I earned another $5 Amazon card from Swagbucks yesterday. That combined with my previous $5 gift card and the deal they had the other day to pay $10 for a $20 gift card means that I now have $30 towards Christmas shopping already! And it's not even a month into the year yet. To be honest, I never thought ahead to plan for Christmas. Which is funny because I am always making lists and plans. In the past, I have had good intentions of getting started early, but it just never happened. Well, this year it's happening and it feels great. And empowering.
In fact, I have many hopes and plans for this year.
*Make more things from scratch. For instance, why buy pancake mix when I can make killer, fluffy, whole-grain pancakes for a lot less? Why buy boxed mac and cheese when I can bake a savory homestyle mac and cheese with simple ingredients that I almost always have on hand?
*Start using more healthful and natural options for cleaning our home and our bodies. If I have to hold my breath while I'm cleaning to avoid coughing, then is it really something I should be spraying into the air to begin with? Probably not! I'm finding that for most things, wiping it down with water does the trick. I've also heard that vinegar is great for disinfecting, so I may use a combo of that and baking soda for the dirtier jobs (like the bathroom). I still haven't found a natural option for our cloth diapers that keeps them stink free... I keep going back to the Tide. Any suggestions?
*Stick to our budget and get out of debt. I am really liking the cash envelope for our budgeting system. It's working awesome for me so far, although I think that David might be having a bit of a hard time adjusting to it. It's hard to remember to grab a $20 for gas when we're so used to waiting until the last minute and then pulling out a card. The plus side is that I have cut out all impulse shopping. Like that quick trip to the coffee shop has been replaced with brewing coffee every morning and adding a scoop of hot chocolate. I got a huge can of cocoa for $5 at Costco, and if I want it creamier, I just add some milk or creamer. That can should last me a long time and it tastes just as good to me as buying a mocha. Only it feels even better because I have a goal to look forward to.
*Seek God's direction on where to go with my schooling, doula business, and/or finding ways to make money from home. This is one area I where I just don't know how to proceed. I finished my associate's degree last month with a 4.0, which I am extremely proud of. I am taking a bit of a break right now, as it was just getting to be too much with the cost of day care. Not to mention the stress of too much homework and having to scramble for backup care when the kids were sick. Which, when they were in day care happened quite a bit. As in, every week one of them had something. I am really enjoying being home with the kids and I would love to find something that I could do from home to bring in some income.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Going through the archives
Today I am trying to go through some of my archives to label posts, which should make it easier to find what I am looking for later. Although, I am finding that there are just so many categories that I could almost do a few different blogs pertaining to things I am interested in. At some point in the near future, I will be starting a blog for my doula business, so I'll be doing most of my writing about childbirth and breastfeeding on that one. I'll let you know when I launch it, but for now I will be working on getting this one more organized.
Speaking of organized, some of you may know that I'm quite a perfectionist when it comes to being organized. I don't know for certain when this evolved, since I didn't really keep a clean room when I was growing up, but I think it started to take shape when I got my first apartment in my early twenties. And I find now that I have a family of my own, being organized is the key to a peaceful home. As peaceful as it can be with small children, anyhow. Being organized has helped me get though my toughest terms at school as well, because cooking and cleaning is so much easier when there is a plan and a place for everything. I like it that way. It works for me.
Some things that make my life easier:
*Storage bins of all sizes. Large ones for all the kids clothes are a lifesaver. I keep a bin for each size of clothing in both girl and boy. These stack in the kids' closet. Having them clearly labeled makes for easy storage and easy sorting as they grown out of things. I also try to keep the girls' clothes in their drawers folded together into outfits. This helps especially if we are packing or dressing in a hurry, since nobody has to ask if this shirt goes with those pants. It's a breeze!
*My 3-bin laundry sorter that I got from Target. It has removable bags that are just perfect for a load so that when one gets full, I just take it to the washer and dump it in. Easy peasy! I use one for darks, one for mediums, and one for whites. All of my kitchen towels, cleaning rags, cloth wipes for hands/faces, and bath towels, etc. are white so that I can throw in a capful of bleach with each load to keep them white. This assures me that everything is clean, too, since a lot of the whites are used for germy jobs.
