• Living on a Budget: Creative Cash (October Update)

    October is my ninth month tracking my Creative Cash.  What is Creative Cash?  Creative Cash is finding ways to come up with extra cash to share with others as well as work on our current goal.  I am working part time, a stay at home Mom, and wear many other hats from day to day, however, I feel that it is important to save money for our family by using coupons and buying items on sale but to earn a little money to help with the extra expenses and to share with others.  The extra amount I bring in on top of the work is what I call “Creative Cash” which means finding ways to make money creatively or with items and talents I have already.  I plan to continue this goal for the remaining months of the year.  Despite the many financial obstacles that we have faced as a family we have been blessed with so much.  My husband and I believe it is important to be accountable with our finances and give to others.

    Explanation: The creative cash will be made throughout the entire month through various endeavors.  As it comes in the money is placed into our savings account and withdrawn at the end of the month so it can be split.  It is my goal to make at least $100 extra a month to help with our goals as well as share with others.  At the end of the month the money will be split 50 / 50 with half going towards our current goal we are working on (which at the moment is paying down debt) and the other half going to charity.

    To be honest October was not as great of a month as I hoped it would be, however, it was better then September.    Although life is still busy we are at least home more now giving me the flexibility to focus on this goal as well as other ones.  I anticipate November being another busy month with upcoming Holidays and I hope to come closer to meeting this goal.  Thankfully I was able to save some extra cash even though I did not reach my my goal of $100.  I want to share with you the ways we did it so if you are looking for ways to make a little extra creative cash for your family hopefully we can be an inspiration in getting your creative juices flowing:

    • $13.19 – Items sold on Ebay (after fees):   The all the items sold were coupons.  I encourage you to look around at some of the coupons you get the mail, newspapers, magazines, in your stockpile, or other places and if you will not have the opportunity to use them then consider selling them for a little extra creative cash.
    • $6.59 – Recycled Items taken to the scrap metal company
    • $28.99 – Other miscellaneous amounts earned  (rebates, returns, cash back,  extra money, etc…) that was added to my stash for the month.

    It was a harder month to set the extra aside because it was very busy and I was not able to participate in as many extra creative cash activities.  The good news is despite the crazy schedule I was able to get a few dollars of creative cash and almost met at least half of my goal.  October’s “Creative Cash” total was $48.77 which means $24.38 extra that goes towards our current goal (saving for 3 to 6 month Emergency Fund) and $24.39 goes towards charity.  Although I didn’t hit my $100 goal this month I am happy that I was able to contribute something this month and every little bit helps us get a little closer to our goals as well as helps others along the way.  I have a plan of action on ways to earn creative cash in November so stayed tuned, hopefully, it will be another month where we can get closer to our goal and share with others.  Each month I do a variety activities to accomplish this goal, the items above are just the ones I did specifically in October.  I look forward to sharing more of the things that work well for our family as I do them in the upcoming months.

    I will share with you the challenges, successes, and updates as I go through this journey so you can keep me accountable or even go through it with me by participating  and sharing your story. Taking the extra time to find ways to help our family as well as invest in the lives of others is important to us.  I hope that we have been able to encourage you to find ways to come up with some creative cash for your household as well.  Obviously, each situation and family is unique so decide what works for you and go for it!  Do you know of another way to earn creative cash?   I would love to hear your ideas!

    Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances.  Life doesn’t always go as planned.  We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given.  Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life.  A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others.  There is so much more to life than having all the stuff.  We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.

    Photo by StopNLook

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    After much thought I have decided to share my weekly goals with you.  I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us.  I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true.  When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals.  Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick).  Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.

    Here are my goals for the upcoming week:

    Family Goals

    1. Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
    2. Read a book to the girls everyday
    3. Have the girls read 1 book to me 5 days this week
    4. Do devotions with the girls every night (sometimes it gets late and we rush to get them into bed)
    5. Schedule a Date Night with Jake
    6. Schedule a Date Night with each child

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
    2. Finish reading  The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman
    3. Listen to The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
    4. Go to bed by 10:30 or earlier on Monday through Thursday

    Home Management Goals

    1. Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
    2. Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
    3. Dinner on the table by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)
    4. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    5. Summer clothes pulled out of the main part of the closet and put away (it’s getting chilly and we are not wearing them as much now)
    6. Pick the fresh vegetables that are ready and start preparing the garden for the first freeze.

