Honoring God....Frugal doesn't mean cheap

Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine." Proverbs 3:9

My miniature testimony about how giving finances to God turned things around comes from my junior year in college.....  Things were tight, as they often are for college kids, and (thankfully) I wasn't receiving any financial aid.  Between my parent's help, my scholarship, and a part time job...ends were being met.  But it was still tight.  And tithing? I couldn't possibly.  Or could I?  Giving my finances over to God was a bit scary at first but very freeing subsequently.  Learning that my stuff is not really my stuff and my money is not really my money is a process.  Living off 90% of my "income" was much, much better than 100%.  I was working at an office on campus at the time, and also taking notes and recording books on tape for disabled students, and making minimum wage.  And once I started faithfully tithing, I did not feel the financial burden that I had just months before...and I was not making any more.  Actually less once I started student teaching.

I truly, truly, believe that when we honor God with our money that he will overflow our "vats" so to speak.  I do not believe in magic prayers or weird stuff about money showing up on your porch.  I also don't think that honoring God will make you rich. But with God in the driver's seat...things will be much better than having Him ride shotgun.  And maybe it's not that you will actually make or have any more, but that you will be more content with less.  Not sure!


It's no secret that I love budgets.  Having and sticking to one helps Aaron and I live within our means and intentionally give.  On FrugalLivingNW's page, a motto I read once said: Be content, Spend wisely, Be Generous. I love that. Frugal doesn't have to mean cheap.  I want being frugal to help us be generous.

My favorite budget category is one we call "Hospitality".  I got the idea from this blogger who I got to hear speak at a conference a couple years ago.   We use our hospitality budget to be able to bring meals to people, pay for hosting expenses, etc.  Our grocery budget is so tight that I really appreciate being able to freely spend some money from this "category" without it feeling at all like a burden.  It's a fun category.  We buy things that we probably wouldn't buy for ourselves, but when it's for other people or for hosting we can justify it. It's not a huge amount, but having it intentionally set in the budget gives hospitality a priority spot in our spending.

What's your favorite budget category?

Bell peppers, my freezer, and grocery bills!!

I went over budget on groceries this month....about $35 over.  I was disappointed.  It's getting harder to stay at $300 a month for our family.  Gluten free stuff is just more expensive.  So are dairy free milk products.  But I'm one determined lady and I haven't given up on trying to figure out new money saving ways while still trying to eat pretty wholesome foods.  It's not the hugest deal if I go a little over because we went under in other categories and I just shifted some money around in the budget.  But I see a day when I have two teenage boys and a full grown man eating and I know it won't get any better.  Now is the time to learn the tricks.

I'm a believer in small things adding up.  I've even calculated that if I use app. 25 reusable grocery bags per month (at 6 cents per bag) I save $18.00 a year just by using my own reusable bags.  And they're more sturdy. (Yes, I'm kind of a math nerd).

One thing I like to do, when possible, is buy extra of something when it's on sale or at my "stock up price" and freeze it.  We do this when our bread goes on sale 4 loaves for $5 at Fred Meyer (though that is just for me and Mateo). Another thing I've started stocking up on is bell peppers. Ever since that one time I paid $2.00 for one bell pepper at regular price at Safeway, I have vowed to only get them when they're on sale for 68 cents at WinCo.

 

I cut all of the peppers into strips to freeze usually (though sometimes I'll dice them up).  They freeze wonderfully and can be pulled out and defrosted easily for pizzas, fajitas, quiches, etc.  It's a big time saver to be able to pull them out of the freezer ready to use for meals.  Throw the bell peppers in a freezer zip loc or a tupperware of your choice and voila!

Gratitute on a Friday

This afternoon, I packed up my big, red, double stroller with my two precious little boys...and we went for a walk to the nearby school for some playtime.  My stroller finally feels a little lighter now that Alex can sit in there without his car seat.  A little bit of weight lifted so to speak.

The sun, the fresh air, the 30 comments from my 2 7/8 year old toddler, and the beating of my out-of shape heart as I pushed 80+ pounds up a fairly steep hill...

We played on the play structures, ran around the track, went down slides, and laughed. It was glorious.

