I am so proud of my husband. To tell the story in reverse order:
I was going to get myself a snack, and I jokingly told my hubby that I had bought the chips out of 'my allowance money' and that he wasn't to have any. One of the things we have always done is have allowance money for both Ray and I. He is not a big spender, so he just buys himself a case of beer once every two weeks - one beer a day. Other than that he doesn't buy junk food or anything. Mind you, he does enjoy his icecream!
I used to drink pop, but then stopped it because it is pure junk - sugar and chemicals. But then the girls came home, and my 12 year old became an 'preteen', plus I have two teens. Suddenly, I needed my fix of pop again. Not just pop: Coke! A drink my kids are not allowed to drink.
So I have been enjoying my Coke and some ripple chips some evenings. Ray has his icecream.
Now, since we have instituted our monthly grocery budget we have done really well. It is not like we are being 'poor' - not at all. We are just aware now of where our money is going. I did my big shop one month ago, and spent all but about $200.
Since then I have bought a few items for about $150. I have quite liked shopping just once a month! Dane thought it was very interesting to see us come to the end of our month today and see the extra fridge have its last item removed (a pound of butter) and he said, "It is neat how we have got to the end of the month, and the food is gone, but we didn't run out before it was time."
I pointed out to him that that was because I had figured out our budget so well. A menu and figuring of all the things we really needed (and wanted). No waste, and enough for everything we needed. But yes, we shop on Saturday and it is just in time. Very cool and *amazing* to see how much we saved this month already!!
So anyhow, about two weeks ago, Ray went shopping to get some ground beef that was on sale. It was all part of my budgeted amount. He brought three - 5lb chubs of ground beef, plus some milk and fresh fruit. He arrived home carrying in three bags and said to me, "Some birds got into the ground beef. Can you just chop off that part and keep the meat?"
To which I said, "What?? No, you can't keep meat that was touched by crows!" Me, the freaky hygienic food person going to eat food touched by crows?! Not likely! I could just see the germs crawling all over the package!
Then suddenly I am thinking and saying, "HOW did birds get it anyway?"
It turns out he put it in the back of his pickup truck and the birds got into the bag and pecked at two of the chubs. Okay, so I wasn't thrilled, as I was having such a good time trying out our new budget, doing so well, and now we were $20 off course. Not a big deal you might say, but yes, we were trying hard to keep to a plan and $20 is $20 - wasted.
Of course, I tossed the meat out and had to proceed to buy some more at full price the next time I was in town.
That was the end of it, or so I thought.
Then tonight, I make a joke about the chips and tell Ray, "Those are my chips. You have your beer." And he makes some kind of comment about not having beer.
Whoa. Hang on. This rings a bell with a vague comment I heard the other day about no beer. I remember thinking, he must be out of beer and not gone to the store yet.
So now tonight, when he made this quiet non-confrontational comment I suddenly clued in and asked him, "What do you mean you have no beer?" To which he said that he hadn't had beer for almost two weeks and I hadn't noticed. Huh?
He said, "A few more days to go." (smile from him)
You should have seen the look on my face. At first quizzical. Then stunned. Then proud. My husband never drinks more than one beer, but he does enjoy a beer after work. And suddenly two and two are adding up and I realize what he is saying. I was so impressed! I told him how proud of him I was. He was grinning big when I said that.
He gave up beer for two weeks to make up for his mistake with the ground beef. He didn't even tell anyone. He wasn't tooting his own horn. He simply took $20 from his own allowance to make right. I am so impressed. Talk about a lesson in financial responsibility and sacrifice for his sons!
It was so neat to see Dane's face when I told him what his Dad had done - Pleasure in my reaction and pride for his dad.
.
Showing posts with label Financial. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Financial. Show all posts
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Buying on Credit Cards and Points
Hi Linda,
Actually, our boys will be taught HOW to use a credit card. That is certainly something that must be taught correctly, you are right! The reason for us moving from credit to cash is because I think we are spending more than we should be. It is so easy when using credit or debit to spend more than you are actually aware of.
I used to use the envelope system. I would put a certain amount in each envelope for different catagories: car insurance, groceries, spending R, spending J, clothing, Christmas etc. I found when I did this system that our money always went way further than it did without the method. It made me really think about all those 'incidental miscellaneous' purchaes - that add up to another few hundred dollars a month!
