Saving Money in the Home- 3
13~ We don't have any cable, so we don't get much reception. But I figure we have saved approximately $6000 in the past 17 years living without cable. This helped pay off our house. Plus, I really don't think we missed anything. My uncle tapes us lots of old shows and movies, which have been so enjoyable.
14~ We also do not have internet access. Whenever we need to use the internet, I use it at the library for free. I keep a running list in my purse of any websites I want to check out. I figure we have saved approximately $2000 in the course of eight years of no internet service, which also was a big help in paying off our house.
15~ I try to keep us as healthy as possible by good food with quality ingredients.
"She is like the merchant ships, she brings her food from afar."
This verse has so much wisdom socked into it. So I study health, nutrition, and herbs as much as I do stretching our finances. It has saved our teeth, since we don't have dental insurance. Thus far, we have had only two cavities between our four children (in their baby teeth) and my husband and I. Their eyes are all good. And we don't see the doctor much, like we used to do when they were babies and I wasn't studying health and nutrition. I am amazed at a woman's saving power in the home. It's such a blessing! Time is money. What we do with our time results in how our money is spent, one way or another. I keep studying Proverbs 31 and praying through the verses to learn and practice all that God would have me to practice in keeping this home. I recognize that in my home keeping -spiritual, emotional, and physical health is going on. It's all so invaluable that you can't put a price tag on it.
I am working on my own health, which has its ups and downs. I am learning so much, and much like financial knowledge, it's the putting it all into practice. I'm very thankful that my health has improved over the years. I'm learning that a lot of my health problems could be due to the many, many mercury dental fillings put in my mouth when I was young. So I am learning how to combat this. Presently, I have been using COQ10 and a homemade mouthwash (recipe on the website) which has helped my gums to come back to their normal color. Yeah! And I've learned that cilantro is an excellent chelator for metal fillings. I love cilantro! So I continue to study and learn, build up my immune system, and to notate it all for my children and grandchildren in my recipe/herbal book. It's such a blessing to help the next generation.
16~ It's so true that if you waste not, you want not. Sometimes I look forward to the leftovers from the main meal. It's become that pleasurable. This week, for example, I made a Chinese meal with rice. I had leftover rice, so the next day I made a rice pudding. The day after that I made a stir fry with the rest of the leftover rice. Both were a big hit. I also feed our chickens with some of our leftovers. I make my own breadcrumbs from leftover bread. I'm always looking for ways to stretch something a little farther. I see that in Christ when He told them to pick up the rest of the bread from His feeding of the five thousand so that none of it would be wasted. I like some of Benjamin Franklin's sayings. He was very frugal. Here is a couple of them:
"Better to go to bed supperless, than to rise in debt."
"Waste not, want not."
17~ I've learned to be very thankful and content. They're both infectious, you know. ~Smile~
"Be content with such things as you have."
I lived for three months when I was seventeen in a Moslem household in Tunisia, North Africa without a place to bathe in the house, without a washer and dryer, without a car, without a refrigerator, without a phone, without screens on the windows (flies everywhere), without a flushing toilet or toilet paper, without a dishwasher or even a nice sink. The cooking was done on a little hot plate. The weather was hot, hot, hot. The milk came in a horse drawn cart with flies all around it. If we needed some tomato paste, we bought it in tablespoon increments. Nothing was wasted, because money was scarce. In America we would have considered this family so very poor. But in their country they were middle class. I think about my living conditions there a lot. Especially when I am taking a nice, hot bath. I have so much to be thankful for. So much to be content about. It was the hardest summer of my life. But it was one summer that I learned the most, which has served me well in marriage. My husband says I'm one of the most contented women he knows. I only have to think of my stay in Tunisia, and I am totally content.
"Let your manner of life be without covetousness, and be content with such things as you have, for He has said, 'I will never leave you, nor forsake you.' So that we may boldly say, 'The LORD is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do to me.'"
18~ I often tell my kids, "it's not the amount of money that comes in, rather how it goes out that counts." So many people think that if they have more money, they would be better off. I used to think the same thing early on in our marriage. But it is a falsehood. What does the Bible say?
