Expressions of Perceptions

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We eat a healthy non-gmo diet, mostly organic, so I don’t expect our food to be cheap.  I’d really like to lower my food budget, but I’m not sure how to.  I recently read a food article buy a woman who feeds her family of 6 (5 of whom are boys with double-digit ages!) on $600 a month.  Sadly, that woman puts me to shame, and we’re only a family of 5.  Her family eats mostly organic, and they do have a huge garden and fruit tress that they preserve the harvest from, but they don’t eat much meat, and they do eat alot of noodles.  Unfortunately, that wouldn’t fly at my house.  Not to mention, food in her area of the country is much cheaper than it is here.  (One example, my eggs cost over double the amount that she pays for her eggs.  Don’t even get me started on the price comparison for fruits and meat.)

My kids are still young, but they sure do eat alot.  And they’re not only picky, but one of them also has food allergies.  I have to try to cook food that both tastes good and is safe for my family to eat, and that’s quite a challenge.

My oldest child detests cheese, noodles, anything pickled, and anything spicy.  My middle child refuses meat, but loves her cheese and carbohydrates.  My youngest child is wonderful because he likes most things.  And my husband hates vegetables and will rarely eat fruit, and he’s pretty much opposed to anything that may even be remotely construed as healthy.

I think one of the reasons I spend so much money on food is because in trying to please everyone, every meal turns out to be a feast in which I prepare a main dish with multiple side dishes so that there’s sure to be something that everyone will eat.

Yes, it’s most likely my fault for letting my kids get so picky instead of just telling them to eat what’s on the table (although my mother-in-law bears the responsibility for my husband’s pickiness), but I swear they’d go on a week-long hunger strike, my husband included, if I did that.  Trust me, I’ve tried, but I worried they would starve if I didn’t cave.

Getting back on subject, my goal is to find some healthy, inexpensive, kid-friendly, husband-friendly recipes to make for the month of February.  I know I’ll experience some resistance at first, but I’ve got to try.  I’m hoping that making a meal calendar in advance will help me to plan my meals and shopping list, and perhaps swap out some more expensive meals for less expensive ones.  So, I’ve got my meal calendar made.  Now I’m going to see what I can change on it to make it less expensive yet equally nutritious.  I know I won’t be able to cut my food budget in half in a single month, but by planning ahead with my meal calendar, I’m hoping to whittle it down a little bit every month until it’s at least close to what I want it to be.

I’m blessed to live in a country that has freedom of religion.  Although many countries around the world have freedom of religion, many do not.  This freedom exists not just for religious people, but also for athiests and agnostics. 

I recently read a quote that adresses that issue wonderfully, and I’m going to share it with you below.  It’s not trying to force religion on anyone, nor does it support taking religion away from anyone.  It’s a peaceful, rational thought that could help us all live together more peacefully.

“If you don’t believe in God, fine. I get it. You don’t have to. But why organize around disbelief? Why evangelize against something? I just don’t understand. Do people gather to share their dislike of music or art? Do people have meetings to talk about why they never started smoking? As Christians, we ought not be hostile. But in honest dialog, it is fair to turn the tables. When belittled for “gathering around our superstition”, it must be asked how gathering around lack of belief is inherently more reasonable or noble.” -Scott Smith (of TC Apologetics)

If you’ve ever read any of my writings, you know that I’m a huge advocate of budgeting.  I like to know where my money’s going and how much of it is going there.  Living in the northeastern part of the country though, some of my bills, especially gas and electric, can fluctuate quite a bit throughout the year.

Fortunately, most of my utilities are on the budget program.  Being on the budget program means that my bills are the same year-round, even though I use more heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer.

For example, I may only use $30 worth of natural gas in June, but use $300 worth of natural gas in December.  That’s definitely a huge fluctuation.  On the budget program, the gas company would estimate my total yearly expected usage, based on my previous usage, and divide the total amount by 12 (for the 12 months of the year).  That would be my total monthly bill, no matter what the season.

It’s much easier to plan my monthly budget when I know what my bills will be.  I’m sure it would be helpful for you, too.  So, check with your utility companies to see if they offer a budget program that you could sign up for.  If they don’t you could always urge them to start one!

I’m trying to purge my house of “things”.  My oldest daughter was recently diagnosed with multiple allergies, the most severe of which is, according to her blood test, caused by dust.  Well, the fewer things we have, the fewer things for dust to cling to.  Apparently though, we aren’t the only ones getting rid of things.

My pastor’s wife, a wonderful friend of mine, called and asked me to come over to her house to get some clothes for myself and my children.  She said a woman in town had donated 18 big rubbermaid totes full of assorted clothing left over from a yard sale.  The woman didn’t want the clothing to go to Goodwill where it would be sold.  Instead, she wanted people to have it for free.

