End of the year update: Finances, debt, family and more

Happy New Year's Eve!

I did want to just give an update on a few things going on in our life, and I would love to start updating the site more often. I've tried to clean up the site a bit ( I removed the AdSense for one thing, as I didn't understand how it worked and it looked to clutter up the blog). So as we approach the new year I wanted to share a few updates:

                                                                      Finances:
One of the things I've been open about here is our debt. Which is ridiculous. The last time I posted about it was in October of 2018 which you can read about here.  At that time our non mortgage debt was $144,798. Since then we have paid off $20,484. Bringing our debt down to $124,213. I'm glad that number is going down, however, it needs to go down further. I'm still being frugal, I'm sticking with our budget, but it just seems with 3 growing kids, a home to maintain and my tuition ( more on that in a minute) we did not have a ton extra to save. So for this next year, my goal is to get that number under $100k. So walk with me as we get that number lower!

                                                                    Family: 
We are doing so well. My kids are now 14, 12 and 8 and man are they amazing kiddos. They are doing great in school, and the older two are active in our church youth group, while the little guy is still in the Children's group at church. The 14 year old and 8 year old are taking piano lessons this coming year, the 14 year old has been taking lessons for a while but January will be the first month for the 8 year old. The 12 year old is doing great in her sewing classes- they aren't monthly lessons, but she does take a class here and there when there is one that tickles her fancy. Last night she hemmed a pair of jeans for my uncle and he gave her $3. So she's pretty excited about that.

                                                                   Animals:
We still have a ton of chickens ( not a ton, but maybe 25?) I haven't counted in a while. The chickens are really my 14 year old's thing and she knows their names, keeps tabs on them etc. We are getting some beautiful eggs each day and we enjoy fresh eggs. We still have 3 goats but are out of the rabbit business.

Throwback of my daughter when she was little, but she has always adored her chickens. 

                                                              My school: 
Thankfully, I am about to finish my PhD. I am on the dissertation phase and have collected my pilot data and am about to go into full scale data collection. I hope to be finished by the end of the Spring Semester. I may have to extend my graduation into the summer, but bottom line is that I only have about 3 more hours of tuition to pay, and most of that is paid for with a scholarship. I've tried really hard to get scholarships throughout this process, and anything I've owed, we've cashed flowed. We vowed for no new debt for my PhD- which we stuck to. So after my next tuition bill we will be finished paying for that and that money can be put somewhere else. I've also had to travel pretty often to the university, which was costly for plane tickets, hotels etc. So after one more trip ( to defend my dissertation) that expense will be finished as well!

I am starting a Pantry Challenge tomorrow, with my grocery budget being only $100 for the month of January ( and I haven't bought groceries in almost a week already) so that will help clean my freezer out and plan for what food(s) we need to plant and put up this gardening season. Read more about that in the coming days.

How has your year been? I'm excited to get back to visit with you guys!

Simple Decorating for the Holidays with Dollar Tree

   You all know that I love me some Dollar Tree. I'm excited that they have some great blog posts out for their affiliates to use! Please remember: This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Elegant DIY Wreath Using 3D Wreath Forms

December 15, 2019  |  DIY & Crafts  |  Written by The Dollarista

Looking to add some extra pop and pizzazz to your holiday décor? Well then, you’re in luck because I am here to show you how! I was in my local Dollar Tree the other day and came across these awesome 3D wreath forms and decided to buy a few to hang across my dining room table. I wanted a more natural and elegant look, so I wrapped green garland and fairy lights around them and then stuck LED candles in the center of them. They looked GORGEOUS hanging above my dining room table and really set the mood for the holidays!

Stock Up on These Supplies:

• 3D Wreath Forms
• Hot Glue Sticks
• Hot Glue Gun (Not Sold at Dollar Tree)
• Green Garland (One for each wreath you plan on making – the 10” wreaths will leave you a little extra garland afterwards)
• Fairy Lights or String Lights
• Floral Wire
• Twine or Fishing Line
• Hot Glue Gun (Not Sold at Dollar Tree)
• LED Candles
• Optional: Flowers, Ornaments, etc.

Follow Along Step-by-Step:

1. Assemble the 3D wreath forms as instructed with the included metal braces. I reinforced mine with hot glue at both of the points to make it extra sturdy.
2. Using your hot glue gun, adhere the garland to the wreath form’s wires by running a bead of glue on each wire and pressing the garland to the wire. It is best to do this a few inches at a time, and be careful, the glue will be hot.
3. If you’d like, you can decorate with fairy lights and LED candles (pictured) or get creative with ornaments, flowers, and more! Run twine through the top and hang it from the ceiling to make it float.

Looking for more ways to spruce up your holiday décor? Check out these simple ways to decorate for the holidays!

New Wife and being broke- memories of younger years and Pepperidge Farm Cake

If you read this title I know you are thinking.... WHAT? I'll explain.

My son stayed the night with my parents Saturday night and apparently my mom went to the grocery store and brought home a cake for him that was on sale. He wanted to bring it home to share with us as well. Super sweet kid.

