Things That Rock My World

Sometimes there are things in life that I just can’t get enough of, and my excitement oozes out and onto this blog. It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these posts…and this one was inspired by my breakfast this morning.

1. This cereal was on sale at Target last week.  There were about 402 flavors to choose from, and they all looked amazing.  I settled for this one, Chocolate Chunk Hazelnut Biscotti, because I cannot at any level ignore the urge to eat something chocolate at every possible meal.

It.is.amazing.

There is just enough chocolate to make it sweet, and the bits of chocolate kind of melt in your mouth.  And the hints of hazelnut and biscotti and the crunch of granola…it is everything that cereal in my life should be.  It was pricey, but so is Jon’s Captain Crunch when it’s not on sale.  This is the best impulse buy I’ve made in a long time.  PLUS, as if the taste wasn’t enough, the container has a plastic flip top lid.  LOVE THAT!  No crinkly plastic bags.  Best ever.

2. Aveeno Baby Cleansing Therapy Moisturizing Wash.  After trying what felt like every single baby wash option on the market, we have finally discovered one that doesn’t give Abby a little bumpy red rash.  Her sensitive skin has looked two thousand times better since we discovered this product.

3.  The Frugal Girls.  Learned about this site a few months ago, and fell in love with it right away.  I’ve recently “liked” them on Facebook, which has been seriously life changing.  In addition to offering fun recipes and crafts, they post freebies and deals that are very appealing (unlike a lot of other pages I “like” on FB).  There are usually at least a couple of free e-books every week, along with deals for ordering/printing photos, FREE magazine subscriptions (right now we’re receiving Field and Stream, Martha Stewart, and Popular Science in our mailbox…all for free!), online coupons, and on and on and on.  Amazing.  Super helpful.  Love it.

4. The Pioneer Woman’s show on the Food Network.  It took me a few episodes to warm up to my favorite blogger’s cooking show…but now I am 100% head over heels for it.  It’s totally refreshing to me to watch a food show that isn’t afraid of recipes that involve insanely huge amounts of butter, cream, and beef.  I love her style of cooking, I love her style of writing, and I love her style of living.  She is my hero in every sense of the word.

5. The 100 Workout.  First came across this workout plan on Pinterest, and thought it could be an interesting class to offer at the fitness center. Here’s the lowdown: 100 jumping jacks, 90 crunches, 80 squats, 70 leg lifts, 60 jumping jacks, 50 crunches, 40 squats, 30 leg lifts, 20 jumping jacks, 10 minutes jogging.  As Candice says, it sounds like torture, but it’s really not that bad.  I led it as a class for the first time last week, and it is an awesome workout.  Super fast paced – I think we were done in 15-20 minutes.  Love short workouts!  If you’re looking for a workout that will add some toning and a little cardio, give it a try. 

Good News

We received the most amazing letter in the mail last week.

But before I get to that, here’s a little background on our situation.  I didn’t have maternity coverage on our insurance policy when I got pregnant, so we have to cover 100% of my maternity/prenatal expenses.  That adds up, let me tell you, especially when you add in a c-section.  Yikers.

The hospital where Abby was born has a financial assistance program.  You can apply to have your bill partially reduced. We figured it was worth a shot, so we applied back before Abby was even born and received a letter from them last week saying…

Our bill had been reduced by 75%.  That is HUGE!  We are talking about several thousands of dollars…forgiven.  Forgotten.  Erased.

I cannot tell you the relief that washed over me at the sight of those words.  I know lots of you have been praying for us (thank you for that!), so I wanted to pass along this latest blessing.

Throughout the past few months, we have seen God meet our needs over and over.  It’s been amazing to see how His timing is perfect…it’s reassured us that He does care about every little detail in our lives.  Even though I doubt and feel overwhelmed about our situation, God has complete and total control over it, and He meets our needs in situations that seem impossible  time and time again.

We don’t have lots of extra cash flowing right now, but I’ve prayed over and over for Him to stretch our dollars enough so that our bills and basic needs are met.  And somehow, He does it, every single month.  We are so blessed!  And I have learned over and over throughout all of this that having a doubting, fearful heart is a waste of time and energy.  God is bigger than all of my worries and fears, and He cares about every single issue we face.  I’m so thankful for that today.

How I’m Saving Money This Week

In an effort to combat our massive medical bills from when Abby was born, frugality is the name of the game at our house lately.   In a weird way, I kind of enjoy finding ways to save pennies…most of the time.  It’s kind of a little game, finding ways to cut corners and pay those bills off ASAP.  So this post is dedicated to the things I’ve done this week to save a buck or two.

