Thanksgiving Is Coming

My favorite holiday of the year is Thanksgiving.  For one thing I have a ton to be thankful for and for another my children have a break from school so I get to spend more time with them. 

 

The other big reason I love Thanksgiving is because I love to cook and bake so this holiday was tailor made for me!   

I love everything about it!  Sharing our blessings and what we are thankful for while we roast a big bird, bake pies and dinner rolls, play games and put a puzzle together.  I took inventory the other day and discovered I have everything I need on hand already to prepare our feast.  Wow!  That is pretty exciting when you think about it. 

We have our turkey in the freezer, shrink wrapped and vacuum sealed, leftover from a promotional buy at the grocery store last year so I definitely will be cooking that bad boy up.  How I do it will be a challenge if I don’t get my oven fixed soon!  I’ll figure it out though. 

I have potatoes and cornstarch for mashed potatoes and gravy, carrots, celery and onions in cold storage plus a large assortment of frozen veggies, pumpkin puree in the freezer left from last year and my Mom just blessed me with three more pumpkins from her garden yesterday, all the ingredients to make pie crusts and rolls are in my refrigerator and pantry, plus olives and pickles for a relish dish.  If we quit giving our bread scraps to the chickens we would have bread cubes for stuffing but we discussed it and decided to forego stuffing this year.  Can you imagine? 

All I can think I might need to pick up is a bottle of wine and sparkling cider for the girls.   

Then I get to think about all the things I’ll be creating out of all those leftovers.  Thanksgiving dinner really is the gift that keeps on giving, after all.  Turkey and dumplings – yum!  Turkey sandwiches – yum!  Pumpkin pie for breakfast – double yum! 

I always make a big pot of broth from the carcass and freeze in containers to use later down the road in other recipes.  And so we don’t burn out on turkey I like to put some of it in the freezer to eat later too. 

Do you have big plans yet for the holiday?  What things do you like to prepare for this special meal?

Fall Has Arrived

Wow it is getting chilly at night already.  How quickly things can change.  We are holding off on turning our heat on for as long as possible.  As soon as the sun goes down so does the temperature. 

Our tomato plants are loaded with green ones and I’m sure frost is not too far away.  We’ve gotten pretty close already.  I will most likely be picking them green and ripening them indoors it look like. 

I guess it is time to get things ready for winter around here.  We have had such a wonderful summer this year and I am sad to see it go.  I know we will have a lot of winter and holiday fun to look forward too, however. 

In a way I guess I am looking forward to hunkering down and enjoying a slower pace for awhile.  How about you guys?  Are you ready to pack it in and head into winter?

Cottage Industries

Cottage industries are small little businesses, run out of your home or cottage that provides a source of income for a family.  Sounds a little old fashioned but I’d say very much in vogue, still today.  We have one and have had for years. 

I am not one to put all my eggs in one basket, so to speak, and relying on one sole source of income is risky.  If you happen to lose that source of income then you have literally no income.  I like to think of my cottage industry as “backup income”. 

If you have a hobby or craft that you enjoy doing you can probably make money selling your wares to the public.  You probably have the items you need already in your house so your start-up costs would be minimal.

 

I have a friend that shops at garage sales and resells items she finds to make extra cash to supplement her income.  Depending on what the item is she will either list it on craigslist or eBay. 

My mother makes beautiful doll clothing for vintage collectible dolls and sells it to other collectors.  What started out as a way to pay for her hobby has turned into a little money making venture.  My father started making doll stands for her to display her dolls on.  He has kept making them and sells them to other doll collectors. 

I enjoy making doll clothes as well and refurbishing dolls from my childhood and reselling them.  I also do handcrafted items to sell.  I have set up booths at Christmas and Home & Garden shows and sold homemade jams, jellies, syrups and pancake mixes.  Etsy and eBay are where I sell a lot of my items too. 

When I adopted my daughters I used the income from my side business to pay our utility bills, buy our clothing and keep us in groceries.  I even made enough during that time to put a set of tires on the truck.  This freed up a lot of cash for me to apply to the expense of the adoption fees. 

Right now I am back to using this income to cover the utilities and groceries again.  Am I glad I have this resource available?  You better believe it! 

Do you have a specialty you can turn into cash?  Do you love to quilt, knit, crochet, or sew?  Have you ever thought about starting your own little side business?  Or do you already have one?  If you have any other ideas for making extra money please share!

Barlow Family Benefit

I wanted to quickly share this link from Andrea at Simple Organized Living.  She is doing a benefit for this family and their story is heartbreaking.  My prayers are with them.

(photo from Simple Organized Living)

Some Thoughts On Being Thrifty

Call it what you like – frugal, thrifty, tightwad, miser – it really doesn’t matter.  I don’t like cheap or stingy because that is not what being thrifty is about at all.  Miserly doesn’t really float my boat either, but, hey. 

Thriftiness, in my opinion, is all about being economically and ecologically aware.  I like to say I am financially conscious. 

Nothing gives me greater pleasure than to pay my bills on time, keep my cupboards full, maintain my home and vehicles, provide necessities for my family and have money left at the end of the month.  To me that is the ultimate goal.  If I can throw in a little fun and the occasional vacation all the better! 

