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Saving Money Everyday

Back to School Spending

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Back to school is a time when many moms witness their money sprout wings and take flight, finding their homes at retail stores across America. I know that consumer spending is good for the economy, but I don’t take it upon myself to keep the entire US economy propped up, so when my first-grade son announced that he wanted a backpack with rollers, I saw this as a wonderful financial teaching moment. His school is small, and he doesn’t walk to or from school. He didn’t need rollers.
 
Why I REFUSE To Buy My Kids School Clothes! Back To School Supplies Spending

Back To School, Or Back To The Poor House?

 

I told my son that I would give him $8 toward a backpack. I told him that if he wanted a fancier one, he could put up some of his allowance money for the difference. That’s the rule at our house. Mom and Dad buy the basics the kids buy the extras. It was amazing how my son’s perception of the need for rollers changed when his allowance was on the line. Yes, he has concluded, a regular backpack will do the trick this year.

Thousands of parents are buying back-to-school supplies. From crayons and notebooks to calculators and lunch boxes, the list of what to buy can be as long as the list of your kids’ excuses.

I know that you are anxious to get your kids back into school, but there is no need to take out a second mortgage just to get some quite. Instead, use some of these money-saving tips and you can happily send your kids to school and keep some of the cash for mom’s back-to school celebration!

* Wait for the list to come out and stick to it, otherwise you might buy things you don’t need. Remember, the Bank of Mom doesn’t pay for frills. Any extras the kids want will have to be funded from their own cash reserves. I do understand that it is nice for kids to have “hip” back-to-school supplies. I look at yard sales and thrift stores for brand-name finds. For instance, I recently found a gently used Barbie backpack and a Barbie lunch box and no one would know that I paid $1.00 each instead of the $32 that Becky Johnson’s mom paid. Who says stay at home mom’s don’t make any money?

* Don’t buy back to school clothes. Children don’t need an entirely new wardrobe every fall. Some moms act as if aliens clothes-napped their kids’ clothes the night before school and the fashion police will come arrest them if they don’t buy the latest designer clothes right away. The kids wore clothes all year long, didn’t they? If they need something like a new pair of shoes or new jeans then buy what they need, but don’t just buy a new wardrobe because it’s “the thing to do.”

* Use back to school sales to your advantage. If you know your kids go through a package of socks, underwear or jeans every six months then stock up while they are on sale. The same is true of crayons, paper, notebooks, backpacks and lunch boxes. My son went through two backpacks and two lunch boxes last year, so this year we will buy two while they are on sale instead of waiting until the middle of the year when they are full price. We will also be checking garage sales between now and then to find any good deals on those items. Don’t be tempted to buy things that you wouldn’t normally use, though, just because they’re on sale.

* Go through last year’s school supplies to see which things are still usable. If my student has a working calculator, the Bank of Mom will not extend credit for a new one.

* Limit activities to one at a time. Activity fees can add up fast. One at a time is the rule at our house. If you can’t afford the activity, it doesn’t hurt for the kids to use their own money to pay for it. The best way to teach them money management is to let them manage their own money when they have nothing to lose, instead of after they have maxed out the credit cards that someone persuaded then to sign up for in college.

Tawra

Resurrection Eggs (for Easter)

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Resurrection Eggs for Easter

How To Make Resurrection Eggs

  • 1 dozen plastic Easter eggs
  • 1 egg carton
  • construction paper

Decorate the top of the carton with construction paper and any other decoration that seems fitting for your Resurrection Eggs.

Fill each egg with the item listed in parenthesis below, along with a piece of paper containing the listed verse. For example, the first egg will have a piece of bread along with verse #1 that you see accompanying the bread below. Be sure to put them in order in the carton so you remember which number is which.

Once you have made the Resurrection Eggs, you can decide the method you want to use to open them. You might open one of the Resurrection Eggs per day during the twelve days before Easter or if you’re having a big family get-together, you may choose to open them then. It is also fun for the kids to do this the day you decorate Easter eggs with them.

 

Sample messages to include in your Resurrection Eggs:

  1. (Bread) Matthew 26:26

    While they were eating Jesus took a piece of bread, gave a prayer of thanks, broke it, and gave it to His disciples. “Take and eat it,” He said, “This is My body.”

  2. (Coins) Matthew 26: 14-15

    Then one of the twelve disciples, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and asked, “What will you give me if I betray Jesus to you?” They counted out thirty silver coins and gave them to him.

  3. (Purple cloth, representing a purple robe) Mark 15:17

    They put a purple robe on Jesus…

  4. (Thorns, like on a rose stem) Matthew 27:29

    Then they made a crown out of thorny branches and placed it on His head, and put a stick on His right hand; then they knelt before Him and made fun of Him. “Long live the King, of the Jews!” they said.

  5. (Scourge-a small piece of rope or thick string) Mark 15:15

    Pilate wanted to please the crowd, so he set Barabbas free for them. Then he had Jesus whipped and handed Him over to be crucified.

  6. (A small cross) John 19: 17-18a

    He went out, carrying His cross, and came to “The Place of the Skull,” as it is called. (In Hebrew it is called “Galgotha.”) There they crucified Him.

  1. (Nails) John 20:25b

    Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the scars of the nails in His hands and put my finger on those scars and my hand in His side, I will not believe.”

  2. (Sign saying “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”) Luke 23:38

    Above Him were written these words: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

  3. (Small piece of sponge) Matthew 27:48

    One of them ran up at once, took a sponge, soaked it in cheap wine, put it on the end of a stick, and tried to make Him drink it.

  4. (Something representing a spear (i.e. a toothpick)) John 19:34

    One of the soldiers plunged his spear into Jesus’ side, and at once blood and water poured out.

