Thinking Small--Sometimes It's Huge

"Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin..."  ... Zechariah 4:10

I began writing in this blog in 2004, just one sentence at a time, four or five days per week, average. And now if I were to print this all out? I'd have 4,500 pages, more or less. So, technically, I've written several books (length-wise) just by plugging along, one day at a time and the aforementioned one sentence at a time.

Last year, sale by sale, coupon by coupon, I saved $2,700 at the supermarket. That's saving/earning $1 here, $2.50 there, one sale, one coupon at a time with just a few hours' worth of effort each week. And through steadily plunking away at it, we have cupboards and freezers full of food, none of which we bought for full price.

Twenty-three years ago I began creating the library I'd dreamed of as a teenager and now one, two, three books at a time (weeding out the no-longer-loved), that library is mine.

Over a period of 22 (or so) years, buying the smaller houses we could afford, making house payment after house payment, and after selling three of those houses, Tom and I were able to buy this last one with cash. It's not a mansion, but its ours.

And a few years ago--after deciding to no longer carry debt on our credit cards-- we made extra payments (after payment, after payment) until our cards were paid-off. It didn't even take ages, just concentration mostly, and we've kept them paid-off ever since.

So often we're told to Think Big! Thinking small leads only to Nowheresville! 

But sometimes that advice overwhelms people--so much so--that they can smell the failure before even beginning their project/dream/plan. They feel defeated and hopeless while staring at the huge end of the dream rather than at the small steps it takes to arrive there. 

Baby steps can lead to big goal lines. Baby steps can often be a wiser way to go--we just might make fewer mistakes if we're not trying to run. But we can't give up. We must keep plugging away, one faithful baby step at a time in the joy of the doing and the anticipation of the win.


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"But let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."   ... James 1:4


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Here's an article where a man used baby steps, a few larger ones and some good old-fashioned wisdom to accomplish his goals.

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Earning/Saving Money From Home... And Loving It

So we're nearing the end of another year and this morning I totaled my 2012 grocery sales and coupon savings and basically? I saved over $1,800 buying groceries on sale (my store keeps track for me) and $640 with coupons (I keep track for me). That's nearly $2,500 and the year's not done yet.

Not only did I get tons of groceries for free or 1970's prices, but I basically earned a $16 an hour wage doing so.

So much for those people who say couponing requires too much work for just nickles and dimes. I'm thinking earning $16 an hour while just lolling around the house (heh) is nothing to dismiss with ones nose in the air. Especially when that work only averages 3 hours per week, one of those hours spent at the supermarket.

I'm always amazed when people say, "But isn't couponing a lot of work?" Hey, it's a job and jobs do require work if one wishes to earn money. 

God approves of work, of jobs-- invented them, even. They are Good Things.

The main thing (to me) is that we become smart enough, aware enough to find the line of work we enjoy, one God gifted us to do, something which fits us like a proverbial glove. You know, so that all those zillions of hours spent working will feel more this-is-so-right rather than this-is-so-like-torture. 

(Some people who aren't following their callings, even make-up theological stuff about how God meant for us to do what we hate so that He can teach us lessons. So that we'll yearn for Heaven more. To them I say read John 10:10.)

Anyway, couponing and shopping grocery sales, for me, feel right for this happy homebody who would rather earn her money from, well, home.


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For a list of my favorite coupon bloggers, go here. (Scroll down.) I'm (gratefully) on their email lists.

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My friend, Betty, told her husband she saves around $8 a week with coupons and he replied, "Only $8?" She said, "If you found $8 on the sidewalk, wouldn't you pick it up and feel happy about it?"

I loved that!

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2012--what a terrific year for coupons for more natural or fresh foods like butter, lettuce (organic), milk, eggs, cheese, bread, creamer, carrots, guacamole, whole pineapple, yogurt, (real)fruit juice, vitamins, natural cereals, frozen vegetables and fish, etc.!