*A home organization notebook. I have a wide 3-ring binder that I keep everything in. It has tabs for menu planning, grocery lists, packing lists (for camping, outings, etc), schedules, and budgeting. I also have a notebook for recipes, although I am needing a bigger one. When I find a recipe that I love, I print it out and put it in my book. Lists are my friend. I puffy heart love them. I have a master grocery list of every item I like to keep on hand, including all over-the-counter medicines and vitamins. It's always a work in progress, but it's so helpful!
*Toys are the tough one, especially since we now have a boy in the house, too, so we're adding more to the mix. We now have baby toys, big girl toys, books, and art supplies. All these things are in bins as well, although most are in medium ones instead of large ones. We have a bin each for blocks, ponies, barbies/other small dolls, baby dolls/clothes, dress up, legos/mega blocks, dishes/food, and our most recent addition is potato head sets from Christmas. The dollhouse furniture/dolls was going to go in a box as well, but I decided to keep them in the house to save on space. We also have medium bins for art supplies like paints, paper, coloring books, and crayons, as well as a small bin with play dough containers and accessories. When a bin is at capacity, I sort through to get rid of some things so the kids (or I) don't get frustrated trying to cram a bunch of toys into a box that they won't fit into. The bins also keep things easy to pick up. I'm going to be working on labeling them with pictures so the kids know what goes into the bins when they're cleaning up. Most of the bins get stored under the futon in the living room. Their books and kitchen are in the girls' room and William's toys are all sorted into something similar to this.
There's so much more, but I'll save it for another time. Those are my biggest sanity savers around the house. What do you do that makes life easier?
Speaking of organized, some of you may know that I'm quite a perfectionist when it comes to being organized. I don't know for certain when this evolved, since I didn't really keep a clean room when I was growing up, but I think it started to take shape when I got my first apartment in my early twenties. And I find now that I have a family of my own, being organized is the key to a peaceful home. As peaceful as it can be with small children, anyhow. Being organized has helped me get though my toughest terms at school as well, because cooking and cleaning is so much easier when there is a plan and a place for everything. I like it that way. It works for me.
Some things that make my life easier:
*Storage bins of all sizes. Large ones for all the kids clothes are a lifesaver. I keep a bin for each size of clothing in both girl and boy. These stack in the kids' closet. Having them clearly labeled makes for easy storage and easy sorting as they grown out of things. I also try to keep the girls' clothes in their drawers folded together into outfits. This helps especially if we are packing or dressing in a hurry, since nobody has to ask if this shirt goes with those pants. It's a breeze!
*My 3-bin laundry sorter that I got from Target. It has removable bags that are just perfect for a load so that when one gets full, I just take it to the washer and dump it in. Easy peasy! I use one for darks, one for mediums, and one for whites. All of my kitchen towels, cleaning rags, cloth wipes for hands/faces, and bath towels, etc. are white so that I can throw in a capful of bleach with each load to keep them white. This assures me that everything is clean, too, since a lot of the whites are used for germy jobs.
*A home organization notebook. I have a wide 3-ring binder that I keep everything in. It has tabs for menu planning, grocery lists, packing lists (for camping, outings, etc), schedules, and budgeting. I also have a notebook for recipes, although I am needing a bigger one. When I find a recipe that I love, I print it out and put it in my book. Lists are my friend. I puffy heart love them. I have a master grocery list of every item I like to keep on hand, including all over-the-counter medicines and vitamins. It's always a work in progress, but it's so helpful!
*Toys are the tough one, especially since we now have a boy in the house, too, so we're adding more to the mix. We now have baby toys, big girl toys, books, and art supplies. All these things are in bins as well, although most are in medium ones instead of large ones. We have a bin each for blocks, ponies, barbies/other small dolls, baby dolls/clothes, dress up, legos/mega blocks, dishes/food, and our most recent addition is potato head sets from Christmas. The dollhouse furniture/dolls was going to go in a box as well, but I decided to keep them in the house to save on space. We also have medium bins for art supplies like paints, paper, coloring books, and crayons, as well as a small bin with play dough containers and accessories. When a bin is at capacity, I sort through to get rid of some things so the kids (or I) don't get frustrated trying to cram a bunch of toys into a box that they won't fit into. The bins also keep things easy to pick up. I'm going to be working on labeling them with pictures so the kids know what goes into the bins when they're cleaning up. Most of the bins get stored under the futon in the living room. Their books and kitchen are in the girls' room and William's toys are all sorted into something similar to this.
