Hubby and I had doctor appointments yesterday, but before we headed out the door, I scampered outside and gathered these rose petals. (Mornings are best for harvesting purposes, because that's when the harvest is at its peak in freshness and nutrition.) I have a purpose for them and when they're completely dried, I'll share what that purpose is, for now though let's talk about those pesky 'unexpected expenses!'
It seems like unexpected expenses are popping up more and more in our lives. Currently, our unexpected expense is that we need new tires for one of our vehicles. We had planned and had things in place to replace them this Fall, but this hot weather moved that up and put it into the category of an unexpected expense. Hmmm, what to do!We chose to handle it by cutting our spending to bare bones as in paying our
bills only, no groceries (thank you well-stocked pantry), really scrutinizing
our driving to save money on fuel, make temporary unpleasant sacrifices that are needed and pray for God’s guidance and help.
When we can offset unexpected expenses without going into debt, we feel like we're moving forward in a positive financial way. While we may not be able to add to various forms of savings, not taking on debt, no matter how small, or not dipping into any savings one might have is a win and sometimes we need to remind ourselves of that. Moving forward financially does not always mean adding dollars to savings! Sometimes it means just being able to pay the rent or keep the utilities on or being able to cover unexpected expenses. If you are in a season where you're struggling financially or have a need to get creative with your finances, take heart and know that any win is something to be thankful for and proud of.
During these hard times that many are experiencing, I want to remind everyone that financial ‘wins’ come in all shapes and sizes. Embrace them all and move forward, one baby
step at a time! Remind yourselves that ‘staying
in the same spot’ is sometimes a win! Also remind yourselves that finances carry a mental aspect in addition to a
I’m really trying to focus my writing here at A Working Pantry
on utilizing and finding uses for what we have, taking advantage of ‘free’ things
we are blessed to find and or receive and focusing on using basics in our
cooking. In short, I want to share how
we’re dealing with the unexpected and the hard times that this economy is thrusting upon us. I hope you'll share how you’re
doing the same so that we can learn from each other. That’s how we’re going to get through this, by
helping those in our circle, those that we know who are trying their best and by shoring each other up the best we can with what we’ve got to work with including words of encouragement.
Let me say, because I don’t won’t people to get the wrong impression,
we are fine. We are able to pay for those tires and our bills without going
into debt for the tires. I’m just trying to
encourage others who may be struggling with unexpected expenses to think
outside the norm of today’s society.
Things like unexpected expenses are one reason we do what we
do, live like we live and make the choices we make. For us, A Working Pantry includes our finances
too! You might say we have a financial
pantry to go along with the other ‘pantries’ we work tirelessly to maintain.
I have asked God to give me direction in my writing here on A
Working Pantry. My heart’s desire is that my writings will be a tool that God
can and will use to help others.
May you be blessed by what you read here!
Until next time,
patsi @ A Working Pantry
She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27
Sharing 43 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building
My second blog: From This Heart of Mine, where I share my love for God and His Word through my personal Bibe study. Physical preparedness is important, but not near as important as spiritual preparedness. Join me over at From This Heart of Mine and study God's Word with me.
Items I use in keeping my pantry well-stocked:
Food Saver Vacuum Sealer
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What an excellent and timely post, Patsi. We, too, had to put all new tires on Colton's truck a couple weeks ago. Then last week, the pump on our well went out and had to be replaced. (There are three families on that well, so thankfully the cost will be split three ways.) The very day after, our water heater busted and leaked water all over our floor. When it rains, it pours I guess. While these things are not what we want to spend our money on, I am grateful that we have the means to do it without worry. I will admit there is some stress involved in the whole ordeal, but it can be taken care of because we live a frugal and preparedness lifestyle and keep money set aside for when these types of things come up. The good news is, we have a brand new pump on the well, new tires on the truck, and we will soon have a new water heater. Again, I'd rather not have to do all those things at once, but now we are set for a while, and I can look at that as "getting ahead" while we work to replenish what was spent. Not owing anybody anything (being debt free) comes with its own peace of mind, and that is more valuable than all of the things we say "no" to in order to maintain that status.
ReplyDeleteKelsey, exactly! We really do have the same mind set on so many things! Thank you for further putting into words what I was trying to convey!
DeleteYou are making wise choices and God will honor that. I am thankful that you have a bountiful garden and that it is the time of year for harvesting. I am thankful for your pantry of all things that could be needed.
ReplyDeleteWe are in the same sort of boat with all the dental expenses lately and now new glasses for which I do not have insurance. I got glasses at Sam's Club and after two pairs they are just not working for me and I cannot see. Sam's saved us at least 60% but if I can't see it is no savings at all. This morning we will go to return the second pair and be thankful for a money back guarantee and then on to the eye doctor's office for expensive glasses. Enough is enough! I will do what we call skim the budget. I will look through my budget ledger and take $25 from here and $10 from there and $50 from another place until I have covered the cost. Another expense was that I ordered a lift chair for me. My sister who has the genetic disease too has been telling my husband to get me one. Yes I do need this. I found the one I wanted and yesterday the price dropped $120 so I covered about a quarter of it with a gift card earned on Swagbucks and covered the rest with my personal spending money I had saved. Where there is will there is a way! Over all we are so incredibly blessed that how could I ever complain? The Bible tells me that my needs are food and clothing and we have a comfortable house and blessing upon blessings here so I can only be thankful.
