11 Tips for Homeschooling Without Breaking the Budget

We're a family of 7 living on a tight budget - but homeschooling doesn't break that budget. Here's how:

Don't just shop educational stores or homeschool catalogs - keep your eyes open because educational items are everywhere. I found our favorite solar system magnets at Hobby Lobby on clearance. The Target dollar bins have supplied flashcards, posters, magnets, and more over the years. And don't forget to ask for discounts. Some bookstores and education stores will give you a teacher discount if you're a homeschool family (you may have to provide documentation). If you do your shopping at a homeschool convention, try to buy from a vendor that price matches. I save at least $50 every year by doing so.

Yard Sales and Thrift Stores - 'tis the season for yard sales (or garage sales or tag sales, depending on what they're called in your area). Things I've found at yard sales and thrift stores include white boards, chalk boards, bulletin boards, folders, unused curriculum, reference books, calendars (which make great art books), maps, flashcards, games, measuring cups and spoons, play money, Lincoln logs, Legos, Tinker Toys, shells, puzzles, educational toys and baskets to organize everything. Don't forget used curriculum sales, online or otherwise.

Back to School Sales - oh, how I love these. Watch the ads (and keep them, if you have a store that price matches) and you can pick up notebooks, filler paper, printer paper, notecards, folders, markers, crayons, rulers, highlighters and more for pennies. Keep a stash of these items and dole them out as needed through the year. If you want to be truly frugal, do NOT let your children have unfettered access. My kids can go through a ream of paper faster than you can say "that was for printing maps for geography."

Gifts from family and friends - things that make good gifts include art supplies, craft kits, science equipment (my parents gave my kids a very nice microscope), Legos, puzzles, movies, and games. When grandparents or Aunts & Uncles ask for suggestions, don't forget these things.

Hand Me Downs - we've had friends and family pass down books, math manipulatives, science equipment, and more. When people know you're homeschoolers, they might offer you educational things they don't want any more. Accept with a smile. If you can't use it, pass it on to someone else (or donate it). Don't forget about the Craiglist "free" listings. Most of it won't interest you but you never know when someone might want to get rid of something you can actually use.

The Library - this should be a homeschool family's best friend. Most libraries in the US have more than just books these days. There are movies, CDs, audio books, magazines (including technical journals), items available for downloading (ours has ebooks, free music downloads, magazines, and newspapers), and that's not to mention the programs they put on. (So far this year my girls have made marble mine shafts, attending a program on Water - more fun than it sounds!- Fun with Bubbles, and more.)

Don't forget to ask if there's a teacher card option. Homeschool Moms should be eligible (with some documentation) for this and it is so worth it. (Ours means the books are automatically renewed and there are no fees. It can only be used for our school items, not movies or the books for me, but still, that's a big savings for a family with hundreds of items checked out.)

Free downloads and printables - there are entire websites and blogs dedicated to these. Some of my favorites are:

• Free Homeschool Deals
• Homeschool Share
• Donna Young

Rotate memberships - you don't have to buy memberships to every museum, zoo, and aquarium near you. Pick one a year (this year the zoo, next year the science museum or something like that). Watch for free or discount days at your favorite spots, if you don't have a membership. Museum or zoo memberships also make great gifts.

Local parks - playgrounds, hiking trails, educational programs, concerts...you don't know what's available until you check. Take a walk on the same hiking trail once a week and have your children note the differences or keep a nature journal.

Barter - trade piano lessons for art class or babysit for Spanish lessons. Swap your 5th grade math for a friend's 6th grade Science. There are facebook groups, co-ops and more for this but you can also try just asking friends you know.

Prioritize - in our family we buy Children's Theatre season tickets and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra school concert tickets. Those experiences are important to us. But another family might find sports more important and pay fees for baseball in the summer and basketball in the winter. All of those are good things, but if you can't afford them all, know what your family wants and pursue that. There is no law that every five year old has to stand on a soccer field, especially if that five year old would rather be painting. It's not just a question of budgeting your money, but also your time. There are many great experiences and classes. But a family of more than one child cannot possibly do them all. Don't feel guilty about that.

A tight budget might be a challenge, but it's not an insurmountable one.

How do you stretch your homeschool budget?

Linking up with:

Picture credit: Pixabay

1 Easy Way to Get Your Kids to Drink More Water this Summer

Last summer we were living in a rental house with no dishwasher. For a family of seven, the lack of a dishwasher was almost as bad as the lack of a washer and dryer (a post for another day!).