"When goods increase, they are increased that eat them. And what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes." Ecclesiastes. 5:11
Rather:
"Godliness with contentment is great gain."
I have lived in this house with holes in my flooring, carpeting that's ripping up or has holes in it, sinks that are in rough shape, a tub with slight cracks in it, windows that are foggy because the panes are permanently damaged, the same couches for 16 years (and they were used when we bought them), and numerous other things. Our house is hot, hot in the summer and cold, cold in the winter due to poor insulation. But I've learned to live with all of it, and to be so thankful. I keep two rooms warm in the winter with a kerosene heater and a fireplace. A curtain keeps the heat in our kitchen in the winter. It's my "winter look". The fireplace keeps the living room warm. It's so cozy in there. I can keep the house cool in the summer by running our whole house fan early in the morning with all the windows open, then shutting everything up and draping cooling shades over the main windows. The fans do the rest. It's amazing how you learn to work with an old house over the years.
I really enjoy fixing this home up. I love my flooring, holes and all. I have throw rugs all over my ripped up carpet. I have to smile when women come in and "love my throw rugs". Or they kneel down to feel if our flooring is real, because it looks like brick with the holes and all. (The holes look like a torn off brick wall that's slightly aged. Cool, huh!) I tell them my foggy windows are "the rain forest look". And I paint, patch, and design the rest with quilts, tea cups and tea pots, family photos that I took, antiques bought at the thrift shop, doilies, lots of lace, beautiful smelling candles, a fire going in the fireplace, and keeping my home clean and fresh smelling. It doesn't cost a lot to do that. I try to take the load off my husband by making his home as welcoming and comforting as I can on a dime. I tell him and my kids, "We can have fun on a dime!"
I keep covering my couches with different types of coverings. Right now they have quilts and pillows on them. This keeps them pretty and clean. Just by changing the covers, I can change the look of my living room. It's fun. I love to have a winter look and a summer look.
We sleep 7 1/2- 8 hours a day. So I try to have all our beds nice and cozy. Everyone has a feather blanket that we've invested in. They really help one sleep so well. Nice sheets make all the difference in the world. My husband loves our 320 count sheet set that we recently bought at Target for an excellent price. I recently bought 250 count sheets at a store in the mall for my children's beds at 2.29 each. I always try to look for deals at the end of the white sales in January. You can use nice sheets for table cloths and furniture covers, and numerous other things as well. And I love my feather pillow. We sleep so much in our lives, that this is a worthwhile investment so that our sleep is good and we come away refreshed. We also have electric blankets that were given to us, so I put these on before we come to bed. Then we can climb into a warm bed and turn the blanket off. It's a wonderful thing in a cold room, since we have no heat in our bedrooms.
Likewise, we eat three times a day. So this is another area that I try to spend our money wisely. It is for health, comfort, and economy. Not easy, but the LORD shows me the way. I love learning from Him! It's really the simple things that bring so much pleasure.
19~ My husband and I have an allowance each week. This is our own personal money that we can spend any way we desire. We started out with $5 a week early on in our marriage, then it was $10 a week for years, and now it is $20 a week. But if we have a tight week, we revert back to $5 or $10. So we're flexible, if it is necessary. Which it was, for the past few weeks. It really helps to have a personal allowance within our budget, and we have had it our entire married lives. When times are tight, Art might use his for gas or oil, and I might use mine for food. But I often use mine for gifts and such, and he uses his for treats for us and the kids. It's a lot of fun. And I think it's the reason our tight budget has worked for so many years, because we have our own little fun money to look forward to each week. I can stretch mine at a garage sale or at the thrift shop, too. Or I can save it up for three weeks and buy something pretty at the antique store. I've done that in the past, and it was so much fun. Whenever I work on someone's budget, I always give the husband and wife a personal weekly allowance. I think it is the oil that keeps the marriage wheels running smoothly. ~Smile~
20~ We saved a lot of money and time by allowing our kids to be involved in mostly music and church. My older son teaches piano, so this has paid many of his bills. His piano lessons were a wonderful investment. Both of our boys use their musical talent to lead worship each week at our church for the junior high and high school kids. So Brady's guitar lessons were a wonderful investment as well. We were careful about letting them get too overinvolved in anything. It saved our family life and our finances. We still eat together most evenings! Since our income is so tight, we have to pray and carefully consider what we can allow them to do. We don't pay them allowances, rather they work for their money. When they were young growing up, we gave them jobs instead of paying someone else, and we paid them for those jobs. Such as washing the cars, weeding a whole area (we live on 2 1/2 acres, so there is a lot of weeding), painting, repairing, oh, numerous things to help my husband. So they learned how to work young. Then as they grew up, they paid for their own church camps by working for others outside our home. With that experience under their belts, they began working to buy their own car, insurance, registration, gas, and maintenance for the car. Now my older boys are buying their own clothes, shoes, and schooling as well. It helps them to learn how to work as they grow up.
