November 1, 2005
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On a more personal and practical note….
I’ve declared this week to be NO SPEND WEEK!
I’ve gone over my budget so I’m needing to pull back some. I’m already facing some challenges but it’s amazing what a homemaker can come up with in her own house if she is put to the test.
I ran out of facial moisturizer so I did a search on the web to see what I could use that I had in my pantry. Lo and behold I read that you can use olive oil. So, I’ve been trying it for two days and it’s working. The first night I put it on my entire face but I decided it might be better to just put it on my eyes for now. That seems to be working fine.
I also ran out of gel bleach which I like to use in my sinks but I had some Ajax so I’ll make do. I ran out of Kleenex in the large box but found I had some small purse size ones that will do just fine for now.
I got this idea from Cindy’s Porch. I think grannyfox told me about them. Great site. They are challenging everyone to shop out of their pantry this week. I’m amazed how much STUFF I have that I’m not using. Time for that to change.
Cindy also challenged everyone to clean out their freezer which I did and found that I had meat that was too old to use. That’s a shameful waste. It just seems the days are so busy that I can’t keep up with everything but I’m going to try to do better on that end. I’ve been trying to approach my day to major on money saving duties first, if at all possible.
For instance, after my devotions and morning duties (bed making, dishes,feeding animals,laundry) are done I think of what I can do to stretch our income. Cooking is a big money stretcher because if you run out of cooked food at home you tend to want to go out to eat. I wonder if this is why Laine from Laine’s Letters cooks first thing in the a.m.s. instead of waiting until late afternoon. By that time you are tired and not in the mood to cook as much or stand on your feet as long. This is how my husband instructed me to run the book business. God always comes first but if I was stuck as to whether dust the shelves or do the trade-ins my husband would tell me to do what would make money first since we had to pay the bills. Of course, wisdom has to be used. We know we are to seek first the kingdom of God so if a Mama called on the phone or came in and needed prayer or help I would drop everything. What I am talking about is when you have menial duties to do and can’t decide which one to do next. Oftentimes I will choose to do what will stretch my husband’s income.
I also make laundry a priority because I can save quite a bit of money if I hang my clothes on the line or rack dry them. I never used to have a large laundry room so I would hang my clothes on racks in my bedroom. I rarely have to use the dryer if I stay on top of the laundry and don’t let it get behind. I can save at least $50.00 by doing this… maybe more. Once the clothes are dry I FLUFF them in the dryer for a few minutes so they won’t be stiff. This would be a challenge with a large family in the winter. But, a few loads could be done which would lower the electric bill some.
I’m going to pull out our little space heaters today. I put the electric blankets and pads on the beds last week to get ready for winter. Between the electric blankets and space heaters I find I rarely have to use my house heater which also saves us a ton of money in the winter. We also use our fireplace. I need to bring some wood up the house soon and drag out some newspapers and the log carrier for my husband.
I read this in Psalms today and loved it…
Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O Lord, you preserve both man and beast. How priceless is your unfailing love.! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 36:5-7
He is faithful even when we are not. How often I take that for granted. I spend more money than I should and take His provision for granted. Yet, He continues to love me and provide me… He leads me ‘gently’ to repentance! Thank you, dear kind Lord, that you are a God who is longsuffering. Change my heart. Change my ways to please you. I hunger and thirst for your righteousness. Fill me!
Comments (12)
money…….that is a struggle here for me too…….i love your ending to your post….wow…..i have been praying for self control for a couple areas in my life…..Have a great day :O) Thanks for being so transparent :O)
As usual, you have made me stop and think. I need to purchase groceries today but first, I will go through my freezer and pantry to plan my menus to use up what we have first. I don’t usually do this and just ‘double stock’. I think this would be wise on my part as I am all for saving money! As I am trying to lose weight, I keep asking myself, how little can I get by with eating? We have noticed that we just about always eat all we want but now in cutting back, I am trying to eat less than I want. I am also trying to find recipes that are healthy. We are getting ‘belly fat’ around here and I am cutting way down on sugars and starches. Thanks for the tip about when our house is out of food, we want to go out and eat. We are sooo guilty of that. I do try to keep some homemade soup in the refrigerator at all times. I do want to be a good steward of what He has given us.
Your site is my very favorite. It is full of God’s truths and I think you are an asset to women.
Thank you and God bless you,
Faye
RYC To find the site of the friend who lost weight, just click on user in your xanga search and type in dawnsearlylight. See if that works.
Thank you for your post. This is grocery week for me. So, I will take your advice and go thru my cabinets, freezers and frig to see what I have that I can use. I know that I have some wild turkey cutlets that have been in their since March. Would these still be good? They were wrapped in plastic wrap, then freezer paper. One area in which I really waste is not gettign the meats I buy into the freezer when I bring them home. I have wasted so much meat that way.
I mentioned to my son this morning that the the bible talks about self control and that “he” needs to start exercising it. He said “we” need to start that. I had to agree.
“Thank you, dear kind Lord, that you are a God who is longsuffering. Change my heart. Change my ways to please you. I hunger and thirst for your righteousness. Fill me!” Love this prayer. I pray it for myself. Thank you.
Terrific posting today! I plan to try some of your tips. I’m not in a tight spot yet but it certainly is a good trait to be frugal. We are a nation of wasteful people.
Good tips! I know we waste $$$ eating out too much at our house!
Oh Georgene….this blog makes me feel sooo good!! …Cuz I actually do this all the time. We usually run out of funds by the end of the month…so we are stretching everything at that time. Also, if I forget something during my once-a-week shopping trip, I just try to make due with what I have! It’s fun to have the Lord show you something you forgot you had. Usually when I run out of something, I now know that God will provide for me, and that I will be able to substitute with something else. It’s awesome and so wonderful that God cares about us in the little things. Also, THANK YOU for the tip on fluffing clothes that have been line-dried. I quit using the clothesline lately because I just like the way the clothes feel when they’ve been in the dryer. So thanks for that lovely tip, and have a wonderful evening! Love, Jeani p.s. My new blog is at http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/rosehillranch/
Hey, that verse really spoke to me this week also. God is so good.
Isn’t Cindysporch great. She has inspired me with the shop at home message. With as prices what they are shopping less saves in more ways than one. Do you have a book business? I love books.
This message touched me, too. Today is laundry day and the forecast is for 78 degrees!! i used to always hang my clothes outside or dry them on racks in the basement, but since our basement here is not conducive to that, i have gotten lazy and use the dryer all the time. Today they go outside! and i’m going to dry the clothes inside more this winter since it is usually just my dh and i with our son home from college for holiday break. (YAY!!) Thanks for the practical reminders. i also love your spiritual reminders.
Great post. I too use drying racks. I purchased two at http://www.lehmans.com and had them paid for in 4 months time. I liked your comments about eating out of the pantry.
Laine’s Letters have become quite the inspiration for me. Sadly, when I first started getting them, I thought is this lady for real? I mean 4am Bible studies and every thing! Then she shared her testimony about why she gets up at 4am and I felt properly chastised.