If you do Swagbucks don't forget to shop through their site. I will get over $56 back in gift cards for my lift chair! This is real money off the cost of that chair!
DeleteLana, you're so right, if the lower cost doesn't meet our needs, then it's not a savings. We 'skim the budget' too when the occasion calls for it! I love all the ways you used to make your lift chair purchase possible, like you said, where there's a will, there's a way. And yes, we consider ourselves to be incredibly blessed as well! Thank you for such an encouraging post!
DeleteThose good practices have allowed you to cover this expense ... good practices paying off. My sister lost a tire and rim to a pothole earlier this week, plus had to cover road service costs. Not sure what her total cost was, but at last word, she was $186 and hadn't even been to the tire shop. With all wheel drive, she could be looking at replacing all 4 tires. One thing I've recently done is to gather all my "Back to Basics" recipes into one notebook. This started with a conversation about emergency preparedness / having a "bug out" box ready to go (in tht conversation, it was due to flooding and storms). But, I also look at it as a tool for when things would get financially tough. I've got a copy of my notes for making buttermilk and yogurt, along with recipes for beer bread, english muffins, scones, as well as my favorite spice blends and my regular spaghetti sauce recipe for canning. I've included a "cream of" soup base recipe (haven't tried it yet, but it's one that's regularly on my "to try" list), and a recipe for a sourdough starter. I figure that these would at least begin to help me in a pinch, if all I had were the very basics. I am thankful for the produce I can grow on my deck and that, over time, I've gained the knowledge to preserve it. Saving by buying on sale and then preserving it as best as I can has helped me immensely. If push came to shove and I had to use canned and powdered milk, I could probably go 3-6 months without going to the grocery. Now, If I could put that into practice ...
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of a 'back to basics' recipe notebook! Hmmm, I may just borrow your idea! Thanks for sharing!
DeleteAh, we, too, are going to need tires soon for my 1989 Mercury. It's worth it to spend money on the old car, because the worth of the car is not what I can sell it for. The worth of the car is what it would cost to buy another car!!! We're saving the money and should be able to buy them before fall. In the meantime, I am only driving the car on short in town trips (5 miles or less generally). My husband and I coordinate our trips to the nearby city when necessary.
ReplyDeleteIn a pinch, I could get into savings for the tires, but I'm milking every mile I can out of these to try to avoid it!
Be blessed,
Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage
Laura, Fall was the time we had planned and prepared to replace our tires, but when the extremely hot temps settled in along with the high humidity it affected tires. We had a flat tire and when we took it to be repaired, it was not repairable which left us without a spare. Then we had to order the tires as they were not in stock. All in all it took over a week from the flat tire to driving out of the shop with the new tires on our vehicle. I hope you are able to make it to Fall to replace yours! As for the age of your car, we have one that is close to that that is still on the road and doing well. We take good care of our vehicles and drive them until 'the wheels fall off!' When it comes to our vehicles, age is just a number!!!!
DeleteExpected expenses this month were the cost of the renewal for our insurance. But yes on the unexpected ones too! We've had some increases in fees as well as some financial needs of a family member that we're helping to meet at this time. Like you we're counting on the pantry (my biggest 'emergency' fund helper), going without a few items, and skimming the budget like Lana's doing. And like Laura, we're 'making do' to stretch out a few other things until we can afford NOT to touch savings any further. It's all a balancing act, lol.
ReplyDeleteTerri, I love how you described your pantry ..."my biggest 'emergency' fund helper" ... I completely agree!
DeleteHubby blew the tire on the tractor, credit card with the last of his wreck bills and the propane for next winter came due the same time. No grocery shopping at all, making do with the milk we have and only pulled from the savings NOT the CD's etc. We have just lost about 50% of our income, So bare bones is going to be here for awhile. Just glad the pantry is almost full for a year's worth of food and what has to be bought for the rest is sitting in a CD that matures in August.
ReplyDelete"Bare bones" is becoming the norm for a lot of people! It sounds like you're on top of it though! Great Job!
Deletegood afternoon, mostly just stopping by to say hello. I’m sorry about the unexpected expense. And with inflation, they are usually so big. It sounds like y’all on the right track to get through this.
ReplyDeleteRhonda, it's good to hear from you! Inflation has and is touching absolutely everything, including those tires we just purchased!
DeleteWe’ve had a lot of car expenses the past few months to the tune of $2-$3,000 dollars. We had to use savings but glad we had it. Still cheaper than car payments.
ReplyDeleteLee Ann, that's the way we look at it!
Delete