21~ One of my best saving money secrets is to just stay home. The more you are in the stores, the more tempted you are to spend. So you save on gas, time, and money when you just stay home. I try to shop with a list in hand. That way I stick to the list and buy what I really need. But I sure save a lot when I just stay home more than I go into the stores.
22~ As I mentioned before, I use my allowance for gift buying. I keep a gift box. It is really a small cupboard under my bookcase filled with all kinds of gifts that I find at great prices. Then when I need a gift, I go shopping there first. I try to keep a $3 and under gift allowance on each gift. It's great at Christmas time or when someone is in the hospital., because I already have my gifts bought, so I "shop" there first. I find buying gifts in advance all year so helpful in keeping on my budget. It's always better economics to be prepared, than to have to run out and just buy something. And birthday dates never change, they are always the same, so we know when those gifts need to be given. A surprise gift is always ready if you have a gift box. If I do buy cards, I buy them at the Dollar Store for .50 a piece.
I needed three gifts recently. I bought a yard of black fleece on sale and cut out four scarves. I cut the edges into a short fringe. Each scarf cost $2 a piece. Everyone of my friends really liked the gift. I liked them, too, so I kept one for myself.
23~ My husband and I have never been able to afford going out on dates, or going away alone for the weekend. Our time together has always been our morning coffee chat every day. Art told me that one morning, "Others have dates, Laine, but we have our morning coffee together." And since we could not afford going away for the weekend, I made our bedroom as romantic as possible. I decorated it in a Victorian style with an old 1940's quilt of roses hanging over our white iron bed. I have an old make-up table in one corner with a cushy chair, a tea cart with lots of tea things in another corner, and a tea table with two chairs set up in still another corner. Our carpet I found at an estate sale for $50, it is a beautiful, old carpet of roses and flowers. It's a very peaceful room.
My husband never had his own room growing up, he slept in the living room on two cushions pulled out from the couch. So it has been my pleasure to make this room a mini-retreat for him each day.
24~ I nursed all of our children for a year each. This was a big savings since we have four children, yet it was not easy for me. But I had to do it, for we simply could not afford formula. I only had one side that worked, so the doctor told me to nurse on that one side. I was up every two to three hours with all of my children, because I only had one side to give them. I nursed all my children until they were a year old. I bled, I prayed, I cracked, I prayed, I cried, I prayed, I was exhausted, I prayed, and I had numerous breast infections with each one of them. I prayed and prayed for God's help and strength. He did indeed help me, because I wanted to give up over and over again. I look back now and see His incredible Hand in every situation and know His strength got me through.
Gabe was in the critical care ward for a week with pneumonia at three weeks of age, so I pumped that I might be ready to nurse him when he came out. I really can't tell you how much I prayed and cried those first few weeks when each of my children were born, because nursing was never easy for me. Yet I would do it all over again. Back then, I didn't even know how good it was for the baby and for me. So God used tight finances to teach me so much. That is why I can look on illness and health problems differently...He is teaching me so much during this time about herbs, nutrition, exercise, etc.
"Discipline is never pleasant at the time, but so profitable to those who have been trained by it."
This is my personal testimony about nursing. I know some of you have other experiences. I am only sharing my own testimony and how the LORD brought me through. The savings on my children's health and our own personal finances were wonderful, so I share it here, because it is valuable.