We have even bought things on time, so that we could have them now, but put aside the money each month, so that when the item came due we would have the money. We actually paid for it the month or so before it was due to be totally safe. This can only be done if you know you have available cash to pay this extra money to a purchase. But it made it possible for us to buy things that came on a good deal when we didn't have the immediate cash. We became our own savings account.
As to the points: yes! I totally agree. I am the Queen of Points *grin*. I am known in Safeway. I go in there when they have things I want to buy, and I buy a ton of it. Even if it is enough for a year. Once I bought enough soap to keep us going for over a year! But I never buy anything I don't actually need. What I find is that the points for Airmiles only add up very slowly: 1 point per $10 - $20 spent. But when I find the Safeway flyer, they always have deals like buy 3 cans of Hunts Thick and Rich for $4 and get 50 airmiles for every 6 cans bought!
Wow, when those deals happen, which is about once a month, I get up to 900 airmiles on a shopping trip! It is really very funny where I live. They often will not have enough of what I want - I suppose it is not everyday that someone comes in and wants 60 or 120 cans of Hunts Thick and Rich - but *I* do!! That is 500 or 1000 airmiles in ONE shopping trip! And I use about 20 cans a month! Well worth it. So now, Safeway has a system for ME! Isn't that hilarious! I am probably the only person in our small town that goes in with three shopping carts and comes out with only three different brands of things - but yet has the shopping carts overflowing. *smile*
Now, they give me a special rain cheque - they don't give these out, but they realized the amount of money that stood to lose if they didn't let me have the rest of my shopping list when they brought more stock in *grin*.
So those purchases I certainly buy on credit card. The regular groceries are only about 100 airmiles a month. But my husband has a construction company, so through him I am able to save a fortune in airmiles.
I have been to Disneyland with four children 2 years ago, plus flown to Tennessee to see my good friend, twice, and then our last road trip was financed in part by the airmiles.
Right now, I am halfway to a trip for ten to the Dominican Republic!!! That is my holiday goal! Airmiles will pay our way there, and I am squirrelling away a little bit each month towards our family having a two week holiday. That will be our first real family holiday. I have taken portions of the kids on the road before, but we have never as a group of 8 or now 10, gone away for a lay back and relax holiday. So before our biggest son leaves home, it is our goal to take our children to the sun for a wonderful holiday. The boys can parasail, scuba dive, surf and deep sea fish, and the little ones can play in the sand and water.
Ray and I went to the Blue Lagoon in Fiji for our honeymoon. That was back in the days of prosperity: before kids and mortgages. But we also used credit cards! Now this holiday will be a cash holiday. Not one we are paying off for the following year. We have learned alot over the years!
.
Actually, our boys will be taught HOW to use a credit card. That is certainly something that must be taught correctly, you are right! The reason for us moving from credit to cash is because I think we are spending more than we should be. It is so easy when using credit or debit to spend more than you are actually aware of.
I used to use the envelope system. I would put a certain amount in each envelope for different catagories: car insurance, groceries, spending R, spending J, clothing, Christmas etc. I found when I did this system that our money always went way further than it did without the method. It made me really think about all those 'incidental miscellaneous' purchaes - that add up to another few hundred dollars a month!
We have even bought things on time, so that we could have them now, but put aside the money each month, so that when the item came due we would have the money. We actually paid for it the month or so before it was due to be totally safe. This can only be done if you know you have available cash to pay this extra money to a purchase. But it made it possible for us to buy things that came on a good deal when we didn't have the immediate cash. We became our own savings account.
As to the points: yes! I totally agree. I am the Queen of Points *grin*. I am known in Safeway. I go in there when they have things I want to buy, and I buy a ton of it. Even if it is enough for a year. Once I bought enough soap to keep us going for over a year! But I never buy anything I don't actually need. What I find is that the points for Airmiles only add up very slowly: 1 point per $10 - $20 spent. But when I find the Safeway flyer, they always have deals like buy 3 cans of Hunts Thick and Rich for $4 and get 50 airmiles for every 6 cans bought!
