Frugal Fridays 11-14-08

While the economy has not really affected our family personally yet, we are trying to tighten up the reins so to speak to ride this out for however long it may last. Thankfully we have no debt other than our home. However, with one in college, three in high school that has its own challenges.

There are just some things that you can't cut out as a parent. For instance the cost to attend football and basketball games when your child is playing. Each week there was a jr. varsity and varsity football games. That means for our family to attend the entrance fees 20.00 for the jr. varsity and about the same amount for the varsity games. That is around 40.00 a week to watch your child play their sport! This can really add up when there is around nine weeks of football and now they are in the playoffs!

We have been trying to limit the meals out and all the running around. In my mind, I am still trying to act like gas is almost 4.00 a gallon instead of the 1.81 I saw today.

I have been taking my lunch to work and eating there instead of driving the mile or so home to eat. I started this when the gas prices skyrocketed and while some days it is really hard to stay at work all that time I know there are people that commute in and they do not have the luxury of going home for lunch. I have tried to stay out of the shops around campus and have spent my time working on my coupons during the lunch hour.

We have also not turned on our heat yet. We need to probably this coming week but for now we have just added another blanket on the beds. We have not used the air conditioner either since September. Our home has not been hot so that has not been a problem. Our bill this month showed a significant savings.

The next thing we are considering getting rid of is our cable...or at least go back to basic cable. This is something I am still toying with right now.

I have stepped up my coupon usage and get quite excited about the savings we have been experiencing. My college age son has jumped on the coupon bandwagon and for that I am grateful. I guess that proves the more is caught than taught theory.

Here are a few more things we are doing to conserve and sock money away:
We are not buying magazines anymore. We read them at the library or enjoy sitting at Barnes and Noble.

I check out taylortownpreview.com each week to see which coupons will be in the local paper so I know how many papers to buy. Just two weeks ago I knew we needed to buy at least five papers because inside there were two coupons worth 1.50 each off our favorite soy milk. Those coupons paid for the papers and besides there were numerous other coupons we use each week.

We are vigilant about turning off our lights and making sure the kids unplug their phone chargers and the like. I did not realize how much electricity they truly pull when left plugged into the socket.

After Christmas we are implementing a no spend month (or two) with some set boundaries in order to sock away more cash.

I am working on my black friday plan to finish up Christmas and buy any gifts that are needed in the first six months of next year. You can check out all the Black Friday ads at Gotta Deal look for the Black Friday button.

We are setting aside money to use for the after Christmas sales to replenish our gift closet. If we need to replace Christmas lights or decorations I never do it before Christmas. I plan for the next year and buy them afterwards.

For more frugal ideas check out Frugal Fridays at Biblical Womanhood.

Frugal Friday 10-31-08

Your Freezer is Your Friend!

I love cooking ahead and putting things in my freezer for another day. This week alone already I have chopped nearly two bags of red bell peppers and put in individual container/baggies in the freezer, onions, jalapeno peppers (from our garden), carrots I got for free from Target a week ago, plus a few containers of left over chili I made this week.

This is the first time I have frozen chopped bell peppers but thought I would give it a try. I love to grab a handful when I am making omelets and throw into the skillet first with some onions. It makes it so nice to have everything already chopped and measured so that all I have to do is get out the baggies, heat up the skillet and saute away!

Over the years these are a few things that I have done:

1. Shredded a crockpot cooked roast into small individual servings after mixing the roast with barbeque sauce. I flash froze the little piles of beef and then wrapped each one in saran wrap, smooshed the air out and then folded up the little packets of goodness and placed in a large freezer bag. When it came time to make lunch for the kids I took a packet out, placed it on a hamburger bun, added a little sauce, wrapped the sandwich back up and placed in the lunch box. The meat is defrosted by lunch time and it is very yummy.

2. Baked brownies and wrapped individually in saran wrap and stored in a large freezer bag. Makes it easy to grab and go. I have also started making brownie bites using mini muffin pans. I put three or four in a small snack bag and then once again place them into a much larger freezer bag. It makes it so nice. The kids love to eat these right from the freezer! I have done this with cookies too!

3. I have browned more than 50 pounds of turkey or hamburger meat all at once. I then will divide it out and season some with chili, taco, or italian seasoning. I also will add spaghetti sauce to some of the meat and freeze it in a baggie and lay it flat like a record album. They stack nicely in your freezer. I also brown the meat with onions and garlic. You can grab out a bag and make tostadas, quesadillas, tacos, pizzas, meat for spaghetti, and various of other ideas. It is a LIFE saver!

4. I have made tons of muffins and mini loaves of pumpkin, banana, zuchinni, and cinammon bread. I bake them up and place them in bags ready for the freezer. This weekend I will be making the pumpkin muffins that my kids beg for each year.