25~ We try to keep things running with good maintenance. My husband changes the oil in the cars regularly. I keep the vacuum filters clean with regular maintenance. Likewise the dryer lint vent, and other machines we use. It pays to keep them up, so that you won't have to buy another one due to poor maintenance. My husband always tries to fix things himself, especially our cars. He'll get a book and figure it out, get on the phone and talk to other men, then tackle the task himself. I am usually in the house praying for him. He changed a timing belt once, saving us a lot of money, but it was not easy. I was sure praying for him and reminding him how much money he was saving us.
26~ Many times we must wait on the LORD for something and pray. We have waited on the LORD many times during a crisis. He is always faithful. He always shows us the way. It's amazing how one can remember His faithfulness during a crisis, so that it brings about more trust of His faithfulness in the next crisis. Or He will remind me of His faithfulness in past times when I am hard hit, which stills and quiets my soul.
"You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusts in Thee."
27~ I am learning that organization saves time and money. Which is why I am organizing this house,and have been for many years. I didn't get into this unorganized problem overnight, so it's taking me awhile to get things in order. I am still working on the kitchen. It's the only room I still can't clean fast enough, so I know it's not quite right yet. The better this room runs, the more time and money I can save. It's really so valuable. This week I cleared everything off the counters. It's so roomy!
28~ "Use it up", or "wear it out", or "make do." This is definitely how we live. Which is how we save. And if you keep it clean, it's really not that expensive, because you don't have to buy another. My grandmother used to say it doesn't cost much to keep things clean. She was right.
29~ I've cut our hair for twenty years. Incredible savings here. I would estimate about a $2400 savings or more here, so that really helped us pay off our house. Plus I saved on gas getting to the hairdressers, and time spent there. I learned from a book from the library, and from asking hairdressers (friends and family) questions. I still cut all my children's hair, as well as my own.
30~ We've never paid for a babysitter. I know that's hard to believe, but we never have. We've either swapped babysitting, had my folks babysit for special occasions, or we didn't go. We just couldn't afford babysitters and a night out on our tight budget. Our nights out were very modestly priced when we did go, which was rare, as I've mentioned before.
14~ We also do not have internet access. Whenever we need to use the internet, I use it at the library for free. I keep a running list in my purse of any websites I want to check out. I figure we have saved approximately $2000 in the course of eight years of no internet service, which also was a big help in paying off our house.
15~ I try to keep us as healthy as possible by good food with quality ingredients.
"She is like the merchant ships, she brings her food from afar."
This verse has so much wisdom socked into it. So I study health, nutrition, and herbs as much as I do stretching our finances. It has saved our teeth, since we don't have dental insurance. Thus far, we have had only two cavities between our four children (in their baby teeth) and my husband and I. Their eyes are all good. And we don't see the doctor much, like we used to do when they were babies and I wasn't studying health and nutrition. I am amazed at a woman's saving power in the home. It's such a blessing! Time is money. What we do with our time results in how our money is spent, one way or another. I keep studying Proverbs 31 and praying through the verses to learn and practice all that God would have me to practice in keeping this home. I recognize that in my home keeping -spiritual, emotional, and physical health is going on. It's all so invaluable that you can't put a price tag on it.
I am working on my own health, which has its ups and downs. I am learning so much, and much like financial knowledge, it's the putting it all into practice. I'm very thankful that my health has improved over the years. I'm learning that a lot of my health problems could be due to the many, many mercury dental fillings put in my mouth when I was young. So I am learning how to combat this. Presently, I have been using COQ10 and a homemade mouthwash (recipe on the website) which has helped my gums to come back to their normal color. Yeah! And I've learned that cilantro is an excellent chelator for metal fillings. I love cilantro! So I continue to study and learn, build up my immune system, and to notate it all for my children and grandchildren in my recipe/herbal book. It's such a blessing to help the next generation.
