Elly, Michael, David, Tawra and BJ


Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Grocery Savings Made Easy

Grocery Savings Made Easy
By Tawra Kellam
http://www.LivingOnADime.com/

For many people, making the decision to switch from two incomes to one can be a scary experience. They know they're spending too much, but don't know where to begin to cut back.
Most people don't think they can live the frugal life and still be comfortable. I feed my family of 5 on $175 month. In 5 years my husband earned an average of $22,000 per year. In those 5
years we paid off $20,000 debt. There are countless ways you can cut, but if you are a frugal beginner, try these simple suggestions from Not Just Beans for saving on your food bill first.

Before you shop, take a tour through your pantry and your refrigerator. Be organized!
Don't buy what's already hiding in your kitchen.

If you a fan of coupons, remember this: It’s not what you save, it’s what you spend. If you save 30 cents on something you wouldn’t ordinarily buy anyway, you haven’t really saved anything.

A typical fruit item is significantly larger than one serving. Most people would be just as
happy eating a small apple as eating a large one so buy smaller fruits!

This month, try two meatless meals a week (or one, if you're a diehard meat fan). Use meat as an ingredient instead of a main dish. A good recipe for this is Green Chile. It uses only ½-1 pound of pork.

Cut back on the juice and milk. Use the money you've saved from eating less meat and drinking less juice and buy something that's on sale. Those sale items will help you cut back even further next month.

In staying at home, it's the little things that add up so start small!

Green Chile
1/2- 1 lb. pork roast, or chops cubed into small pieces
10 1/2 oz. chicken broth
1 onion, finely chopped
1/4-1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 can (7 oz.) green chiles, diced
1/4 jalapeno, finely chopped
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. flour, dissolved in water
white flour tortillas

Toppings
cheddar cheese, grated
lettuce, shredded
tomato
sour cream

Simmer pork in broth on low for 10 minutes. Add all other ingredients except flour and simmer
45 minutes. Thicken with flour so it is like a thick soup. Spoon about ¼ cup into the center of a
flour tortilla. Roll up tortilla and top with more green chile. Sprinkle with cheese, lettuce and
tomato. Top with sour cream if desired. This green chile freezes really well.
Steak and Mushroom Gravy
1 Tbsp. margarine
1/2 onion, chopped
5 Tbsp. flour
salt and pepper (to taste)
5 Tbsp. dry milk
2 cups water
1 2 cups leftover beef
1 small can mushroom pieces
1 tsp. beef bouillon powder

Melt margarine in a large skillet and saute onion. Mix flour, salt and pepper and dry milk in a jar. Add water and shake. Stir into onions until simmering and thickened. Add beef, bouillon powder and drained mushrooms. Reduce the heat. Simmer, stirring constantly, until heated through. Serve over noodles, rice or mashed potatoes or toast. Serves 4.


Tawra Kellam is the author of the frugal cookbook Dining On A Dime. For more free tips and recipes visit her web site at http://www.LivingOnADime.com/. In 5 years, Tawra and her husband paid off $20,000 personal debt on an average income of $22,000 per year

Summer Clothes Shopping.

Now is the time to start looking for clothes for summer. Some thrift stores will price their summer clothes cheaper in the winter and visa versa. If you know the kids are going to be needing something get it now if your store does that. I found David a nice pair of sandels for .75 for summer. Yeah! I saved about $9. I also found Elly a nearly new coat for the end of this winter and next winter for $6.98! I saved $20 at least on that one.

If you prefer to buy brand new than start looking now for winter cleanance items. Stock up on extra pairs of gloves and hats for sure! It never fails, we can have 20 pairs of gloves and not find one at some point every winter! :-) My kids are pretty good about putting their stuff up but still there are times when everything is missing.

Buying before you need things is one of the best ways to save! That way you don't shell out a bunch of $ on over priced "emergency" purchases.

Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

Hello Everyone! An Update.

I'm sorry I've been MIA again. Mike quit work 2 weeks ago and I have been really sick since. I'm not sure if I'm just "collapsing" after the stress of his job and him working a lot of hours or if I have something coming on but I have been so tired I can hardly keep up.