5. Calzones are a great thing to make and put in the freezer. They come in handy when families are busy heading to games or practice. They are super easy to make. I use frozen rolls to make mine but have also made them with a recipe I found online as well. I simply put some of my seasoned meat inside or pepperonis, cheese, a little sauce and seal them up and bake. They can then be reheated in the microwave or in a toaster oven.

6. I have also made meals such as lasagne, mexican lasagne, casseroles, etc to put in the freezer but more often than not I have components of meals that I can pull together at a moments notice.

7. When rotisserie chickens are marked down for a quick sale I pick all the meat off the bones and place in baggies in one pound increments. I have also then taken the bones and made my own chicken broth!

I am sure people that have a regular freezer feel that they cannot participate in this type of cooking. You are SO wrong! I do not have a freezer! I use the top of my refrigerator and have another fridge in the garage. We would love a freezer but ours died, full of food I might add, last year. We plan on getting one again. When I was a single mom I used the freezer on top of my fridge...it was all I had. Granted it was just me and my little boy but in those days I made entire meals and froze them. It was a God send for us! Since our family now consists of six people I do things on a much smaller scale until we get a new freezer. It can be done!! Give it a try. You will be so glad you did!

Today at Money Saving Mom there are great examples of what one can do when they have some time. Check out Crystal's baking day here.

For more great Frugal Friday ideas check out Biblical Womanhood.

Frugal Friday 9-26-08

Today was an awesome day of frugal finds! My teenagers love to look sharp and in style and I love to save money and find clothes of great quality. Sometimes that can be very difficult in todays economic climate. Plus I refuse to pay full price for anything. I have found with my boys the best shirt EVER is by Ralph Lauren. My boys have some Polos that were second hand when I purchased them several years ago, for a song I might add, and they STILL look brand spankin new!!! They are indestructible, classic, and all around awesome! However, I cannot pay full price nor even half price for one of them. I take that back...I guess I could if I wanted but I choose not too.

Today I went to my favorite thrift store during lunch.I scored! I bought more than fifteen men's shirts for the four men in my life....my husband and three sons. They were all either brand new with tags on Ralph Lauren dress shirts or gently worn Ralph Lauren Polo shirts, one Lacoste shirt, a Patagonia shirt and a JCrew. I also found a darling red toile picture frame for me! Most of the shirts were half the price listed which made most of them under 3.00!! The rest were around 8.00 dollars. If you were to pay full price for one Ralph Lauren Polo shirt it would cost 65.00. I came away from the store with ten polos and the other shirts and paid 70.00 for everything!!!

When I got back to the office I found this great articlefrom one of my all time favorite bloggersShannon@Rocks In My Dryer over at Blogher. I could not believe how timely it was! My boys especially get very excited when I can find the shirts they love and are very brand loyal to but at a price that our family can afford. All in all it was a fabulous day of frugal finds!

For more Frugal Friday head over to Biblical Womanhood.

Frugal Friday 6-13-08

I have a a tip to share that will really help those of you that are living the frugal lifestyle before your children. Many times I wonder if my children 'get it'. We want them to understand why we are choosing to live life differently than those around us. Often I feel like our choices fall on deaf ears.

We have been huge fans and followers of Dave Ramsey. He is discussed frequently in our home. Our oldest is 20 years old. Two of our children are spendthrifts. Money just escapes through their hands. The oldest is one of those spendthrifts. Imagine my surprise when he told me he was halfway there with his emergency fund and was wondering if he could borrow my Dave Ramsey books. Uhh hello? I about fell over! He is in college and we have been trying to get him to see that he can do other things to pay for his college instead of taking out loans. We have preached and preached but then just decided to live our lives and see if they 'get it'.

My frugal tip to all you parents is to not GIVE UP! They do listen to you and more than that they watch what you do! We have been actively living this lifestyle for over seven years. More is caught than taught as my Daddy used to tell me. I would have never dreamed that our oldest would want to jump on the Dave Ramsey bandwagon. He has been the greatest naysayer about this choice of living. I am so proud of him!!

If you would like more frugal ideas check out Crystal's blog at Biblical Womanhood.

Frugal Friday 6-6-08

I know many of you have already received your stimulus check from the Federal Government. I know that the purpose of the checks were to stimulate the economy but we put our big fat check in the bank. This summer we have purposed to really save. We are hoping to grow our savings and even surpass what the government sent our little family of six by the end of the summer.