My children are good about drinking water, but they're not so great about keeping track of who was using which cup. Washing all the cups every day was not a great plan for any of us, considering none of us particularly enjoyed washing dishes.

I found the answer at Hobby Lobby:

they had the cutest little water bottles in four colors, which worked out well for us since we have four girls (the little guy was just a baby, too young for his own water bottle).

This solved several problems:

• encouraging the kids to drink a lot of water during the hot summer days
• keeping track of which cup belonged to which child
• fewer spills 

We wash them when they need it or at the end of the week. They are only used for water so they are rarely sticky or gross. The kids are allowed to take them outside, but they usually just keep them in the fridge to stay cold.

When I bought ours they were on sale and I paid $0.60 each. $2.40 for peace of mind and fewer dishes is money well spent and we still have them this summer.

And yes, they could be further customized or decorated. If you're wondering why I haven't, let me just plead the excuse: I have five children. The only problem now is the iBoy (1 year old) wants one too.

How do you get your kids to drink more water? Do you have a favorite way of keeping track of cups?
Linking up with:

In Which I Praise our Local Thrift Store

Remember that picture of the girls & Fen as Despicable Me characters from the other day? OK, I'll refresh your memory. This one:

For these get-ups we had to buy:

• face paint - two tubes (yellow and white. We didn't buy this at the thrift store but it was on sale at the "Party" store)
• overalls for Sweet Pea, Lili and Fen (his mom bought his at Target and we ended up super-gluing the snaps because they were constantly coming open. Buyer beware!)
• glasses for Margo (which have now become a favorite in our "dress up" bag. Sweet Pea has taken to wearing them just any old time. When I think of how much I hated my glasses I HAD to wear when I was a kid...!)
• wig for Agnes
• hat with braids for Edith
• yellow shirts for Lili & Fen (Fen's was also purchased by his Mom)
• yellow hat for Lili (Fen lucked out here as his natural blond head looked pretty Minion like already)

Everything else came from the girls' personal wardrobes and my makeup bag (the black eye pencil that I almost never use).

The black wig was a thrift store find for $4. I have to say, it was basically not worth even that much. Sweet Pea hated it, there wasn't a good way to secure it on her head, and it would probably have been easier to just use a temporary dye on her hair. But I didn't want to dye her beautiful blonde curls so cheap wig won out.

The glasses were in a big bin in the thrift store. They charged us $1 and Philip popped out the lenses. I can't remember what the thrift store charged for the hats but it wasn't much. "Margo" carried a clip board we already had. "Agnes" also started out carrying a stuffed unicorn that belongs to Tigger, but that ended up riding in the stroller with Baby Minion pretty quickly.

All told, we managed to dress all five kids for our Harvest Party and a fun filled night of trick or treating for around $15, although I have to admit I'm not sure what my sister spent on Fen's clothes. Even so, $15 for four kids is a triumph in this age of $29.99 costumes.

The only thing I have to do now is decide what they'll wear next year that satisfies their desire to be "Dressed up" and my desire not to take out a second mortgage.

Frugal Fridays: Further Proof...

that I am not a style blogger and that Candid Diversions is not a decorating blog:
I saw an owl at the thrift store, almost exactly like this one.

Source: thriftynifty33.blogspot.com via Lucy on Pinterest

And I didn't buy it to spray paint it white.

I didn't buy it at all.

Part of me really wanted to buy that owl. Then I could have run over to Target or Home Depot and picked up some white spray paint. (I am not - alas - someone who just has white spray paint sitting around)

My Prince Charming thought the idea was a little crazy (he doesn't read home decor blogs, obviously) but he told me to go ahead and try it if I wanted to. So he wasn't the one holding me back.

Here's what held me back:

• I don't have time today to spray paint an owl or anything else. We have other things going on (and weather that is currently wet and yucky) that do not include spray painting owls.
• Which would mean I would have an ugly ceramic owl sitting in my living room or, more likely, my basement because who wants to have an ugly owl staring at them?
• We were at the thrift store to work on the girls' Harvest Party costumes. None of the girls required an owl for her costume. (Just out of curiosity, what costume might require an owl? I'm drawing a blank here.)
• I had already picked up a couple snowman plates that we didn't not, strictly speaking, need. While they were impulse buys they were quite a bit cheaper than the owl.
• Which I would have to buy spray paint to complete, remember?

One of these days I might just buy some spray paint and go to town on some thrift store finds. This was not that day. There may or may not be a ceramic owl in my future. And I'm perfectly OK with that.