But what it did was bring back memories. My husband and I got married when I was 21 and he was 23. He was just getting out of college, I was still in college and waiting tables. We were broke. He had an entry level job but we just didn't make much then. I remember it was his birthday and I wanted to so something special for him. I had been saving change in a Mason jar and went to our Kroger and cashed it in using that coin machine. I got about $15 out of it. I bought two pieces of meat, two fat baked potatoes and salad fixings. Then for dessert I splurged on a Pepperidge Farm Chocolate Fudge cake- just like the one my son brought home this weekend.

I remember my husband being thrilled with his steak dinner all those years ago. It's been a beautiful journey and even though we literally were "living on love" back then, I wouldn't change it. Good times and we learned to rely on each other and lots of prayer.

Word of the Year: Abundance

Abundance

Abundance. That is my word this year! Every year I try to pick out a word that I'm really going to focus on. You can read about a few previous years and my "word" here. 

This year I really want to focus on the abundance I have in my life.

The abundance of family and friends and love.

The abundance of the community and love I get from my church family.

The abundance of life and light that my children bring.

And also I'm going to focus on the abundance of material items as well.

 I've been really trying to instill in my kids that we have SO much.

 We have an abundance of food, of clothing, of space in our home.

We really need to be aware and be thankful of that abundance.

Do you all have a word for 2019? 

What is your word for 2019? If you wrote a blog post about it, feel free to comment with it below.



A frugal- yummy comfort food- Tator Tot Casserole

In my quest for frugality and still eating good tasting food We have turned towards casserole quite a bit lately. It's a nice dinner and I normally serve it with a green salad and a veggie. My youngest son doesn't care for the casserole, but he will eat the salad and vegetable. We normally have enough for 1-2 servings for leftovers as well. My husband says a nice hot sauce makes it just right:)

For this recipe you'll need:
1 pound ground beef ( or deer or sausage)
1 12 oz can evaporate milk
1 bag of tater tots
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup

Brown the meat and drain. Put in the bottom of a casserole dish.
Layer the tater tots on top of the meat.
Mix the milk and two cans of milk together in a bowl and whisk together. Pour mixture over the top of the tater tots.
Cook for about 1 hour at 350 degrees.

What are some of your frugal, easy dinner ideas?

Frugal Lunches for the week

I'm off work for the holidays but my husband will be going to work this week. One thing that I've been doing for a while now is making sure we have our lunches ready to go for the week before we go to bed on Sunday nights. It's one thing to say " we'll take leftovers" or " I'll come up with something in the morning". But what happens is that did not always happen and we ended up purchasing a lunch here and there and blowing our budget.

This nice little meal consists of a bean and cheese burrito, chicken flavored rice and pickled jalepenos that I put up this past summer. The entire lunch costs less than $1.50 TOTAL. I also had enough left over for about 2 servings of rice that I can eat for lunch sometime this week or we can use it for leftovers or in a soup or something for dinner and 4 bean burritos that I wrapped in foil and put in the freezer for a quick lunch or dinner down the road.

Here we go- five, frugal- yummy lunches that will ensure that my husband has a good lunch and we don't spend money on food we weren't planning to!

 

What are your go to lunch preps?

 

Happy Homesteading guys!

Earning Amazon Gift Cards for Christmas ( or whatever else you would like)

My husband and I have three kids and of course Christmas comes round once a year. So this year I tried to earn a few gift cards here and there through a few sites to save some money for the holidays. The great thing about Amazon is that they have toys of course, but also pantry supplies and I've purchased things like coffee and toilet paper from there before. The main site I use is

Swagbucks


The main ways I earn are from the daily poll ( 1 point) and then the searches. You get random amounts for searching through their search engine. They have games and such called Swago ( like Bingo) they do sometimes and if I have time then I'll do that- but it adds up nicely. You can cash out with as little as 300 points which is $3. Besides Amazon they have a ton of other options, and I cashed out $25 to Target around back to school for school supplies.

The next site I use a lot is Bing
www.bing.com
I'm pretty sure I don't get referral bonus points for when my friends sign up- but it's a super easy site so I wanted to share with you all anyways. You can earn up to 150 points a day searching and they have some bonus opportunities for earning through daily polls etc. It's super easy and I cash out 1-2 times a month for a $5 Amazon code.

The next site I use is Ibotta

When you sign up I get a $5 bonus and you get $10! You need $20 to cash out and you get paid for items you purchase at the grocery store ( or other stores) and then you scan the receipt with your phone. They have some offers that are called " any brand" so you may get 25 cents for a loaf of bread- it doesn't matter what brand. A while back they had a great deal on a particular breakfast sandwich my husband likes at Sams. They were on sale for $9.98 ( from $12.98) then for each box you got $5 from ibotta! It doesn't take long to rack up that way.


I hope some of these sites help you. There are several more I use but these are the easiest and faster I've found to earn money.

Please note there may be affiliate links in my post. Thanks!