Wow, when those deals happen, which is about once a month, I get up to 900 airmiles on a shopping trip! It is really very funny where I live. They often will not have enough of what I want - I suppose it is not everyday that someone comes in and wants 60 or 120 cans of Hunts Thick and Rich - but *I* do!! That is 500 or 1000 airmiles in ONE shopping trip! And I use about 20 cans a month! Well worth it. So now, Safeway has a system for ME! Isn't that hilarious! I am probably the only person in our small town that goes in with three shopping carts and comes out with only three different brands of things - but yet has the shopping carts overflowing. *smile*
Now, they give me a special rain cheque - they don't give these out, but they realized the amount of money that stood to lose if they didn't let me have the rest of my shopping list when they brought more stock in *grin*.
So those purchases I certainly buy on credit card. The regular groceries are only about 100 airmiles a month. But my husband has a construction company, so through him I am able to save a fortune in airmiles.
I have been to Disneyland with four children 2 years ago, plus flown to Tennessee to see my good friend, twice, and then our last road trip was financed in part by the airmiles.
Right now, I am halfway to a trip for ten to the Dominican Republic!!! That is my holiday goal! Airmiles will pay our way there, and I am squirrelling away a little bit each month towards our family having a two week holiday. That will be our first real family holiday. I have taken portions of the kids on the road before, but we have never as a group of 8 or now 10, gone away for a lay back and relax holiday. So before our biggest son leaves home, it is our goal to take our children to the sun for a wonderful holiday. The boys can parasail, scuba dive, surf and deep sea fish, and the little ones can play in the sand and water.
Ray and I went to the Blue Lagoon in Fiji for our honeymoon. That was back in the days of prosperity: before kids and mortgages. But we also used credit cards! Now this holiday will be a cash holiday. Not one we are paying off for the following year. We have learned alot over the years!
.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
The Cost of Groceries (or Feeding an Army)
The cost of living in Canada is expensive. I have friends in the States who tell me that they spend an average of $600 a month on feeding a family of 8-10 children. We spend on average $1500 a month! I can't compare to urban centres, as we do not live in one. I do know that our prices have been creeping higher and higher for the last few years.
I am sitting here this morning with my 2 week menu, creating a master shopping list. I have figured out exactly what groceries I will need to feed three meals a day, plus snacks and then all the basic supplies for running a home. I have kept it as tight as possible. When the month is over I will be able to see if I was able to get deals or if I didn't need as much, or maybe, if I needed more in a catagory.
Having done this master list, I have then put a number beside it showing how many of each item I am budgetting for. This way, when the items are done, they are done. No more to be bought until the next month. The total? Nearly $1400 and that is without any extras like pop or chips or chocolate bars or ice cream - little treats that Ray and I might like in the evening when the kids are in bed.
This is also with me cooking all of our meals from scratch and baking all of our cookies and desserts. We buy no ready made food. This is also without any bread products, since we are the fortunate recipients of free bread. This was a blessing that God gave us 2.5 years ago, when we bought a freezer for an organization that distributes bread to needy families. I tell you this story *not* to applaud ourselves - but to show you the faithfulness of God. We have always made ends meet, but God knew that though we are not a needy family, we could certainly use a hand by giving us all our bread! So after this organization feeds its families that need it, they give us as much as we need! For this, we are forever thankful!
My goal with this list is to see if I can cut back our grocery bill any further. Up to this point, I have just bought the groceries on the credit card and paid it each month. But this has not taught the boys anything about 'affording' things and 'going without'. And it also means that if we put it on the credit card it is easy to spend more than we actually have. It will do us all good to have cash in an envelope and simply buy what we have money for and then stop when it is gone.
No, we will not go hungry. We are resourceful people. Most of my lunches are made from last nights leftovers - either a repeat of the previous meal, with bread on the side, or a hearty soup made from the remaining meatballs, chicken, or roast beef. You would be amazed what a wonderful soup you can make from one chicken breast or one cup of roast beef. Lots of carrots, potatoes, barley, beans, and all the left over veggies from meals past.
Speaking of that. For those that aren't aware of the 'soup bag', here is a tip. When we have a meal, if we do not have enough to make a leftover lunch, I will simply take the 6 or 66 peas that are leftover, plus the tablespoon or cupful of rice, etc, and put them into a ziploc baggie and freeze it. Then when I make soup I simply add my baggie to the soup - well, first I take the food out of the baggie. *smile* This causes the soup to be a little heartier and a lot more eclectic! And they are always delicious soups.
