Weekend Assignment: 9/29/2016

It's time for our weekend assignment ...

So ... here you go ...

When was the last time you checked your supply of light bulbs?

Yes, you read that right ... light bulbs!

When a bulb blows are you left sitting in the dark or can you go to the part of your pantry where you keep them stored and get a replacement?

How about it, how's your supply of light bulbs?

patsi

A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27

Have you read this series, This is Why! and this free e-book, Yes, You Can Have a Well-Stocked Pantry?  And don’t forget to check out the ‘Free Downloads’ page.  You’ll find some helpful pantry building stuff available for free!

If you are blessed by what you read here and would like to help financially support my writing, you can do that by making a small contribution by clicking on the donate button.  I would be very grateful!  

 

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders.  I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay.

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.

A Working Pantry is more than just about food! It's about household items needed to keep my home running smoothly readily available when needed.  It's about keeping a gift trunk so that I'm ready for any gift giving occasion.  It's about a lifestyle.  It's about keeping my home and looking well to the ways of my household and it's about doing it all as frugally as possible.  I hope you enjoy what you read here.

Question & Answer: Do You Feel Pressure?

I've got a super busy day today which is going to leave me little time to be on the computer but I did want to take a moment and answer the following question I received ...

(I'll be back tonight to post our weekend assignment.)

I didn't know you were the wife of a Pastor. Just had a thought... do you feel pressure to be the 'Proverb's 31' woman? I think you are frugal because you need to be and it just makes sense, but do you feel like people are watching what you do and judging you if you aren't constantly on the ball saving and making? What if you 'slacked' off, would you feel guilty? Thanks for answering.

My response ...

While it is true that a minister's wife is under a lot of scrutiny and often times held to a higher standard than other women, I try really hard to go on with my life and be me.  I was frugal before I was a minister's wife.  I was a Christian before I was a minister's wife.  I had a preparedness mindset before I was a minister wife.  Becoming a minister's wife did not change who I am.

Do I feel like people are watching what I do and judging me if I'm not constantly on the ball saving and making?  No, if this is the mindset of those who know me they've done a good job of hiding it.  I truly do not dwell on this kind of thinking nor allow myself to get caught up in this mindset. (I enjoy a splurge every now and then just as much as any other woman!)

Do I feel pressure to be the Proverbs 31 woman?  No, I truly do not.  

What if you slacked off, would you feel guilt?  No, I've taken great care to NOT portray myself as perfect.  I don't want others to view me as that way nor do I want to put that kind of pressure on myself.  I'm not perfect, I can't be perfect.  I 'm just an ordinary woman striving to be pleasing to God.   

Note:  We worship and my husband works with a really great group of people.  We've been at this congregation for 13 years, they know me, warts and all and they still love me.  Not everyone has the same frugal/preparedness mindset that I do and that is okay.  I gladly share my 'talent' with those who are interested but don't look down on or push it on those who are not.  

I hope this answers your question!

patsi

A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27

Have you read this series, This is Why! and this free e-book, Yes, You Can Have a Well-Stocked Pantry?  And don’t forget to check out the ‘Free Downloads’ page.  You’ll find some helpful pantry building stuff available for free!

If you are blessed by what you read here and would like to help financially support my writing, you can do that by making a small contribution by clicking on the donate button.  I would be very grateful!  

 

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders.  I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay.

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.

A Working Pantry is more than just about food! It's about household items needed to keep my home running smoothly readily available when needed.  It's about keeping a gift trunk so that I'm ready for any gift giving occasion.  It's about a lifestyle.  It's about keeping my home and looking well to the ways of my household and it's about doing it all as frugally as possible.  I hope you enjoy what you read here.

Questions & Answers: Work Savings? ... part 3

I’ve received two more questions regarding my ‘work savings’ and then that will complete the questions on this topic.

Part 1 and 2 can be found Here and Here.

Question # 1 …

My question is similar. How do you keep track of what you are saving? How do you make a transfer to savings when there isn't enough in the checking account to transfer? Savings on purchases is the way we can afford to get them. So how do we accumulate enough in checking to purchase, save and transfer?  Thank you.

My response …

Let’s break this question down and answer each part individually …

How do you keep track of what you are saving?  I have a spread sheet where I log my savings daily (usually at the end of the day) and then I report them each week in my ‘The Ways of My Household’ post here on A Working Pantry blog.   I call it my Vicky Challenge as it is a friend, whose name is Vicky, who shared how to do this.  You can read more about The Vicky Challenge here.

How do you make a transfer to savings when there isn’t enough in the checking account to transfer? Savings on purchases is the way we can afford to get them.  So, how do we accumulate enough in checking to purchase, save and transfer?   I think there has been a misunderstanding.  We do not have the savings we earn through being frugal in a savings account.  We, like you, use our savings to help make ends meet, stretch our budget and do things we otherwise would not be able to do.  These savings also help keep me from having to seek employment outside my home.  But, just because it is not physical money sitting in a savings account does not mean it isn’t a savings.