  5. (Rock) Matthew 27:59-60

    Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a new linen sheet, and placed it in his own new tomb, which he had just recently dug out of solid rock. Then he rolled a large stone across the entrance to the tomb and went away.

  6. (Empty) Matthew 28:6

    He is not here He has risen just as He said.

However you use them, have fun with these Resurrection Eggs and remember that Easter is a time for great celebration of what Jesus did for us!

 

25 Practical Tips To Help You Get Organized

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It’s time to get organized! Here are 25 easy practical and specific tips to help you start getting organized and to make organizing as easy as possible!

Time to get organized! Here are 25 easy practical tips to help you start getting organized and to make organizing as easy as possible!

25 Practical Tips To Help You Get Organized

If you missed Get Organized Part 1, you can find it here.

One of the main excuses we use to avoid getting organized is that we don’t know where to start. We can become so overwhelmed that it can actually paralyze us mentally so that we can’t figure out what to do. I was at that point myself the day after Christmas this year. Boy did I have a mess, plus my Chronic Fatigue Syndrome was really bad. I was caught in a vicious cycle. I was too sick to clean, but sitting in a mess was making me worse and I was desperate to get organized.

Finally, I decided I needed to practice what I preached and, using sheer grit, I made up my mind to start to get organized by just cleaning off just my fireplace mantle. While I was doing that, I noticed some other things in other areas that I didn’t want to forget to box up, so I started gathering those things together. Then I figured I might as well bring in the boxes for the things I had just gathered. One thing led to another and before I knew it I had cleared most of my living room.

Just find one small area to get organized and start working on it. You usually feel so good just getting that one area done that you become motivated to do a little more and then a little more. It doesn’t matter what area it is in life. Whether it is dealing with debt, losing weight, getting organized or something else, stop looking at the whole picture. I’m not saying that you should live in denial, but when it’s time to get the job done, you’ll just get overwhelmed if you keep looking at the whole picture. Pick one small area and work on it. Once you have mastered it, then you can move on to the next one.

Instead of saying I’m going to clean all the closets in the house, just decide to clean one closet or if it is really bad, decide to do just one shelf in that closet. The same goes for the kitchen or any room. Start with one shelf at a time.

It would be impossible to cover everything about how to get organized in just one article, but here are some tips to help you get started. These ideas aren’t in any particular order and some are short tips and others are longer. I hope they help you.

General Points to Get Organized:

  • If you are sick or are having trouble getting motivated to get organized, try my 5 minute trick. I make myself get up and clean during the 5 minute commercial on TV. For example, I try to bring in the laundry off of the line, wash my dishes or pick up a room. That way, when I’m not feeling good I don’t overdo it but, at the same time, I feel like I am accomplishing something.
  • Start organizing the easiest area to clean or the area that is bugging you the most.
  • Work quickly. Don’t pick up that cute snowman your child drew and ooh and ahh over it for 10 minutes trying to decide what to do with it. Either toss it or put it in the “memories” box.
  • Have boxes and trash bags ready to use. I designate boxes for “items to give away”, “things to pack”, “things that go in another room” and “trash”. Once you have filled a box or trash bag, set it outside of the room. This makes it easier to see what still needs to be sorted, gives you more space in the room to work and gives you the feeling that your are getting somewhere.
  • When you first start to get organized, do a quick once over in the room. Quickly go through and pick up all obvious trash and take out very large items that don’t belong there.
Time to get organized! Here are 25 easy practical tips to help you start getting organized and to make organizing as easy as possible!

Quick Ideas to Give Your Organizing a Jump Start:

  • Make your bed. (2 minutes) Don’t assume that this will take too long. Some people spend more time trying to decide what to eat at a restaurant than it takes to make a bed.
  • Wash dishes and clean counters (depending on the level of the mess, 15 minutes to an hour)
  • Designate a spot for keys, purse, backpacks, shoes and coats.
  • Clear off the dining room table. If it is really bad, clear off the easy stuff and put the rest in a box to sort later while you’re watching TV.
  • Quickly go through the house and pick up all items of clothing. Hang them up or put them in the hamper.
  • With a trash bag, go through the house and pick up obvious trash.

You’ll probably be surprised to see how much difference toward getting organized it makes just getting the trash and clothes picked up… You should be able to do all the above things easily in a couple of hours on the first day. Then make sure you keep doing them each day. If you did a good job the first day, it should only take you about 15-20 minutes each day after that to keep it picked up.

Deep Cleaning or Organizing

  • Start organizing one shelf or closet at a time. Don’t flit from one room or closet to the next.
  • The main idea here is to purge! Get rid of it. Toss it out. Call it whatever you like. Just stop holding on to this stuff.
  • If it is not adding to or making your life easier, get rid of it.
  • If it is ugly and doesn’t work, toss it. (No I’m not talking about your husbands… now ladies we must be good ;-).
  • If you don’t use it or if it was the wrong thing or the wrong color, throw it out, sell it or give it away. I don’t care how much you originally paid for it. Why are you keeping it — to punish yourself for making a mistake?
  • Don’t use the excuse that “It will take too long to get organized now, so I will do it later.” I was waiting for something to cook on the stove the other day and, once again, noticed that my spice shelf was a mess. I thought, “I really need to clean that,” but my very next thought was “No, it will take too long.” Then this little voice said, “You know, you can have it done before your sauce is finished cooking.” Don’t you just hate it when you hear those voices like that?! Sure enough, it only took me about 3 minutes to do it.

