For some people (most people, maybe), being frugal is a necessary way of life.  The reason Matt can go to work every day and I can stay home is because we decided that it is so important for me to be home that we chose to sacrifice in other places...like spending.  We couldn't live our lives debt-free, we couldn't have resources enough to do things like build fence or repair barns, we couldn't feed the mouths we have to feed if we lived lifestyles like many Americans do.  So we do what we do out of necessity.  And it isn't anything to be ashamed of- in fact, I find it downright admirable.  You might only have lower class resources but you can still have middle/upper class standards.   The people I most respect and admire are the ones who live contently and abundantly with far less money than the rest of the world needs...and do so cheerfully. Those are the lives that are most beautiful and the people I most want to emulate.  But I can't help but feel like every Friday with these Finances on Friday posts I am focusing only on the one side of financial stewardship.  The cheapskate side.

The flip side of Christian stewardship is abundant giving and charity.  Of blessing and bestowing.  That side is hardly ever addressed here (and rightfully so, as bestowing and blessing is best left done in secret) and so I am afraid I give a slightly skewed perception of what financial focus requires.

Christian stewardship of ones' finances are much more all encompassing than saving a few pennies here.  It is also about SPENDING those pennies (wisely).  It is also about SHARING those pennies (freely).  It is about GIVING those pennies (to the Lord).  It is about washing ziploc bags and cutting down the grocery bill and writing anonymous checks and delivering food to people in need and even buying that mattress or the inew couch you've been saving up for.  Good stewardship is about using your time and resources wisely.

 Which is why I am going to stop doing these Finances on Friday posts. I know some of you like them- and I do too!- but I find myself sitting behind the computer more and more these days- doing good things, mind you- but not the best things.  Between these Friday posts and my Review Crew posts, I am feeling like my blog is not as happy a place for me (or anyone else) to visit anymore... it is a lot more like work.  And so I ask...is that work as valuable as other work I could be doing?  I doubt it.  So every Friday I write about how I am using my resources wisely while not using my time or resources WISELY.

I will still be working to find areas of excess in our lives, searching for and implementing ways to cut spending, seeking wisdom as we decide what to spend those dollars on or who to give them to or how to save them best.  I will just be doing it more behind-the-scenes.  I will still randomly chat about inspiring quotes, ways I discovered I could save more money or rants about my thoughts on finances here on the blog too.  I just won't be doing them every Friday.

I so appreciate your participation and the encouragement that some of you have shared with me during the Finances on Fridays.  I also very much appreciate your understanding when I have to bow out to make sure the proper priorities are in order.

 If you would like a Frugal Friday join-up similar to the one that I have been doing (but without the linky) this lady is amazing.   She is one of those inspiring ladies I spoke about a few minutes ago.

Now, for my Financial Endeavors for this last week:

* planted two rhubarb plants, several creeping phlox, myrtle, a peony, columbine and a purple lilac taproot that my neighbor gave to me.  Gave her some Loosestrife that she has been wanting in return.  (Not exactly a fair trade- but she needs to clean out and get rid of the stuff so she was ultimately happy with it.)

* Later in the week, I met my mom and sister at a nearby greenhouse/farm and saw that creeping phlox was $8.99 there.  Just the phlox alone would have cost me about $27.00 to buy!  Thank you, neighbor.

* planted basil, sweet peppers and banana peppers in the veggie garden

* spent hours outside doing garden chores.

* Dropped off a few small bags of donation stuff.

* used a $15 off/ $15 purchase from Lane Bryant to buy 2 sets of cubic zirconia earrings for $1.19 total while out at a doctors' apt. today.

* Wanted to buy pizza in the middle of the week and seriously, seriously considered it but then stood firm at the very end and made dinner.  (This is an accomplishment!)

* Didn't buy a single thing at the greenhouse that I love on Memorial Day.  Not a single thing.  (This is an accomplishment too!)

* Started (and finished) reading this book: The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom.  (I found the section on Wills/Trusts very interesting and helpful.)

And the MENU for the week:

Saturday:
B: homemade yogurt with rhubarb scones
S: spaghetti (ground beef, spaghetti sauce), pickles, applesauce (Matt made dinner tonight as I was off photographing a wedding.  He's swell.)

Sunday:
B: cereal
S: baked potato bar where everyone 'loaded' their potatoes in their own way.  Leftover black bean, corn and rice salad.  Broccoli.  (broccoli)

Monday:
B: scrambled eggs
S: hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill with dill sandwich pickles, tortellini salad with artichokes and feta, potato and egg salad, corn on the cob, candied cinnamon "pickles" and strawberry air for dessert. (ground beef, hotdogs, cinnamon pickles, dill sandwich pickles, strawberry and strawberry/banana freezer jams)

Tuesday:
B: omelets and cheese
S: lasagna (ground beef, beet greens, spaghetti sauce), leftover corn-cut from yesterdays' cobs, leftover potato salad, pickles, applesauce, garlic parmesan bread

Wednesday
B: yogurt, granola, cottage cheese and bananas
S: tuna fish sandwiches, three bean salad, pickles, last of the potato salad, chocolate pudding (green beans, zucchini relish, pickles)

Thursday
B: scrambled eggs and bananas
S: creamy zucchini soup I added cream cheese to it because I wanted to use some up from the fridge (zucchini slices, zucchini cubes, whole potatoes), baking powder biscuits and honey

Friday:
B: cottage cheese, banana, toast
S: Pizza night with carrot sticks (pizza sauce, zucchini "pineapple")

It is the end of the Use-It-Up Challenge for May and I can say I did NOT reach my goal of emptying a freezer!  I did use plenty of things up, but even without the added chicken deal from last week, the freezer is still pretty filled.  I'll continue, as I always do, to eat out of the freezer and canning cupboard every day and hopefully by June I'll be able to get it completely empty and cleaned out before harvest season rolls around.

How about you?

I was happy to see that the hydrangea I pruned REALLY hard a few weeks ago (and thought I may have killed) is in fact, not dead at all.  Hydrangea tree~ here I come!

I can see now that I haven't planted nearly enough asparagus.  (oops)

columbine from a neighbor

all the brassicas are in

blueberries!

