IT MAKES "CENTS" TO ME FOR FRIDAY - FEBRUARY 21st

Hi everyone,

Okay, so I know this is post is a day late, but I wanted to get this up tonight before I forget and then Sunday rolls around ;) :) :)

In my continuing effort to work on paying off my student loans and getting out of debt, I'll be going through the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University Class with some mentors.  Click here if you want to learn more about that. You can also visit the Dave Ramsey page on Facebook here.

I was on Facebook one day when I noticed this awesome little "cheat sheet" for remembering the baby steps to financial freedom. I originally saw this on the Dave Ramsey page on Facebook. Here is the handy reminder for those baby steps:

So that is my plan. My goal is to reach Baby Step 7 within two years.  It's going to mean a lot of hard work and sacrifice, but I'm willing to do this, because the result will be worth it.

So I'll be talking about that once I get the class started.  The first thing that I did was to make an accurate list of all the debts I owe, which isn't many. Student loans is the big fatty financial mountain that is standing in my way.  It is big, but it is not impossible.

It is really neat, because I can already start envisioning making the scream "I'm debt free" :) :) :)

Oh, I think the "Baby Steps" might look a little different for some people maybe.  I am not saving for college since I'm already out of college. I also do not own a home. I live in my aunt's home. So in that sense, I'm good, because I don't have a mortage to pay off.  It'll be interesting to see how these baby steps will apply to me as a single person.

I know this journey will not be easy. However, I'm so willing and excited to reach my goal and that is more important to me than having it easy all the time :) :) :)

That is the news from the ocean shores of California today.

Love and  hugs,
Heather

IT "MAKES CENTS TO ME" FRIDAY.

Hi everyone,
So I really struggled with what to call this post. I've been noticing on a few blogs, people are keeping track of their spending, some just on food, others on anything they spend money on. So that got me to thinking. Maybe I can keep track of what I spend my money on for the next three months...no strings attached...and then after that, I'll see where I can start saving money.
OH, and I had a hard time coming up with a catchy title...but I came up with "Makes Cents To Me".  My aunt (my dad's sister) helps pay most of the bills, since we're living in her house. She's been so good to us during this really tough time for my little family.  Once certain bills are paid, my father and I have a really limited budget to work with. This budget has to cover food, gas and maybe other incidentals for the entire month.  My "month" started today on February 3rd and will end around March 2nd. Although that might be subject to change. Also, my dad and I are both "in between" jobs, so that adds an element of excitement to the mix. Hey, being out of work is no fun, but it is vitally important not to lose our sense of humor :) :) :)

Here are a few of the items that I purchased this morning at Whole Foods market.  There was quite a bit MORE in today's purchase, but I'd put most of it away, before I realized that a photo would be needed for today's post:

.

My father and I are on a real food journey. We're committed to eating organic food, as much as possible and staying within budget.  We believe that you can't put a price tag on healthy eating/living, especially since the alternative (hospital bills) can be exhorbitant.  If you can't afford organic food, don't worry.  The primary goal is to shop the perimeter of your supermarket, buy fresh produce and meat. Make all of your meals at home.  It will automatically be healthier and save you money.

I know that I'm forgetting to write down some stuff here, because I'm really excited and really nervous about this post. Excited, because I know that it's possible to live healthy on a really limited budget.  Nervous because I am putting myself out there. However, I hope to encourage you because I'm just your everyday person trying to make it work in a recession.  That and I also want to prove that it's possible to live within your means and still be happy :) :) :)

Budget for the month of February: $Not sure if I want to reveal that just yet.  Once the bills are paid, there isn't much left over for food or other incidentals, like the phone ;) :) Maybe later...