Frugality isn't always about not affording something - I could have easily purchased the owl without hurting my budget. Sometimes it's about knowing the right time for something. Sometimes it's about knowing yourself and letting yourself off the hook - I'm not a decorating blogger so I didn't need to buy something, paint it, and show it off {to the 57 blog parties I link up to every stinkin' day. Ahem. I may have strong feelings about some of these decor / craft bloggers}.

And, as it happens, I got a blog post out of it without buying any owls or spray paint {wink}

This post is linked to Frugal Friday at Life as Mom.

In Which I Buy Groceries and Wal-Mart Actually Comes Through

source

Not the most exciting topic, to be sure. Still, it seems like it demands a lot of attention: meal planning, list making, coupon cutting, walking up and down the aisles...

Anyone else besides me tired just thinking about it?

Today, in an effort to pinch those pennies just a bit tighter I did something I usually don't do: I went to three different stores. (Another thing I don't usually do: I took Sweet Pea with me. This was for a variety of reasons that had nothing to do with actually saving money. I went to my usual grocery store first, came home, put groceries away and took Sweet Pea with me on the rest of my shopping expedition.)

I could have, had I been braver, made that just two stores. Today was my first effort in shopping while taking advantage of Wal-Mart price matching.

Two things are important here:
1. I very much dislike shopping at Wal-Mart. Ever. For any reason. This is not because of any philosophical point of view. It's simply based on the fact that the Wal-Mart(s) closest to me are not pleasant (read: light or clean) places and there are never enough lines open.

2. I dislike confrontation. I am the world's worst negotiator. I make Philip do any yard sale bargaining, should the occasion arise.

There's another point worth making as well:

Groceries are getting more expensive. Have you noticed? Prices are up, sizes are down, and it's seriously depressing how far my buying dollar does not go.

So I stepped gingerly into the price matching waters. I had three items, two of which needed to be adjusted. I used the {oh so slightly} faster lane.

And today the grocery smiled upon me and granted me a friendly, competent cashier, which is by no means assured at our local Wal-Mart.

I made my price matching request, handed her the competitor sale paper and, no hoops to jump through, no fan-fare - et voila, a new price.

Which means I could have had the prices matched from the other store I went to after Wal-Mart but I was too chicken to price match everything on my {extremely long} list.

So, unless Kroger starts price matching soon (not gonna happen), I foresee more visits to Wal-Mart in my future. At this point, more than once a month would be a major increase in frequency.

What about you? Are you trying any new savings strategies these days?

P.S. The above picture is just the best one I could find of a shopping cart. I did not actually steal a shopping cart and pose it artistically in the grass. Because that would be wrong on so many levels.

This post is linked to Frugal Friday at Life as Mom

Poetry Lesson? Thanks, Target!

You've heard of teachable moments, right? How about teachable mass mail?

Let me explain: this little coupon book from Target arrived in our mail the other day. Being the frugal chick I am, this is enough to cause a little frisson of excitement. Then I actually flipped through it.

Genius.

I mean, you get it right? Hi, Coupons. "Haiku-pons".

The coupons are divided in sets of three with this type of haiku:

bowls of milky crunch

for breakfast, lunch or dinner

love by the spoonfuls

I read the entire little booklet to the girls at supper time and had them guess the subjects of the poem. They loved it. Really loved it.

"I wish we could read more haikus," Tigger said. (Yes, I know, the plural of haiku is actually haiku - like moose, the word doesn't change . She's only six. I didn't bother to correct her grammar. It's the sentiment that thrilled me.)

She was ridiculously excited when I told her she could probably find whole books of them at the library.

Now the girls are writing their own, talking about syllables and rythym, and planning to check a few more poetry books out at the library next week.

Definitely the best mailer I've ever gotten from Target, whether I end up using the coupons or not.

Frugal Fridays - Craigslist, IKEA and Pinching a Penny (Or Two)

We've done some rearranging here at Chez Charming. We were moving Lili (AKA Baby Girl #4) into the little bedroom with her three big sisters. This necessitated moving some shelves around, moving even more books and toys around and, generally, trashing my house.

Only temporarily. We ended up with this empty space:

Now, it wasn't supposed to be empty. It was supposed to have a big, beautiful, EXPEDIT from IKEA in that space. Except...I just couldn't stand the thought of borrowing a truck and driving all the way to IKEA (45 minutes away) and spending the money.

I'm frugal, after all.

So, what's a frugal chick to do? Watch Craigslist, of course. One thing I knew: with an IKEA within an hour of our house, there would be people trying to sell the things they bought there.

