The Sparrow's Nest

And the Winners Are...

Sharon D. and Jen!

Congratulations, ladies, on winning the Supermarket Savings 101 course from Money Saving Mom! I hope you both enjoy learning some new tips to keep grocery costs low. A big thank you to Crystal for donating such a generous prize! I will notify her by e-mail and the winners should receive your copies of the e-course shortly. :o)

Thank you to everyone who entered our giveaway- this will be the last week of a "Month of Cheerful Thrift". On Monday I will announce the new month study. :o)

Eager Hands: An Interview with Mrs. Kathy Brodock

     It is always encouraging to meet a true Titus 2 woman, who takes seriously her command to "train the younger women to love their husbands and children". Mrs. Kathy Brodock is a faithful example of this passage of Scripture. Sadly today, many young people embark on life without the essential life skills necessary to be productive adults. As Pastor Voddie Baucham has said, "We place a high value on schooling, but we know nothing about education." Kathy's family's mission is to address this need within Christian circles today. Read on to find out more about this excellent wife and her family's home business, Teaching Good Things.

1. Kathy, it is a pleasure to be able to ask you some questions about your home business, Teaching Good Things? How did it all begin?

Thank you, Kelli, for giving me this time. My daughters and I are loyal readers of yours!

A few years ago my daughters (then 10 and 13) and I joined our local quilter's guild. We fell in love with quilting. We wanted to pass this skill on to our fellow homeschoolers, so I thought I'd write an easy to understand book for girls. A friend suggested I make a DVD instead. This started us on a course for our website and making DVDs on several different topics. After months of trial and error we produced our first DVD, Basic Cake Decorating.

We want our website to be a place where parents can come to find information and resources to help teach their children learn practical skills.

2. I totally agree that children need to be taught "good things" in order to become hard workers. How did you implement this in your own family?

I think the main thing is that we have never had a lot of money, and we have strong convictions that I need to be at home with the children and homeschool them. So I guess you could say our circumstances have made us be creative, and for that I am thankful!

My husband and I are pretty industrious people, so our children really had no choice. We didn't allow for a lot of idle time. Even now that our two youngest are in their teens their idle time is limited, mainly by their choice. We want them to always have a project to be working on. Sometimes the project may be a way to make gifts or to make money and sometimes it is a way to serve others.

As a family, if we want something done, if at all possible, we do it ourselves, whether it is repairs, improvements or gift giving. There is such satisfaction in being able to do things for yourself. I think if we were to become extremely wealthy we would still do as much as we could ourselves.

3. I really enjoyed viewing your cake decorating video. Tell us about what other products Teaching Good Things has to offer.

We just released our Basic Crochet DVD which walks you through all the basic stitches, how to read a pattern, how to make a Granny Square, a dishcloth and a scarf.

Our next video will be about How to Make and Sell Your Own Bath Products. Our quilting video is in the works along with How to Make Your Own Wedding Cake and Canning the Harvest! There will also be videos for the boys that my husband is working on, such as; Building Birdhouses and Bird Feeders and The Young Man’s Home Maintenance Course.

We also offer summer day camps for girls to learn domestic skills and boys to learn carpentry skills. Summer is a great time to learn the life skills that they will need to be a productive adult.

4. As a mother of boys, I am concerned at times with teaching them work ethic. I look around and see so many teenage boys with a "slacker" mentality today. What can I do as a parent to discourage this prevalent attitude with my boys?

The number one thing parents need to do is PRAY! There is no formula to insure that our children will not grow up to be slackers. I cannot stress that enough!

Second, our job as parents is to teach our children as we walk along side them. Our children learn more from what we ‘DO’ than what we ‘say’. They will learn as they watch us as we carry out our responsibilities; are we through? Do we complain about our duties? Does our attitude stink? Do we look for ways to meet the needs of people around us? I think these are the two most important things to do! Pray and walk our talk!

