For the next week, I will provide a recipe every day that I like from the Mary Hunt's book, Debt-Proof the Holidays. I am hoping that these give you some ideas for homemade gift-giving this Holiday season!
Friendship Tea
1 C powdered Tang
1/2 C instant lemonade drink mix
1 1/2 C sugar
1 C instant tea (unsweetened)
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
Pour all of the ingredients into a large bowl and mix well. Add a tag to your gift that reads:
Friendship Tea: Place teaspoons of mix in a mug, add one cup boiling water, stir and enjoy.
Mary Hunt
Debt Proof the Holidays
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Recipe: Chai Tea Mix
For the next week, I will provide a recipe every day that I like from the Mary Hunt's book, Debt-Proof the Holidays. I am hoping that these give you some ideas for homemade gift-giving this Holiday season!
Chai Tea Mix
1 1/2 C instant tea powder
2 C powdered non-diary creamer
1/2 C dry milk powder
1 C powdered sugar
1/4 C brown sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp vanilla powder
In a food processor, combine instant tea, powdered creamer, dry milk powder, powdered sugar and brown sugar. Add ginger, cinnamon, cloves,c ardamom, allspice and vanilla powder. Process for 2 minutes. Store in an airtight container.
Add this tag:
To serve, palce 4 teaspoonfuls in a mug and fill with hot water. Stir. Enjoy!
Mary Hunt
Debt Proof the Holidays
Chai Tea Mix
1 1/2 C instant tea powder
2 C powdered non-diary creamer
1/2 C dry milk powder
1 C powdered sugar
1/4 C brown sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp vanilla powder
In a food processor, combine instant tea, powdered creamer, dry milk powder, powdered sugar and brown sugar. Add ginger, cinnamon, cloves,c ardamom, allspice and vanilla powder. Process for 2 minutes. Store in an airtight container.
Add this tag:
To serve, palce 4 teaspoonfuls in a mug and fill with hot water. Stir. Enjoy!
Mary Hunt
Debt Proof the Holidays
How to Save on Christmas
It is coming … Christmas! I love Christmas-time. I enjoy spending time with the entire family, laughing and playing games, cooking and eating together, and exchanging gifts! I could do without receiving any gifts, but I love to give gifts.
I’m not sure how I would feel about gift giving if I were rushed and choosing from bare isles the day before Christmas.
I start my Christmas shopping January 1st of every year. At this time, there are so many items that are on sale for 75% + off. For instance, my mom adores Celine Dion. So, as a gift, she is getting Celine Dion perfume from WalMart that was marked down 75%. My father-in-law is difficult to buy for because he wants for nothing and has it all. Well, because I have been keeping an eye out for everyone, I found the perfect gift for him! If I didn’t have 12 months to look around and prepare, I’d be stressed around the holidays.
I love clearance and sales. If there is an item on sale that I want, I try to determine who I could give it to as a gift. This way, I get a good deal but it doesn’t clutter the house!
This only works well if you have a designated spot to hide all of these items throughout the year. It also only works if you remember what you bought for everyone or have it written down to refer to. Because I am so stocked up on gifts, I don’t have to worry about shopping for birthdays. I pick something out of the stash and whatever is left, they get for Christmas.
My favorite stores to shop for sales the first two weeks of January:
WalMart
Bath & Body (lotions & body wash are $4/each the 2nd week of January, I think it is! I stock up and give as gifts throughout the year)
Kirklands
Big Lots (all year round)
Cracker Barrel (the stores have a clearance corner that I get a lot of gifts from throughout the year!)
My favorite gift that I am most excited to give this year: a DVD teaching a couple how to salsa dance. I bought it for my father and his wife as a “date night” gift. I bought this gift on clearance from a store that was closing. I am currently looking for a restaurant / lounge to purchase a gift certificate for the two of them to go to dinner and show off their new moves!
I’m not sure how I would feel about gift giving if I were rushed and choosing from bare isles the day before Christmas.
I start my Christmas shopping January 1st of every year. At this time, there are so many items that are on sale for 75% + off. For instance, my mom adores Celine Dion. So, as a gift, she is getting Celine Dion perfume from WalMart that was marked down 75%. My father-in-law is difficult to buy for because he wants for nothing and has it all. Well, because I have been keeping an eye out for everyone, I found the perfect gift for him! If I didn’t have 12 months to look around and prepare, I’d be stressed around the holidays.