Thanks to a weird placement of bushes last year and a different layout plan for that area of the yard, the blueberry bushes had to be planted in such a way that it turned out to be in a horseshoe shape.  Weird, but whatever.  :-)

sad and weedy strawberries

I tried to overwinter a few shade plants from last years' hanging basket.  I forgot all about it until about February and then began watering it.  I am amazed that it survived, even scraggly.

horseradish

Frugal Accomplishments for the week~

~ planted cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts in the garden.

~ bought six blueberry plants from the Amish nursery ($5.50 each) and planted them with the other two berry bushes I planted last year.  Eight total now!  (We'll see how that will fare us.)  I am very excited for all the fruit we were able to put in this year...one of my goals for the year!

~ mulched them from my free mulch pile

~ made a double batch of homemade granola

~ sorted through several bags of good stuff given to me on Sunday

~ harvested wild violets to eat

~ went scouting for wild leeks again-but to no avail.  Rats!

~ no peas and only a very few onions have come up from my plantings a few weeks ago and I have no idea why.  No rhubarb came up from last years' plantings either- which I am a bit miffed at.  I was looking forward to rhubarb!  The garlic is looking good though.  That makes me happy.

~ planted lots of flowers given to me by my neighbor who is clearing out her flower beds...mostly columbine but also a spotty pink and purple flowering plant whose name I have now forgotten.  She asked that I come and clear her out some more in the coming weeks as she needs to clear out completely two of her beds.  Why yes, I will absolutely help you clear out your beds! :-)

~ started sorting/purging/cleaning/organizing the Granary.  This is my big huge project of the year as the upper half holds all our clothing storage and the bottom half is so full of junk from when we have moved (and stuff that was already here when we moved) that you can barely walk.  Matt said the whole Granary can be mine (ALL MINE!) if I clean it out.  So.  Big, huge, terrible job ahead of me this spring/summer.  I consolidated five bins and took four large garbage bags of clothes to the donation shed.  A drop in the proverbial bucket- but a start.  Set aside two bins worth of the nicest clothes for a yard sale.

~ took the straw off of the strawberries~ my strawberry patch doesn't look too hot this year. I hope it perks up!

~ helped Matt fence off the rest of the pasture.

~ spent hours outside weeding, mulching and doing garden chores.



Saturday:
breakfast~ eggs, ham, toast, cheese
supper~ leftover stew (using leftover kielbasa, chicken, pasta and beef stew from last with added peas), leftover cornbread.  The stew sounds pretty gross typed out but it was actually really delicious, as most leftover soups are.

Sunday:
breakfast~ cereal
supper~ marinated chicken drumsticks on the grill, sweet pan chili, coleslaw, fruit salad with violets, SKOR cake for my father-in-law's birthday.  (We had company over.) (venison)

Monday:
breakfast~ oatmeal with raisins
supper~ sub sandwiches, leftover coleslaw, chips

Tuesday:
breakfast~ yogurt and granola
supper~ grilled kielbasa sandwiches, pickles, beans, salad

Wednesday:
breakfast~ scrambled eggs with cheese and raisin bread toast
supper~ BLT's, pickles, pea salad, french fries, smoothies (using leftover popsicles, grape sorbet, huckleberries, peaches, and ice cream that was frostbit from the freezer)

Thursday:
breakfast~ pancakes, eggs, cheese, toast.  (I got breakfast in bed!)
supper~ Matt took me out for my birthday and children were fed by my in-laws! (Made egg salad and chocolate oat zucchini cookies today and pickles at lunch.  As you can see, Matt loves his pickles.  And so do the children.)

Friday:
breakfast~ dippy eggs, apples and leftover rolls with cinnamon butter from last nights' birthday dinner out.  (Texas Roadhouse Rolls- the kind I try and try to copycat but never can get it *just right*)
supper~ Pizza night!  with lots of carrot sticks on the side.


I am sure the weekend will be full of gardening chores and outdoor work (the kind of work that, after a long winter, my tired body needs to become reacquainted with)  so I am all the more thankful for this drippy, soaking day today.  Today the absolute only thing I have planned to do is listen to Pandora crooning as I haul out my sewing machine and do some much needed sewing. My mending pile is ridiculous.  And plus, I just have the urge.  And tonight- I am starting a new crochet project for a friends' womb baby who will be arriving any day.  I found just the color of cotton yarn I wanted by some perfect fluke and now I am super excited to get it started.  If I happen to finish it BEFORE the baby arrives, that will be a first for me!

I read this week, in several different places, that the prices of certain foods is forecasted to sharply rise in the near future.  This is no surprise as I have been noticing food increases every time I go to the grocery store!  USA TODAY lists some veggies going to be drastically increased thanks to California's drought and NBC talks about chocolate prices going through the roof.  (NOT CHOCOLATE!)

I could read that and think "Aw, shoot!"  Or I can read that and say "Well, now is the time to do something about it!"  I am more the latter sort of person, myself.

So this week I did some stocking up on chocolate and cocoa powder.  (Chocolate keeps in the freezer in perfect condition for a LONG time.)

I will be planting berry bushes in the next few weeks.  And I will add grapes this year too.  I have been meaning to do this anyway.  Thankfully, I have a free source of huckleberries while I wait for the blueberries to mature.  And I know two people who are willing to give me baby grape vines...if the offer still stands from last year!

I will try to grow extra tomatoes this year (and/or not let as many fall to the ground as did last year) to compensate for the tomato products we will use in the coming year.  I noticed, despite putting up more tomato products than every before last year, we still ran out of them before winter was over so I will need to go over and above the work last year in order to have enough.

I will try not to let my own laziness waste (even a portion of) a perfectly good harvest.  This means- dehydrating the cherry tomatoes before they pop and fall to rot on the ground.  Canning the corn before it is too mature.  Freezing/dehydrating those peppers while they are still crisp.

I will enjoy those fresh round lovelies from the garden more thoroughly this year too.   Same with the lettuce.  And peppers!  Nothing makes you appreciate more what comes from the garden than a hefty price tag for a lesser quality product at the grocery store!!