I honestly believe that while children are very young they want to please their parents. They want to be given tasks and know they are doing a good job. I think parents make big mistakes when they push Jr aside and clean up the mess themselves instead of teaching Jr how to clean it up WITH them. It may not be done perfectly when little hands are doing the job, but when they are young we must first train their attitude. Let them take responsibility and help, and then praise them. When they are not looking, go back and do it 'right'. Encouragement is the way to lead children; criticism is the best way to push them away.

5. Although we haven't been blessed with a daughter yet, I want to be prepared! :o) Can you list 3 ways we can prepare our daughters to be effective helpmeets in the future?

As wives and mothers we need to respect, love and adore their dad, in word, expression and deed. This is the most important aspect of family life. If you make a mess of everything else, but you love and respect their dad, they will be just fine! Encourage them to find ways to do special things for their dad while he is gone to work. As women (young and old) of the house, our day should include thoughts of how we can make it easier for him to be known in the gates. Do his socks match? Does he have clean clothes? Is his food ready when he is? Rub his feet. Meet him at the door and try to smile. The smallest things mean so much.

Be a keeper at home by staying at home as much as possible. Teach them to love homemaking, which really is an issue of the heart more than the décor and menu. Help them understand that making a home for the family and guest to feel comfortable, safe and welcome should be of high priority. Home is where needs are met. We cannot meet needs when we are physically not at home. What is even worse is when we are not home emotionally. Our hearts can be caught up in outside 'ministries' and miss our God given responsibility that brings forth much fruit. Constantly remind them that loving others through our home is pleasing to God. (Titus 2:5)

Equip them with skills to be frugal and efficient. In my opinion this is just as important as any academic subject, and in some ways more important. This takes many years, and a lot of us moms are learning right along side our daughters, and that is OK, we have to start somewhere. Don’t put homemaking on the back burner thinking you’ll teach that later. It needs to be taught everyday.

6. Finally, as a mother of children who are preparing to leave the nest, can you give a word of encouragement to those of us who have little ones we are just beginning to teach?

Raising children for the glory of God is a wonderful way to impact the world! Never take it lightly! Again, as I said earlier, prayer is the most important thing to do. Also, let us not boast in ourselves, but know all we do is by grace alone. We are to be faithful to love and train them, God is responsible for the results.

Include you children in everything you do from shopping to mopping the floors. Start out slowly, not expecting perfection. Be VERY selective in what outside activities, even ministries to take part in. Time with our children is so short, although it may not feel like it on a bad day. Love them, play with them, and teach them to be givers, not takers. Just take one day at a time, and enjoy them because before you know it they will be teaching the next generation! I honestly believe we make life too complicated thinking we have to do it all, and have it all. More than anything, know our total dependence is on Christ alone!

NOTE: I had the pleasure to review Kathy's outstanding Cake Decorating DVD and will be posting a review on Monday. You won't want to miss it!

Thank you, Kathy, for being so gracious to chat with us! If you would like to know more about the Brodock family and their passion for this work, click HERE to go to Teaching Good Things!

Samuel Johnson on Frugality

"Frugality may be termed the daughter of Prudence, the sister of Temperance, and the parent of Liberty."

The Artist's Garden at Giverny, Claude Monet
Graphic Courtesy of Allposters

Frugal Kitchen, Illustrated

Moving on to the kitchen...

1. Again, make your own curtains if you can't find ones you love for cheap. I know I've beaten this drum a million times since I started this very addictive illustrated post "mini-series", but it's true. If you can find material on sale, you can make your own for way cheaper. Trust me. :o)

2. Use a cake plate on your counter to display baked goods. It's cheap, pretty, and gives your kitchen a French bakery kind of feeling. Well, maybe. ;o)

3. Buy cheap frames and put pretty things in them. Can you tell it's still morning and the vocabulary part of my brain hasn't quite kicked in yet? LOL I found this silver frame for $1.50 recently at a thrift shop and framed a pretty card that Stacy McDonald sent me. It's a quote from William Wordsworth and I just love it. I had to cut the card up to make it fit, but I kept the part she wrote, folded it up, and tucked it behind the quote. So pretty! You can also frame Bible verses, postcards, theatre tickets, recipe cards...whatever strikes your fancy. :o)

4. Make your own art. I saw signs just like this on E-bay and they were unbelievably expensive. So, I went to Michael's, bought a cheap wooden plaque and created my own. I think it cost around $3 altogether and I love it.

