Hello everyone!
Found this article over at Mary Ann's House: Frugal Fridays - "Eating Well on a Very Small Budget".
I could not have said this any better, myself. She is doing so many of the things that we do in our home. Though, it has taken me a few years to figure it all out. It is so great how she is trying to be a good steward with what the Lord has given her. I really love how she is also keeping everything balanced by eating healthy in a limited budget. Also, being resourceful without going overboard. There is some great stuff in there - be sure to check it out.
For more Frugal Friday posts, please visit Biblical Womanhood
Showing posts with label Money management. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Money management. Show all posts
Friday, April 27, 2007
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Waste Not
The other day I came to the realization that from my lack of diligence, I had wasted $8.00.
There were 3.5 lbs of hamburger that had been bought on sale for $5.20. My intention was to brown it, then store in separate Zip-Lock Bags for Taco's, Sloppy Joes, whatever. I put it off for a few days until Saturday morning when I decided that it must be cooked or go to spoil. I had put the lid on the pan to let it cool. Unfortunately, I had forgotten about putting it away until we got home in the afternoon.
Then there was an unopened block of cheese in the back of the fridge that had molded. Nope, it was not salveagable. I have a hard time scraping off mold, unless it is a small layer. Yuck! That was $1.48 for a small chunk of Monterey Jack.
Last of all, there was half a bag of shredded lettuce that was left open in the fridge. Not closed with a rubber band or something. 50 cents on sale.
This may not seem like a "big deal" to some people, but it irked me. If I am to go through the trouble to find the best prices on items, I don't want to waste my time.
In between shopping trips and "working the menu", I try to plan how to wisely use what I have in my fridge and pantry. Such as using up the salad and fresh fruits that will spoil earlier in the week. Then as we get into it more - use canned mandarin oranges or some other fruit/vegie that lasts longer.
I typically clean out the fridge and take stock of the items each week. Although this last one was a struggle with the pain I was having in my back. Not much of an excuse though. :)
As I was thinking about this it reminded me how we need to be diligent in all aspects of our lives. Like in our work, marriages, friendships, daily surrendering our lives to God, training/disciplining our children, training the dog, managing and upkeeping our homes, taking care of the weeds outside, our finances, blogging, or whatever.
I need to keep "paying attention". If not then things and/or people get forgotten, broken, piled up, wasted, go into chaos, have no direction, and spoil.
There were 3.5 lbs of hamburger that had been bought on sale for $5.20. My intention was to brown it, then store in separate Zip-Lock Bags for Taco's, Sloppy Joes, whatever. I put it off for a few days until Saturday morning when I decided that it must be cooked or go to spoil. I had put the lid on the pan to let it cool. Unfortunately, I had forgotten about putting it away until we got home in the afternoon.
Then there was an unopened block of cheese in the back of the fridge that had molded. Nope, it was not salveagable. I have a hard time scraping off mold, unless it is a small layer. Yuck! That was $1.48 for a small chunk of Monterey Jack.
Last of all, there was half a bag of shredded lettuce that was left open in the fridge. Not closed with a rubber band or something. 50 cents on sale.
This may not seem like a "big deal" to some people, but it irked me. If I am to go through the trouble to find the best prices on items, I don't want to waste my time.
In between shopping trips and "working the menu", I try to plan how to wisely use what I have in my fridge and pantry. Such as using up the salad and fresh fruits that will spoil earlier in the week. Then as we get into it more - use canned mandarin oranges or some other fruit/vegie that lasts longer.
I typically clean out the fridge and take stock of the items each week. Although this last one was a struggle with the pain I was having in my back. Not much of an excuse though. :)
As I was thinking about this it reminded me how we need to be diligent in all aspects of our lives. Like in our work, marriages, friendships, daily surrendering our lives to God, training/disciplining our children, training the dog, managing and upkeeping our homes, taking care of the weeds outside, our finances, blogging, or whatever.
I need to keep "paying attention". If not then things and/or people get forgotten, broken, piled up, wasted, go into chaos, have no direction, and spoil.
Better Late than Never!
Received this excellent article by Michelle Jones over at WWW.BetterBudgeting.com. I really like the last part that talks about taking the time for the people in our lives. Enjoy!
Better Late than Never!
by Michelle Jones
Children are special. They listen to everything you say when they are little, or at least (hopefully) most of what you say, and then when they grow up they repeat your own words back to you. Today, my 16-year-old daughter did just that and I couldn't’t have been more proud. She encouraged me with one of my own ultimate motto's for life… “better late than never!”
More...
