We are pre-qualified for a loan.

Well, yesterday I went to Bank of American and was pre-qualified for a loan. It took about 45 minutes but was a very simple thing. They just ask you for some info. and then wait for your credit report to come back. BOA had a 6.6% interest with no fees for closing so you saved about $2500 in cash that you would need to come up on top of your deposit.

I called Countrywide when I got home and they had 6% but closing costs from them is about $2500. So I spent another 45 minutes on the phone getting pre-qualified with them. She is a reader and was VERY helpful so if you're in the Wichita area and need a loan let me know.
Thank you, Lisa!

What was surprising about this entire thing is our credit score is 808 out of 850. I couldn't believe it! We have about $5,000 left in debt from Mike's video equipment so I thought it would be much lower considering our income was $36,000 last year. It really pays to pay your bills on time. If you are going to be getting a loan in the near future make sure you are current on all your bills so your credit will be good.

The good news is we made $5,000 from our Mother's Day sale last week so we now have $9,000 down and 1200 less books to move! :-) Thanks everyone for helping us "move". LOL

We are trying to save up $25,000 by time of the sale of our house. I think we may get $5,000 and maybe $10,000 out of our house so we only need $11,000 more to go at the most.

We are going to have a big e-book sale in a couple of weeks so we should get some $ from it.
We had several people ask to buy 1 Not Just Beans at the sale price and ask for us to run the sale at the beginning of the month when they have the money so next week we are going to put individual books on sale.

I think we might try selling our house ourselves first for a few weeks and then if it doesn't sell put it with a realtor. We are going to be interviewing realtors next week.

Slowly but surely we are getting things in place to get moved! Yeah!! Tawra

Moving is a lot of work!

Mom and I spent the morning packing up and cleaning out the garage. Boy I sure hope we find a house! :-)

If you are like us and getting ready to sell your house realize that it is IMPERATIVE that you have it as clean and uncluttered as possible. You will get so much more money and your house will sell so much faster if you have most things packed up and ready before you even put it on the market.
By doing this last time we sold our house in 10 days!

We are dumping a lot of things and have a huge pile for the thrift store already. They are coming by tomorrow to pick it up. This also helps for when it's time to move because you don't have to go through everything while you're moving.

I am off to take a break.

Tawra

More Coupon Comments

Another reader comment on coupons. Thanks everyone for all the input! Tawra

Just a comment about coupons (you're probably
tired of hearing about them, huh.) Here's my take
on coupons and rebates. I use coupons like I
approach a strange dog, carefully.

I have a few brands I use mostly because my husband has used
the same brands of deodorant and soap in the
shower for almost thirty years. Think I'm going
to change him? Not! I also have a brand of
antacid I use for my acid reflux, I would like to
use a store brand but it just doesn't work for
me.

I have tried, and finally came to the
conclusion that trying to use something that
doesn't work for me wastes money in the long run
because I end up going out to get what does work
and the other bottle or whatever sits unused in
the medicine chest till it expires. In other
words, if I am going to buy a brand anyway
because there's just no way I can use something
else or there's no way hubby will use something
else, why not use a coupon and save a buck or
two. I put the money in my piggy and fine and
dandy.

I gave up refunding years ago because
I got tired of having to buy four packages of
something to get a dollar back and then I have to
spend the money for the stamp, and after thinking
about it I had the eureka moment of realizing I
could live fine without the four packages of
whatever anyway.

I agree with you. If it works
for you, fine, if it doesn't fine too. God gave
us brains to figure these things out for
ourselves, with the help of the skills our
teachers taught us years ago. A lot of people
don't use coupons and manage to save, and some
people do. A lot just depends on where you live
and what resources are available to you. Sorry I
took so long but had to comment. Thanks for your
input on things! Marcia S. in Maine

Moldy Mulch.

From: Kami

Question: TJ - It's your cousin Kami...I have a gardening
question for you. All of our mulch hardened and
molded, I assume it is from the 3 feet of snow
we had last December plus the area where it is
stays pretty wet. So we are going to have to
pull it all out and replace it. My question is,
if we replace it with bark with that mold too?
We have weed fabric down then mulch right now.
Any other ideas of what I can use for ground
cover? We have junipers, aspens and various
plant/flowers all in the same area. I don't
want to have to mess with this again and rock
will cost a lot as it is a large area. Any
ideas? Thanks my gardening expert!