5. Hold your tools in a cool container. This urn held flowers in another life, but after I ahem, cough...spray painted it black...ahem, cough...it now holds my kitchen tools. ;o) I promise, I really DON'T spray paint EVERYTHING. At least not if it's moving. ;o)

6. Hang a chalkboard on your wall. This is a frugal way to keep track of what's for supper and any other information you need to jot down on the run. My children like to pull up a chair and doodle around the menu of the day. :o)

7. Hang your art with a finial. They are relatively inexpensive to buy, but when you "hang" things by them, it looks so nice. My chalkboard is really hung on the wall, but the finial is hung right above. The hanging ribbon gives it the illusion that it is suspended by it. Oh, there's that vocabulary side of my brain finally waking up! LOL :o)

8. Have a kiddo area in your kitchen. If you are a mom of preschoolers/toddlers, this could be a lifesaver for you like it is for me. I had a little table and chair set that I painted and placed a basket and toys on for the boys. They sit there when Mommy is unloading the dishwasher and eat snack or just play while I'm cleaning up.

9. Find cheap, pretty canisters. These canisters were a Christmas gift from my mom and dad, but you can find all kinds of pretty canisters to house your baking goods. Glass jars are pretty and inexpensive. Keep your eye peeled at the thrift shops and you never know what you'll find.

10. Allow your little Picassos to decorate the fridge a bit. I rotate turns with the boys to see who gets to decorate the fridge. Right now, it's Christopher's turn, and his brown bear hangs proudly on our Frigidaire. I like to keep my house fairly clutter-free, so I don't allow the fridge to become a museum. Well, at least not yet...:o)

11. Hang a clock. But remember to put batteries in it. Ours has needed changed for 3 months now (at least) and I only think of it when I look up. Then I immediately forget again. Does anyone else do that or is it just me?

12. Plates, plates, plates! Yes, another drum I've beaten to death, but they're great to hang on ledges and get clean by just popping them in the sink or dishwasher. So easy.

13. Have the sun stop by for a visit. Just kidding- it's my ceiling fan. I couldn't figure out how to Photoshop it to NOT look obnoxious in the picture. Don't look directly at it... :o)

14. Paint your kitchen cabinets. Yes, it's a lot of work, but it makes a big difference for little money. It was a rough 2 weeks, but I think it has made the biggest difference in our kitchen (aside from taking down the wallpaper with large fruit on it).

15. Change the hardware. This is a bit more expensive than the painting, but takes less time and effort. A little update can go a long way.

16. Put a pretty container with fruit in it on your counter. This basket was in my dining room earlier this week, but now I've moved it to this room. It looks nice and reminds us to snack healthily.

So, there you go- our frugal kitchen here at the Nest! :o)

Supermarket Savings 101 Giveaway!

Interested in learning more about how to save money at the grocery store?
Look no further!

Crystal Paine of Money Saving Mom and Biblical Womanhood has generously donated 2 copies of her outstanding Supermarket Savings 101 course for a giveaway to two lucky Sparrow's Nest readers! In it you will find:

• Designing a menu plan that really works
• Menu planning on a budget
• Simple, no-fuss, frugal menu ideas and recipes
• Creating a workable grocery budget and how to stick with it
• Learning how to find good deals
• Time management and efficiency in frugal shopping
• The basics of using coupons - where to find them, which coupons to cut, how to organize them
• Step-by-step explanations on how to make the most of deals at CVS and Walgreens
• A photo tutorial of a typical $35/week grocery shopping trip for our family including some of our favorite $35/week menu ideas
• Links to helpful resources and websites to aid you in this money-saving journey
• And much more!