While walking around we passed a portable classroom and through the window I could see a teacher, still at her desk, hard at work.  Oh how I remember those long days.  Never, ever enough time to get work done during the day. Aaron used to drive up to my school after his last college class most Fridays my first and second year of teaching and clean my overhead, my white boards, and help me with whatever I needed in my classroom. He has always had the gift of helping people. I knew he'd be a keeper. There was always something to prep, to grade, to prepare, to clean.....  I know a lot of great, hard-working teachers. They are invaluable. But right now, I am so very thankful that I'm not one of them.  Right now I'm truly grateful that I don't have to be distracted by a job.  I am resolved to not take these days for granted....these days I am home with my boys. Every day, they are growing up right in front of my eyes.

I often blog about ways to save money because that has become a big part of my job.  Making things myself, clipping coupons, being resourceful, etc. So many things I'm learning.  It can be extra work,  but it's worth it.  And today, all of those little things we do to save money were shown to be overwhelmingly worth it.

Despite the fact that we had traumatic beginnings with both of our boys....  Despite that our experience with parenthood has not been typical.....Despite anything that could have worn us down,  I can see how much stronger Aaron and I have grown as a couple through our trials. I love my little family.  I love that I live with all boys.  I love that my boys adore their daddy.  I adore him myself.

I can breathe a little better these days.  I can look back at the first 8 months of our second baby journey with gratitude that we've come out of it loving each other and loving God more than we thought possible.

³ Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

-Romans 5:3-5

Saving on groceries......coupons!

If you're offended by coupon use...don't read this blog post.

As odd as that sounds, I've heard many people say that they wouldn't ever use coupons because they don't eat THAT kind of food. My thoughts on this... if it's something your family will use and there is a coupon or deal on it...why not?  I do understand that many coupons are for processed foods but not all of them are and many people eat processed foods from time to time.  I got 4 boxes of Mike and Ikes a couple of weeks ago for FREE at Rite Aid with a store promotion, for example.  I don't eat much candy but for free I figured I might as well.  I sent a couple with my hubby to share at a retreat he went to and then we have a couple more for another time in our stockpile. 
Today I also got a 2 lb. block of Tilamook cheese for $3.99 at Fred Meyer using a store coupon.

Even at WinCo this would cost $5-6 depending on the week.

Couponing does not have to be like the TLC show Extreme Couponing.  You can do as much or as little as you want or have time for. I have my coupon binder and a few stores I go to regularly and it does add up in big ways.  I don't really use coupons that much on food.  I use them MUCH more often for toiletry items. Whatever you're able to fit in will make a difference. There are several things that I am able to get for inexpensive and I appreciate being able to "stock up" on these things and have them handy.


 
Last week Safeway was having a sale on cereal.  The sale price was $2.50 a box. If you bought four boxes you saved an additional $4.  This brought the price per box down to $1.50.  THEN I had two coupons for $1/2 boxes of this particular cereal that I printed online. You can double this (up to 50 cents) at my Safeway, so that dropped off an additional $3...which left the total to be $3 for 4 boxes of cereal (or 75 cents each).  I did this deal twice and ended up getting 8 boxes of cereal for $6.  I try to choose pretty plain cereals for Mateo...and he loves cheerios.  The Golden Grahams are more for me but I will probably share :)


If you're interested in learning more about the coupon game...here are two of my favorite sites for finding out about deals (they do all the homework for you...you just have to get the actual coupons and go to the store!) The big goal is to combine coupons with the lowest sale prices to get the best deal.
Krazy Coupon Lady
Frugal Living NW

If you think it takes too long to bother clipping coupons that's understandable.  I know some who do not cut out coupons but instead organize the inserts.  I find that trickier personally. The amount I save on this and other ventures enables me to stay home, so for me it is well worth it.  Safeway is very close to my house and I pass it nearly every day..so it's not out of my way to go to when they have a great sale. For my regular grocery shopping I always go to Winco, though, because their prices are much lower.  I don't go to ten stores a week like some couponers might but I go to at least two...and if I happen to be going to another store, then I will check the coupon deals before I head out just in case there is a deal on something we might need!

Here is an article posted on Krazy Coupon Lady of a mom who "couponed her way to being a Stay-at-home-mom".  It's just one thing but all of the little things certainly add up!