Hi!
That's really unusual for Colorado since it's so dry. For the most part, no the mulch doesn't mold in Colorado. Even here it's rare. The only other thing I can think of is to use the new rubber mulch. It's mulch that is ground up tires that is dyed to look like real mulch. That stuff is too cool and it never goes away! The only problem is it's really expensive too. I think about $12 a bag but you wouldn't have to ever buy it again. I would just replace it with fresh bark. If this is the first time it's happened in all the years you've lived there then it was probably just a one time thing.

Tawra

www.LivingOnADime.com


Update:
Hello again. So the Extension Office said we can turn the mulch and it will dry out. It was definitely caused from the extra snowfall we had this year. She also said the weed fabric wouldn’t be an issue if we wanted to leave it. They do recommend bark over mulch as it doesn’t break down and decompose as much.

Thanks again for your help and the info.

Kami

Yes, turning it over works well. You've had your mulch for a while so I figured it was mostly decomposed. For our readers buying "Bark" instead of chopped mulch does take a few more years to break down.

Tawra

Reader Question

Hi Tawra:

I was reading your budget newsletter today. I have one question, where do you live that you're paying a mortgage of $273.00 a month?? And what is: Mike Rent/Commute $400.00?? These things caught my eye. I'm currently on disability and have to count every penny, pay my bills, mortgage, etc., until I can return to work (I was laid off days prior to my surgery).

Lydia


We lived in no man's land in Idaho in a town of 400 called Nezperce. (Great town but no jobs) Our house was $27,000 for 900 sq. ft. A great deal we thought until we went to sell it 4 years later and lost $12,000 on it. We had to pay a check to someone for $8,000 to take it! The difference is from the amount of equity we had in it.

During that time we Mike worked 100 miles from home. He rented a place up in Washington for his stay 3 nights a week and then it was extra gas money.

Tawra

It's begun.

Well, we've started packing. I am trying to get everything I can packed up before we put the house on the market so it will show well. I am working on getting all the "little" stuff done like paint touch ups, bushes trimmed etc. I've been really sick (what else is new? :-) so I am trying to just get one or two things done a day. Mom helped me get started on the garage today so that will help.

We are going to call a few realtors in 2 weeks and see how much we can get out of this place. We would really like to have 22K for a down payment on a 125K house so we don't have to pay PMI insurance and still keep our house payments almost the same.

So far we have $4,000 back from our taxes and about $3,000 from our Mother's Day sale. (It ends today if anyone wants to get in on it!)

So.. so far we have 7K and only need 15K more to go. I honestly have no clue how we are going to raise that much money but I know God is going work it out for us. So far the houses we have looked at haven't been that great but I'm holding out hope. It's early in the house hunting season and we haven't started working with a realtor yet.

We are going to be putting all our e-books on sale in the next couple of weeks so we make get a little money from that. We should be able to get at least a few thousands out of the sale of this one too so I think we will make our goal.

I am going to hopefully be blogging daily. I got behind with this sale but I should be able to catch up now! :-)

Tawra

What is it about coupons?

People are so funny. I don't know what it is about coupons that makes people react so much. I don't personally use coupons that much. Maybe one a month. I know that it can save a lot of money and if you have the time and enjoy doing it then I say go for it but I personally don't have the time to mess with it. I prefer to save other ways buy shopping at Aldi's and using sales. We spend about $250 on groceries a month for 5 of us so I don't think that's too bad. I could get it lower by gardening and such but I don't have time right now so I am satisfied with what we are doing.

We ran an article from a lady who used coupons to give help to others who like to use them. Wow, the response was crazy!!

I got people who were mad at me because I don't use them and I "loose out on so many savings" and then I had people who are mad because we ran story about someone using them and "they are just poisoning their family's with unhealthy food".

I don't know why people have to get in a uproar over coupons! If you want to use them, go for it, if you don't, then don't use them! It's not that big of a deal.

Here are a few of the nicer comments and questions. If you have some ideas to help our readers please post, I would love to hear your tips!

Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com


********
Where does Debra get her coupons? How does she keep them organized and use them before they expire? I would love to pick her brain.

I love getting your newsletter. I am really determined to save and live on a dime. Thanks for helping me with my new way of life.

Have a blessed day!

