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!

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!

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

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!

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!

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.

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!

Freezer Cooking Made Simple review

One of the most effective, creative ways to save money at the grocery store that I have found is "Once a month cooking" or "Freezer Cooking". Freezer cooking allows you to take advantage of bulk purchase savings at warehouse stores as well as the "side effect" of having quick meals prepared in advance, hence saving $$$$ on eating out or on the purchase of the premade meals found in your local grocery store's freezer section.

Here is a quick review on Freezer Cooking Made Simple by Hillbilly Housewife. She has loads of great frugal articles on her blog--so be sure to check her out!



Product Name: Freezer Cooking Made Simple.


This eBook( I just LOVE e-books! They are immediately available!) is filled with all the information necessary to learn how to freeze foods and make those dollars stretch. With information such as how to get started, what items you need, what foods freeze well and foods that don’t quite cut it when it comes to freezing, this eBook tells it all!



Worksheets, printable labels and even a few quick and easy recipes are included to get you started with healthier meals when living on a tighter budget.



As a homeschool mom, wife and just all around caretaker of my home I needed to find something that would take less time and save me money in the kitchen. I went looking for ideas and found many that seemed to be the answer. Most of them I found to be more time consuming than anything. Then, I came upon this eBook.Freezing foods makes sense in all aspects. It’s amazing how in just one afternoon you can have a freezer full of healthy foods to feed your family for a month. This eBook will show you how.



It’s easy to understand, has all the facts you need to know and will give you the answers to any questions you may have. Freezer Cooking Made Simple is set up so that even the newly married can find what she needs. It explains why freezing foods can save you money and time. It talks about what you need in the way of equipment, how to shop for foods and how to cook these foods. There is a section that explains how to safely store your freezer meals including labels to help you remember exactly what you have and how to reheat it. Susanne has included a printable shopping list along with a worksheet to help plan your meals on a weekly and monthly basis.



Best of all - there are even a few recipes added to get you started.If you’re looking for a way to save money and time in the kitchen, I strongly urge you to take a look at Freezer Cooking Made Simple. Once you read through it, put it into motion immediately. You will see that this is a very simple and easy way to make those hours in the kitchen count. Shopping, cooking and freezing foods aren’t as hard as many of us believe. Give it a chance and you will find the answer you’ve been looking for all along!

Living on One Income part 1: Creativity at the Grocery Store

I remember it like it was yesterday. Nearly 10 years ago, I heard a still small voice in the depths of my heart beckoning me to walk away from a full time RN income for the sole purpose of being a stay at home wife and mom. This was a tremendous step of faith for both my husband and I. You see, when we had married 7 years earlier, he had lovingly referred to me as “his meal ticket”—yes, I was the main bread winner of our family, in fact, I made nearly twice as much as my precious husband and it was truly not an issue in our marriage…well, not until God showed up and started drawing us down a different path.

Although the past 10 years have been some of the happiest of my life, to say that they have been stress free would be a lie. God has brought us on an amazing journey in the past 10 years, one of great joy and yes, one of great sacrifices and struggle. However, the most valuable lesson I have learned is this---It is possible, very possible, to live in the 21st century on one income!! It just requires some creative thinking! Creative ways to save money at the grocery store, creative ways to celebrate holidays and birthdays and creative ways to bring in a few extra dollars—whether to give a little more “wiggle room” in the budget or for some “fun money”—having a few extra dollars available often gives an extra measure of peace to our home.

For part one of Living on One Income, I want to focus on creativity at the grocery store.

Most of us are aware of the value of coupon shopping; however, did you know that most retailers will double coupons up to a $1. Some retailers even offer special “Triple Coupon” days! Be sure to check your local ads and even ask at your local store. Many retailers offer online coupons, which will be applied to your shopper’s card, saving you the hassle of clipping and sorting coupons!

Creativity at the grocery store will also often involve a bit of bending and reaching! Did you know that most retailers will place the higher price items at eye level? The best deals are often found on the top shelf and the bottom 2 shelves. Being willing to do a little more work (bending and reaching) can save you hundreds of dollars a year!

Another creative approach to grocery shopping is known as CHERRY PICKING! This is a term used to describe an “ad shopper”. What exactly is an “ad shopper”? An ad shopper (or cherry picker) is used to describe 2 types of shoppers. The first one shop at numerous stores buying only what is on sale at each store or a cherry picker may be one who will shop one store and purchase the sale/reduced items only. This is the category I tend to be since we live in the country. Each week I will take my local store ads, find the one with the best sales and will plan my menus and grocery shopping around the sale items. It is actually quite easy to create various menus from only sale items. Most stores will offer more than one type of meat, and vegetable item in their ads, which allows you freedom to create wonderful meals, all using sale items!

When doing your grocery planning, you must never assume that the big name discounter stores have the best prices. For our family, we have found that often times, the big name discounter is frequently more expensive on the fresh fruits/vegetables and other staple items we purchase. On a regular basis, we find our family’s favorites less expensive in the grocery store ads.