To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment under this post! It's that simple! The winner will be drawn on Friday evening. Good luck! :o)

 

Frugal Living Room, Illustrated

And here it is as promised...a detailed tour of our frugal living room. Enjoy!

1. Plates, plates, plates! Need I say more? This set of 4 cost me 4 dollars at an antique store. The colors are neutral, so they can be switched from room to room if I need a change.

2. Refurbish to fit your decor. These topiaries were on sale at Michaels a while back, but the urns were cream. I covered the tops with grocery bags and spray-painted the bottoms. Now they match perfectly.

3. Use paper for inexpensive decor. I fashioned a welcome garland from cardstock and hung it on ribbon with clothespins. Cardstock makes exceptional mats for pictures if you wish for them to match your decor as well.

4. Think outside the box. I found a charming, imperfect wicker table at a local thrift store. I believe it was originally an outdoor piece. I took it home, spray-painted it (I really don't spray-paint everything- LOL) and now it resides in our living room- a perfect fit!

5. Fanagle slipcovers, if you can. Mr. Wilt and I covered this chair a while back with several yards of decorator's fabric I already had in my stash. I sewed a slipcover for the cushion and stapled the rest of the fabric to the chair. We artfully hid the seams so you can't see the staples. It looks great and only took a few minutes to do.

6. Go for cheap "collections". I collect cream-colored pottery and have found several inexpensive pieces in junk boxes at yard sales as well as thrift stores. It looks pretty even if it's not expensive. :o)

7. Beg for family heirlooms. This lamp once belonged to my great-grandmother. It was being kept in storage in my grandmother's garage until one day I asked if I could have it. I think she was glad to see it being enjoyed once again and I love the way it looks in this room.

8. Reuse old furniture. I spray-painted this little rocker and it is now Johnathan's favorite "seat in the house." It belonged to me as a little girl.

9. Be a dumpster diver. I know, I know...it's not very chic- BUT it can produce some lovely things for your home. This bench was a gross shade of green in a previous life. I sanded it and primed it and painted it black and now it opens to hold the boys' living room toys. Perfect!

10. Sew or mis-treat your own curtains. I waited until a 50% off sale at JoAnns and made a big purchase of my 3 fabrics in this room. I used part of it to sew these curtains. You can also use the Nester's wonderful mis-treatment technique mentioned here. It's a winner! :o)

11. Ebay! It's a great place to find unusual things, like this tole tray. I hung it with a thick grosgrain ribbon on a finial. It's the only piece of hanging art on this wall, but it makes an impact.

12. Hang lots of photography on your wall. We hung our family tree (all done in black in white) on this wall in cheap frames, but it looks great. We collected old photos and took them to Walgreens to be re-printed in black and white. It was very inexpensive, but a sweetly sentimental way to fill the wall- and quietly demonstrates to our boys the importance of the marriage relationship.

13. Re-cover old pillows with new fabric for a new look. If you use new fabric to re-cover old pillows, you have a new look for much less.

14. Buy inexpensive lamps with a neutral feel. These lamps have plain shades and a simple base. No matter what new look we may eventually choose, our lamps will not need to be replaced.

15. Buy frames that look expensive, but aren't. We hung the boys' pictures on either side of our piano in frames from Wal-mart. They look nice, but we didn't break the bank to buy them.

16. Recover buffet lamps with leftover fabric. These lampshades were purchased on sale at JoAnns. I adhered leftover toile fabric to the shades and trimmed them in black. They add a nice touch to the piano.

17. Decorate with books. I placed our hymnals and devotional book on the shelf under this table. It decorates the shelf and keeps the books we need on a daily basis handy.