That really is a great idea.  I know that when I’m getting rid of things, I usually try to think of someone to offer them to.  If I can’t think of anyone, I take the items to Goodwill.  Sometimes I even just throw things away, but those are things I deem pretty useless, so hopefully that’s not too incredibly wasteful.

I never bother to get a donation receipt from Goodwill, but I know that some people do for tax purposes.  Donations to churches are tax-deductible, too.

I had never thought of donating my “things” to a church before, but this woman has definitely given me a different perspective.  How many families are there that the church could help with used clothing?  Could the church possibly use a slow cooker that I don’t have storage space for?  Would they know of families that can’t afford toys for their children that they could give my children’s old toys to?

I think donating to a church is a much better idea than just taking things to Goodwill.  It’s tax-deductible for you and free for the recipients of your “things”.  A church really is like a family, a community of people caring for each other.  They could give your unwanted “things” to others who aren’t even church members, possibly also giving them the opportunity to share the Gospel with others in the process.

Overall, I’d say donating to a church beats donating to Goodwill hands-down.

Santa never lived for me, Santa never died for me.

Never did a tear fall from Santa Claus’s eye for me.

Santa never paid the price no mortal man could pay.

Santa never tasted death but rose on the third day.

There is no redemption from his lists of naughty or nice,

Nor did he himself offer for my sins to pay the price.

Santa may bring magic on one December day,

But no lasting miracles are left with us to stay.

Santa is no Jesus, as anyone can see.

There is no Santamas and no Santa tree.

Jesus is forever, but Santa flies away,

And I simply cannot celebrate Santa on this day.

Christmas is a day to celebrate my Savior’s birth,

And I wouldn’t trade my Savior for anything on earth.

It was all for me that Jesus decided live and die,

And I can’t in good conscience celebrate the birth of Truth with a lie.

It’s Jesus that I celebrate on this Christmas day,

And when this life is over, it’s with Jesus that I’ll stay.

So I bid you a Merry Christmas, without Santa or his sleigh,

And pray that you’ll find Jesus, the Reason for this day.

- Randi Millward

My 4-year old daughter’s allergies became quite alarming.  It was beyond sniffles and sneezes and to the point of asthmatic reactions, breathing treatments every four hours, an more.  When the pediatrician mentioned that she wondered if my insurance would cover allergy testing, I didn’t care if it was covered or not.  In my mind, I needed to do everything possible to help my daughter, so if she needed allergy tests, I’d pay out of pocket if I had to.

The pediatrician ordered a blood allergy test, a test that, from what I’ve researched, is less painful than skin allergy testing but also less accurate and more expensive.  I took my daughter to the hospital where she had 3 tubes of blood drawn.

I knew blood allergy testing was more expensive than skin allergy testing, but I was willing to clean out my savings account if necessary to get my daughter the help the pediatrician thought was necessary.  Little did I know that I didn’t have enough money in my savings account to cover the actual cost.

I was shocked when I received the statement of charges from my insurance company.  The allergy testing was nearly $1400!  Talk about feeling nauseous.  I cringed and squinted, afraid to see the number, as I checked to see how much I owed out-of-pocket.  To my surprise and utter amazement, I owed nothing.

Praise the Lord (and trust me I did) that the allergy testing was covered by our insurance.  I did feel like I was let off the hook, but not without learning a lesson.  No ne wants to base their child’s medical care on money, but sometimes questions need to be asked.  I’m not saying that medical help should be ignored, because it definitely shouldn’t, but sometimes there are other options.

I could have asked about skin allergy testing, but I honestly thought it couldn’t possibly cost more than a few hundred dollars for some bloodwork.  Money aside, had I known that skin allergy testing was more accurate, I may have chosen it simply for accuracy’s sake.  But I never asked questions.  I made decisions based on my emotions, not based on critical thinking and reasoning.  It wasn’t an informed decision, and I do regret that, but my daughter has been doing much better lately since we got the results.  We’ve had to modify a few things in our diet and environment, but it’s an incredibly small price to pay for my precious girl’s well-being.

Money’s not everything, but when you don’t have enough of ot to pay your bill, it is something. 

I know that the hospital we go to has a charity program that offers discounts and free medical care to patients who qualify.  The income guidelines are very generous, and although I haven’t received any assistance from them, I know that others have.  It’s a generous, caring thing that the hospital does for those who need help.  If you’re ever in the situation I was spared from, ask your local hospital if they offer discounts or free medical care.  I would think they’d be sensitive to your situation.