The kids have been sick too. Elly has a sinus infection and the poor thing just isn't getting over it. We are going to start on antibiotics and see if that will kick it for her. I am very thankful that she got sick when she did because today is the last day of our health insurance so I was able to take her in yesterday. Yeah! We are going to be getting catastrophic coverage and pay for it ourselves but all the doctor visits will be out of pocket now. :-(

I still have to wonder if it's something in this house making us all sick. We have looked and looked for mold and just can't seem to find any but we are sick all the time! I remember we did the same thing in a rental house we had once. We moved and didn't get all our stuff out yet. We stayed at the new house for a week and then went back to get the rest of our stuff. We spent the night since it was 2 hours away and the next morning all of us could hardly breath. Come to find out the house was infested with mold. The kids had 2-3 ear infections a month when we lived there!

We are trying to get the new website up and running. It's a LOT more work than we had thought so it won't be done by Valentine's Day like we had hoped but we are going to keep forging on. Mike has been working full time on it since he quit so hopefully we will get caught up one of these days! ;-)

It's been like Spring here in Kansas. It's so wonderful! The kids have been able to play outside and the heater isn't hardly running at all! That is going to be a big money saver for us!

That's about it for us. We are just trying to hang in there until we are all better again.

Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com



P.S. We have a new family motto:

THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS PLACE AND THE TITANIC IS TITANIC HAD BAND!

HA! It's that so true some days! LOL TJ

Monday, January 23, 2006

Foaming Hand Soap

I forked over $1.67 to buy one of those new foaming pump hand soaps just to see if it would last longer. Interestingly it lasted 1/4 of the amount of time that normal hand soap does. My friend told me of a way to refill them without using the expensive refills that they so nicely have for you too.

To refill the foaming hand soap just put 2 Tbsp. of regular liquid hand soap in the bottle and fill with water. Swirl it around until it's mixed and you have foaming hand soap!

I figured that it lasts about the same amount of time as regular liquid hand soap but costs twice as much. Isn't that nice of them? :-)

Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

Being Thankful.

I was thinking the other day about things to be thankful for.

The price of gasoline has gone up and our car gas has gone up about $50 a month. (Although now it will go down about $100 since Mike has quit his job.) The news kept saying how in our area the price of heating gas would go up 70% too. We were expecting our heat bill to be outrageous. Well, God has been good and we have made it almost the entire way through the winter and we haven't even had to run our heater during the day most days because it's been in the 50's even with some 60's and 70's here and there. This is NOT normal for Kansas in January.

I was thinking how we always see the bad, like the price of gas going up but we don't see the good, like God making the weather nice so you don't have to use the heater!

Our goal is to try and doing everything without complaining this year and be thankful always!

Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Bible Study Class Tip.

Tawra,

I read your post regarding Bible study books and I did comment :) Another idea that may not work for everyone and is unfortunately, geography limited, is Bible Study Fellowship International (www.bsfinternational.org) These are solid, in depth Bible studies that require working on the lesson during the week in order to participate in the discussion. There is no charge and the materials are distributed to all class participants. A basket is set at the exit for a freewill offering. Just thought I'd offer that for your interest. There are programs for children ages 2 and up, no babysitting is provided for those with infants. I've participated in the past, am not able to presently.


Christy M.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Elly's Birthday Party.

Elly turned 7 last week. We decided to have a big party for her and 13 kids came over. It worked out great.
First God was good and it was 55 outside so they could go out and play on the swingset and tire swing while everyone was coming. We were also able to play our games outside. (No, 55 degrees isn't even close to being normal for Jan. in Kansas!)

She wanted a penguin party. For decorations I put a dark blue piece of material I had on the table. I used regular white paper plates and napkins and then purchased some white disposable cups for $2. We put her white Christmas tree with the penguin ornaments for the centerpiece and her stuffed penguins around it.

We then put up streamers all over the room. They were from a garage sale for .25. Mom found a 36" hanging penguin on clearance for .50 after Christmas and we hung that down the center from the ceiling fan with some balloons ($2).

For games we had the kids carry baby stuffed animals between their legs, like penguins do, across the yard to see who would get to the finish line first. We also did a treasure hunt.
The treasure was bags of candy that we had bagged up from after Christmas clearance candy. (About $2) We set them all over the front yard.