18.Cats make a lovely accessory. Just kidding- she just happened to be in the shot this morning. ;o)

19. For the life of me, I can't remember why I used a #19 here! Sorry, everyone! :o)

20. A neutral rug ties together the room. With our hardwood floors, a rug is a necessity. We bought this rug at Wal-mart for $24. It makes for a soft place for the boys to play and is very washable.

I hope you enjoyed this tour of my frugal living room and that it inspires you as you continue to feather your own nest! :o)

EDITED TO ADD: I want everyone to know that this is only how my house looks BEFORE my boys wake up in the morning. I like it much better when there are dirty little shoes by the door to the side porch, Dr. Seuss books piled up on the endtable, and Candy Land spread out in the middle of the rug.  That's real life, gals. :o)

Owen Young on Wise Thrift

"We are not to judge thrift solely by the test of saving or spending. If one spends what he should prudently save, that certainly is to be deplored. But if one saves what he should prudently spend, that is not necessarily to be commended. A wise balance between the two is the desired end."

Woman Holding Piggy Bank, Graphic Courtesy of Allposters

Frugal Dining Room, Illustrated

I took some pictures of our dining room today in order to further elaborate on my earlier post this week: Decorating on a Budget: Dining Room. That little visual organizing junkie in my head got the notion to label everything in Photoshop. She just wouldn't quit! ;o)

So, here's a play-by-play about how we cheaply decorated our dining room!

1. Go with what you've got. We had these cornice boards when we moved in. Instead of tossing them, I bought a couple of yards of fabric and covered them. Recently, I folded and stapled a topper to the inside of the boards to hang below.

2. Update, rather than replace. This light fixture never really "knocked my socks off". When one of the globes accidentally broke, we replaced all of them with little shades. The shades cost about $3.50 each, which still put the cost at a little less than $20- the alternative would have been a nearly $100 fixture. That's still pretty frugal. :o)

3. Shop thrift stores for quaint pieces to make an impact. This cute little plate was $3 at a thrift shop. It looks great in the china closet peeking through the glass.

4. Check out the clearance section. This tassel was .49 at Michael's a while back. Dig through those bins- you never know what treasure you'll find!

5. Spray paint is a wonderful thing. I recently picked up this basket/urn at Michael's on clearance for $11.99. It was white, so I painted it black to coordinate with our room. A cheap fix that makes a difference! :o)

6. Decorate with plates. I know I've said this, oh, maybe 50 times on my blog; but plates are a great decorating tool. This set of 7 came from Ebay for $9.99. I love transferware, but white plates (which you can find everywhere from Goodwill to Wal-mart) are particularly sophisticated on color-saturated walls.

7. Use drawer pulls to make faux finials to "hang" artwork. Screw drawer pulls into the wall, hang your artwork as usual, and loop a ribbon around and under the art. It looks lovely and no one will ever know that it's not really hung by the ribbon!

8. Buy artwork you love on sale. This bird picture was bought with a Christmas gift card. Don't pay full price for art. Just keep an eye peeled for a sale, or ask for gift cards for Christmas or birthdays! :o)

9. Decorate organically. I filled the aforementioned basket with Granny Smith apples (my boys' and Mr. Wilt's favorite fruit), but you can assemble all kinds of arrangements from the flowers in your yard, the sticks lying under your trees, and the pinecones on the ground. One caveat- make certain to rid them of bugs as much as possible. One flower I brought in from the yard produced a curious line of ants marching straight for our lunch plates! :o)

10. Decorate with gifts. My sister-in-law gifted me this beautiful tablecloth a few Christmases ago. It is our staple tablecloth, and every time I look at it, I think of her, her husband, and my nieces and nephews. Don't just pack those gifts away- use them!

I hope you've enjoyed visiting my frugal dining room! Next time, you'll have to stay for tea! :o)

The Art of Frugality: An Interview with Crystal Paine

Introduction: I have a ritual every Saturday evening here at home. After the boys are safely and snugly tucked into bed, I pour myself something cold to drink, grab a snack, and settle in front of the computer for a bit. My first site that I log on to? Money Saving Mom, of course!