Monday spent so far this week: $146.50 (for food and non-food items)

This is what my purchase included today:

--- 3 dozen organic brown eggs

---3, 8 oz packages of Kerrygold Irish butter (for making ghee, which is clarified butter)

---12 oz of organic, cherry tomatoes

---**Martha Stewart Living magazine (a want/not a need)

---**20 oz. organic drip coffee, French roast (a want/not a need)

---2, 32 oz bottles of ultra-purified drinking water with bottle desposits included

---1 jar of Himalayan pink salt

---1 container of Trail  Mix from the trail mix bar

---1 pound of organic, grass fed ground beef

---1 pound of bulk dry rub applewood smoked bacon

---2 Dagoba, organic dark chocolate bars

---1 botle of leave-in conditioner from 2Chic by Giovanni

---1 bottle of Aubrey Organics "rosa mosqueta" shampoo

---1 tube of natural whitening toothpaste

---1 small tub of organic cottage cheese

---organic, salted butter (Whole Foods brand) for Dad

---2 packages of frozen, organic blueberries (really overpriced, but I didn't have a chance to buy the 10 lb. organic bags of frozen blueberries at Costco)

---1.28 pounds of organic carrots

---1.54 pounds of organic broccoli crowns

---1 bottle of Earthworm family-safe drain cleaner (more on this stuff in another post...fantastic product, great price and safe around pets and children)

---2 cans of canned wild salmon

---2 cans of wild albacore tuna

---7.56 pounds of organic, navel oranges

---**2 fresh croissant breakfast sandwiches from the hot deli bar(a want/not a need...but so tasty good when you don't want to make breakfast in the morning)

---Organic silk, dental floss

THIS HIMALAYAN PINK SEA SALT IS REALLY NICE. I LOVE THAT IT IS PINK. HOWEVER, SEA SALT HAS A LOT OF HEALTHY MINERALS THAT ARE SOMETIMES REMOVED FROM TYPICAL TABLE SALT. FOR A LINK TO SOME OF THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF THIS TYPE OF SALT, CLICK HERE.

I bought the Himalayan pink salt for my father. It came recommended from our naturopath, as a healthy salt that my dad can consume.  Last month he was in the hospital because he had an arrythmia fibrillation of the heart. The hospital put him on a low-salt diet.  It's not so much about low-salt as it is about "healthy" sources of sodium. So we decided on this for my father.  It is really flavorful, and because of that you use much less of this type of sea salt, than you do with regular table salt. When I make my organic chicken/vegetable soup, I always add a teaspoon of Celtic sea salt. It's fabulous....and provides wonderful flavor.

What else? Well, let's see...the non-food items were a total of $38.34. That is $38 dollars and 34 cents...Blogger fonts make it hard to see the "dot" seperating the dollars from the cents :) :) :)

So I actually only spent $108.16 on food itself. So divided between my father and I for the week, that's $54.08...that's not too bad for the week.  Also keep in mind, that we still have a lot of food in our refrigerators and pantry, so that's going to help cut down on our food expenditures for the month.

Remember, I am new at this...so be kind to me, especially if you have advice/words of encouragement :) :)

These are some Whole Foods market freebies. They have a monthly health magazine, FREE to customers, whether you make a purchase or not. They also have a bi-monthly coupon booklet as well. So look for those two things, when you go to your local Whole Foods store (or any store, look for the store's sale ads).  Whole Foods also has a weekly sales sheet, that I grab as well.  Although today ,there weren't any available.

I am learning how to carefully study the sales ads. Even at stores like Whole Foods, it is possible to eat healthy and stay within a budget. So that's what I'm setting out to do.  Oh, Whole Foods also has a really cool booklet that comes out that includes a few meals/recipes. They each can feed four people for under $20.

Why am I shopping at Whole Foods today? Well, I'm studying to get my California driver's license. I'm in my 30s and never learned to drive...Shocking, I know...but I'm just a late bloomer and that's the simple, plain truth when it comes to my driving. My dad cannot drive for another three months. That is a mandated CAlifornia state law for people who experience a heart problem (like my father did)..so I'm relying on the generosity/loving kindness of my neighbors and church family. So I'm really careful to limit where I shop to save gas.  Whole Foods has everything I needed for this week, so I didn't need to go to the produce market in Pacific Grove, like I normally would. Does that make sense?

In any case, that's my "It Makes Cents to Me" post for this Friday.  I'd love to hear your thoughts and your ideas. I realize that eating organic is not for everyone, whether it be personal choice or because of finances. However, I know we all like to save money. So I'd welcome any thoughts and comments. Just keep it kind towards me and the others who comment here :) :) Also, I'm just a young lady trying to make it work in a recession. You can have "champagne" tastes and still live well-within a soda pop can budget :) :) :)

I'm participating in the following blog-hops this week:

Living Well Blog Hop over at Common Sense Homesteading.

