Buying and selling vehicles is not something new to us. We have done is several times however, this time around things have been very different. Quite the adventure really...

It all started around March. After complaining (again) about not being able to give a neighbor's kid a ride home from school I saw a tv commercial for a Chevy Traverse. I will whole heartily admit that the GM marketing team did a great job. They sold me. I could fit 8 people in a spacious vehicle, be able to tow a camper and get great mileage all while looking cool in the school car line (LOL). I was sold.

After doing some research I found out the Bluebook value of my car and then did some research on the best way for me to obtain a 3rd row SUV that was not a gas gussler. After a couple phone calls I was able to get connected with a family friend who has a used car dealership. He offered to buy me a vehicle at auction. I would pay the auction price, taxes, auction fee, gas to drive it home, and a $250 finder's fee. After going to a couple auctions he felt like he could get me a Traverse in my price range.

With the good news in hand Mr. Not the Jet Set was more then happy to help me sell our current car and upgrade big time. We just needed to finish saving up the difference between what we could get for our car and the cost of the new one. With lots of pennies pinched we made it happen by the end of April. Now, during this time I had not re-pulled the blue book value of my Pontiac Vibe. No, instead I watched the news and saw that Toyota was taking a good kicking from the media, government, and anyone else who didn't like them. Well, I guess I should have realized that I the market changes would effect us but it honestly didn't click.

We went to list our car for sale by owner at the beginning of May. I re-pulled the KBB value and was in tears. The value dropped big time. I had worked so hard to have it all taken away. We talked, prayed, and weighed out our options. The decision was to sell the car. By the end of the month the car was gone and we had the cash in hand. We were able to get slightly more then the blue book value but it was still about a $2k hit from what the value was pre-toyota recall.



The whole time our car's value was dropping like a rock the demand for the type of vehicles we wanted went way up. So far up that we decided in mid-July that none of the original things we wanted would be in our price range at this point in time without taking out a loan or dipping into our emergency fund. It was a horrible feeling of defeat, but looking at the auction stats the prices had steadily increased and were showing no signs of slowing down. Once again I cried, then we talked, prayed and weighed out our options. We made a short list of mid sized cars and wagons that would at least be slightly bigger then what we had before yet we could afford the auction prices based on the last month's post-auction sales lists.

I'm happy to say that after two month's of living with one car we now have a new vehicle in our lives. It might not have been the car I was dreaming of but it sure is nice and the best part is that I don't have any payments!

I will admit it was an extremely hard two months with sharing our one truck. The a/c quiet working about 2 weeks into it, the truck starting having issues starting two weeks ago and just last week we had to replace the wheels and tires. Not great things to have to deal with when you only have one vehicle and summer camps for the kids, along with a vacation road trip. Even through it all it was worth it. It also gave me a great appreciation for those how only have one car and do not live in places that have public transportation.

We bought a 2008 Volvo V50 wagon with around 80k miles for a grand total (after all taxes and fees) for $12,105.60. That price alone made it worth the wait for us.

Have you had similar experiences with buying or selling your cars lately? I'd love to hear your car transaction stories!

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Life is full of scary things. Even as an adult there are just somethings that seem scary. One of the biggest ones for me was taking the plunge to stay home full time with my kids. Just the thought brought so many scary ideas to my head. What if the Mr. lost his job? What if we can't live on less then half our current income? What if I want to go back to work but can't because I've been out of my field to long? Even with all those scary thoughts running through my mind all's I could think about is how different life would be if I could just stay home with my babies. If I could just be there for when they needed me. If I didn't have to miss all of their firsts. Needless to say, my motherly instinct kicked in and I kicked my fears to the curb.

We have successfully lived on my husbands income for over 3 years now. It has been one of the best decisions that we ever made. However, if we had not carefully planned it out it could have been the nightmare I feared.

Here are ten steps to take the fear out of living on one income.

1. Plan ahead of time- Like most things in life it takes time to work out all the kinks in the plan. On average it takes 6 to 12 months to fully implement the changes and take the plunge.
2. Unified Dream- The most important key to making this dream happen for your family it to make sure that you and your spouse are both on the same page. It truly takes a team effort to cut the expenses and make such a drastic lifestyle change. If you spouse is not on board then it's not going to work no matter how hard you try.
3. Evaluate- Take a hard look at why you want to stay home. Is it because you want to be there for your kids 24/7 or is it because you really just don't want to be at work. If your reasoning is more on the job side then you might just need to find a new job or career.
   