    Business Goals

    1. Spend 10 minutes cleaning and organizing my desk (somehow everyone stacks stuff on my desk, myself included, and within a day I have a pile sometimes piles)
    2. Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
    3. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    4. Research ways to create more residual income

    Ministry Goals

    1. Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
    2. Alms & Legs Ministry – Email upcoming meeting reminder to members, write and print the meeting agenda
    3. Meet a friend for Breakfast or Lunch
    4. Pack our Operation Christmas Child boxes

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Pay off remaining debt
    3. Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses

    I am striving to live intentionally so I have the ability to give my time, talents, and resources more generously to family, friends, and those who my life touches.  Please feel free to share or link your list of goals in the comments below.  Let’s help each other be accountable for the goals we set for ourselves.

    Why Share My Goals?

    • To keep me accountable
    • To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
    • To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
    • Create healthy habits in my life
    • To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn

    The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results

  • Living on a Budget: Creative Cash (March Update)

    Last month I began a monthly challenge called Creative Cash.  Creative Cash is finding ways to come up with extra cash to share with others as well as work on our current goal.  I am working part time, a stay at home Mom, and wear many other hats from day to day, however, I feel that it is important to save money for our family by using coupons and buying items on sale but to earn a little money to help with the extra expenses and to share with others.  The extra amount I bring in on top of the work is what I call “Creative Cash” which means finding ways to make money creatively or with items and talents I have already.  I have tested this goal over the last couple months as I am challenging myself to make my life more simplified.   I plan to continue this goal for the remaining months of the year.  Despite the many financial obstacles that we have faced as a family we have been blessed with so much.  We believe it is important to be accountable with our finances and give to others.

    Explanation: The creative cash will be made throughout the entire month through various endeavors.  As it comes in the money is placed into our savings account and withdrawn at the end of the month so it can be split.  It is my goal to make at least $100 extra a month to help with our goals as well as share with others.  At the end of the month the money will be split 50 / 50 with half going towards our current goal we are working on (which at the moment is paying down debt) and the other half going to charity.

    March was a great month and I was able to  go over my goal of $100 (although not quite as good as my February Creative Cash since I didn’t have a bunch of coupons saved up).  I want to share with you the ways we did it so if you are looking for ways to make a little extra creative cash for your family hopefully we can be an inspiration in getting your creative juices flowing:

    • $85.92 – Items sold on Ebay:   The majority of items sold were coupons (I did sell a small office supply that I received free after rebate for about $8 of the amount sold).  I encourage you to look around at some of the coupons you get the mail, newspapers, magazines, in your stockpile, or other places and if you will not have the opportunity to use them then consider selling them for a little extra creative cash.
    • $30.00 – Items sold on Craigslist: I sold lawn care items/tools that we were no longer using.  We had really good luck on Craigslist again this month, it can be hit and miss on Craigslist depending on the week and what people are looking for on the site.
    • $6.40 – Other miscellaneous amounts earned  (a rebate, return, cash back,  extra money, etc…) that was added to my stash for the month.

    March’s “Creative Cash” total was $122.32 which means $61.16 extra that goes towards our current goal, paying down debt and $61.16 goes towards charity.  It was exciting to go above the $100 goal again and to know it helps us get a little closer to our goals as well as helps others along the way.  I have plan of action on ways to earn creative cash in April so stayed tuned, hopefully, it will be another month where we can get closer to our goal and share with others.  Each month I do a variety activities to accomplish this goal, the items above are just the ones I did specifically in March.  I look forward to sharing more of the things that work well for our family as I do them in the upcoming months.

    I will share with you the challenges, successes, and updates as I go through this journey so you can keep me accountable or even go through it with me by participating  and sharing your story. Taking the extra time to find ways to help our family as well as invest in the lives of others is important to us.  I hope that we have been able to encourage you to find ways to come up with some creative cash for your household as well.  Obviously, each situation and family is unique so decide what works for you and go for it!  Do you know of another way to earn creative cash?   I would love to hear your idea!

    Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances.  Life doesn’t always go as planned.  We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given.  Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life.  A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others.  There is so much more to life than having all the stuff.  We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.

    Photo by StopNLook

  • Life Simplified: Hosting in Our Home

    One of my goals in 2011 is to simplify my life more by enjoying the blessings and not wasting what God has given us.  I have been sharing with you the successes and challenges on those specific areas in my life as I go through them.  One of the areas I am working on is making the best use of my time.  While spending time hosting family and friends in our home is important to me I must also make sure there is time on the schedule to spend with my immediate family.  The girls are growing up fast and the times we have together are precious.  In order to make sure I don’t go overboard I am setting a goal for myself and asking for your help to keep me in line.

