Tag: groceries

Birds of the Air

A friend who is in  a kind of similar boat financially…okay not really but in the “trusting God completely with this whole money and provision business” boat has started a weekly meme where she encourages others to share God’s provision.  This is perfect because, though I write it over on the Untraditional Home Facebook page, I do often forget to come over here and share. So here is me sharing all the awesome stuff God has done over the past week.

To start this last week we had no idea where the money was coming from for our auto-insurance.  We are in the “juggling bills” stage of  freelance work and things have been …interesting.  (Initially as in Jessica’s case God provided via our Amazon wishlist and direct donations via paypal.  More recently it has been through  a huge variety of sources, including donations but mostly via work He has provided from many different sources. ) God has been continuing to provide from all sorts of places but it has been tight and we have to be careful.  After paying the most immediate need we waited to see what He would do.  I was finishing up the book and in the meantime we waited on God.  I finished writing and editing, got the book up for sale and by the next day we had exactly the money for the car insurance.  Down to the penny.  Exactly.  So we paid on time.

It was a miracle and all of us were so excited to see what God had done. However, the thing about getting exactly the right amount was that we pay tithe on whatever He gives (personal conviction and He has been faithful.).  I needed to pay that bill and now but wanted to pay tithe.  So we prayed about it and decided to give the money from the next two books sold as tithe.  And sold two more books the next day.  No other books, just those two.  So there was our tithe.

But I didn’t know where to give.  All I had was the name of a friend, I was to contact her. When I did she didn’t need it (they live in New Jersey) and no one locally needed it but she knew of someone who lived on the shore who either could use it herself or would know where it should go.  So she messaged her for her paypal account so I could send the money directly.  When she got back to me she said that 9 other people have also asked for her paypal information out of the blue and she knew exactly the family that needed the help.  God knew exactly what He was up to there.

A few days later my print book came. This was amazing because it meant that from start to finish the book had taken almost exactly 3 weeks.  You don’t usually write a book in 3 weeks let alone hold a physical copy in your hands in 3 weeks.  Granted it is a short book but still. 🙂

So now the book was out there and I could focus on decluttering our house in preparation for sale.  We have no idea where God is leading (okay, ideas yes, but no firm plans) so we are focused on leaving here with as little stuff as possible. We are eliminating everything excess from our lives so that when He says go we are ready.  The house has a buyer so we are waiting on the bank and various decisions to be made.  If it goes through then we will be out of here before Christmas but everything is still up in the air.  So we continue to get rid of and simplify our lives.  We continue praying for wisdom and clarity in this and that we can move out soon because it is expensive to heat and keep electric and water on in this house.

Because of the house sale we needed to get a few estimates on sewer replacement. (The buyer is threatening to walk if too expensive.  Be praying God’s will here– it IS more expensive than they want to pay but if the bank is willing to work with them then  maybe they will stay?) I have always been horribly afraid of making phone calls.  That whole talking to random strangers without being able to see their face thing is HARD.  Yet, suddenly God removed that fear completely.  I was able to call without even a twinge. And last week I spent several hours on the phone negotiating with our cell phone provider so we could move to a way cheaper situation for free, without fear.  I realized that God has completely removed that fear.  Maybe it was all the robot calls during the political campaign.  Maybe it was all the crazy calls from the bank (right hand has no idea what the left hand is doing) but it is gone.  In fact, I have to call this morning and get a few more estimates and I am not even feeling nervous about that.  God is so awesome!

God has been providing money for groceries from every source imaginable and has also provided that for the first time ever our groceries are super cheap.  Thanks to the GAPS diet we are now able to eat “normal” food with minimal side affects– even Es who was super allergic to corn and rice can eat both without a sniffle.  This week, when my dad took Issac and I out for breakfast for Issac’s birthday I asked about going to Sam’s Club sometime in order to stock up on a few things. He offered to go right away but I explained that it had to wait till I had some money to go (our current grocery budget is about $40-$50).  He said he would take us and give me that much to buy groceries.  Then I ended up picking up the wrong rice (50 lb instead of 25 lb– it was in the wrong pile and I got distracted as I picked it up) so we ended up going over but only buy a little and it was fine. So we ended up with enough food to last us several months, or at least to extend whatever else we can afford (the flour and rice will last, the rest?  Probably not. :))  God has also provided random food from friends and family– a large shopping bag of apples from a friend, some fruit from my grandma, things like that.

We also felt led to drop Netflix this last week.  It is a small thing but it cost money that we didn’t have and it needed to go.  So we cancelled, and it turned out that when we cancelled it was the very last day of the month– if we had waited a day it would have charged us and with what we are juggling that could have been bad. Then Issac decided he wanted to use his birthday money for Hulu Plus this month.  He was so excited when he discvered that the show they had all really wanted to watch, which wasn’t on Netflix, was available on Hulu Plus.

And finally, it looks like God has gone ahead and supplied the money for the next bill– the cell phone, which was about to be turned off tomorrow, and would have cost a lot more to get turned back on or if we dropped it completely. So that is another phone call I get to make today. 🙂 Praise the Lord!