So I believe that since, Necessity is the Mother of Invention - A Large Family is the Father of Frugal and Creative Living
I am sitting here this morning with my 2 week menu, creating a master shopping list. I have figured out exactly what groceries I will need to feed three meals a day, plus snacks and then all the basic supplies for running a home. I have kept it as tight as possible. When the month is over I will be able to see if I was able to get deals or if I didn't need as much, or maybe, if I needed more in a catagory.
Having done this master list, I have then put a number beside it showing how many of each item I am budgetting for. This way, when the items are done, they are done. No more to be bought until the next month. The total? Nearly $1400 and that is without any extras like pop or chips or chocolate bars or ice cream - little treats that Ray and I might like in the evening when the kids are in bed.
This is also with me cooking all of our meals from scratch and baking all of our cookies and desserts. We buy no ready made food. This is also without any bread products, since we are the fortunate recipients of free bread. This was a blessing that God gave us 2.5 years ago, when we bought a freezer for an organization that distributes bread to needy families. I tell you this story *not* to applaud ourselves - but to show you the faithfulness of God. We have always made ends meet, but God knew that though we are not a needy family, we could certainly use a hand by giving us all our bread! So after this organization feeds its families that need it, they give us as much as we need! For this, we are forever thankful!
My goal with this list is to see if I can cut back our grocery bill any further. Up to this point, I have just bought the groceries on the credit card and paid it each month. But this has not taught the boys anything about 'affording' things and 'going without'. And it also means that if we put it on the credit card it is easy to spend more than we actually have. It will do us all good to have cash in an envelope and simply buy what we have money for and then stop when it is gone.
No, we will not go hungry. We are resourceful people. Most of my lunches are made from last nights leftovers - either a repeat of the previous meal, with bread on the side, or a hearty soup made from the remaining meatballs, chicken, or roast beef. You would be amazed what a wonderful soup you can make from one chicken breast or one cup of roast beef. Lots of carrots, potatoes, barley, beans, and all the left over veggies from meals past.
Speaking of that. For those that aren't aware of the 'soup bag', here is a tip. When we have a meal, if we do not have enough to make a leftover lunch, I will simply take the 6 or 66 peas that are leftover, plus the tablespoon or cupful of rice, etc, and put them into a ziploc baggie and freeze it. Then when I make soup I simply add my baggie to the soup - well, first I take the food out of the baggie. *smile* This causes the soup to be a little heartier and a lot more eclectic! And they are always delicious soups.
So I believe that since, Necessity is the Mother of Invention - A Large Family is the Father of Frugal and Creative Living
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Margins
I have been watching an amazing video series. It is called Take It To The Limit - Andy Stanley. He talks about creating margins in our lives. Financial margins, emotional margins, margins at work, margins in our downtime, professional margins.
(I just bought the dvd for myself last week and it was available, so if it is out of stock it should be back soon. Very watchable - this guy knows how to get your attention!)
I was at a point when I would get to my Bible Study on Tuesday, where I was supposed to read a chapter of The Shack, to discuss it, that I wouldn't have read it because I was too busy. That particular week I had watched 4 minutes of this video because I was too busy. I had no time to do anything.
The guy says that when you say, "Not now!! I can't think straight." "I can't deal with that right now." etc - that we have no emotional margin left. We need to create margins.
An example of a good margin is my financial margins. I always have funds for this and that and because of it I have been in a good place when it came to things like taking holidays and such. I am squirreling away money for that holiday right now. And then when it is time, I will have the funds. I saved for Ray's ATV - the unattainable, can't afford it, will never be able to save $11,000 ATV - in the same manner.
So when Ray was finally at a point of buying a new truck this year - I could do it. Let me tell you how this went. We had pondered for 18 months whether we should buy a truck or not. His truck is 20 years old, over 450,000 km on it and is rusty and got holes on the side. Anyone looking at it would know where Ray's priorities lie - with his family!
But we knew it was on death door. We also knew that our van loan would run out in 2009 March. A full 16 months later. So we put it off. We began thinking about it again a few months ago. We read papers, talked about prices and thought about it. Finally, we decided to pursue it. I knew our van was not paid off until March, which meant swinging paying off the balance - $1500 now, before the bank would give us a loan.
