hurts.
(Note: There is a quite a bit of language in the book and I was disappointed because it somewhat hampered my excitement about the book. And I know some disagree with me, but I always find four letter words in books bothersome because I feel like they are unnecessary and crude.)
By the Shores of Silver Lake — The children and I loved reading this together. We’re almost sad that we’re nearing the end of the Little House series because we’ve enjoyed reading it together so much!
24 Books I Plan to Read in 2011
Business and Financial Books I Plan to Read and Review This Year:
January — 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think
February — Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living
March — Becoming a Person of Influence
April — Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking
May — Life on the Wire: Avoid Burnout and Succeed in Work and Life
June — Debt-Free U: How I Paid for an Outstanding College Education Without Loans, Scholarships, or Mooching off My Parents
July — Have a New You by Friday: How to Accept Yourself, Boost Your Confidence & Change Your Life in 5 Days
August — Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t
September — America’s Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money
October — Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
November — Shift Your Habit: Easy Ways to Save Money, Simplify Your Life, and Save the Planet
December –Personal Investing: The Missing Manual
Other Books I Plan to Read This Year:
January — Calm My Anxious Heart: A Woman’s Guide to Finding Contentment
February — Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time
March — The Possibilities of Prayer
April — The Blessing of Boundaries
May — Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
June — Honey for a Child’s Heart
July — One With Christ
August — A Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on the Gentle Art of Learning
September — Womanly Dominion: More Than A Gentle and Quiet Spirit
October — The Rose Conspiracy
November — Disciplines of a Godly Woman
December –Benjamin Rush: Signer of the Declaration of Independence
What books have you read recently? Any you’d highly recommend?
(Note: The Amazon.com links in this post are affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.)
Guest post by Jenae
The first five years of your child’s life are vitally important to the learning that will take place for many years to come. Research has shown that children who are immersed in a supportive, learning-oriented, and literature-rich environment greatly succeed later on in school.
Rest assured though, you do not need to spend a fortune on an “educational” program to give your young child a head start. In fact, some of the prepackaged materials can sometimes be detrimental to their learning because of little interaction (both from you and them).
Here are some suggestions for ways to implement educational activities with your toddler and preschooler:
Not only is this strategy great for the environment, but it also sparks creativity for you and your child!
Many of the activities that my boys and I do together have come from a moment of thinking, “I wonder how I can reuse this?” and a learning activity magically appears.
The possibilities are endless!
There are essentially seven domains of Early Childhood Development that are important to remember. Running, jumping and climbing are just important for a child as learning the ABC’s!
A child loves to experience both new and familiar things with you and the escalator at the mall can be just as enchanting to a two-year old as Disney World!
Surrounding your child with books is very important but this doesn’t mean you need to spend $50 every two weeks at the book store.
Most local libraries have a large assortment of children’s books, including many board books. Plan a trip every couple of weeks to restock with new books. If your children are anything like mine, you’ll be checking out the same books over and over.
Even if you don’t think you’ll use four boxes of crayons and three bottles of glue in the next few months, go ahead and purchase them during back-to-school sales because they are a fraction of the cost that they will be in a month or two.
I bought school supplies for a charity we support last November and was appalled that a box of crayons was over $1.00 when you can get them in August for $0.25.
The friends with whom you surround yourself all have different and unique talents. Plan outings together or a day of activities.
A friend of mine and her sister plan monthly “theme days” where every activity they do is centered around a specific theme.
Regardless of what you are doing, spending intentional time with your child will be greatly beneficial to him. You don’t have to spend hours planning special activities, just take 10 minutes to sit down and read a book or get on the floor and play!
Aubrie, from The Buzz 4 Moms, sent me this sweet poem and I think it is absolutely perfect as we reflect on ways to best teach our children:
I tried to teach my child with books;
He gave me only puzzled looks.
I tried to teach my child with words;
They passed him by often unheard.
Despairingly, I turned aside;
“How shall I teach this child,” I cried?
Into my hand he put the key,
“Come,” he said, “Play with me.”~Author Unknown~
Poem from The Perpetual Preschool
Jenae is a Master-degree holding former first grade teacher turned stay-at-home Momma. She loves finding creative ways to save money, spending time with her family, and sharing fun activities on her website I Can Teach My Child.
This easy casserole is the perfect gluten-free side dish for burritos or any other Mexican meal. Or, you can do as I do, and just eat it as a stand-alone frugal meal… because it’s just that good!
Whenever I say something about Green Rice Casserole, most people do a double take. “Green Rice Casserole? What’s that??” they’ll ask incredulously.
My mom has made this recipe for as long as I can remember and I’ve always loved it.
Since I’ve been married, it’s been fun to introduce it to my own family, too. Everyone gobbles it up and usually asks for more!
By the way, this is in no way a low-fat recipe, so if you’re on a diet, counting calories, or trying to lose weight, you just might want to skip over this post. 😉
Try adding 2 cups of cooked, shredded chicken or cooked ground sausage to this mixture for a more hearty meal.
Or add 2 or 3 extra eggs to make it more of a breakfast casserole.
Try variations of white, brown, or even wild rice to see what you prefer.
Mix up the seasonings — swap basil for parsley for basil or add more Mexican seasonings like cumin and chili powder.
Try Pepper Jack cheese for a little extra spice, crumbled Feta for a brighter kick, or Mozzarella for a super creamy texture.
1. Cook the rice (if necessary)
2. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9″ x 13″ baking dish.
3. In a large bowl, combine cooked rice with all other ingredients.
4. Cover dish with foil and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
5. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
This recipe freezes beautifully — just cover the pan tightly and pop it in the freezer (before baking) to freeze for up to 3 months.
You can also dump the contents of the uncooked casserole into a gallon-size freezer bag and freeze it flat as a space-saving option.
When you’re ready to bake the casserole, simply defrost it in the fridge or on the counter and continue with the baking instructions above.
Make sure to share and save it on your favorite platform below!
Meal time just got so much easier!