Question # 2 …

I have a question that I have been wondering about, so I decided to ask. I think your savings through the Vicky Challenge are awesome but I was wondering when you have a fail (like something you forgot in the refrigerator spoiled or had to eat out) do you subtract that from your savings amount? Just wondering! Thanks!

My response …

This is a good question, I'm glad you asked it. From time to time I do let something stay in the refrigerator too long, but not often. And even then it can go in the compost bin or to animal food so it is not a complete loss and no, I do not subtract those failures from my savings. As for eating out, my husband is a minister which means we are subject to having to eat out at any given time. Hence, we include those times in my husband’s 'work expense budget' so those times are not subtracted from my savings either. If we are going out to eat and it's not work related those times ARE subtracted from my savings. I hope I've answered your questions, if you have any more please feel free to ask!

These are all some really good questions and I hope my answers are helpful. 

Note:  Please feel free to send me your questions on anything that I write about.  I don’t mind answering them at all!

patsi

A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27

Have you read this series, This is Why! and this free e-book, Yes, You Can Have a Well-Stocked Pantry?  And don’t forget to check out the ‘Free Downloads’ page.  You’ll find some helpful pantry building stuff available for free!

If you are blessed by what you read here and would like to help financially support my writing, you can do that by making a small contribution by clicking on the donate button.  I would be very grateful!  

 

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders.  I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay.

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.

A Working Pantry is more than just about food! It's about household items needed to keep my home running smoothly readily available when needed.  It's about keeping a gift trunk so that I'm ready for any gift giving occasion.  It's about a lifestyle.  It's about keeping my home and looking well to the ways of my household and it's about doing it all as frugally as possible.  I hope you enjoy what you read here.

Our Journey to A Mortgage Free Home … #7

(Previous posts can be found HERE.)

After posting the last post I received the following question …

Where did you guys stay when working on the house? Did you have a camper?

I’ve been telling you that we knew what we wanted and that we were determined.  Well, if you haven’t believed it before now, this should convince you.

We (my husband and I were empty-nesters at the time and still are) were renting and had been since moving to the area.  In January of that year our landlady told us that since her husband had recently passed away she was going to have to move from their home to a home of her own.  She told us not to worry though, that she wasn’t going to ask us to move because we were such good renters and she had a beach house she could move to and that’s what she was going to do.  

February 1^st she gave us notice that we had to be out by the end of the month and my husband had a week long work related trip out of town that he had to take that month.  We had been working on the house but it was in no way near livable.  We had no family that lived anywhere near us.  We had a serious problem!  

After much prayer and a kind offer we decided to put almost all of our worldly possessions in storage and move into … a good friend’s brother’s garage … yes, a garage!  The garage was not attached to their house and did have a mini kitchenette and a bathroom/shower so we set our bed up in the garage part and used the mini kitchenette and bathroom/shower.  All it cost us was the electricity we used. We lived like this for about 4 months until we could get one room of our house livable and then we moved into it.  This was some of the hardest days of the whole journey.  Our friend (and his wife), whose brother’s garage we were living in fixed supper for us several evenings every week.  They really went the extra mile to help us through this difficult time and we will forever be grateful to them.  The upside of it though, was that we had the money we had been paying for rent to use on our house.  Remember we were paying as we went.

All I can say is that where there is a will, there is a way … as hard as it was; it moved us closer to our goal more quickly than we would have gotten there otherwise!

Are you ready for some more pictures ... here you go ...

Last week I left you with us completing the foundation, sitting the house down on it and tying it down with the hurricane straps.

This week we're going to go inside ... are you ready???

Have I mentioned that the inside of the house was dirty ... even after hauling load after load after load of junk out of it ...

We swept and swept and swept and swept the floors ...

... and the walls and gave the whole inside a thorough cleaning.   My husband patched the hole in the roof and the one directly below it in the floor.

The house was full of small little rooms and we knocked out some of those wall studs and made a living room/kitchen/dining room combination, a half bath, a master bedroom, master bath and 3 closets.  Since we had knocked out those stud walls my husband had to build a very strong bridge to go across the 'big' room in the attic.  This bridge gave the 'big' room the support it needed.  (Our entire house was and is 925 sq.feet.)

Next, my husband ran the wiring ... and this was about the time that we got the notice that we had to move out of the house we were renting.

Next, the rush to get one room ready for us to live in!

Patsi

A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27

Have you read this series, This is Why! and this free e-book, Yes, You Can Have a Well-Stocked Pantry?  And don’t forget to check out the ‘Free Downloads’ page.  You’ll find some helpful pantry building stuff available for free!

If you are blessed by what you read here and would like to help financially support my writing, you can do that by making a small contribution by clicking on the donate button.  I would be very grateful!  

 

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders.  I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay.

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.

A Working Pantry is more than just about food! It's about household items needed to keep my home running smoothly readily available when needed.  It's about keeping a gift trunk so that I'm ready for any gift giving occasion.  It's about a lifestyle.  It's about keeping my home and looking well to the ways of my household and it's about doing it all as frugally as possible.  I hope you enjoy what you read here.

The Ways of My Household ... 9/25/2016

(The pictures from this week's post came from one of my sister's home.  She really has a creative touch when it comes to decorating.)