There's so much more, but I'll save it for another time. Those are my biggest sanity savers around the house. What do you do that makes life easier?
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Budget Overhaul
We normally stick to a pretty tight budget. To help us make it on one income, we recently joined Gleaner's again when we moved into our new place. One of the requirements when a couple rejoins is that they are required to take a Good Sense budgeting class. The program is based on biblical principles, but if that's not your thing, you can still use the steps to overhaul your budget. Here are some of the basic steps ....
First, we must admit that our culture's view on money and possessions is contrary to what the Lord wants for our lives. Our money is God's. He simply gives it to us so that we can bless others. We need to be responsible with every decision we make, even if it is an *insignificant* purchase in our eyes.
Then, we look at the five areas when it comes to finances. A wise spending plan will help us do well in all of these areas.
1. Earning: Serve the Lord in your work. Be diligent, faithful, and grateful for what He has given you through your job. Then calculate how much you (and/or your partner) earn per month in Net (take-home) pay when starting your budget.
2. Giving: God wants us to generously give! This has been a difficult one for us, since we live on such a tight budget. One thing that helped me is that during our first session, the speaker told us not to get hung up on the 10% tithe at this point. Since most of the people in the class were in tough situations, the goal is to get to where we CAN tithe, and even give beyond that. But that is the eventual goal, not the short-term one. Just start with what you CAN give. For us, this is $40 a month. $20 goes toward a missionary couple and $20 goes toward our church. I know it's not a lot yet, but God will still take that money and use it. Above all, don't get bogged down by guilt!
3. Saving: This is money we keep, not money we give up! Compounding interest works for us if we set money aside each month. First, we need to focus on emergency savings. This should be equal to 3-6 months of basic living expenses, such as housing, food, and transportation. The second type of savings s for replacement. Think of larger purchases that are upcoming (such as a car, a roof, an appliance, etc) and save for them over time instead of putting them on a credit card at the time. The third type of savings is long-term savings for retirement. In all these areas, start with what you CAN do right now. The amount will increase as debts get paid off or as your income increases.
4. Debt: Try the debt snowball! List your debts in order from smallest to largest. Make minimum payments on all the debts except the smallest one. Put as much extra into that payment as you possibly can. As soon as you pay off the smallest debt, roll that payment on top of the minimum payment for the next debt. Do the same thing for the next debt when the second one is paid off. Your payment will keep snowballing until all of your debts are paid off. Do not take on any new debt! Instead, allow interest to work for you. If putting extra money toward paying off debt means eating rice and beans and cutting out movies, going out, and gifts, then so be it. Being debt free is worth it :). We've cut back all expenses that we can. Gifts are down to $15/month, plus the gift cards I earn from Swagbucks. Our entertainment is Netflix at the $10/month plan. This allows for streaming and one mailed disk at a time. I have cut out the data plan on my phone. We use cloth diapers on the two younger kids (which I actually love, for the record. I think they're convenient and adorable). We're going to get creative for dates and family time, including tent camping for vacations.
5. Spending: Make a plan and stick to it. For all variable expenses, consider using an envelope system with cash. We have envelopes for the following: groceries, household, gas, oil/maintenance, gifts, and medical/dental/prescription. As debt is paid off, we will try to add envelopes for things like clothing, vacation, hobbies, etc. Right now, we're bare bones as far as budget goes. And we're still extremely blessed! We really don't need anything beyond what we have now. Be thrifty! If you need something, God provides a way.
Those are just some of the basics of budgeting that we've learned in our class. I'm really excited to put this into practice. If nothing in our budget changes, we'll have all our debt (including student loans) paid off within just under four years! In actuality, it should be even sooner than that. Our tax return is going to likely pay off our first two debts, leaving only the student loans for us to pay. My hope is to earn a bit through becoming a doula. I will likely only do two births a month or so, but any little bit puts us that much closer to being out of debt and saving for the future. And that much closer to being where God wants us to be as a family. I hope you'll be just as excited as I am!
First, we must admit that our culture's view on money and possessions is contrary to what the Lord wants for our lives. Our money is God's. He simply gives it to us so that we can bless others. We need to be responsible with every decision we make, even if it is an *insignificant* purchase in our eyes.
