Digging For The Good Stuff

This little jewel was buried under uninteresting stuff!

Like gold and diamond miners, sometimes you gotta really dig for the valuable bling! Seriously, when was the last time you saw diamonds lining your sidewalks, or those same sidewalks secured by gold? I thought so.

I stopped in at Plato's Closet the other night. A half hour away from my house, when I get to stop there, I really do a dig, as I don't know when the next visit will be. Plato's gets so many things in, their racks and bins are always a mess, no matter how much they straighten.

Instead of doing a quick perusal of the store, I stopped and dug into the bins at the register, where they put loose bracelets and rings. Nothing on top looked good to me, so I started picking things up so I could look allll the way under the top layer. Result? That gorgeous tortoise shell bracelet, plus two others that are fabulous, yet were unseen at first glance.

Bolstered by these finds, I strolled over to check out the handbags. Oh, my goodness. What a MESS!

Looking at (again) that top layer, nothing interested me. The mess was pretty overwhelming. Wait, what was that? A beautiful gold chain? I dug and dug and unearthed a breathtaking gold purse! Who has 2 thumbs and has wanted a large gold tote/handbag for forever? THIS GIRL! The icing on the cake? A $10 price tag! SOLD!

My 3 bracelets and purse cost me a grand total of $20 and tax. I was thrilled, and once again convinced that digging for the good stuff pays off!!

We don't always have time for a dig like that. You may be running into a thrift store on your lunch hour, or on the way to another appointment. That's ok, sometimes the good stuff IS out in the open. If you get the chance though, give your resale shops a good dig every now and then.

You'll be richly rewarded.

Financial Setbacks: The Musical

Checks still get written......because life goes on.

Just like there will be rain on your parade, and ants in your picnic basket, life is full of twists, turns, disappointments and heartaches. The best laid plans can be reduced to gibberish on a piece of paper. You pray, you plan, you execute......and then you go over the first hill of life's roller coaster.

It's inevitable, folks.

This past summer, I posted a blog about how selling our boat resulted in us being able to pay off our debt, and look forward to a fabulous, SOLVENT senior year for Claire. I posted that not to brag, but to provide hope......that it can be done.

We had one blessed month of breathing easier and living like normal folks with liquid assets. Michael bought Claire and I Kindles for our birthdays. He was able to purchase two guns he had wanted for a very long time. We went out to dinner, and didn't have to sweat the total on the bill. It was a heady, brief period in our lives.

Four weeks later, we learned that our monthly income would be reduced by $850. This is a sizeable amount, unless you're a Rockefeller. We had budgeted using that amount, and now we were faced with being tight monetarily again. We had done everything right, but stuff happens that's out of our control.

How many times have you heard that scenario? Things are going great, then someone loses their job. A loved one gets cancer. A divorce, death, move across the country........stressful, but so common place.

How do you react when life hits you with a biggie like that?

I'm a Christian, and so are my husband and daughter. I know we're watched like hawks by our friends and family who are not. How do we respond to the rough stuff? 'Oh sure,' they say. 'It's so easy to act like a Christian when everything's going well. How about when the bottom drops out?' Well, it's a big responsibility. How DO we respond?

Just about everyone knows who Job is, in the Bible. An upright, Godly, rich man, Satan got permission from God to have a field day with him, and as a result, he lost his 10 children and all his earthly goods. Then, Satan struck him with horrible boils. Curse God and die? Probably sounded pretty good after all that. However, Job refused, and in the end, God gave him more than he'd originally had. You better believe everyone in the area was waiting to see how Job would handle such atrocities. He came through with flyling colors.

At this point, I will confess: initially, I didn't feel like responding to our financial setback in a Godly manner. Frankly, I wanted to hire a hitman. I wanted to scream and yell and throw things and inflict pain. Just seeing my poor daughter struggle with the realization that senior year might be a bit more lean than we wanted was enough to send me into the rages all over again.

We still have our moments of feeling hopeless and angry, but it's getting better. Once you work through the initial anger, you start to regroup. Plans gets changed, but life goes on.

And then, a strange thing happened.

I noticed that God was providing just what we needed, at just the right time. Like the manna in the desert that God gave every day for the Israelites to eat, every single need was met with just the right amount of money. Human nature being what it was, I wanted to have enough money to sock away, to 'hoard,' to ensure we could provide for ourselves. What often happens when you have a surplus? You begin to believe the lie that YOU are taking care of you, NOT God. He doesn't want our family to fall into this trap, and so, we must rely on Him for every single thing we need. Talk about true Christianity. We can't pay lip service to our faith......'oh yes, we're relying completely on the Lord, and we have $100K in the bank.' Nope. 100% reliance on God. 'If You don't come through for us, Lord, we won't make it.'

