How to Visit a Day Spa (for free)

{image from www.houzz.com}

This past summer (rather unexpectedly) my friend, Laura, gave me the opportunity to visit a day spa and drive a luxury vehicle as often as I liked.  As I was transitioning back into the newborn stage with the birth of our first daughter, this gift came at just the right time.  Trey and I had been discussing for months what was to be done about our car situation.  We were currently driving a Ford Taurus which was already crammed with two car seats in the back, and the only other mode of transportation was an F-150 with a cab door that only opened on one side.  You can imagine the difficulty this posed, never mind that baby #3 was arriving shortly.  The only question, really, was whether we needed to upgrade to a mini-van or an SUV.  We would have to buy used to save money. 

Fortunately, it was around this time that Laura and I reunited (we had met for the first time when I was around 8 or 9 -- but it's been nearly two decades since I had spent any time with her).  Her generosity, at just the right moment in time, truly transformed my standard of living. 

Just last night, I took her up on her open offer to visit the spa.  As I was getting ready to go, I remembered what Laura had shared about her husband Almanzo and his childhood in upstate New York.  He used to collect icicles and snow from his front yard to melt in the wash tub and clean himself with brown, slimy pannikin soap in front of the oven - whatever side of his body faced the stove felt as if it was blistering and the side that faced the door felt frozen solid.  He was always thankful for that good, clean feeling following a bath.

With thankfulness in my heart, I walked into my own personal day spa last night, El baño de Smiths. I easily ran a bath of hot, clean, sparkling water simply by turning a lever -- the scent of Vanilla Citrus body wash far preferable to pannikin soap cakes.  For good measure, I also enjoyed a glass of Pinot Grigio and the 1939 classic "Little Toot" (because I am a 4 year old -- this was not inspired by Laura).

That luxury vehicle that Laura loaned us is parked in our driveway.  It looks a lot like a decade old Ford Taurus and a 15 year old F-150.  When I'm in the truck with 3 car seats wedged in the back, the driver-side window won't roll up, and it starts raining -- I find myself wondering "What would Laura's mother, Ma Ingalls, think of me now?"  She would probably be overcome with envy.  After all, she had to make her way through prairie hailstorms in a tattered covered wagon.  I imagine my opulence is almost off-putting.

So, there it is.  I'm pretty sure my buddy Laura Ingalls is the Ann Voskamp of the 19th century -- filling me with wonder and appreciation for exactly where I am and exactly what I've been given.  Now mind you, if someone invites me to the spa or gifts me with a mini-van, I am in.  If the window rolls up and there's room for car seats galore, I'll feel like the Queen of Sheba.  And you should, too.

Making a little room

{image from: coffeemate.com}

Being on a tight budget can be thrilling. When Trey and I are able to make extra payments toward our student loan debt, we give each other high fives, even though we're not high five people (it's the lack of coordination).  You have to be on guard, though, that you don't fall into parsimony.  There's a fine line between being frugal and being stingy.  If you avoid having a couple over for dinner because of the extra money it would cost to feed them, you're probably moving toward the miserly end of the spectrum.

In my mind, paring down your budget too dramatically is similar to going on a crash diet where you over-restrict your calorie consumption.  What happens on those diets?  Any weight you initially lost quickly comes back because the diet cannot be sustained.  Oftentimes you find yourself in worse shape then you began.  It may be better to ease into a budget reduction plan rather than implementing everything you can think of at once.

By way of example: when Trey and I first got serious about cutting back on our grocery bill, we gave up a lot of things.  The one thing I couldn't imagine parting with was my Coffee-Mate creamer.  To me, their Coconut Creme flavor was the nectar of the gods.  While it was a pricey $3 for 32oz, I simply couldn't seriously entertain the thought of substituting it for $1.29 Half & Half or some generic version. Bleh. 

So I didn't.  I just didn't.  We continued to buy my Coffee-mate creamer for months.  And it was delicious.  I didn't feel guilty when I sat down with my cup of coffee.  I enjoyed it.  And I think that's okay.  I'll tell you what, though.  A few weeks ago I told Trey he could pick up some Half & Half in place of my Coffee-mate creamer.  My morning cup no longer transports me to tropical beaches, but I really don't miss it very much.  If and when I do, I'll put it back on the shopping list.  So be it.

