Local Salvage Groceries This Week

I LOVE going to a local grocery salvage-goodwill type store.

It totally makes my day every time I go.  I get to try out new products, new brands, and it reminds me of foods I like, but don’t tend to buy at the store on a regular basic, but will, for less than a buck a box, without the bother of coupons (and you all know how I love me some good coupons!)

I Can’t resist an olive green zip up three ring. Cannot. For $1, it has entered my habitat.

I’m having an Easter Egg hunt THIS weekend–one of mine didn’t get one in…know where I can find some good candy still?

BLURRY PHOTO SERIES; Bananas $1.49, Extra Bold Goldfish $.99, Breakfast Oatmeal bars (Never tried them–fun!)

BLURRY PHOTO SERIES; Chewy Granola bars, Chocolate Chip, my fav, $.99, also, gingerbread cookies, which I’m loving with tea right now, and some chocolate-carmel things by Wether…not so crazy about those, but only a buck risk.

Professional Pam…who knew? Was $1.99, but I was feeling up for it.

$1, ONE DOLLAR, and it still feels soft. I’m thrilled, love this bread for a “me” treat. (No, my kids won’t touch it–all the better in my view!)

Mmmm, a salad is calling my name 3/$1.20 (chick peas/Garbanzo beans)

Ah, after shopping, my $.50 foot massage (yes, that’s leopard print…will look GREAT under my desk)

I LOVE these jars…no idea what I’ll do with it, but for $.50, who could resist?

Also pictured somewhere are a little roll of  Mexican wafers 3/$1.00.  They are like fortune cookie flavor, only flat, in a wafer.  They are crispy, and oh so good with a glass/cup of tea! I’ll be getting some more probably.

Also a box of “Pumkin Gingerlies”  (pumpkin ginger chews, 70% organic, 100% natural, No Transfat.)  They were an NASFT Outstanding Cookie Award finalist, whatever that means.  It also says “Cookies with a Cause” on the package.  I’m not sure what that means exactly either…I know what cause cookies have WITH ME! 

Okay, so on the BACK of the container, it says, “Buttery pumpkin and spicy ginger…crunchy outside and chewy within…for a super-delicious treat, serve warm over vanilla ice cream.” (I plan to try that!)  Also, they placed “2nd in 2001 in the Outstanding Cookie Competition at the International Fancy Food Show, a Contest judged by over 100 of the world’s most respected “foodies”.

When shopping salvage, always check the date on the boxes; sometimes a great date matters, sometimes, it doesn’t matter if it’s a month over.  You decide.

Okay, back to my iced tea, Mexican cookies, and foot massage (note to self, hide from children or I’ll never see it again) for two minutes before I have to run out the door again.

Merry & Bright

Last night’s community college at the church made my season.  It was a Christian, chill producing 50+ Christmas choir in  white shirts and red ties with an energetic, Christian, fun, pull-you-into-it young lady leading. 

Four thumbs up from us.  It was a well-spent family hour.  I begged them to come back next year…hopefully we’ll have more people in the audience than are in the choir.  I know two of the singers from Madisonville who are professionally trained singers, but I didn’t know they were part of it until last night. 

You never know from a college setting what you are going to get, but it was truly a superb performance I hope we utilize more fully next year.

I’m just sitting down to some Cheese Whiz and crackers, waiting on the oven to heat up so that I can cook my pre-formed frozen sausage balls.  Yes, something exists…they aren’t QUITE as good as the Bisquick version, but there is much more I’d rather be doing than washing my hands 15 times while, you know, forming raw sausage. 

The next best thing is pre-formed meatballs, which we are having for supper.  I bought swedish meatballs, some egg noodles, sour cream, and cream of mushroom soup.  I saw the recipe on the ball bag…sounds easy enough, and I’m into EASY cooking right now.  The way I see it, the Thanksgiving and Christmas meals are the two “have to” meals for a mom of the two months while preparing.  The rest of the time, we lose weight on ham and turkey sandwiches and soup!

I am SO excited about my shopping trip today locally!  I’d been praying about (Sssshhh!) my gifts for the women in our family.  [edited out for surprise element!]

For myself, I’m also getting my senior ring, my mother’s bracelet fixed, and my fav gold chain fixed.  It’s been the season for jewelry break-down.  I decided I’d rather wear my favs than get something new really.  I’ve not never found a good jeweler I was comforble with.  I like the folks over there a lot.  I’ll be back.  Hopefully they will be ready soon, though I told him  they didn’t have to be ready by Christmas.  I’m sure they have a lot to get done before then.