Shortly after the new year I posted five ways we were saving a 100.00. I thought I would give an update:

My husband and I still share meals when we go out. We still enjoy going to Barnes and Noble after dinner to sit and read. I get to read all the magazines that I LOVE and I keep a little notebook with me in order to write down websites or recipes that I come across. I used to be a magazine NUT! I just could not help myself. Maybe it goes back to my young teen years when magazines were still safe to buy for your teen daughters. I remember my Mom coming home with the Back to School issue! It was so big and full of great ideas for that back to school wardrobe. I miss sharing this with my own daughter but just looking at the covers and the stories that are within those pages keep me from buying them for my teenager girl.

We are not keeping our thermostat around 77 during the day but after work it goes down to around 74. We never go below that at all. I have also now averaged not only our gas bill but our electric/water/sewage bill as well.

Since it is summer the kids are not in school and are eating at home. I have capitalized on my CVS ECBs and coupons to buy snack foods for the kids to have at home. It is crucial since the boys could eat us out of the house in ten seconds flat! They are in summer football and also have a lawn business....they are ALWAYS hungry.

We still keep away from the mall. We have gone from shopping as a pastime to shopping as a necessity. We keep detailed lists of what is needed/sizes etc. and score when we come across a much needed item at a reduced price!

I am going to post more about this Saturday but just this week alone I have saved our family more than 140.00 just buy planning, using my coupons, and working the CVS deals. 140.00!!!!! The cashier at WalMart last night told me I needed to give lessons. He could not believe that I got four pounds of bacon for a total of 2.00!!! Yes, I paid .50 cents for each package since I had four 2.00 off coupons! SCORE! Three pounds went into the freezer and one is ready for BLT sandwiches! Those tomatoes my father in law planted are looking great!!!

Saving money is hard today in this recession/non-recession but it can be done! It may take a little time and effort but it is paying off for my husband and me! We are so thankful and blessed! If you want to find more frugal ideas check out BiblicalWomanhood.

Frugal Friday 5-23-08

UPDATE:
The great people at AMC sent the link for all of you to check out their Summer Camp! I have personally gone to this in the summer when my children were younger. It is awesome!

These are trying times we are living in. So many are buried under debt and feel they have no where to go. If there ever was a time for people to get serious about saving money.....NOW IS THE TIME!

I love that we are experiencing a time where frugality is not frowned upon but sought out and investigated. I believe those of us that have strived to live this lifestyle, whether it is buy reducing or eliminating our debt load, choosing to live life more simply, or finding ways to stretch our dollar have a great opportunity now to lead others in ways to experience the freedom and satisfaction we have found both in Christ and in living a more simple lifestyle.

School is almost here and many will have their children at home for the summer. Here are a few things that we have found that stretch our dollar in the summer:

1. Utilize the Library! Check your local library for summer programs for children and young teens. We go and LOAD up on books. Our local library has many neat programs we have used throughout the years.

2. Check out your local church for summer programs, VBS, and Fun Days. For minimal cash outlays (fun days) or free Vacation Bible School your children can have a great time learning about Christ and spend time with their friends.

3. Check your local movie theatre for summer fun packages. We have a local AMC theatre that in the past showed children's movies early in the day for much less than what a regular movie ticket costs.

4. Go to your local park. Pack a picnic lunch, take the baseball gloves, scooters, frisbees, and don't forget the sunscreen and have a great late morning/early afternoon adventure.

5. If you live near a university or college see what summer programs are available. Many have athletic camps that are very reasonable as do the local high schools as well. Many local universities or community colleges have drama programs, art, music academies, and various free concerts throughout the summer.

6. Plan your menus. I know that this is going to get more expensive this year with teenagers at home for the summer and two of them in football early in the morning all week for six weeks! PLAN YOUR MENUS! I am working on mine right now. I also am going to let them know what is for lunch and what they CANNOT touch. Last year many a evening meal had to be changed because they ate what I had planned for dinner. I am going to be ready this year!

7. Check with your local zoo to see if they have special rates certain times of the week. Take a group of friends and pack your lunches and water bottles.

8. We have a local video store that has free childrens movies to rent every day and first run movies are cheaper mid-week.

10. Make homemade popsicles with fruit juice or fruit and yogurt. Freeze in small paper cups that can be peeled away or in the old fashioned popsicle trays. A sweet, cool treat for a hot summer day for pennies on the dollar!

These are just a few things that will help keep your children active and their minds engaged this summer plus save you some green in the process.

Frugal Friday 5-16-2008

I seems as if it has been AGES since I posted a frugal friday post. I have been so busy with year-end activities, plays, musicals, birthdays, work, etc. My teenagers and college student have taken over the computer time lately with school projects. I am thankful to have the chance at a decent hour to create a post!

This is the time of year that I absolutely love! I love spring time/summer for many reasons but for my life of simplicity and frugality it is the time of year for wonderful garage sales and estate sales! I love, love, love them!