I love clearance and sales. If there is an item on sale that I want, I try to determine who I could give it to as a gift. This way, I get a good deal but it doesn’t clutter the house!
This only works well if you have a designated spot to hide all of these items throughout the year. It also only works if you remember what you bought for everyone or have it written down to refer to. Because I am so stocked up on gifts, I don’t have to worry about shopping for birthdays. I pick something out of the stash and whatever is left, they get for Christmas.
My favorite stores to shop for sales the first two weeks of January:
WalMart
Bath & Body (lotions & body wash are $4/each the 2nd week of January, I think it is! I stock up and give as gifts throughout the year)
Kirklands
Big Lots (all year round)
Cracker Barrel (the stores have a clearance corner that I get a lot of gifts from throughout the year!)
My favorite gift that I am most excited to give this year: a DVD teaching a couple how to salsa dance. I bought it for my father and his wife as a “date night” gift. I bought this gift on clearance from a store that was closing. I am currently looking for a restaurant / lounge to purchase a gift certificate for the two of them to go to dinner and show off their new moves!
Friday, September 24, 2010
Quote:
"You will never 'find' time for anything. If you want time, you must make it"
- Charles Buxton
From All Things Frugal.com
Tickers
I have decided to put out there for the whole world to see how much debt we have (minus the house.) The number is embarrassing, even though we’ve paid off over $10,000 this year.
Right now, we are focusing on paying off Todd’s 2008 Kia Rondo. Todd bought this car in the Spring of 2009. He got a great deal on the vehicle, and he loves it! This car originally sold new for over $18,000 with all of the options. He bought it from a car lot – who purchased it from auction (it was a repo) - for $12,000. The car had less than 500 miles on it and still had the new car smell!
The other debt is Todd’s American Express. Todd was previously married. When his wife left, they had credit card debt. She promised to pay half of it, but never paid a dime. Todd transferred it over to an American Express card at 3.99% for the life of the balance. When we first got together, the balance was over $14,500! Now, it is a little under $8,000. That being said, I cant wait for this card to be paid off. We have been together for over 4 years, and this is like a bad memory for both of us: me- the thought that my husband loved another woman at one time, and for him: all that he went through with his ex-wife. Not to mention that we are paying on something that we have NOTHING to show for!
I am also going to put a ticker up with my grocery budget and spending for the month of October. I want to see how low we can go.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Quote:
"Being frugal does not mean being cheap! It means being economical and avoiding waste."
Catherine Pulsifer
Catherine Pulsifer
Stresslesscountry.com
How Low Can You Go?
I like to look at what a meal costs us (versus going out). With this post, I will compare the price of a meal out vs. making it at home.
Coffee (the Latte Factor):
A little background: Up until this Summer, I did not like coffee AT ALL! Thanks to my mother and her Keurig machine (insert sarcasm here,) I have been hooked! I cant seem to do anything in moderation, so I started drinking about a ½ pot at work every day because Todd cant stomach the smell of coffee, so it was something I did at work and only at work. It wasn’t plain black coffee, oh no… it was flavored coffee that I had been drinking. I don’t (and didn’t) like the thought of being addicted to something. OK, yes, I have an addiction to food, but it is also a necessity. At any rate, I weaned myself off for about a month. Now that it’s getting cold outside, I get a craving for coffee in the mornings. So, here goes:
French Vanilla Cappuccino from Gas Station: $1.49
(“High Octane,” full fat, a lot of sugar, small cup)
Maxwell House: Swisse Mocha Café : $1.89/container of 21 cups $0.09/cup!
(Decaf, Sugar Free – low calorie!)
Savings Per Cup: $1.40!
Needless to say, I will continue to buy the coffee in the tins
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Quote:
"There are plenty of ways to get ahead. The first is so basic I'm almost embarrassed to say it: spend less than you earn."
Paul Clitheroe
http://www.woopidoo.com/business_quotes/frugal-quotes.htm
Quote: Faith
"Jesus wants us to see the neighbor next door or the people sitting next to us on a plane or in a classroom are not intteruptions to our scheulde. They are there by divine appointment. Jesus wants us to see their needs, their lonliness, their longings, and He wants to give us the courage to reach out to them."
~Rebecca Manley Pippert
Making Life Rich Without Any Money
~Rebecca Manley Pippert
Making Life Rich Without Any Money
Wordless Wednesday
An amazing concert in an incredible city with an awesome friend.
I will never forget this concert.
Favorite Songs:
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