4. Make the cuts- This is the toughest step. It's time to sit down and make the cuts. Looking at your budget together as a couple you need to decide what stays and what goes. Vacations, kids sports, new clothing, and eating out are the main things that go when you start to make the harsh cuts. It's important to do some practice budgets on paper to make sure that the math will add up.
   
5. Have a plan- What are you going to do at home all day? LOL, It's never boring around our house but I have friends who could not handle the "isolation" of staying at home. Make sure you have a plan for your time. Think about what you can do at home to save your family money (coupon clipping, sewing, gardening, garage saling, etc) as well as ways to get out of the house with your kids (story hour and play groups) during the day.
6. Support Network- This might sound odd to some people, but its a sad fact of life. Not all working moms will want to continue your friendship. Everyone has their own reasons, but a lot of times your working friends will fade away or you will want them to because of their criticism. Make sure that you start to surround yourself with people who support your decision. It will make your life much easier once you take the plunge.
7. Check into the Details- Double check things like health insurance, taxes, investments. All of them will change as your jobs and income levels change. Make sure to include these changes in your practice budget.
   
8. Debt Free- Some people are going to say that this is not required but in my book it is. It's hard enough to work your way out of debt with two incomes, do you really want to try to do it on half the amount you were living on? Unless you did the math and you were losing money by working, focus on getting out of debt so that you can realize your true dream. It will help you to become gazelle intense when you realize that the debt is keeping you from your kids.
   
9. Emergency Fund- Before you turn in your notice at work make sure that you have a fully funded emergency fund. It will help you to enjoy being home with the kids. If you don't have one you will be constantly worried about things like hubby losing his job, a major car breakdown or a house fire.
   
10. Trial Run- You have done it. You have walked through the first 9 steps and now it's time to give it a try. Minus childcare expenses and other expenses that you are incurring solely because you work sock away the rest of your income in a savings account. Test it out to see if you can really life on just one income for 3+ months while saving the rest. If you can do it then you are ready to make the switch. If not, then you need to take a hard look at why it's not working for you and make some adjustments to the plan.
    

These ten steps might seem tough but they will pay off big time in the long run. The day you get to stay home with your kids will be pure joy without fear weighing you down.

Does your family live on one income? What advise do you have for a family thinking about taking the scary plunge?

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My number one tip for keeping your house clutter free and saving money is not to buy stuff. I do understand that there are times when you need (or really want) something temporarily. That is when you call on your friends, neighbors and family.

There is a right and a wrong way to borrow. If done right you will be able to continue to borrow from your friend. If done wrong you have not only lost a source for borrowing items but you could potentially damage your relationship.

Here are some guidelines for successful borrowing.

• Ask Nicely~ When you call the person to ask to borrow the item let them know what you are going to do with it, when you need it and when you will return it. And yes, do say please and thank you.
  
• Set Return Time~It's important to let them know how long you will borrow the item for. This helps to re-assure them that you will in fact return the borrowed item.
  
• Return Condition~ To help show your appreciation return the item in better condition if possible. Wash it, fill it with fuel, or what ever you can do to help maintain the item.
  
• Keep Your Word~ Just do as you said you would. Return the item on time or ask to keep it longer with an explanation as to why you need it longer.
  
• Say Thanks~ Depending on the items value it could be a simple thank you email or a homemade pie.
• Limits~ If you find you keep borrowing the same thing from the same person you might want to consider buying it. It might end up being a wise investment instead of more unused clutter.
  
• Return the Favor~ Let them know that they are welcome to borrow items from you as well.
  

With these six simple rules you will master the art of borrowing.

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In general Easter is not that expensive of a holiday but we always to try to keep expenses as low as we can. If you are looking for ideas for how to save money this Easter check out what will be gracing our girls' Easter baskets.

• Books- Each girl will have two books and one coloring book. They all cost between $1- $1.35 each.
  
• Homemade Dress- I made each girl a dress from vintage fabric that I already had in fabric stash (received fabric for free). Cost was zero.
  
• Tutu- I made a tutu for each girl. The fabric cost about $5 each and had the ribbon and other supplies.
• Chocolate Chicken- Chocolate bunnies don't fly at our house. Our Max and Ruby fans love their Chocolate Chickens. So each year I make one Chocolate chicken for each of them. That's the only candy they get in their basket. The grandparent's give them plenty for Easter! Cost is maybe $2 each at the most.