Lora C. :-)
********

It must be nice to have stores that double or triple coupons. In the small town I live in there is a Brookshire and a WalMart. Neither one of them double coupons. With only those two stores you pay full price for everything. The nearest stores that run good sales and double coupons is 56 miles away making it impossible to shop anywhere other than the two stores in my town. I am trying to feed 2 aadults, 2 teenagers, and 2 younger children on one salary. Can you offer any suggestions? Almost all our money is going for food and gas for the car. Thanks , TW

********

Hi Tawra,

This is in regard to the coupon lady from Wichita. I have been living/espousing the frugal life since my children were babies in the 1980's. I have had lots of experience testing saving by using coupons vs. saving by cooking from scratch, gardening, not using coupons, etc. I always lived in areas where there is a store that double coupons and has weekly "lost leaders". Here are some conclusions on her letter.

I don't doubt that she can save & stockpile, but I feel that when we shop with coupons like that, there is a tendancy to purchase more unnecessary & unhealthy food, which in the long run is detrimental to our lifestyle. I do watch (when it isn't farmer's market or gardening season) weekly lost leaders on fruit & vegetables to be able to get the highest quality nourishment for my family for the lowest price (our King Sooper--a Kroger affiliate--often runs 10/$10 on potatoes, onions, etc.--so, for example, I can get 5 lb. bags of potatoes for @ one bag for $1.00--and you don't have to buy 10 bags!) but don't spend a lot of time on other coupons.

I truly feel that over the years, I have saved more, spent less time shopping/cutting coupons and nourished my family better having NOT been dedicated to coupon cutting. I fed a family of 5, a dog, a cat (along with various other fish, hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits...) on $35.00 week from about 1985 to 1995--that included paper, cleaning/laundry & personal hygiene products (shampoo, toothpaste, lotion, etc.).

I don't know what that would project into today's figures...but I think it should be reasonable still. I never went above $50/wk. even when my kids were in high school...my last graduated high school in 2001(2 of our 3 were boys with huge appetites--a lot of time they had friends over to eat!). Of course, we ate more than "Just Beans"! Bravo to you for your books...I love them, and even though it is just me & my husband at home now...I still cook the same way(neither one of us has any health problems at all...no cholesterol, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, arthritis & I credit much of that to healthy living, healthy eating, exercising our bodies --God has truly blessed us in our journey!) . Hope you appreciate the input...Have a blessed day in the Lord! Vicki T.

********

From: Yvonne

Hi Tawra, I'm curious, do many other LOAD
subscribers use coupons or use lots of pre-made,
brand name, preserved type foods? I like the
idea of the coupon person benefitting from the
discounts on meats (those are always expensive
and I'm sure lots of us try to stretch it as far
as we can). But I'm wondering if the use of
Procter & Gamble, Pillsbury, etc. for family
menus isn't nutritious...your frugal recipes and
such don't cost a lot and are quite nutritious.
I haven't needed to break out coupons and we eat
well! Thanks for reading this and all the work
you put into creating such an informative and
well done publication. Yvonne :)

Our Crazy Mother's Day Sale Is Here!

Check out our Mother's Day, Save Mike's Back from Moving so many books Sale!! :-)

We are giving a great deal on all the remaining Not Just Beans. We want to get rid of them so we don't have to move them so we are selling them at OUR COST! We are even giving FREE SHIPPING!

Check it out and save!!

Tawra

Coffee Tip

I've never tried this since I don't drink coffee but I hear it works well. Tawra


Everybody knows to put coffee grounds on their plants. But do you know, I put my old brewed coffee on plants as well. I swear by it!

Beverly B.

After Easter Sales

Ideas For After Easter Sales
by Jill Cooper
www.LivingOnADime.com

Buy the Easter buckets and baskets for storing the kids toys in. They come in different colors and sizes and are perfect to store little toys like hot wheels, crayons, markers, dish sets, etc. They have handles on them so the kids love to carry them from one place to other. They also are great for the kids to use as a sand box bucket . You can also use them in baby's room (especially if it is done in pastels ) to store socks, shoes, bath things, diaper changing things, again the handle and can be carried from room to room.

The shredded colored Easter grass(which I got for $.25) is great to use in place of tissue paper on some things for ex. stuffing in the top of gift bags or inside small packages for cushioning,
Use egg dyes at different times of the year for festive hard cooked eggs. Use red and blue dyes on your hard boiled eggs for your 4th of July picnic.