16~ It's so true that if you waste not, you want not. Sometimes I look forward to the leftovers from the main meal. It's become that pleasurable. This week, for example, I made a Chinese meal with rice. I had leftover rice, so the next day I made a rice pudding. The day after that I made a stir fry with the rest of the leftover rice. Both were a big hit. I also feed our chickens with some of our leftovers. I make my own breadcrumbs from leftover bread. I'm always looking for ways to stretch something a little farther. I see that in Christ when He told them to pick up the rest of the bread from His feeding of the five thousand so that none of it would be wasted. I like some of Benjamin Franklin's sayings. He was very frugal. Here is a couple of them:
"Better to go to bed supperless, than to rise in debt."
"Waste not, want not."
17~ I've learned to be very thankful and content. They're both infectious, you know. ~Smile~
"Be content with such things as you have."
I lived for three months when I was seventeen in a Moslem household in Tunisia, North Africa without a place to bathe in the house, without a washer and dryer, without a car, without a refrigerator, without a phone, without screens on the windows (flies everywhere), without a flushing toilet or toilet paper, without a dishwasher or even a nice sink. The cooking was done on a little hot plate. The weather was hot, hot, hot. The milk came in a horse drawn cart with flies all around it. If we needed some tomato paste, we bought it in tablespoon increments. Nothing was wasted, because money was scarce. In America we would have considered this family so very poor. But in their country they were middle class. I think about my living conditions there a lot. Especially when I am taking a nice, hot bath. I have so much to be thankful for. So much to be content about. It was the hardest summer of my life. But it was one summer that I learned the most, which has served me well in marriage. My husband says I'm one of the most contented women he knows. I only have to think of my stay in Tunisia, and I am totally content.
"Let your manner of life be without covetousness, and be content with such things as you have, for He has said, 'I will never leave you, nor forsake you.' So that we may boldly say, 'The LORD is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do to me.'"
18~ I often tell my kids, "it's not the amount of money that comes in, rather how it goes out that counts." So many people think that if they have more money, they would be better off. I used to think the same thing early on in our marriage. But it is a falsehood. What does the Bible say?
"When goods increase, they are increased that eat them. And what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes." Ecclesiastes. 5:11
Rather:
"Godliness with contentment is great gain."
I have lived in this house with holes in my flooring, carpeting that's ripping up or has holes in it, sinks that are in rough shape, a tub with slight cracks in it, windows that are foggy because the panes are permanently damaged, the same couches for 16 years (and they were used when we bought them), and numerous other things. Our house is hot, hot in the summer and cold, cold in the winter due to poor insulation. But I've learned to live with all of it, and to be so thankful. I keep two rooms warm in the winter with a kerosene heater and a fireplace. A curtain keeps the heat in our kitchen in the winter. It's my "winter look". The fireplace keeps the living room warm. It's so cozy in there. I can keep the house cool in the summer by running our whole house fan early in the morning with all the windows open, then shutting everything up and draping cooling shades over the main windows. The fans do the rest. It's amazing how you learn to work with an old house over the years.
I really enjoy fixing this home up. I love my flooring, holes and all. I have throw rugs all over my ripped up carpet. I have to smile when women come in and "love my throw rugs". Or they kneel down to feel if our flooring is real, because it looks like brick with the holes and all. (The holes look like a torn off brick wall that's slightly aged. Cool, huh!) I tell them my foggy windows are "the rain forest look". And I paint, patch, and design the rest with quilts, tea cups and tea pots, family photos that I took, antiques bought at the thrift shop, doilies, lots of lace, beautiful smelling candles, a fire going in the fireplace, and keeping my home clean and fresh smelling. It doesn't cost a lot to do that. I try to take the load off my husband by making his home as welcoming and comforting as I can on a dime. I tell him and my kids, "We can have fun on a dime!"
I keep covering my couches with different types of coverings. Right now they have quilts and pillows on them. This keeps them pretty and clean. Just by changing the covers, I can change the look of my living room. It's fun. I love to have a winter look and a summer look.
