This weeks savings, blessings,unexpected happenings, and revelations.

How are you doing this week.  We are 10 days into the new year already.  Time sure does fly.

I wanted to just check in and let everyone know where we are and what's going on.


Do you know what I finally did this week, I sat down and figured out what our bills are and what we may be able to pay for a place of our own.  It looks pretty pathetic to me, (we just don't make the same amount of money we used to since my husband lost his job but eventually went back to a different position. He makes the same hourly wage but does not get overtime, which I would rather make less money and have more time as a family.  It is just adjusting now and figuring out how to live within our means.)  Anyway as many of you know a good place to start is by seeing what you have to pay, and were you can cut back if necessary.  That is now done.  I know what we have to pay in our current situation, and I have an idea of what we can steadily afford once we get enough together to venture out on our own.  (a very sweet friend reminded me, just because I think our budget is pathetic doesn't mean that God does, and He has the means to provide for wherever we are supposed to go.)

To save money this particular week:

I found a hotel sized bottle of conditioner and my daughter had an empty 7 fl oz bottle that used to contain de-tangling spray.  I emptied the sample of conditioner into the bottle, and filled the rest with water.  We shake it each time before we use it, but I made her detangling spray out of stuff we already had on hand.

My husband cut his own hair.

We were not out of laundry soap but with the expenses we had this week I did not want to be the one to use all the laundry soap and be unable to replace it so...I put two small scoops of baking soda into the washer along with some vinegar and small drops of dish detergent to wash a couple loads of clothes.  It seems to have worked and didn't break anything.  ( I am not recommending using this in particular....to anyone I don't know if it's good for a washing machine or not.)  My clothes seem fresh though and I only have to make it work till next Friday!

Blessings:

My friend was given an over the toilet shelf system that she placed in the bathroom we use (myself and five others use this one bathroom) and it will definitely help us fit more of the daily things we use.

My children received a very special package in the mail that contained one outfit for each of them from my Uncle and his family.  They were very excited.  (When we moved here I only brought about 10 days worth of clothing for each person, plus a jacket and a long sleeve shirt or two, and I swear it looked like nothing fit them, I thought how can I be such a terrible mother to see my kids every day and not know which clothes fit and which ones don't?  We measured them and it turns out my daughter has grown three inches and my son has grown one...practically overnight.)  The clothes have been a blessing!

We ate lunch at the Senior Center on Saturday and they sent us home with a delicious marbled glaze cake.

My son had a free pizza party through his extra curricular activity because he received straight A's.

Unexpected happenings: 

We selected vision insurance this year because it is evident my husband's prescription in his glasses is outdated and he is having trouble seeing, and his particular glasses were very expensive last year out of pocket.  Selecting the insurance we hoped would allow us to correct his vision problems now, but when he went for his exam, his glasses were a little more pricey then expected.  It cost us $95.00 out of pocket and it will be another 35.00 to pick up the protections plan.  (if history has taught me anything we will probably need this, he has literally ran over a pair before, and I stepped on and crushed a different pair with my knees while looking around trying to find them.)

My son handsome as he is....found out he needs glasses too.....his were not quite as expensive as his fathers but still cost $50.00 plus the $35.00 protection fee...because he is a boy and a child we assumed we will have to eventually replace them.

We had been nursing (by filling it with air at least once a week) a back tire on our van.  This week I stopped being able to nurse it and had to replace it.  That was 80.00.  We still need one more tire on the front of the van, but we can only take care of so much at a time.  Our Christmas time illness caused my husband to lose some hours at work, so his paycheck wasn't normal this week.

Revelations:

We did not spend money eating out at all this week.  When you make a commitment not to do something...it seems as if you are more tempted to want to do it.  I am pushing through with daily bible reading, all except for today I managed to make sure I did that first thing in the morning.  Today I did it after breakfast.  We are working to be more intentional with our children.  We have prayed with them and in doing so I have learned specific things I can pray for each child. 

I am not ready to give up excess sugar...lol...but I have confessed the situation to God and invited him into my sin, and meet me as I am.....

There are blessings in our trials.  (Thank you to everyone who has listened to and talked me through my sniveling.)  Through your encouragement...I can see it is better that these unexpected expenses have popped up while we are under the roof of another family and we are not having to pay these expenses along with regular rent and household bills. (Man I have some wise and wonderful friends.)

I was a little grumpy about our out of pocket expenses but hearing my son say wow look at the colors mom....and wow mom you look....wow i can really see you....paying some out of pocket costs....is well worth the gift of better vision....(a friend told me that earlier this week too...and in the experience I see now she was so right :) )  

I am also learning how to organize our things in the space we have and I want to make our personal space feel like a haven no matter how much or what kind of space it is.  I hung up one personal decoration of our own in the room we are in, and in the coming weeks we plan to make a "War Room" wall.  I don't know if you have seen that movie, but it is worth the watch.  I hope to share more in the upcoming week.

I have probably given you plenty of information you may have never wanted to know.  Thank you for still following along.  How was your week?