So it seems, as with every harvest year, the work will require due diligence on my part.  And self-discipline.  And plenty of sweaty summer days hovering over a canner....

Here are a few more things I did to save money this week~

* planted the fruit trees I bought last week.  (I kept them in the pots, knowing there were several nights of frost in the forecast.  I put the pots in the Granary on those nights to save the blossoms.)

* used my free mulch to surround the fruit trees

* washed and hung on the clothesline all the laundry for the week on Monday, the only sunny day forecasted for the week. I was able to hang sheets out yesterday too as the sun peeked out enough to dry those.

* Matt helped me make the big cuts on the apple trees that I couldn't prune with my loppers.

* I've been scouring the asparagus patch for shoots.  I can't harvest until next year anyway but I have been anxious to see when/if they come up.  Not yet.  I am getting nervous!  I hope, I hope the asparagus survived!

* picked daffodils for the windowsills

* put $150 extra toward principle on mortgage

* paid all bills on time or early to get discounts

* made bread for communion

* was given another bag of clothes which I sorted

* planted some poppies and lamb's ear that were given to me

* Andrew found about 3 dozen additional eggs hiding out in the barn from some stray chickens.  I'll float them to see which ones are good enough to eat.

And since it a new month, I think I am in need of a new grocery challenge!  What?!?!?  I LIKE challenges!

This month, I am going to try to use as much of my pantry/freezer store as possible. 


Not exactly a no-buying challenge like February but it will certainly be good to the grocery budget, using much of what I already have on hand.  The biggest reason, though, is to clean out the freezers in preparation for a (Lord willing) very prolific and abundant garden harvest this year! 

I hope to get one freezer completely cleared out and thawed. 

Anyone want to join me?  Choose your challenge!

And now- how did you save (or strategically spend) money this week?

One big, huge way I have been able to save money is by not being too proud to accept hand-me-downs and castoffs.  When you are open and thankful for the cast-offs that people are getting rid of, your friends and neighbors and even at times strangers are much more willing to send things your way and much more likely to think of you when they are deciding to get rid of something.   I happily take everything that people give me.  Sometimes it is junk, sometimes it is brand new and sometimes it is both, mixed together.  It requires work on my part (sorting and distributing takes time!) but is well worth it in the end.  The only word of warning is that it can become very easy to become over-cluttered with excess stuff (since, after all, it was free!) that you don't need and shouldn't keep.  I sort out the things that would be helpful to me as soon as I get it and try to get rid of the stuff I don't plan to keep ASAP.  Sometimes it is thrown out, sometimes it is donated, sometimes it is passed along to someone else.  I have even been able to sell some things at rummage sales or the consignment shop.  I am not perfect at this (our granary can attest to this fact!) but I try hard to keep on top of things.

Through the generosity of others and because I wasn't too proud to accept them, I have been blessed so abundantly and in so many different ways.  Because they know I will happily take these things off of their hands, they think of me when they are about to get rid of things.   Almost all of our furniture has been picked from the side of the road or given to me by someone who no longer wanted it.  I have even had wonderful blog readers (you know who you are!) send me boxes of beautiful yarn and give me an old sewing machine when mine broke down (which I still use a few years later!)  My Judahbear is clothed almost entirely by the castoffs from a friend at church, my girls and our bookshelves have been outfitted abundantly from another such friend, almost all the green beans I canned last year were given to me by a neighbor who was overwhelmed by her crazy bean crop, my perennials have grown exponentially through the kindness of neighbors who know of my love of flowers or see me out working in the flower circle and the list goes on and on and on. 

I know some of you do this- just a few weeks ago on the FOF link-up, I read that pounds and pounds of coffee beans were able to be gleaned from a coffee party that had used coffee beans in the bottom of vases.  How cool is that?

This week, in particular, was a wonderful week of castoffs for me.

* A neighbor who is cleaning things out sent along some mattress covers, curtains, a comforter and some sheets.  She also sent along some candles, a few bud vases and a soapdish.  The rest of the  knicknacky stuff I will not keep. 

* I got a garbage bag full of clothes for my Judah (including pj's, socks and shoes!) from a friend who has essentially clothed the boy his entire life.  A good thing since Andrew pretty much destroys all his clothes before the season is over.  I never have to look at yard sales for Judah and I LOVE it.

* I sorted through 2 more grocery bags of clothing for the girls.  Some of these were such high quality I might try to consign a few of them.

* I was given some lilies, poppies and a very tall yellow flowering plant to add to my perennials.

A few other financial things this week~

* I bought five fruit trees!!!  Extremely excited about this. (Hence the bazillion repetitious photos on this post!) I have been meaning to get fruit trees going since we moved in and kept missing the deadlines so finally I just decided I would buy the trees from a local greenhouse. 1) I can see them.  2) I know they will thrive in this area 3) They are more mature than their mailed counterparts 4) No shipping 5) It ACTUALLY HAPPENS.     There was no sale happening and I had searched for coupons to no avail so when I got there, I asked the guy if he would give me a discount if I bought more than one tree.  He took $10.00 off EACH TREE!  I was so excited!  I was able to get the trees at about the same price I would have paid through a catalog I had earmarked!  I saved $50.00 just for asking!!  I got a sweet cherry, a pie cherry, two peaches and a nectarine.   I hope to go back when I have some more money to get the other trees I wanted (plums and pears!)- otherwise, FEDCO it is for the rest of the orchard.

* Made the crocheted Easter dresses and bowties for Easter from yarn I have had for several years.

* Made the slips for the girls using stuff I had lying around (though I admit I would have paid money for the slips had I found some!)

* set up a free trial month of Amazon Prime to get free, fast shipping on some spelling books I needed to order (and pronto!)  I wrote on the calendar the date at which I need to cancel the subscription so as not to be billed.  I hope to order next years' school stuff before the month is up.

* Everything I made to serve for Easter was from scratch, including the French bread. Others brought food along with them too.

* Made ham and scalloped potato soup with the Easter leftovers.

* Got a bunch of jars and tablecloths ready to go to a friend whose daughter is getting married.  (Love that they are just asking around for stuff to borrow instead of going out and buying everything!)