That's it! Each girl's basket will be filled to the brim with things they will love and will not add to clutter and cavities. The total cost per basket is $10. Not bad for such great stuff!

What's filling your frugal baskets this Easter?

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Over the past year I've been reading about other mom's trials and errors with going without shampoo. Now, I know that this might sound gross to some of you, but it really is not as bad as it might initially sound. What most people do is use either baking soda or apple cider vinegar instead of chemical filled shampoo.

We have been using all natural shampoo for about 4 years so I'm not worried about what I'm putting in my hair, but I'm concerned about the cost of the shampoo that we use. To help save a little more money I thought that it would be worth giving "poo free" a try.


I just completed my first week of using baking soda water in place of shampoo. So far, so good! I've actually been surprised by how well my hair feels and the amount I need to use to obtain a good cleaning. If you are wondering, I personally diluted 5 tablespoons of baking soda in 4 cups of water. Then I let it set for 2 weeks. I refilled my empty shampoo bottles with the solution.

One week down, many more to go. I'll keep you posted as my body adjusts and the seasons change. It's great to feel like you can buy one less product and save some money too.

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There are lots of ways to save money and blow money. Clothing is probably the easiest way to blow money without even trying. However, it doesn't take a master's degree to save money on clothing either. Here are some of the ways that we save money on clothing at our house.

• Garage Sales- The bulk of our clothes comes from garage sales. There is nothing like buying almost brand new Hanna A. clothes for $3 a piece. Not all garage sales are good so take your time and set a spending limit.
  
• Friends and Family- If you are one of the lucky ones, take advantage of your friends and family's leftovers. It never hurts to ask to borrow their kids outgrown clothes. This is a great way to keep your kids dressed without costing you a dime.
  
• Remake It- I realize that not all of you reading this can sew and that's fine. BUT, if you can sew use it to your advantage. Take your kids out grown clothes and make it last a little longer. Take your husband's t-shirt and make a dress for your toddler. There are countless ways to take clothes you don't wear and make it into clothes you love.
  
• Uniform Sale- Our kids have to wear uniforms to school. If we had to buy all new uniforms every year it would break the bank for us. Instead I try to be one of the first moms at the school's annual used uniform sale. It always feels great buying a $55 jumper for five bucks!
  
• End of Season Sales- Every season must come to an end. Retails usually have some steeply discounted items at the end of the season. If you can guess what size your kids will be in a year from now take advantage of the great deals on the hard to find used items.
  
• Gifts- Don't be ashamed to ask for clothing as a gift. If your family or friends ask you what you (or your kids) would like for your birthday tell them the truth. I would really like a sweater, a gift card for T.J. Maxx to buy a new dress, Timmy needs gym shoes, etc. I would rather give a gift that would be used then another plastic toy that will be broken and unloved.
  
• Pass on the Trends- As much as I'm drawn to the trendy items in the store I remind myself that it will be out of style in just a short amount of time. I try to buy clothing that will not be out of style when my youngest daughter wears it 4 years after her big sister.
  
• Needs vs. Wants- This is the biggest one really. Only buy what you need. It keeps your closets and drawers from being over stuffed and you save a ton of money. It's sometimes hard to pass up a good deal at a garage sale on clothes, but really, how many pairs of jeans can I really wear?
  

So those are my secrets for affordable clothing. What do you do to keep your clothing budget in check?

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We took the plunge this past weekend! Ever since we moved to Michigan we wanted to try tapping our maple trees and making our own syrup. Since it takes 40-50 gallons of sap to make just one gallon of syrup it seemed a little daunting, well, along with the whole sugar shack or sugaring kettle thing.

This year we decided to set our fears aside and give it a try. I have to admit that it was a lot easier then I thought. The season lasts four to six weeks and are only 5 days into it so we will see if we make it the whole season. Even if we don't we still had a lot of fun and will enjoy the several quarts of homemade maple syrup that we did get.

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This winter was our first winter having chickens. I was sure that our 4 laying hens would slow down the number of eggs they laid. Boy was I surprised!