Find out where your “mess spots” are, think about why they are that way and find ways to change them. (I know with some of you, your whole house may be the trouble spot! 🙂

Here are some examples of how to get organized and stay that way:

  • I kept piling Kleenex, small bits of paper and other trash on the corner of my dresser. It drove me crazy. Why did I keep doing that? Because that was where I stood to empty out my pants pockets before I tossed them into the clothes hamper. The solution: I put a small trash can on the floor by that spot so I could easily drop everything into the trash can instead of the dresser.
  • Do you always have trash overflowing around the kitchen trash can? Start emptying it twice a day instead of once a day or buy a larger can.
  • Are you usually frustrated about stepping over mounds of clothes each time you walk into the bathroom? Make it a rule that no one can get dressed or undressed in the bathroom. Buy everyone robes. Get undressed in the bedroom, put on your robe, walk to the bathroom, shower, put on robe and go back to the bedroom to get dressed. This is also a great way to free up bathroom time in the morning if everyone has to share a bathroom.
  • Do you have a cabinet in your kitchen that starts an avalanche every time you open the door? Ask yourself these questions: Do I really need everything that is in this cabinet? Could I get by with 15 plastic cups instead of 35. Could part or all of what is in this cabinet be put someplace else? I keep all of my mugs on one shelf. In some homes, I haven’t had room to do that, so I would keep 8 mugs that I used virtually every day on that shelf and then put the extra mugs in a less accessible place. Then I didn’t have to fight 15 mugs falling all over each time I opened the cabinet.
  • Organize any cabinet this way. If your canned goods keep falling all over, try storing only 4 cans on the one shelf and putting the rest in another place, like a higher cabinet, another room or the garage.
  • This applies to organizing other rooms besides the kitchen. My bathroom doesn’t have much storage space, so I keep all my extra toiletries for the bathroom in a basket in my bedroom closet and keep only the item I am using now on my bathroom shelf.
  • Use the same method for organizing linens and clothes. If you don’t have a linen closet, store extra linens or guest linens in a guest room or spare bedroom. Also, store the sheets in the bedroom where they will be used.

Read Getting Organized Part 3
Clothes, Laundry and Toys

For more helpful tips to get organized and making cleaning and laundry easier, check out our organizing e-book set:

[organizing]

Is Aldi Cheaper? Aldi Stores Can Save You Money!

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Is Aldi Cheaper? Aldi stores are wonderful little supermarkets that can really help you save money on your food bill. These tips will help you shop and save at Aldis!

Is Aldi Cheaper? Aldi stores are wonderful little supermarkets that can really help you save money on your food bill. These tips will help you shop and save at Aldis!

Is Aldi Cheaper? Save Money Shopping at Aldi Stores

Please Note: We are not affiliated with Aldi stores and we cannot pass along your messages to Aldi Supermarkets. If you wish to contact Aldis, you can find contact information for them below.

I spend $250 a month on groceries. One of the best things I do to keep my budget is to do most of my food shopping at Aldi Stores. You can get a good price, get in and get out fast and you don’t have to mess with using coupons.

An Aldi store is a small discount warehouse store. It is not an outlet store and does not sell outdated or rejected products. They offer a double your money back guarantee for all of their products. If you don’t like it, they will give you your money back plus a new item. The foods are mostly Aldi brand foods. The Aldi brand is usually very good quality. I have only had one or two items where my family preferred the name brand over the Aldi brand.

The savings are significant. On a lot of items, I can save $1 or more over the price at a regular grocery store. Here’s an example: Chocolate chips at the local supermarket cost $1.99. Aldis regular price is .99. White bread in the supermarket costs $1. Aldis bread costs .59. Whole grain bread costs $2.59 in regular grocery store, but Aldi’s regular price is $1.29.

Aldi stores are all over the world. Here is the link to the Aldi website to see if one is near you:

http://www.aldi.com

There are a few rules to follow that keep Aldis prices low:

  1. Aldi stores accept only cash, debit or food stamps.
  2. They don’t accept coupons.
  3. You have to pay a .25 deposit to get a shopping basket. There is a little quarter machine on the basket. When you return your basket, it gives you the quarter back. This keeps prices down because they don’t have to pay someone to get baskets.
  4. You bag your own groceries at Aldi stores. Bring your own bags. Put all your extra plastic sacks in an empty tissue box and bring it with you. You can also use the boxes they have there for free. If they don’t have any boxes available and you forget your bags, they charge $.10 per bag for you to buy them.

    When the checker checks you out, she puts the groceries right back into the basket and you have to take them to a separate counter to bag or box them. I usually roll the basket out to the car and box it there so that I can strap my 2 year old into his car seat while I pack the groceries. That way I don’t have to chase him around while I’m trying to get packed and I get packed up in five minutes instead of 10 or 15.

  5. To get the freshest produce, ask when their truck comes and go shopping the next morning.
  6. Be prepared. The checkers check you out very fast. I have timed it and on average it’s 2-3 minutes check out time with a full basket of groceries. It may be a little awkward the first time getting used to a different way of shopping, but once you do it once or twice, the savings are addicting!

 

By shopping at Aldi, I get two weeks worth of groceries (excluding meat — I buy it elsewhere) for $100.00. I am in and out of the store in 30 minutes including bagging my groceries. Plan a little longer the first time as you learn your way around the store. Try it a couple of times and see if you grocery bill doesn’t go down!

Please Note: We are not affiliated with Aldi stores. We are just happy customers. If you wish to contact Aldi, visit their web site at http://www.aldi.com. If you wish to contact Aldi, you can find contact information below. We do not know anyone at Aldi, so we cannot pass along messages for their company.

Comments about this article from our inbox:

Dear Tawra,

I just wanted to thank you for your article on shopping at Aldi’s. I recently shopped there for the first time and I was very pleased with the wide selection they had available and the prices are FANTASTIC. Shopping there has already reduced the amount of money I spend for groceries to feed my family of 4 (which includeds two VERY hungry teenaged boys), and I look forward to saving more as I continue to shop there each week for my groceries. Thank you for you wonderful web site and I look forward to readying more tips and articles to save money.