In our budget, Trey and I absolutely have to make room for generosity both to each other and to those outside our family (Smith Family Budget Reduction Strategy #8). If not, we'll crash and burn.  For the kids, that means we have an envelope for a family pass to the zoo.  We're okay with the $11 a month that goes into that envelope.  Trey and I have a $12.50 membership to the Crowley Rec Center.  Do you know how much it costs to run around your neighborhood?  Nothing.  It's free.  Because we wanted to prioritize being an active and involved part of our community (and since they will watch your kids for free as part of membership) we became members.  It's kind of like a date, really.  Us sweating next to each other on our ellipticals. We love to sign up to bring dinner to families in our church who have had a recent addition.  That's good for us, good for our kids, and good for our church body.  It does cost additional money, but we anticipate that and make room for it in our budget. 

Inevitably, when I'm on a diet that's too restrictive, I find myself cradling an empty ice cream tub and wondering where all the mint & chip went.  We can't afford to do that with our budget, literally.

How to read books and rent movies for free (every time)!

I've always wanted to become a "patron of the arts" but I realize that role is primarily limited to rulers and noblemen.  How do I satisfy my yearning to patronize something without resorting to my husband?  The library!  That's right, friends.  When you get a library card you are not a guest or a customer, you are a patron.  How cool is that?  Answer: very cool.

Smith Budget Reduction Strategy #....7?  Stop buying books and renting movies!!!!  If you are like me, you love to read... and that's a good thing.  What's not a good thing is buying a book that you can get for free from your local library.  In my case, I have been able to get even the most obscure titles through inter-library loan systems for free.  As for movies, Redbox and Amazon Video on Demand are not good deals when you consider that your local library usually rents DVDs for 1 week for free.  Movies not on hand can often be requested free though inter-library loan programs, as well.

 Hopefully we've established that becoming a patron of your local library is a good way to save money regardless of your station in life, but I want to take this a step further if you're a mom or a dad.  Many parents I know want their child to be in a safe, engaging, oftentimes educational environment where they can interact with children of their own age group, and they are willing to devote precious resources to obtain this. They feel like their only options are to enroll their little one in a preschool program or at the very least sign them up for a 2 day a week Mother's Day Out program.  I have good news for you! Paying for a costly program is not your only option.  We, for example, chose to have a small litter of children so that there would never be a shortage of peer interaction.  But I digress.

Find out what's going on at your local library!  In our area, we have a fabulous library with wonderful activities just for kids.  There are 3 story times each week with a snack and craft, a monthly family movie night with free popcorn, and a kick-butt summer reading program with an impressive lineup of live shows and activities for children who choose to participate. (Crowley Public Library Kids Corner). And we know from experience that the other libraries in our area host similar events.


The upside: 

• It's free! 
• It allows me to connect with other families in my community.  This is how I have met really neat moms from all walks of life.
• I don't have to forfeit oversight of my little ones, yet I get all the social/educational perks of a preschool setting.
• It's free!

You Go-Gurt! (Read this title with a sassy voice)

 

Greetings to you all! This is the first (that I know of) guest post here on Shannon's blog. I'm sure you are all wondering about the identity of this mysterious writer. Who could it be - is it John Piper? No, his budget strategy is simply eating the omer of manna that falls from heaven in his front yard each morning. Is it perhaps someone even more famous, like the Pioneer Woman? Sadly, no, but unfortunately closer than I would like to admit. Yes, this guest post is authored by none other than Shannon's husband, Trey (me). My words right now about being broadcast into cyberspace through the World Wide Web on the information super highway to literally a few dozen computers owned by people we know. 

Now, let us get to the topic at hand, our Smith Family Budget Reduction Strategy #6. Funny, we do not actually call it by this name in our house. Ever. However, it sounds official so I will run with it. Well, as most of you all know, we have three young ones. We are constantly looking for ways to generate income. Put that together and you have two magic words: Child. Labor. We are cranking out painted peg people like there is no tomorrow, people. (I couldn't help myself)

Actually, I am here to talk about something a lot more controversial - yogurt. You see, here in the Smith household we consume a lot of yogurt. It is filling, has a lot of protein, is versatile, and let's face it - the live bacterial cultures help keep that lower abdominal septic system running like a charm. However, at $2-4 per 32 ounces, it starts to add up quickly (as my two boys can take down 32 ounces in one snack if they put their minds to it).

I used to make my own yogurt. Yes, I know I have completely put my "man card" on the line with that statement. I would go through a long process of steaming milk, cooling it down, adding in yogurt cultures, and then keeping several mason jars of it at a temperature between 110-120 degrees Fahrenheit for 8-10 hours in a cooler with a steam bath. I would even even have to set alarms to get up in the middle of the night to check on the yogurt. This was not very fun, so I stopped.

Now that we are dirt broke, I am back in the yogurt game, but I have changed my strategy. I found a lovely new use for our Hamilton Beach programmable slow cooker. Now, I make my yogurt an entire gallon at a time (I told you we don't mess around with our yogurt over here). Here is a quick run down of the process.