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Of Grocery Prices and Coupons. Yes, Again. :)

Life changes for the better when we learn to view challenges as good for us rather than bad. I know we all wish Life was easier, but is that what we'd really like? Would we actually be happier if nothing ever happened to challenge us? If we never had to use our brains, our talents, our experience or to be clever?

Hmmm. I'm thinking probably not.


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Last week while shopping I heard an announcement over the sound system, something about a contest. I didn't really pay attention until it said the grand prize would be a three-minute free shopping spree there at the store. Oh! "How Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio," I thought. Fun, and so nice to know things like this still exist in 2012.


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Oh and last month I kept track of what I spent for all groceries and supplies from our supermarket and Rite Aid and I ended up saving (with sales and coupons) $20 more than I spent! That was kinda cool, indeed.


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Here's a great relevant blog which Sarah recommended:  www.grocerycartchallenge.blogspot.com/  Thanks, Sarah!



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Oh! One more thing. While stepping into my supermarket this weekend, I thought, "How fun that some kids in our area will grow-up and remember the lovely 1940's, 50's and 60's music while shopping with their mom." Big smile.  

Well, I got into the store and alas! The first two songs were a pop style from today. Now, the songs weren't bad or loud or awful or anything-- they just weren't the usual amazing retro stuff. Well, I began to get all flustered (Oh, bring the good stuff back. pul-ease!!), but took myself by the collar (figuratively) and said, "Debra, relax! Just appreciate all the times you heard that good stuff here. Besides, who says those days are over?"

And then, oh yes! Eventually, a lovely 1950's tune began to play and I smiled and sang along under my breath as I usually do. Oh happy day! 

And what a lesson: If we're pulling our hair out in frustration it's only because we're choosing to do so. We're choosing fear over faith, worry over trust.

Tsk. Tsk. シ


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James 1:2–4



Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
 
 
 
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Our Words ... And Setting Limits

So yesterday our dear realtor friend, Cher, came over to lunch and oh! She said the last time she was here with us, it was a house, but now we had turned it into a home. 

If she liked something, she said so and by the time she left, our house seemed prettier and I felt more creative. Wow.

And well, I couldn't help but compare this visit to the one by our neighbor out on the farm , who, after a half hour, said nothing about our home. And after she left? I kinda felt like a decorating dud.

Over and over again I see the truth in these verses:

"The power of  Life and Death are in the tongue."  ... Proverbs 18:21

"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pitchers of silver."  ... Proverbs 25:11

Weekly I tell myself, "Let the encouragement flow. Don't keep silent out of shyness, fear or anything else. Bless people by the truth. Never hold back, especially when God is saying, "Use your words to bless that person!"

Especially then.






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Cher was remembering my dressing table closet in our first suburb house so I sent her a picture of it for her friend who likes such things, along with a link to photos from that house which I'd practically forgotten I had. If you'd like to visit there again, go here. 




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Burdened or Challenged?

I must confess that I'm absolutely thriving on trying to save us money during this season of unemployment. It's like I was made for this.

I mean, during our early years of marriage I also thrived on pinching pennies. Oh the creativity of it all! The couponing, the sewing of clothes, the crocheting of blankets and the studying of library books dealing with how to make the most of what little you have. I remember those days now with many smiles.

But when we moved to Nevada? Suddenly we had more money than we needed and you know? I felt uncomfortable. I won't try to psychoanalyze myself all these years later, but I recall that as being the saddest time of my life, a couple years of terrible depression. Which, ok, didn't solely stem from the abundance of money, but from other things.

And yet during those years when we had more than enough money, I did more home sewing than ever and used more coupons and money-saving hints than ever, too. I told dear friends that I didn't want the extra money--I missed the feeling of being creatively challenged, instead.

Yeah, I'm one weird puppy. I know.

Then we moved to New York and Tom took a pay-cut to do so. Yay! So we returned to actually needing my money-saving skills and I was happy again (and ok, part of that happiness stemmed from having escaped the dreadful (to me) Nevada desert. I can't deny that.). But still, I felt back in my element, back to the real me, back to doing what I was called to do--being a wife and mom who enjoyed the challenge and creativity of staying within a tight budget. And probably just feeling vital and needed again was part of it, as well.

