Giving Gifts

I've known gift giving to be a blessing and a burden. There have been times in my adult years when I have wanted to give a nice gift but haven't had the money. That has been a burden. Yet, there have been other times when I have had money and gift giving was a blessing. Still other times when I have had very little money .. yet God answered my prayers and I was able to give a special gift within my budget. That was the best blessing of all.

My mother taught my sister and I to give gifts. We were encouraged to make Christmas gifts for our relatives throughout our childhood years. I learned to crochet, sew and craft through the means of gift giving. I believe my mother did the right thing by developing the habit of giving into the lives of others. Unfortunately, I twisted  it into a pressure it was never meant to be.

Our 'grandones' love to sit in our front yard tree.

Recently my curiosity has piqued over recycled projects. The internet is full of ideas. I've pinned a lot of those ideas on my Pinterest page under Re-use it.  One idea is a jean quilt from old jeans. I have quite a few squares already cut. I had two old pairs of jeans given to me recently that were not worth passing on so those will be cut up, too.  I'm also saving yarn to crochet a rug. Now this one will sound strange but I'm saving 1/2 gallon milk cartons to make a child's gift. I'll explain that one later in another post. :-)

I remember a Christmas many years ago when my oldest son was 5.  There was very little money for Christmas gifts. So the idea came up to make a race track for his Matchbox cars. Plaster was used along with molding clay to make road and ponds and then they were painted. It was his favorite gift and I image he may still remember it to this today.

The older I get the more I've come to realize that it's not always the amount of money spent on a gift but the thought that goes in to it. I've received lovely handmade gifts that cost very little and I've enjoyed them so much. I've also been on the receiving end of hand me down gifts that I've also enjoyed.

*~*~*

Here are a few ways ways I stretched our money this week...


1. I finally roasted the sunflower seeds and also roasted pumpkin seeds from the free pumpkins. I have one pumpkin left and plan on cutting it open for more sunflower seeds.. but I probably won't be canning the pumpkin. I'm up to my eyeballs in pumpkin. :-) Well, maybe I will can the pumpkin. I can't stand to see things go to waste. But, the seeds came out great except I think the sunflower seeds needed to dry out a bit more.

2. The wind kicked up this past weekend and there were leaves EVERYWHERE in my backyard. I swept and put them in a large garbage can to use in my composting buckets.  The leaves really tired me out last year but this year I see the leaves as a blessing since I learned that you need more 'brown' (leaves) in your compost than 'green' (food scraps).

3. I'm out of pumpkin pie spice and believe me.. I have a LOT of pumpkin in my pantry so I will be needing it soon.  I was able to find a recipe for Pumpkin Pie Spice at ALLRECIPES. I had all the ingredients on hand. Here is the link.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Pie-Spice-I/

4.  The nights are starting to get cold. Our house was built in 1917 so there is no insulation in the walls... none.. zippo... zilch! I keep looking for ways to make our home comfortable. I have throw rugs in our bedroom since we don't have wall to wall carpeting. The throw rugs help our feet to stay warm when we get out of bed in the middle of the night. I turn the furnace down to 60 degrees when we go to bed and then turn it up to 68 around 5 am so the house will be warm when we get up.  My husband and I keep gloves and a stocking cap on our nightstands in case it gets too cold at night. I also found thick (REALLY thick) socks at Bass Pro in their hunting department that we wear to bed, too. We're snug as two bugs in a rug. Rarely does a night go by that I don't thank God for my warm and comfortable bed. I know there are so many in this world that do not have a bed to call their own.

5. We are starting to experience a few overcast and rainy days. I have started hanging my clothes in the garage when I see the clouds overhead. I have 2 lines strung in the laundry room, 2 drying racks plus 4 Amish Hangers that I use.  My clothes are dry by the next day. I just avoid hanging towels in the garage because they don't dry fast enough. I rarely use my dryer, even in the winter.

6. I started watching for sales on baking items that I'll use for Christmas. I don't bake nearly like I used to before we changed our diet to low carb but my  husband still insists on one batch of Mounds Balls. Last year I baked homemade bread (instead of candy) for extended family and neighbors. It was the perfect replacement for candy because I couldn't 'taste test'. :-) This year I plan to make Cranberry Scones to give as gifts. I'll probably bake homemade bread, too. Both are inexpensive gifts and enjoyed. I already found a large bag of dried cranberries and chocolate chips on sale at Costco. It's too expensive to wait and purchase all the baking items in December so I'll buy a few items each month.

