Typical Alan

My husband is the king of good deals.  He saves us a ton of money sniffing out ways to get us something we're looking for without paying retail price for it.

We had a nice pool in Missouri for the kids to swim around in. Personally, we like having our own pool because swimming is great exercise and lots of fun (especially when it's really hot!) but we aren't fans of the attire (or lack thereof!) at public swimming pools.  Having our own pool allows us to have the benefits of a pool while maintaining a dress code we are comfortable with.  But we gave our pool to some friends when we moved as we planned to rent for awhile and wouldn't have a place to set it up.  Now that we are a little more settled, Alan has been scoping around for a pool.

Wouldn't you know it, he got a whale of a deal.  This 24 foot by 52 inch swimming pool retails for almost $1100.  The previous owner had invested in a salt water filter system so there is no need to add chemicals to the water (Alan estimated that to be about $300).  They also threw in a solar-heating pool cover (that keeps the water warm) and a few "floaties" that the kids can sit on that somehow have guns on them they can shoot water at one another.  Oh, and a volleyball net for water volley ball.

Would you like to guess what he paid for all this?

My sister-in-law guessed $800.  Yes, that would have been a good deal.  But Alan was almost offended, responding with "Does she really think I would pay that much for a pool??"

He talked them down to $200. 

Admittedly, it will probably cost another $200 to fill it, but the kids are going to have hours and hours of fun this summer.  What a deal!!

Leftovers: New Look, New Name

My husband doesn't like leftovers.  I think I've spoiled him because I like to cook and I like to try new ideas, so he thinks every meal should be a "party in the mouth".

But here's the thing:  1) Have you been to the grocery store lately?  Prices are crazy, we have seven people in our family who love to eat, and I like to stretch my hubby's earnings as far as I can. And, 2) I am in a busy, busy season of life which doesn't lend itself well to trying creative new recipes every day.

While reading Managers of Their Homes last week, I noted her solution to simplifying meals for her family.  They have the same menu for lunch every single week:  Monday--Ramen, Tuesday--tortillas and cheese, Wednesday--Soup, Thursday--frozen burritos, Friday--leftovers, and Saturday--Mac 'n cheese.  I'm not criticizing her in the least; it might be great to do this and have a family who accepted the idea.  Mine would be bored silly.  She does a similar thing for the evening meal with a theme for each weekday (like Monday Mexican, Tuesday Italian, etc) and the weekends are always Friday--pizza, Saturday--frozen pizza, and Sunday--burritos.  I showed the idea to Alan and got the exact response I expected.  (chuckle)

The last couple weeks, however, I have been purposefully planning leftovers which has reduced my grocery budget AND has simplified my meal preparation.  Here are a few meals I've "re-purposed" in case you would like to try something similar.

• Chili to Chili Pie

Make a big pot of chili (preferably serve it with cinnamon rolls--yum!).  A couple days later, pour the leftover chili into a baking dish, top with your favorite cornbread recipe, bake and serve.  It was a big hit!

• Roast to Beef and Noodles

Cook a large roast with onions, carrots, potatoes and seasonings.  Before you serve it, chunk off enough meat for noodles (because I have a 15-year-old son who will frequently keep eating until the food is gone, even though there is more than enough to satisfy) and place the meat and broth into a container for the refrigerator.  A couple days later, mix up eggs, milk, salt and flour to make noodles for a delicious meal (one of my personal favorites!)

• Tacos to Taco Salad

This one is simply too obvious and simple to explain, but fry up a bunch of hamburger, season it, and put a third to half of it in the fridge (same reason as above--you would not believe how many tacos a teen boy will eat if you just put unlimited meat before him!).  Serve tacos with all the fixin's.  A couple nights later, reheat the meat, set out all the fixin's again and add Doritos and Western dressing.  Voila--entirely different meal!

• Chicken and Dumplings to Chicken and Biscuits

This is comfort food at its finest.  Use an extra large stock pot to bring chicken and broth to a boil (easiest when you have canned fifty quarts shortly after butchering your chickens so you just have to pop the lid off the jar) and top with fluffy dumplings.  If your family is like mine, they will eat all the dumplings and part of the chicken, but you will be left with quite a bit of thickened broth and meat.  A couple days later, add leftover veggies (carrots, peas, potatoes) to the broth and meat, thicken it on the stove, top with homemade drop biscuits, bake and serve.

• Rotisserie Chicken to Chicken and Rice Burritos

I was blessed with a rotisserie cooker from a friend of mine who never used hers.  We use it all the time.  This simple meal just requires a quick seasoning of the chicken before putting it in the cooker for an hour and a half.  If you don't have a rotisserie cooker, you could easily bake a whole chicken or use your crockpot.  Pick the leftover meat off the bones and a couple days later mix it with instant rice, cheese, and seasonings, wrap it in tortillas and bake.  

• Country Fried Steak to Creamy Mushroom Steak

Bread several pieces of round steak with cracker crumbs and fry them.  Set half of them aside in a baking dish and put it in the refrigerator.  Serve the first half with milk gravy, veggies, and either biscuits or mashed potatoes.  A couple days later, dump a can of cream of mushroom and a little water over the other steaks and stick the dish in the oven.

It's ALMOST like twelve meals for the price and effort of six!  Do you disguise and/or plan ahead your leftovers?  Give me some more ideas!