Now, I realize that I'm writing to the Christians out there. I'm sure a bunch of you are nodding your heads in agreement. But, I'm also writing to YOU, my non-Christian blog reader. You may not believe in God, or you may be an agnostic.......one who only believes what can be proven. Well, I lay open my life as proof that God exists. He not only exists, He provides.

Relying on The Lord for our finances. Living the Thriftnerd credo. It works for us :)

I Don't Have Time To Cook!

Sometimes we really don't! Having to drive straight from work to school to extracurricular activities and meetings really cuts down on the time you can spend in the kitchen. However, how many times do we use this excuse as a cop-out?

Last night, I put it to the test.

After taking Claire to school for play practice and the football game, I had about 2 hours time before Michael came home from work. I suddenly had the desire to cook him a very good meal. Something healthy but filling, as Michael is diabetic and we're both trying to watch our food intake.

I went to the store and bought Alaskan salmon patties. $8 for a box of 4.......kinda pricey, but have you eaten salmon at a restaurant lately? Yikes! I picked up two good sized sweet potatoes, a sugar free apple pie, and sugar free butter pecan ice cream. $17 and change.

Back home, I had fresh brocoli in the fridge. I steamed it while I cooked the sweet potatoes in the microwave, and baked the salmon patties. Everything was almost ready when Michael walked through the door. 10 minutes later, I served him a delicious dinner he was very grateful to eat!


2 hours from start to finish, and less than $20 total for two complete, two course meals.

I'm glad I decided to pull the dinner together myself, instead of giving into being tired after a long, hard week, and justifying another meal out. Our checkbook and our waistlines agreed!

Exercising: Free and Cheap and No Excuses!!

Except for the early 80's, when my mother and I belonged to a gym called Spa Lady, I have always been an advocate of exercising at home. I prefer it that way, actually. Even at my fittest, working out next to someone who might be more buff or athletic than me is SUCH a buzzkill. I need to protect my delicate psyche any way I can :)

Walking is the best. Next comes running. Obviously you have to work up from walking to running. Skip that first step and I'll see you at the ER.

At home weight sets rock too. Breaking a sweat in the basement by yourself is cool. Don't lift more than humanly possible, especially if you're by yourself. Again, ER visit.

Treadmills, stationary bikes, all good. Of course, there is the initial cost involved for at home gym equipment. If you actually use it and see results, that's money well spent.

My favorite at home workout was always a VCR tape. Denise Austin was my girl! After having Brendan and Claire, I had to work hard to get back into shape, and I loved Denise's tapes. She's not everyone's cup of tea, and I appreciate that. I'm not a Tony Little fan; in fact, he makes me grind my teeth. I've heard Denise has the same effect on some folks.

Anyway, I had quite a collection of Denise Austin videos. My favorite was her 'Sizzler' workout. Talk about a sweatfest! That thing had me seeing Jesus about halfway through, every time I used it. Effective? You bet your cellulite.

I replaced my 'Sizzler' tape several times, as I used it so much I wore it out. After that, my VCR pooped out, and we didn't replace it.

Most videos are now being made as DVDS. Not the 'Sizzler.' Doesn't make sense, and I did the appropriate amount of mourning.

Mourn no more, sweet, out of shape Erin. Just go to YouTube.

No longer just the website of choice for cute kitten videos, or about a million versions of the Miley Cyrus/VMA debacle, YouTube is EXCELLENT for viewing free workout videos! Guess what's there? That's right, my beloved 'Sizzler,' along with almost every other video and DVD Denise Austin ever made.

There are really NO MORE excuses for not exercising, babe. If it's important enough, you'll find the time :P

Saving Money Through Reading: Simplified

If you are new to the concept of thrifting and saving money, odds are you're looking for reading material on the subject. It can be a daunting experience! Just put 'saving money' in the search bar for Amazon, and literally HUNDREDS of titles pop up! What's worth your time?

I have spent most of my adult life researching this subject, and I can cut YOUR research time by recommending 3 books that have helped me more than any others.

Over at Miserlymoms.com, Jonni McCoy dispenses tightwad wisdom through her website, books and cookbooks. Jonni was a white collar professional, earning half her family's income, and living in the highly expensive San Francisco area, when she chose to quit working to stay home with her children. Through trial and error and a TON of research, Jonni not only successfully made the switch to stay at home mom, she built a successful career as a writer and speaker on the subject of saving money. Complicating things was the discovery that one of her children had serious food allergies, so she not only had to save money on food, but healthy, whole foods at that. She made it work! She is also clear about not being a tightwad who enjoys a spartan lifestyle. She enjoys her luxuries and finds cheaper ways to get them! Jonni writes in a candid, easy manner, and the average person can follow her advice without finding her too extreme.