We sleep 7 1/2- 8 hours a day. So I try to have all our beds nice and cozy. Everyone has a feather blanket that we've invested in. They really help one sleep so well. Nice sheets make all the difference in the world. My husband loves our 320 count sheet set that we recently bought at Target for an excellent price. I recently bought 250 count sheets at a store in the mall for my children's beds at 2.29 each. I always try to look for deals at the end of the white sales in January. You can use nice sheets for table cloths and furniture covers, and numerous other things as well. And I love my feather pillow. We sleep so much in our lives, that this is a worthwhile investment so that our sleep is good and we come away refreshed. We also have electric blankets that were given to us, so I put these on before we come to bed. Then we can climb into a warm bed and turn the blanket off. It's a wonderful thing in a cold room, since we have no heat in our bedrooms.
Likewise, we eat three times a day. So this is another area that I try to spend our money wisely. It is for health, comfort, and economy. Not easy, but the LORD shows me the way. I love learning from Him! It's really the simple things that bring so much pleasure.
19~ My husband and I have an allowance each week. This is our own personal money that we can spend any way we desire. We started out with $5 a week early on in our marriage, then it was $10 a week for years, and now it is $20 a week. But if we have a tight week, we revert back to $5 or $10. So we're flexible, if it is necessary. Which it was, for the past few weeks. It really helps to have a personal allowance within our budget, and we have had it our entire married lives. When times are tight, Art might use his for gas or oil, and I might use mine for food. But I often use mine for gifts and such, and he uses his for treats for us and the kids. It's a lot of fun. And I think it's the reason our tight budget has worked for so many years, because we have our own little fun money to look forward to each week. I can stretch mine at a garage sale or at the thrift shop, too. Or I can save it up for three weeks and buy something pretty at the antique store. I've done that in the past, and it was so much fun. Whenever I work on someone's budget, I always give the husband and wife a personal weekly allowance. I think it is the oil that keeps the marriage wheels running smoothly. ~Smile~
20~ We saved a lot of money and time by allowing our kids to be involved in mostly music and church. My older son teaches piano, so this has paid many of his bills. His piano lessons were a wonderful investment. Both of our boys use their musical talent to lead worship each week at our church for the junior high and high school kids. So Brady's guitar lessons were a wonderful investment as well. We were careful about letting them get too overinvolved in anything. It saved our family life and our finances. We still eat together most evenings! Since our income is so tight, we have to pray and carefully consider what we can allow them to do. We don't pay them allowances, rather they work for their money. When they were young growing up, we gave them jobs instead of paying someone else, and we paid them for those jobs. Such as washing the cars, weeding a whole area (we live on 2 1/2 acres, so there is a lot of weeding), painting, repairing, oh, numerous things to help my husband. So they learned how to work young. Then as they grew up, they paid for their own church camps by working for others outside our home. With that experience under their belts, they began working to buy their own car, insurance, registration, gas, and maintenance for the car. Now my older boys are buying their own clothes, shoes, and schooling as well. It helps them to learn how to work as they grow up.
21~ One of my best saving money secrets is to just stay home. The more you are in the stores, the more tempted you are to spend. So you save on gas, time, and money when you just stay home. I try to shop with a list in hand. That way I stick to the list and buy what I really need. But I sure save a lot when I just stay home more than I go into the stores.
22~ As I mentioned before, I use my allowance for gift buying. I keep a gift box. It is really a small cupboard under my bookcase filled with all kinds of gifts that I find at great prices. Then when I need a gift, I go shopping there first. I try to keep a $3 and under gift allowance on each gift. It's great at Christmas time or when someone is in the hospital., because I already have my gifts bought, so I "shop" there first. I find buying gifts in advance all year so helpful in keeping on my budget. It's always better economics to be prepared, than to have to run out and just buy something. And birthday dates never change, they are always the same, so we know when those gifts need to be given. A surprise gift is always ready if you have a gift box. If I do buy cards, I buy them at the Dollar Store for .50 a piece.
I needed three gifts recently. I bought a yard of black fleece on sale and cut out four scarves. I cut the edges into a short fringe. Each scarf cost $2 a piece. Everyone of my friends really liked the gift. I liked them, too, so I kept one for myself.