Years later, times got easier, we had enough money for whatever we needed and I relaxed my penny-pinching reins again, though never 100%. Then August of 2010 rolled around, Tom lost his job and ok, the first two days afterward I panicked! Oh, the shock of it all.

But after that? With a steely new determination I returned to my rusty ol' penny-pinching, money-saving ways. The buying clothes at thrift shops and trying never to pay full price for anything. The putting on an extra sweater instead of turning up the heat, making my household cleaners and hanging laundry on clothes racks/lines to dry. The reusing grocery bags, cardboard from cereal boxes, rubber bands from produce and cotton from vitamin bottles. The conscientious purchasing of necessities rather than an unconscious grabbing of pretty trinkets off shelves or yard sale tables.

And it all just feels so darn right. Like slipping into a custom-made pretty dress after you've lost ten pounds.

Yes, it's a challenge, but not a burden. And may my attitude never change about this whole thing--for if it does--the fun will all blow away.





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Pretty much? Our attitude changes everything. More than what happens to us, it's how we view our circumstances that determines our feelings about them--and Life.


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Of Old Drive-Ins and Ways of Life

We keep having these magical weekends.

Yesterday Tom and I drove through the countryside to two estate sales, some yard sales and I found 3 Fiestaware cups (lovely Evergreen ones) for fifty cents each and matching plates and the perfect little bookshelf  for our front porch. 

I'd asked Tom to build one for me just the day before so, hey, I made his life easier.

And then we went to Reid's. Or I should say, and then we went back to the 1950's. Wow. How have we missed this place all these 17 of our New York years? I mean, they have $1 hamburgers, $1.25 hot dogs, $1.10 French fries and shakes are $2.00 or less and an indoor dining room with retro Reid's photos and with a big window overlooking the woods and outdoor tables. The building is from 1946 and is in a country-ish setting and well, it's our new place. Not that we need to visit there all the time, but hey, it's perfect for our yard sale weekends.

It's yet one more retro destination which zooms us back in Time. And you know? We've discovered lots of those here in Western New York, but the hilarious thing is that, according to newspaper journalists, magazine writers and old friends these old vintage drive-ins with food at cheap prices Do. Not. Exist. They're gone forever just like women who wear aprons and happily live as homemakers and families like June Cleaver's and farmers with white farmhouses with barns and stone fences.

Well, we're being lied to by cynical people who don't get out much. 

I see all these things constantly--they're still around for me and for anyone with the gumption and optimism to find them. Which makes me wonder if I'm being fed this type of news from ignorant, biased reporters, how many other lies am I being told and how are they affecting the way I view my world?




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Never give-up looking for what makes your world a better place.

"You can't believe everything you read." ... copied


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Yard Sale Adventures

For ever so long I've wanted a rug with certain autumnal colors and today we found one. And for just $10. Well, it was originally $15 but good ol' Tom asked if they'd take 10.

Wow. It's a huge rug and fits perfectly in our dining room and now I'll have autumn in there even on the snowiest of days. (Our old rug was well, old. Too small. Stained. It 'had had it', as my mother would say.)



(Looks like we're living in the 1920's, doesn't it?) :)

And see the rooster, below?


He was free at a table across the street from the yard sale where I also found this:



There I was holding this sketch and staring at this girl's face and the owner, a woman, came up behind me and asked, "Do you like that?" I replied, "Yes, it's lovely." Then she said, "You can take that."

Wow! I thanked her and she went on to tell me and her friend beside us that she'd bought that sketch at a gathering of Buffalo artists in the 1960's because she found the girl's face beguiling.

I find it beguiling, too. And now I keep her sketch below one of Naomi, one created by her art teacher in high school:

Then last week I bought these two scarves at a sale for just 25 cents each, entwined them, then placed them amongst these dishes.