I first met Mrs. Crystal Paine (grateful wife to Jesse and blessed mama to Kathrynne and Kaitlynn) online through enjoying her Biblical Womanhood blog. Imagine my excitement when she began a new blog...dedicated solely to the practice of saving money at home! I greatly appreciate her wit and wisdom, and her sage advice has saved our family quite a bit of money.  Although she is several years younger than I am, I strongly consider her to be a mentor to me in the area of frugality. So, naturally, when I began to think of ladies to interview for this month's study, her name was at the top of my list!

Below you will find an interview I submitted to her discussing her blog, Money Saving Mom, as well as ways to save and bless others through the practice of frugality. Enjoy!

1. Crystal, I really enjoy visiting your Biblical Womanhood blog. What inspired you to branch off and begin your "Money Saving Mom" blog?

In the course of my first two years of blogging at BiblicalWomanhood.com, I ran into so many moms who wanted to come home to be with their children but couldn't figure out how to live on one income in order to do so. I also encountered scores of families who were struggling to make ends meet.

Realizing there were large numbers of families out there facing financial difficulties, I began to share some of the practical, simple ways we've lived on little over the past five years of our marriage. These posts on frugality were met with incredible response and my inbox started filling up with pleas for more help and ideas.

BiblicalWomanhood.com has a much broader focus than frugality and I didn't want it to be overrun with money-saving posts but I also felt passionate about finding ways to encourage these struggling families, so after much prayer and discussion with my husband, MoneySavingMom.com was born!

2. I am amazed at the wealth of knowledge available on your blog. Did your mother teach you about frugality before you were married, or have you learned it mostly on your own?

For as long as I can remember, my parents were very wise with their finances and taught all their children from a young age the value of hard work, self-discipline, and responsibility. Though they didn't live on a strict budget like we do, my parents lived below their means and gave generously of their time and resources to those in need.

One of the biggest lessons my parents taught me was to be wary of debt. After lots of work and savings, they paid off our home when I was eight and we saved for a few more years and then sold our home, moved to small construction trailer for a number of months in order to build a home out in the country—mortgage-free! Seeing their hard work and dedication pay off and recognizing the freedom they were able to have by leaving the bondage of debt behind made a lasting impression upon me. And it served as a huge motivation for my husband and me to go into marriage purposing to stay out of debt if at all possible.

Before I was married, my mom had me assume the grocery shopping and menu planning for our family of nine. This was excellent preparation for me and I can't tell you how helpful it was to go into marriage already knowing how to use coupons, shop the sales, cook from scratch, and look for the best buy.

3. On your MSM blog, you discuss a variety of topics. One thing that interests me is your $40 weekly grocery budget. For some families, that is unheard of! What strategies do you employ to keep that number so low and provide such great meals for your family?

1. Plan a menu around what you have on hand and what is on sale at your local stores.

The most important tip I have for lowering your grocery budget is to have a plan and work the plan. Learn to enjoy menu-planning and you will be well on your way to a lower grocery budget.

A few minutes of preparation can literally save you hundreds of dollars each and every month. Is 30 minutes of your time worth that? I hope so because you'd be hard-pressed to find a job which pays that well. And did I mention that the savings are tax-free?

When planning our menu and grocery shopping, I mostly follow the plan Kris outlines so thoroughly here: http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com/2008/04/hour-how-60-minutes-week-can-save.html

2. Shop at more than one store.

Unless you live somewhere where you only have one store to shop at, don't do all your shopping in one location. I have five different stores within a five mile radius of our home so I rotate where I shop based upon which stores are running the best deals. It is amazing how much you can save with just a little extra time and effort to shop at more than one store!

3. Learn what a good sale is for your locality and stock up when an item is on a good sale.

I try to never pay full price for anything. If you buy extra to last you for a few weeks when an item is 40-75% off, you will greatly stretch your grocery dollars.