* Used a 50% off coupon to buy 25# of air-dry clay for art projects.

I guess that is all I can think of and I am already getting this post up late...so I will leave it there.

Anyone else want to chime in on their financial pursuits?

Have a happy weekend!

It has been a busy week and there doesn't appear to be any chance of things slowing down until at least Monday evening. 

The children are blowing out eggs downstairs and I have a handful of rooms to deep clean before making pizzas tonight... and Easter duds to finish up...and decorations to make...and Easter food to figure out.

Needless to say, Gonna make things short and sweet this week.

* spent hours outside clearing flower gardens of winter debris.  It felt so good to be outdoors working again!

* Added a bunch of mulch to keep weeds down.  I got the mulch for free when I asked a road crew if they would pile some chips up on the side of the road for me last fall. (Matt could have killed me but it is just a few feet from my flower circle making it very handy indeed.)  Actually, I will be set for free mulch for years probably, since there are huge mounds of it in the woods too.

* Planted:  peas and onions outside

* Pruned: roses, hydrangeas, filberts and apple trees.  (I was so nervous cutting my hydrangea because I wanted it shaped like a tree- which meant cutting  everything except the sturdiest, straightest branch.  It was HARD to cut the potential for all those blooms but hopefully it will result in something even more beautiful, with a canopy too!  Unless it dies.  And then it will be all my fault. )

* I DIDN'T buy the adorable lace over canvas ballet flats in the most perfect shade of coral to coordinate with Corynn's Easter dress but got a pair of white sandals instead since they will match everything and work for all her summer clothes.  That was hard, people.  Hard, hard, hard.

* started a bunch of seedlings.  It's late...a friend assures me not TOO late- but later than I have ever started seeds and so I admit, I am very nervous.  I am sure that I will be buying a few plants as well...to be sure I get some mature crops.  But I could not in good conscience buy all the plants I need without at least TRYING to start some myself.  Not when I plant 100+ tomato plants alone.

* baked a bunch of bread

* I did some fruit tree price shopping.  I am going to go the nursery route instead of by mail.  I want to SEE what I am purchasing.  I found the place and plan to head there on Monday with cash in hand to finally start the Hopestead Orchard. 

* washed/dried/aired a bunch of laundry and bedding outside on the clothesline

* our brake system started smoking and smelling when heading to church last Sunday.  Matt was able to fix the problem by himself later that evening.

* the chicken coop door split in half (have I mentioned it is windy up here?).  Matt fixed it.

(Anyone getting the vibe that Matt is handy?  Yup. He is.  All mine too.  Lucky me!)

* helped Matt cut/bring in more wood for the woodstove.  Yes, we are still burning it.  (grumble, grumble, hiss)

* finished the last of the maple-syrupping with the last batch being used for making maple candy! Around 2.5 gallons of syrup in total.  Plus candy.  ;-)

* cut all the boys' hair

* worked on crocheting Corynn's Easter dress and bowties for boys.  Hope to finish it all up tonight.

* Sorted through our stairway library.  (This job has been sorely needed for so long!)  I usually sort our books by topic, books by the same author grouped together.  All series together.  But after reading for a while, they inevitably come undone.  It is all nice and tidy and orderly (and dusted!).  I got rid of four large stacks of books to be sold online, at yard sales and/or given away.  So happy to have this done!

Your turn!!

Every Friday, here at Renaissance,  I post about my frugal endeavors and financial inspiration to keep my head in the game.   As a single income family, I am constantly trying to stretch, save and strategically spend our pennies to make this household not only work, but thrive.  But sometimes you just want to give up.  So I started Finances on Friday, a way to re-inspire myself and push myself to keep on keeping on.  Join me?


Some financial endeavors for the week:

* Our stove was leaking gas, among other things, but Matt was able to fix the problem(s) by himself with just a few replacement parts ordered online.

* Made homemade laundry detergent

* Making more maple syrup- (hit the 2 gallon mark this week!) 

* paid bills, including our real estate taxes.  Paid that bill in full before the first date, paying off  the smallest balance without any additional fees/interest.

* went to a free knitting class at the library

* baked all our bread needs

* Matt worked on cutting down some trees to make fence posts for our spring project of FENCING OFF PASTURE!  Yay!

* Picked up my cornmeal and wheat berries from the bulk food store.  Also bought several bulk spices.

* picked up a scooter in a FREE pile along the side of the road.

* Needed a handle for my knitted cable purse but didn't like anything I saw at the craft store.  I didn't want to pay from $5.99- $12.99 for a handle I didn't even like so I decided to make my own strap.

* While there, I noticed many buttons were on sale 70-75% off so I picked several very nice ones that I could use to make gifts with and stocked up.

* Also, used fabric from my stash to line the purse instead of buying new (and more lovely) fabric.

* ordered hoof trimmers so Matt can do Skeeters' hoof trimming himself (if all goes well.)

* Many moons ago, I was given several half used YANKEE candles which looked like they were used on burners because they didn't have any wicks.  I kept them for those many moons because I thought I could still do something with them.  This week I was clearing out the cupboard and kicked myself for having kept them around for so long, doing nothing with them.  I tossed 'em in the garbage.  Then, I took them out again because I NEVER buy Yankee candles.  :-) I melted them down and added a wick to some small, vintage ball jars to make some new, useable candles.

* Set several boxes of stuff aside for a yard sale.

What about you?  Any financial wisdom or woes you'd like to share?

I am woefully behind on blogging.  I have our ARTS of the Month post to come (late, again!), Andrew's birthday post and I missed the yarn along post the other day.  This blogging business can be exhausting!  ;-) 

And we have a busy weekend ahead~ I'll have two additions to the house for the weekend while my parents celebrate their 39th wedding anniversary.  39th!!!  My adopted brothers and sisters are so young that they are more like cousins/friends to my children than aunts and uncles.  Out of the five of them, I am getting the 6 year old and the 10 year old.  My children are over the moon excited to have some friends coming over for A WHOLE weekend.  OVER THE MOON.