Then, we look at the five areas when it comes to finances. A wise spending plan will help us do well in all of these areas.
1. Earning: Serve the Lord in your work. Be diligent, faithful, and grateful for what He has given you through your job. Then calculate how much you (and/or your partner) earn per month in Net (take-home) pay when starting your budget.
2. Giving: God wants us to generously give! This has been a difficult one for us, since we live on such a tight budget. One thing that helped me is that during our first session, the speaker told us not to get hung up on the 10% tithe at this point. Since most of the people in the class were in tough situations, the goal is to get to where we CAN tithe, and even give beyond that. But that is the eventual goal, not the short-term one. Just start with what you CAN give. For us, this is $40 a month. $20 goes toward a missionary couple and $20 goes toward our church. I know it's not a lot yet, but God will still take that money and use it. Above all, don't get bogged down by guilt!
3. Saving: This is money we keep, not money we give up! Compounding interest works for us if we set money aside each month. First, we need to focus on emergency savings. This should be equal to 3-6 months of basic living expenses, such as housing, food, and transportation. The second type of savings s for replacement. Think of larger purchases that are upcoming (such as a car, a roof, an appliance, etc) and save for them over time instead of putting them on a credit card at the time. The third type of savings is long-term savings for retirement. In all these areas, start with what you CAN do right now. The amount will increase as debts get paid off or as your income increases.
4. Debt: Try the debt snowball! List your debts in order from smallest to largest. Make minimum payments on all the debts except the smallest one. Put as much extra into that payment as you possibly can. As soon as you pay off the smallest debt, roll that payment on top of the minimum payment for the next debt. Do the same thing for the next debt when the second one is paid off. Your payment will keep snowballing until all of your debts are paid off. Do not take on any new debt! Instead, allow interest to work for you. If putting extra money toward paying off debt means eating rice and beans and cutting out movies, going out, and gifts, then so be it. Being debt free is worth it :). We've cut back all expenses that we can. Gifts are down to $15/month, plus the gift cards I earn from Swagbucks. Our entertainment is Netflix at the $10/month plan. This allows for streaming and one mailed disk at a time. I have cut out the data plan on my phone. We use cloth diapers on the two younger kids (which I actually love, for the record. I think they're convenient and adorable). We're going to get creative for dates and family time, including tent camping for vacations.
5. Spending: Make a plan and stick to it. For all variable expenses, consider using an envelope system with cash. We have envelopes for the following: groceries, household, gas, oil/maintenance, gifts, and medical/dental/prescription. As debt is paid off, we will try to add envelopes for things like clothing, vacation, hobbies, etc. Right now, we're bare bones as far as budget goes. And we're still extremely blessed! We really don't need anything beyond what we have now. Be thrifty! If you need something, God provides a way.
Those are just some of the basics of budgeting that we've learned in our class. I'm really excited to put this into practice. If nothing in our budget changes, we'll have all our debt (including student loans) paid off within just under four years! In actuality, it should be even sooner than that. Our tax return is going to likely pay off our first two debts, leaving only the student loans for us to pay. My hope is to earn a bit through becoming a doula. I will likely only do two births a month or so, but any little bit puts us that much closer to being out of debt and saving for the future. And that much closer to being where God wants us to be as a family. I hope you'll be just as excited as I am!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
A Time to Write
I've been ignoring my blog for far too long. With the craziness of life and adding yet another baby to our family, blogging has fallen by the wayside. That's right! William David came to join us in August after a long, hard pregnancy. 7.5 weeks of which were spent in the hospital. Now our little family is complete, so my blog will be more focused on the "beyond" rather than the "bedrest". I'm thinking of re-naming my blog, but for now it will stay as it is.
The good news is that I am writing again!
However, I am thinking of what my focus should be on...