Your Thriving Family. Click here to visit. Or check out the the blog button on my right sidebar :) :) :)

Raising Homemakers. Click here to visit or check out the blog button on my right sidebar :) :) :)

Thriving on Thursdays at Domesblissity. Click here to visit or check out the blog button on my right sidebar :) :) :)

Lil' Suburban Homestead. Click here to visit.

The Homestead Barn Hop over at The Prairie Homestead. Click here to visit. Or click on the blog button on my right sidebar.

There are lots of really cool blog posts. If you have some time, check out some of the other people participating in this link-up :)

That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs, Heather :)

BIBLE VERSE CRAFT PROJECT & COFFEE MUG

Hi everyone,  How has your week been so far? Mine has been good. Yesterday I was reading some blogs. I LOVE to read blogs. There are so many good ones out there with lots of practical tips, crafts, keeping a home etc. So for me it's about information and entertaining. Needless to say I was visiting a blog that encourages women to grow in their spiritual walks. The idea for this project came from a blog called "At The Well". Click on that blog title to read the article. Well, it really caught my attention because it aws talking about  two very simple ways to add beauty and Scripture to your home.  One way is to   write out a verse of Scripture, frame it and put it on  your kitchen windowsill. Another is to write out a longer piece of Scripture and place it in your bathroom, maybe opposite the toilet, so you have something encouraging to read :) :) :) There's also a book dedicated to stories you can read in the bathroom, depending on how long you 'll be there. No joke...the stories are actually really good..but that's another post ;)

First  select some paper.   I had some professional grade drawing paper samples. However, they were too thick. So I decided to make use of some scrapbooking paper  I had here in the house. I chose this nice creamy color. You will need some sort of a picture frame that stands on it's own for this project. Nothing fancy, but functional :) :)  In this case,  I cut the paper to fit a 4" x 6" frame.

* Choose some drawing markers, drawing pencils, or both :) :)

I have this HUGE box of  professional and regular grade drawing markers, pencils, pens etc. Oh, remember my last post where I talked about credit cards. I also went through a period of buying stuff I didn't need and this box is proof of that. However, in this instance, I am glad to have these available. So, back to the subject, pick out some colors that you can use to decorate the paper.

* Choose a good black felt tip pen for writing out your Scripture verse or words of inspiration.

I chose three felt tip pens, because I was not sure if any of them worked. I also had  a test piece of paper to write on. It is always good to test out your writing utensils first, to make sure you get the right size line that you want.  Lucky me, all of these worked. So it was just a matter of picking one that I liked. I chose the pen on the far right because it has a .3 mm felt writing tip.

* write out the Scripture verse on your decorative paper

* also add some stickers or whatever you like ;) :) Actually, you might want to add the decorations first, before you write out the Scripture verse.

So here I added some stickers that I had leftover from Creative Memories. I put quite a few on there, because that's what I  like :) I also grabbed some of my green drawing markers and a green pencil to add some vines to the border.

*  Place completed project on your kitchen windowsill or anywhere else that needs a little extra beauty touch :)

Here is the finished product. It's really easy and you can decorate it however you like.  Oh, my friend Dorothy over at Notes from Mémère sent me this lovely little stand-up picture frame. So I thought it would be sweet to add a Scripture verse. My apartment has a really nice kitchen window above the sink with a windowsill. So this sits right above the sink. It's right in my line of vision when I wash dishes :) :)  I tried adding a little extra, like this green Depression glass piece.

 I also tried putting my most favorite coffee mug next to this. It's green, too. I can't decide which I like better. Although, right now, the coffee mug is winning :) :) Speaking of coffee, I need to go make a cup o' joe.   I LOVE coffee and I love tea. On that note, since most of you might be curious about the backstamp on the coffee mug, here it is...

I'm  going to see if I can find this company online. Vintage items and reproduction vintage items are wonderful. This coffee mug is super cute. I'm CONVINCED beautiful dishes and glasses make EVERYTHING taste better :) :) 

So I hope you liked my little craft project today. If you make one for your home, let me know, so I can come visit and see :) :)

There's not a whole lot going on today. The weather can't make up it's mind weather to rain, snow or shine. Or in some cases, all three at the same time. That makes for some really good conversations with friends, that's for sure :)

 I'll be job hunting, working on some home sewing - mainly my flannel quilt.  Plus, I'll be down-sizing and getting rid of some books. I'm going to try and sell them to a used bookstore.