Last weekend my daughter and I hit the road early Saturday morning and after a Starbucks run for her we hit our first garage sale. My husband and three sons love to hunt. However, hunting is expensive to get outfitted with all the gear. Imagine my delight when I saw two familiar looking camo items at our first stop. The zippered bag/container had the expensive earphones that you see people using that shoot skeet or sporting clays. The zippered bag also had two full boxes of Remington 20 gauge shotgun shells. Then there was this vest thing that had big pouches on the front that were FULL of shotgun shells! I asked how much and the lady told me 10.00. I thought that was kinda high so I called my husband. When I told him what all it contained he kept saying, "BUY IT, BUY IT, BUY IT!" He told me later that the headphones alone are 40.00 at Academy and the bag is around 30.00...I did not pay much attention after that because I was so excited!! Ka Ching! Can you say SCORE!

Our next stop we found a few cute items my daughter liked. A beautiful framed picture and a couple of cute rooster prints for my kitchen. We scored again when we came across three black wrought iron bar stools with a cute curved back and red padded seats. They were so cute and would fit right in our kitchen. They wanted 40.00 for all three and I asked if they would take 30.00. SCORE! They are VERY nice quality and very sturdy. My husband could not believe it when he saw them. They look brand new!!

On another frugal note....One of my boys wanted to donate books for a leadership opportunity at school. They were to be childrens books new or gently used. Of course he told me at the LAST minute that he wanted to donate 50! Yes, let me repeat that for you....I said 50 books. He really wanted to do this and was going to pay for the books. I promised him I would take him to Dollar Tree in between dropping his sister off early for her performing arts night and our attending her last middle school performance. I had a total of FIFTEEN minute to do all of this.

We ran into Dollar Tree and I began counting out childrens books until I saw them....three books to a package and two books to a package! My frugal mind went nuts. I asked him if they could be any size of book and he told me that they could. I then told him that we were going to buy the groups of books. We began to count by two's and three's until we got to 50 total. We raced up front and he paid for them.....23.00! That was a savings of 27.00!!!! WOO HOO! We had the fifty books he really wanted to donate and they were perfect for small hands plus he learned a POWERFUL lesson on saving money in the midst of giving! I love it!!! Now it would have been awesome if he had not procrastinated and we could have gone to Goodwill or asked family members for any old books but he really wanted to give new ones. Thank you Lord for Dollar Tree!!!

For more Frugal Friday posts head over to Biblical Womanhood.

Frugal Fridays 3-28-08

Gas prices are at an all time high. Going to the grocery store is an exercise is frustration for those of us that do not have nationwide chains that offer super savings. This week reports came out that it is very likely that we will not see low food prices for another ten years! There has never been a time to become more aware of ones finances or to practice the art of frugality. I have said numerous times that it is an NOT an act of denying oneself pleasure or enjoyment. Many think that those that choose to be frugal live a life of despair or that they 'have' to live a lesser life than their peers. Frugality is freedom! Freedom to tell my money what to do. Freedom to experience greater satisfaction and joy knowing I am living below my means.

This leads me to a great find last evening at our local SuperTarget. My husband and two younger sons had to run an errand last evening. Imagine their excitement when they discovered Levi and Wranger jeans on clearance for 4.98 a pair!! My teenage boys are growing by leaps and bounds. One is nearly 6'2" and the other is approaching 6'. My husband snagged all they had in their size. He came home with four pairs of jeans that cost him 17.00 total! Needless to say the boys were pleased with themselves for finding such a bargain.

I took a lot of flak from my children when I started really watching our spending habits. However, it is times like last evening that show me while they may complain at times, they are paying attention. The simple fact that they were so pumped about finding jeans at such an affordable price shows me that they are watching and learning even if they give me a hard time about being 'frugal'.

It is hard clothing teens today. There is so much pressure to fit in. There are ways for our teens to fit in and look stylish without compromising our standards on modesty or putting pressure on our finances.

Here are a few ways we save:
Consignment Stores/Thrift Stores
Hit the season ending sales
Ebay
Shopping the sales online at Old Navy, Macy's, or American Eagle. Many times you can purchase items for a song by signing up on their websites and getting email alerts. I have purchased items from Old Navy for under five dollars before.

Check out more Friday Friday ideas at Biblical Womanhood.

Frugal Fridays 3-21-08

This weeks Frugal Friday post is going to be short and sweet. Today is Good Friday and I really do not want to take a lot of time blogging.

This year I am bucking the trend....a trend that has been a part of my life since I was a small girl. This year I did not get new Easter shoes or an outfit! I did not get my boys Easter clothes and only bought my daughter a new top to go with a skirt we already had and she had cute shoes to match in her closet!