Other things that make me totally head-over-heels happy today:

• Peter Pan Peanut Butter (you can argue with me all day long, and Peter Pan is STILL the best).  My kids won’t eat anything else now!  That samanilla scare a while back was very bad for our family for many months while it was off the shelf.  This morning, I had a leftover jar to finish and I STILL am hearing about inferior Peanut Butter and random oil.  Ah, I’m thankful to be able to afford Peter Pan.
• DARLING nativity sets with the scriptures on each piece!  The entire set is on sale at Wal*Mart for $10.00.  Warning, one of them Mary looks cross-eyed, don’t get that one.  I bought several until I find someone who needs one they were so special!  I’m going to rework some gifts having found them! SO neat.
• Modge Podge.  I’ve read about this product over and over and FINALLY found it at Wal*Mart in Matte, and all sorts of finishes.  It’s basically like a glue and an acrylic topper combined to seal dough ornaments, collages, and any paper on wood or other craft projects.  I’m psyched.
• I found some awesome books “The Don’t Sweat Guide to Holidays:  Enjoying the Festivities and Letting Go of the Tension” by Richard Carlson, Ph.D.  They were on sale on a book table for $.75.  It isn’t a Christian based book, and I don’t take everything he says as gospel, but I love his emphasis on keeping things realistic and keeping the main things the main things. I’m putting them in my brothers stockings, I think.  They were 205 pp and great two page bathroom reads for couples.  I’ll probably enjoy it first.     I like books like this to review leading up to holidays.
• Little bags of holiday trinkets and games and pencils for kids at Wal*Mart…I do not have the energy to order Sunday School class gifts, and this SO simplified my life!  Ahhhh!  Thank you, Wal*Mart!  I don’t care what anyone says about you…you made my day, today!
• Kentucky Legend PRE-SLICED ham quarter.  THANK YOU WAL*MART.

Okay, the oven is ready, and I have a gift-wrapping fest planned before the kids need to be picked up in YEESH!  three hours!  So, off I go to munch sausage balls, Biltmore House Hoiliday Wassail (from a mix stirred with Cranapple Juice…thanks to Steve & Chryl last year!), listen to my new Christmas tunes, and WRAP for the kids LIKE A MAD WOMAN!

Blessings to you today!  Share a smile!  Someone I don’t know and will probably never see again waited on me several minutes at the door while my bag broke and I re-bagged things, just to hold a door open for me…it TOTALLY made my day.  Give random acts of kindness!  Today, someone found $20.00 on the sidewalk and asks me three times if it was mine, hesitant to keep it.  I told them it probably wasn’t…and finally I said, just pass it on to someone who needs it if you like.  They looked thoughtful, and nodded.  I think they will.  It’s moments like that that keep the season “merry and bright”!  Make some moments.

Oh my goodness, the jewelry store just called, my engraving is already done!  WOW!  I’m so tickled–okay, MORE tickled.  But, there goes gift wrap fest!  Whew.  I’m going to have to make some TIME!   Maybe I’ll wrap and reward myself with a trip back over there if I stay on task!   Gotta run!!!  No pics today!  Gotta go FAST!

  

“How Do I Give If I’m In Debt Myself?”– Financial Quandries

A few questions have come up.  If you are interested, and need some help or freedom in this area:  read on.  If not, skip it!  Isn’t blogging a joy?    

There are two things to differentiate:  the tithe, and then the offering.  Two very different things. 

The titheis to be a “first-fruit”.  What’s a first-fruit?  It’s not Juicy Fruit.  It’s not an apple.  Don’t put either of those in the offering plate unless God tells you to specifically.

In the Old Testament, God asked the people to give the first of their crops and harvests to him, the best of what they had.  It was to be given as an offering before they ate any of the restof the harvest.  The firstfruit was given to help establish priority of thanksgiving, the priority of obedience, and to remember God first.  

The tithe today is intended to represent “first-fruit”.  That is why you don’t want to wait until there is a surplus to tithe.  Test God in that.  He will meet the rest.  Some adjustments and priority may need to be made, but that’s where the rule of 90 comes in. 

The Rule of 90:  (I coined that term myself…I love it.  I sounds so official).  I didn’t coin the idea.  The other 90% has to be given to God for the 10% rule to work with grace.   God wants our all in everything.  And the very cool thing is:  He does more with it than we ever could!

Tithing seems to work to align our lives in greater wisdom and less attachment to things.  He teaches us to rely on creativity, ingenuity, and thanksgiving to fill our hearts rather than the pleasure of “stuff”. 

The baseline for the tithe, what God expects from us, is generally defined as 10% of the check (gross or net is up to you to decide.  One person said, “Do you want a gross or a net blessing?“)   Most financial books only consider income.  However, there are also I’ve been compelled to give a tithe on other blessings or provisions God provides me out of the ordinary.  There is a Biblical basis for this.  In the Old Testament, they tithed any provision…even spices. 