God has given me a nice home, a nice family, my own upstairs bedroom with a nice big closet and window. Those are just little things that I'm grateful for today, too. That's the news from Oregon today. Love and hugs, Heather :)

THE STATE OF "THE HEATHER" ADDRESS

Hi everyone,
As many of you know I'm "in between" jobs. I was layed off from my job the week after Christmas. It wasn't a total surprise, since my job is seasonal. Last week, I received a letter from the local employment office. I had to come in for about 2 -3 hours, update my resume and math/reading skills test scores.

THIS IS JUST A RANDOM PHOTO FROM JANUARY 1ST. I DIDN'T HAVE ANY PHOTOS RELATED TO MONEY OR UNEMPLOYMENT. SO I FIGURED THIS WOULD BE BETTER THAN NOTHING. :) :) :) I was really upset about having to go downtown. Especially since I had done this class last year. However, this year it changed. It actually turned out to be a pleasant experience. Last year I had to sit in a boring classroom for three hours. I felt like sleeping and it was, in my opinion, a bit of a waste of time. However, this year, I was able to sit at the computer and do the work myself WITHOUT having to listen to someone drone on and on. Then when I was finished with updating my resume and completing the math/reading tests, I spoke with an employment counselor.

HERE ARE SOME SOCKS THAT I MADE AWHILE BACK. YOU WILL PROBABLY RECOGNIZE THESE. THEY SURE ARE BRIGHT.
I know quite a few excellent resources for job searches here in Oregon. Many of them have links to companion sites in other states. Let me know if you want some links to those sites. In any case,  in Oregon, you are REQUIRED to be registered with "iMatch" skills, in order to receive unemployment benefits.  Click here to visit the "Working in Oregon" website - the official site for unemployment and looking for jobs. When you look on the right sidebar, there's a link for "iMatch skills". It takes a long time, intiially, because you do basically have to upload a resume on their site. however, once it's on there, it's very easy to update. It is just one tool for job searches.

 I POSTED ABOUT THESE EARRINGS YESTERDAY. I ABSOLUTELY ADORE THEM. THEY SO EXPRESS ME PERFECTLY :) :) :)
Another site I use is from one of Oregon's region employment offices. It's fantastic and has links to all sorts of various job search sites. There's links to what the main careers are in the state, what future projections are etc. Plus there are free on-line tutorials to help you build up your skills. It's fantastic, because they really provide a large number of resources. You do need to take the initiative and use those free services. Your tax dollars go to pay for this...so use it, since it's free :) :) Oh, here's another website that is awesome for job searches. My father actually told me about this one. I've applied for a couple of jobs this way. It's called LinkUp. Click here to visit their site. It is a very basic job search engine. When I visit this site, I type in the city,state where I"m looking for work and it brings up a list of jobs.

In any case, this will be my first post on finances etc. I guess you can call it that :) :) It's not a fun place to be. However, I am learning a lot and through this time have been  learning to really make my money stretch really far. 

Next Wednesday I'll share about how well I was doing financially, got messed up with credit cards, and how I'm slowly getting my financial house and my peace of mind back :) :) I didn't use my first credit card until I was 27 years old. Up to that point, I paid cash for everything. Within the space of a year, through very unwise decisions, I ended up owing money. I have paid it all off...but it took me four years to do it.  I do have some medical bills that I'm still paying on...but no more credit cards for me. I literally use cash or my debit card.  So for me personally, in addition to looking for a new job, I am PASSIONATE about getting out of debt. This is my personal conviction about what I feel is right for me. I am NOT speaking for anyone else. Fiduciary wisdom/finances are so personal...but I really want to encourage you that there is hope, no matter what situation you find yourself in. Plus, I also hope that as I share my story, I can keep someone from making the same mistakes that I did : :) :) 

Pray that God will give me wisdom.  I am a bit nervous, but at the same time, I feel it's a necessary step. Plus it will keep me accountable, too. Anyways, I'll try and limit my version of money talk to Wednesdays. 

Okay, that's the news from Oregon today. Love and hugs from Oregon, Heather :) :)