Day 9: 31 Days of Kids and Money

Oh my word today's favorite 31 day series is so close to my heart.  As a family who strives to make smart financial decisions, it is definitely something that my husband and I want to instill in our children.  So today's series is one written by Kimberly over at Living in the Sweet Spot.  Today's 31 Days of favorites is:  31 Days of Kids and Money.  

If you are raising children, then this is a MUST read.  This is series is all about teach children the value of a dollar, and the biblical principals about financial stewardship, giving, saving, and wise spending.  It starts out by the parents sitting down to address their own debt, and developing a family financial mission statement.   Quite a few of the posts contain free printables and resources that parents can use in their teaching. 

Its actually kind of funny because Brant and I were discussing giving Emmalee money just the other day.  If you read my first 31 day post, then you might remember the behavior chart at Emmalee's school.  I am a big believer in praising and rewarding children for going above and beyond...especially if its for great behavior.  With the number of pink and purple days that have been rewarded for, I'm afraid that keeping ice cream in my freezer may make me gain back the 20 lbs that I've lost, so we started discussing a new "system."  I said that I thought we should reward her with $1 for each pink day, $0.50 for each purple day, then $0.25 for each blue day.  Brant thought that might get a little expensive if she starts getting pink a lot - that could potentially be $5 a week just for good behavior.  However, my thought process is that it was a perfect opportunity for us to reward her for good behavior, but also teach her important lessons in money management.

So needless to say, I'm so very excited to put many of these posts into practice, and I hope you can too!

Great new site...

In this economy, i am trying to learn more ways of being frugal (but please don't tell me I have to get rid of my new car :) ). But anyways, I found this new site called SuperCook. This is a website that helps you throw together a recipe with the food you have on hand.

I entered that I had chicken breasts, stewed tomatoes, onion and bell pepper. It then asked me if I had Italian Seasoning, and I do. It came back with a simple recipe for "Easy Chicken Cacciatore. After I entered my ingredients, it listed many recipes that may only need an extra items that I have not listed (i.e. paprika, vegetables oil, flour, cheese, butter, etc.) What a great way to use some of those un-used canned goods or other items in your pantry. I can't wait to use this site on a regular basis.


I also read an article today about how to save money this holiday here. I think one of the greatest ideas that I try to do every year is to buy a little at a time...spread out the buying. There is nothing more stressful than spending half of your paycheck on gifts, then living off the rest. But if you spend $50 one paycheck and $50 the next for several pay periods, the spending doesn't hurt as bad. For more money saving tips this season, check out the article.

If you have some great tips for being frugal in a questionable economy, let me know! I love saving money!!!

This is this, and that is that...

Oh - I have so many things to say...thoughts, news, recipes...all sorts of things.

First of all - a great new recipe...for the CrockPot of course. I got the basics from Crockpot 365, but I added a few touches of my own. These are crockpot chimichangas!

First, I got a "hunk'o'meat" (as described by Crockpot 365). I just used an oven roast. Salt and pepper it, add about a cup of water and let it cook for 8-10 hours on low. I cooked mine for 10 hours and it was amazing!

Once that is ready, take two forks (or fingers) and shred the roast - you wanted to make shredded beef so it is easy to eat. Leave about 1/2 of juice from the roast in the crockpot. Once shredded, add a packet of fajita seasoning, one can of diced tomoatoes and a can of green chilies. Cover and cook on high for 30-45 minutes until heated. I also made refried beans to go in ours.



Get burrito-sized tortillas and butter. Put in your "stuffing" and as your role your burrito, smother it in butter. Once they are completely rolled, make sure the top is covered in butter as well and bake at 375 for about 15-20 minutes, or until they get crispy.








I smothered these in queso and sour cream. These were delicious...the meat was tender and so flavorful. This is definitely a new favorite in our house!


On the "News" front...I got fired yesterday! Don't panic..I think it has been more of a relief than anything. I was miserable at my job and completely disgusted with what the company stood for, so they just made a decision that I had been debating for a year. It was a rough morning though - more than anything a blow to my ego. There are a ton of details and "stuff" surrounding this and yes, I feel that it was unfair...I had no warning, I hadn't gotten in trouble, hadn't been given a review, hadn't been told that I was doing ANYTHING wrong...but I still got fired. So I cam home yesterday morning, fell to knees, and lifted my eyes. I prayed that I would have an unexplainable peace about my future and about my families' finances. Let me just tell you that our God is an amazing God and He is faithful...I have an unexplainable peace. I KNOW that He will not leave us "high and dry" and He WILL provide. I KNOW that what is unknown to me is already written by His Hands...I KNOW that He is THE FAITHFUL ONE.

