Thursday, December 3, 2009

Celebrating Christmas with a Budget in Mind

As December quickly descends upon us, are you desperately seeking fresh ideas to celebrate Christmas without breaking the budget? Over the years, there have been many different things our family has done to celebrate Christmas without debt. Here are just a few of my personal favorite Christmas savings ideas!


LAY-AWAY!

Yes…the original “30 days same as cash” is BACK and in its original form, there is no super small print, high fees or interest. Our local K-mart reintroduced Law-away plans last year and it has been quite successful. For any one reading this younger than 30, a Layaway plan is simply involves going to the store, determining what you desire to purchase for gifts and take it to the Customer Service Counter, where it is totaled and you agree to make weekly (or biweekly) payments. When it is paid off, you receive your merchandise. The beautiful thing about Layaways is that if you have a small home, there is no worrying about hiding the present till Christmas—the store will do it for you! It’s a win-win situation!


Focus on Quality not Quantity.

This Christmas chose one or two higher quality gifts rather than several inexpensive gifts. This is beneficial for a variety of reasons. First, you will save money and secondly, have you ever noticed how quickly the cheap/inexpensive toys last? In our home, usually by Christmas night, the cheap toys were broke, cried over and tossed out! This will save $$ as well as your child’s tears and stress for Mom and Dad.


3 Wiseman Gifts

One Christmas when our teens were younger, we were extremely strapped for cash. However, this has become one of our more special Christmas memories. It was the year of the “3 Wise men Gifts”.

The “3 Wise men Gifts” was based loosely upon the Christmas idea that 3 wise men came to Jesus and presented the gifts of Frankincense, Gold and Myrrh.

For our family this translated into 3 gifts—one practical (clothing), one Spiritual and one fun (game, toy) gift. We were greatly blessed celebrating a simple Christmas together—Joy abounded and our family had loads of fun sharing the why this specific gift was chosen as one of the 3.

Advent Gift

Once again, loosely based on the idea of Advent studies, the general idea is that each child receives one small gift throughout the Advent season ($2-3) and then one larger gift on Christmas day. For us, we found this idea to work as well as the others, because it was hard to find gifts under $3 that weren’t junk. We then did the same principles but on a “12 days of Christmas” schedule (12 days leading up to Christmas) and loosely based it on the song (as budget allowed). This was fun although it can quickly become more expensive if not kept on a strict budget (at least for me as I LOVE to shop for gifts…Gifts is my love language and honestly, I love to give them as much as I like to receive them!)


Recycled Gifts

Finally, don’t be afraid of using Goodwill and Mission Mart type stores. Frequently, they will receive new or nearly new items and sell them at a fraction of the new price. One of my best Christmas buys for my daughter when she was 4. I found a Little Tykes kitchen at a Children’s Consignment shop for $10. It was in great condition, and had everything but the coffee pot. I contacted Little Tykes and purchased one for $5 with shipping. She was thrilled!

Do you have any favorite Christmas celebrating on budget ideas? Would love to hear them!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Christmas Celebration Tips....save money, less stress and enjoy the season!

     December is quickly arriving in my area (snow is expected tonight!) and with it comes the excitement, the additional need for $$ and stress! Beginning today, I plan to share a special daily tip to bring more joy and less stress and financial hardship to the season!
I would also love for you to share any tips of your own that help you to save money, have less stress and enjoy this beautiful Christmas season!! be sure to leave a comment!

Today's tip: Freezer Cookies! What better way to prepare Christmas cookies, either by baking ahead and freezing (works great for some recipes) or prepare the dough ahead of time and just use as you need it!
Early December is the perfect time to begin preparing ahead your Christmas treats!

My favorite 'freezer cookie' recipe:
Mexican Wedding Cakes:
*makes 50 or so cookies--easily double and tripled for all your gift giving/celebration needs!

Ingredients


1 pound soft unsalted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups finely chopped pecans (optional)
5 cups sifted pastry flour

Powdered sugar for dusting

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and powdered sugar in mixer until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Add vanilla, salt and pecans if desired. Remove from mixer and stir in pastry flour by hand being careful not to overmix. Form into football shapes about the size of small walnuts and place on a buttered cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until just beginning to get the slightest bit colored on the bottom. Remove upon the first sign of color and set on a rack to cool. When cool gently roll in powder sugar. Store in airtight container or in freezer bag and freeze. To use: Thaw and serve.