I made the penguin cake, which did take a long time but it did turn out cute. I burned the first cake so the total was about $2 for the cakes. :-)

I had a Victorian dollhouse that I had started putting together when I was 18. I never did get it all done. Well, Elly has wanted that thing for years so I spent the last two weeks during David's naps fixing it up. It really needed a lot of work but it turned out cute and she loved it! You won't believe what we did to it though. I have moved that thing probably 30-40 times in the last 15 years and never once broke anything major. Well, we were moving into the box, which we had cut the front out of to just slide it in, and we ripped the 3rd floor off! I was so mad I almost cried! Thankfully, it will be a fairly easy fix but it's still funny after all those years, nothing, and then now I break it! LOL

The party turned out really nice. We probably won't do it again next year and only have a major party every few years because it was a lot of work but it was nice!

Here are the clues for the treasure hunt if you are planning your own sometime. No, they don't all rhyme. I was started to go brain dead by the time I did them. ;-)

I think altogether we spent about $20 for everything for her party and gifts.
Enjoy!
Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com





Happy Birthday Dear Elly!
ItÂ?s time to Look For The Clues
Everyone Jump up and Yell WAHOO!!!
Look Under stairs for Clue #2!!



Jump for Glee
When You Find Clue #3
Under the Birdbath,
It Will Be!!




Are You Ready To Go,
Out by the Garage Door,
Sitting On The Chair is Clue #4




For #5 To The Back of the Yard We Go,
Under the bucket, OH No!
By the Compost Pile.
Don't worry it'?s not a mile!




Clue #6 Is under the fireplace in the fort.
Don' t Worry About Finding It,
It Really Won't Be Hard!




Don't Bonk Your Head !
Clue #7 is Under The Deck.
Be Careful When You Look, it'?s hanging on the wall.




The treasure, Where It Is Found!
Run Quick, but not too hard
Out to the Front Yard!

Monday, January 16, 2006

Guilt

It's so funny the things we can feel guilty over. I have been using the dryer to dry my clothes the last several months. I don't have an outdoor clothesline and even if I did, hauling heavy wet laundry upstairs, out the garage and to the other side of the yard just wouldn't work for me. We used to use hanging racks in the utility room but space is starting to get limited with the kids getting bigger and more stuff everywhere! (yes, I am continually decluttering but somehow it’s still there.) Anyway, I just decided that for this time in my life I am using the dryer.

The funny thing is, I feel so guilty using it! I just keep thinking how funny it is that we get habits so ingrained in us like that.


I was thinking on it more and I realized the same is true of spending. If you are in the habit of spending and feel guilty about it then exchange it for a good habit that you won't feel guilty about! A good example is instead of shopping at Dillard’s, shop at Wal-Mart. If you're shopping at Wal-Mart too much, shop at yard sales. If you are doing that too much then cut back and only go twice a month and stay home and organize a closet or room.
Just make small changes and they will add up.

Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

The $2.50 diaper.

I have used disposable diapers for the 3rd child because we had so much sickness that more laundry would have sent me over the edge.

The other day I ran out and I didn't realize it. I was going to run out to the store to get some and I thought there has to be something I can make due with because I was going right by the store the next morning.

Well, I have a friend that gave me a big bag of pull ups that her son didn't need anymore. We don't use them often just for church and his Mom's Day Out. Well, I just pulled out one of those and used it for his nap instead. Duh!

I almost wasted $2.50 in gas plus an hour running to the store to buy diapers! If I was really desperate I could have put him to bed in his underwear (he's potty training) and done a load of laundry if he wet the bed. The .50 it cost to do the laundry would have still been cheaper!

There is almost always a way to "make do", it just takes some practice to keep thinking of these things.

Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

Bible Study Books.

I really enjoy doing the Bible studies at church. I mostly have done Beth Moore studies. The problem is they (the church) charges $16 to buy the workbook! Augh! I personally don't think churches should charge for this but they do so I just deal with it.

Well, I have found a way around it. I buy the book, use it but don't write in it and then I am able to re-sell it on ebay and get most of my money back and in some cases I even made a dollar or two!

If there is something I want to write down I just use a separate notebook. I just put several from the last couple of years plus a few other things on Ebay and I made almost $200 back!!

Yeah!
Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Joyce Meyer is Talking On Finances.

One of my favorite Bible teachers is talking on money management this month. You can go to this site and click on the TV/Radio broadcast section and you can see the current broadcast plus past ones.
Enjoy! Tawra


http://www.joycemeyer.org

Friday, January 06, 2006

Teacher Gifts

The teachers at our school love to get books for gifts for the classroom. This year for Christmas I found several at the thrift store for .15-.45 each brand new! They have brand new or almost new books there all the time! I was able to get a nice collection together for both teachers. I didn't have to pay $5 each and saved about $150!