And lastly, here's the tin which a man gave to me at a yard sale last week, the tin and it's assorted contents.



And ok, it's scratched and has no lid, but hey! It looks nice in my kitchen and it was a gift. From the yard sale man? Well, yes. But mostly I see the tin, the sketch and the rooster, the scarves and the $10 rug as gifts from a God who is taking very, very good care of us. As He always has and always will.

The Saving Money Game

Of course, when Tom was laid-off, my task became 'pull out all those money saving hints you used to do constantly but had slacked off.'

So now I'm back to cooking from scratch. And turning off the oven or stove top five or ten minutes early (depending upon what I'm baking/cooking) since saving energy equals saving $. And baking more than one dish at a time.

And I'm doing laundry at off-peak hours and hanging it outside to dry or inside on my trusty rack (something I've never stopped doing since long ago we gave away our drier).

And I'm clipping Sunday's coupons, mostly just for household and cat-related stuff since we're eating less processed food. I'm stocking-up on sale items, combining them with coupons when I can and shopping more often at Aldi's.

I'm keeping better organized so we can see what we have rather than racing out to buy more of what was simply buried around here. I'm taking better care of what we own so that it will last longer.

I'm using our basement chest freezer, freezing my garden produce and extra bags of frozen vegetables and loaves of bread, etc. from Aldi-type stores. Keeping it full (so it runs more cheaply), keeping it ready for winter.

I'm making my own coffee and pouring it into a thermos before our weekend yard sale trips so to not be tempted to buy coffee. I'm aiming at making our own snacks ahead, before those trips, and am sometimes making crock pot meals before we head out of the house so we're not tempted to go out to eat, even at cheap places (which is one temptation we too often give into, though lately, because Tom has been selling much through Craig's List, we do 'celebrate' those deals with a take-out meal. But hey.).

I'm turning off lights and dvd's players and chargers (when I remember). And keeping the thermostat as low as I can, wearing extra clothing to keep from turning it on at all on these cool autumnal days.

I'm paying our bills on time so to avoid late charges.

I'm taking fewer supermarket shopping trips, making the most of when I do shop so that my chances of buying unnecessary things goes down with fewer trips. I'm totally avoiding 'window shopping' since who needs all that temptation?

I'm saving our spare change in a pickle jar. We call it vacation money, but I do grab a handful of quarters on weekends to take with me to yard sales.

I'm asking myself, "Do I really neeeed this?" before I buy just about anything. Though if it's an item at a yard sale, something my quarters will buy, something I love but is more a treat than a necessity--I'll go ahead and buy it. The worse thing one can do is to say No!No!No! to everything unnecessary and thus become a fearful, God-doubting penny-squeezer who always feels deprived.

I'm using more imagination than cash around the house.

I'm still making my own household cleaners, mostly from vinegar and baking soda, buying vinegar in huge jugs, but of course. Vinegar is still my favorite fabric softener for the washing machine.

And I'm having fun at saving money. Making it all a daily game at which I'm aiming to win. And part of winning? Not letting myself become cranky, worried and jealous-of-wealthy-folks regarding needing to live this way.

Points get taken away for those.  ツ





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Wondering when off-peak hours are for running your appliances? Here's a way to find out.

Cool Websites to Keep You Busy

Here's a terrific post by Jenna (my favorite blogger because she's doing what I wish I was created to do, but am not). An encouraging post, it's one that reminds us that what appears like bad times can actually be terrific times in disguise.

And this week I joined a Yahoo group, AllThatWomenWant, which publishes a twice-monthly ezine. Already I'm discovering hundreds of links to websites regarding saving money, home decorating, decluttering and so much more. Here are just a few of those sites:

The Dollar Stretcher

1-2-3 Sort It

Interior Decorating

Organize Tips

All Home Decor

Craft Town

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Anyone wondering how life with Naomi is going here down on the farm? Well, there's such a grace to this whole thing. What a comfort it was to have her here when Tom arrived home the day he was laid-off! And since that time, it's felt rather like the three of us are working together to make this unemployment time work out for the good. Though, Naomi still has her job and Tom is playing American Pickers by selling rusty old stuff from the barn on Craig's List (and having a terrific time).