    Here are the current challenges I am working on:

    Explanation of the Goal: As a family of four we LOVE hosting people in our home!  We are blessed to have a home to share with family and friends  whether it is for a party, game night or just to hang out together.  I would probably host a get together several times a week if we had the time, money, and energy to do it.  Part of learning how to simplify my life is making decisions on what to do with my time.  Hosting typically requires time for cleaning, cooking, prepping, and/or decorating for guests.  It is my goal to host at least one other family in our home once a month but no more than four.  When I spend time hosting that means I must give up some for something else.  Having up to 4 hosting events in our home means that there will be time to spend together as a family of four.  I want my girls to have the experience of hosting even at a young age.  Sharing our home and their toys is a valuable skill they can learn at an early age, but they like anyone, need a time to relax and refresh.

    We have already started working on this goal.  We had 3 families of three over in the month of January.   February is a busier month in our household not because of Valentine’s day but because we will be hosting the girls birthday party.  One of the many benefits to having twins or higher multiples is their birthday parties hit at the same time.  Brina and Karlie’s birthday party will be our major event this month and we have at least one other hosting event already on the schedule.

    I will share with you the challenges, successes, and updates as I go through this journey so you can keep me accountable or even go through it with me by participating  and sharing your story. Taking the extra time to invest in the lives of others is important to our family.  I hope that we have been able to host many people in our home without going over board.  It is important to me to make time for my family on the weekends as well as the people around us!

    Life Simplified is a series on getting rid of the extras in our life while learning how to enjoy what God has given us so we can continue to be a blessing to others.  Our homes can quickly start are bursting with “stuff”  and if you are like us we just have too much.  I am doing a series on ways we are learning to simplifying our food, homes, and lives.  When our hearts, lives, and homes get too cluttered we may start missing out on opportunities to serve and bless the people around us.

    Photo by MaryTClark

  • Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping (Meals)

    A couple questions we have been asked several times over the last month regarding my No Grocery Shopping challenge are – What have we been eating?  Do we have any recipes?  I am thrilled that we were able extend this challenge into February!   The quick answer is the meals have been “simple”.   Thankfully my family does not have any food allergies so we can be a little more flexible on what we eat.

    Here are a few ways we made our pantry stretch:

    • Always Eat Leftovers
    • Keep it Simple
    • Make Meals with Few Ingredients
    • Cook 1 Main Meal a Day
    • Cut back on Snacks
    • Make Meatless Meals

    On typical day we eat toast, cereal, eggs,  oatmeal or something we have on hand for breakfast.  The girls have lunch at school so they are covered for that meal.  Jake and I eat left overs for lunch (the left overs are usually from dinner the night before).  For dinner I fix a simple, few ingredients main dish to feed our family of four then add fruits, veggies and other sides to compliment the main dish.

    The first place I noticed a dip in the pantry was with the snacks.  When the kids get home form school they are HUNGRY (they eat their school lunch at 10:30 AM) and are always ready for a snack.  If it has been a busy day for me a lot of times they will grab an item from our “snack basket” on the kitchen counter which contains items such as granola bars, pretzels, crackers, etc…. We have noticed a dip in our dairy products too.  The girls will often have a cheese stick or yogurt for a snack after school so those have been being utilized.  Another snack they enjoy after school is a half of peanut butter & jelly sandwich or peanut butter with honey and veggies which gives them an extra boost of protein.

    One of the neat parts about doing this challenge is I have started noticing trends in our family.  I have seen what we eat more of as well as the items that get left behind more frequently.  It is important to me that we all continue to get healthy meals and snacks, however, I want to eliminate wastefulness.

    Along with the main meals we have a fruit and vegetable.  We still have chicken and beef weekly as well as fish every couple of weeks.  I will be adding the recipes for these items in the next day or two.  It is our plan to continue this challenge yet another week!

    I will continue to share with you the challenges, successes and what I have purchased so you can keep me accountable or even go through the journey with me by participating  and sharing your story.  I am thrilled that we can extend this goal and continue to use up the items we already have in our home!

    Life Simplified is a series on getting rid of the extras in our life while learning how to enjoy what God has given us so we can continue to be a blessing to others.  Our homes can quickly start are bursting with “stuff”  and if you are like us we just have too much.  I am doing a series on ways we are learning to simplifying our food, homes, and lives.  When our hearts, lives, and homes get too cluttered we may start missing out on opportunities to serve and bless the people around us.