We found the truck we wanted. Funny enough, we both picked the same vehicle separate to each other! It was $29,999 on sale for $19,999 and we offered and got it for $18,999. It is a 2007 with 64,000 km. It is a 4 door 6 passenger 4x4 beauty. My husband has never had a new truck before.
When my husband went to the bank they told him that our van loan was paid off that very week. There was only $40 owing on my van!! I believe we were prompted to buy the truck that week because God knew the van was paid off early. How? Because I had been making biweekly payments for the last 4 years and forgot the benefit! It saved us over $1000 and we were paid off early.
As well as this, we only needed to take a loan for $10,000 because I had a "Margin" in the bank. I have been saving for Orthodontic work for the last 5 years - $100 a month for the child that needs it. So far, so good. No children in braces and we keep on putting money aside. Not only that, but I have been diligent about putting aside a little bit per month in our Savings Fund for emergencies.
I was able to 'lend' my husband the $11,000 out of my funds, instead of borrowing from the bank. He was able to see that the biweekly payments have been a good thing, and that me squirreling money away really pays off in the end!
So that is my Financial Margin story. It is worth doing!!
As to how do the Margins work in the rest of my life? Not. I have to work on that. The first Margin I am working on is my time spent in the kitchen. I have often written menus and not stuck to them, or got to busy to remember, so I am often at a loss as to what to cook that night. I lose time thinking, defrosting things, and then rushing to get things done. I feel like I lose 1-2 hours per day in this mess.
So this is what I have been doing in the last two weeks:
I am schedule resistant. I write schedules but resist putting them into practice. I hate regimented lifestyles. I am the type of person that would pack my bags and go on a road trip tomorrow if the desire arose. I believe life should be fun and free. Who cares if I have eight kids. They can come too!! *laugh*
So the first thing I did was write a two week menu. This means that we will know what we are eating for a two week period. And yes, the second set and third set and fourth set of two week periods will be the same. Such is life if you are trying to create a Margin.
The menu was created with CHILDREN COOKING in mind! Monday - Meatballs - Cassidy, Tuesday - Sloppy Joes - Mum, Wednesday - Spaghetti - Mum, Thursday - Tuna Lasagna - Cassidy, Friday - Roast - Dane, Saturday and Sunday - Chicken and Rice / Stroganoff - Austin.
Okay, so that was one of my two weeks worth of meals. The deal is that my meals come out of the freezer. I make a batch of spaghetti or sloppy joes and freeze them. Then only every few weeks will I have to make another batch.
When it is the child's day to cook then I take them through it step by step. I have taken the recipes I like and typed them out in very simply format. They have each set of ingredients in the order they are used and then below this is a very child-friendly write-up of instructions. They then know which ingredients for each step. Super simple.
Cassidy Making Tuna Lasagne
To show you: I gave Dane a new recipe and went to my room to wrap presents. He had no problem doing this recipe because each step was outlined so clearly. I came down to a wonderful smelling kitchen and felt like I was visiting someone. Something I have noticed is that when I cook the meal I don't smell the food! When I enter after someone else has done the work I can smell it!
This way the boys each have only 2-4 recipes to master. It makes it so simple. The recipes I choose for the 9 year old are easy, easy!! They are simply a few ingredients that you mix together and then pour over chicken to put in the oven. The rice recipe is a little more complicated, but really easy also. By keeping this up, they will be self sufficient on these particular recipes in a matter of a few months.
On Saturday, which is the 9 year old's cooking day, I help him and he does two recipes. One for that night and one for the Sunday.
I am working on my next Margin. My next Margin is having more time off on the weekend. It is so easy to spend our Saturday with my husband at the jobsite, and then Sunday is shot with trying to get to Church, get yardwork done and then it is gone with no rest.
The plan: Sunday is a day of rest.
Ray saw the video too, and he saw how it was really planned well for us to take the Sunday off. It is a margin and God saw how we needed it when He created us and the world.
This week we got up on Sunday and it was simply a matter of eat breakfast, wash breakfast dishes, no running laundry, no housecleaning (except I couldn't bear to not run the vacuum later in the day on the hardwood), reading books, clearing the icerink, watching a family movie, playing a board game, and then putting kids to bed. We did take Sunday off from church because it was so darned cold I didn't want to leave the house (-33*).
