Rain and muffins

It's a weird title but it's raining yet again in Western Washington and I don't feel like doing anything but baking, and today I am making apple cinnamon muffins from my food storage.  I will freeze some for another day and serve the rest up with some tasty apple butter that I canned myself. You can check out the recipe and picture on my website http://livingonlesswithfoodstorage.weebly.com/

BECOMING DEBT FREE

It's a whole lot of hard work but it's going to be worth it. Our trouble started a couple of years ago, when we had an 18% pay decrease due to the downturn in the economy.
     Since last November (2010) I discovered who Dave Ramsey (financial expert) is and when January of 2011 started, I have been working hard on his plan. We have not been as perfect on the plan as I would like to be and I intend on making the necessary adjustments in order to do better. So far we have paid off 3 debts totaling $4000.
I didn't know that we had it in us to accomplish this but we have truly been living as frugally as possible to get this done. My husband and I have only gone out to eat  2 times this year and we spent around $25.00 each time (drink only water and skip dessert).
     Other ways that we have stretched our budget is by making almost everything we need. This really isn't anything that new to me since I have always tried to be a good steward with the money that the Lord has given us but I have just increased doing what I already knew. (I suppose that by having deadlines on paying the debts off helped too and I was trying to avoid added interest by paying things off before promotional deadlines took effect. Another thing to do in order to get debt free is, don't create  any new debt while trying to get out of debt. It's funny how common sense just hits you one day and you have a DUH! moment. There are so many little things that we have done to make it through this year, and you know what? The little things really add up. Dave Ramsey really knows what he's talking about and if any one is interested in knowing more about him just look him up online.

Heres a list of ways we have cut back
-Don't eat out (maybe cut back to almost never)
-Make your own bread, pizza, ice cream, donuts and whatever
-Although you can cut back by making so many things homemade, Try and limit desserts to no more than twice a week so that you don't go through more food than needed. (most of us can handle a little weight loss anyway).
-Limit trips to the store ( I spend less when I only shop every two weeks rather than weekly.
-If you do go to the store each week, try to leave the debit card and checkbook at home and only use a limited amount of cash to take with you so you don't overspend.
-Never pay full price for anything. I shop clearance racks regularly and only with a list. something is not a good deal when you were not planning on buying it in the first place.
- Try to limit your driving trips in order to cut back on gas.
-Cancel cable
-Find free entertainment or create your own. We get together with friends to play games and chat. This is how we have free date nights and sometimes we get together as families for outdoor movies, BBQ's and games. Also look within the community for activities like festivals/parades, (our library has a yearly magic show for the kids as well as a few other activities).
-I know that this last suggestion may sound nuts to some but I can tell you as a witness that I know that paying an honest tithing has helped us to get out of debt. The scriptures say to pay 10% of your income to the Lord and thats what we do. There are certain blessings promised to us when we follow this commandment and I can tell you that many times when we have written our bills out on paper and look at our income, it never makes sense on how we manage to keep the bills paid each month. Things keep happening to stretch the money out and at other times, others have given us just what we needed even though I never said anything as to what was lacking.

SHORT TERM PREPAREDNESS

When I was in my very early twenties and married with two small children, I was watching the news and saw the devastating effects of the California earthquake. People were confused and in desperate need of water and food. Many of the people were on their own because it took a while for help to arrive.

That was the first time when I thought that perhaps, I needed to prepare my family for a disaster.

Being as young as I was, I only thought of the short term problems. It took a few years for me to realize that we also needed to prepare for the more difficult ups and downs in life.

In those early years, I did the best that I knew how. I purchased some candles and a few extra cans of food each payday and when a couple of large shelves were full, I felt that I was done. I had no idea what it would be like to live through a disaster.

Well it just so happens that we had a small disaster, nothing in comparison to the California quake but nonetheless, still a disaster. We had a windstorm that took out our power for 4 days and that experience taught me just how unprepared I really was.

The first thing that I felt that we were lacking in, was a way to cook the food that I purchased. We did have a wood stove but because I never practiced cooking in it, I soon found that it became a challenge to try and learn something new in the worst time possible. The next thing was lighting. The candles that I had bought, burned down more quickly than I thought they would. My husband and I went to the store on the second night (actually several stores) and found that every kind of emergency lighting in two counties were completely sold out. We did manage to find a few more leftover candles at one store and purchased those.

How foolish I was in those early years, I only hope that we have prepared more sufficiently for whatever disaster that we may face in our future.

Of course I did learn a few things from that power outage and I think that most was pretty explanatory. If you have a wood stove, practice cooking with it a few times. Also have an alternative way to cook, like having a portable camp stove with plenty of fuel stored up or an outdoor grill with a stove burner on the side. Remember to never use a camp stove inside because the gasses released are deadly and you need plenty of ventilation. Lighting is very important and having a few oil lamps can be a great relief. I also decided that having a sleeping bag for each member of the family would help to keep us warm at night.

I am so grateful that the power outage was nothing more than an inconvenience but it did help me to think about all the other what ifs in life. I think that the best way to prepare is to think about the worst possible things that could happen and what you can do about it.

Think about Bedding, Lighting, Clothing, Hygiene, Water, Food, Cooking, Shelter, First Aid, Heat and Communications. There are several things that we should prepare and it can be overwhelming but over time, it is possible to accumulate what is needed without going into debt.

While the grasshoppers play the ants store it away

WHILE THE GRASSHOPPER PLAYS, THE ANTS STORE IT ALL AWAY

Most people have heard the story of the grasshopper and the ant; it's the one where the ant was storing food during the summer and fall because it was the right time to do so but the grasshopper took that time to play and all the while, kept teasing the ant. As the cold weather came, the ant was safe and snug inside of it's home and the grasshopper came to the realization that he had been very foolish to waste such precious time.It's better for us to prepare for the challenges of life while we are able to and be a little like the ant. Although we should take some time to enjoy life and create happy memories with our families, we should have balance and know that by preparing now, we can still smile and be comfortable when the storms of life rage on.

One day I was talking to my Grandmother and I was frustrated by our lack of finances and the difficulties that my family and I were facing. I told her that I thought that as we got older, these financial matters would cease. She then told me of how her and my Grandfather had struggled and said

that throughout our lives, we will have good years and bad years. She then went on to tell me of some of their many struggles and as she spoke, I was amazed by her stories and a little ashamed for complaining (at least I have indoor plumbing and electricity). I had a lot to reflect on and the conclusion that I have come up with is that difficulties are just something thats going to happen , so its better to just prepare for those times and not whine about it. I also learned that we usually can't prevent bad things from happening because it's just a part of life, but we can soften the difficulties when they come by putting our homes in order.

The way we put our homes in order is done in many different steps and directions and you can't possibly get to it all at once so just pick one or two at a time and work on it until it's complete and then move onto another goal. Some of the things that we can do to prepare is to work on the following.

-Food Storage

-Gardening

-Water Storage

-Getting Out Of Debt

-Having Legal Documents

-Education

-Emergency Preparedness