An Excuse to Spend?

Couldn't resist....

According to the Mayans, this means we can forget about financial fasting and just go out and SPEND and rack up credit cards, right?

They will throw their money in the streets, tossing it out like worthless trash.  Their silver and gold won't save them on that day of the Lord's anger.  It will neither satisfy nor feed them, for their greed can only trip them up......Therefore I will make all their wealth disgusting to them. 
Ezekiel 7:19-20

Other DIY Gifts

In the search for our DIY inspiration, I came across some other ideas.....maybe we'll implement these throughout the year for birthdays, Mother's Day, and other occasions too!

Four different kinds of hot chocolate in a jar.....from Sunset

Classic Cocoa

Mexican Cocoa

Mocha Cocoa

Peppermint Cocoa

Cookies in a jar from Make It Do

Cookies For Santa

This is a great DIY gift from Style Me Pretty and I'm totally doing this next year!  Just have to plan ahead about three months to get it started in September.

Homemade Vanilla

I love this way cool idea from The Gunny Sack .....Pampering in a Jar, Energy in a Jar, Refreshment in a Jar.  Click on the link and scroll to the bottom for even more "Everything in a Jar" ideas!

 

 

And a fun little pampering idea from Deliciously Organized

 

Summer Sugar Scrub

 



Do It Yourself Christmas Gifts

Our money saving plan for Christmas this year involved creating DIY gifts--so I did some web-research and came up with a great family-friendly idea.  The kids and I made "Chocolate Christmas Gifts" and they plan to give them to their teachers, friends, and family too!  I feared DIY gifts would be fun but not necessarily cheaper in the long run.  So my cost-comparison standard was a hot chocolate pre-made gift package in the Walmart aisle for $10.  If I could make them at home for less than that, then we would in fact be saving.  All ingredients purchased (with a few I already had in stock at home) was a total of about $28.  Divided into 8 gifts, that totals about $3.50 per gift!  And they're not only yummy, but super cute too!  (Yes--we tested out the yummy part....)

Hot Cocoa Mix

Chocolate-Nutella Spoons

Chocolate Marshmallow Sticks

Chocolate Candy Canes

all in a cute Christmas mug package

Cheap Christmas Cards

Our typical Christmas card production usually involves a lovely family update letter, printed on lovely Christmas stationary, accompanied by a lovely family photo-card, addressed with lovely homemade labels, and mailed with lovely Christmas stamps.  We usually send approximately 100 of these blessed cards for this time-honored expectation.  Then we set up a family assembly line of stuffing, licking, sticking, and mailing.  It's just lovely 100 times over!  (PS. This usually occurs somewhere around December 22 in a mad rush!)

Stationery:  $25
Ink cartridge: $25
Photo cards: $75
Stamps:  $50
Total Christmas card cost:  $175

This year, I have to give a LOUD SHOUT OUT to my friend Darcy who discovered a screamin' deal on a whole different method.  Cardstore.com is the best thing to hit the Christmas card planet.  Ever.  Not only do they have cool cards, but you can add photos, text (not a whole letter, but some) and......you'll never believe this.....they MAIL the cards for you!  THERE'S NO STAMP COST!!  Right now they have a 70% off deal (which just today changed to a 75% off deal!)--that means we spent only $47 on the whole Christmas card package!  That's less than the price of stamps alone!

I now have all my addresses entered into their system--ready to go for next year too!  You can choose the date you want them to be mailed.  And they have zillions of cards, not just for Christmas!  Full price cards are about $2.29.....still cheaper than going to the store.  And did I mention there's NO STAMP COST!  Without the 70% off deal, the total cost for the photo card I chose, would have been $190--then they gave a discount for a "large order" of 100+ cards, then the 70% discount to end up at $47.....holy moly!  And I'm already done and it's not even Thanksgiving!  This has never happened in the history of Williams Christmas cards!

Darcy my friend, you rock!

Money saved:  $128

The First 30 Days

30 day check-in on how our Financial Fast is going so far....

    Changes to monthly bills:
Sold the RV (had a meltdown first, but now I'm over it!)  =  $207
Discontinued one of our expensive, non-cashable, and essentially useless life insurances = $25
Paid off appliance credit card = $50
Saved on groceries = $120 (all the credit to my amazing hubby on this one!)
Stopped cable = $45
Total monthly savings = (drum roll.....)  $447!!!

    Debt paid off:
RV loan = $8600
Appliance store credit card = $780
Emergency credit card = $235
Total debt paid = $9615!!!  (holy bleep!)

   Still yet to come
Decreased auto insurance without RV
Stopping cat insurance
Stopping dog insurance

Disclaimer:  we were not perfect this first 30 days.  And we are only able to do this through the grace of God and his mercy on our past failures.  And I prayed about whether to include actual dollar amounts, as I don't want anyone to attach their own opinion (good or bad) to the amounts. 

But I'm still going to revel in our awesomeness for one night!

The (First) Meltdown

If you're just joining this blog, click on the link to find out why we're doing a financial fast.

Today was the first sacrifice that really hit hard--tomorrow we're selling Harvey, our RV, and tonight I had a complete and total meltdown.  (Still having it as a matter of fact!) 