To attain this day off we did a few things:
Ray stayed home on Saturday; I vacuumed and cleaned the little kids rooms with them; I caught up the laundry; Austin and I made dinner for the Sunday.
Not a big change, but it was enough to make us have free-time on Sunday, and we all really enjoyed the time off!! I think Ray is hooked. Now to keep him going this way when things get busier in the summer. I just need to remind him how much better we feel when we have a margin to play in.
And relationships are built in the Margin.
.
(I just bought the dvd for myself last week and it was available, so if it is out of stock it should be back soon. Very watchable - this guy knows how to get your attention!)
I was at a point when I would get to my Bible Study on Tuesday, where I was supposed to read a chapter of The Shack, to discuss it, that I wouldn't have read it because I was too busy. That particular week I had watched 4 minutes of this video because I was too busy. I had no time to do anything.
The guy says that when you say, "Not now!! I can't think straight." "I can't deal with that right now." etc - that we have no emotional margin left. We need to create margins.
An example of a good margin is my financial margins. I always have funds for this and that and because of it I have been in a good place when it came to things like taking holidays and such. I am squirreling away money for that holiday right now. And then when it is time, I will have the funds. I saved for Ray's ATV - the unattainable, can't afford it, will never be able to save $11,000 ATV - in the same manner.
So when Ray was finally at a point of buying a new truck this year - I could do it. Let me tell you how this went. We had pondered for 18 months whether we should buy a truck or not. His truck is 20 years old, over 450,000 km on it and is rusty and got holes on the side. Anyone looking at it would know where Ray's priorities lie - with his family!
But we knew it was on death door. We also knew that our van loan would run out in 2009 March. A full 16 months later. So we put it off. We began thinking about it again a few months ago. We read papers, talked about prices and thought about it. Finally, we decided to pursue it. I knew our van was not paid off until March, which meant swinging paying off the balance - $1500 now, before the bank would give us a loan.
We found the truck we wanted. Funny enough, we both picked the same vehicle separate to each other! It was $29,999 on sale for $19,999 and we offered and got it for $18,999. It is a 2007 with 64,000 km. It is a 4 door 6 passenger 4x4 beauty. My husband has never had a new truck before.
When my husband went to the bank they told him that our van loan was paid off that very week. There was only $40 owing on my van!! I believe we were prompted to buy the truck that week because God knew the van was paid off early. How? Because I had been making biweekly payments for the last 4 years and forgot the benefit! It saved us over $1000 and we were paid off early.
As well as this, we only needed to take a loan for $10,000 because I had a "Margin" in the bank. I have been saving for Orthodontic work for the last 5 years - $100 a month for the child that needs it. So far, so good. No children in braces and we keep on putting money aside. Not only that, but I have been diligent about putting aside a little bit per month in our Savings Fund for emergencies.
I was able to 'lend' my husband the $11,000 out of my funds, instead of borrowing from the bank. He was able to see that the biweekly payments have been a good thing, and that me squirreling money away really pays off in the end!
So that is my Financial Margin story. It is worth doing!!
As to how do the Margins work in the rest of my life? Not. I have to work on that. The first Margin I am working on is my time spent in the kitchen. I have often written menus and not stuck to them, or got to busy to remember, so I am often at a loss as to what to cook that night. I lose time thinking, defrosting things, and then rushing to get things done. I feel like I lose 1-2 hours per day in this mess.
So this is what I have been doing in the last two weeks:
I am schedule resistant. I write schedules but resist putting them into practice. I hate regimented lifestyles. I am the type of person that would pack my bags and go on a road trip tomorrow if the desire arose. I believe life should be fun and free. Who cares if I have eight kids. They can come too!! *laugh*
So the first thing I did was write a two week menu. This means that we will know what we are eating for a two week period. And yes, the second set and third set and fourth set of two week periods will be the same. Such is life if you are trying to create a Margin.
The menu was created with CHILDREN COOKING in mind! Monday - Meatballs - Cassidy, Tuesday - Sloppy Joes - Mum, Wednesday - Spaghetti - Mum, Thursday - Tuna Lasagna - Cassidy, Friday - Roast - Dane, Saturday and Sunday - Chicken and Rice / Stroganoff - Austin.
Okay, so that was one of my two weeks worth of meals. The deal is that my meals come out of the freezer. I make a batch of spaghetti or sloppy joes and freeze them. Then only every few weeks will I have to make another batch.