Start learning how often items go on sale in your area and what the cheapest reductions are for these items and then begin to use $5-$10 of your grocery budget each week to stock up on these sales.

4. If you have a CVS, Rite Aid, or Walgreens nearby, become a regular customer.

By regularly shopping the rebate deals at these stores and using their store coupons when applicable, you can gradually whittle the amount you pay for toiletries and household items down to next to nothing. If you are new to any of these programs, you can find full explanations of deals, scenarios, and how-to's over on MoneySavingMom.com each week.

5. Use a calculator and pay with cash.

I bring $40 in cash with me to the grocery stores each week. By only having cash and leaving the checkbook and debit cards at home, I guarantee that I stay within budget.

As I add items from my list to my cart, I add them to my running total on my calculator. Keeping a running total allows me to know exactly how much I've spent so far and how much extra I have to work with.

6. Pray before you shop.

One of the greatest tips I can share with you is to ask God to multiply your money at the store and enable you to be a wise steward of the time and resources He has given you.

4. CVS, CVS, CVS! I can't say enough about the Extra Care Bucks program and the difference it has made in our personal budget. How do you go about planning your "scenarios" for the week of shopping? Are they included in your grocery budget?

CVS has been one of the greatest blessings to our small grocery budget and I've had a blast introducing lots of others to this bargain-shopping bonanza, too!

I plan my CVS trip right along with my weekly grocery shopping trip. Since I sit down on Saturday night and work up all the new deals for the coming week to post on my blog, I use this as my guideline. I normally make a list of what deals I want to do and pull or print the coupons I'll need for those deals and stick them in an envelope along with my ECBs. Our CVS's stock is sometimes a hit and miss thing, so I've learned to play it by ear when I go shopping.

I normally plan my shopping scenario in the store based upon my initial list, what items they end up having in stock, and how many ECBs I have. Before checking out, I whip out my calculator to make sure my totals are correct.

I used to spend a long time planning out detailed scenarios but as I've gotten more experienced at CVS-ing, just having a rough list and coupons and planning things while at the store works for me.

5. Also, on the topic of CVS...I have found that I often end up with items I don't really need in order to get those I do need for less. Any suggestions for what we can do with those items we accumulate?

One of the greatest blessings for me in bargain-shopping and using coupons is the ability it has given me to be able to bless and help others.

I remember one time when my husband was in law school and we were on a bare-bones budget that a family we knew had gone through a really traumatic time. We wanted to take them some food and show them that we cared but we had next to nothing left in our grocery budget to work with.

What did I do? I put on my thinking cap, and got to work! I looked through my freezer and cupboards and was able to scrounge up some snack goodies (that I'd gotten free with coupons!) and then I made them some homemade pizza and a few other simple frozen foods.

To spruce things up a bit, I wrote out pretty little notes with encouraging Scriptures on them and taped them to each item. Even though we couldn't do much, I could do what I could do from a heart of love and I know that meant more than if I'd brought them an elaborate, five-star dinner.

I also often put together a gift basket of fun freebies I've gotten and share them with someone needing encouragement. The ideas for gift baskets are endless--just take a look at some of the gift basket companies online to get further inspiration. Add in a few homemade baked goodies or mixes and finish it off with a pretty bow and you're good to go.

There are many more ideas for what to do with extra items you may have gotten here:

http://www.moneysavingmom.com/2008/04/donating-extras-share-your-ideas.html

6. Crystal, I read on your blog that you and your husband utilize many of Dave Ramsey's (Total Money Makeover) ideas. I think that is fabulous. How did you go about writing an initial plan for taking charge of your finances?

Before we got married, my dad challenged my husband and me to set down and make out a workable budget on paper. Talk about a great exercise to really get to know one another during our engagement!

Jesse and I began by talking through every expenditure which we felt was a necessity and then we made our budget based upon this. Having a written plan in place to follow was a lifesaver for us and I know that were it not for our budget and the grace of God, we would very likely be up to our eyeballs in debt right now, barely making ends meet--just like pretty much all the rest of our law school friends are. We wouldn't be living comfortably well below our means, we wouldn't have an emergency fund of five months' expenses in the bank, and we certainly wouldn't be on a savings plan to pay cash for a home in 3-5 years.