Six Dollars Worth of Fun

Garage sales around here are really fun.  I stopped at one random garage sale last weekend and spent a whopping six dollars.  How much fun can this family get out of six dollars?  When it starts with a pogo stick, there's no limit!

 Of course dress up clothes around here are priceless--and we picked up FIVE new imagination-boosting outfits for a measly two bucks!

 Then there were these amazing collapsible toy box "thingys".  The lady having the sale said they were for toys--I thought they would be great for holding stuffed animals or even dirty laundry.  I never imagined they would be great houses, castles, spaceships, etc. and thus be great for holding kids.

A princess bike for Princess Kiana, a couple hardback books, three movies and a box of "pirate treasure" (costume jewelry claimed and labeled by Easton) finished our trunkful of loot.

The kiddos have logged hours and hours of play so far, and I see many more hours of equally imaginative play in their future.  What a find!

How Can You Afford It?

I've received several emails asking questions about adoption so I thought it might be fun to address some of them and occasionally share some of the ways adoption continues to affect our life, even as we're not actively pursuing bringing a child home right now. As a commenter shared on Missy's post (you really must read this post--it's very inspiring) about the various stages or 'camps' we are in regarding our passion for the Lord:

I submit that there is one more camp - the one where we are living with our Passion. We adopted 6 children (one baby, then a sibling group of 5 boys) a little over 10 years ago. When we adopted, we were younger, optimistic, more naive, and had more energy. It's a calling for sure, but the struggle does not end when the Passion is fulfilled. That's actually just the beginning of a life of faithful dependence on the author of the Passion.

There is a great deal of wisdom in this commenter's post. Adoption has changed our lives forever (for the good!) and it would be naive to think it's "all over now". From interactions with birthparents to talking with our children about their stories to potential medical issues and fielding questions about our multi-shaded family, adoption will continue to impact our lives for years to come.

I think the most common question I've heard lately involves the finances of adopting. Many people seem supportive of the idea of adopting, but think there is no way they can afford it. They think those adopting must have two incomes, a fat savings account, an inheritance, and/or net $100,000 per year. I'm certainly not going to deny that it's ridiculously expensive, but I'm just going to share a little about how we have "afforded" it even though we meet none of the aforementioned criteria.

We've been blessed with the generosity of fellow Christians, as I've shared before. We were given almost $2000 to help with the costs of our second adoption, and nearly $6000 to assist in bringing Tyrell home. This has been a faith walk, for sure, as we had previously been much more comfortable as givers rather than receivers. (God is always working on that pride thing in our lives!) Seeing God move His people to support the fatherless is a beautiful and faith-building experience. Feeling His provision through His people comforts and encourages, and has reinforced our trust in Him.

Another way adoption has been made more affordable for us is through the adoption tax credit. If you are considering adoption but find the costs daunting, you should definitely look into this. We aren't big fans of 'living on credit' and prefer the 'save-then-buy' lifestyle, but we have borrowed the money to adopt each time. With the tax credit, they apply up to $13,000 you have spent on adoption expenses toward what you owe Uncle Sam. So, for example, if your owed amount is $8,000 and you've had $9,000 withheld from your income throughout the year (and trust me, you won't have any trouble exceeding the adoption expense qualification), your tax return will be $9,000 (where it would have been $1,000 without the adoption tax credit). We aren't receiving money from other tax payers, but our own taxes are being reduced. I honestly don't see how we could have afforded to adopt without this benefit as these hefty tax returns are immediately plopped on our adoption loans in addition to our monthly payments, enabling us to actually pay the loans off (and be able to adopt again! smile)

It's also been a lot about budgeting (thank you Dave Ramsey!), cutting down on the 'wants', and making some sacrifices. It's amazing how many things that used to be in the "need" column have been relegated to their proper place as 'wants'.

For example, this is a picture of my husband's and my dresser. We bought it used from his aunt about 14 or 15 years ago.
Do you know that a dresser with working drawers is really not a 'need'? Alan has repaired the drawers several times, greatly extending its life. But they are just no longer fixable, no matter how handy my hubby is.And it just doesn't matter.We still have a place to put our clothing--our "too much clothing", really, when we consider how many items we have compared to orphans in poor countries who have (at the most) two changes of clothing. We'll get a nicer dresser someday. . .but bringing our children home just takes precedence. The dresser just doesn't matter in the big picture.

Perspective is something God will change for us if we just let Him. He'll shift our paradigm to value what He values, and it's amazing how freeing that can be. If you're considering adopting but you're scared of the costs, don't let that be the factor that leaves a child fatherless. God provides through a variety of means. Those means might be tax breaks, a temporary part-time job, the generosity of others, or some other avenue. Regardless of the method He uses, it will be something that builds your faith, draws you closer to Him, and produces growth.

And that's really what this life is all about--that's what really matters.

Comparison Shopping

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Okay, I'll grant you, someone might have had too much time on their hands, but this is pretty incredible to me! http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/shannon/files/aldis.pdf I've shopped at Aldi a lot in my life, but have to admit I sometimes have wondered if it's REALLY cheaper than shopping elsewhere. Someone has taken the time to compare Aldi prices with Walmart generic in the state of OK. The three products in red are the ones where Aldi is actually higher. I think it's worth the extra stop and bagging my own groceries to keep stopping there!