  • Life Simplified: Sell, Give, Donate or Toss It?

    I was listening to the radio a few weeks ago and heard the announcer telling a personal story how she had a box of knickknacks and other items.  She was procrastinating on organizing the items and as she was going through it she was trying to decide what she should give away, put away or throw away……in the end she just got a bigger box.

    This little story stood out to me because I have been thinking about how we as a family and Americans in general need to cut back.  One of my goals in 2011 is to simplify my life more by enjoying the blessings and not wasting what God has given me.  I have been sharing with you the successes and challenges on those specific areas in my life as I go through them.

    My Third Life Simplified Goal:

    • Organize & De-Clutter our Home

    Explanation of the Goal: When my husband and I were first married we lived a nice but small apartment.  When we had friends over to eat we had to sit on the floor or the hand-me-down love seat that I received from a client that was throwing it out.  The majority of our items have been purchased second hand or given to us by family or friends.  After a couple years in the apartment we moved into our home and then had kids.  Recently as we were sitting together talking about life we realized how much “stuff” we had accumulated over the course of a few years.  I am a sentimental person so a lot of items have a story behind them, but there a many items in our home we no longer use.  The girls have baby toys that they no longer play with along with knickknacks here and there.  Over the course of the year we a going to reorganize and de-clutter our home.  I think it will be a continual work in progress, however, if we are not using an item we need to evaluate if we really need it.

    Here are some ways we anticipate eliminating some of the clutter:

    • Sell It – EBay, CraigsList, or Garage Sale
    • Give It Away – to someone needing or wanting the item.
    • Donate it to a charity or an organization that can give it to a person who can use it
    • Throw it away – this one is hard for me!  I am still learning that it is okay to not keep every single piece of paper my kids scribble on.  I want to have some to put in a scrapbook for them but I don’t need every paper.  I love the memories!

    We have already started working on this goal.  It is amazing how easy it is to post to CraigsList and Ebay which the items usually sell within a week or two.  When someone is over at the house and we realize that they could use something we have but are not using we take the opportunity to give it away.

    I will share with you the challenges, successes so you can keep me accountable or even go through the journey with me by participating  and sharing your story.  I would love to have an organized and de-cluttered home by the end of the year.

    Life Simplified is a series on getting rid of the extras in our life while learning how to enjoy what God has given us so we can continue to be a blessing to others.  Our homes can quickly start are bursting with “stuff”  and if you are like us we just have too much.  I am doing a series on ways we are learning to simplifying our food, homes, and lives.  When our hearts, lives, and homes get too cluttered we may start missing out on opportunities to serve and bless the people around us.

  • Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping (Continued)

    Now that we are through January 2011 you may be wondering how I  did with my No Grocery Shopping Month Challenge.  I did a lot better than I anticipated, but still had a hiccup or two.  Thankfully no one starved or went hungry in our house during my challenge.  We even hosted guests for a few meals!  It took a little extra planning on my part to cook meals from items already in the pantry and fridge, if we didn’t have something we did without it or found a creative way to make it out of what we had at home.  The amazing part is the entire family was supportive of my goal even if that meant a slightly altered menu.  The only comment I received from one of the girls that indicated they noticed was “Mom, did we eat up all the leftovers in the fridge because it looks a little empty?”

    Here is the complete list of groceries I purchased in the month of January:

    • 6 gallons of Milk
    • 1 loaf of Bread
    • 1 package Ground Hamburger
    • 1 package Cube Steaks
    • 2 Yogurts
    • 1 container French Onion Dip
    • 1 container Cottage Cheese
    • 1 package Flour Tortillas
    • 1 box Kellogg’s Toy Story 3 cereal

    The total spent on groceries for this month was $27.95 including the tax.   Milk was by far the most expensive part of our expenditures for the month of January adding up to $18.93.  We had an extra expense of $1.50 from the Kellogg’s Toy Story 3 cereal that did not meet my criteria.  Leaving only $7.52 for all of our other grocery purchases for the month of January which I bought last week.

    The food I bought had to meet the following criteria:

    • FREE – I don’t want to waste free grocery coupons that my family will use while doing this goal
    • Necessity – Milk, Eggs, Bread, etc…
    • For Someone Else outside of my household.  For example I make meals for new Moms in our church and if I need to pick up an item for them on the way to deliver a meal that will be an exception.