Finally, if there are any warehouse stores in your area, check into joining them. Not all warehouse stores will be a financial benefit to all families. In our area, the Sam’s Club store will offer one day free entrance passes several times a year. Be sure to take advantage of these opportunities (or find a friend who is a member and ask to tag along) to do price comparisons. Make a list of your typically purchased items and check the prices against the store you normally shop at and the warehouse store. We have found that some of the items we purchase are a tremendous bargain at the warehouse store and some are not. It always an excellent idea to price compare before spending the money to join a warehouse club that may not be worth the expense to your family budget.

These are just a few of the grocery savings tips we have learned over the year (often the hard way!) We will be adding sharing more tips as time permits. Be sure to visit frequently or sign up for our RSS feed updates.

Also be sure to check out our previous post on monthly cooking--guaranteed to save you money at the grocery store!

Feed your family AND save money--the impossible mission!

One of the most successful plans we found for saving money on meals was "Once a Month Cooking". There are many financial and health benefits to Once a Month Cooking (or OAMC as it abbreviated).

With wise planning, meals to feed a family of 4 will average between $4-6--thats for the WHOLE family not per person! What is wise planning? Wise planning involves using your local grocery store ads and coupons to plan the meals for a month. If available, it is also beneficial to take advantage of a wholesale club, like Sam's and Costco (when else are you able to use those HUGE portion sizes!).

Preparing meals for 30 days will require some effort on your part--primarily on "cooking day". It is imperative to remember, however, that cooking for one day will allow you to relax the other 29 days!! Not to mention, you will have meals ready to "heat and eat" available for days when your life gets busy and you will also have a ready supply of meals to share with someone in need.

Not to be overlooked are the significant health benefits to Once a Month Cooking.
With OAMC you control the amount of sodium or preseratives in the meals and you no longer will need to make those unhealthy fast food pick ups on the way home!

OAMC is HIGHLY recommended to save $$$$ on your grocery budget and you will enjoy the additional benefit of a greatly improved diet for yourself and your family!

One of the newest (and most reasonable!) resources we have found for OAMC is the Frugal Mom's Guide to Once a Month Cooking.

Learn more HERE

ABC's of Personal Finances

Just for fun we created an alphabetical index of Tips for successful personal finances--you can read an indepth description of the Personal Financial Plans ABCs here.
Enjoy!!

A-Assess
B-Budget
C-Communicate
D-Debt NO MORE!
E-Emergency Fund!
F-Find areas over budget and trim
G-Give
H-Help others either financially or through service projects.
I-Income must exceed outflow
J-Just DO IT! (a budget that is!)
K-Kill the greed monster
L-Learn to find bargains
M-Money is only a tool—does not determine self worth
N-Never too late to start
O- owe no one anything except to love one another (Rom 13:8 NKJV)
P-Pray!
Q-eQuip yourself to succeed
R-Rainy day fund
S-Set Goals
T-Tithe
U-Understand your responses toward money
V-View of money is different in women and men—learn the differences!
W-Wealth Building
X-eXamine your spending habitsY-You CAN do it!
Z-Zealously plan to change your financial future

To read our indepth look at the ABC's of Personal Financial Planning click here!

What's Love got to do with it?

In the 1980's there was a popular song by Tina Turner, entitled, "What's love got to do with it?" and our question for you today is this: What does love have to do with finances? As a Believer in Jesus Christ, what does love have to do with our money?

Many of us quickly jump to the verse in 1 Timothy, "love of money is the root of all evil", yet, we truly see this as a "knee jerk" negative response to money. Yes, the LOVE Of money is the root of evil, however, there can be a positive way of looking at money through the lens of God's word.

Earlier this week, we wrote an article entitled, Basic Christian Finances: What the Bible says about debt (which was the catalyst for this blog). In this article we discuss love and money in a positive light, using Scripture as our foundation! It is a MUST Read!! Just click here to read the entire article.

What is the purpose of Basic Christian Finances Blog?

WELCOME to our new blog!

Just wanted to make a couple introductory remarks to introduce the purpose of this blog and to invite your comments, as we explore ways for the brothers and sisters of Christ to live a life worthy of the call He has given to us.

It has been a little over 10 years ago that we felt God call us to prioritize raising our children. Part of this call included home-educating them as well as making the necessary adjustments for Dad to work a "normal" schedule (40-45 hours) so that he could be home in the evenings and for Mom to give up her full time Nursing career to be in the home. Yes, this call has presented many challenges, however, it has also presented God the amazing opportunity to show up in MIGHTY ways! Through the past 10 years, God has been faithful in ways we never thought possible!

It is our desire to share some of the things He has taught us over the past 10 years. We greatly desire to encourage others in living a simpler lifestyle--one that prioritizes the family and using the "talents" God has given each one of us effectively and for His glory.

The Ultimate purpose of this blog will be to encourage one another in living a simpler lifestyle as well as to share creative ways to live frugally. It is our hope to update often and to invite you to share your ideas with others. We look forward to getting to know you and learning from you as we share ideas.

As "owners" of this blog we reserve the right to delete any comments that do not meet the stated purpose or that are "spam" in nature. Thank you for understanding.

It is our prayer through this blog, that you will see Him as your personal JEHOVAH JIREH--the God who provides!