They didn't slow down at all. Unless it was below zero they were outside most of the day. They even got around in the snow really well. It was neat to see how well the chickens adjusted to the winter weather. The interesting thing they did do, was hide their eggs. They found some interesting locations to start laying. One of them was in a window well that had a hole in the cover. It made it into a nice warm little spa area for them. Our "independent" chicken who always gets out of the backyard decided to start using the cat house as a nesting box. I found that quite humorous personally.

Despite where they laid the eggs we got one egg per chicken every day accept for when they molted. Four eggs a day is a lot for our family to go through so we have been selling the extra to friends. The money I make from selling the extra eggs is being put in a separate envelope. I'll use those funds to buy feed and other items the chickens need. It's nice having a pet that makes you more money then they cost!

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The Mrs. loves to garden. Rating slightly above her garden is the delicious organic vegetables that come from it. So why was her garden such a source of stress in her life in past years? Let me count the ways:

1. Weeds - This garden sat unused for 2 years before we bought the house. During that time, the weeds took over and it has been a battle ever since.
2. Moles and other varmints - The sections of the garden that were weed-free, were riddled with mole tunnels. Root crops were hit hard. Our outside-cat helps, but she can only eat so many.
   
3. Invasive blackberries - The blackberry bushes were well established and produced great berries. But they spread as fast as the weeds and are twice as difficult to deal with.
4. Mosquitoes - Those blackberry bushes became a haven for them, and God help you once you had them stirred up.
5. Deer - We had been marginally successful in fending them off last year. Then we thought a 10-day vacation might be a good idea mid-summer. We returned to find that they had eaten all the pepper plants and all 45 tomato plants.
6. Hornets - Late summer, a couple swarms of hornets took up residence in our garden - one in the long-term compost, and one the dirt just inside the grass line. We had plans to eradicate them, but the risk of being stung just wasn't worth it. Knowing that they would die off come winter, we waited them out.
7. Baby - We love her, but having an infant is not so conducive to garden work. Naps don't last long enough and slings too uncomfortable (for baby) for all the bending, reaching, digging, picking, planting and hauling.

Late in the summer, she gave up. I couldn't blame her. I still would dart in to harvest the unstoppable zucchini and squash plants - dodging hornets, and swatting mosquitoes. But that was about it. This year, the top three items are coming off of the list with the addition of raised garden beds. Here is how we built ours.


The Mrs. divvied up the space we had to work with. A few measurements one evening and a bit of graph paper work yielded a plan.

• 9 beds - each 4 feet wide and 18 feet long.
  
• 4-foot wide walking paths on all sides.
• A fence of some sort
• A 3-foot wide boarder around the entire plot filled with deer repellent plants.
• Some space on one end for compost and our chickens

For this project, we used:

Tools:

• Power miter saw
• Cordless drill - with spare battery
• 4-lb sledge
• Tape measure
• Spirit level
• Tin snips
• Pliers
  

Materials:

• Lumber - we used red cedar
  
• 3" Stainless Steel screws
• Mending plates - if your beds are longer than your lumber
• Short screws
• Poultry staples
• 1/2" mesh hardware cloth
• Zip ties
• 3' painted steel garden stakes
  

The beds were quite easy to build. We bought 2x6 red cedar boards from a guy on Craigslist. Well below retail, but a fair price to the seller who had no use for them. First I prepped all the lumber and cut them to length.

Lumber typically doesn't come in 18-foot lengths, so I used mending plates to join them. The claw hammer wasn't much help here.

3" self-tapping, stainless steel screws hold them together at the corners with no pre-drilling.

In our garden, we have two types of beds - normal, and root vegetable. The normal beds were easy. Once the box was built, we simply flipped it over and tacked on the hardware cloth using the staples. We used rolls 48" wide, 50 feet long, in the 1/2" hole size. These were the biggest rolls we could find, and we needed 3 of them and then some.

The hardware cloth will keep the digging varmints out while allowing moisture, worms, and roots to pass through. It's galvanized so it won't rust and should last a long time. Initially we placed cardboard under the beds as a weed block. very few go through, if any.

The root veggie beds were a bit tougher.

Wanting these to be deeper, we first dug out the beds to be 8-10" deep. After leveling and squaring up the corners, we laid the 48" wide cloth into the bed to form the bottom, leaving extra to fold up at each end.

We then split a roll of 24" wide cloth to give us 2 strips of 12". Those became the long sides in the trench. The sides were attached to the bottom with plastic zip ties. Then, the wood box was slipped over the ends of the cloth sticking out of the ground and tacked on with poultry netting staples.