Meanwhile, I have been trying to deep clean nooks and crannies.  It is going slowly but it feels good to be rediscovering tidy corners and dusted walls.  In each area, I am happy to be plunking things in garbages or boxes for donation/yard sale.    I am seriously thinking I should just donate ALL of the books, clothes and toys and just forget about saving it all to sell at a yard sale...just to be rid of it, once and for all.  Just to stop thinking about it and feeling its' weight on my shoulders.  But then I think about that $100+ dollars I usually make and it keeps me dropping them off at the nearest Salvation Army.

While I work, I blare George Grant lectures or listen to David McCullough's Mornings on Horseback on audiobook.  It is a book about Teddy Roosevelt and so good!  Matt is a David McCullough fan so I thought I had better introduce myself to his work.   I am loving this audiobook thing because I can work (or crochet/knit!) and 'read' at the same time.  Awesomeness.

So that is what is going on in our neck of the woods.  You?

Here is a few financial efforts for the week.  Short but Sweet this week since I have children hollerin' for breakfast:

In addition to all the things I write about every single Friday like hanging laundry, baking bread, washing Ziploc, borrowing books from the library, etc...here are two other things that stand out.

• We ran out of wood on Wednesday for syrupping and I thought we were going to have to stop boiling (at least until the weekend when Matt would be home to cut some more) and to toss the spoiled sap we have been gathering.  In one last ditch effort, the children and I walked around the place and picked up every woodstove-sized scrap piece of overlooked wood we could find.  There was enough to get us through until the weekend which means- the syrupping continues! I am so glad because I was sick over the thought of any bits of sap wasted and we had over 30 gallons of sap that would have spoiled.
• For Andrew's birthday he really, really, REALLY wanted an incubator.  (I know, I know.)  The only one I could find was at Tractor supply- a silly Styrofoam one that cost $40.00.  I was on my way into the store to just buy it for him (while hating spending $40 on Styrofoam) when I heard someone yell "Hey Rebecca!"  Lo and behold, in the parking lot were some neighbors.  We got to chatting about why I was child-less uptown (birthday present buying) and what the birthday present was (the silly styrofoam incubator) when they said "Hey- we have an incubator that we won't be using ever again.  I was just looking at it yesterday, wondering what I should do with it..."  So they gave it to us!  When I went to pick it up, I saw it was a really large, fancy schmancy metal incubator.  They said they had raised hundreds of chickens, pheasants, quail, ducks and geese with it!  That was God.  Pure and simple.

How was your financial week this week?

I went on my dairy run this week and since I had to get a few non-food items (like dogfood, baby wipes and toilet paper) I went to Walmart.  Two things shocked me.

#1~ While in the cheese section I noticed that the big five pound block of cheese I discovered at Walmart just a few weeks ago was raised $2.00 in price from the last time I was there.  JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO.  $2.00!!

So that was pretty discouraging.  I know that food inflation is a definite problem (and will likely get much worse!)- but that big of a jump in such a small amount of time?  Wow.

I am going to have to really think about how I can combat these inflationary food prices this year.  I hate to expand the garden further (I feel overwhelmed with garden chores by September every year.  To think about adding TO that is daunting...)

~ and ~

#2~ So much of grocery stores is pure JUNK.  Like delicious, yummy, tastes SO GOOD junk.  Jellybeans.  Aisles and Aisles of them. 
Chips- oodles and oodles of them.
Soda- tons and tons of it.

Isn't it kinda ridiculous that there is one baking aisle that includes EVERYTHING you could possibly need to bake breakfast, lunch, dinner, breads, cakes and granola bars and yet there is one whole complete aisle JUST OF CEREAL that you can do nothing with except put milk on it and eat it? 

This is weird, my friends. 

Really weird.

Sometimes I glance at other peoples' carts and do you know what I almost NEVER see in them?  Milk.  Here I am with a cart FULL of milk (five gallons because that is all my fridge will hold) and most carts don't have ANY.

I  must admit- being among the jellybeans and Triscuits and ice cream makes me REALLY, REALLY want them. Like, bad.

 I know that it is just junk...but I kind of want it anyway. 

This is weird too.

Here are some of my financial efforts for the week...

•  Quilts, comforters, sheets and jeans went on the clothesline to dry!  Wa-hoo!
• Made vanilla extract
• Made a double batch of yogurt

• Baked all of our bread needs including a lovely marble loaf.  (Purdy.)
• Attended a (free) knitting class at the library
• Worked on the cable purse (for knitting class) and Corynn's Easter dress
• made two batches of (dehydrated) apple chips
• were given a bunch of clothes and books this past week from friends so I...
• sorted the bags out into 'keep', 'sell' and 'donate' piles.  I try to get things sorted and make these piles right away and then put in their proper places to avoid getting overwhelmed in clutter.  This sometimes works and sometimes doesn't.  ;-)
• Boiled  more sap down into maple syrup... (we hit the 1 gallon mark this week!)
• 
• Took the family to a $9.00 super-awesome, very tickley car wash because I told the children we would after Matt took me to one last year and I excitedly told the kids about it.  They begged for many months to get to go to one until we finally did it.  Cheap thrills.  (And I still have goosebumps on my neck!)  I know~ simple pleasures for simple people.
• Cut my own hair using this video as a tutorial (loved her right handed trick!):

• Roasted a turkey (discounted from post-holiday sales) which helped warm up the house on a particularly cold day today.  Used the giblets and neck to make broth to freeze.  This turkey will be stretched for many meals (Three so far!)
• Made stuffing using bread cubes I had dried previously.  Cut up the turkey liver to add to the stuffing.  Gave the other 'goodies' to the animals to eat.
• sorted our potato bin.  Got rid of any nasty ones  and set aside some of the very tubered ones (for the garden this year).  Put the rest back in the much-nicer-looking bin for eating.
• Also sorted out our onion bin.  I admit, I have avoided it ever since I found a few nasty ones on the top this winter.  I bought a huge bag of onions at the store and pretended to forget about the small garden ones rotting up the basement.  Turns out, there are still quite a few beautiful ones to eat.  And I won't be grossed out getting them anymore.  ;-) 
• 

• was given two leftover used phone cards to use for making any long distance calls.  I never make long distance calls (my poor family have free long distance so they get to call ME if they want to talk!) but just in case...these will be handy.
• used homemade dishwasher detergent  (Two drops of liquid dish soap and the soap dispenser filled with baking soda.  That simple! And it totally worked!)
• ordered a 50# bag of cornmeal and 50# ofsoft white wheat berries.  (It was amazing how quickly my wheat berries dwindled when I began making ALL of our bread!)