Sincerely

Shellia Jean A.

Tawra,

I just read your article about Aldi’s. I wanted to suggest taking a heavy duty laundry basket so the cashier could put the items directly into the basket which would save time. It would also be a lot easier to unload at home.

MaLia from Kansas

To Contact Aldi Store Headquarters:

In the United States:

Customer Relations
ALDI Inc.
1200 N. Kirk Rd.
Batavia, IL 60510

Phone: (630) 879-8100

If you’re outside the United States, you can find contact information for Aldi on the web at http://www.aldi.com.

Aldi is a great store where you can save lots of money!

 

[dining]

 

Easy Finger Paints Recipe – How To Make Finger Paint

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Kids love finger painting! Our six year old could finger paint every day and never get tired of it! Here is a quick and easy homemade finger paint recipe to make homemade finger paint with ingredients you already have at home! It’s a great indoor activity for kids! [Read more…] about Easy Finger Paints Recipe – How To Make Finger Paint

15 Tips to Save On Weddings – Cheap Wedding Ideas

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One of the most frequently asked questions we get, especially at this time of year is “Do you have any cheap wedding ideas to help me save money on my wedding?”
 
15 Tips to Save On Weddings - Cheap Wedding Ideas

Cheap Wedding Ideas To Make Your Special Day Memorable

When you talk about money, emotions run high and if you talk about weddings emotions get even higher. Put the two together and you’ve got an explosive situation. In spite of that I will be brave, jump in and try to answer your questions with some cheap wedding ideas that turned out great!

I think the best way to help you get ideas for a low cost wedding is to use my daughter’s wedding as an example of some do’s and don’ts that we learned. We paid about $1500 for a wedding with 100 guests and 2 attendants. She had the whole works; white gown, flowers, cake etc. In spite of spending so little, we managed to make it the wedding of any girl’s dreams and one that the guests really enjoyed too.

As you read about these cheap wedding ideas, I hope it becomes clear that your special day is not made special because of the money that you spend but rather the love that is shared, first of all between the bride and groom and second of all between the couple and the guests. That brings me to the first way you can save money on your wedding.

 

Low Cost Wedding Tips: The Guests

One important thing to consider when planning a cheap wedding is to be selective when making your guest list. Decide on a reasonable number of guests that you can afford and stick to it. Don’t invite every Tom, Dick and Harry (well unless Tom, Dick and Harry happen to be your brothers or your best friends!). I am continually shocked at how often couples invite people they hardly know to their wedding just to impress them or so they can get more gifts. If you do this, you have already started your wedding off on the wrong foot. A wedding is an intimate and special time. Most people don’t share their intimate times with total strangers.

The Pictures

Michael and Tawra's Cheap But Memorable Wedding

Decide which aspects of the wedding are most important to you and spend a little more on that area and less on some of the other less important areas. For example, my daughter’s main desire was to have really nice photos so we didn’t skimp on that. We hired the best photographer in town, but spent less on the cake by having my mom make it. That ended up being a mistake. Grandma’s cake that cost us nothing, turned out to be more beautiful than the pictures the expensive photographer took. Lesson learned: Just because something costs a lot doesn’t mean that it is the best or what you need or want.

If you want nice photos but flowers or a cake take higher priority, you might hire a professional to take just a few main pictures, like those of the bride and groom, family members and attendants and then ask someone else to take all the other general shots or videotape it. I found at both my wedding and my daughter’s wedding that the pictures I enjoyed the most were the ones family members had randomly taken with their own cameras and given me later.

In this day and age of computers, digital cameras, and other such things, you can get some really nice photos without the expense of a professional. And even though professional photos seem very important and you envision having lovely photos of that day displayed all over your home, the reality is that in a year or two most of them will be put in an album or tossed in a box to be replaced by pictures of baby #1.

 

“The Gown”

Though a girl’s wedding gown is probably the most important dress she will ever wear, you still don’t have to break the bank to have a beautiful and special dress. My mom is a great seamstress and she made both my dress and, years later, my daughter’s dress. They didn’t cost us an arm and leg and they have even more meaning to us because they were made by her. Her cheap wedding dress was much more valuable to her because grandma made it.

If you don’t know anyone who sews, don’t despair. Buy a used gown. There is nothing wrong with that. I have seen some of the most beautiful gowns in thrift shops. They were gowns that were worth hundreds of dollars selling for as little a $50. Don’t allow pride to keep you from having a beautiful, stress free (because you don’t have to worry about coming up with the money to pay for it) gown of your dreams.

Along with the gown is the veil. When Tawra (my daughter) got married we went to buy a veil. The least expensive one was $100 and it was “cheap” looking, so instead we bought some tulle, lace and a comb to make our own. We hot glued ribbons, strings of pearls and flowers to the comb. We spent $5 making her beautiful veil that looked richer and more expensive than anything we had seen at the bridal shop.

I used a very plain veil for my own wedding. My future mother-in-law gave me a string of pearls that she had worn at her wedding. Since I also had jewelry that my husband had given me to wear, I took the pearls and carefully sewed them to the head piece of my veil. It cost me nothing, had lots of meaning and looked very elegant.

Using the same thoughtfulness we used making the veil, we made other things. We took the left over scraps of fabric, lace, and pearls and made a ring bearer’s pillow. It turned out so cute that we started making and selling them to the bridal shop in town. There is nothing wrong with making a lot of these items yourself and just because you make them doesn’t mean that they have to look homemade or cheesy.

 

Other Cheap Wedding Ideas: The Bridesmaid’s Dresses and Other Essentials

I know that it is proper for the bridesmaids to pay for their own dresses, but I personally have never felt that is right. If possible, pay for your bridesmaids dresses or consider splitting the cost. Maybe you could buy the material and accessories and then have the bridesmaids find someone to make the dresses for them.