For all beds - Mark location, place, double check location, level, and hammer in stakes. Then all that dirt you dug out - has to go back in.

We also added a provision to certain beds for trellises. Totally optional. I'm not sure at this point if this was the best way to do it, so feel free to devise your own plan here.

Beds in place and filled with soil mix. (note: number 9 already had potatoes and onions in it, and had to wait)

a few months later - now with mulch and cardboard down for the paths and vegetables going nuts.

A few tips after building 9 of these:

1. Survey your area. It's worth a little extra effort to spend a little time making sure the beds will be square with the world around it.
   
2. Tin snips work great for cutting hardware cloth.
3. A 4-lb sledge is a good way to hammer in mending plates, as well as a great work out.
4. Stainless steel screws, while rust resistant, shear-off fairly easily. Apply firm pressure to your screw gun.
5. Hardware cloth is a bit like fencing and you can use some of the same techniques when working with it. If you get bubbles, use pliers to shrink. Best part is this doesn't have to be pretty as it will be covered in dirt.
6. Cedar is a great choice for this project. It's naturally rot resistant, light weight, and is easy on your tools. It also smells nice with working with it.
7. If you garden is massive like ours, you'll need a lot of mulch and soil. Many home improvement stores discount open bags.
   

Built beds before? Have pictures or tips to share?

Join us on DIY Day at ASPTL.

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It seems like the moment the kids walk in the door their coats are flung to the floor as they run off to play. If I ask them to put them away correctly they just set them on a chair! As frustrating as it is for me, as a mom I can understand why. Our coat closet is on the other side of the house and they are both to short to reach the hangers anyways. My solution was to get hooks to put on the wall by the door. However, I'm not going to spend the money right now on a want. What do to do? Start thinking outside the box, or in this case, inside the closet!

When we moved into our house we removed the rods that were in all the bedroom closets and put nice metal closet organizer systems in them instead. For almost three years these wood sections with hooks have been laying around in the "stock pile" in the basement workshop area. While looking for paint supplies I found them. I just added one hook off of one of the other pieces of wood and painted it black.


Now we have a great looking coat rack that cost me nothing. The girls love it because their coats are toasty warm in the morning because I hung it low (close to the heater) for them to be able to reach.

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While the kids were fast asleep early Friday morning the Mr. was able to sneak out to get a digital camera for $50 at Best Buy for our daughter. After the girls were awake and helping put up the Christmas decorations I made my way to JoAnn's for some great deals on fabric and patterns. I was able to get a great deal on fabric by buying the remnants of the fabric on special. All remnants are 50% off the current price. Which make for a real steal!

Later in the day I finished my Christmas shopping at Target and online. I didn't get any real good deals at either, but I stayed within my budget and bought stuff on the kid's Christmas wish list. The only Christmas gifts left are the ones I have to make. I have everything but the time now!

Did any of you go shopping on Friday? What kind of deals did you get? I would love hear about your Black Friday! Feel free to either answer in the comments add a blog post link below.

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I have to admit that I LOVE auctions. I'm picky about which ones I go to and I do have favorite auctioneers. Saying that I rarely walk away from an auction disappointed. This past weekend was no exception to the rule either.

A local plant nursery decided that to stay a float after a bad year they would auction off a large amount of their stock. It's heart breaking to know that a local person is on the brink of losing their business, but by spending the money at the auction you do have to look at it as a way to help them.

There was over an acre full of stock that they were getting rid of. Most of it was trees with the smallest being 6 ft tall and the largest ones needing to be moved by semi-trailers. I'm talking massive 20+ feet tall trees. My goal and budget was to accure a couple fruit trees for our open front yard. When the auction started I realized quickly that I was going to get lucky. The people bidding were all wholesalers or developers. No one had any interest in "edible" plants. Because of this stroke of luck I was able to walk away feeling like a million bucks. I bought 5 large seedless concord grape vines for $10 total. Five apple trees (Granny Smith and Empires) for $17.50 each along with 2 aprocots and 3 cherries for $12.50 each. These trees were each 9 feet tall and in 10 gallon containers! What a deal!!!

It will not take long for those large plants to start recouping my initial cost. It might even take the Mr.'s back longer to heal. Sorry for all the digging honey!