So I watched Craigslist like a hawk and this is how:

You see my clumsy arrow and circle? That's the RSS button (Really Simple Syndication) in the lower right hand corner of a Craigslist page. I searched in a Craigslist category (furniture) for IKEA. Then I pushed the RSS button and subscribed to the feed. So all the listings that matched my search criteria went straight to my Google Reader.

A few days later, someone listed the largest size EXPEDIT for sale, half off of the new price. We called immediately. Two days later my husband, brother, and dad (with the help of my brother-in-law's truck) moved this monster lovely thing into my living room:

Then I filled the shelves for the first time. (Because, let's be honest, I'm constantly rearranging them. You see here my sister, brother-in-law and mom enjoying them as they were for my birthday party.).

Exactly what I wanted, perfect condition, half price, closer to our house, and already assembled. That's a frugal win right there. (Now if I could just decide what I want for the top of the shelf...)

I'm watching three different Craigslist feeds in my Reader right now. And before my husband panics, I hasten to assure you that they are all for small things.

This post is linked to Frugal Fridays at Life as Mom.

Frugal Fridays - Sea World Edition

A day spent at Sea World (we went to the San Diego park) is worth some money. Of course, how much money is a personal question. Here's how we (defined as my husband, me, our four children, & my adult sister) kept costs down:

1. Discount tickets. My wonderful brother-in-law is serving in the U.S. Air Force. (Currently deployed - if you think about him, pray, OK?). Because of his service, Lulu got into the park for...wait for it...free! Well, park admission was free (the way I understand it is that they each get one ticket per year. She couldn't go back next week and get another free ticket). The cost to her for her husband serving and being separated from her - we don't have a way to calculate that. Anyway, she was free and she was able to get us discounted tickets on base. Discounted to the tune of $20 off each ticket. If you don't know someone living on a military base, don't despair. There are usually coupons or online discounts you could search out. (Our motel in San Diego offered us some)

2. Food and souvenirs: you're going to have to eat. The park doesn't allow coolers and, to get your money's worth, you're going to want to be there from the time the park opens until closing time. What to eat? We ate breakfast at our motel that morning (late, because Sea World doesn't open until 10 AM). The story about how we chose our motel - Philip insisted that breakfast must be included which...well, never mind. It was a late night and we were all tired. It's funny now but then it was kind of annoying.

Anyway, fortified by that breakfast we were able to resist all the snack type foods at the park until later that afternoon. Then, instead of buying something with a ridiculous mark-up (cotton candy, anyone?) we went to one of the park's sit-down restaurants and ordered real food. Sure, it's more expensive than cooking at home. And it's slightly more expensive than fast food. But not by much. And when you ordered a kid's meal you also got these:

The three oldest girls each got a kid's meal (and it was plenty of food) and these plastic dishes. We cleaned off the dishes after they ate and stowed them away in the diaper bag. Instant souvenirs! They were happy because they had something to take home that had "Shamu" on it and we were happy because everyone had been fed real food for a decent price.

Two of our girls chose to spend some of their own money on another item at the "Under $10" gift shop at the end of the day. We chose to do this at the end for two reasons: 1. so they could think about whether they actually wanted to pay their own money for something and 2. so we didn't have to carry things around all day. (Lili in the moby wrap and a diaper bag were enough!)

Sure, the most frugal option would be to never go anywhere, I understand that. But even out on vacation, there's no reason to spend money with reckless abandon - you can vacation frugally. A vacation budget (no debt!) and a plan of action will help you get home without breaking the bank.

Tigger is already asking when we can go to Sea World in Orlando (to see the manatees, don't you know). With a little saving and a lot of planning, we can probably do that before she's a teenager. {wink}

Got any Frugal Friday tips to share? Check out Life as Mom and link up yours.

Broke People or the Right Track

If you've ever listened to Dave Ramsey, specifically on Fridays (Debt Free Fridays!) you know that one question Dave (I'll call him Dave since I like to imagine we're friends. After all, I grew up in Tennessee. My dad bought a Financial Peace book from Dave at an outlet mall in the tiny town where we lived before Dave was even remotely famous. True story.) always asks the debt free callers is, "Did people make fun of you?"

The point Dave likes to make is if broke people are mocking what you're doing, then you're probably on the right track. And he's absolutely right about that.

I'm here to tell you that it's a lot easier to live frugally, simply, counter-culturally, whatever you want to call it, when you are around others who are trying to do the same thing. For example: it's tough, but not impossible, to be the only homeschool family surrounded by families who utilize other methods.

It's tough, but not impossible, to be the only ones making what appear to be radical lifestyle choices (living debt free, having more than one or two children, living with one - paid for - car, mom staying home, eating out only occasionally, etc).