1) Take a gallon of milk and add it to the slow cooker of your choice.
2) Set the cooker to "High" and leave it for about 2 1/2 hours. You may want to check the temperature after two hours as you DO NOT want it to boil. If it reaches 180 degrees, then go ahead and shut it off.
3) Let the milk cool for about 3 hours. You want it between 110-120 degrees. I generally am happy when it cools down to 120 degrees.
4) Add a full cup of nonfat dry milk. If you do not, the yogurt will be super runny (and more like slightly thick and tangy milk... delicious, right?)
5) Get out a cup of plain yogurt. Yes, you must use yogurt to make yogurt. If you do not use yogurt, you are just basically taking your slow cooker on a ride to the emergency room.
6) Add some of the warm milk to the yogurt and mix together. This helps stabilize the temperature and keep the yogurt alive. Add it to the cooker.
7) Now here is the weird part. Wrap your slow cooker with a towel. Yes, that is a weird sentence to type, but you have to do it to keep the heat trapped in. Trust me - would I lie to you?
8) Now send me your credit card numbers. I just wanted to test out our level of trust.
9) Wait 8-10 hours. Magically, you will then have a huge pot o' yogurt.

Tip: If an entire gallon way too much for you to eat in a week, you easily make 1/2 gallon. Just turn the milk on "low" for 2 1/2 hours instead of "high".

If that all sounds daunting, here is the cheat sheet: Milk on high for 2.5 hours, off for 3 hours, dry milk in, yogurt in, wrap it in a towel, and go to bed.

Storage: This will last for about a week in the fridge. We actually store our yogurt in old yogurt containers (poetic, right?). IMPORTANT: Do not forget to set aside one cup of the yogurt to use as a starter for the next time you want to make it.

Flavoring: Not too many people like just slurping down a gallon of plain, tangy yogurt. I only do that before I run laps around the neighborhood. So, we have a few ways that we flavor the yogurt:

• Gelatin - If you like a firmer consistency then go this route. Use one small box of flavored gelatin and 1/4 cup of sugar for each quart of yogurt you are making. I put the gelatin and sugar in our KitchenAid  mixer, add 3/4 cup of boiling water and mix until well blended. Then add the yogurt and mix it well. Feel free to double this to make larger batches (you do have a gallon of yogurt to flavor).
• Koolaid - Don't judge, you judger. Yes, flavored drink mixes are a great way to flavor up the yogurt. You can use flavors like cherry, strawberry, or even fruit punch if you are brave (it isn't that bad). Add two quarts of yogurt to a mixer and put in the drink powder along with a rounded 1/2 cup of sugar. Mix it until blended and pour into containers.
• Vanilla - For each quart of yogurt, add 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Mix well.
• Tip: For fruit flavors, if you add a little vanilla extract, it suddenly becomes a tastier treat (think strawberries & cream or Dreamsicle flavored.

Uses:  Have it with granola for breakfast or alone as a snack. Freeze the flavored varieties for yogurt pops. Use the plain yogurt as a substitute for buttermilk, sour cream, or even strain with cheese cloth to make Greek yogurt or yogurt cheese.

Cost:
We live in a magical land our here in Crowley/Burleson where you seriously can get milk for $1. That is not a joke. Aldi and HEB both have milk for $1/gallon. I've tried to power my car with it, but apparently our Taurus is lactose intolerant.

1 gallon of milk: $1, HEB or Aldi
Plain yogurt (for initial starter): $2, HEB
Nonfat Dry Milk, 1 box (enough for about 12 batches): $6.99, Aldi
Gelatin: $.35, Aldi
Flavored drink powder: $.25-ish, HEB or Aldi

Total start-up cost: About $10
Cost to make a 1.25 gallons of yogurt (as the sugar, gelatin, and water adds to the gallon), about $2.20
Cost if we bought 1.25 gallons of yogurt, $10 (at the cheapest), HEB
Total saved: $7.80 each week

Longest. Guest post. Ever. You are welcome.

How I'm saving $920 in 12 months

{image from: my couch in the living room}

 

A couple years ago when I discovered Amazon Mom and was saving 30% on my diapers and wipes, I felt like I had hit the jackpot. I couldn't believe that I was able to get so much bang for my buck (with free shipping, to boot).  I was so bummed when Amazon started cutting back on their diaper discounts, but what can you do?  I mean, babies need diapers.