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Maybe it's just me, but I always thought that those cool looking French memo boards like they would be hard to make. Then I actually took the time to think about it and realized just how easy it would be to make!



This project cost me nothing but about 15 minutes of my time. First I located a piece of scrap 1x4 pine in the garage scrap bin, some leftover batting and fabric in the sewing room. Then I located a package of coordinating rick rack that I had bought at a garage sale a couple summers ago.

I stretched the batting and fabric across the board and stapled it in the back like I would do when I recover dining room chair seats. Next I laid out the rick-rack in a X pattern. After I had it laid out the way I wanted it I pinned it into place. then I turned it over and stapled it into the back as well.

I thought I was done until I realized that I forgot about hanging it! The Mr. managed to wrestle up a two saw tooth hangers for me and we were back in business.



This was a really easy and fun project to do. I would even be willing to do it with my kids help if it was not a present for them. ;-)

For more great ideas visit us on:
Works for me Wednesday
Tackle it Tuesday
DIY Day
Make do Monday

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Well I want to hear your two cents! That is why we are starting a new series here at Not the Jet Set. Every Tuesday we would like for you to share (via linky or comment) your two cents on living on a not the jet set budget. We will start the series this coming Tuesday, Oct. 13th.

You can link to posts that are related to living on a tight budget. This could be anything from ideas to save money around the house or garden, DIY home repair, using cash envelopes, to planning your low cost vacation. We do ask that you refrain from linking to posts about weekly store deals, contests, paid ads and the like.

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I caught this post the other day over at the Suburban Dollar via Bad Money Advice. Now we've gotten lots and lots of questions about our chickens, but no one had really quizzed us about the economics of our hens. After reading the doubtful post over at the Suburban Dollar, I thought to myself, "How do we come out on this deal?"

There is this stereotype that anything 'green' or 'organic' can't be frugal. The assumption is that you can't possibly come out even on the deal, let alone save money. We've always tried to challenge that here at Not the Jet Set. So, with some rough math, we hammered out some numbers. And I have to say, I was surprised at just how far we come out ahead on this.


Now first, I'll state what is commonly forgotten - the assumptions:

1. We made the decision long ago, that we would not compromise on milk and eggs - organic or all-natural for us. Locally, these run at least $3 per dozen.
2. A lot of the hard numbers at the Suburban Dollar was based on the amount of feed each chicken consumes and the cost of it. Our hens not only eat purchased feed, but also certain scraps from the table (we make them eat it outside). So while they may consume 1/3 lb. of food per day, ours 1/3 lb is comprised of feed, scraps, and bugs, and grass.
3. The working theory is that our breed of chickens produce 4-7 eggs per week. I say theory as all of them are not yet producing. In fact, 2 of the 4 are producing and seem to be producing 6-7 per week. We know that production will slow in the winter, so we tried to pick an average number that was fair.

Now the numbers.

For the most part I'm going to reference my comment over at SD. A comment that sadly got no response.

The set-up
We only have 4 hens as it is the most the township will allow. Yes, we live in town and our neighbors had no idea we had chickens until the saw me building the coop. Speaking of which, I was able to build our coop mostly out of scrap materials. Total cost was $110.

Counting our Chickens
The chickens them selves were purchased from a local feed store. Typically, when you buy the chicks, they are so young that they need to be kept in-doors for a month or so until they are mature enough to survive outside. These were already 'of age' and were ready to live outside. They were $2.50 each for a grand total of $10.

Feeding the Birds
Our hens eat a lot of mosquitoes and ticks, which is a nice side benefit, as they have free run of our fenced in back yard. We haven't found a tick on the dogs since we got the hens. As I previously mentioned, they also eat some table scraps - fruit, bread crusts, they LOVE oatmeal. We also feed the hens an organic feed (locally grown and milled, just not certified organic). It's $12 for a 50 lb sack. It lasts us about 2 months.

The Total Production
So lets do some math. Our four hens, when all are producing, will pop out about 18 eggs per week (conservative). Since we bought them young, lets say we get 3 years of production out of them. Over those 156 weeks, we'll get 2808 eggs, or 234 dozen. Times $3 per dozen, gives you $702 worth of eggs.

The Total Costs
We've got $110 in the coop. The chickens themselves cost $10 for the four of them. Feed over the 3 years should run $216. Putting the majority of our costs at $336.