At Livingonadime.com, Tawra and her mom, Jill, run a small empire based on thrift. Their e-books, newsletter and Facebook page are chock full of good advice on how to do things frugally. Both speak from experience! Jill started her own business and paid off $35,000 in debt on only $1000 a month, and then when she was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and had to go on disability, she successfully raised two teenagers on only $500 a month! Jill and her husband, Mike, paid off $20,000 on only $22,000 a month, and now that their debt is paid, they are working to pay off their house. Both ladies are candid about the trials and tribulations of living on so little, but their spirit and drive make reading their books a pleasure, and leave you with the the feeling that you can do it, too!

Last but not least, the granddaddy of all thrift books is The Complete Tightwad Gazette, by Amy Dacyczyn. Amy has retired, and no longer runs her newsletter, but this book is the compliation of her efforts. Where Jonni, Tawra and Jill are the 'silk stockings' of saving money, Amy is the Genghis Khan of thrift. No nonsense, she doesn't suffer fools gladly, and she takes no prisoners. She had a vision early in her marriage of being a stay at home mom, with a large family, and a huge farmhouse, on only $30,000 a year. By golly, she did it! Many folks view Amy as extreme, and she herself admits all her views may not be your cup of tea, but you will definitely learn thrift is a viable option by reading her book. Who can't help but be inspired by a woman who led her family to be able to buy that long dreamed of farmhouse with $49,000 saved in only 7 years, on that often less than $30,000 yearly income? Sign me up, bro!

As with everything I post on Thriftnerd, I encourage you to read, then make your own decisions based on your particular needs. I do the same with tecommending these 3 books. No matter how you choose to implement these ladies' books into your own lives, it will definitely change things for the better.

I also recommend you check their books out at the library, first. Like me, you may want to buy them afterwards, to have on hand to refer to often. I've had my 'Tightwad Gazette' since I was pregnant with Claire, and I am STILL reading and learning!

Two Steps Forward, Three Steps Back

Oh, the best laid plans. Ain't life great? You truly don't know what to expect from one day to the next. You can do your best and plan ahead, but ultimately.........yeah. We all end up surprised in one form or another.

Last month I wrote about paying off our debts. You guys were all so sweet with your nice comments.

We thought we were home free, and truly ready to start Claire's senior year with a fresh slate. I was also preparing to have major surgery.

Last week, we found out that, starting in September, we'll be having a budget shortfall of $850 per month. Not sure for how long.

So, what do you DO when you find this stuff out? Well, in my case? I start out by having a good cry.

Then, I count my blessings. We DID pay our debts off. We were much better off than we would have been had we received this shocking news a month ago.

And finally, I get out the budget and do a little math.

Things will be tight. The big plans we'd had are either falling by the wayside for a while, or else we're thinking up creative but cheap alternatives. I'm going to put off my surgery.

But you know what? When all is said and done, I'm anticipating a gigantic learning experience. We did everything WE were supposed to do, and life STILL got in the way. So, we have a game plan, and we punt. Claire will still have a fabulous senior year.

And I'll be here to chronicle every single, frugal step.

Hocking Hills Goodies

I've been a little MIA lately, sorry Thriftnerds. Life has gotten in the way a bit.

I DID want to let you guys know about some nicely priced bling I picked up at an antique store down in Hocking this past weekend. Claire was gone, so we took advantage of the time and had a very nice little mini-vacay all by ourselves. Saturday morning we headed down and checked out an antique mall/flea market off 33 in Lancaster. Even if we'd not bought a thing, it would have been a great day. We so rarely get to go just hang out in fun spots, so this was a treat.

After indulging in some fabulous peanut butter yogurt covered pretzels (drooling just thinking about them), we got this lovely bracelet from one of the coolest antique stores I've ever seen. It's brass, so of course it was very tarnished (brown!). Giving it a good cleaning with my brass polish revealed it to be beautiful. The patterned etching leads me to believe it might be from the '30's........kind of an art deco design. It was only $2.50, quite a deal. I also got this ring from a new trinket store in the mall. Gold pattern with marcasite beads down the center, and only $16.

My antiquing also turned up a gorgeous brooch and earring set that will go perfectly with Claire's homecoming dress, and a special goodie for my secret sister. I don't think we spent more than $40 all told, even with the pretzels.

I was so happy with the purchases. Finding things that fill the bill with just a little bit of $$, plus the fact that my sweet husband and I got to relax and enjoy each other's company, made for a perfect day.