      The cornmeal cost $21.00 which equals out to be .42 per pound compared a
 24 oz Quaker CornMeal tub from a grocery store for $1.79 which equals $1.19 a pound.

• Bought two hams for $1.28 a pound.  I hope to find a few cheaper ham sources the closer we get to Easter but I am happy to get meat for less than $1.50 per pound too. I missed my window on Thanksgiving and Christmas this year so I wanted to be sure I got some ham from Easter sales.
• called phone company to see about lowering our (outrageous) phone/internet bill (that was one of our Booze and Budget goals for the month- talk about waiting until the last minute!)  I found a $7.00 service fee that they took off, was told that we've been getting a 10% credit discount per bill and she gave me $20.00 credited to our account just for inquiring.  Not exactly the savings I was hoping for long term- but it helped and the $20 credit was a nice gesture.  I will seek out some other alternates for phone/internet and see if it would be worth moving to another company. 

How about you?  Any frugal efforts this week?

Some financial efforts for the week:

* baked all our bread needs for the week, including communion bread for church on Sunday.

* made a batch of croutons from the heels and a botched loaf of bread (the inside was too doughy so I cut up the outside for croutons instead of throwing it ALL to the chickens.) Botched bread resurrected and made glorious.

* Used up all leftovers to use it before it was wasted.

* Saved eggshells and scraps for chickens.

* paid all bills.  Called about a bill in question to have a $35.00 fee wiped clean off of an account which I had paid off.  (Said bill was 1 day late due to a holiday weekend.  pshaw!)

* The account that I paid off was for the windows we replaced last summer.  It was interest-free financing until October 2014.  Generally I like to pay for things in cash.  But it was either wipe out our savings or make payments for free.  Interest-free is a great deal except when you miss the deadline- then you get hammered.  So I wanted to get that bill done and over with ASAP.  I've been paying as much extra as I could toward it each month to get it paid off in plenty of time.  Glad it is over- and with 7 months to spare!

* paid an extra $300 toward mortgage principle (This was a 'probably-stupid' move, leaving us a bit TOO CLOSE for comfort until next pay period but I did it anyway.  The end.)

* made a new batch of Ketchup

* boiled down sap and finished off maple syrup

* started germinating wheat berry seeds to make Easter decorations for the table.  (They are growing SUPER fast! I started them too early!)

* borrowed tons of books (and audiobooks) from the library for education and recreation.

* bagged up some clothes and stuff for Salvation Army

* finally got to the liquor store for Vodka to make some more Vanilla Extract!

* Matt fixed our stove issues for me.  Handy Man.

* I've been looking around for some good deals on new furniture for the living room.  Our couches look nice from the outside but when you sit down on them, you find out just how old they are.  Found a few good options.  Nothing that will land us on the cover of Country Living or anything- but at least Matt and I will be able to sit next to each other without the back falling backwards!  ;-)  I am going to wait (and seek) just a bit longer to see if anything else pops up.  I am hoping to get a pull-out sofa bed so that we can offer a real bed for sleeping visitors instead of an unreliable blow-up mattress.  We'll see.  It seems all couches recline for naps (or movies) but sofa beds went out with the 80's for some reason.  (The onset of the 'guest bedroom', perhaps?)

FAIL FOR THE WEEK: The last gallon of milk, when poured for dinner, turned out to be chunky.  (ew.)  Apparently, I kept replacing our milk while that one hid out in the back. 

Here are a few things I plan to tackle for today:

•  It is a beautiful sunny high-of-51 degree day!  Quilts, comforters, sheets and jeans to go on the clothesline!  Wa-hoo!
• Make vanilla extract
• Order some things online:
• seeds (so late!  Don't say a word.)
• spelling books for Corynn (she's finished hers)
• stove insulation
• a present for Andrew's birthday
• Make a double batch of yogurt
• Bake bread
• And of course, HOMEMADE PIZZA NIGHT!  (It seemed to take FOREVER to get to Friday!)
• Work on the cable purse and Corynn's Easter dress tonight (during the movie) and over the weekend.
• Boil some more sap down.

** I had no new photos to include within this post so I decided to do a "What was I blogging on THIS DAY in 2012" trip down memory lane which is where the above photo came from.  I shouldn't have.  I was taunted by GREEN grass, open windows (?*!*?!), and crocuses...and then, worst of all- written for posterity (and to make this Rebecca ridiculously jealous) were the words "It is supposed to be in the 80's today!"  Yeah.  Makes that 51 degree day I was so excited for, well, less exciting. 

He took a much needed day (or two) of vacation on Thursday and Friday, giving us all a nice four day breather from his hectic work schedule.  He's been out doing his thing~ clearing overgrown pastureland, building a foot bridge to the sap buckets, splitting wood...you know "relaxing" work like that.  Meanwhile, I've been trying desperately to avoid anything that looks remotely like (even hints at) work.  ;-) 

We even managed to squeeze in a bit of a (much needed) date- which was NOT frugal. Olive garden, my friends, is no DEAL. 

There have been plenty of "splurges" this week anywhere from buying Triscuits, storebought hummus and fancy yarn to the above Olive Garden splurge so don't let me fool you.  It was kindof a bomb week for living frugally.

NEVERTHELESS.  A day late and a dollar short...here are a few things that I can pop off the top of my head regarding finances this past week.

* Went to Sam's Club on my Mom's membership. Bought two 25# bags of all purpose flour, 2 25# bags of sugar (these are the cheapest prices I have seen) among a few other things like minced onion, tomato paste, soup bouillon (sans MSG) and pecans.

* Picked up a few more free buckets from the Price Chopper bakery to use for sap/syrupping.