And too, it's been stretching me in valuable ways learning to live big in a small space. I appreciate any experience which helps me become a better, more contented homemaker, for why spend a whole lifetime complaining when I could, instead, spend it leaping over Life's blips in the road?

Harvest Time Down On The Farm

Harvest time!

While on the train I dreamed about returning to our farm and harvesting the cherry tomatoes, apples, pears, squash, hot peppers and pumpkins, And well, that's exactly what I'm doing these days--harvesting the food on our sunny, autumnal acres and then freezing it all down in our dark, dank basement within the chest freezer I finally plugged-in.

This year I'm doing serious freezing of our harvest-- last year I only played around, froze twelve or so pints of tomato puree and a couple bags of squash and called it Good. This year, that's not good enough. Big changes have arrived and I'm taking harvest time more seriously.

And enjoying it. I've always been one to revel in the need to resurrect my pioneer spirit, and well, she's surely returned to life in the last three weeks. And she's welcome. She's fun, too, especially when she reminds me that if I do my best, God will do His. He's faithful like that.

Alas.

More Down On The Farm Pictures

Don't you just love sunflowers? They tickle my mind with thoughts of good memories and fun weekends.



These are my poor ol' farm shoes right before I threw them away. They served me well for probably six years, walked me over hundreds of miles during strolls in our former neighborhood, dark morning walks to our mailbox for the newspaper and miles behind our lawnmower here on the farm. I am not a 'shoe woman', I own probably just 5 pair of shoes, but I will miss these old faithfuls.




I bought this bowl at a yard sale because it reminded me of Peter Hunt and his young artists (a terrific website if you enjoy stories of searches for personal treasures). I first got to know Peter in Betty Cavanna's book, Paintbox Summer, a book I own and reread every single summer. Highly recommended if you can find it.



Found this dishtowel and one with a different embroidered design at a yard sale, too. As with sunflowers, these dishtowels also bring happy retro times to my mind.




Hot, sticky summer days. We're in the middle of those and I'm trying not to complain away their steaminess, lest winter arrive without my appreciating all the sunny months before it.

Happy hot summer days to you...



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Around The Ol' Farm This Morning

I wish you could hear all the bird song and smell the sweet woods behind us...

And here, below, is a cottage-style cape we passed last weekend. The pictures do it no justice, though. It's for sale and I had to talk Tom out of falling in love with that place. Hmm.. But I know how it is. I'm all the time seeing places I think I'd trade for ours in a second. (So disloyal and fickle. I know.)





(Click to enlarge.)

My Daughter's Childhood

Today is our neighbors' tiny daughter's second birthday. She was born four days after we moved into this old farmhouse so that's how I know.

I remember when my own daughter turned two. That day Tom and I kept telling her, "You're two now, Sweetie!" But she'd shake her head and say, "No! I'm three. I wanna be three now."

Ha! All that year she pretended she was three.

Oh, we had fun raising Naomi. Of course, when she was really tiny, I recall feeling tired an awful lot, but mostly? Mostly I remember the adventure of having my very own young child, how my goal was to give Naomi a dreamy, creative childhood she would remember fondly.

We put one of those baby seats on the back of my bicycle and Naomi and I often rode through old neighborhoods to the supermarket in our tiny country town. I'd place her back on the seat then plop a sack of groceries on her lap and we'd ride home, sometimes singing. Of course, the day came when she refused to hold that bag on her lap and I said good-bye to that grocery-getting convenience (I had no driver's licence at that time). But with a child, you're always saying good-bye to something.

Other times we walked to the town library inside a 1920's log cabin by the river where we'd skip rocks, then amble over to the post office to pick up the mail. We'd return home for lunch, a story and a nap, then afterward we'd play Candy Land for hours until Tom got home and I'd plead with him to play a few rounds.

