Company Girl Coffee...4-17-09

Sanctuary on a Shoestring...pretty well sums up my life, that's for sure! There are a LOT of things I do to save money - Once a month cooking, shopping at the you-bag-it grocery stores, shopping at discount stores. BUT something that has made a huge difference is that our kids receive an allowance. How can paying money OUT save money? Before we did official allowances, we would buy things for the kids. Nothing major, but a new CD or DVD, a cute t-shirt, etc. With 4 kids, this could add up fast. We switched to an allowance system so the kids could learn to budget their money and prioritize how they wanted to spend it. They get a pretty generous allowance ($2 for each year of life) at the beginning of the month (coincides with hubby's payday). They are encouraged to tithe, save, and then spend the rest how they would like. They have learned quite well how to make their money last. I didn't mention, but if they want to buy food at school, they also must use their own money. I learned long ago that when they had "lunch money," it typically went to buy a brownie, a pack of donuts, or something else as nutritious as those options. Instead of lunch money, we provide sandwich fixings, fruit, veggies, drinks, etc. This has been a lifesaver for us. When we're shopping and they want something, they think very carefully about it, knowing it will cost THEM and not ME.

Wishing you all a very blessed weekend!

Cheryl

Praying today for: Dora, in CCU and very frail; John & Sharon, leaving tomorrow for an 8-week trip to Europe; Randy & family, auto accident.

Antiquated?

Apparently I'm antiquated.  I was watching Oprah today - a rare thing for me, but they were discussing teens and s-e-x.  They said that 1 in 5 teens will have sex by the time they are 15.  I don't know about your 15 year olds, but MY 15 year olds aren't even allowed to date.  This means they're not having sex.  That really goes for their friends, too.  The conversation centered around two 14 year old teens, freshmen in high school, who "love" each other and want to take that next step "because we've done everything but intercourse."  Much of the conversation dealt with preparing them for sex.  Oprah's friend, Gayle, piped in, saying that they are TOO YOUNG and that they shouldn't even be entertaining the idea.  AMEN, Gayle!  Oprah immediately called her thinking antiquated.  Sigh.  It is so disturbing to me that someone with so much influence will not use Biblical teachings as a basis.

I think I'll go pray for America's teens.  Again.

What to do with leftover Cadbury eggs?

(Not that there would be any leftovers here!)

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1137883380?bctid=17252662001