I am still in school, although it is very part-time right now. I am taking a bit of a break after everything I've been through this year. Last December, I found out I was pregnant with William while I was taking full-time classes. I ended up having to get the cerclage done TWICE. Both times it slipped out, which is why I ended up in the hospital with him. It was a really difficult time, but God really kept His hand on the whole situation, and William came a full-term, healthy baby. When he was 6 weeks old, I started classes up after my break during summer term. In October, I also took a doula training class. I need to get 5 births under my belt for certification, but I am really excited about the possibility of being able to stay home with the kids most of the time and still earn some money doing something that I believe I will love. I'm still thinking of and praying about what my future looks like with school, work, and family. I'm not quite sure where God is leading at this point. I finished my associate's degree and my nursing prerequisites in December. This term I am only taking Spanish, which I will likely continue with for a while, since I am really enjoying it.
Some things I might be blogging about as I begin to write again:
*Faith
*Family
*Natural living
*Living on a budget
*Childbirth
Oh, and speaking of living on a budget, I recently joined Swagbucks! I am hoping to pay for Christmas gifts this year with my Amazon gift cards I earn there. If you want to swag, follow this link. It's easy! You search, watch videos, and enter codes to get points. The points add up and you can cash them in for all sorts of prizes. I'm saving mine for Amazon gift cards, but there are tons of other options as well. I'll be updating as I earn each gift card, and we'll see how much I can save up by the end of the year. The great thing is that once you sign up, anybody you refer will get you some swag bucks as well. It's worth a try! I've already earned one $5 gift card and am about 100 Swagbucks away from another one. Not too shabby.
The good news is that I am writing again!
However, I am thinking of what my focus should be on...
I am still in school, although it is very part-time right now. I am taking a bit of a break after everything I've been through this year. Last December, I found out I was pregnant with William while I was taking full-time classes. I ended up having to get the cerclage done TWICE. Both times it slipped out, which is why I ended up in the hospital with him. It was a really difficult time, but God really kept His hand on the whole situation, and William came a full-term, healthy baby. When he was 6 weeks old, I started classes up after my break during summer term. In October, I also took a doula training class. I need to get 5 births under my belt for certification, but I am really excited about the possibility of being able to stay home with the kids most of the time and still earn some money doing something that I believe I will love. I'm still thinking of and praying about what my future looks like with school, work, and family. I'm not quite sure where God is leading at this point. I finished my associate's degree and my nursing prerequisites in December. This term I am only taking Spanish, which I will likely continue with for a while, since I am really enjoying it.
Some things I might be blogging about as I begin to write again:
*Faith
*Family
*Natural living
*Living on a budget
*Childbirth
Oh, and speaking of living on a budget, I recently joined Swagbucks! I am hoping to pay for Christmas gifts this year with my Amazon gift cards I earn there. If you want to swag, follow this link. It's easy! You search, watch videos, and enter codes to get points. The points add up and you can cash them in for all sorts of prizes. I'm saving mine for Amazon gift cards, but there are tons of other options as well. I'll be updating as I earn each gift card, and we'll see how much I can save up by the end of the year. The great thing is that once you sign up, anybody you refer will get you some swag bucks as well. It's worth a try! I've already earned one $5 gift card and am about 100 Swagbucks away from another one. Not too shabby.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Yeah. so....
I have been a slacker. So sorry! I just want to let you know that everything is great... just busy with kids and life. And I have been spending more time on non-online things. Charlotte is still cute as a button and is starting to smile more. She has her 2 month checkup tomorrow and I'm guessing she's about 12 lbs!! School starts back up for me on the 30th of the month, so then it will definitely me life in fast forward. I can't believe she's almost 2 months already. I'm so sentimental about it all...
Here are some semi-recent pics:
Here are some semi-recent pics:
Friday, January 09, 2009
She's here!
Charlotte Noelle came on her own terms! Contractions started around noon on Tuesday, and my water broke around 3 pm. Labor went well and she was born at 12:28 am on Wednesday, January 7th. At birth she was 7lbs 7oz and 19.5 inches long. We're home now and doing well.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Baby Time!
Tomorrow is the big day. Wednesday, January 7th at 7 am we will check in to the hospital for an induction so my Perinatologist can be the one to deliver again. By the afternoon, baby Charlotte should be here! I can't believe it's here already and I cannot wait to meet our little girl. I am getting nervous about getting my tubes tied, though. Hoping that won't add too much pain to my recovery. Today is just getting a few last-minute things done around the house... you know, like staring at and reorganizing all the cloth diapers and looking at all the baby clothes imagining what they will look like on her. All the important stuff. Wish us a quick, painless (ha!) labor and delivery!
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