They have so many things that make great baby, birthday, Christmas, or anytime gifts. For ex. they have dog, rabbit, duck etc washrag puppets, resin knick-knacks of different animals that would be so cute in a baby's or toddlers room. Even a lot of young girls have collections of rabbits or ducks etc. and these would be great for them.

Especially good are the stuffed animals. They are great for babies gifts, young children or teenage girls. You can also use them for the elderly in nursing homes. My children even buy me a stuffed something once in awhile--no I'm not in a nursing home although they think I'm old enough to be ~:-). Another use that I think is great is to buy a huge bunch of them and take them to your women's shelter. So many times the women and children there have to quickly leave their homes leaving everything behind them including family pets and favorite toys or stuffed dolls and animals. Sometimes we get so busy comforting their stomachs we forget that their hearts too need to be comforted.

What Do I Do With My Tax Refund?

What Do I Do With My Tax Refund?
by Jill Cooper
www.LivingOnADime.com

It's that time of year when all that "free" money starts rolling in. I'm talking about the bonus money, you know -- the fun money (otherwise known as our tax refund)! That is the way so many of us think of a tax refund and five minutes after we spend this year's refund we are already thinking about what we are going to do with next years money.

Many of us look at it almost as if we have won the lottery. We are going to do so much with it and it seems to have such amazing powers. I mean a $1000 tax return can buy a car, furniture, big screen TV, or a family vacation all in one fell swoop. There is almost nothing it can't do; no problem it can't solve. It's our mad money, our fun money.

Not!!!!!!!!!

It you have debt, it is none of the above. It is not mad money. It is an opportunity to move closer to getting out of the debt you have already committed to pay. If you have credit card debt, use your tax return to pay off that debt rather than to buy that big screen TV or the couch you have wanted. Ouch!!

Use common sense and wise thinking when it comes to spending that tax return. It is no different than a regular paycheck. In fact, when you look at the fact that you make so much money a year, the tax refund is actually part of the salary that you say you make.

It is not a bonus, but because it has been protected from your usual spending habits, it is more income available to pay your debts. Once you pay off those debts, a tax refund can be a great opportunity to start a savings account.

We get so many questions from people who are panicking and asking what we do for an emergency fund. Instead of throwing away that tax return money on something that gives you instant pleasure, set aside that tax return for an emergency (keeping in mind that even most "emergencies" are not true emergencies).

Once your debts are paid and you have enough savings, then use your refund for fun. We live in a society where we always put the cart before the horse. People used to get married and then have children but now it is common to have children and then get married. We used to carefully save our money and buy what we wanted from our stockpile but now we charge what we want and later try to figure out how to get the money to pay for it.

Because of how we think about credit, many of us don't give any serious thought to paying for something until it is worn out and we want to buy the next one. Once the item is worn out, how do most of us feel about still paying for it? "It's not fair that I have to pay for this and I don't even have it anymore..." Avoid the stress later -- Pay off what you owe now and stop buying things on credit.

If you are behind on your credit payments or not making the payments at all, use your tax refund as an opportunity to get current. When we buy an item on credit or with our credit card we are saying "If you let me have this product now I promise (vow) to give you money for it later". When we don't pay our credit card bills it is no different than walking into a store, filling a basket with whatever we want and walking out with it. To my knowledge that is still called stealing. (I'll have to check because they change the meaning of words so often to make them more politically correct. I mean who knows, maybe it's not stealing anymore but just "temporarily using it until it is repossessed").

When you literally put the cart before the horse, (kids before marriage, buying and then trying to save money to pay for something, etc.) it will cause extra stress in your life and will make it much harder to get where you are going. So re-think not only how to use your tax refunds more wisely but give the same consideration to any other "extra" money that comes into your life.

Once you get a handle on your debt and your spending habits, you will be surprised how far your money will go. Start by making a wise decision about your tax refund.

Misc. Tips for Saving

Joyce W. sent me these tips. They are some great ideas! Thanks Joyce! Tawra

Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove,
set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy.
No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really
works.

Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are
all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it
up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into
egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

Expanding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it
with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get
to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less
sugar/calories per serving.


Reheating Refrigerated Bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture
will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

Newspaper Weeds Away
Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet
newspapers put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover
with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some
gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.

Broken Glass
Use a dry cotton ball to pick up little broken glass pieces of
glass--the fibers catch ones you can't see!

No More Mosquitoes
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes
away.

Squirrel Away!
To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with
cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the
squirrels won't come near it.

