Dining Out Much?

Ok. This isn't about crafting. Though it does contain a PDF link to vouchers I created.



We've been making a concerted effort for the past few years to be better stewards of the money God has gifted us. He's been very generous, and we want to be generous to others. How do you do that? Tithing, giving with a happy heart, and putting others before yourself. But in order to be REALLY generous, you must put yourself in a position to do so. We want to eventually reach the point where we can easily give money when the situation calls for it. Church struggling to raise funds? A family struggling and in need? We want to be able to REALLY be there. God has given to us, so we can be wise, be out of debt, and give to others. So we've been getting out of debt, one step at a time, following the plan Dave Ramsey set out for true financial peace.

After borrowing The Total Money Makeover from our pastor, Brian and I bought the book ourselves because we found it so relevant and useful. And, if any of you know Brian, you know he isn't a fan of reading. HE READ THE WHOLE THING. At least twice. It is easy to follow, full of examples and inspiring stories. I loved it, and I rarely read anything nonfiction.

So, we followed the Debt Snowball (it works) and we now have investments set up for the kids, for us, and we are totally free of debt except for our mortgage, which we are now paying extra on and should have completely paid off before we are 40. Brian has been blessed with a great job, and we're so thankful.

Alright, all that being said, we're working on some of the little things that need changed in our lives. We've been combing through monthly expenses and deciding which ones need tossed. And our irregular expenses are getting an examination too. Which leads me to the biggest issue our family has: Dining Out.

We don't even dine out that much! But it is enough. Too much, even. We decided we only wanted to dine out a max of 3 times a month. That is the number we're going to try, at least. See how our budget works out from there.

We've repeatedly said, "We need to lower our dining out expenses. We're over budget AGAIN." But we haven't done anything about it. So I thought, what about a voucher system?

So here it is! I made some vouchers. We will pick the number we're allotted for the month, have them printed and available, probably pinned up with our calendar to remind us that we only have so many a month. And we will use them when we really want to "celebrate!"

Celebrate what? Celebrate the fact that our kids are huge blessings, no matter how crazy they drove mommy that day. Celebrate the fact that, no matter how messy my kitchen is, I am blessed with a home... even if I can't (read: don't want to) cook in it. Or celebrate the fact that it is a glorious day, we we just want to get out of our house.

I edited the voucher in case someone who had children, just not two of them, could simply print them.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/173510190/Eating-Out-Vouchers - PDF of Vouchers

“The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get.” Proverbs 21:20

Fun Tutorials I've tried!

Okay, so I've been so busy crafting I haven't been posting.

Can you tell we went to Walt Disney World? I sewed hair bands, using this lovely tutorial:
 http://www.redpoppyquilts.com/2011/03/loopy-flower-hair-bow-tutorial.html


And made the circle skirts, following this one: http://www.danamadeit.com/2008/07/tutorial-the-circle-skirt.html

Ok, well...I sorta followed that tutorial. But I didn't cut a pattern. I did the math, determined the measurements, folded the cloth into a forth, and measured from the corner on down. Then I tied some yarn to a pencil, and held one end at the corner (before cutting the corner out) and drew the quarter circle from one fold to the other. I have pictures. I made a new tutorial, but haven't finished writing it up yet. I sewed the elastic on differently too. So... ok, I got the math from this site, and then ran with it. I'll post mine once it's done.

I also sewed a Mickey/Minnie reversible camera strap cover with the extra material. And then I sewed shirts for the whole family! So I was a little "sewed out" by the time I was finished with the trip. But they all turned out nicely, and we got quite a few compliments while there... especially the princess Minnie shirts. Which surprised me, because I liked the pirate ones better. It took me a while to draw a decent tiara that wouldn't be too hard to sew on. And I used sparkly fabric for it too.

And recently, I sewed a ukulele leash. Basically, a uke strap, but designed differently. Like these: http://www.ukeleash.com/ Only I made mine with pretty ribbon, and with snaps. And it cost me less than three dollars. I don't think I'll write a tutorial for that. I doubt it would reach a lot of people. :P

So after all the sewing, I picked up on baking. A lot. I've been trying to saving money by trying some inexpensive recipes, and I must say that this blog is fabulous. http://penniesandpancakes.blogspot.com/

I haven't bought any pancake mix, cornbread mix, rolls, and I've been trying out dried beans (which are way cheaper than canned ones) and various other things that save money. And freezing my leftovers so we can eat them again one day. I just pulled out some frozen crockpot chili I made from her recipe, and it was delish. (If you try it, USE LESS SALT! Her recipe called for a lot of salt. I was surprised. I had to put it over a baked potato to mellow it out. Other than that, great!)


So the point of this post? Just showing what a terrible and infrequent blogger I am, and sharing some tutorials I've been testing out. I love trying other ideas, and even making them better.

Next on my crafting agenda? Painting. Craft show coming up, and I have four gourd birdhouses in the making, and many cute snowmen to make, as well as a few other things. Yikes, it's next month. I need to get to it!