7.  Things I didn't throw away this week:

• Powdered sugar plastic bag (washed/reuse).
• Brown sugar bag (washed/reuse)
• Erythritol bag (washed/ reuse)
• 1/2 gallon milk carton (washed/ to make a gift)
• Dog food can (To bury and use as fertilizer for acid loving plants)
• Plastic bags from vegetable department (reuse)
• Coleslaw bag (washed/reuse)
• Used canning lids (Washed and then turned upside down and put back with canning ring onto the jar to keep the jar clean)

8.  Do you know about Freecycle? It's a wonderful resource. I've met some great people through this group, too.  This past week a young lady posted that she had extra groceries to give away. I was blessed with lunch meat and canned goods. I had a lot in common with this young mother and we hope to meet for coffee soon. 

9. My mother is known for her homemade applesauce. The grandchildren love it and her home always smells so good when it's on the stove. I made a batch for our early Thanksgiving dinner which we are celebrating a few weeks early.  It's a wonderful addition to holiday meals and it's so easy to make. 

Grandma's Homemade Applesauce

6-8 Fuji apples

1 cup sugar

Pinch of cinnamon, less of nutmeg and even less of cloves

Peel apples and chop in chunks.  Put in a large sauce pan with

a small amount of water in the bottom. Bring to a boil and then turn 

down to a simmer. Watch and stir so it doesn't burn. Cook until the

apples are soft and then add the sugar and seasonings.  

Simmer for a few more minutes.

That's about all for this week!

So, I'm curious! Do you make any gifts from recycled items? :-)



I hope you have a joyful weekend!

Georgene

Monday Menus

I took my friends advice and made a list of everything in my pantry, fridge and freezer. I then made up a 3 week menu plan for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I had $70 left before next payday. I was able to come close to nearly 3 weeks of meals. Whew! That is a relief! If I'm very cautious and only spend $23.00 or less a week then I should be fine. So here is this week's menu.

Monday
Breakfast-  scrambled eggs and turkey bacon
Lunch- Bologna sandwich (husband), egg salad and celery (me)
Dinner- LC Tacos

Tuesday
Breakfast- LC pancakes
Lunch- Tomato soup and 1/2 turkey sandwich (husband) and turkey salad/ celery (me)
Dinner- Spaghetti sauce over spaghetti squash and carrots

Wednesday
Breakfast- LC biscuits and gravy
Lunch- hot link sandwich (husband), hot link and red cabbage slaw (me)
Dinner- Salmon Patties, pea salad, Italian green beans

Thursday
Breakfast- scrambled eggs
Lunch- vegetable soup and 1/2 turkey sandwich (husband), turkey salad (me), pea salad
dinner- Clam chowder, sauteed kale with onion, garlic and bacon

Friday
Breakfast- LC biscuits and gravy
Lunch- fried egg sandwich (husband), fried egg and pea salad (me)
Dinner- Ham, green beans, coleslaw, deviled eggs

Saturday
Breakfast- LC muffins and LC Smoothie
Lunch- hot dogs sauteed with onion and celery in butter (childhood favorite)
Dinner- Leftover ham, green beans, coleslaw, deviled eggs

Sunday
Breakfast- scrambled eggs, mushrooms, kale, onion
Lunch- Freezer soup
Dinner- Leftovers

Savings on $22,000 a year?

Something interesting happened this past month! I was able to put more in savings since I STOPPED working than when I WAS working outside the home. I wrote a few posts back about our income dropping $400 a month and all the cutbacks we were needing to make. I realized this morning that I was able to save more this past month than I did when I was working.

I think one reason may be that we are being very careful about what we purchase. We can't fall back on the 'extra' money I was making. Our old thinking was that if we wanted something extra for the house then just buy it BECAUSE there would be more money in a few weeks.  Since I stopped working we have pulled in the reins and are watching every penny we spend. I've had a few sporadic paid jobs this month. I didn't make a lot but I was able to sock that money away in savings.