 
Leslie at Journey to Simplicity has just listed 3 fabulous sounding Freezer Cookie Recipes...You can check them out here! I cannot wait to try them!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Favorite "Freezer Meal" (Once a Month Cooking) recipes

With the hectic holiday season fast approaching, this is the PERFECT time to consider Freezer Cooking (Once a Month) Cooking--even if you find life moving too fast to cook up 30 days worth of meals..I encourage you to begin with cooking/freezing 2 weeks worth of meals.

The beauty of Freezer Meals (or Once a Month Cooking) is that you simply decide what meal you would like for dinner, pull it out of the freezer in the late morning, allow to thaw and simply reheat it in the evening!

Here are a couple recipes our family really enjoy:


Goulash


Ingredients for Cooking Day:
1 lb. ground beef
1 large can tomato sauce - 29 oz.
1 can (4oz) mushrooms
1 can corn (drained)
1 cup elbow macaroni
1chopped green pepper
1/2 onion chopped
1 clove garlic chopped.
May add oregano or Italian seasonings if desired
4 oz. Velvetta Cheese

Directions for Cooking Day: Cook elbow macaroni half the recommended time. Brown meat with bell pepper, onion, garlic. Add rest of ingredients and cook over low heat till Velvetta melted. .Cool and freeze in freezer bag (or glass dish)  We will often double and triple this recipe  and freeze.

Directions for Serving Day: Defrost and heat. Serve with Parmesan cheese if desired.


Pizza Pasta Casserole

Ingredients for Cooking Day:
1- 1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1 large onion, chopped
2 (28 oz each) spaghetti sauce (or make your own)
1 pkg (16 oz) spaghetti noodles
4 cups (16 oz) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 eggs
8 oz sliced pepperoni

Directions for Cooking Day:
Cook spaghetti noodles according to package instructions. While pasta is cooking, brown ground beef with onion, in a large skillet over medium heat. Drain fat. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Divide noodles evenly . Mix each portion of noodles with 4 oz. mozarella cheese and one egg. Spray 2-- 9"x13" baking casseroles with non-stick cooking spray, and place noodle mixture into bottom and sides of dish. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees till firm yet not crispy. Place 1/2 of spaghetti mixture into each "noodle crust". Top with Pepperoni and Mozarella. Cool. Cover with aluminum foil and freeze.

Directions for Serving Day: Thaw in fridge . Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes or until heated through.
Makes 2 meals--can easily be double and tripled for more freezer recipes!

For more GREAT Freezer recipes, be sure to check out these 2 resources!

Frugal Mom's Guide to Once a Month Cooking

Hillbilly House Wife Freezer Cooking Made Simple

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Living On One Income part 2: Creative Christmas Gift Ideas

As Thanksgiving descends quickly upon us, many of our thoughts will turn to Christmas gift giving. Christmas is often the most stressful times of the year for those who live on one income, and at times it can cause great dissension in families. (I can vividly still recall one Christmas family celebration that we were not invited to after I made the radical request for family “name drawing”.)

Christmas is a beautiful time for celebrating faith, family and friends and it is such a blessing to be able to keep the right focus. Our family has given creative, inexpensive gifts for the past several years. We have been blessed, not only by being true to our budget (and celebrating Christmas without debt!) but also by being able to work together to create family gifts. They have always been well received and enjoyed.

Creative Christmas Gifts:

-Create a Family Cookbook.

This was one of our absolute favorite family projects! Without telling various family members why, we solicited individual family favorite recipes from grandparents, Aunts and Uncles and cousins we celebrate the holidays with. Our children then typed the recipes and used clip art to decorate the pages. We printed off the necessary copies and purchased 3 ring binders/page protectors for each family represented. Although there are various other ways to create the cookbook, we found that the using a 3 ring binder allowed the family to add more recipes as they found others they liked. We then decorated the covers with a family picture (copied onto plain paper) and named the cookbook. This family gift cost less than $10 per family and was greatly LOVED!

--Cookies/Brownies in a Jar

This has recently become a very popular gift (and I never fainted the first time I saw a “cookie in a jar” gift at the local craft store for $10!) They are relatively easy to make and are inexpensive. Christmas Cookies –Gifts in a Jar has several great recipes! and you can find specific recipes/helps at Family Crafts . If you are familiar with this concept (or have made Cookies in A Jar previously) check out this website for other gift  jar ideas.