Keeping up with the Joneses is a lot easier when the Jones family is not down at the shopping mall firing up their credit cards every weekend or taking on a new car lease, is what I'm saying.

This is where the blog world can either bless you or drag you down. Blogs about frugal living, saving money, simplifying, making do? Those could help. Blogs about decorating with the latest Pottery Barn catalog, living in the perfect little country retreat house, or the best new fashion trends ("Budget finds - the best $500 shoes out there!") could drag you down.

Philip and I have been blessed to have many friends and family members who have similar goals to our own. And I like to think we've been a positive influence on some, too. So the fact that we drive a ten year old vehicle is cause for gentle teasing instead of outright mockery.

But I suppose, even if folks were mocking us, I could live with that. After all, if broke people are mocking your financial choices, you're probably on the right track. 

This post is linked to Frugal Fridays at Life as Mom.
Photo Credit:  stock.xchng
This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Any action taken with these links could result in compensation for me. As always, I encourage you to check your library or Paperback Swap first - these books are worth it!

Make Your Own Bread

Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, has completely changed how my family fixes and eats bread. We bought this book about two years ago and it's been well worth the money.

1. It's easy. No starter to feed, lest you think you've somehow taken on another child to raise. Anyway, that's how I feel about sourdough or Amish Friendship Bread. This is much easier. When we're in a season where making bread is just not on the to-do list (even if it only takes a few minutes) you can put this aside and start again later, when things aren't so crazy.

2. It's versatile. We've made several different types of loaves and just last week Prince Charming made beignets (kind of a New Orleans donut-pastry).The girls are asking for bagels next.

3. It has helped wean the girls (and Prince Charming) off that pasty white "bread" that the supermarket sells. I'm not a food snob by any stretch but buying that type of bread has always annoyed me because there is so little value to it. Little value nutritionally, small joy from eating it (as opposed to ice cream or cookies which are not high value nutritionally but very fun for a special treat) = not worth the money in my book.

Let's face it, almost every meal feels more complete with bread. This book can help.

This post is linked to Frugal Friday at Life as Mom.

This post contains Amazon Associate links. Any action taken with these links could result in compensation for me. Opinions are my own and I encourage you to check your library or Paperback Swap first - these books are worth it!

Frugal Fridays - Sell Some Stuff

Have you ever heard Dave Ramsey when advising people how to get out of debt? He often says, "Sell so much stuff the kids think they're next." Sometimes he throws in, "And the dog starts hiding".

Occasionally, whether to get out of debt, build some savings, or just simplify our homes, we have to actually, you know, get rid of stuff. Here are a few ways we've done that:

1. eBay. Prince Charming likes this option. Yes, there are fees associated with it. However it can still be worth the trouble, depending on what you're selling.

2. Craigslist. I like this option for selling larger items or housewares. Free listing is a plus, along with the whole "no fees" thing. Depending on how active your area is, your listing can quickly be buried by other things but there's no penalty for re-listing so you may want to try, try again before you give up.

3. Half-Price Books. We're a homeschool family. We buy a lot of books. We also sell a lot of books. You don't make top dollar but every bit helps. This place is great because they also take magazines. Watch for those free magazine subscriptions, read the mag and then sell them to Half Price Books and you've actually made money on the deal. (They also take movies, cds, computer software, sheet music, and pretty much any printed material)

4. Half.com. For books that I consider to be worth more than Half Price Books will give me, I've used this option. I don't love it but we've made a few dollars here and there.

5. Resale shops. You're not going to get rich taking your stuff to consignment shops, but if you have a kid resale shop you could make a few dollars and get rid of some clothes / toys / games / all that other stuff kids accumulate. The same holds true for adult things, if you find a shop you can work with. Be warned that the standards are usually very high.

Of course there are many other options: Etsy, Kijiji, or the love 'em or hate 'em yard sale (also known as garage sale, tag sale or rummage sale, depending on where you live). I like buying things at yard sales but I do not like selling in a yard sale, unless someone else is doing the set-up work. And getting up early on a weekend? Not for me.

This post is linked to Frugal Fridays on Life as Mom.

In Which I Am Introspective

I went to an estate sale today. Alone. (Just pause to ponder that for a moment - Karen left her house all by her own self!)

The sale was in a little, tiny really, house. With steep stairs up (bedroom and attic) and treacherous stairs down (surprisingly spacious basement). This house is no one's immediate visual of an "estate". It was, quite obviously, a grandparent's house. Someone who survived a Great Depression, at least one World War, and who knows how many personal hard times.