Secondly, we are working hard to live BELOW our means. We've cut our bills so that we have money left over for savings.  Big expenses are bound to come up in the future and a savings will help keep us out of debt.

I'm encouraged and in awe of God's ability to take little and make it much! We really have so much!

~*~*~*

Here are a few things I did to stretch our income this week!

1. I saved an empty Kleenex box and put cloth handkerchiefs in it. It's all set to go as needed.  I went to J.C. Penny a few years ago when our income started to decline and purchased quite a few men's handkerchiefs to use instead of the disposable Kleenex. They can be easily thrown in the washing machine with other whites. I'm always ahead if I can avoid buying disposable items.

2. A friend gave me a bag of gift tissue paper. It was crumbled up so I spent a few minutes ironing it this week on a low setting. This was an old trick my mama used to do. Saving tissue and gift wrapping has been a habit I was taught as a young child.  The older women in my family would gasp if they saw one of us children tearing the wrapping. We were taught to carefully open up the package while saving the wrapping and the tissue inside. Gift bags are popular now and so I save those, too.

3. I tried a new soup this week and it was a hit.

Hot and Sour Soup

6 c. vegetable broth (I used a combo of chicken and beef broth)

2 c. mushrooms (I used fresh)

1 small can bamboo shoots

1 small can water chestnuts

2 tbsp. soy sauce

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. hot sauce

2 tbsp. vinegar

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 c. green onions or scallions, sliced

2 tbsp. chili oil (I used chili paste)

Bring broth to boil and add all ingredients except

 green onions and chili oil. Simmer at least 

20 minutes. Add onions and simmer 5 more minutes. 

Then stir in chili oil. 

(I can't remember where I found this recipe.

 If you recognize it please let me know so I can give

proper credit.)

4.  Things I didn't throw away this week: 

• Bill envelopes. I pay through my bank so I saved them for seeds.
• Plastic grocery bags used for trash cans.
• Mail ads to put under litter pan for cat. 
• Paper grocery bags used to dry herbs and seeds.
• Leaves. I was taking them out of my flower beds and put them in the compost when it dawned on me to leave them where they are to compost. 

5.  I pressure canned 3 pumpkins. I ended up with  7 quarts and  24 pints. I'll use the pumpkin for LC pies and muffins, soup and to use as a dinner side dish with butter, salt and pepper. 

6.  I'm  a week and a few days into the pay period and I only have $70 left of my grocery money. I was out of a lot of items. A friend suggested I make up a 3 week menu to see if I can get by with what I already have. I realized I had 3 weeks of dinner meals. I think I'll be able to stretch the money left if I'm very careful. 

7.   I made Chicken Tortilla soup (minus the tortillas) this week and used a combo of 3 different recipes pulling from items I had on hand in my food pantry. A friend told me once that she keeps different versions of the same recipe for just this reason. You may be out of an item or two in one recipe  but the same recipe may have different ingredients you may have on hand. 

8. I'm watching for nice (but inexpensive) gifts for Christmas. I have been doing this for a few months so I already have quite a few gifts. I put aside a little extra money this month to add to my Christmas savings. I'm still doing some crocheted gifts, too. A friend said she had  been picking up items at the thrift store for Christmas. I wish I could find some good deals at a thrift store but I rarely do.

I wondered how you keep your costs down on gifts? Do you ever buy used items to give as gifts?

*Pictures from ALLPOSTERS.COM 

Tightwad Thursday

I mentioned in an earlier post how I enjoy reading through The Tightwad Gazette on a yearly basis. Well, honestly I never read through the entire book but I always seem to glean a few new ideas.

So, here is an idea that I read this past week that I already put into practice and wondered if you knew about it.


The topic is GREETING CARDS BY THE BOX.

You can't always find boxed cards in large department stores. The last time I found one was at Walgreen's. Unfortunately, many of the cards are not attractive. But, occasionally I've found some nice ones.

Our dollar store sells all occasion cards for .50 a card. I'm buying nearly all my cards from the dollar store these days unless it's a very special occasion.  I will buy a box if I can find 10 cards for $4 or less which is less than the dollar store sells. Garage sales and thrift stores are great places to find inexpensive cards, too.