• Cloth baby wipes.  When Abby was born, my mom bought us a MASSIVE box of disposable baby wipes.  I vowed that when that supply of wipes was gone, I’d sew up some cloth wipes and make the switch for diaper changes.  I know that lots of people who use cloth diapers also use cloth wipes, because hey, you’re doing the laundry anyway.  Still, I dreaded the end of our baby wipe supply…which happened to come this week.  In an effort to soften my heart toward using cloth wipes, I bought a yard of cutesy flannel to sew into wipes, thinking that it would make it slightly more appealing.  I really was dreading it.  And so, after using cloth wipes for a week, the verdict is….it really isn’t bad.  At all.  In fact, I think I prefer cloth wipes to the disposable ones.  (GROSS ALERT / POOP TALK AHEAD!)  The disposable wipes kind of just smear everything around; the cloth wipes just clean off baby girl’s bum better.  I use a solution of tea tree oil, water, and a little baby shampoo and spray it on her bottom and then clean her up.  Good as new!  Wipe and diaper both go in the wet bag, and we are good to go.  I do plan to have a bag of disposable wipes in the diaper bag, because I’m not going to mess with them when we’re out and about or when she’s at a babysitter’s house, but we’re totally going to use them at home.  Cha-ching!
• Laundry on the line.  This week has been perfect clothes-line weather, which is great because I’d been avoiding the hampers for a while now.
• In the kitchen.  I’ve been searching for ways to save money on meals, so while grocery shopping I picked up some packages of chicken at $.98/pound.  I put them in the crockpot, covered them with water, and let it cook overnight.  In the morning I de-boned the pieces, shredded the meat, bagged it up in 1 and 2 cup portions to use in future meals, and into the freezer it went.  I also strained the stock and froze it to use as chicken stock.  Perfect!  I’m also making myself get over my fear of cooking fish, doves, and other things that my husband the hunter brings home.  We enjoyed some really good fish earlier this week, and last night we smoked dove breasts on the Traeger and they were yum-my. No more being afraid
• In other kitchen news, I’ve started cooking and baking from scratch more.  I’ve discovered some homemade recipes for things like Bisquick/Jiffy mix, pancake mix, and dry ranch dressing mix (which is AWESOME for seasoning everything from fish to potatoes), so I’m now making those from ingredients that are already in my pantry rather than buying them from the store.  Doing it from scratch is most likely a lot healthier, anyway, so it’s kind of a win-win.
• Iced coffees.  I could spend (and have spent) a small fortune buying these from McDonald’s a few times a week.  (Thank goodness the nearest Starbucks is an hour away…I can only imagine the monthly tab if we had one closer to us.)  So thanks to Pinterest, I’ve found some fabulouso iced coffee recipes and have been making them at home, and they are pretty darn good.  In fact, I think I’ll go have one now. 

Frugal Site o’ the Week

A friend of my parents sent me this link last Friday, and it is so fabulous that I thought I’d share it with you.

Before I even clicked on the link, I had a hunch that I’d love it.  It’s thefrugalgirls.com – their mantra is “Living Well with Less $$.”   Love it already!

I love homemade cleaning solutions, and this site has a whole host of them…plus lots of other how-to’s for homemade products like baby wash and shampoo, foaming hand soap, weed killer, and more.

And as if that wasn’t enough to make me love the site (which it totally was), I found that they offer LOADS of craft tutorials and ideas, coupons/hot deals, thrifty gifts and parties, and even a spot that lists discounts for military families.

I’ve only scratched the surface of all they have to offer on their site, but it’s an awesome resource that I know I’ll be checking out regularly. 

Tightwad Tips

Well, today is my last day as a full-time employee.   After my three months of maternity leave, I’ll return to work, but only part-time.  I want to spend as much time with our kid as possible!  I’m lucky to have a boss who puts family first and was supportive of our decision, and to have a mother-in-law and a BFF who are willing to babysit a couple of days a week, so we’re going for it.

I could tell you that I’m 100% comfortable with having my income slashed in half, but it scares the snot out of me.  We have come up with a very strict budget and I know we can make it work…but change is scary.  I guess this is where the whole “trusting the Lord with everything, including (or especially) your finances” thing comes in, because it would be so easy to worry myself to death over this topic.

We’re going to try to live as frugally as possible, which will take some adjusting for both of us.  Not as much eating out, less online shopping, no more QVC, etc.  I actually expect that we’ll save a ton of money on gas alone, since I won’t be driving the 60 mile round trip to work five days a week for three months.  Especially with gas prices being what they are. :/

I came across this quote from an article in the ol’ South Bend Tribune.  I love it what it says.  “Organization and frugality go hand in hand,” Amy Clark says. “Your bills are paid on time, you realize that you already have what you need in your home and you feel at peace in your surroundings.”  That’s going to be my mantra for the next few months.

So, in an effort to make this new budget work, here are some of the methods we’ll be using at our house to save a few pennies.  I’ve been doing some of these for a while now…others will be new to us.

Selling everything we can via garage sales, Ebay, and Etsy.

Junk and little (or extremely big) items can be sold at a garage sale.  Nicer items can be listed on Ebay, now that I’m not terrified of selling anymore.  Handmade items (tote bags, craft items, etc) and craft supplies/fabric can be sold on Etsy.  Voila!  Less stuff, more space, more cash.

Buying as much as I can at garage sales.

LOVE garage sale season…just have to be careful that the things I pick up are things that we need and not just more junk.

Cooking and baking from scratch.