    I have decided to continue with this challenge.  It has been wonderful not having to go to the grocery store every week for anything other than milk.  Our pantry still has plenty for us to eat and our freezer is fairly full.  So I am going to continue with this challenge into February and see how much longer I can make it stretch.

    One of the questions I have been asked is – What are we eating?  Do we have recipes for these meals?  To answer those questions I will be sharing a little more about what we are eating and recipes in a later post.

    I will continue to share with you the challenges, successes and what I had to purchase so you can keep me accountable or even go through the journey with me by participating  and sharing your story.  I am excited to be extending this goal into the first part of February!  It has been great learning to say “no” when at the grocery store to extras and being creative with we have at home.

    Life Simplified is a series on getting rid of the extras in our life while learning how to enjoy what God has given us so we can continue to be a blessing to others.  Our homes can quickly start are bursting with “stuff”  and if you are like us we just have too much.  I am doing a series on ways we are learning to simplifying our food, homes, and lives.  When our hearts, lives, and homes get too cluttered we may start missing out on opportunities to serve and bless the people around us.

  • Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping (Update)

    We are now well  into week four of my no grocery shopping challenge for the month of January 2011.  It is time for me to give you an update so you can continue to keep me accountable.  Last week was an easy one for us because we were not at home, my husband and I had the privilege of going on a cruise with extended family and the girls were staying with friends. We did take food over with the girls but we didn’t have to buy any essentials or perishable items while we were away.

    Before leaving for vacation we ate the leftovers and most of the perishables in our refrigerator.  This week was the first time this month I had to pick up several perishable items.  Other than a gallon or two of milk a week we have been doing really well.  So far we have purchased 5 gallons of milk for the month of January.  Thankfully all the groceries I purchased this week were marked down except for the gallon of milk I paid $2.99 for at Save A Lot.  Here are the groceries I bought this week at Save A Lot | Rite Aid to restock the perishables in our fridge:

    • Ground Hamburger – $6.39 markdown to $3.18
    • Cube Steaks – $3.14 markdown to $1.59
    • 2 Yogurts – $0.50 markdown to $0.25 each
    • French Onion Dip – $1.29 markdown to $0.64
    • Cottage Cheese (24 oz) – $2.25 markdown to $1.12
    • Flour Tortillas – $0.99 markdown to $0.49

    I spent a total of $7.52 including tax.  By only purchasing the markdown items I was able to save over $8 on the perishable items we needed for our family.  With the exception of the french onion dip everything would meet my criteria of a necessity for our household.  Every home has different perishable items they need to keep in stock; meat and diary fit into that category for us (within reason), although, I have been trying to cut down on the amount I purchase to make sure we really do use the items already in stock.  Fruits and veggies are ones I would consider necessary too (in moderation), however, we are still using up the ones we had from several weeks ago as well as those we froze from the garden this summer.   The french onion dip is one I felt the most “guilty” about buying but since it was $0.64 for a large container and we are going to a Super Bowl party outside our home it technically falls under my criteria of  “for Someone Else outside of my household” (I may be stretching that criteria a little). Even though it was a good bargain and it is for people outside of my home I probably could have made something from scratch with the items already in my pantry.

    I am hoping these will be the last items we have to purchase for the month of January (with an exception to milk) and maybe even into February if I am really lucky.  These groceries should last at least a couple weeks when we put them together with the food we already have in our freezer and pantry!  So far I haven’t done too bad with the challenge.  I have had to pass up on a couple really great deals, but the point is to use the items in stock before buying more.

    I will continue to share with you the challenges, successes and what I had to purchase so you can keep me accountable or even go through the journey with me by participating  and sharing your story.  I would love to extend this goal into February if I can make our pantry stretch!

    Life Simplified is a series on getting rid of the extras in our life while learning how to enjoy what God has given us so we can continue to be a blessing to others.  Our homes can quickly start are bursting with “stuff”  and if you are like us we just have too much.  I am doing a series on ways we are learning to simplifying our food, homes, and lives.  When our hearts, lives, and homes get too cluttered we may start missing out on opportunities to serve and bless the people around us.

  • Life Simplified: Meal Delivery

    Dessert tray we delivered to a family!

    Every new year we set goals, challenge ourselves to reach new heights and to focus on what’s really important in life.  In 2011 I have made it a goal to simplify my life more by enjoying the blessings and not wasting what God has given me.  I will be sharing with you the successes and challenges on those specific areas in my life as I go through them.  I have already shared with you my 1st Life Simplified Goal of No Grocery Shopping for the month of January.  One of the most rewarding blessings in life is sharing what you have with others.  My second Life Simplified Goal goes along with that piece.