Cards are going up in price with some as high as $6 a card. You can almost buy a gift for that amount. My small budget cannot afford an expensive card and a gift. Most people end up throwing away their cards anyway. I do enjoy the sentiments written in a card so I try to write a scripture or express how I feel about that person on the inside of the card.

I keep a small file box of greeting cards along with a book of stamps. I especially like to keep 'Get Well' and 'Thinking of You' cards on hand in case the Lord brings someone to mind that needs encouragement. 

A card given at a time of need blesses my heart because I know that person has been thinking of me and cared enough to let me know.

Do you keep cards on hand? Where do you find the best deals?

Monday Menus

My recent goal has been to 'shop' from my pantry. So when I make up my menus I think of what I have on hand. The summer garden is winding down and I sure do miss those extra veggies. Our fall garden won't be ready to harvest for a few months. I still have quite a few spaghetti squash left, tomatoes, green beans, raspberries, strawberries, sweet potatoes and a variety of peppers. I love my garden and my budget likes it, too!

Monday
Breakfast:  Scrambled eggs, mushrooms, red onion
Lunch: Veggie burrito in LC tortilla
Dinner: Tacos in LC tortilla

Tuesday
Breakfast: LC pancakes with SF syrup
Lunch: Chicken taco soup
Dinner: Teriyaki LC chicken, 1/2 potato, steamed garlic green beans (FG)

Wednesday
Breakfast:  Scrambled egg, 1/2 potato, 1/2 hot link
Lunch: Hot link sandwich (Husband), Veggie salad w/ hard boiled egg (me)
Dinner: Spaghetti squash (FG) with spaghetti sauce (FG)

Thursday
Breakfast:  LC smoothies (fruit FG)
Lunch: Chicken taco soup
Dinner: Eggplant Parmesan with homemade marinara sauce (eggplant and tomatoes FG)

Friday
Breakfast:  LC biscuits and gravy (Husband), LC biscuits only for me
Lunch: Egg salad sandwich (husband), egg salad with veggies (me)
Dinner: Spaghetti squash leftovers

Saturday
Breakfast: poached egg with LC bowl muffin
Lunch: bologna sandwich (husband), bologna in veggie salad (me)
Dinner: Eggplant Parmesan with homemade marinara sauce (eggplant and tomatoes FG)

Sunday
Breakfast: LC muffins and LC smoothie (fruit FG)
Lunch: hot link sandwich (husband), hot link and veggie salad (me)
Dinner: Fridge Free 4 All

FG= From our garden

What's on your menu this week?

BIG expenses on SMALL budgets

Good news! My final grocery total ended at $278.38 for last month. My goal was $300. I'm so thankful! Now I know it's possible to stay within budget  if I keep close track of what I am spending! This month I'm going to try and spend even less.

Living on a small budget reminds me of a juggling act.  If you let the ball drop on a large bill and don't prepare then it can have a toppling effect on the rest of your budget.

The 'envelope method' has worked especially well for our big expenses that come around yearly. I also have expenses that are due every 3 months like the car's oil change and my hair cut and color. After I figure out our monthly and yearly needs I divided it by the number of months.  I withdraw the amounts each month from the bank and divide the money into each 'envelope' compartment in a plastic file I found at the dollar store.  The biggest challenge is to not 'dip' into the categories.

Here is my personal list:

Long term:
- DMV yearly fees ($10 a month)
- Accounting fees (year end taxes)( $15 a month)
- Christmas gifts  ($25 automatically taken out each month and goes directly into a savings account)

Short term:
- Hair cut and color ($25 a mo./ use on 3rd month)
- Allowance ($25 each a month)
- Oil change ($15 a month/use on 3rd month)
- Savings ($50 a month)
- Birthday gifts ($25 a month)
- Pet savings (emergency fund/ goal $100)
- Dentist/Medical ($10.00 a month for co-pays)

I find it much easier to come up with $25 a month than $300 all at once. So, this is how I prepare for big expenses and it works very well for us!

*~*~*~*

Here are a few things I did to stretch our budget this week along with my typical frugal day:

1. Free pumpkins! A friend blessed me with 5 beautiful pumpkins! I plan on canning them to use for pies and holiday breads to give away. I may even try a Martha Stewart idea I saw where you drill holes throughout the entire pumpkin and then place white Christmas lights in each hole.  It was exquisite and I've wanted to make one for years!