With the unlimited resources on the internet, financial information and resources are much easier to find and use now than they used to be.  I remember calling the bank numerous times when I was shopping for my first home trying to figure out what my price range was.  I was thoroughly confused by the escrow and had no idea how to figure it in to my mortgage payment.  The loan officer at the bank was both helpful and patient, but I’m sure I was a bit of a thorn in her side.

Now, many years later, and back to house-shopping, I no longer have to call my bank to figure out my price range.  Not only does my bank’s website have free financial calculators that I can use, but countless other websites offer that information as well.

Below are some of the website I’ve frequented and found to be helpful.

The Northwest Savings Bank Mortgage Calculator:

http://nwsb.mortgagewebcenter.com/CheckRates/SearchCriteria.asp?PID=22&bhcp=1

CBN Finance Calculators:

www.cbn.com/finance/calculators/index.aspx

Financial Calculators from FinancialCalculators.com:

www.financialcalculators.com

And of course Dave Ramsey:
www.daveramsey.com/category/tools

No matter what financial decision or equation you’re trying to figure out, there are many, many resources online to help you.  So, take advantage of the information at your fingertips.  With such easy access to financial help, not knowing isn’t a very valid excuse anymore.

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, it’s full-steam ahead to Christmas.  There was Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and countless other sales.  Sales are good, but try not to let them coax you into buying something you otherwise wouldn’t have purchased.

I made sure that I stayed home on Black Friday and Thanksgiving weekend.  I was anxious to get my girls each a Christmas dress, but there was no way I was taking them out in that craziness.

I bought a few things online, but not the super-ultra-mega-special-priced-one-day-only type of stuff.  I just bought what I normally would have bought.  Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t have mined lower prices, and I’m happy for everyone that got a low price on the items they wanted to buy, but I think I did pretty well not buying things unnecessarily just because of their price.

The following week, I took my kids shopping.  I was sure I’d pay more for their dresses than I would have on Black Friday, but I was okay with that.  I was pleasantly surprised though when we got to JCPenney’s and saw that their dresses were 50% off.  My youngest daughter got a half-priced dress, and my oldest daughter got a dress on clearance that was 60% off.  I was so happy that I grabbed them each a new pack of tights, too, but I put the tights back once I realized that I could get them cheaper from Kmart.

And so, our Christmas shopping season begins.  Decorations.  Gifts for others.  Cards.  Postage.  Extra money spent on gas to drive around and look at Christmas lights.  All are expenses, but I’m doing a good job of keeping track so as not to go over budget.

I have a little notebook in which I wrote down the amount of money I’ve allotted for Christmas spending.  Every time I make a purchase, I write it down and deduct the cost of it from the amount I budgeted.  That way, I can easily just glance at my tablet and see how much money I have left to spend.  It’s like a budget that only has a single category, but I could easily make a category for each person that I’m buying for, along with other expenses such as wrapping paper, cards, postage, decorations, and other miscellaneous items.

So, whether we’re ready for it or not, the holiday is fast-approaching.  It’s not to late to take control though.  Start your budget, and see how much easier and less stressful your holiday shopping  can be!

I buy a jar of herbal salve from a health food store every month, and I love it.  It’s made by the owners, and I totally trust them and their ingredients.  I, however, don’t like to rely on others for things.  I like making things myself as much as possible.  So, I decided to try to make the vitex (chastetree berry) salve that I usually buy.  Yeah, it would save money, too, but really, I’d just like to learn one more skill and add one more item to the long list of things that I no longer need to purchase.

I just ordered chastetree berries (vitex) from Savvy Teas and Herbs, and I’ve already got olive oil and beeswax.  I think I read that I need vitamin E oil to use as a preservative, too.  I’ll need to double-check on that.

From what I’ve read in my research, I’ll need to grind the chastetree berries in a coffee grinder, fill a glass jar with them, and top it off with enough olive oil to cover the herbs.  Then, I’ll need to put the jar on top of a wash cloth in a crock pot on the “low” setting for 2-3 days, refilling the water around the jar as it evaporates.

I’ll then need to strain the oil, put it in a double boiler on the stove, and warm it enough to melt the beeswax in it. 

That’s how you make a salve – melt beeswax and oil together.  Making an herbal salve is just melting herb-infused oil with beeswax.  The beeswax firms the oil so it’s not runny anymore. 

I’ve made salve before.  It’s just the herbal part that I haven’t done.  I hope it works.  I should have my chastetree berries in about a week or so, so I’ll find out soon.

Also, does anyone know how to make a wild yam salve???  The wild yam is a root, not an herb, so I’m not sure how to go about making wild yam infused oil.  I thought about just emptying a bottle of wild yam capsules into the oil.  Does anyone know if that would work?

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