How do I know this? The stuff. Oh, the stuff. It was everywhere. There was barely a path to walk from room to room without stepping on stuff. Ancient boxes of groceries. More aluminum foil than one person could use in a lifetime. Bottles of shampoo. Magazines from thirty years ago. Beautiful china and...not so beautiful things. Things that are now considered collectible right beside things that should be tossed into the nearest dumpster.

I walked into the house and immediately felt sad. Wall to wall people pawed, generally quietly, through dresser drawers, cardboard boxes, and laundry baskets. My fellow estate-sale-goers speculated aloud to themselves about the former owners. We wondered about the family whose burden this had become.

"Oh, Lord, help me not to leave my family this kind of mess," I thought to myself. Stockpile? Yes. Hoarding baking soda? No. Buying new dishes? Yes, sometimes. Saving all the old ones? Nope. Keeping precious keepsakes? Yes, of course. Keeping everything? Not a chance.

And yes, because I know you are wondering, I did buy a few things: 1 pack of vintage Christmas bulbs (they were cute), 25+ old fashioned wooden clothespins (the non-spring kind), 5 LPs, 1 tiny glass bottle, 1 old pan (to carry my clothespins, not because I wanted it) and 1 beautiful china blue and white Wedgwood teacup to replace mine that, ahem, someone broke not too long ago.

A man watched me sort through all the records. "Trouble is, no one has a turntable any more," he said. "I do," I told him. He looked me over again. I could see what he thought. "You could buy one at Target, if you want one," I said (ever helpful). He walked away before I could wax rhapsodic on the wonders of my beloved Crosley.

When I filled my little pan with wooden clothespins a woman said to me, "Do you hang clothes on a line?"

"Yes, in the summer," I told her. She smiled at me. "I didn't think anyone did that any more."

Ah, yes, vintage-loving, frugalite, young-ish person here, guilty as charged. But I hope none of the things I collect, use, and love ever end up owning me rather than the other way around.

After all, it's only stuff.

Frugal Friday - Exchanging Houses

Dollhouses that is. Our girls have two large dollhouses. One is a vintage Fisher Price that Polly got for Christmas four years ago. And here is the picture proof. And yes, I can't believe how much Polly has grown since then. (Small sigh)

The other dollhouse is a vintage Little Tikes that Polly bought with her own money at a yard sale about two years ago. We've had the Little Tikes house out since then and the Fisher Price house stored away but they only had one dollhouse "family". And lately they haven't played dollhouse at all.

The solution? This week we brought up the "old" dollhouse and removed the "new" one to the dungeon basement. The result? Hours of dollhouse play even though the people, furniture, and accessories are the same. The moral? Even plastic people like a change of scenery every once in awhile.

Don't own two dollhouses? This could work very well if you know another family who would be willing to trade for a little while. No money spent. Hours of play with toys already owned. That's what I call frugal. Be sure to check out Biblical Womanhood for more Frugal Friday ideas!

In Which I Fail to Control My Temper

Over at Like Merchant Ships, Meredith posted a video of Elizabeth Warren, author of the Two Income Trap. The comments on Meredith's post are all (so far) along the lines of "Wow, how depressing. My children will have a hard time being middle class. The government should do something!"

I suppose I may be the lone voice of dissent but I've actually read Warren's books and I do not agree with her premise or conclusions.

We are considered "lower-income" (my husband is an assistant pastor - not a lucrative field, but very rewarding!) and we have three children. We are also debt free and are working on owning our home. If we can do it, anyone can.

Government intervention (for health care, school funding, etc.) is not the answer. More government actually means less money in our pockets because "the government" doesn't have any money of its own - it belongs to its citizens. Less government intervention (i.e. lower taxes) would actually lead to more money available for what we personally choose for our families.

It may be harder now than it used to be, I don't know. But we have to take personal responsibility for our own actions - it isn't possible to "have it all". I may step on some toes here but if you are buying too much house just so your kids can go to a "good" school (something Warren blames for the two income trap) maybe you ought to consider, oh, I don't know, Mom staying home with her kiddos, homeschooling, Christian schools, charter schools, on-line schools...Do you realize how many options we have these days?

It isn't "too expensive to have children". It may be too expensive to have more than two children and live a quintessential yuppie-puppy lifestyle but that's not my goal. And we, despite not looking rich on paper, do have "stuff". Lots of stuff, far too much stuff. I fight a constant battle against stuff.

These books telling us that it's the government's fault or society's fault are not helping anyone.