Flexible Vacuum
To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an
empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can
be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not
have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling
when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and -- voila --
static is gone.

Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill it
with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry the cup.
Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how
easily it comes right out.

Foggy Windshield?
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the
glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser!
Works better than a cloth!

Reopening Envelope
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include
something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an
hour or two. Voila! It unseals easily.

Conditioner
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's a lot cheaper
than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a
great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you
tried it in your hair...

Goodbye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2"
with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dishwashing liquid, mix well.
You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take
it "home," & can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so,
especially if it rains, but it works & you don't have the worry about pets
or small children being harmed!

INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS
The heating unit went out on my dryer! The guy that fixes things
went into the dryer, pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. We
always clean the lint from the filter after every load of clothes. He told
us that he wanted to show us something. He took the filter over to the
sink, ran hot water over it. Now, the lint filter is made of a mesh material -
I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. WELL...the hot
water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us
that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the
heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. This is also what causes
dryer units to catch fire & potentially burn your house down with it! He said
the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (& to keep
your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out & wash it with hot soapy
water & an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months He said
that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about that!?!
Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would
do that.

Update on Books

I just wanted to update everyone on mom's tips for saving and the Living On A Dime books.
We are still working on them. We are waiting on illustrations for mom's tips and hope to have it out by early summer.

The Living On A Dime book is going slower because it's so big. We are having a hard time getting done but we are still working on it.

I just wanted to let everyone know that we hadn't forgotten about them but because of our illness it is progressing slowly. I just can't do it all at once. :-)

Tawra

House buying advice.

We had a couple of comments from people about our looking for a new house. I thought I would share their ideas in case anyone is looking to move right now too!
Tawra

From: Dorothy
Hello! We have lived in a bi-level home about
your size (also 2 story). With retiring from the
military we purchased a 1700 sq ft ranch, that
with five children, 7 mo to 17 yrs, seemed much
larger then it is. After many years here, I have
decided it is the lay out of the house, not
necessarily the amount of sq feet we have that
gives us the room.

Also, out the back of the
house is a deck w/a kinda of u shape ramp
(previous owners had a wheel chair) and that with
a on again off again bad knee and carrying babies
have made all the difference. Going out the
front we are on level ground. Your are right no
stairs!.


Thanks for the input! I think 1600-1700sq. ft would be perfect for us if it was laid out right. We need an additional 200 sq. ft or so for an office which is why we decided on 2000 as a round number. We don't like "living" with the office in the family room or living room and we like to have the door closed so we aren't "working" all the time. Thanks for the input. I know we are on the right track! Tawra



Tawra--I just wanted to share our house/life-
changing experience with you. I think buying a
ranch is a very good plan. We moved from 900
sq.ft. to 2600 sq.ft. house that we had built.
It's a two-story. We have lived there 4-1/2
yrs. We are ready to move.

We bought a house that we could afford (according to the bank) and
now I had to go from part-time work to full-time
work. My girls are nearly 15 and 19. We are
very stressed with me being at work full-time
because no one is home to take care of everything
and do all the frugal, money-saving things I did
when I was part-time. Not only that, but the
size of the house makes it overwhelming to clean
and take care of.

When we bought the house the finances were fine. We have since had to replace
our van and buy a second car. We have had other
bills to pay as well. Our goal is to find a
house that's affordable so we can pay our
mortgage and all our other bills on my husband's
income. We are looking for a house payment that
is 25-30% of his take-home pay. I wanted to wish
you well and warn you not to make the same
mistakes we did by buying too big of a house with
too big of a mortgage. You do not need this kind
of stress.
Take good care of yourself.
Angie

I totally agree! I do not want to get more house than we can afford. I NEVER go by what the bank says we can afford. One of the ways we have made it on such low incomes is to make sure our housing costs do not exceed 30%. That includes taxes and insurance.

Also, I can not for the life of me figure out why some people buy these HUGE 3000-6000 sq. ft. houses! I was watching TV shows on house buying while I was in Colorado and these people are buying huge houses for 2-4 people. It's crazy. Why in the world do you need that much room for such a small family? I would think the stress alone from cleaning it would be enough to send anyone over the edge let alone the financial strain!

I think you need to get what works for your family but don't go overboard!

Tawra

Thrift store website

Thanks Angel for sending this! Tawra

A thrift store shopper website. I thought of all of you when I came across it.
http://www.thethriftshopper.com/

Quesadilla's

From: Trish
Grocery saving tip...this primarily uses up
leftovers, but what fun it can be for the kids
and money saving for Mom/Dad!