23~ My husband and I have never been able to afford going out on dates, or going away alone for the weekend. Our time together has always been our morning coffee chat every day. Art told me that one morning, "Others have dates, Laine, but we have our morning coffee together." And since we could not afford going away for the weekend, I made our bedroom as romantic as possible. I decorated it in a Victorian style with an old 1940's quilt of roses hanging over our white iron bed. I have an old make-up table in one corner with a cushy chair, a tea cart with lots of tea things in another corner, and a tea table with two chairs set up in still another corner. Our carpet I found at an estate sale for $50, it is a beautiful, old carpet of roses and flowers. It's a very peaceful room.
My husband never had his own room growing up, he slept in the living room on two cushions pulled out from the couch. So it has been my pleasure to make this room a mini-retreat for him each day.
24~ I nursed all of our children for a year each. This was a big savings since we have four children, yet it was not easy for me. But I had to do it, for we simply could not afford formula. I only had one side that worked, so the doctor told me to nurse on that one side. I was up every two to three hours with all of my children, because I only had one side to give them. I nursed all my children until they were a year old. I bled, I prayed, I cracked, I prayed, I cried, I prayed, I was exhausted, I prayed, and I had numerous breast infections with each one of them. I prayed and prayed for God's help and strength. He did indeed help me, because I wanted to give up over and over again. I look back now and see His incredible Hand in every situation and know His strength got me through.
Gabe was in the critical care ward for a week with pneumonia at three weeks of age, so I pumped that I might be ready to nurse him when he came out. I really can't tell you how much I prayed and cried those first few weeks when each of my children were born, because nursing was never easy for me. Yet I would do it all over again. Back then, I didn't even know how good it was for the baby and for me. So God used tight finances to teach me so much. That is why I can look on illness and health problems differently...He is teaching me so much during this time about herbs, nutrition, exercise, etc.
"Discipline is never pleasant at the time, but so profitable to those who have been trained by it."
This is my personal testimony about nursing. I know some of you have other experiences. I am only sharing my own testimony and how the LORD brought me through. The savings on my children's health and our own personal finances were wonderful, so I share it here, because it is valuable.
25~ We try to keep things running with good maintenance. My husband changes the oil in the cars regularly. I keep the vacuum filters clean with regular maintenance. Likewise the dryer lint vent, and other machines we use. It pays to keep them up, so that you won't have to buy another one due to poor maintenance. My husband always tries to fix things himself, especially our cars. He'll get a book and figure it out, get on the phone and talk to other men, then tackle the task himself. I am usually in the house praying for him. He changed a timing belt once, saving us a lot of money, but it was not easy. I was sure praying for him and reminding him how much money he was saving us.
26~ Many times we must wait on the LORD for something and pray. We have waited on the LORD many times during a crisis. He is always faithful. He always shows us the way. It's amazing how one can remember His faithfulness during a crisis, so that it brings about more trust of His faithfulness in the next crisis. Or He will remind me of His faithfulness in past times when I am hard hit, which stills and quiets my soul.
"You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusts in Thee."
27~ I am learning that organization saves time and money. Which is why I am organizing this house,and have been for many years. I didn't get into this unorganized problem overnight, so it's taking me awhile to get things in order. I am still working on the kitchen. It's the only room I still can't clean fast enough, so I know it's not quite right yet. The better this room runs, the more time and money I can save. It's really so valuable. This week I cleared everything off the counters. It's so roomy!
28~ "Use it up", or "wear it out", or "make do." This is definitely how we live. Which is how we save. And if you keep it clean, it's really not that expensive, because you don't have to buy another. My grandmother used to say it doesn't cost much to keep things clean. She was right.
29~ I've cut our hair for twenty years. Incredible savings here. I would estimate about a $2400 savings or more here, so that really helped us pay off our house. Plus I saved on gas getting to the hairdressers, and time spent there. I learned from a book from the library, and from asking hairdressers (friends and family) questions. I still cut all my children's hair, as well as my own.
30~ We've never paid for a babysitter. I know that's hard to believe, but we never have. We've either swapped babysitting, had my folks babysit for special occasions, or we didn't go. We just couldn't afford babysitters and a night out on our tight budget. Our nights out were very modestly priced when we did go, which was rare, as I've mentioned before.
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