When it is the child's day to cook then I take them through it step by step. I have taken the recipes I like and typed them out in very simply format. They have each set of ingredients in the order they are used and then below this is a very child-friendly write-up of instructions. They then know which ingredients for each step. Super simple.
Cassidy Making Tuna Lasagne
To show you: I gave Dane a new recipe and went to my room to wrap presents. He had no problem doing this recipe because each step was outlined so clearly. I came down to a wonderful smelling kitchen and felt like I was visiting someone. Something I have noticed is that when I cook the meal I don't smell the food! When I enter after someone else has done the work I can smell it!
This way the boys each have only 2-4 recipes to master. It makes it so simple. The recipes I choose for the 9 year old are easy, easy!! They are simply a few ingredients that you mix together and then pour over chicken to put in the oven. The rice recipe is a little more complicated, but really easy also. By keeping this up, they will be self sufficient on these particular recipes in a matter of a few months.
On Saturday, which is the 9 year old's cooking day, I help him and he does two recipes. One for that night and one for the Sunday.
I am working on my next Margin. My next Margin is having more time off on the weekend. It is so easy to spend our Saturday with my husband at the jobsite, and then Sunday is shot with trying to get to Church, get yardwork done and then it is gone with no rest.
The plan: Sunday is a day of rest.
Ray saw the video too, and he saw how it was really planned well for us to take the Sunday off. It is a margin and God saw how we needed it when He created us and the world.
This week we got up on Sunday and it was simply a matter of eat breakfast, wash breakfast dishes, no running laundry, no housecleaning (except I couldn't bear to not run the vacuum later in the day on the hardwood), reading books, clearing the icerink, watching a family movie, playing a board game, and then putting kids to bed. We did take Sunday off from church because it was so darned cold I didn't want to leave the house (-33*).
To attain this day off we did a few things:
Ray stayed home on Saturday; I vacuumed and cleaned the little kids rooms with them; I caught up the laundry; Austin and I made dinner for the Sunday.
Not a big change, but it was enough to make us have free-time on Sunday, and we all really enjoyed the time off!! I think Ray is hooked. Now to keep him going this way when things get busier in the summer. I just need to remind him how much better we feel when we have a margin to play in.
And relationships are built in the Margin.
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Friday, September 26, 2008
Regarding Boys and Money
Our boys actually learn about mortgages and interest by about age 8. This happens because they want to borrow money or buy something before they have enough money saved, and we teach them about 'thank yous', which are simply interest.
This all began when our oldest was 8 and his daddy worked away from home. He knew it was about bills. He didn't like that his dad had to be away to pay the bills, so this led into a conversation about money and saving your money wisely.
I told him that when you borrow $1 from the bank, you have to give back the $1, plus you have to give another $1 as a 'thank you' for letting you borrow.
They learned really early that you would be nuts to want to pay these thank yous!! And so we have never had an argument regarding their 'House Fund'. It is untouchable - either for future career, or house. If they want a car it gets paid for out of their Spending.
This all begins by about age 11 when they can work more fully for their dad. At that time they put 10% in to Housekeeping (house expenses to help the family), 10% to Tithe (Church and Charity), 30% for Spending, and then 50% for House Fund. Before age 11, they still have to Tithe, but do not have other bills.
In this manner, though we have a large family, they will leave home with at least $15,000 towards their future.
.
.
This all began when our oldest was 8 and his daddy worked away from home. He knew it was about bills. He didn't like that his dad had to be away to pay the bills, so this led into a conversation about money and saving your money wisely.
I told him that when you borrow $1 from the bank, you have to give back the $1, plus you have to give another $1 as a 'thank you' for letting you borrow.
They learned really early that you would be nuts to want to pay these thank yous!! And so we have never had an argument regarding their 'House Fund'. It is untouchable - either for future career, or house. If they want a car it gets paid for out of their Spending.
This all begins by about age 11 when they can work more fully for their dad. At that time they put 10% in to Housekeeping (house expenses to help the family), 10% to Tithe (Church and Charity), 30% for Spending, and then 50% for House Fund. Before age 11, they still have to Tithe, but do not have other bills.
In this manner, though we have a large family, they will leave home with at least $15,000 towards their future.
.
.
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