tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537049205031904094.post4598002613498301018..comments2023-07-23T08:15:34.909-04:00Comments on Raising Them Up: Living on a TRUE budgetidnar82http://www.blogger.com/profile/14170176049241944256noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537049205031904094.post-47668847732853859792009-10-12T21:10:30.514-04:002009-10-12T21:10:30.514-04:00Jeremy and I have seen God work so much in our liv...Jeremy and I have seen God work so much in our lives and in our marriage when finances are low (which is always, haha). He will bless your obedience! I've learned a few tricks over the years about how make a little go a long way. I've just started making my own cleaning products. I cannot believe how much that saves! I make everything - all purpose spray, laundry detergent and even dishwashing detergent. I've also just started cooking big meals and then freezing it. It saves a lot when you can buy bulk, but you have to use if fast so it doesn't go to waste. This is a really good time of year for soups and stews and those are perfect things to freeze. Another thing you can buy in bulk is Tang or Lemonade. My kids drink juice so fast and the powdered stuff lasts a lot longer. If you want to try them I can send you the recipes I use for cleaning products. By the way, your blog is really adorable! I wish I was diligent enough to keep up with mine. haha.Hannahnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537049205031904094.post-5625622562166160242009-10-10T21:49:18.905-04:002009-10-10T21:49:18.905-04:00It is really stressful, huh?!! We are in a financi...It is really stressful, huh?!! We are in a financial bind too! I know how you feel. It is so easy and it feels so good to buy what you need, want or just think is cute for the kids. But it stinks when all of it adds up so much that when something unexpected arrives(like a doctor bill you didn't think would come), it sends you over into stress world. I click coupons, buy generic if it is cheaper than the brand on sale + coupon and we rarely go out to eat. I have a budget and everything has it's allocated amount. If something comes up that isn't in the budget it has to come out of one of the categories. I am more determined than ever before to get out of debt and stay out. Dave Ramsey says to eat beans and rice to cut back on groceries until you get out of debt so that when you are out of debt, seeing rice and beans makes you sick and reminds you of the debt you were in. Anyways, I'm rambling too! Good luck and know that you're not alone in the sickness and stress. But we will both get through this with God as our Anchor!Krischahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04424421347544736549noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537049205031904094.post-85689985552271417092009-10-06T21:39:08.329-04:002009-10-06T21:39:08.329-04:00Thanks guys! I'd love to do the financial peac...Thanks guys! I'd love to do the financial peace university program, but we just haven't done it yet. I think we have a pretty good plan on how to pay off the debt from hearing from friends and family who have used the program. But I know we need direction in saving money properly. Our immediate need is just to make it week to week at the moment. We qualify for WIC, so we just signed the kids up for that today (we've qualified for a long time but our own pride has kept us from utilizing it)...that should at least provide proper food for them. We just need to get through until B deploys and then wait a month until he starts getting deployment pay. We will be able to breathe much easier then...even if we'll be multiple countries apart :-) Thanks a lot for the encouragement!idnar82https://www.blogger.com/profile/14170176049241944256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537049205031904094.post-16271477941636444362009-10-05T12:41:48.182-04:002009-10-05T12:41:48.182-04:00It sure can be tough! One of the things that help...It sure can be tough! One of the things that helped us so much, and you may already have done it, is write out and maintain a monthly budget worksheet. We did ours using the Crown Financial Ministries materials and guidelines, and then tweaked our percentages for the categories to fit our needs. This way, we know *EXACTLY* how much money we can spend on groceries, clothes, or even eating out each month. It has freed us up in so many ways! It takes about 30 minutes to sit down and do the worksheet at the end of the month, or you could do it weekly to check your progress. We love it! <br /><br />Best of luck in paying down your debt!Laurenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02944994623159561187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537049205031904094.post-43772915514243353902009-10-05T11:56:42.166-04:002009-10-05T11:56:42.166-04:00we are in the same boat...our once a month paychec...we are in the same boat...our once a month paycheck isn't large and the majority of it goes towards the house and bills. We are in Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University class at our church and it is helping us out greatly with paying off our debt and saving etc...and it has a lot of religious aspects put into it too. Check out his website, you and B might find some great tips on there to help you out even more! http://beta.daveramsey.com/Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00706811414627581849noreply@blogger.com