I knew it would be hard, and I knew I would shed a couple of tears, but I hadn't planned on the complete water works that erupted when we brought him home to empty him out.  I cried over the bed I love to "rest" on and read a book in the afternoons.  I cried over the baby blankets in the storage compartment remembering our babies camped in the portable crib.  I cried over the kids' toy closet and the anticipation they have when getting to play with "camping toys".  I cried over the dishes, the pillows, the radio, the coffee pot.....mostly I cried because this was not how it was supposed to be.  We were supposed to grow old in this trailer, long after the kids moved out to sleep in tents of their own.  The memories were a waterfall pounding down on my head, and I suddenly felt suffocated with the weight of this choice we are making.

This choice.  We are choosing to do this.  We are choosing to be obedient to God's desire for our money.  I was suddenly reminded of Jesus in Gethsemane knowing full well that his obedience was going to be very painful.  I felt reassured that even Jesus prayed "Please take this cup of suffering away from me" asking if there was any way to be released from what was about to happen--yet still praying "but I want Your will to be done, not mine."

I do want His will to be done.  I do want to be obedient.  I do believe we will be rewarded for our obedience.  I do believe God has a better plan for us than the life we're living.  But obedience is sometimes hard, and it sometimes hurts.  And sometimes God asks us to stop holding on so tight to things of this world.

I went back and read how our financial fast started, and I reminded myself of the financial gains I wrote about.  Selling the SUV and RV is a win-win-win on multiple levels--no more monthly RV payment, less gas to spend, decreased auto insurance, and less cost for campsites! This will be something we'll immediately benefit from, as well as all year.  Later this month when I don't make that loan payment for the first time in 8 years--I know my grief will be lighter. 

But for now, the water works continue.  Tonight I thank God for my sweet supportive husband, who probably thinks his wife has gone off the deep end.  And I thank Him for some long-distance girlfriends who can cry with me, and help me see the cross and redemption that's waiting behind that RV sale.

I did actually go off the deep end for one brief minute.....I cried over the kleenex boxes at each kid's bed because "the kids had nosebleeds in this trailer boo hoo hoooo".....then I called myself a crazy mother who'd totally lost it.

6 Money Tips...or is it 7?...or 5?

Now that we are doing a financial fast, it seems everywhere I look there's some kind of money saving tip.  Why am I just now noticing all these?!  Funny how God opens our eyes to exactly what we need to see.  And when those tips are in list-fashion, why it's all the better!

Check out this article from MSN Money:  6 Mindless Ways You Waste Money.  I love this sentence in the first paragraph:  Despite the benefits of putting money away, many of us have trouble actually doing it.  This has been one of our financial goals for years.....but who has the funds to actually save anything?!  Part of the reason for writing this blog is because I KNOW there are others out there in the same boat we are--you know, the one with all the holes in the bottom where the money keeps leaking out!  The headings of the 6 money wasters:

1. Convenience stores--not really an issue for us, but it could potentially be one when we go on road trips and stop at the gas station/mini-mart.
2. Cell phone plans--I'm still struggling with the news that it seems we're already on the cheapest plan.  My gut tells me there is still money to be had in this department....
3. Soft drinks--since I'm a one-specific-drink-and-nothing-else girl (diet creme soda), this is not an issue for me.  But.....good to know.
4. Unnecessary bank fees--also not an issue, and do people actually PAY their bank?!
5. Magazines--I agree that subscriptions cost way less, but here's an even better idea:  go the the library and check out a copy!  Or sit at the library--a nice quiet relaxing place--and read a magazine.
6. Annual credit card fees--ummm....see #3!

Here's another great article from MSN money:  7 Things That Cost Way Too Much.  I have to admit, I often fall into the "I didn't realize there was a better deal" group.  I'm sort of a naive shopper who thinks all stores have the same basic prices, right?  So what's a couple dollars difference in the end?.....I'd spend that on gas going from store to store.  BUT--this article was helpful to know what to watch for.  It appears we've already made our first mistake on Thing #1:

1. HDMI cables--hoo boy, we already bought one to attach our laptop to our TV, and my-oh-my we paid more than this article suggests.  And we got it from the very same store the article mentions as a price-hiker store.  Yikes.
2. Apple accessories--we don't have an iphone, but it does reinforce that my cheap-o headphones that came with my phone are just fine for me.
3. DVDs--this was an eye-opener to me, but just like giving up cable, I'm now wondering why the heck would you want to spend money on actual DVDs anymore?
4. Anti-virus software--this is where I have fallen into the "surely I will be safer with the one the store recommends" trap.  But even still, this article shows that with a little shopping around, you can find the exact same product for cheaper.
5. Hotel minibars--ok are there really people in the world who don't know how over the top this is?  Why would you even open it?!
6. Movie concessions--last summer my lovely husband and kids took advantage of Regal Cinemas $1 movies for kids.  But he got sucked in when he bought popcorn.....and then ya gotta have a drink too!....and the $1 movie turned into $14.  The boat got a little more leaky that day....
7. Travel size toiletries--not really an issue for us, but I have to admit I have a weird attraction to the travel-size aisle.....they're just so cute!

And lastly, I found this great little video (short and sweet) on The 5 Best Ways To Save On Food.  Good stuff to know.

Hope you enjoy lists as much as I do! Ha!