As I posted on Facebook: It can be nerve-wracking (living on what God provides alone) but such a blessing to see how specifically He is taking care of us from all different directions. With God it isn’t, “You can expect me to always provide in this one way,” but rather “Don’t bother to expect me to provide in just one way, I am amazing and creative and own the cattle on a 1,000 hills and love to surprise you and remind you I am Lord through my provision.” #birdsoftheair God is so good and who are we to be afraid when He has shown us time and time again that He is taking care of us and will provide.

Now head over to Jessica’s to read some more awesome stories of God’s provision.

And It Continues

A huge Amazon.com box just showed up at our door.  It contained several weeks worth of groceries at least: tuna, olive oil, rice, AND chocolate.  It was a gift from the same friend who sent the green beans which means that she and her husband have just provided all of our families favorite foods (well combined with the blessings we have already received) and enough of the basic things to last us a while.  I am just absolutely amazed and grateful and once again teary-eyed.  (I am not a crier and the daily blessings are making it so I am really no longer going to be able to say that.)

So again, thank you to both of you, and praise the Lord for providing in this beautiful way.

And I REALLY need to start taking photos of all these boxes– our poor delivery dudes.

Frugal Friday

I thought I would share a bit more about our once a month shopping and what works for us.  I have several things that make this work for us.  I have three main places where  I shop once a month and other places that I use for “we’re out of” run-ins.

GNC: GNC is where I purchase all our supplements, including mine for RA plus all our enzymes.  Due to the food allergies in our house and Rachel’s neurological issues these are necessities and equivalent to purchasing prescriptions but without insurance covering the cost.  Therefore I purchase them during the first week of the month which is GNC’s Gold Card week–which saves me 20% automatically on my whole order.  I don’t shop at a company owned GNC but at a private, family owned GNC.  The owners know me and my kids and will often order exactly what I need so it is on hand when I get there.  They are also very helpful when I have a question unlike the other GNC’s in our area which are all company owned and have no control over their stock.  Because what I purchase is all GNC brand they usually have those items on sale meaning that more often than not I get what I need for 40 to 60% off instead of just the 20% off.  Since our regular bill there comes to about $300 a month without sales this is a big savings.  (I also stock up on the things I know we will need when there is an extra good sale.)

Sam’s Club (and before Sam’s club it was Aldi):    This is when I get our main groceries.  I stock up on paper products (as I mentioned we have a house with too much space and plenty of dual purpose furniture so stashing is not a big deal.)  I also fill our deep freeze with frozen veggies and bread products.  There are also a few frozen  restaurant style foods I pick up–like egg rolls–which keeps us from going out to eat.)  Produce comes from here as well  since we tend to eat a lot of fresh when we have it–those five pound bags don’t last long.  When that is gone we eat frozen until I get back to the store.  We have a “when we’re out, we’re out” policy for many items that I consider treats.  Making fruit a treat is a good thing.  Eggs, soy milk, and bread also fall into this category.   We try to use up most foods BEFORE the next trip (other than crackers and that sort of thing which have a long shelf life.)    Meals can get pretty creative when we start getting low on things. 🙂

Before we joined Sam’s Club  I went to Aldi–there are certain items I will have to get there when we run out because my kids like their Fit & Trim brand of several things and if I am in need of small items then that is where I will go.

By shopping here once a month I save about $200 on our main groceries and another $200 or so just because I am staying home in instead of “running in”. 

Frankferd Farms: This is our local wholesale natural and organic foods warehouse.  Foods are sold in bulk with very little packaging and you wait in the warehouse while they load it into your car.  This is where I get my 25# bag of organic, unbleached white whole wheat flour for $10, my 10# bag of organic spiral noodles for $7, my 1# bag of yeast for $2, and the list goes on.  I get all our baking needs here as well as specialty foods for Rachel.  It often costs me less to get organic versions of bulk foods here than it would to get regular versions at the local grocery store.  I do not buy many prepackaged foods here unless they are on sale because the prepared foods are much more expensive.  It cost me $100 for what would cost roughly $500 at our local grocery store.

Finally, I occasionally make less than wise purchases.  With so many food allergies in the house I occasionally pick up a brand we find that someone is allergic to or we discover an allergy after purchasing the item.  Occasionally we find that I picked up a brand that someone used to like and lo longer does.  In some cases we eat it anyway but if something looks like it is going to be sitting around for months and no one touches I find it is time for a trip to the food cupboard.  We pack up everything that no one easts for whatever reason (the unopened packages) and drop them off so they will benefit someone else. This way we free up space and are helping others out.  Since my kids like to occasionally do a food run for the food cupboard anyway we don’t really consider this a loss.

WFMW: Once a Month Shopping

Doodle to come later–I hope.

You can find more Works for me Wednesday’s at Rocks in my Dryer.

I’m one of those people who cannot enter a store with my kids without exiting with a whole bunch of “we’re out of this, Mommy” type items and dropping $50, at least. And since my kids go everywhere with me, leaving the house gets expensive. No, I don’t give into their every want or even need–but when we are shopping on a weekly basis I end up at the store constantly.

When my kids were younger I was very organized with my shopping, I used coupons and a budget and only bought what was on my list. The problem is I spent so much time agonizing over it that my husband pointed out that since my time is worth at least $10 an hour (he figured it out) we were wasting money. And since we were wasting money with my constant “I have to run out and get this” moments and my love of running in more than one place “since I am out anyway” I needed a better, more time saving solution.Read More