This year I decided that just because it is Easter and all the spring regalia appears in churches all across this great nation of ours.....I was not going to succumb to pressure and 'buy' something new. Instead I am re-working an outfit that I already own and wearing mules that I have had for quite some time! Shocking I know, but really.....is it all about Easter baskets, candy, new shiny shoes, spring outfits, and the like? NO! It is about celebrating our Risen Savior! Somehow I think He won't mind if we were good stewards of our finances and all that He has given us by wearing something we already own!

This will be my first STRESS free Easter! I have free candy I have saved up from CVS trips, plus some free goodies to put in my teenagers Easter baskets. I also have free Easter eggs and more candy for my nieces and nephews and the big Easter Egg Hunt after lunch.

Low Pressure and Stress Free....a day to spend with family and to worship our Risen Savior! I'd say that is a winning combination!

For more Frugal Friday ideas head over to Biblical Womanhood.

Frugal Friday 3-14-08

Crystal at Biblical Womanhood posed a question today to her readers to see how they have fun frugal family times. I love this topic and thought I would add a few of our favorites.

One of the most frugal fun things the boys in the family love to do is go camping. My daughter and me, not so much. :) Last year began a tradition where my husband took the boys and their friends to the local lake in our community. They pitched camp and enjoyed 'roughing' it for a couple of days. The cost for the camping spot was I believe 7.00. They took all their food and gear and had a great time! They were only about five minutes from our home but they felt like they were worlds away.

We all love to go to the movies but for a family of six the cost is what some of you pay for a weeks worth of groceries. We usually go to the movies when a good, clean, moral movie comes out around the holidays. I have taken the children to the local dollar movie and we always bring our own snacks.

This summer we had planned to take a big vacation. We have not done so in seven years. I had been planning how we could travel through Tennessee and points East. We were getting very excited about the trip and then gas prices shot through the roof. Somehow traveling across this great nation paying up to or more than 4.00 per gallon for gas does not sound entirely frugal. I think we will go to plan 'b' just in case. I can't bear to spend that money on gas, even if it is for a family vacation. I am not complaining, we have made our choices to "live like no one else so we can live like no one else" in the future (credit to Dave Ramsey for that quote). Family travel would be great, but not if it has to be paid for by credit card.

We enjoy our times with each other and some evenings just sitting in front of the television watching an old John Wayne movie and popping popcorn the old fashioned way. We also have a great time each season when American Idol is on or Dancing with the Stars.

We hope to spend more time outdoors this summer with the purchase last year of our brand new grill and glider swing that we found at an estate sale in our neighborhood, plus we bought a chimenea or outdoor firepit so that we can enjoy the night. We love to watch our boys play basketball on our large patio and that in itself is worth an invite to our place! They are VERY competitive.

I think the world puts so much emphasis on what we as families choose to do on our down time. I know our down time is few and far between, but when we are all free and able to relax it is not about going to the beach or heading to Disney that makes our family time more special or unique....it is the time spent laughing, sharing, and caring about one another that makes the memories special. Renting a cabin in a small mountain town is the ideal vacation for our family. As long as we have running water and can cook it is all good!

As our teenagers get older they have their own ideas about how they want to spend their summers and down time. One thing is for sure they have learned that being frugal is not about denying oneself pleasure or fun but choosing peace of mind over frivilous expenditures. Now I expect not everyone who reads this blog feels the same way and that is okay. I just know for our little family sweet times can be had at home, at our friends home in Dallas, at the lake, beside a mountain stream, and even at our beautiful local park.

I believe fun is 10% activity and 90% attitude.

Kinda my own take on Chuck Swindoll's quote about attitude, ""The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me is more important than the facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company. a church. a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for the day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you. We are in charge of our attitudes!"
- Charles Swindoll,Insight For Living http://www.insight.org/.

This is the season where people are gearing up for trips and vacations. I am heading to Texas with my daughter so she can see two of her dear friends for the weekend. I am looking forward to the trip and hope to hit the grocery stores there for some great deals too!

For more frugal ideas head over to Biblical Womanhood.

Also check out this post if you have not already and see the great giveaway I have for the beautiful book, Nana's Bible Stories by Lady Roberta Simpson.

Frugal Fridays 3-7-08

I have so many exciting things to post today and tomorrow! I have had a great week of savings for our family of six. Tomorrow I am going to share my great finds at CVS! It was my best yet!

Yesterday my husband came across a deal at our local Wal Mart Supercenter. I rarely shop at Wal Mart anymore since I really started watching our budget and discovered Walgreens and CVS for great savings. However, last night my sweet husband rounded up some great deals. The most exciting was finding the rotisserie chickens were marked down to 2.50 after being nearly 5.00! He called me to see what I wanted him to do. I got so excited. I told him to buy as many as he wanted. I am pulling all the meat off of the bones and putting it in freezer ziploc bags for future cooking uses! I am then going to boil the bones and make some great chicken stock. He came home with 6 chickens last evening!