We'd have company over to dinner, relatives, friends, for those were my favorite memories while growing-up and I wanted Naomi to keep similar ones. The three of us went tent camping most summers, I'd reach my hand to the car's backseat and she'd hold it (we later all laughed about that, though teen Naomi's laugh was more of a grunt) and we'd eat bad food and swim a lot and play in the sand. I'd lie in the tent at night in between my little family and feel inexplicably happy.

I grew Shasta daisies, cosmos and marigolds so Naomi would look back and remember there were flowers. We had birdbaths so she'd remember birds, strawberries and raspberries so she'd recall picking fruit in the backyard on clear, summer mornings.

As Naomi grew we let her have parties for any occasion, birthdays or Just Because days and weekend slumber parties, too. One year she had an invitation-only birthday party for our cats and I still remember standing at the door and thinking of Little Women while watching the five girls in the shady front yard reclining upon blankets on the lawn, relaxed, singing happy birthday to our cats, eating sweets and giving our cats their own treats. Watching that scene, I felt enchanted.

And grateful. I remember feeling so grateful for Naomi.

She and I had craft nights and I'd watch her tape and staple new clothes and make creations from the project box. While watching her I reminded myself that someday she'd be grown and gone away so I needed to memorize that little girl, age six, upon the living room carpet. I tried so hard to slow down time, to will it to stop for just one moment, but it sped by even faster at those times, as if laughing at my attempts. I thought it wasn't fair.

But it was fair and it was Life. And I would say that those years are gone, but you know? They're still here. Anytime I wish I can pull out a memory, shine it till it gleams, then put it back again. Because even in the midst of my tiredness during those early years, oh, I reminded myself to stay awake, to not turn my head, to not miss one single moment of my daughter's childhood.





Naomi at thirty...





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Want another young Naomi story? Here's one.

And another with mentions of feeding seagulls.


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Our Day At The Country Fair

You might not believe me, but yesterday Tom and I finally did a fun non-yard-sale-related activity(!) We went to our Little Town In The Middle of Nowhere's annual country fair.

You would have loved it.

The fair was tiny, held behind the town library in the parking lot and surrounding lawns. No rides, no fireworks, no big, exciting shebangs.

Nah, just a classic car show, line dancers, food, a book sale and plant sale, raffles,pony rides and an Idol contest with adorable little farmgirls all under 12 or so. And tractors! Probably 100 tractors were lined up, some participating in the tractor games, which, when announced, I leaned over and asked Tom, "Is that anything like reindeer games?" heh.

We sat beneath a tent eating hamburgers and chips, watching people, and Tom smiled and said, "This is our town." And that seemed to say it all.

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If I were Queen, all sheriffs' cars would look like this:

(Do check out the cherry light on top.)

And most cars would still resemble these:

And most tractors would look like this:



And half the dogs people bring with them to country fairs would be as sweet and beautiful as this one:

As I said, you would have loved it and in a way, you all were there beside me. I do tend to take you along wherever I go and oh, the old-fashioned places we see together!










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If You Buy Groceries This Might Interest You

Wow. Have you checked out Alice.com?

You can buy groceries there online.

And if there's a coupon 'out there' anywhere for the products you buy, Alice will automatically apply that coupon toward your purchase. No need to clip anything or use a discount code.

Alice will mail you your groceries for free. No shipping charges! And you'll receive your order in only 2 - 3 business days.

And Alice will remind you when you are running out of your groceries so you can order more. Plus, she'll place little pictures of what you order on your main page so next time you can simply slide them over to your cart, rather than search for what you need on the appropriate page.

And that's just the half of it. Even the prices for most things are good, especially when you factor in the gas you would have spent as well as the value of your time (and your sanity).

Today I received my first order from Alice and as I unloaded my box I thought, "Wow. This could get addictive." Just think! When we're surrounded by snow and treacherous ice this winter, not only will Bob the Milkman bring groceries right to my back door, but so will Alice.

Happy sigh.

Go see Alice for yourself. She might just be right for you, too. :)


(We now return you to your regularly-scheduled blog.)