So the math does actually work, at least the way we are doing it. In fact we're doubling our money. Our cost per dozen is $1.43 for organic, free-range eggs. Coming from chickens that eat a ton of bugs, produce great fuel for our compost, and are really quite fun to watch. Plus at that cost, we can easily sell what we can't use, and turn a profit.

But as I said at the start - we really hadn't looked at this as a way to save money. We were unhappy with the cost of organic eggs at the store. But really we were doing this more for the experience and connection with the food journey. We were hoping that we weren't going to end up paying through the nose for these eggs. Turns out to be quite the opposite.

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One of the many things we created for our daughters' room was their own name banners that hang above their beds. This project was actually easier then I expected. Here is how I did it.



First I found the font I wanted to use on Word. I printed out the letters I needed in a 250 font size and cut them out.




Then I laid them out on the letter fabric and traced them.


Next I carefully cut out all of the letters.


For the triangles I chose a heavy home decor fabric that I had left over from another project. I made a template out of paper and traced it onto the fabric as well. The triangles were 6 inches wide and 8 inches long. I used pinking shears to cut them out.


I then laid the letters on the triangles to come up with the distance I needed from the top before I adhered them. Don't forget to leave room for your bias tape at the top as well.


Next I sprayed the backs of the letters with a temporary fabric adhesive spray and placed the letters onto the triangles.


I then sewed the letters onto the fabric using a tight zigzag stitch to give it a cleaner look as well as to make the letters stand out from the fabric.


Once the letters have all been sewn lay them all out in order with correct spacing between them. Stretch out your double fold bias tape to make sure that it is long enough for the name before you start to sew.


I found it easier to not pin the pieces to the bias tape but to add them as I sewed so that it didn't weigh down the tape. I started at one end and of the bias tape and sewed the full length of the tape.

And that's it! It didn't take long at all to sew and the girls love them. I'm hoping to find some time to make some that say "Happy Birthday" "Thanksgiving" "Happy Halloween" and "Merry Christmas".

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Since we moved to Michigan almost three years ago we have not had a family vacation. We have spent all of our free time and money on renovating our new home. Even though our home is not quiet done, we do have running water, a functioning heater, and a non-leaking roof over our heads. Those are huge accomplishments to have done. So huge that the Mr. and I are just plum worn out.

So with the rest of the country switching to staycations, we have decided that it's finally time to take a real vacation. In true not-the-jet-set style we have sat down and discussed our possible vacation sites and the budget needed for each. Since we really don't have any funds saved up so far are going to go low budget.

Here is the plan: Austin, Texas over Christmas break


Our thoughts are that if we go over Christmas break it will maximize the Mr.'s vacation time so that we can be gone for 10 days. Since we miss Texas (especially in the winter) it would be great to visit friends and our old stomping grounds. We could also stay with friends while we are there to save on money.

The budget breakdown:

Gas $300
Food $600
Outings $200
Lodging $200
= $1300

These number were not pulled out of thin air. I sat down and did the math to figure out how many miles we would drive and the cost per gallon. I knew we would want to eat at our favorite restaraunts and pay for our friends meals. We would want to visit a few places that will cost money and our oldest daughter wants new hot pink cowgirls boots w/ a matching hat. We will also have two nights on the road that will call for a hotel room.

How are we going to get the money? Good question! Our budget is tighter then tight for the next couple months so it's not coming out of there. We are going to try to come up with the funds by doing extra things to make extra money. Things like a garage sale, surveys, increase blog income, selling more extra veggies and homemade goodies. We might even try to come up with a few more creative ways to make some extra money.

If we don't save up enough money then we will not be able to go. It would be really sad if we can not swing it financially, but we don't deserve a vacation we can't pay for. It's not worth it.

We will keep you updated as we start making money to fund the trip (watch the side bar for the numbers). If you have any ideas or suggestions for creative income for the trip or ways to cut back on the budget feel free to share them!

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A couple weeks ago I posted my peach syrup recipe. I included a photo of the syrup on top of vanilla ice cream sprinkled with my homemade granola. [Editor's note: Yum!] Amanda asked in the comments for my homemade granola recipe. So Amanda, here it is!


This recipe, like most of mine, are a combination of several. I've tweaked it be a good compromise between what my picky eaters will eat and still have it healthy enough that I'll let them eat it. It's sometimes a hard balance to find in our house.