Don’t just hit bridal shops when looking for bridesmaid dresses for your cheap wedding. Dresses are often much more expensive at bridal shops. I was a matron of honor once and we went to a regular dress shop and found a gorgeous dress for me to wear. The nice part about it was that it was dressy enough for the wedding but not so dressy that I couldn’t wear it to church, so I was able to get lots of use out of it.

Be careful of those little hidden costs like manicures, pedicures, hair and other things. They’re small costs, but they add up. Most brides can do their own manicures and pedicures just fine and usually only have these things done to pamper themselves. It is fine to do that if you have the money but if you don’t, this is a good area to save by doing your own. You may do a lot of these little things to pamper yourself and to help you de-stress before the wedding but if you can’t afford it, you will find them coming back to haunt you a couple of weeks after the honeymoon in the form of exorbitant bills that will end up causing you 10 times more stress.

One way you can have these extras done and still save is to go to a beauty college. If you don’t want to chance having your hair done there that’s fine but you might consider having your nails and toes or a facial done there. They do all kinds of beauty treatments that you don’t always think about so check into them.

You could also have a girls night “in” before the wedding and let the bridesmaids give the bride a manicure or pedicure or everyone give each other one.

One important tip to remember: Don’t have your first facial the day or week before the wedding. If you aren’t doing them on a regular basis, they can cause your face to break out the first couple of times you do it.

Jill

Cheap Wedding Ideas Part 2 – Decorations, Boquets and More

How To Save Money On Wedding Food – Tips and Ideas

Reader Tips to Cut Wedding Costs

How To Have An AWESOME $1500 Wedding!

 

From: Rachel

I am currently planning a wedding for 200 people.
I wanted to share a great way that I am saving
money but getting exactly what I want for the
reception food.

I really want a sit down dinner because I don’t
like buffet lines. We are having both our
ceremony and reception at a large church. We will
be using the church’s food ministry team for
catering. While most caterers charge over $2 more
per plate for a sit down versus buffet style
dinner, the church only charges $35 per extra
server needed. I chose to have the food served
family style so I wouldn’t need many more
servers. Plus all the servers are teens church
members who are working to save money for
missions trips.

Also, the lowest price per head I have found from
local caterers starts at $15 a person not
including tax and gratuity. The church’s menu
starts at $8 a person, but no tax or gratuity is
required.

I highly recommend people look for a great church
caterer in their area. They will save tons and
feel good knowing the money they do spend is
going to a good place. I will end up having a
great family style dinner for $10 a person, and
the food is better than most expensive caterers I
have tasted.

This is a great idea if you are in a situation where you have to have a sit down dinner but for those of you who couldn’t afford even $10 a plate don’t panic and think your wedding will be any less nice if you have to serve just a buffet with finger foods or I have even been to weddings where only cake and punch were served that I really had fun.

When we had Tawra’s wedding we only had finger foods; another bride had a wedding with a sit down dinner at the same time where many of the same people attended and for ages afterwards they commented on how much they enjoyed Tawra’s because it was more intimate and warm even though the other wedding was nice.

Both types have their pros and cons and one thing we found on the pro side for a finger food wedding was everyone got to move around and visit with each other. So many people who hadn’t seen each other for years were able to visit plus it was easier to visit and get to know the new bride or groom’s family better. Often when you have a sit down dinner you have to stay at one table with with 6-7 other people and they are all you get to really see.

One thing too by being able to move around more, instead of just being stuck at the head table with their attendants, the bride and groom could visit with everyone and visa versa so people felt even closer too and more a part of the big day with them. So don’t worry if you can’t afford a sit down dinner. You can have just as nice a wedding. Both ways have good points.

Jill

 

From: Christy

I found the frugal wedding tips to bring back
memories of my wedding almost nine years ago.
Although we spent next to nothing, many guests
told us it was the best wedding they had
attended. It was certainly unconventional
though. We were married at my husband’s family’s
farm in the woods in a dry creek bed. I walked
down the creek with my parents by my side. My
three best friends stood close by and my young
stepson stood with us.

My sister in law sang. I
told my friends to wear whatever they wanted. I
did spend about $60 on my dress which is a great
expense for me but I figured it was a special
ocassion! My dress was a simple white lacy one.
I never was interested in the puffy wedding
gowns. I didn’t send out invitations, but a
friend volunteered to call people for me. I
didn’t want a wedding cake, but my mother in law
got one for us anyway. I don’t know what she
paid for it. My mom brought fruits, veggies, and
other finger foods. She also got those
monogrammed napkins.

I didn’t want any but I
guess she did! I don’t think she paid very much
for the food as there wasn’t any meats. Those
were gifts from our parents though to help feed
our guests. Friends brought instruments and
played afterwards. We gave our pastor $50 and my
mom gave him $50. We spent the next week at the
old farmhouse, then spent a few days camping
elsewhere. We only ate out maybe once on our
honeymoon at a mexican place. My husband did buy
a new shirt and pants for the wedding, but spent
much less than I did on my dress. My sister in
law suprised me and my friends with flowers for
our hair and someone gave me flowers for a
boquet. It helped that I was just not interested
in many of the things people do for weddings. It
could have been just us and our pastor and that
would have been fine with me. I can’t believe
how much $ some folks pay for a one day event.
It seems many people put far more thought into
their wedding than their marriage. I’m a massage
therapist and I traded some massages for
photography services, and a family member
videotaped everything. I would have been happy
with snapshots from family, but the photographer
offered to barter and the pictures turned out
nice. I would advise people to think about what
is really important to them. You don’t have to
do things just because “everyone else does it
that way.” Our wedding was totally different
from the typical one, but people loved it. Not
that I was doing it for anyone else, but people
love to see two people in love getting married.
Do only what you want, not what you think is
expected. Your guests care about you, not your
fancy invitations, flowers, decorations, and
table favors. Focus on your marriage, keep the
wedding simple and genuine and I bet you can find
loads of extra expenses to eliminate. Take the $
you save and spend it on something that actually
lasts. Put it towards a house or in an emergency
fund or pay off debt. Start your marriage smart
and thrifty from the start!