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Update: No longer is there an Alice.com, but oh, I still get as excited over ordering groceries online from Walmart and Target.   ツ



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A Money-Saving Checklist

Here's a sort of money-saving checklist I made-up, questions regarding what I like to call Leaky Hose Spending. Since that's pretty self-explanatory, here's the list:


Are you doing only full loads of laundry? Anytime you can save detergent and water you're saving money. Do you really need to wash your towels or every article of clothing after only one use?


Do you really need aerosol cooking sprays when it's so easy to lightly grease a baking dish or pan with cooking oil? What else can you substitute using something you already have on hand?

Can you cut the amount of sugar called for in baking recipes? (I've used a third--or less- sugar in recipes for 25 years and we long ago grew used to the slightly different texture and taste.)

Can you go to the supermarket fewer times each month? It becomes a fun challenge to make dishes from your pantry and refrigerator when you're trying to avoid extra trips to the market, also cuts way down on wasted food.

Are you making your week's menus according to the sale items in your supermarket's fliers? Are you buying enough of a sale item to last till the next sale? Are you aiming toward never paying full price for most items?

Have you considered once a week cooking? This is great for busy women and can keep family meal times running smoothly and unnecessary trips to fast-food places, history. Find the how-to's here.


Is there a supermarket in your area which you've never tried? You may be missing out on some great deals. Would it pay for you to shop the sales at two or even three different supermarkets which are located near each other? Here's a website which may help you learn how to look for deals (and a whole lot more).

Are you borrowing magazines from the library instead of subscribing to them through the mail? Borrowing books and movies rather than buying them? Have you made a list of free (or super cheap) places your family can go for outings?

Have you looked into downsizing your tv cable hook-up?

Are you brewing your own coffee at home rather than buying it? Are you packing lunches for work rather than eating out?

Are you paying your bills on time, avoiding late fees?

And here's a side note: Ever wanted to make Time slow way down? Years ago Tom and I promised each other for one month we would not make one single unnecessary purchase. Wow. Longest month of our lives!  ツ

Seriously though, it did make us pause before making purchases after that month and ask ourselves, "Do I really need this?" And maybe that's the key to saving money--pausing and asking ourselves important questions before we hand over that cash.



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Need some coupons for healthy products? The latest issue of Family Circle recommended this site, Mambo Sprouts. You'll find coupons for Kashi cereal, Stonyfield Farm yogurt, Clif bars and more.

I mentioned in an earlier post that it pays to learn how to make your own soup and white/cheese sauce. Something else? Spaghetti sauce. I've made my own for decades and saved tons of money and have avoided buckets of added salt. 

As with anything, recipes abound online.

When I was young, the thing to have at the mall was an Orange Julius. Now I can whip up an Orange Julius at home in about two minutes, a low-fat, low-sugar type. The recipe is something like this, below, although I never measure anything. I just make it.

This makes a smallish glass for two of us:

3/4 c. orange juice
1/2 c. skim milk (or 2%)
1 tbs. sugar (or less)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. yogurt--if you have it on hand. Otherwise, skip it.

Pour all in a blender at lowest speed for a few seconds. Easy! We love drinking this when we're craving some kind of a snack at night but have previously eaten all snacks in the house.

(Some of you will be tempted to leave comments about how orange juice and milk, together, make you sick. I get that already, ok?)  ツ

Oh, and for those who wondered, our ice-cream maker is made by Rival. There are only three pieces, it's the easiest thing on Earth to use and you store the tub part in the freezer so it's always ready to use when you're craving something cold.

And when you crave some hot coffee? Well, have you ever tried McCullagh coffee? Oh. My. Goodness. 

Our favorite restaurant in town serves it and it's always amazing, even decaf! They recently began selling bags of the stuff and I'll definitely have to get some. McCullagh has made coffee for 130 years-- tons of time to make it perfect, right?

(I've not found a place online to buy McCullagh. Let me know if you do, ok?)


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