Ways we are saving money and not stressing

[KidsRlife]

That's a great way to help each other plus it helps you to build a stronger relationship with your neighbors. I'm always looking to save a buck here and there and you all gave great tips.

[mummyto2girls30]

Unfortunately my parents didn't do very well teaching me to save money or to reuse items and to not throw things away that could be fixed for example.
Almost daily I ask myself why I'm so wasteful. I am not recycling. I throw stuff away that could be reused or fixed.
I seriously need to change.

However, we haven't been buying anything other than essentials since the recession hit. Apparently NZ isn't in a recession anymore but I beg to differ. Food prices are still high and petrol prices and everything else for that matter.
Wages aren't higher yet we are somehow expected to be able to pay more for everything else. Oh well...

I'm just praying each day that our washing machine or dryer doesn't pack up (because both have been playing up lately) otherwise I will be washing clothing by hand and won't have a back up for when it rains and rains for days on end UGH
Because we replaced our oven recently and we have the Hire Purchase for the new oven we can't afford to replace any other appliances at the moment.
And our car is a 94 and seriously needs replacing but we can't do that either. So fingers crossed the car doesn't pack up. Thankfully at least my husband can now travel by train to work. But we don't want to be relying on family or public transport for long trips. I am hoping we can go to Palmerston North at Christmas to see my great grandmother who is turning 100 next year!
And I'm hoping to get my drivers licence asap so I don't have to walk Abby to school each day because we are out of zone and the school is 30 mins away and so I'm currently doing 2 hours walking each day just so she can go to the best school in our town! It's not nice when it's pouring with rain. Also Sophie will be going to daycare as soon as she is potty trained and daycare starts at 8.30am and school starts at 8.25am. I can't be in two places at once... at least with a car I can drop off Abby and then Sophie, instead of relying on my mother to pick up Abby every morning...

[milflores]

Ways of saving, diminishing stress, and helping each other, are esp. vital during the onslaught of the Holidays. Recently, many of the public schools (as I have personally experienced in the past few years), conduct a family-community "Foods or Care" drive. Basically, students and their families and employees, can donate any canned goods and other food items (cereals, pasta, etc.) or even household items (shampoos, soaps, health-related items). Depending on the school, they either provide the Care Pack or "Basket" donation to some of the families and students of the school, or to a neighborhood non-profit group or shelter, benefitting a family and child in need. When each person pitches in, (ex. even if you bring in one item only), it truly makes a difference, because you see the culminating effect of donations at the end of the drive. This proves really helpful during the Holidays, (NOTE: there is nothing more worthy than bringing smile to that family) while showing community, family, and school support. What ways of saving and helping have you encountered of late? Do share.

Eager to hear your stories,
Milflores

[HomeSweetHome]

If you're looking for a fun activity for your kids to do during the holidays, try the kid-friendly recipes on our site, like this one for Sugar Cookie Pops! They make fun holiday projects to do together.


Sugar Cookie Pops

You'll want to buy several containers of colored sugars and jimmies so you'll have plenty for coating these cookie balls.

Yield: 4 1/2 dozen

• ½ cup butter, softened
• ½ cup shortening
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 large eggs
• ¾ cup canola or vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• Colored sugars, sparkling sugars, and multicolored jimmies
• 4" white craft sticks

1.

Beat butter and shortening at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; add sugars, beating well. Add eggs, oil, and vanilla, beating until blended.

2.

Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; add to butter mixture, blending well. Cover and chill dough 2 hours or overnight.

3.

Shape dough into 11/2" balls. Roll each ball in colored sugar or jimmies in individual bowls, pressing gently, if necessary, to coat balls. Place 2" apart on ungreased baking sheets. Insert craft sticks about 1" into each cookie to resemble a lollipop.

4.

Bake at 350° for 10 to 11 minutes or until set. Let cool 2 minutes on baking sheets; remove cookie pops to wire racks to cool completely.

Copyright 2008 Oxmoor House

And for more kid-friendly recipes for you and your kids to enjoy just check out http://www.safeway.com/IFL/Grocery/Holiday.

[goodenoughmother]

Thanks so much for the recipe! They look amazing.

[HomeSweetHome]

You're very welcome, goodenoughmother! I'm glad you liked it =]. If you want, there's also a fun Gingerbread Man game on the website http://www.safeway.com/IFL/Grocery/Holiday-Game. You can create your own Gingerbread Man and then save it, share it with your friends and submit it to the site for other people to vote on.

[fdisale]

The best way to save money is to spend less than you earn. Living below your means is necessary, and tough for most people to do. Remember that saving money, investing in retirement funds, and building wealth needs you take actions NOW if you want benefit later.

[milflores]

Great practical advice.....thanks again. Yep, it is tough to heed often, esp. when we want to satisfy our immediate wants and needs. You know, the term, delayed gratification is often used to describe children's actions and impulses, but it definitely can apply to grown-ups within this (spending, buying, shopping) context, as well (speaking for my own self, anyway). Anyway, thanks for shedding light with your insights and sound advice.

Will try to follow it more in this new year,
Milflores

[CaroleCaffe]

I have read other posts on this subject and just had posted one myself but I forgot to mention that our double ovens in our stove stopped working on Thanksgiving day..during cooking our feast! So we finally had a reapair guy to come out and give us an assesment if we could finacially afford to fix our beloved ovens. Well... it is too expensive. So we decided to buy another crock pot, and a counter oven/broiler thing. The top of our stove works for now so we can cook on the stove top and the microwave is good for some cooking too. I don't know when we will be able to buy a new stove but we figure we can live with a simpler way of cooking for the time being. It is amazing that with just a few regular appliances we can still prepare our meals just fine.