* Made our first batches of syrup!  We now are the proud owners of 1 quart homemade maple syrup that cost us nothing more than a bit of sweat equity.  (Sweat and syrup shouldn't be talked about in the same sentence.  Ew.)

* Matt bought fencing at a local construction open house, saving 10%.

* Paid bills, including our real estate taxes in one lump sum and by the first date given, allowing us to pay the smallest amount possible.

Matt saved us the most money this week:

* He has been in the market for a post pounder thingamabobber so that we can fence off some pasture this spring.  He was looking into buying one brand new (they run about $3,000) but I begged suggested to him to check out Craigslist first before doing anything rash.  The first time he checked he found just the thing he needed for $875.00... $600 of which he had already had saved up.  We were able to scrounge the rest in order to pay cash for it and save ourselves plenty of dollars.  LOVE Craigslist!  So happy he checked it!

In case anyone wants to do a Finances on Friday "Weekend Edition":

Do you have anything financial/inspiring to share this week? 

Some inspiration (financial and otherwise) by the great Booker T. Washington (since I happen to be on a Booker T. kick in my recreational reading these days.  WHAT an extraordinary man!) :

“Character, not circumstance, makes the person.”  

“Great men cultivate love and only little men cherish a spirit of hatred; assistance given to the weak makes the one who gives it strong; oppression of the unfortunate makes one weak.”  

“Among a large class, there seemed to be a dependence upon the government for every conceivable thing. The members of this class had little ambition to create a position for themselves, but wanted the federal officials to create one for them. How many times I wished then and have often wished since, that by some power of magic, I might remove the great bulk of these people into the country districts and plant them upon the soil – upon the solid and never deceptive foundation of Mother Nature, where all nations and races that have ever succeeded have gotten their start – a start that at first may be slow and toilsome, but one that nevertheless is real.”  

“I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.”  

“In my contact with people I find that, as a rule, it is only the little, narrow people who live for themselves, who never read good books, who do not travel, who never open up their souls in a way to permit them to come into contact with other souls--with the great outside world. No man whose vision is bounded by colour can come into contact with what is highest and best in the world. In meeting men, in many places, I have found that the happiest people are those who do the most for others; the most miserable are those who do the least.”  

“No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem.”  

“Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way.”  


Some financial efforts for the week:

Photo by Mattie

* gave all the boys (even the big one) haircuts

* boiled a hambone for bone broth

* boiled a bunch of chicken bones for bone broth too.

* hung quilts and bedding washed by woodstove (on nails in rafters) to dry.  Jeans and heavy things too. 

* replaced our OLD computer with a more updated, new-to-us-but-still-used model.  BEFORE tragedy struck, not after.

* were given 10 buckets, hangers and spiles to use for our own (super small scale) maple syrupping this year.  With this two day thaw, guess what we'll be doing this weekend?

* called my BIL who is a head chef at a restaurant where I could get some large surface area pans for boiling sap on short notice and he is getting some for me to use, no purchase necessary!  yay!  (This totally made my day!)

* picked up a few free buckets from the bakery department at Price Chopper.  I wished they had more but I'll stop in again next time I am in that way. I'm going to use them to hold sap for now until I find something better.

* worked on a crocheted Easter dress for Adele' using yarn I already had on hand.

* Matt and I had our Booze and Budget meeting for the month.  We talked about last months' finances, where the 'excess' money is going to go THIS month and made a few goals for the month.

1) make a list of every fluctuating monthly bill so that next year we can compare usage/costs more easily with the same month.
2) figure out how much principle needs to be paid toward the mortgage to see how much is necessary to pay to get the house paid off in 10 years. (For giggles more than anything.)
3) keep track that we are indeed saving the amount we are supposed to be saving every month.  I have a number of excess dollars that SHOULD be there every month but that I can never really "find" or notice in the bank account, so I need to get on top of that and make sure it is happening.
4) pay property taxes.  
5) Make a list of all unbudgeted expenses for the year so, at the end of the year, we know WHY the savings isn't happening if it isn't and where the excess money went.
6) Try to find a cheaper source for telephone/internet as this is a huge bill.

* Made a batch of homemade orange extract.  I need to go out and buy more vodka because I need more vanilla extract one of these days too (and it takes several months for a batch to be ready to use)

* Went to Lowe's to finally (I've been waiting for months!) buy the meat/cheese slicer I saw in the fall there (using, in part, the $60 in change that Andrew wrapped up last week) only to find that they no longer sell those sorts of appliances.  Bummer.  This is one kitchen purchase that I have been planning on because I consider it an investment.  I hope to be able to make Matt's own lunchmeat/cheese for work lunches instead of buying (or, in most cases, NOT buying) from the deli.  Now, I think I will buy it online.  And I will use one of my own affiliate links to see if this whole affiliate link thing actually works!  ;-)

I've narrowed it  down to four:

1. Continental PS77711 Professional Series Deli Slicer
2. Chef's Choice 609 Premium Electric Food Slicer
3. Kalorik 200-Watt Electric Meat Slicer with 7.5" Blade, Silver
4. Waring Pro FS155 7.5 in. Food Slicer

Matt can help me choose which we should get by I lean toward #3 myself. 

And that's all folks!  Hope your week was wonderful and your weekend is even better!

What about you? 

researching how to fix a water heater on youtube.  All the children now know this valubale skill.  ;-)

snacks

Sunrises on the hill are just this beautiful.  No color adjustments needed.

 

A cabbage stored from summertime... looks pretty gross on the outside, buuuut....

peel back the outer leaves and voila!  Perfect!

Ran out of:
raisins
carrots
pepperoni
green pepper

I was so nervous when, as I was making pizza last Saturday night, I found that I only had about 3 or four cups of all purpose flour left for the rest of the month.  Especially now that I have to bake all our bread!  I often use freshly ground whole wheat flour for our bread products but I usually add some white flour as well (anywhere from about 70/30 to 50/50 depending on the type of bread), to make them softer and more delicate.  I was nervous for about two days wondering WHAT I was going to do.   I was SO THANKFUL when I discovered a packed away bag of flour!  It will still have to be rationed and used wisely for the next few weeks but it won't be quite so desperate.  I guess I'll be using a lot more freshly ground whole wheat flour! I'm thankful for wheat berries, that is FO' SHO'.