I was at dinner with a one of my most precious friends. I had been sharing with her about CVS and the things that I have learned lately. About the time I was really getting into our discussion Mike called to tell me what he had found! She began to laugh because here I was sitting in Panera Bread all excited that my husband found chickens on sale for 2.50! When I got off the phone she said she has never seen me more excited about saving money! I admit, it has become almost an obession with me to see how much I can save. I know our bank account has never looked better! I am giving the Lord a mighty handclap of praise for waking me up and showing me the Light. I always thought I was good at saving money but I truly had no idea that it could be this good!!

My family has really jumped on the bandwagon with me in this quest to be more deliberate in our spending. I have seen it really make a difference in a couple of our teens who like to spend the green stuff.

My husband and sons went to the Wild Game Dinner at church tonight sponsored by our Men's Ministry. Our daughter had found out today that she got a singing part in her middle school performance of Annie later this spring. I took her to dinner to celebrate. We went to our favorite Chinese eatery and she suggested we share a meal. We had PLENTY of food and saved about 9.00 bucks in the process.

Frugality is not about denying pleasure or joy from our lives. It is a way of living that is more economical. I like to think of it as living life on purpose. Being purposeful/intentional with our budget. Becoming more economical with our resources that have been given to us and finding ways to stretch that dollar a little further.

For more Frugal Friday ideas head on over to Biblical Womahood.

Frugal Fridays 2-29-08

One of the things that I encorporated several years ago that saves my family money and calories is I stopped buying processed snack foods. These foods are usually full of unwanted chemicals and filled with fat and sugar. About the only thing that we buy are whole grain granola bars and/or protein bars and I am testing out a recipe for the protein bars this weekend. I will let you know how they turn out.

However, something that I like to make ahead of time and keep in the freezer in small snack size bags are my own brownie bites.

Several times a year boxed brownies and cake mixes are on sale in the local grocer. Combined with coupons you can realistically get a box of brownie mix for pennies on the dollar and yes, sometimes even free!

This is what I do with a humble box of brownie mix. I add applesauce to the mix instead of the oil it calls for and sometimes I also add water instead of the egg. I mix well and then I add crushed nuts, sometimes a few mini chocolate chips, marshmellows, etc. I have several large pans that are the mini muffin pans. I spray them with a cooking spray and then fill them up. I bake according to directions on the box and then take them out to cool on wire racks. Once cool I bag them three or four mini brownie bites to a small snack size bag. I then place these bags inside of a large 2 gallon freezer bag and place in our freezer. When the kids are making their lunches they can grab one of these bags and place it in their lunch sack. It helps keep their lunches cool and the brownie bites defrost in time for lunch. Sometimes they like grabbing them out of the freezer and munching away on their frozen sweetness. They are the perfect size and they satisfy their craving for something sweet and chocolate.

You could also use a cake mix and do the same thing. During the fall I took a spice cake mix and instead of adding the items the box suggested I added a can of pumpkin. Mixed it up, threw in some nuts and made small mini muffins and small loaves of this spicy pumpkin cake mix. The kids loved them.

There are lots of things you can do with an inexpensive box of cake mix besides making cake.

For more frugal friday ideas head over to Biblical Womanhood.

Frugal Fridays 2-22-08

I have been so out of the loop the past few weeks due to sickness running rampant throughout our household and our city for that matter! The one thing that I really love and look forward to each day is my time to blog, however, lately I have been so sick that blogging was the farthest thing from my mind. But, tonight I am so excited to get my Frugal Fridays post ready!!!

Today I want to give a little shout out to some of the sites that I love to read and have gleaned valuable information.

Some of the first that I ever discovered in the early days are:

The Dollar Stretcher - I discovered this site more than ten years ago. I still get the weekly email from Gary.

Living on a Dime - I found this site many years ago when I first heard about Dave Ramsey. He always talks about living on beans and rice and rice and beans so I did a search one day and found Tawra Kellam, who happened to have authored a book that year called, Not Just Beans! 50 Years of Frugal Family Favorites. She always had some great ideas on budgeting that really resonated with me when I was a single mom.

Miserly Moms - I bought Jonni McCoy's book many years ago and it is dog-eared and has been loaned out to numerous friends in the past. I still make her granola recipe to this day.

Here are a few blogs that I am faithful to check each day that have helped me develop my skills in saving my family money and becoming more of the woman I need to be:

Money Saving Mom - I love this blog and I check it not once but numerous times a day. I have learned so much from this young mom. God has really used her to push me out of my comfort zone and in the process I have been saving our family a lot of money!