Yes, we're frugal (I came into the marriage frugal, my husband has learned to be out of necessity!), but we would be miles behind where we are now without a written budget. I know this because we've done the math and we know without a doubt that having a written budget, giving every dollar a name, and putting it on paper, on purpose (to quote a few Dave Ramsey lines) has saved us literally thousands of dollars over the last five years.

Our written game plan for our finances enabled us to get through law school debt-free living on around $1000 per month, it enabled us to weather over three months of my husband's unemployment this past year without us having to touch our savings, and it is currently enabling us to live well below our means on an average income.

I highly recommend living on a budget—the freedom and blessings it brings can be incredible!

7. On the topic of books, I know you are a voracious reader from the many book reviews on Biblical Womanhood and Money Saving Mom. Can you offer any good book or online recommendations for us on the topic of frugality?

First and foremost, God's Word has an incredible amount of wisdom to share on money management.

Secondly, I'd heartily recommend The Total Money Makeover and Financial Peace University. I cannot say enough good things about Dave Ramsey and his wealth of wisdom when it comes to finances.

Other books I've enjoyed and would endorse include: The Tightwad Gazette, Miserly Moms, and Shop, Save, Share.

8. Finally, I have to say when I read through the posts on "Money Saving Mom", I am impressed with your attitude of thankfulness and joy. It is true that having a cheerful heart and a creative mind can make frugality an adventure rather than an annoyance. Can you give a word of encouragement to other ladies who are tightening their purse-strings?

Yes, yes, yes! An attitude of gratitude goes a very long way when it comes to frugality.

Learn to think of stretching your budget as an exciting challenge and you'll enjoy it a whole lot more!

We all live in different locations with different stores and different challenges. We all have different diet restrictions, different likes and dislikes, and different time constraints. What works for me won't necessarily work for you and visa versa, however, I believe that everyone can reduce their budget if they are willing to be creative and think outside the box.

Try different things, research the various options for your area, ask your frugal friends what works for them, and always seek to be learning and pushing yourself to find new ways to stretch your hard-earned income farther.

And have fun while doing so! Who says you have to be miserable if you're miserly?

Lastly and most importantly, never forget Who has given you everything you have—none of which you deserve. Live in humble thankfulness to the Creator and Giver of all good gifts, God Himself. It's only in Him that we find true joy, peace, and fulfillment!

Thank you, Crystal, for sharing with us! For daily encouragement, make sure to visit both of her blogs: Biblical Womanhood and Money Saving Mom.

NOTE: Crystal has also been generous to donate some goodies for a giveaway this week! More details forthcoming! :o)

Depression-Era Recipes: Mother's Homemade Noodles

I plan on trying this recipe later this week in chicken broth. It sounds like it will be delicious-very reminiscent of my mother-in-law's spaetzle recipe. :o)

• 1 cup, plus 1 rounded tablespoon flour
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg, plus 1 yoke
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Broth from chicken or other meat

On a bread board or in a large bowl, make a mound of the flour with a hollow in the middle. Beat milk, eggs, and salt together with a fork. Place in the hollow spot. Mix together from the outside in toward the center until you have a stiff dough. Let set for 5 minutes or so, no longer than 10 minutes, then roll out in two batches, as thin as you can. Keep flouring the dough as needed to keep dough from sticking to rolling pin. Roll up very tightly. Slice the rolled dough into thin strips. Separate at once and hang over a broomstick, or spread out on a table. Let dry 2 hours. Ten minutes before serving, drop into gently boiling broth, stirring constantly so that the noodles do not stick together. Noodles will be ready to serve when no longer doughy; the clinging flour on the noodles will thicken the broth.

Recipe Courtesy of Geocities, Image Courtesy of Google Images