I always have good intentions in the kitchen, but I’m not so good at following through.  Convenience wins out more often than not, and I find myself buying pre-packaged mixes and meals more than I want to admit.  If I can work on cooking and baking from scratch, we’ll eat healthier and save money, since those convenience foods are often full of preservatives (and who knows what else) and cost quite a bit.  I hope to do better at cooking/baking from scratch in the upcoming months…everything from pancake/waffle mix to biscuits and breads and pizzas and snacks and even cereal (by maybe using this yummy-looking recipe).  Sidenote:  frugalvillage.com is an awesome website with tons of tips on being (as the name implies) frugal.  I also found this recipe for making homemade sandwich bread on this site, and it looks fairly simple and straight forward.  Think it would be another one to use in my quest to bake from scratch!

Using cold water when doing laundry.

Have done this for quite a long time.

Hanging clothes outside to dry.

Have also done this for a while now.  Nothing better than clothes fresh off the line!

Planting that vegetable garden.

Will really save us money if I can stay on top of it and preserve foods before they go bad.  That’s always a struggle for me.   I’m not always on top of picking the goods as much as I should be.  Or, if I do get produce picked, it sits in the kitchen until it goes bad.  Hopefully working part time will mean more time for canning and freezing all that garden produce.

Making and freezing batches of baby food (using the amazing Baby Bullet, a wonderful baby shower gift from Tresia, Bev and Lori!).

Not only will I save money from not buying baby food – the savings here will be compounded, because I can use produce from the garden to make baby food, thus saving even more.  Love it!

Making my own household cleaners and laundry soap.

I’ve been enrolled in Melaleuca in the past, and LOVE their cleaning products.  They are super concentrated and last forever.  I stocked up before having to cancel my enrollment this month (to save pennies!), so we should be set for quite a while.  But when we finally do run out, I will be replacing them with homemade cleaners that work just as well.  I’ve tried a number of these in the past, thanks to a newspaper article that my mom sent me with homemade household cleaner “recipes.”  They include:

Furniture Polish Recipe

• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a spray bottle.  Shake well and apply a small amount to a flannel cleaning rag or cleaning cloth. Spread evenly over furniture surface. Turn cloth to a dry side and polish dry.

Laundry Soap (This soap even gets Jon’s greasy and sometimes manure-coated jeans clean…I love it!  I make huge batches at a time to make life  easier)

• 2 cups Fels Naptha soap, grated/shredded (I picked up an old blender at a garage sale that is wholly devoted to shredding my Fels)
• 1 cup washing soda
• 1 cup borax

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Store in a sealed container.  Use 1-2 tablespoons per load, depending on how dirty your clothes are.

Tile and Grout Cleaner

• 1/2 cup of baking soda
• 1/3 cup of ammonia
• 1/4 cup of white vinegar
• 7 cups of water

Combine all ingredients in a labeled spray bottle and shake well to mix.  Spray on then wipe off with a damp sponge.  Do not use with bleach.

All Purpose Cleaning Spray

• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup water

Combine in a spray bottle.  Spray and scrub.  You can add a few drops of essential oil if the vinegar odor bothers you; however, the vinegar smell will disappear as soon as it evaporates.

As we adjust our lifestyle and budget, it’s going to be tough at times, but the rewards will be more than worth it in the end.  Frugal living isn’t just about scrimping and saving pennies and never buying anything fun.  It’s about spending smartly and having the funds for the things that are really important to us.

Everybody Loves Swag

To quote Michael Scott on “The Office:”

“Swag.  Stuff we all get.  Basically I decorated my condo for free with all of my swag.”

A couple of weeks or so ago I learned about swagbucks.com.  If you have any interest in earning some freebies online, you should check it out.  You don’t have to have a blog or website…it’s super easy and super simple.  I’m usually skeptical about “earning online” type things, but this one is pretty straightforward.

First, you have to register on their site.  Then you need to download their toolbar.  And just by completing those two actions, you can start earning Swagbucks.

Just use the Swagbucks toolbar any time you search the web for the chance to earn Swagbucks.  Every so often you’ll win Swagbucks!  I usually win at least 2-3 times a day just by searching online using the toolbar.  (All that means is that I now use their search engine instead of Google.)

There are also lots of other ways to earn on their site, including daily polls and surveys.  Since I started, I’ve already earned almost 400 swagbucks.

Once you’ve earned enough Swagbucks, you can use trade them for prizes or gift cards in the Swag Store.

What can you purchase in the Swag Store?  Well, there are lots and lots and lots of choices, but I plan to use my bucks for Amazon gift cards. I am an Amazon-aholic, and so that idea was all it took to get me on the Swagbucks train.  In the Swag Shop you can purchase $5 Amazon gift cards for 450 points.  And there’s no limit to the number of gift cards you can use when checking out on Amazon.  Fab!

You can also earn gift cards to other places, too…some of my other loves like Starbucks, iTunes, and Barnes and Noble also offer gift cards through Swagbucks.

You also earn Swagbucks by referring it to other people…every time one of your referrals wins Swagbucks, so do you! So be sure to tell everyone about it if you try it and like it!  (Just for reference, my referral link is: http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/JenSchauer)

I’m officially obsessed with earning some Swag!