Biblical Womanhood - This blog/website is also by Crystal Paine, who has Money Saving Mom. I can't say enough wonderful things about Crystal and her writings, testimony, examples, and ideas. Great site!

The Bargain Shopper Lady - I can't even remember exactly how I stumbled upon this blog but I am so glad I did! I love her heart and she has such great bargain ideas!

No Credit Needed - I always check out what is going on over at NCN. Another Dave Ramsey devotee and I have enjoyed following his budgeting tales/savings scenarios.

One Frugal Chick - A fellow Oklahoman and a new blog about saving money. I love this site and check out what savings Sarah has come up with each week. I find it incredible that so many young marrieds and young families have this medium at their fingertips to glean valuable information that years ago was almost impossible. How I would have LOVED to have the Internet available as a young married/mom

I have just touched the tip of the iceberg with these sites. I will post more next Friday. Happy reading!

For more Frugal Friday ideas head over to Biblical Womanhood!

Frugal Fridays 2-15-08

Last week I posted the top five things I am doing to save my family money. I thought this Friday I would make the list a perfect '10' and post five more.

1. We have been gathering items to sell on Craigslist and Ebay. Trying to rid our home of clutter and unneccesary items, outgrown clothing, tools, etc. Going to list some items this weekend!


2. Went on a clothing fast and declared the first quarter of this year as a 'no clothing shopping quarter'. After I posted about Uganda earlier this week and reading many of the blogs of those that are on this blogging trip with Compassion International, I became very convicted that we have more than we need. The poverty level there is unimaginable. We have all we need and then some. We live very modestly but truly we are very rich compared to Uganda. My children certainly have matching shoes that fit. This week the stories and pictures have made me feel very selfish for wanting to save up for a flat screen television. Our old 25 inch will do a while longer...perspective.


3. I am trying to be more faithful to use a grocery list and consistent menu planning. Our local grocer, Crest Foods, always has closeouts and bargains that we do not anticipate. They do not advertise so we never know what to expect on sale. I keep a running list in my purse of our needs and what is currently in our pantry.


4. Have cut out the quick trips to the store or Wal Mart. I shop now with more purpose than before, even though I have always been a bargain shopper I am now a more purposeful shopper.


5. Signed up for the Grocery Game this month.

For more great frugal ideas, head over to Biblical Womanhood and join in the frugal Friday fun!

Frugal Friday 2-8-08

My Current Top Five Frugal Things I do to Save My Family Money

1. Started clipping coupons in December and began using them in January when I had a pretty good stash saved up.
2. Started CVS-ing and use the Easy Care Card to earn Easy Care Bucks. I have been able to get items for my family for free or nearly free since January.
3. Keeping our thermostat at home set in the winter at 66 degrees and in the summer we keep it around 75 during the day; turning it down when we arrive home. Turning our heat down has had huge savings in our utility bill. Everyone has sweats and we all like to cuddle up with quilts or afghans when we watch t.v. together so it works out great. We find we sleep better when it is colder in the house.
4. Started replacing some of our lightbulbs with CFL bulbs. I do not like their light to read by but they work wonders in our outside lights and I have used them in some random lamps in our home.
5. I read my favorite magazines at Barnes and Noble on date night instead of buying them at the checkout stand when I am shopping. If I find something that would be beneficial to our family I really think about it before I buy the magazine.

For more Frugal Friday ideas check out Biblical Womanhood.

Frugal Friday 2-1-08

Frugal Valentine favors for children

Each year I would haunt the sales aisles looking for favors and items for the next year. One thing I have found is if you are prepared and are patient you can find all sorts of wonderful things that you can save in your gift closet for the next year. Valentine’s Day is one of those perfect times to load up on the sales.

This is a great time to buy items for Valentine’s Day next year. Most items are now on sale more than half with some stores offering items at 80% discounts. I would always purchase my napkins, cute plastic tumblers, decorating items, cards, pencils, stickers, etc for use in Valentine’s Day parties.

When you have small children it really does not matter if these items were ‘last years’ model. Now is the time for all frugal Moms’ that have young children, to go out and conquer the sales so that you have the items you need. I did this for each holiday season and always had on hand the cutest items. It was so exciting to pull these out each year and see what I had purchased the year before.

I might also suggest hitting Hobby Lobby to purchase scrapbook paper when it is on sale to stock up on all the cute Valentine prints that they have and stickers too. It is so fun to make homemade cards with your children.

I miss those days since my children are now teenagers.

It takes a little planning to purchase ahead but once you do and you realize the savings that it provides you will wonder why you did not do this before!