Homemade Granola Recipe

3 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup barley flakes
1/4 cup flax seed meal
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup water

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Mix together all the dry ingredients. Make a well in the mix to add the wet ingredients. Toss the combined ingredients until they have an even mix. Then spread out the granola onto cookie sheet covered in parchment paper.

Bake for 40 minutes stirring two to three times while baking. Let the granola cool completely. At that point you can add dried fruit.

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It's been well documented that I don't eat out for lunch. Once a month.... maybe. I'm quite well known around the office for my PB+Js. The main driver here is frugality, but there are two attractive side-effects:

1. Health - While a lot of the usual lunch stops taste good, they don't necessarily make you feel good. Now I'm not trying to claim PB+J as health food, but a lot of restaurant food is loaded with salt, or fat, or sugar, or.... who knows what. Bottom line is - I stay healthier when I don't eat out.
2. When I do go out, it's a treat - I'm not at a loss because all the lunch spots are old-hat. It's actually an enjoyable experience and not just part of the daily grind. I chose the restaurant carefully - my one lunch out per month is not going to be at McDonald's.
   

All that said, there are times when I forget my left-overs at home, or run out of peanut butter are left with few options:

Option 1> Starve. This is not a good option. This happens enough on the days when meetings get scheduled over lunch, and come 2pm I'm trying to figure out why I'm so hungry. There are no winners here.

Option 2> Go out. This is really only a win in the taste department. Cost, time, health all pretty much go down the tubes.

Option 3> Cafeteria. Conveniently located, reasonably priced, and dubious nutritional value. 2 outta 3 ain't bad. So let's look at this further.


Now as a preface to this, our cafeteria, is the smallest here on campus. It's not that there aren't plenty of people to serve, it just seems that they made the decision to do it poorly. Don't believe me? They had to take up a petition at one point to lobby to keep the second entree option. I didn't sign it.

The entrees in the cafeteria, as maybe you're already envisioning, fall into one of 3 needlessly disgusting categories:

1. Fried / greasy / soggy - This is a cafeteria staple and guaranteed to give you that brick-in-the-stomach feeling the rest of the day. Notorious members of this category include french fries, fried shrimp, and something called a 'cheddar round'.
   
2. Floating in water - I really can't explain this one in culinary terms, but it has become our favorite joke around the office - "What's floating in water today?". For some reason, meat dishes - burgers, hotdogs, brats, even chicken sometimes - have been inexplicably served floating in an assumingly warm, watery fluid. Real appetizing.
3. Mysterious - Many of the side dishes fit this bill, but the chili also remains a hold-out here. Served daily, I've yet to see anything recognizable in the chili. It always begs the question, "What was this served as yesterday"?
   

Occasionally, an entree will transcend the aforementioned reputation, but that's rare. For the most part, on days when I'm looking to avoid starvation, all of this forces me to the stalwart salad bar. Now everything here appears fresh - crisp lettuce, nothing floating in water - but the cost can vary greatly. I found this out quickly after paying ~$3 one day and over $5 another. Since they weigh the salads and charge by the ounce, I learned I had to be a bit more selective on what I chose. After some careful consideration and some trial and error, here is what I've come up with (salad greens assumed):

Items I avoid

• Cherry tomatoes - Flavorful but very heavy, I'll slip one in sometimes.
  
• Cucumbers - High on water, low on flavor. I'll pass.
  
• Vinegar and Oil dressing - I love it and it loves me, but that will count against me at the weigh in.
• Hard-boiled eggs - Ok, maybe just a few, but these are very dense.

Bang for the buck items

• Shredded cheese - as dense as eggs, but you need far less of it for the desired affect.
• Shredded carrots - Healthy and lightweight, how do you beat that?
• Sliced red onions and bell peppers - It only takes a few of these to add a big punch.
• Croutons - The ultra-lightweights of the salad bar add lots of texture no matter what the dressing.
• Bacon - Seriously, how can you bypass the bacon? Loads of flavor for very little weight.
  

Now some of this is based on personal opinion on flavor - your mileage may vary. I've gotten pretty good lately at coming up with a flavorful, filling salad that I can easily keep under $3.50. Today, I was quite pleased - I rang up at $2.97! Sub-3 dollars.

Any frugal salad bar tips? Have I gone too far?

For more money saving ideas visit:
Frugal Fridays

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