We have the children tithe their birthday cash.  This is a personal decision not dictated by scripture, but a tool we’ve chosen to use to teach our kids the priority of giving.  They enjoy it and are sad when they leave it at home.  I’ve seen them cry and ask us to go back home for it.  They like to take part and give something “adult”, giving something of their very own.  It’s amazed us to watch.   

The Offering:

The offering is given above the tithe.  While the tithe is considered the monthly commitment to help support the budget of the local body where we are involved, we think of offerings as other gifts we may give to support special causes inside or outside the church.  It’s “a love offering”…something to help others “just because”.

You might ask, “How do you get ahead enough to do both, I can’t even get my act together enough to tithe yet?”

Start.  I recommend starting with the tithe rather than with the offering because the tithe is what God asks.  Give what you can.  Give an offering if you absolutely cannot tithe, but if God asks us to do it, his requests of us are not burdensome.  He only asks us to do what is good for us.   

Show genuine and long-term interest and discipline in giving and managing income, and he will help you learn more and more until you see the joy in it.  It’s like anything else we learn, it takes time, some stumbling, some falling, and eventually learning to walk with a solid gait so that you don’t even remember the “learning to walk”.  You just know that you walk.  I have to tell you that it’s great to not have to feel convicted or defensive every time the subject comes up.  Try.  

I had jury duty this week and several people had VERY legitimate excuses to not serve where they were asked.  The judge said, “But, can you try?  Do it one time for me and we’ll see how it goes before we excuse you, okay?  Try, and then we’ll make arrangements”.  Perhaps the same applies here.  Before you make excuses, try.  Then make needed adjustments if you have to. 

But, we’re WAY in debt.  Sometimes the ends don’t meet! 

I’d like to suggest that in 90% of the cases, debt is due to extravagance, not need.  It is due to credit card abuse and use, overspending, and frivolity.  That’s the bottom line.  Yes, we pay for mistakes.  One way to keep from doing it again is to begin tithing.  A monthly reminder that we are working toward a goal of managing our money as God intended will help the next time you want to upgrade a car or get more than is necessary.

Let me insert a personal note here.  I’ve never seen anything more beautiful than a family committed to becoming debt free.  They learn to be creative with their time.  They learn to not keep up with the Joneses, they develop an inner beauty that radiates because they are trying to honor the Lord with what they have.  They learn to be content where they are and share out of that, rather than trying to impress.  They are a joy to be around.  I had one friend who regularly invited us over for simple meals of homemade waffles or spaghetti.  To this day it was the best food I’ve ever eaten, and the best company we’ve ever kept.

I’ve had friends who wanted to be out of debt so that they could be even better givers.  They tithed what they could in that process, but they wanted to be freed up– to lose their focus on money and “stuff”.  They may have started at a lower percentage, with the goal of increasing it every quarter until they got to 10%.  Personally, I’d rather know I’m blessing the Lord and give the full 10%, trusting Him, but you start where you are, and it’s easier to do 10 when you’ve begun there.  Start where you are, and get there.  You may have a heart to increase it as the Lord increases you, as some I know.  Giving becomes a surpasses joy, I do know that.

Examples:  I’ve seen four families go through a debt free process.  One family had 3 kids, one 4, one 5, and one was a couple without kids.   There are many ways to start, but a budget is usually involved.  If you a person who struggles with management and numbers, a simple envelop system may work.  You take budget areas and label an envelope with each area according to records of past expenses, or how much you think the family could make it on that area.  (Don’t forget to include long- term expenses like insurance and taxes).  Also, try to build several hundred dollars for a start on an “emergency fund” envelope.  

If the grocery envelop goes empty, you have to pull from another area that month: entertainment, eating out, or clothing.  After a few months, you begin to see where spending problems are, or where adjustments need to be made:  there is motivation to get creative or do better in some areas so that there is some left in other areas.

Larry Burkett’s “How to Manage Your Money” is a great resource for money.  Ron Blue offers good suggestions as well.  Read what you can, try it, and find what works best for you.  Keeping the idea fresh in your mind by reading books helps with restraint, especially in high expenditure times like the holidays where people want to “love” people to death and then stay mad the rest of the year trying to pay off the debt!  Agh!  Break that cycle this year!

Gifts:  How Do I Give and Make the Holidays Work? 