Around this time last year, Trey and I had a monthly $40 budget envelope for diapers and wipes.  Chandler was being changed just about every hour on the hour at daycare. We had recently found out that we were expecting a third child, and we knew that when baby #3 arrived, our diaper expenditures would double.  Yikes! $80 every month was NOT an option.

I had heard of cloth diapering but perceived it to be either too trendy or too archaic for me.  When I read a few articles like this one (Cloth Diapering 101) and found out that I could potentially save thousands of dollars over the course of my children's birth to potty-training years, I decided to get over myself and really consider giving this cloth thing a go (Smith Family Budget Reduction Strategy #5).   Fortunately, around this time, two mommas in my life agreed to educate me on the ins and outs of cloth diapering (thank you Sarah and Nicole!).  Their expertise and encouragement were just the push I needed to finally buy my first batch of cloth diapers. 

The upside:

• On average, I save 25 cents every time I change a diaper 
• Your son can wear  a spider-man diaper and shoot imaginary webs at you
• I have only have one extra load of laundry every 2-3 days
• I am saving the planet (okay, probably not)
• If we're low on diapers, we don't have to make that annoying, unplanned trip to the store
• Cloth diapers are made to last and can be passed down through multiple children
• They have excellent resale value and can sell for as much as 70% of their original value

The downside:

• Poop (also pee)

See my other posts:
Can I test out cloth diapering first?
Cloth Diapering Products We Love

Money Laundering

You know the type  - waving their freak flag in the air.  The folks that make their own laundry soap. WEIRDOS! Do these people even care about hygiene?  Obviously not, or they would go to Target  and pick up some Target brand "Up & Up."  If you buy the 150 oz Target detergent for $8.38 you have a steal at just 11 cents a load.  How cheap is that?

[insert deafening silence]

It's not cheap.  Not at all.  Not one, but two of my lovely sisters were washing their clothes with detergent that cost them 1 cent a load.  That's one penny folks.  That's like having your washing machine toss you a dime every time you throw in a new load.  And my sisters didn't smell funky at all.  I sniffed them just to make sure.

{image from littlehouseinthebigd.com}

  Several months back, I did it (Smith Family Budget Reduction Strategy #4).  I went to the supermarket.  I picked up the 3 ingredients.  I made the laundry soap.  Trey laughed; he mocked; he thought it was a little overkill.

Nearly 5 months later, with 1/3 of the laundry soap recipe still left in the bucket, that was maybe the best $6 I ever spent. Even better?  Next time it will only cost me $1 for the bar of soap because I have plenty left of the other 2 ingredients.  Now my husband praises me at the city gates because this is one less thing we have to add to our shopping list.

In lieu of posting my own "how-to" here is a fabulous one that utilizes the exact same recipe we do:

Homemade Laundry Soap: A How-to (with pictures!)

Beans & Rice, Rice & Beans

If you've listened to Dave Ramsey's radio show for any length of time you've heard him say that to get serious about paying off debt you need to live on "beans & rice, rice & beans."  This phrase (I think) is more of a philosophical statement meant to encompass your approach to spending in all areas.

{image from delicious-cooks.com}

Fortunately for us, we happen to love beans & rice, rice & beans.  In fact, we eat it... every weekend... nearly all weekend (Smith Family Budget Reduction Strategy #3).  Before you think we're martyrs, let me just say that these are legit -- I mean fantastically, amazing, belly-filling, soul-gladdening beans.  Trey's mom fixed them for her family while he was growing up, and it was his very favorite meal.  We have this meal on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for dinner... and Saturday and Sunday for lunch, as well.  You may think this is excessive, but in many countries (say, Brazil, for instance) people eat beans and rice every single day.  Would you believe that this rhythm means that we only spend a few dollars to eat all 5 meals on the weekends?  Could you imagine what you could do with the money you saved?  Over the course of a month, that's 20 meals we've replaced -- with pennies on the dollar. 

Confession: When we were going down to one income, I just did not see how we could continue to support our Compassion and World Vision kids.  As we crunched the numbers and weren't sure that we could even afford health insurance for me, I asked Trey if we could cut out the $120 a month total we send to them.  I even imagined over the course of 6 years how much of that money could have been diverted to paying ahead on student loan debt (enter Shannon's wicked heart).  Trey was not receptive to this request.  In fact, he was dead set against it, and said that surely there would be a way that we could make this work. His reasoning was that if we could afford trips to the zoo or Netflix, we could re-prioritize to help put food in the tummies of hungry children.  As sometimes happens in our marriage, Trey was right... and I'm so glad he stood firm.

It's been months since we've been on our beans & rice routine, but it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I realized that the amount of money we are saving -- by eating food that our sponsored kids eat daily -- is the amount of money we needed to continue to sponsor them.  What's more, it stirs our heart towards gratefulness that He has so richly provided for us so that we can help others.