 

 

While I don’t have an order or question, I would
like to offer one of my ideas for
your “Inexpensive Weddings” section. I don’t see
a place on your site for me to write in, and, I
don’t know anything about “blogging”. But,
here’s my suggestion anyway:

For the “Inexpensive Weddings” section, I would
like to suggest to the readers that they can use
those square, plastic, see-through boxes that the
Roma Tomatoes come in as boxes for the groom’s
boutinierre or bride’s maids wristlets. That
idea came to me as I was trying to make space in
my fridge by putting the last two tomatoes in the
container that was full. Hope your loyal readers
(and I am DEFINITELY one of them!) can use this
bit of frugality from my own archives! Thanks!

Marcia W.

Hello! I saw on Oprah, years ago, a great way to save on a wedding cake is to decorate styrofoam pieces and have just the couples cake real (the one they cut) and then in the back kitchen have pre-cut pieces of cake from a local bakery or grocery store.

For our wedding we asked for our cake to be a gift instead of getting money, etc. My grandparents were very happy with that idea and that was there gift to us.

We also asked for Home Depot cards. We’re not into the frilly things like crystal, china, gravy boats, etc. All the cards we received helped us redecorate our living room from dark panelled 70s blah into what we call a Moose Lodge (hardwood floors and matching panelling…all of which was installed by my hubby). I married TIM THE TOOL MAN TAYLOR….lol

Michelle

I enjoyed reading about Weddings on a Dime, and
wanted to share money-savings from my own
wedding.

* I bought my Scott McClintock dress from an
outlet for $16.32! Interestingly enough, I just
recently sold it on a used wedding dress site,
so the dress continues to be a blessing.
www.preownedweddingdresses.com; also
www.woreitonce.com are good sites.
* I had my bridesmaids wear the little black
dresses that were already in their closet (well,
one person had to borrow a dress), so no expense
to them for dress or shoes.
* We had a cake-and-punch reception, featuring a
coffee cart the church already had on-site.
* The wedding cake was from the local grocery
store – inexpensive and delicious – even a year
later!
* A friend prepared all of the flowers to
decorate the church and reception.
* Other friends created beautiful floral
arrangements for the church, using flowers and
plants that were growing in their gardens.
* A pastor friend married us and declined the
honorarium.
* Another friend is a wedding coordinator and
helped with the ceremony proceedings.
* We wanted to marry in a church, but wouldn’t
pay the $1,200 fee usually charged to non-
members (our own church had no facility for
weddings). We finally found a beautiful church
that only charged $150, which included the
wedding coordinator, pianist, and a video! I
didn’t even know about the church until I drove
by it, and in my desperate hunt, was leaving no
stone unturned. So I called, with great results!
* We used a wholesale flower warehouse to
prepare the bouquets & boutonnieres. The
bridesmaids carried only about three flowers
each.

I did actually have a “catered” rehearsal dinner
(trays from the local Chinese take-out) as well
as a “luncheon” for family and close friends
following the reception, at a restaurant. But I
picked a restaurant with very reasonable banquet
prices. My photographer was well under the
going rate. I did lots and lots of shopping
around so that I received maximum impact and
service for the best price. The wedding cost
more than $1500, but I am proud of what we
accomplished.

Best wishes!
Heidi Fritz
Name: Joy Bice
EMail: joybice@comcast.net
Question: Tawra & Jill,

Thanks for the wedding tips. I don’t know if you
are still taking more tips from readers but I have
a few.

My daughters are teenagers and we have attended
many weddings in their lifetime. I began when
they were younger pointing out the simple and less
inexpensive ideas from other weddings. I have
been coaching them now for years on the beauty of
a simple wedding. I’m hoping that when the time
comes for them to get married they will already be
conditioned to think that way.

One idea we heard was to have an evening wedding.
A candlelight wedding could be very romantic and
the reception would just be deserts.

Another idea I have seen done is to have each
bridesmaid choose their own dress. For example,
the last wedding we attended had the bridesmaids
in black dresses. They were told what length to
choose but beyond that they were free to buy what
they would like and could wear after the wedding.
It not only looked beautiful but it was neat to
see the individual styles pulled together by
jewelery and flowers. The men in this wedding wore
black suits, and were given matching ties. They
were free to either buy a suit or borrow one or
use one they already owned.

Tawra,
Fireyourweddingplanner.com is a FABULOUS site to help brides save money as well! My wedding was cancelled (it’s okay, it was a good thing) but I was already at a savings of $2500! Just to let the other brides to be know!
Susan F.
Bellingham, WA

 

From: LouAnn

Wedding photos are important and can be terribly expensive. Make sure you spend your money well. Interview several wedding photographers. Look at complete wedding books of their wedding photographs, not individual photographs as everyone gets an excellent photograph now and again.

Find out first if the person you interview is the one who will actually shoot your wedding. Sometimes you are paying for a “name” and the “name” won’t be there.

Ask for a dozen references (or more) and call every single one. Ask what they liked and what they didn’t like? Did they get what they thought they were paying for, etc.

Be aware that digital photographs can be manipulated in many ways to make blemish free, artistic, whatever photographs, but digital photographs eventually fade-in the album, on the wall, on the disk. They fade more than the old fashioned ones do and there are no negatives to have another print made from. The digital images will fade off the disk sooner or later, so ask your photographer how often you should make a disc copy to retain your photographic images.