For more Frugal Friday information head over to http://www.biblicalwomanhood.com/

Frugal Friday - 1-24-08

Family Entertaiment can be expensive when you have a larger family. Just going to see a first run movie in the evening right now would cost our family of six 54.00! That is just the movie tickets folks! We rarely go and never go at night unless it is the dollar theatre. The matinee however now costs around 6.00 per person.

Several things I have done is to make a run to the dollar store before the movie matinee. I buy everyones favorite candy. Since we never have this type of thing at home it adds to the festivities. I just put this candy in my purse and pass it out once we get in the movie.

When I was a single mom, I would even put two Solo cups in my purse along with a baggy of crushed ice and a can of soda.

We also have a local video store that has free rentals of children's movies, which came in handy when they were younger, but they also have free rental days as well for other movies.

There are many things that you can do as a family and enjoy each others time. Go to the local park when the weather is nice and pack a picnic lunch. Be sure and bring the frisbees and footballs to toss around.

We currently have so many sporting events to go to with our boys playing football/basketball that we have a lot of entertainment opportunities. Our local university also has great events that we can usually attend for free.

Check your local paper to see listings of what is taking place in your city. There are always things that either are a nominal fee or free.

Also, if you have teenagers, like we do, that love going to the movies with friends, purchase a gift card to the movies for a birthday gift or stocking stuffer at Christmas.

For more Frugal Friday ideas go to Biblical Womanhood.

Frugal Fridays - 1-18-08

Being frugal to me also means that when one needs something or even desires something you find another way to have it for the least amount of money spent. If it is free, that is even better. So began the room I call my free room at my home.

Moving into our home three years ago was filled with great emotion. I have mentioned before on my blog that this was the home I grew up in. It was very exciting to have the chance to buy the home from the woman who bought it from my parents thirteen years prior. While we were very excited to have the home, I knew that buying new furniture was out and that meant a couple of rooms would be empty. I began to pray.

I went ahead and planned how I wanted the rooms to look and had them painted. I love french country style and I am a bit eclectic. The front of the house has the typical 70s style of a formal living/formal dining combination. I wanted red walls and a yellow ceiling. My reproduction oak table that was over 20 years old looked great as did my 100 year old buffet I had purchased in the early 80s. I prayed for more furniture.

About this time, my youngest sister advised me that she was going to re-decorate and would I like her french country couch? Oh my goodness of course I would! This is the beginning of my frugal streak taking hold. I never dreamed how well it would match my scheme. Soon my parents gave me two french chairs to add to the mix. They were perfect! One day our neighbors were having a garage sale and I saw the cutest yellow furniture. I quickly recognized it as 1970s Ethan Allen furniture. I asked how much for all the pieces and about fell over. I knew the hutch/bookcase alone sells on eBay for around 1500.00 and they were 0nly asking 150.00 for four pieces of furniture in excellent shape. The coffee table came from a thrift store that had half price day and I snagged the oak table for 12.50! I soon pulled out all my blue and white plates that I had been collecting for years, never paying more than 4.00 for a single plate, and my dream room took shape.

I am so glad that I did not feel pressure to run out an charge up a card in order to furnish this room. It is my favorite room in our home. It is SO me. It is not formal but homey and comfortable. My sweet sister later gave me the balloon shades as well and the room was complete.

In your quest to be frugal, never overlook the possibility that you may have friends or family that will want to re-decorate or give away furniture. Never give up looking at garage sales or thrift stores for great finds.

That is my Frugal Friday tip. For more Frugal Friday ideas go to Biblical Womanhood.

Here is my frugal/free room:

Five ways we saved a 100.00 last year

Five ways we saved a 100.00 last year:

1. Turned our thermostat down in the winter to 66 degrees and turned it up in the summer to 76. This year we have saved over 200.00 each month on our electric bill during the recent cold weather.

2. My husband and I began to share a meal when we went on our date night. Mimi's Cafe is our favorite place to share a meal. We at first each had a petite portion salad but one day we decided to share a large and have it split. We did and the savings were great and it was plenty for us to eat! They also bring a wonderful muffin with your meal and we always split the honey oat muffin. We also usually will each order a small cup of corn chowder for one dollar. Our total for our meal on date night is usually with tip around 14.00 for two people.

3. I began to shop in earnest at thrift stores plus each week I would stop by TJMaxx and Ross Dress for Less to look through their clearance items. We saved a ton of money on clothes for our teenagers. Nike shirts or shorts for under five bucks! Yea, great prices and the brands our kids love.

4. We do not go to the mall. Our teens go to the local movie theater in town where it is cheaper than the local mall, plus we would not allow them to go to the mall anyway, unless they are with us. We found that staying away from the mall keeps you away from tempation.

5. Our children take their lunch to school. My husband and I both take our lunch most days as well.

If you would like to see more money saving ideas visit Biblical Womanhood for Frugal Fridays!