--Potpourri Candles

This is simple enough for even a young child to do and makes a perfect gift for them to give.
Supplies: 1 8oz canning jar, one clear wide mouth votive candle holder, small bag potpourri and one small votive candle. Fill canning jar approx. ½ full with potpourri (Cinnamon is amazing this time of year), place small candle holder inside jar lid, place candle in votive candle holder. Enjoy!

--Family photos

In this era of digital cameras it is very easy and cost effective to give family photos for gifts. In order to have quality photos, first you will want to search out the perfect background. The perfect background is the one that represents your family the best. This can be a white sheet tacked to a wall, with your family standing elegantly in their special Christmas attire or it can be taken outdoors with nature providing the perfect background. If you plan to include ALL family members and cannot afford to purchase a tripod, you can ask a friend to take the photos for you.

Once the photos are completed, you can edit them (crop, remove red eye and even improve colors) with the picture software included in most computers when purchased. Be sure to practice on a variety of photos, you will become more comfortable and your photos will look their absolute best!
After the photos are edited, check with a variety of stores with photo printing capabilities. Wal-Mart offers this; however, we frequently find the best prices at Walgreens (check online for coupon codes!) Last year, we printed Christmas photos for the family—including 8x10’s, 5x7’s and a variety of poses in wallet sizes for cards for less than $30. Once you have had your photos processed, you can purchase a nice wood frame for a couple dollars. These make PERFECT gifts for family members, especially grandparents!

--Make your own coupons!

Utilizing your word processing program on your computer, you can create coupons for everyone on your shopping list! Some suggestions we have used successfully include: Free Babysitting; Dad can give Mom a coupon for one afternoon of Quiet Time; One Clean Room coupon—give your kids one coupon for you to clean their rooms. Be creative! Each family situation has special situations and will be blessed by receiving this thoughtful gift.

Happy Creating! There are other great ideas available for Christmas gift giving. Doing some online research may find you other creative options. May your Christmas season be joyous!

Monday, November 16, 2009

The Christmas Cookie Project Free E-book

For several years, we have made a variety of Christmas cookies and given them as gifts to friends, family and those who serve us (mailman, paper-girl, etc) They are always well received and thoroughly enjoyed!
Today I learned of a free Ebook whose goal is to help you plan and prepare Christmas cookie trays. What I LOVE about this book, is it includes recipes and an ingredient list for ALL the cookies at the beginning. It also has scheduling pages and pages for you to organize your gift list.
Be sure to check out The Christmas Cookie Project Ebook.

I will be posting more this week on creatively celebrating the holidays on a frugal budget. Enjoy these free resources and be sure to check out the once a month cooking posts! They are guaranteed to save you $$$. I also plan to share a couple of our favorite recipes!

Friday, November 13, 2009

Free Holiday Idea Book

In previous posts, I have mentioned taking advantage of Internet Freebies--today I just received info on The Old Schoolhouse's Holiday Idea book..
It is loaded with great information, recipes,craft ideas and gift ideas!
Simply click on the book below to access it.


2009 Holiday Digital Supplement/Idea Book

Thursday, November 12, 2009

An Alphabet Stew of Frugal Tips

A- Ads---use them!
B- Buy on sale-Never pay full price
C-Coupons
D-Drink water! (health and cost benefit)
E-Eat in more than out
F-Free days. Check with your local museums and zoos for free days
G-Goals--write them down.
H-Hunt-Hunt for meat (deer, buffalo or if city dweller-Hunt bargains)
I-Internet-Free resources galore online: Coupons, Homeschool Resources etc
J-Join with others to share babysitting/child care
K-Keep your library card current and use it!!
L-Less is more
M-Mission Mart makes for some great bargains
N-Netlix (far cheaper than cable)
O-Organize your shelves--knowing what you have keeps you from overbuying
P-Paperback swap
Q-Quick Meals--Freezer meals save money!
R-Reward self for progress seen in paying off debt pay with Cash!
S-Season shopping. Great bargains for buying fruit/veggies in season
T-Talk to others: Share coupons, ads, clothes, homeschool books
U-Understand money is only a tool--it doesn't define who YOU are!
V-Vegetables: Grow and freeze/can your own
W-Work together as a family
X-eXamine your current attitude toward money
Y-Young. Train your children from a young age how to handle money
Z-Zero in on what is truly important!