Twice last week we pulled up to a gas station only to discover that they were out of gas. We are in the area that has and is being affected by the pipeline leak and subsequent bypass repair.  Not only have we experienced gas shortages but have also had a 20 - 25 cent per gallon price increase.

We've witnessed people being rude and throwing an old fashioned hissy fit because they couldn't get gas.  This surely has made me contemplate what a long term gas shortage would be like!  This is the second time in the last couple of months I have witnessed a person's actions or been directly affected by someone not getting what they wanted ... and it wasn't pretty either time!

Okay, on to this week's doings ...

Note:  My Vicky Challenge Savings are added in at the appropriate places.  

I chopped and dehydrated some of the jalepeno peppers that we purchased when we were traveling and made hot sauce with the rest.

I had some banana’s that were getting overripe so I sliced them, flash froze them and then packaged them into smoothie size portions and froze them.

I made a batch of granola.

My husband was given a 5 gallon bucket full of big catfish.  After cleaning and dressing them we added 23 pounds of catfish nuggets to the freezer part of our pantry.  (23 lbs @ $3.50/lb):  Saved $80.50

We came across a sale on T-bone steaks for $2.99/lb if you purchased them in bulk.  We purchased enough for a meal to see if they were any good before we went back and purchased more.  They were good so we pooled our resources and did some creative financing and came up with enough money to add 42 lbs of T-bone steak to the freezer part of our pantry.  Regular price for T-Bone steaks in our area is $7.99/lb. We paid $2.99/lb.   That’s a $5/lb savings.  Total saved:  42 lbs x $5 = $210

I found kidney beans on sale for $.50/can.  I purchased 10 cans.  Regular price $.89/can.  Saved: $3.90

I also found pinto beans on sale for $.50/lb. Regular price … $1.50/lb.  I purchased 20 lbs. Saved $15.00

In addition to the above mentioned savings we also saved $214.17 using coupons and shopping sales for non-food items.

I earned a $10 Amazon gift card through Swagbucks.

I added compost material to the compost bin. 

I canned 7 more quarts of purple hull peas we grew in our garden.  Saved $12.50

I started another batch of cider fire. 

I made 2 more batches of kefir.  Saved $4.16

I made elderberry syrup (I told you last week this was going on my to-do list!)  Here's the recipe that I use to make elderberry syrup.

I made up 49 turmeric capsules and 51 vitamin c capsules. Saved $10

I planted the one surviving fig tree that made it from the starts we began during the summer.  (The excessive heat from the summer killed the rest of them.)  It started out as a 4 inch twig that we rooted and now it’s between 3 and 4 feet tall!  Saved $15

I’m still working my 100 Day Crochet Challenge.  Minus the 3 days I was sick and recovering puts me officially at having crocheted for at least 15 minutes each day for 19 days!  This week I did a lot of practicing an edging that I fell in love with over at The Bluebirds are Nesting.  I hope to have the finished product ready to share next week.  This is the yarn that I am using for this project!

Not working a job outside my home savings $100. 

Thus far this year my Vicky Challenge Savings  savings/earnings have been $ $11,403.61, add this week’s amount ($675.23) and I/we have saved $12,078.83.  

Now it’s your turn, what have you done to build up your pantry, care for your household or live frugally this week?

Patsi

A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27

Have you read this series, This is Why! and this free e-book, Yes, You Can Have a Well-Stocked Pantry?  And don’t forget to check out the ‘Free Downloads’ page.  You’ll find some helpful pantry building stuff available for free!

If you are blessed by what you read here and would like to help financially support my writing, you can do that by making a small contribution by clicking on the donate button.  I would be very grateful!  

 

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders.  I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay.

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.

A Working Pantry is more than just about food! It's about household items needed to keep my home running smoothly readily available when needed.  It's about keeping a gift trunk so that I'm ready for any gift giving occasion.  It's about a lifestyle.  It's about keeping my home and looking well to the ways of my household and it's about doing it all as frugally as possible.  I hope you enjoy what you read here.

Weekend Assignment: 9/22/16

We've had some great comments on posts this week.  Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to comment!  

It’s time to close out our week here on A Working Pantry with a weekend assignment.

Are you ready????

Here you go ...

Do you have any band aides?  Not sure?  Now's the time to go check because our weekend assignment is to check our supply of band aides.  

When you need them you need them right then ... so, how's your supply of band aides?

patsi

A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27

Have you read this series, This is Why! and this free e-book, Yes, You Can Have a Well-Stocked Pantry?  And don’t forget to check out the ‘Free Downloads’ page.  You’ll find some helpful pantry building stuff available for free!

If you are blessed by what you read here and would like to help financially support my writing, you can do that by making a small contribution by clicking on the donate button.  I would be very grateful!  

 

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders.  I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay.

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.

A Working Pantry is more than just about food! It's about household items needed to keep my home running smoothly readily available when needed.  It's about keeping a gift trunk so that I'm ready for any gift giving occasion.  It's about a lifestyle.  It's about keeping my home and looking well to the ways of my household and it's about doing it all as frugally as possible.  I hope you enjoy what you read here.