It's about time

Time really is the largest single money saving tool. Remodeling our kitchen in a weekend on such a small budget would not be possible, since we would have had to buy pre-made cabinets, etc. Since we took nearly 4 long months to do each step ourselves, that time translates into big savings. We have saved thousands upon thousands by taking our time and doing each step of our custom kitchen to be exactly what we wanted. Quick results were not our goal, a truly custom space with quality furnishing was.

So, yes, your mamma was right -- Take your time!

OOPS!

Well, I was wrong. I was wrong on two accounts: 1) I did have to purchase a new appliance, since the dishwasher was beyond repair; 2) I went over my budget (thanks in part to the dishwasher), by about 25%, or $500.

I guess in the grand scheme of things, $2,500 to redo a kitchen, dining room, laundry room and hallway is still a pretty good deal. It's just not as low as I thought.

Oh -- and to make matters worse, we will have to redo the floors, which I thought we would not have to do. It's ok, really, since we have decided on hardwood floors, which should NEVER have to be relaid. They may one day have to be refinished, but not replaced. 

It keeps getting worse since the reason we have to redo the flooring is because we have to redo the guest/kids' bathroom, which has done some damage to the floor and it joins the dining room. We didn't notice it originally because the spot it damaged was under the china cabinet. It was on our "to-do" list, anyways, just not before we went on vacation! 

C'est la vie!

Location, Location, Location

With all of the current mortgage troubles, it makes me wonder where common sense went on vacation for about 20 years. You cannot seriously believe that if you are paying half of your monthly income on housing that you can afford to live. HALF? OR MORE!!!

My god-mother gave me the best advice I have ever received. If you are going to get cheap real estate, you have to do one of two things: "Choose the nicest house in the crappiest neighborhood or choose the crappiest house in the nicest neighborhood." We chose the first with our first home, and the second option with our second home.

No matter how many nice embellishments you put on a home, if the cops are two doors down every other night, it is not a place to raise kiddos. However, if you take a home that needs some work in a great neighborhood, there is room for improvement. So, slowly, over the course of five years, we have improved our home, but it still needs a little more work. The view however? The absolute nicest!

Savory Surprise

My dear friend Angie is one of the most frugal people I know. She not only coupons, and shops yard sales and second hand stores, she grows all her own veggies, and they even raise their own meat. I am constantly in awe of her.

Last week she called me and asked if I could take some minute steaks. Free meat? SURE! (As I never refuse gifts of food -- we can always find a use for them somewhere.) In exchange, I offered her some bologna out of my freezer, since it is one of the handful of foods her newly-picky toddler will eat. She admitted she had been actually PAYING for bologna. There was no need for that since I have 20+ packs in my freezer that were free.

Of course, the day we were supposed to trade, nothing went right. My grandmother passed away, so I had to let my husband make the trade. I sent her 3 packs of bologna, thinking she was bringing me a couple of packs of minute steak. I was wrong.

He brings home a Kroger bag full of steak -- minute steak, sirloin, on and on. I could have cried I felt so blessed. She explained that she was getting a new cow that day and had to get rid of it -- so I received about 20 packs of beef from my sweet friend. And did I mention they were organic?

If you ever doubt how I make it on such a little grocery budget -- things like this are how. I believe you get what you give, and each time I hear someone is having a financial difficulty I gather them up a box of goods and it takes a couple of days fear of "how are we going to survive" off their shoulders. I do not do this to receive it back, I do it out of love. I truly believe God rewards good behaviors, and the steaks were my "payday".

Supper on Tuesday night was country fried steak, mashed potatoes, English peas, gravy and homemade biscuits. My husband did the cooking! A free meal I didn't have to cook? Such a wonderful savory surprise!

A Perfect Life

There is no such thing as perfect. I have come to know this all too well. Even though from the outside looking in, you can see the "perfect life" from afar, that is often very far from the truth.

Being envious of a beautiful house, a luxury automobile or designer clothes, we are often very unaware of the mounting debt or very hard work and long hours that went behind those purchases. Those Bree Van de Camps of the world are very easy to be envious of. It is ever so much easier to be more like Peggy Bundy or Roseanne Conner. However, stereotypes let us know very quickly that these are the bad apples. We are supposed to be more like Bree.

The average woman, however, falls somewhere in the cracks that lie amongst the middle.

We cannot be perfect.

No matter how hard we try.

So dealing with what is before you is the best that you can do. Children will make bad grades. Bananas can go bad without ending up in a loaf of bread. A load of laundry can wait an extra day. The world will not fall apart.

Blogging shows a glimpse into the lives of our friends, either virtual, actual or a blend of both. It shows the best they have to offer. You will see very few pictures of a family that has a basket of laundry that needs to be folded in the background. Scarce are the kitchen photos with a sink full of dirty dishes -- or GASP! -- even some that are stacked up on the counter.

I know I am far from perfect........Thank goodness! Perfect is entirely too hard. I am too busy for perfect. I am too tired for perfect. Living, as I see it, is much more fun!