And for Pete's sake stop whining. I get enough of that from my kids! So you couldn't afford that McMansion you had your eye on - so what? If your goal for your kids is that they grow up to be materialistic me monsters then maybe the world would be better off if you didn't have children, or at least if you limit your procreation to one. Thankyoverymuch.

I'm guessing I'm not going to win any awards for compassion any time soon.

A Simpler Life?

Well, unless you are in my immediate family (and by that I mean you are Prince Charming or one of my three girls), or your first name starts with R or M and your last name starts with V, you were not present for our little fire Saturday night.

Yes, fire with smoke and acrid smell and everything. A real, honest to goodness fire. In our microwave.

It was my fault, I suppose. I put, per Tigger's request (not that I'm blaming her!), a pack of microwave popcorn in our formerly trustworthy appliance. I pushed the "popcorn" button, so convenient on the front. And one minute later smoke billowed forth and the microwave unceremoniously gave up the ghost.

Were you to come over this evening you could probably still smell the effect. Folks, It.Was.Bad. Headache inducing bad.

So now, we are attempting to live without a microwave. Not because we can't afford one or easily get one, but because we are experimenting to see what life is like without one.

Lesson #1: You cannot have the previously scheduled chicken stir-fry for dinner when the chicken is still in your freezer. You remind yourself to plan ahead, get the chicken to defrost for tomorrow and eat pancakes instead.

Lesson #2: The microwave clock in the corner that you use to check the time? It.ISN'T.There. Stop looking! Look at the stove where there is another perfectly good clock. STOP looking where the microwave isn't!

Lesson #3: You can still exist without a microwave but you will have lot more dirty dishes. Including dishes that are not dishwasher safe (your trusty cookware). You will not like this particular consequence.

Stay tuned. Think we can last the whole week without one?

Frugal Friday - Save Those Giftcards

Remember when I was complaining concerned about Easter dresses for my girls? Well as you can see, we did find some that we liked. These were the only ones that Prince Charming and I could find that we
1. both liked
2. felt were a good quality dress that could be worn all summer

These were not bargain dresses. And we bought each child new white dress shoes as well. (You can see in the above picture that Polly is more fond of walking in her stockinged feet - please pay no attention to how dirty they are! - but we still had to buy the shoes...) We managed to do this and only spend around $10 out of pocket. And if you're wondering why we didn't just hit the local thrift store...well, we didn't want to. We often do but for this occasion we wanted the girls to be matching and have something new. Don't take away my Frugal-ite certificate.
Our secret weapon this year? Gift cards!

We are surrounded by so many loving family members and friends. They are all very generous, especially around Christmas & Birthdays. This Christmas, because of a variety of circumstances, we ended up with several different gift cards which we have been
hoardingsaving for just such an occasion. The moral of this story is that even if you have gift cards in your pocket you don't have to use them immediately (although some do have time limits - be forewarned!). Hang onto them for a time when you'll need them.

Oh, and just for all you fashion police out there, the white sweaters with the tres chic leopard print collars did not come with the dresses. Those were another Christmas gift. Which saved me from having to buy brand new sweaters to match the dresses for the older girls. They didn't keep their sweaters on long, anyway.

Sweet Pea actually had an Easter sweater that had been handed down from her older sisters. So that's a bonus tip for you: save, in labeled boxes, the best clothes, especially if you have several children (or may have several children!) of the same gender. You'll still need to fill in the blanks in their wardrobe, but at least you won't be starting from scratch.

Frugal Fridays - Think it Through

I know I was rhapsodizing yesterday about a new retail store in my area and that hardly seems frugal. (Although we only spent $20). But one of the best parts is it just gave us some fresh perspective. We may not end up making any major purchase from that store but it did give us some ideas we can use with things we already have.

For some of the things we do want to consider purchasing we are doing just that: considering. We wrote down dimensions, prices, options, etc. and then we...came home. If we (by "we" I mean Prince Charming and myself not the girls!) decide that a certain thing will serve our needs / wants then we can go back and get it.

So many times the shopping experience is pressure, pressure, pressure, to buy now, now, NOW. Ever try to buy any new appliance without a pesky salesman at your elbow? Me either.

I'm just going to go out on a limb here and suggest that most things, for those of us blessed to live here in the USA, we do not "need" NOW. I'm not against buying stuff (although I feel like we personally always have too much no matter how much I declutter!) but I am against giving in to that feeling. You know the one: "If I don't buy this now I might not ever have the chance again."