Do ask fiends that enjoy taking photographs to bring their camera along if they would like. Do not let them take the photographs the person you are paying is taking. talk to your photographer about their policy. Some walk out if another person “steals” their photographic scene.

I couldn’t agree more! This very thing happened at our wedding. The person we interviewed and set up to take the pictures was not the one who took them.

We only got a few references and should have got more.

The other thing is I had very specific pictures I wanted taken. I didn’t want money wasted on pictures that I didn’t care about. Even though I had a list of pictures I wanted taken, he ignored my instructions and took a LOT of extra pictures I didn’t want or ask for.

This was the worst part about our wedding was bad pictures! I would make sure that friends and family can take pictures also or you may not have any good at all. Tawra

8 Cloth Diapers Tips For Newbies

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8 Cloth Diapers Tips For Newbies

8 Cloth Diapers Tips For Newbies

If you are considering cloth diapers, here is my story. Among other things, I will explain how I wash my cloth diapers and how many you need to start. Many people have many different motives for using cloth diapers, but my motivation is purely to save money. I do use disposable diapers for traveling because it is more difficult to store dirty diapers when I’m not at home.

I love my cloth diapers! I LOVE THEM!!!! My husband doesn’t even mind using them. We found that they are not really any more difficult to use than disposables, except that we have to do more laundry. We also found that our children had much less trouble with diaper rash when in cloth rather than disposable. For a while, I had two children in cloth but now my son is potty trained. My daughter is starting to potty train so soon I won’t have any in diapers.

You don’t need many to start. You can start with one dozen and just wash everyday. Two dozen does make life easier. I buy the good quality pre-folded diapers and strongly recommend that you do too. They are called Diaper Service Quality pre-folded diapers. They are great, wear well and last a long time! I think I paid $23.00 for one dozen. (I returned some disposable diapers that we received as a gift and used the money to buy the cloth.) I have about 5 dozen now but I got most of them for free (as gifts or from people who no longer needed theirs). I only purchased 1 dozen of the DSQ from a mail order place on the Net. They are out of business now but you can find them other places. Also look on E-bay. They often have them too.

One thing that makes my cloth diaper experience different from the horror stories your grandparents tell is that I use diaper liners. They are fast, cheap (about $3.50 per box) and easy. I cut them in half and use 1 for each diaper. One box of liners lasts me almost 1 year.

I use good diaper pins that I purchased from the diaper seller and I stick the pins into a bar of soap or beeswax when not in use so they pierce the diapers easier. (With good pins, I only poked the kids 3 times in 3 years. Mike never poked them at all!)

I use plastic pants that button up on the sides. I also purchased those mail order. I use the Alexis brand. They last MUCH and I do mean MUCH longer than the Gerber plastic pants you purchase at Wal-Mart or K-mart. I have about 5 pairs of each size. I don’t use clean plastic pants every time I change a diaper. If the plastic pants are only wet, I put them right back on. There is not usually enough to make the diaper wet and the plastic pants generally aren’t wet on the outside either.

I made 2 diaper pail liners out of rain ponchos by sewing up the sides. I put those in a kitchen trash can with a lid that closes. I just throw the wet diapers and liners into the pail with nothing in it. I don’t soak my diapers. I dump the poop and the liners in the toilet. (Much easier than grandma’s method!) I reuse the liners that were only wet after they are washed and dried with the diapers. They wash well so I get several uses out of them which saves even more. I don’t dunk the diapers in the toilet unless they are REALLY bad. I have done it maybe 5 times in almost 3 years with 2 kids. In order to avoid directly handling the soiled diapers, I put the opening of the diaper pail bag into the open washer, then turn the bag inside out to empty the diapers into the washer. I throw the entire bag into the washer inside out to wash with the diapers.

Instead of using disposable wipes, I use small rag wash cloths (old wash cloths cut in half). They have more traction and do a better job of cleaning than disposable wipes. Where I use one wash cloth, I might have to use four or five of the disposable wipes. I do still use disposable wipes for traveling, but I save a lot by not using them every day.

I wash diapers about every two or three days. Washing this frequently really keeps them from smelling. (Unlike wine, diapers do NOT improve with age! 😉 )Every time I wash, I wash with vinegar and detergent. The vinegar works wonders removing the urine smell and also keeps the house from stinking while I do laundry. I put diapers through the rinse cycle twice. Then I dry them on the line or dryer depending on the time of year. (Diapers last much longer when dried on a clothes line and the sun helps keep then white. They wear out much faster if you always use the dryer.) I use bleach about every 1 or 2 weeks to keep them white in the winter when I can’t line-dry them.

If I were to buy disposables I would spend about $350 a year per child for diapers, wipes and extra trash bags. (Many people have said they use double that at least.) I only spent about $50 for the trash can, rain ponchos and plastic pants and $23.00 for one dozen diapers. I spend about .50 a load to wash them. (approximately $65 per year. This didn’t change when I had two in cloth vs. one in cloth.) With one child in diapers for 2 1/2 years and one for 2 years I saved over $855 in the 3 years that my kids were in diapers.

That’s it. It’s so easy and so cheap that I would rather spend that money on something else!

-Tawra

 

Jill from Michigan asks:

“Tawra – I read your information of cloth diapering and I’m wondering how much vinegar you wash them with and do you use special laundry soap?”

Tawra: I put in about 1/2 – 1 cup in and don’t use a special detergent.

I had 2 children the first one did fine in cloth diapers but the second one had diaper rash really bad and I had to switch over to disposable. I say this so that you don’t think there is something wrong if the cloth diapers don’t work for you . Each one is different.

Jill

 

What No more Cloth Diapers?