At the time of this writing Christmas is less than 10 days away and although our entire town put up their Christmas lights several weeks ago, we did not. Like many working families our schedules have little room for anything extra and putting up outdoor Christmas lights certainly qualifies as EXTRA. However, we did manage to put up our tree two weeks ago and a few of our favorite holiday decorations throughout the house. The few outdoor lights that we do have managed to find their way next to our front door, just in case we might somehow find the time to put them up.
Well, as you may have already guessed from the title of this article, we finally managed to put up our small set of outdoor lights… at 10:00 p.m. last night!
They’re beautiful. The children are delighted, and so are we. And it took less than an hour to get them set up. So why, WHY, did it take us so long to get them up? They’ve been sitting right by the front door just waiting for someone to get the job done, but day after day we passed them by thinking, “no way, we don’t have time for that.”
This morning, while driving my daughter to school, we were talking about how pretty the lights are when I said, “and it didn’t take very long to put them up, why didn’t we do them sooner?!” She replied with no hesitation, “well, better late than never!” I love it… she had no concern for why we were late getting the job done, or even for the weeks we lost that could have been enjoyed with beautiful Christmas lights hanging from our front porch—which is probably just a ‘mom thing’ anyways. Instead, she is just happy they are up.
I couldn't help but smile as I replied back to her “yes, that is what I always say; better late than never!” I paused for a moment and then added with a chuckle “and that’s because we always are!!!”
Seriously though, I believe these words with all my heart and have no doubt that they apply to all areas of our lives, including our finances.
Here are a few examples:
* Have you not been putting enough (or any) money into a savings account, until now?
Better late than never!
* Have you never worked with a household budget to manage your money better, until now? Better late than never!
* Have you thrown away thousands of dollars of grocery coupons, until now?
Better late than never!
* Have you been in debt for years, but are finally getting out? Better late than never!
* Have you neglected your finances completely, until now? Better late than never!
"The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it."
- W. M. Lewis
No matter what our reasons are for putting things off, whether it’s that we can’t get to them because we’re too busy or that we just don’t want to do them, what matters the most is that at some point (and hopefully sooner than later) we take care of the people and things in our lives that need to be taken care of. We just have to MAKE time for them. And always, always, always…
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER!
Better Late than Never!
by Michelle Jones
Children are special. They listen to everything you say when they are little, or at least (hopefully) most of what you say, and then when they grow up they repeat your own words back to you. Today, my 16-year-old daughter did just that and I couldn't’t have been more proud. She encouraged me with one of my own ultimate motto's for life… “better late than never!”
More...
At the time of this writing Christmas is less than 10 days away and although our entire town put up their Christmas lights several weeks ago, we did not. Like many working families our schedules have little room for anything extra and putting up outdoor Christmas lights certainly qualifies as EXTRA. However, we did manage to put up our tree two weeks ago and a few of our favorite holiday decorations throughout the house. The few outdoor lights that we do have managed to find their way next to our front door, just in case we might somehow find the time to put them up.
Well, as you may have already guessed from the title of this article, we finally managed to put up our small set of outdoor lights… at 10:00 p.m. last night!
They’re beautiful. The children are delighted, and so are we. And it took less than an hour to get them set up. So why, WHY, did it take us so long to get them up? They’ve been sitting right by the front door just waiting for someone to get the job done, but day after day we passed them by thinking, “no way, we don’t have time for that.”
This morning, while driving my daughter to school, we were talking about how pretty the lights are when I said, “and it didn’t take very long to put them up, why didn’t we do them sooner?!” She replied with no hesitation, “well, better late than never!” I love it… she had no concern for why we were late getting the job done, or even for the weeks we lost that could have been enjoyed with beautiful Christmas lights hanging from our front porch—which is probably just a ‘mom thing’ anyways. Instead, she is just happy they are up.
I couldn't help but smile as I replied back to her “yes, that is what I always say; better late than never!” I paused for a moment and then added with a chuckle “and that’s because we always are!!!”
Seriously though, I believe these words with all my heart and have no doubt that they apply to all areas of our lives, including our finances.
Here are a few examples:
* Have you not been putting enough (or any) money into a savings account, until now?
Better late than never!
* Have you never worked with a household budget to manage your money better, until now? Better late than never!
* Have you thrown away thousands of dollars of grocery coupons, until now?
Better late than never!
* Have you been in debt for years, but are finally getting out? Better late than never!
* Have you neglected your finances completely, until now? Better late than never!
"The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it."
- W. M. Lewis
No matter what our reasons are for putting things off, whether it’s that we can’t get to them because we’re too busy or that we just don’t want to do them, what matters the most is that at some point (and hopefully sooner than later) we take care of the people and things in our lives that need to be taken care of. We just have to MAKE time for them. And always, always, always…
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER!
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