Right. Stores are having sales all. the. time. There will always be more things dropped off at our favorite thrift stores. Some brave souls are going to have yard sales this summer. So don't panic. Consider carefully and then make your purchase and it doesn't matter whether it's for a small purchase ($5) or a large purchase ($50+), considering before you buy and fighting the urge to succumb to advertising - that's frugal!

Check out Biblical Womanhood for lots of great frugal inspiration.

Frugal Friday - Soup's On!

Yesterday, in the rush that is Thursday for our family, we had many things to do in the afternoon and early evening and we did not want to eat out. Don't get me wrong, we love eating out but we only budget a bit of money every month for that activity and yesterday was only the 6th.

So what can we cook while we're not there? You frugal black belts are jumping up and down and screaming "Crock pot, crock pot, USE the crock pot!"

Yes, frugal people tend to be passionate about their crockpots. And you will be pleased to hear that I did just that. I made a chicken enchilada soup in my crockpot that was part of one recipe, part of another, with a dash of another recipe thrown in.

My family (especially my culinary genius husband) was impressed. And, as I am what can best be called a reluctant cook, this worked well for all of us.

Soup has to be one of the most frugal foods out there. Think about it: little bits and pieces of ingredients, mostly liquid, warm, filling...I could go on.

Most soups are started with one of three bases:
- broth (chicken, beef, or vegetable)
- cream (this base tends to be more expensive)
- tomato

The soup I made yesterday actually built off chicken broth and tomato sauce. Once you have your base then you can add whatever you wish: left over vegetables, leftover meat, pasta, etc. Use your favorite spices that you have on hand or you can always add cheese, hot sauce, crackers or your own favorite soup topping to make your own version of a delicious frugal supper.

For lots of great ideas don't miss Frugal Fridays!

Frugal Fridays - Free Homeschool Resources

I've posted about some great homeschool resources here. Here are some more:

Homeschool Share This site has many great ideas, based on the Five in a Row Curriculum. Lots of great ideas for lapbooks, with all kinds of templates and printables as well.

Paula's Archives There is so much here! This site is wonderful if you follow a Classical school approach, with great ideas for History, Latin, Greek, and much more. Great ideas for things to do with preschoolers as well.

Exuberant Games This is Polly's new favorite math game site. Lots of online games.

Zoom School Enchanted Learning Coloring pages of all types, printables, maps, and more.

I honestly don't know how my parents managed to homeschool my sisters and me without the internet. I still remember when we got our first personal computer. Oh happy day! Remember DOS? And primitive windows?

I never could have imagined as a child how much computers would change the way we live. Then, if we wanted to have worksheets or activities for a subject my mom had to buy curriculum that included that subject or design her own.

Now, if we want a coloring sheet about Ancient Egypt, or Van Gogh's painting Bedroom at Arles, or practice writing Aa's all I have to do is click and print. Whatever we may spend in ink and printer wear is still less than buying a full curriculum we don't like.

Check out many more great frugal ideas at Biblical Womanhood.

Frugal Fridays - Homeschool Art Book

Part of each child's education, whether homeschooled or not, should be exposure to the best artists and the best works of art. Art books are usually quite expensive, although they can sometimes be found on sale, but even then you are possibly bringing into your home art that you do not aprove of or consider appropriate for your children. Here's my frugal solution:

This is a 12x12 postbound scrapbook album. They can often be found on sale at craft stores, at yard sales, or thrift stores. I paid around $4 for this one at "the big scrapbook store" as Polly calls the store with the initials H.L.

Next you need calendars. Lots of calendars. We bought each of the above for $1 each at a local bookstore. Watch closely around the end of January because they get drastically marked down. You may even be able to find some on Freecycle or by asking relatives. I always save our calendars so we had plenty of options.

Pull the pictures out of their binding (they are usually only secured by 2 staples). Write the desired information on the back, if you wish (artist, time period, title, etc) or make an index and list each work of art in your book. Insert the art page into the page protector. I use the 12x12 post bound because the page protectors open at the top, making insertion quick and easy. The above album holds 20 pictures. You can also buy extra pages for this type of album.

Here's one spread inside our album:

The pages lie flat, they are protected against sticky fingers, and my girls can look to their hearts' content, while I know that they won't accidentally see anything they shouldn't.

Each calendar has at least 12 works of art -of course! - and many often have 1-2 extra. So, if you pay $1 for a calendar each sheet is $ .08 or less. We're already starting another album and adding refills to our first. We hope to eventually have books dedicated to our favorite artists and books for specific periods. We do buy good art books when we find them but our homemade one is our favorite so far.

Check out Biblical Womanhood for lots of great frugal hints, tips, and ideas.