I think most thrifty people tend to – 

·         Be list makers, planners and goal setters

·         Put money into savings and retirement on a consistent basis

·         Have no, or very limited amounts, of debt

·         Purchase the best products for the least amount of money possible

·         Learn the art of patience, self control and self discipline

·         Be willing to negotiate for a fair price, low interest rate, better deal, etc.

·         Be concerned with the environment and their impact on it

·         Constantly look for ways to do it better and more efficiently

·         Be healthier, happier and carry less stress

·         Drive their automobiles until the wheels fall off

·         Ignore the latest fads, fashions and gimmicks

·         Stick with the classics – clothes, cars, etc.

·         Seldom use credit cards and pay them off each month when they do

·         Be willing to consider purchasing used items first before new ones

·         Take care of what they have to make it last longer

·         Try to fix something when it breaks before they replace it

·         Work hard and aren’t afraid to expend a little elbow grease

·         Accomplish most, if not all, of the goals they set

·         Seem more satisfied with life in general

·         Have a sense of financial security 

I enjoy setting a budget and working to stay within that set amount.  Whether it is for groceries, travel, back-to-school expenses, a vacation or gift giving it doesn’t matter.  I always set a budget and if we can’t make it within that budgeted amount then we don’t do it. 

We have put off our trip to Disney Land twice because the costs exceeded our budgeted amount.  Will we ever get there?  I hope so, but if we don’t it won’t be the end of the world.  This year we made other more affordable plans and went to Yellowstone instead.  We had a great time.  In the meantime I will continue to save for Disney Land and when we finally do get to go it will be just that much sweeter. 

As a family we work really hard to limit the amount of trash we produce and send to the landfill.  We re-use items as often as possible and put as much into our recycle bin as we can.  Composting has become a part of our everyday life.  I also try to think about waste, particularly in packaging when it comes to items I purchase.  For instance, I take my own bags to the grocery store. 

Becoming more self sufficient and self sustaining is an ongoing project.  I expect we will be working on this for the rest of our lives.  Building a bigger compost bin and a greenhouse, while learning to be a better gardener and raising a few chickens, is a part of that process.  So is taking care of my home and improving the land it sits on. 

Making wise choices when it comes to spending my money is also a part of the process.  Sometimes I miss the mark but I’m getting better at it every day.  It is something I will constantly need to work at and improve. 

I truly do believe it is less about the money you make and more about the money you spend.  It is definitely a mindset you have to get yourself into.  Once you start to think like a thrifty person you will certainly become one.  And a funny thing happens too.  Once you embark on a thrifty, self sufficient and self sustaining lifestyle things just seem to fall into place.  Especially, the happy part.  That’s the part I like best!

 

You might enjoy revisiting The Home Budget Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

October – 30 Things to Do This Month

You may have noticed I haven’t been posting these the last couple of months.  With all the extra activities involved in starting our new business I decide to cut myself a little slack.  Well not anymore.  Time to get back to it.

Every day this month I am going to pick one thing from the list to do and then mark it off.  Some I can do quickly and some I will need to schedule time for.

1.                   Wash vehicles

2.                  Finish the girl’s birthday presents

3.                  Sew something

4.                  List items to sell on eBay and Etsy

5.                  Bake two loaves of bread

6.                  Family Movie Nite

7.                  Try a new recipe

8.                  Meal planner for November

9.                  Family Game Nite

10.               Have my parents over for dinner

11.                Go on a bike ride

12.               Clean out the garden

13.               Clean up the lawn

14.               Clean up the flowerbeds

15.               Super clean the kitchen

16.               Shampoo the living room and hall carpet

17.               Date night with my girls

18.               Clean and reorganize laundry room

19.               Take donations to thrift store

20.              Take glass in for recycling

21.               Clean the garage

22.              Remove and store A/C units

23.              Make a gift

24.              Super clean and organize family room

25.              Investment cooking – freezer chili and soups

26.              Complete one task on the HOUSE TO DO LIST

27.              Decorate for fall

28.              Start our Christmas letter

29.              Go through and reorganize gift wrap tote

30.              Clean and re-organize my purse and wallet

Wish me luck as I get back on the horse and ride! J

Monthly Meal Planner - October

Over the weekend I posted our monthly meal plan on the side of our refrigerator giving our family a glimpse into their culinary future.  I thought I would go ahead and share it with you as a source of inspiration, if nothing else.  I enjoy checking out other’s meal plans to give me ideas too. 

I may not get everything made depending on how the leftovers work out.  Here is a list of what we will be enjoying next month: 

·         Pot Roast

·         Tomato Basil Soup & Grilled Cheese

·         Tacos

·         Cheese Omelet

·         Sausage Pesto Pizza

·         Beef Barley Soup

·         Pork Chops

·         Linguine & Meat Sauce

·         Chicken Fried Rice

·         BLT Sandwiches

·         Sloppy Joes

·         Minestrone Soup

·         Chuck Steak Stroganoff

·         Meat Loaf

·         Pepperoni Pizza

·         Bell Pepper Quesadillas

·         Macaroni & Cheese

·         Grilled Burgers

·         Corned Beef

·         Pork Verde

·         Reuben Sandwiches

·         Spaghetti Carbonara

·         Bean & Cheese Burritos

·         Ham & Potato Hash

·         Hawaiian Pizza

·         Italian Black Bean Soup

·         Baked Lasagna 

It all sounds pretty tasty to me.  What’s on your menu this month? 

You might enjoy revisiting Meal Planning. J