This is also a good way to support your kids school and classroom.

Tawra

Penguin Party

I could use some help with some birthday party suggestions. My daughter's birthday party is on the 14th. She wants a Penguin Party and I could use some fresh ideas.

Please send me your suggestions!

Tawra
editor@livingonadime.com

www.LivingOnADime.com

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Homemade Seasonings

These are from Dining On A Dime and Not Just Beans. Enjoy! Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com


Seasoned Salt

8 Tbsp. salt
½ Tbsp. onion powder
3 Tbsp. pepper
½ Tbsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. paprika

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Store in an airtight container.


Taco Seasoning

6 tsp. chili powder
3 tsp. onion powder
4 ½ tsp. cumin
2 ½ tsp. garlic powder
5 tsp. paprika
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
¼ tsp. oregano

Mix all ingredients and store in an airtight container. One teaspoon of homemade taco seasoning equals 2 teaspoons store-bought.


Italian Seasoning

¼ cup dried basil
2 Tbsp. dried thyme
2 Tbsp. dried marjoram
2 Tbsp. dried rosemary
2 Tbsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. dried coriander
1 tsp. sugar

Combine all the ingredients. Store in an airtight container in a cool dark place for up to 3 months.

Think things through.

I watched a segment on organizing on the morning show today. This lady had a cluttered utility room. It was the kind that is basically a small closet.

Well, pretty much all that needed to be done was the laundry and a couple of shelves hung but they spent several hundred dollars on a shelving unit that I have no idea how it would work for this lady.

It had pull out metal baskets and she was to put each of the kid’s clothes in one for them to put up themselves. That seems ok but then she had the same size metal basket for them to pull out and put the laundry in. This basket was about 2ft x2ft in size.
The kicker was this lady had FOUR KIDS!!!

First of all the kids aren't going to pull out a basket and push it back in when they are done. She is going to have to nag them to keep it closed. Second that wouldn’t hold one day's worth of clothes for a family of 6, even with wearing the clothes more than once.

If you have kids the best laundry holder is something that is large with an open top that they just throw things in. That way you don’t always have to nag them to keep the lid or drawer closed.

Really think about how your family works before you invest a lot in organizing equipment. If they don’t close the drawers, use shelves instead. Make coat racks low enough so the kids can reach without standing on something. If you can fix these types of little irritations it makes life so much more pleasant than nagging all the time!

Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

Changes around here.

Mike quit his job yesterday. That was the biggie that I was asking prayers for last week. It was very stressful; he had to work long hours even though he was told it would only be 40 a week. With me being sick it's just too hard on us having him gone that much. The other thing is, it just doesn't pay enough. We have gone into debt because our income wasn't high enough and for the amount of stress it was causing it wasn't worth it.

We are going to be all right. We have 3 months of living expenses (6K) from the royalty check from the big book sale to Books Are Fun. That will hold us over until he can get something else. He is going to try and start doing some video projects on his own. He has some of the video equipment he needs to go independent and so he is going to go for it.

For the first month or two is going to help me get the new website going and get caught up on a bunch of business bookkeeping that has needed to be done for a while too. We are going to concentrate really hard to get more info. on the site.

We are really excited. We have wanted to leave for over 2 years and now finally everything has fallen into place for us to go. God is so good. We have been praying and praying for everything to fall in to place and all of the sudden it did!

I just wanted to share the news of the big change in our life. His last day is on the 18th.
Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

Great After Christmas Deals!

Mom found some great brand new toys for 75% off at the grocery store. There were some nice doll sets for $3 and some tool sets for the same. She picked up a few in case we need them for birthday presents or Christmas presents. If we have any leftover then we donate them to the women's crisis center at Christmas.

They have a big drive to help out the victims of domestic violence and we always try to donate any free stuff from rebates or good deals we find. We have been able to donate hair color, toothbrushes, razors, body wash, lotion, toys and clothes most of which was free or really close to free.

If we find something like that and we can't use it then we always go ahead and buy it so we can donate it. I just keep a section in my cabinet with the stuff and at the end of the year when they have their Christmas drive I take a big box down to them.

Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com