Choose one night for quesadilla/rollup dinner.
The kids are in charge of dinner, meaning any
leftovers in the fridge they can use at free will
to make quesadillas/rollups with.

Corn, a tad of rice, bbq sauce and cheese is
delightful when presented by an ambitious 11 yr
old!



We do this all the time. We just did it last night! I haven't gotten "back into the groove" of being home yet and didn't really want to cook dinner. (Ok, so I never want to cook dinner but that's beside the point. :-) Mike has some leftover chicken so we made quesadillas and ate on paper plates! Cheaper than eating but not much mess!

Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

Save with a friend.

Unusual Food saving tip: Myself and a friend go to the warehouse stores and split the cost of supplies and perishable groceries so we don't waste any food or have to get more than we want. Mary B.

This is also good for families. My family doesn't eat bulk amounts of some food like pretzels so this would help even for us to save.

Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

Angel Food Ministries

Cathy H. sent this tip in:

Here is a website address for Angel Food Ministries. I have been purchasing their food for 6 months and have been completed satisfied with the quality and quantity that I receive for just $25.00.

http://www.angelfoodministries.com/


This is a great idea! Thanks for sending it.
Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

Easter Leftovers

If you have Easter leftovers check out this article. This has been one of our most popular and will help you will all the eggs and ham! (Which we don't have any of because we went out to eat! :-)

Tawra

I'm back from Colorado.

I got back from Colorado on Saturday. Just in time for the Easter Bunny to arrive! :-)

I had a really good time. I just sat for 11 days by myself in the mountains in Estes Park in my in-laws rental house. I watched TV and read and it was wonderful to be able to do those things without interruption! :-) I did go to Rocky Mountain National Park a few days and just sat by the steams and listened to the quiet.

I didn't watch a ton of reality shows but I did watch a couple like Little People Big World. I think we need to have our own, Kellam's the Frugal Family, show. :-) I could just have Mike follow me around all day with a video camera.

Poor Mike has re-affirmed his desire to NEVER be a stay at home dad! LOL Even though my mom came over a lot, took David some days and did all the laundry he still was out numbered and we don't even homeschool! hehehe

I have to say that I am very thankful for my hubby and mom taking over so I could get a break. It took about a week for my nerves to stop twitching and then I started to feel somewhat better.

It was a little frustrating. I was hoping that my being so sick lately was from all the commotion at home. Even though it helped being away from everyone my problem is I just have an illness that we are going to have to try and work around. We just have to many irons in the fire right now and we are going to try and start fixing or getting rid of some.

The first one is after going back there we decided that we don't want to live in Colorado anymore. We feel like for some reason God wants us to stay here in Kansas and has taken that desire away from us. I have no clue why we are supposed to stay here in Kansas but I guess some day we will find out. For right now we are just going to trust what God wants us to do and do it.

So..... since the decision to stay here has been made #2 is we are going to start looking for another house here and move. I would love to be moved by mid-June but that's only 8 weeks away so that may be very optimistic. I just really don't want to move in the July or August heat. We are going to start looking this weekend. We are going to find a house first and then try and sell this one. (Anyone know of a good realtor in Wichita? If so email me!)

The office is in the master bedroom and the family room is the master bedroom right now so we are going to have to "move" a lot in our house before we can sell it. We don't want to move stuff around until we know that we have found the right house first.

We decided to move and sell it because my muscles didn't hurt nearly as bad in my in-laws ranch house as it does at home. It's because this house is a bi-level and going up and down the stairs all day is just too hard on me.

We are going to look for a ranch and something that is at least 2000 sq. ft. We are in 1600 sq. ft right now and even though it's ok we don't want to move again in the near future so we would like to get something that we can stay in for awhile.

We are also going to have to come up with some $ for a good down payment. We are going to see if we can get at least 20K. We are going to be having 2 major sales in the next 2 months so hopefully that will give us the money to do it. The houses we are looking at are around 125 K and we can only afford about 100K so we need the down payment if we are going to move. We won't get much out of this one.

We also got 4K back on our taxes! We had accidentally overpaid so that will be a great start! We would use it to pay off the rest of our debt which is about 5K but it's at 0% interest right now so we would rather put that money on a house that will hopefully help me feel better.

Well, that's the short version for now. I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm back!

Tawra