2. The fall garden is still in progress. Nearly 100 Stockton Red and 70 Walla Walla onions have been planted. Also 75 sweet peas and 2 kinds of garlic are popping up from the ground. There is also 15 celery and 12 swiss chard plants, 27 broccoli, 9 cauliflower, 25 green cabbages, 6 red cabbage and 2 varieties of beets. A row of carrots have been planted, too.  Hopefully I'll be able to plant some collard seeds this next week. I hope the Lord blesses my cabbage crop so I can try my hand at making homemade sauerkraut.

3. I had 5 buckets of finished compost. It was used to mix in the ground before the vegetables were planted. Store bought bags of mulch or compost are so expensive. Making my own compost is free and minimal work.

4.  My son and his family were moving last weekend.  My daughter in love offered me some half used bottles of hand soap. I was happy to take them and add to my own bottles.

5.  The vegetable garden did so well this summer that I'm looking for places to add more beds. There
was a large piece of dirt between the square foot garden and the berries which is now serving as a bed for the celery and the swiss chard. I keep looking for more and more spots to use for vegetables instead of flowers. I want to learn more about 'vertical gardening', too. I really think that our little city lot could eventually keep us supplied in fresh veggies and berries year round!

6.  I'm still preparing the home for winter. I think I'm almost done. The window air conditioners were covered on the outside with heavy plastic and duct tape. Small rags or insulating foam have been pressed into the space between both windows to keep more air out. Last year I happened to be walking by one of the air conditioners and felt an obvious draft. I investigated and discovered air rushing in at the bottom of the unit. I might as well been piping the hot air from the furnace directly to the outside.

7.  I continue to look for low carb meals that are meat free to stretch our grocery budget. (Oh, and I posted a few more low carb recipes over at our Family Recipe website.) Meat has gotten so expensive.  I made a veggie burrito this week for lunch. It's a recipe I used to make years ago. You saute chopped red onions in a little barbecue sauce (or you can buy SF ketchup or make your own). Smear it on a warmed whole wheat LC tortilla along with mashed avocado, a slice of dill pickle, shredded red cabbage, mushrooms, shredded carrots and alfalfa sprouts. You can also add lightly steamed broccoli or any veggie you like. It was very good and husband said it's a 'keeper'.

Well, that's about it for this week. Most of my extra time was spent in the garden.  I wonder if you use a different approach for dealing with big expenses?


Blessed to be a homemaker,

Georgene

Monday Menus

One thing I like about making a menu is that it keeps me out of the stores because I can see that I have enough food to get me through the week.

Monday
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, kale, onion, cheese
Lunch: Hot link Sandwich (husband), Cuke, tomato (FG), red onion, avocado, egg salad (me)
Dinner: Chile Rellenos

Tuesday
Breakfast: LC pancakes and SF syrup
Lunch: Soup (Note to self: mark container next time)
Dinner: Atkins LC Buffalo Crack Slaw

Wednesday
Breakfast: LC pancakes and SF syrup
Lunch: Bologna sandwich (husband), Veggie salad with boiled egg (me)
Dinner: Barbecue Chicken, yam, green beans

Thursday
Breakfast: LC Breakfast Bowl (scrambled egg, 1/2 potato, sausage, gravy)
Lunch: Egg salad sandwich (husband), Egg salad wrap (me)
Dinner: Spaghetti squash (FG) and spaghetti sauce (FG)

Friday
Breakfast: Carb Buster (yellow and winter squash, onions, garlic, grilled tomato and poached egg on top
Lunch:  Kale (FG) and sausage soup
Dinner: LC tacos

Saturday
Breakfast:  LC waffle and SF syrup
Lunch: Chicken sandwich (husband), chicken salad (me)
Dinner: LC chicken enchilada (homemade sauce) and salad (tomatoes FG)

Sunday
Breakfast:  LC muffin and LC smoothie (fruit FG)
Lunch: Kale and sausage soup (leftover)
Dinner: LC chicken enchilada and salad (leftovers)

Snacks: LC chocolate pudding pie, sunflower seeds (FG), pickled asparagus (free gift), boiled eggs