Ok, you guys caught me!

After my post on Disposable Diapers I got an email saying “I thought you used cloth diapers?” Well, I did with my first two and had no problem with them even like them because if I ran out it wasn’t a big deal to go to the store, just throw them in the washer. Plus we lived in Idaho at the time and couldn’t “just run to the store” because it was 60 miles away.

Well with David, #3, we have used all disposables. Here is why. After he was born he literally cried his entire first year. I am not exaggerating when I say the ENTIRE first year with no reprieve. My mom was living with us for the first 4 months and between Mom, Mike and I were all about to go insane, me more than the others. I got post partume (sp) depression really bad and the doctor could not find a medication to help, it just made me worse. I felt like I was loosing my mind and if a Mack truck would have hit me head on while I was driving I could have cared less.

To make matters worse because we weren’t sleeping my CFS was so bad I literally could hardly stand up. Then we had just moved into this bi-level house and going up and down the stairs over 100 times a day (I kid you not!) it was making so sick I thought I would die! In case you don’t know exercise makes CFS flare up, ie. get worse.

My two oldest were 4 and 5 at the time and still wetting the bed almost every night. It was all I could do to keep up with the laundry and attempt to just keep things picked up (sort of) and some sort of dinner on the table, which was mostly really fast stuff like sloppy joes, tacos, frozen pizza. etc. About once a week Mike would bring home Chinese food from the grocery store ($5 for two) and him and I would share that, give the kids the rice and fill it in with cereal or pb&j. We used paper plates several days a week and everyday for lunch. ($3 a month). Mike was also working 50-60 hours a week between 2 jobs and helping with our book business, which we don’t get an income from yet. He was also helping out with the housework because I couldn’t keep up.

We were going to some sort of doctor every 3 days trying to figure out what was wrong with David. Then to try and get me straightened out mentally and physical therapy for me because my bladder so was weak from 3 kids I was going to the bathroom every 15 minutes. Then 2 months after that I fell down the stairs and had to go to PT to help get my back, back in shape. We went 120 times the first year of David’s life to some sort of doctor.

Our primary doctor kept saying that David “just had colic” We finally figured out at 4 months old that he was allergic to milk and eggs. That explains why he just quit breastfeeding one day at 5 weeks old. I was eating a lot of milk and eggs. Well, after that he went on formula that cost $250 a month. It helped some but not a lot. At 9 months we took him back to the allergist because I knew despite what the doctors said colic doesn’t last 9 months! Well, the formula he was on still had milk in it! The allergist told us to put him on Alsoy, which was only $40 a month! The other doc said “oh, well I thought it would be fine since it was pre-digested milk”. I have never had the urge to just haul off and punch someone before in my life like I did when he made that comment. Needless to say I figure out what’s wrong with us first by researching the internet before I go to the doctor now. They really don’t have much of a clue, it’s just a guessing game.

That helped some David but then he started to have allergies to outdoor pollens because it was April.

At 14 months he started doing better after he was off the formula but I wasn’t. For the last nine months we haven’t gone 2 days in a row without someone being sick. To say I was on the verge of death from exhaustion and CFS is an understatement. Around Christmas last year (2004) I finally found a medication that worked for the depression and I am finally feeling like a normal person again. I have also gone off of sugar, mostly, and that has helped my CFS greatly. I notice that when I have a binge week of sugar it makes me really really sick and almost in bed again.

Anyway, that is long version of why we have used disposables for David. My sanity could not handle two more loads of laundry a week if my life depended on it!

Do I believe in cloth, yes! But I also know that everything in moderation is the only way to go and if circumstances are such that you need to use them, then by all means do!

Tawra

Save In Your Sleep! – How Sleep Can Save You Money!

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How Sleep Can Save You Money

We always hear that we should get plenty of sleep, but have you ever considered that sleep can save you money? Here is why and how to get more sleep!

How Sleep Can Save You Money And More

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

      -Matthew 11:28

Sleep, Sleep, Sleep… We hear it all the time– You must get 8 hours of sleep and 8 glasses of water a day. We pay as much attention to that warning as our children do when we tell them for the umpteenth time “Don’t play with that or you will get hurt”. But after living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for 15 plus years, I have learned the hard way how very important sleep is.

It is so important that God devoted 8-10 hours each and every day to sleeping and one whole day a week to resting. Think about it. Is there anything else that He gave so much time to? And since He knew we were like silly little children who refuse to take a nap, He put resting in the 10 commandments hoping that that would really get our attention. There were only 10 things that made it on that all important list and resting was one of them.

Sleep is as necessary to life as food and water. Each of us needs to realize how much lack of sleep affects our whole life. Are we too tired to clean the house, fix meals, or do the laundry? Are we so tired that when our children come to us for our help with something, we snap at them or when our spouses want some snuggle time, we look at them like they have grown two heads?

Lack of sleep affects children even more than adults and yet many of us let them keep the same late hours as the adults. When I was a young mom I was told that children usually whine and cry for one of two reasons: They are tired or hungry. If you keep them well rested, and make sure they get snacks throughout the day, you will eliminate most of their whining and crying. I have found that to be so true.

I had an example of that happen just the other day. My three year old grandson is always so good about going down for his nap. He allows himself to be picked up, passed around for kisses and then laid down without a peep. The other day, however, when he was told it was time for his nap he said “NO! I don’t want a nap,” and fought all the way to bed.

This seemed so out of character for him but then it dawned on me: He always takes his nap at 12:00 but this day, he did some running around with his dad and by the time they were done, it was almost 2:30. He was tired, so there was no reasoning with him. He couldn’t think rationally because he was tired. What often happens is that the parent gets angry at the child for throwing a fit, but it was really the parent’s fault for not allowing the child to get his proper rest.

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