The Fallacy of Wealth: Refining “Success”

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Ever feel inadequate after seeing what other people can afford? I used to, but now I know better. It happens all too often.  One of the kids will come home only to tell me how much ‘cool’ stuff is at so-and-so’s house.  They have game rooms, home theatres, new cars in the garage, all the [...]

Save Money: Maintain & Value What You Have

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I plan to “retire” most of my belongings.  In other words, I’ll completely wear them out along with their usefulness before I replace them.  If you are looking for how to become financially independent, maintaining what you have and completely using up what you’ve already paid for is one way to get there. Years ago, before [...]

How to Plan Your 2012 Charitable Giving

Planning your charitable giving….sound intimidating?  It needn’t be.  It’s as simple as a conversation….with yourself. Most everyone has a “Holy Discontent” of some kind.  What is a “Holy Discontent“? What is the one aspect of this broken world that, when you see it, touch it, get near it, you just can’t stand? Very likely, that [...]

Weekly Wrap-Up: Tractor Supply, Third World Awareness and thought for a Simple Christmas

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God has such an interesting way of teaching me about this homesteading life. Just as I begin to think I know a little something, He’ll show me a perspective that I hadn’t seen before.  Coming through the “back door” of my life, through our adoption of three Ethiopian siblings 2 1/2 years ago, He has [...]

Friday Wrap-Up: Leftovers, “Forever Frugal” and “Small Business Saturday”

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Happy Thanksgiving to ALL! Here’s hoping that your Thanksgiving was full of peace, rest and pumpkin pie!  :) After many years of feeding this crew, which was light this year actually as we usually have our oldest daughter and son-in-law with us, I’ve just about got it down to a science.  Once the bird is [...]

Minimalist or Frugalist?

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I love to read.  If I could find the time to curl up with one good book after another, sipping green tea under my ragged quilt, forever and ever, I would. Back to reality…but despite my busy life as mom to 9, I constantly strive to feed my soul and mind with good books.  You [...]

Stop Telling Me What to Buy!

Every time I walk into a store, I feel that I’m being told what to buy….and I’m beginning to resent it. Photo credit That’s not entirely true, I’ve been resenting it for years now. As I’ve spent the last 2 weeks in and out of Walmart shopping for school supplies, it’s been a renewed burr [...]

How to Save Money on Wedding Flowers: DIY Floral Package

Ever done a “DIY” floral package? It’s a great way to save money and include special friends and family into the wedding plans! Several months ago, Hailey told us that she had decided to purchase a DIY floral package for the wedding.  Insightfully, she felt it would be fun to include a few special ladies [...]

Simply Living On Less: Entertain Yourself

Back in the day, we used to be a “Chuckie Cheese” kind of family. That’s just what you did when a child’s birthday came around, right?  GO somewhere to have a party, spend lots of money, completely overstimulate yourself and your children and collapse at home when it was over.  We certainly knew of no [...]

Simple Food Storage

Do you like to buy in bulk?  How do you store your surplus? For many years of living in the burbs, I successfully stored grains in these Rubber maid bins.  While they weren’t air tight, I didn’t experience any problems with bugs or vermin.  They were kept in the basement. However, now living in the [...]