We are not hurting financially at this time.  But, we still try to set up the kids for their future.  How?  We regularly give our kids gently used gifts for Christmas if it’s something they might enjoy.  Things I’ve found along the way and saved for a rainy day.  I’ve always wrapped some “necessities” like warm winter clothing or church clothes so that they know the value of those things and remember to have joy and thanks over them.  They are the priority, why not learn to celebrate that together in a tangible way?  Plus, it makes the tree pretty and helps extend gift giving time without buying so many toys they don’t need.   We all make homemade gifts for each other and buy useful things.  We might defer the purchase of an appliance until the holidays so that we have something new and useful to enjoy at that time. 

It doesn’t have to be something sparkly and new, meant to impress all our friends for us to remember to feel valued and take joy.  Provoking jealousy is a problem…don’t do it.  Guard yourselves if being around those types of people causes you to feel “less than” in your approach during the holidays.  Rejoice for them!  But, don’t let it question your family’s approach if the goal is debt reduction.  Make sure you and your spouse are on the same page.   Don’t surprise a spouse with a “big gift” if you agreed to minimize.  That is a killer of joy.  Rejoice in simplicity. 

Reduce the amount spent on baking.  You’ll live without it.  Most of us won’t miss it a year.  Simplify.  Create other traditions like covered pretzels or working puzzles that don’t cost an arm and a leg.

Rejoice in traditional ornaments and family heirlooms instead of having the latest fad decorations.  An occasional new item is alright, try to find it post season for next year. 

Well, that’s all for today!  I hope you’ve enjoyed these ideas or that they’ve been useful in some way.  If you have questions, feel free to email me.  I’ll try to get to all the questions here and there.  Thanks for asking!

Tuesday Happenings.

It’s been a pleasure to receive honest emails on the last couple posts.  Thanks for your transparency and authenticity.  Remember, the goal is that we bless and honor the heart of God, not that we act like other people or try to reach standards of discipline , though discipline is involved. 

If finances are a struggle for you, find the counsel you need to get debt relief, and know the joy that comes from giving.  Giove to him first.  Beyond that, offerings are the cherry on top.  The tithe is the goal.  10%. 

I appreciate the opportunity to try to gently teach other’s in the same way others have so graciously and humbly taught us over the years.  Yes, it’s hard.  But, worth the freedom and joy.

In other news:  today was “jury day”.  I was not randomly selected for the Grand Jury.  I WILL serve on circuit court for at least the next three months.  That will be a child care challenge.  I may have to call on some of you.

~~~

I just settled down for a moment to enjoy a cup of brew from my new Cappuccino maker.  I love me a good cup of decaf, but it’s hard to find good decaf, much less a good cappuccino.  I’m often dissatisfied with the 4 dollar cup at Starbucks (as if we had one).  I found a Mr. Coffee machine for $2.00 yesterday, originally a $100.00 machine. 

It’s a little messy and time consuming, but SO FUN!  I made us some last night and showed my husband the process.  I may have to grace you with another stellar how-to video.  The thing about those videos, expressing how to do things people are interested in is…it invites non-believers to your blog.  Yesterday, I had 1,100 hits to this blog over a random post on scrapbooking I had done last winter.  While people are here, I hope they find a touch of grace and that they long for the joy of Jesus.  Any tools we can use to invite people into our lives, right?

I’ve also been wanting to try out a MAC.  gasp.  Not necessary BUY one, just TRY one.  Why be anxious, oh ye great PC folk?  I’m just trying it, not converting!  Anyway, I found a 1o yr. old college entry level iMac for $5.00 yesterday. I’ve been told they are like a Toyota, they never die and you don’t have to worry about viruses.  They are great for video and graphics, which I need.   

A friend told me where to check for a missing power cord…the gentlemen at that place  gave it to me free!  Now, I just have to procur a USB keyboard and figure out how to find general word processing software on it.  I hope there is some! 

If I could use it to edit pictures in my scrapbook room and print titles for pages, it would be well worth the space in my scrap room.  Space is at a premium in there!  It’s a lovely large green box of a monitor/computer, not the most attractive in the world, but still a fun find!  Good entertainment if nothing else for $5.   

Well, that’s all my rambling and coffee break for today.  Time to go watch my darling little nephews while Mom runs out for a bit.

Frugal Living

For those of you who like frugal living articles, this is an amazing video on how to get watch batteries… CHEAP!  Those things cost an arm and a leg.  I also had great luck once ordering them in bulk for a dollar per from www.thebatteryguys.com.

In other frugal news:  this week I saved myself quite a bit of money clearing out duplicate pictures out of my online wordpress storage.  I went from 80% used to 66% used just clearing out old, duplicate, or un-used pictures I’d uploaded (or ones I forgot to downsize).  It is a very time consuming process, but a good pay-off.