Eggs must also be rationed as I only have one more dozen left (and it is a miracle to get an egg from our lazy, cold chickens these days).  No more egg breakfasts- I'll need the rest of the eggs for baking. 

It was sad to see the carrots go, as they were the last of the fresh veggies that can be eaten raw.

Bought:

five gallons of milk @ $2.09 ...........$10.36
4 Aldi cheeses @ $1.99...................$7.96
                                        $18.32


On the Menu: 
(HC=home canned) Snacks were varied.  Homemade beef jerky, granola, popcorn, peanut butter crackers, homemade cookies, dehydrated apple chips...things like that.

15th: Saturday
Breakfast: last of the birthday feast breakfast: sausage gravy on waffles, dippy eggs
Lunch: grilled cheese sandwiches
Dinner: Homemade Pizza Night!  Hawaiian Chicken ( BBQ sauce, chicken, HC zucchini "pineapple", onion) and Pepperoni, Onion, Green Pepper (used the last few pieces of pepperoni  by slicing them in quarters to extend them.  Used the last of the green pepper too.)  Carrot sticks.  (Only four more carrots left for the month!)

16th:Sunday
Breakfast: homemade yogurt
Lunch: sandwiches and homemade beef jerky (on the long way home from church)
Dinner: *Homemade Tomato Soup using HC tomatoes. The leftover pieces of pizza I sliced into strips for "pizza bread sticks" to eat alongside the soup.  I don't like how the leftover pizza can sometimes get forgotten about and then wasted.  I wanted to use them up!

17th: Monday
Breakfast: oatmeal and brown sugar (no raisins because I used the last of them in Matt's birthday Welsh Cookies!  :-(  )
Lunch: Tuna and cheddar in tortilla wraps
Dinner: White Bean Alfredo Sauce (brilliant recipe, btw) over penne with chicken and HC green beans.  HC peaches with a dollop of yogurt for dessert.

18th: Tuesday
Breakfast: yogurt and granola
Lunch: I took last nights' dinner leftovers and made a penne cream soup with beans and chicken.  Served with a few crackers.
Dinner: ** scrambled egg, sausage and cheddar breakfast pizza (I had a bit of dough leftover from Saturday night I wanted to use before it was too late.)

19th: Wednesday (FIELD TRIP TO SCIENCE AND DISCOVERY CENTER!)
Breakfast: whole wheat toast with Hagel and peanut butter
Lunch: McDonalds.  (I usually pack lunches for trips uptown but I had those Valentine coupons books for free hamburgers/juice/apples for the children.  We used these.
Dinner: chicken gravy over whole wheat toast, HC applesauce, HC greenbeans, squash casserole.

20th: Thursday (Company for dinner!)
Breakfast: cinnamon and brown sugar oatmeal
Lunch: bean and cheddar burritos with HC salsa
Dinner:spinach and artichoke lasagna (with collards added for good measure, frozen green beans, 100% whole wheat rolls (oh.my.word.  These were awesome.  Recipe to come!)  Applesauce.  Leftover squash casserole. 

21st: Friday
Breakfast: applesauce and cinnamon sugar toast
Lunch: ham and green beans (I baked a ham to warm up the house!  hehehe)
Dinner: Pizza night!  Pesto Pizza and Ham with Zucchini "pineapple" pizza.  Coleslaw (since, alas, no more fresh carrot sticks!)

Frugal Accomplishments:

~ the water heater stopped working in the house so Matt found a youtube video on how to fix it/replace the element.  An $8.00 element and a handsome handy hubby later, our water heater was fixed!

~ made granola

~ got our tax return back this week.  Didn't touch a cent of it but put it ALL into a vehicle fund.  BOY did that take some serious self-control!  If I can just make this already-paid-for van last for one more year...one more tax return...we will be able to buy a van in cash.  (Probably asking too much at this point...but I can hope anyway!)

~  baked all our bread needs.  Tried this 100% whole wheat bread recipe in order to ration the white flour.  (It was good!)  I'm gonna try this one next.

~ boiled chicken carcass for bone broth

~ roasted the last homegrown pumpkin and a few winter squashes.  (Still a few left of those)

~ * made From Scratch Tomato Soup (tragically) for the first time ever.  Wow!  It's awesome.  It tasted so rich and creamy- so much better than Campbells.  (And I LIKE Campbells!)  Best of all- it was a perfect use for my canned tomatoes and could be thrown together in five minutes!  Methinks this will be a new and wonderful "Dinner Should be DONE by now and I don't even know what I am going to make!" dilemma solver.

~  ** This week I finished the second half of my experiment with frozen eggs.  Over the summer I had frozen bags of lightly scrambled raw eggs (some bags of 2 eggs, some bags of 12 eggs) in desperation because I was being buried alive in dozens and dozens of eggs.  They looked GROSS going in the freezer.  They looked gross frozen.  Seriously gross.  I HIGHLY doubted they would taste like egg.  Well, I grabbed a 12 egg bag this week- thawed it in the fridge (even more gross...some of it was watery and clear some of it was yolky.  ew.) and doubted even more so that they would work as normal eggs do.  Boy, was I pleasantly surprised when I added a bit of sour cream and milk and scrambled them for Tuesdays' breakfast pizza!  It totally worked!  There is a slight texture difference- frozen eggs are a tiny bit more grainy.  But I'll take a teensy bit grainy, flourescent yellow farm eggs over store bought pastel eggs any day.  This was a SUPER exciting discovery for me.  Makes having chickens in winter (the ones that don't lay but still eat) a tiny bit more bearable. I will absolutely do this from now on for winter use.

~ Used the Valentine McDonalds coupon books for a free lunch on our field trip day.

~ children got free gifts from the museum thanks to a birthday club I signed them up for last year!

~ Admission to the Museum was free, thanks to my Mom's grandparent membership.  (I do plan on purchasing a family plan for us at some point.  It is so worth it- I just didn't have the money to do it then.)

~ made homemade toothpaste

~ made flourless peanut butter cookies for snack to ration my white flour.  Twice.