The up-side:

• Beans are a super food - packed with protein and rich in vitamins & minerals
• Dietary fiber - in this house, with these boys, any source of dietary fiber is a plus
• It's easy - one pot of beans takes us through the weekend
• It's cheap - huge bag of rice, huge bag of beans - eat like kings for months

The down-side:

• Beans, beans the musical fruit, the more you eat, the more you toot
• Beans, beans they're good for you heart, the more you eat, the more you...

How we do it:

Around 1:00 on Friday afternoons, I do the following:

1.  Heat up stock pot
2.  Melt 2 TBSP bacon grease (reserved from bacon drippings a la Little House on the Prairie)
3.  Chop up 1/2 sweet onion and saute in bacon grease
4.  Rinse 1-1/2 pounds of pinto beans 
5.  Add beans to stock pot
6.  Fill stock pot with water 2 inches from the top
7.  Leave on a slow boil for 3-4 hours
8.  When husband get's home from work, have him magically season the beans with salt, sugar, and Cajun seasoning until it is practically perfect in every way.
   
9.  Throw rice in the rice cooker.
10.  Serve a bowl of rice covered in beans with plenty of bean broth
11. If you're really feeling froggy, grill some corn tortillas and put strips into your beans & rice
12.  Send me an e-mail thanking me profusely for having changed your life forever
13.  Replace the time you would have otherwise spent on cooking those four additional meals with way more exciting things.

Cost:
20lbs beans - $15 *HEB (that will get you through 66 meals) = 23 cents a meal
10lbs rice - $5 *Aldi (covers at least 30 meals)   = 17 cents a meal
1 sweet onion - $1 (covers 5 meals) = 20 cents a meal
Pack of white corn tortillas - $1.38 (covers 5 meals) = 28 cents a meal

If you're counting -- that's 88 cents a meal for our family of 4 (Ellie doesn't count yet).

Breakfast on the cheap

{image from skinnytaste.com}

On weekdays we try to make a concerted effort to have breakfast as a family before Trey heads off to work.  In the morning rush of getting ready, the thought of getting breakfast prepared and assembling everyone at the table can be daunting for me.  The most obvious solution, cereal, is costly and never seems to fill anyone up.  To add to that, eating wheat-free has meant a lot of other traditional breakfast foods were off the table (literally).  Our happy solution for the past 5 months has been oatmeal (Smith Family Budget Reduction Strategy #2).  It takes 4 minutes to heat up in the microwave -- enough time to brew a pot of coffee for myself and steep a cup of tea for Trey.

Why it works for us:

• Our morning bowl gives us 8g of dietary fiber and 10g of protein
• Breakfast for the entire work week costs us less than $2.50 (50 cents a day!)
• The kids love the predictability and routine, so much so that when Chandler wakes up he immediately launches into a chorus of "Eatmeal, Eatmeal, Eatmeal!" 
• If we want to change things up, we can always add in extras from our pantry like craisins, walnuts, or even a tablespoon of peanut butter at little cost to us.

Ingredients:
Old Fashioned Oats - around $2 *Aldi
Brown Sugar - $1.19 *Aldi

Movie Night Mondays

image from www.slashfood.com

I have a fabulous recipe for an easy, no-stress Monday night.  It's one of our key Smith Family Budget Reduction Strategies (that's supposed to sound really impressive and official)

Ingredients:
2-3 apples (I love Granny Smith or Pink Lady but we get whatever apple HEB has for <$1 per lb.)
1- 8 oz block of cheese (I like Sharp Cheddar; Trey prefers Colby Jack)
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
1 TBSP coconut oil
1 family-friendly DVD from the library
1 bottle of Two-Buck Chuck

Directions:
1. Slice apples
2. Slice cheese
3. Pop kernels in coconut oil on stove top.  Here's How!
4. Bring popcorn, cheese, and apples to family room
5. Pop in free DVD rental (courtesy of your friendly local library)
6. Pour a small glass of wine
7. Sit down and enjoy!

Total cost = around $3 each movie night

Cost Breakdown:
Apples = $1.25 *HEB
Cheese = $1.39 (we use 1/2 block each movie night) *Aldi
Popcorn Kernels (32 oz bag) = $1.29 (ONE bag makes 120 cups of popped popcorn) *Aldi
Coconut oil = $6 (ONE container of oil makes popcorn for the whole family 63 times) *HEB
Two-Buck Chuck = $2.99 (one bottle = 6 movie night glasses) *Trader Joes
DVD (free) *Crowley Public Library