    My 2nd Life Simplified Goal:

    • Deliver 1 Meal a Month to a family outside of our household

    Explanation of the Goal: In 2010 I signed up to deliver meals to new Moms after they came home from the hospital, people who had surgery and various other volunteer opportunities.  There were a couple months I didn’t do any meals and other months I had several extra meals to prepare.  For example, in December I had 4 extra meals to prepare and deliver outside of our home before the week of Christmas, some of them being over an hour away, plus we had a Christmas Eve party at our house and guests staying with us for a week.  While I enjoy the blessing of helping others I need to work on saying “No” once I have met my limit.  After much prayer and talking with my husband we have decided it would be best for our family if I would stick to 1 meal delivery a month.  Once I have delivered a meal in a month I will have to say no to any additional inquiries.  There are so many people out there that need help, however, I have to decide what is best for our family too.  I want the girls to continue participating in these amazing acts of service and having a limit will give us the freedom to continue to do it without putting our family in a spot we are over our budget. I think with all the people in our church and community that if everyone did just one meal a month for someone needing a meal there would even be extra to go around.

    I will continue to deliver meals for people once a month.  Below are the opportunities that I am currently and will continue to be involved in:

    • Moms with Newborn Babies
    • People coming home from Surgery
    • Death in the Family
    • Other Volunteer Needs for Meal Delivery

    I have a hard time saying “no” to someone in need but in order for me to have the opportunity to continue ministering to others in this way I need to stick to the goal as well as respect my husband in his decision to help me with this area I love to volunteer.  I will share with you the challenges, successes along the way so you can keep me accountable or you can even go through the journey with me by participating  and sharing your story.

    Life Simplified is a series on getting rid of the extras in our life while learning how to enjoy what God has given us so we can continue to be a blessing to others.  Our homes can quickly start are bursting with “stuff”  and if you are like us we just have too much.  I am doing a series on ways we are learning to simplifying our food, homes, and lives.  When our hearts, lives, and homes get too cluttered we may start missing out on opportunities to serve and bless the people around us.

  • Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping

    Every new year we set goals, challenge ourselves to reach new heights and to focus on what’s really important in life.  In 2011 I have made it a goal to simplify my life more by enjoying the blessings and not wasting what God has given me.  I will be sharing with you the successes and challenges on those specific areas in my life as I go through them.

    First Life Simplified Goal:

    • No Grocery Shopping (except for necessities) in the month of January.

    Explanation of the Goal: My goal during the month of January is to not shop for groceries other than necessities (milk, eggs, bread).  Our freezer is full and our pantry is overflowing with all the great deals that we have received.  One of the reason for the goal is that I want to use the items I have and not waste them.  Stockpiling is wonderful but there may come a point when we need to eat through that stockpile before it expires, save the extra money to work on a financial goal, and be creative with what we have at home.  I have been thinking about this challenge for several weeks after doing Operation Christmas Child and other charities over the Holidays it really hit me that we have been blessed yet there are children and families that have nothing.  Menu planning may take a little extra creative thinking on my part but I think I can do it. If I do purchase something it needs to meet one of the following criteria:

    • FREE – I don’t want to waste free grocery coupons that my family will use while doing this goal
    • Necessity – Milk, Eggs, Bread, etc…
    • For Someone Else outside of my household.  For example I make meals for new Moms in our church and if I need to pick up an item for them on the way to deliver a meal that will be an exception.

    I have already started this goal.   The only things I have purchased this month so far have been a loaf of bread and 2 gallons of milk.  Last week we ate a bunch of leftovers for several days after my our family guests left since our fridge was full and we don’t want to waste the food we have.  It takes a little more time and focus to come up with a menu but everyone seems to be doing pretty well.  The real challenge will come at the end of the month when we are getting low in the pantry and when we host guests!

    I will share with you the challenges, successes and what I had to purchase so you can keep me accountable or even go through the journey with me by participating  and sharing your story.  I would love to extend this goal into February if I can make our pantry stretch!

    Life Simplified is a series on getting rid of the extras in our life while learning how to enjoy what God has given us so we can continue to be a blessing to others.  Our homes can quickly start are bursting with “stuff”  and if you are like us we just have too much.  I am doing a series on ways we are learning to simplifying our food, homes, and lives.  When our hearts, lives, and homes get too cluttered we may start missing out on opportunities to serve and bless the people around us.