So now I begin the job hunt. Its exciting though - a new chapter, a new beginning. And just in case you were wondering, yes, we are still going to Mexico because that is already paid for!!!

Now for my thoughts...I love John Grisham!!! I am a big fan of books, movies and stories that are about law, crimes, politics...all of that stuff! But I had never read a John Grisham book before last week...now I'm hooked! I read "The Summons" and couldn't put it down...so now I am on to "The Chamber". I guess I have some reading time!!! So, to those of you who are John Grisham fans...what is your favorite book???

Grocery Savings

I found this article today about how to save money in grocery shopping. Now I am a coupon cutter- and proud of it, but I still know that there is probably a lot of saving I could still do. One of my favorite things to do is buy in bulk, but I've been searching other ways to save lately, and I thought this article was useful. I mean let's face it...the more saving I do in grocery shopping, the more money I have to spend on the "fun stuff"!!!

Check out some of my links for other money-saving tips!

Let the Budget Begin!!!

So, as the first day of the first budgeted month, we begin a new chapter in our live...a chapter of saving. At first I was not at all thrilled with this budget, but I knew it had to happen; however, I read an article this morning about a couple who retired at the age of 40!!! How? They lived a frugal life, saved wherever they could, and learned how to exist within their means! This mom and dad are there to cook a hot breakfast for their 3 children every morning and they greet them as soon as they jump off the school bus every afternoon. So the Lord really convicted me of how Brant and I live. We both drive decent vehicles (although I am begging for a new one), have a great 1800 sqft. house, have nice clothes, good food on the table, and we eat out A LOT and I shop A LOT!

Well it's no secret that I hope to either only work part time once we have children, or work from home. If that happens, which I pray it will, our income will be reduced drastically. So, I asked myself this question...If we can't live within our means now, how could we ever do it with a smaller income? So, I began my search into living frugally. And I just thought I would share a few website with you that helped me see small things I can change but that have a huge impact.

http://www.frugalliving.com/
http://frugal.families.com/blog/
http://www.couponmom.com/
http://www.budget101.com/

Call me crazy, but I am actually looking forward to how much money we can save! Call it a SAVINGS GAME!!!

Oh, how I hate New Years Resolutions

So, it's that famous time of year again when everyone begins to decide "What will I do differently this year, than I last year?" Well, I have also been plagued by this difficult questions, and hence, my New Year's resolutions have made their way to the top of my brain.

1) Lost Weight! Right before the wedding, I had done great and lost 10 lbs. in order to fit into my wedding dress. Now, after being married for 6 months, I put every bit of it (plus about 10 lbs more) back on. Not to mention, Brant has done the same. So we both agreed it's time to kick our rear ends back into shape! So I had a massive "kitchen clean-out" and threw out so much "junk" that I filled the trashcan and then re-filled the kitchen with healthy snacks and "good-for-you" food.
Then, Brant decided that he really wanted a treadmill - so he could work out and watch TV at the same time. I, however, prefer the elliptical because it works our more than just my legs and burns more calories. So how did we fix our problem, we bought a treadmill with walking sticks that I can walk/run, exercise my upper body, and burn a few extra calories! It was a great investment!

2) We are getting out of debt! Well, Brant says "out of debt", I say paying off all credit cards and having a master budget. For two mid-20 year olds, we are actually in a very good financial position, but Brant HATES debt and credit cards,...not that I enjoy them, I just have the mind set that almost every American has debt, and we are just typical Americans! But this isn't good enough for my husband. So, my entire family goes to Crossroad Christian Church and the pastor, Barry Cameron, had written a fantastic book on the Godly principles of financial freedom called "The ABC"s of Financial Success". Starting yesterday, Pastor Cameron began a series about the Road to Freedom and they are also offering special LifeGroup classes working through the workbooks. So, we went to Crossroad for this special series and also began going to a LifeGroup class to work through the workbook.
So now, we are planning a budget and watching our spending to get us on the way to Financial Freedom!!!

3) Spend more time with the Lord. One thing that no one ever told me about getting married is that is can be so difficult to maintain and grow in your relationship with the Lord. Since I got married, it seems like my quiet times have just flown out the window...why? Because I LOVE those 15 or 20 extra minutes snuggled in my bed next to my giant teddy bear - it's my safe place. So to get up and leave my warm special place is horrible, and I don't want to do it. So what has happened, my relationship with my 1st Priority has suffered, terribly. And don't think that I like it, I HATE it, but I love being married.
So, my biggest prayer this new year is for the Lord to deal with me, and let me back into His wide, open arms. I pray that He forgives me for pushing Him to the back burner, and restores the gladness in my soul. I have missed Him so much, and long to be back in His embrace.

Much Love,
Ashley