Start Saving

Remember this weekly savings chart I was going to follow? This year kind of got hectic and after a few weeks I was unable to continue to follow it. Funny how that happens. We've been living paycheck to paycheck this year so didn't have that extra to put into savings. Hospital bills, birth bills, an ambulance ride, a different vehicle, time off from work, and a funeral will do that to you.

Let me just tell you how happy I was that we have been so strict with our money in our marriage because the last three years tested our financial strength. It's impossible to tell you just how expensive it is to have a chronically ill/terminally ill family member, unless you've experienced it yourself. We were blessed to have so many people rally around us and help alleviate some of that burden but it's astounding how it starts to sink you financially (as well as emotionally). The funeral, plots (my husband and I made sure to purchase our plots alongside Jacob's), and headstone alone were over $10,000.

Yeah.

It is possible to prepare for an emergency before it hits. I know God prepared us well in advance to weather this storm, both emotionally and financially. The fact that we were able to get our finances in order just before Jacob became ill, the fact that we were used to living beneath our means, the fact that we knew how to cut corners. God also blessed us with people who helped us financially along the way.

Because of all this we will be okay, financially. It may take awhile to get back on track, but it is do-able.

One step is going back to saving money (which means I'll bring some money saving articles back to my blog) but also building the savings back up. I plan to start the savings chart in the new year.

The first step, whether you are deep in debt or financially comfortable, is to build up a savings for an emergency. Too many people feel that a small savings won't help them in a big situation such as this but small is better than nothing. You have to start somewhere. "Pay yourself" first is the key to being financially stable. Even if you are $15,000 in debt you need to have something to fall back on, without going further into debt.

Start adding to your savings account weekly, even if it is just $5 a week. Don't have an extra $5 a week? Look at your budget. Do you get take out? Do you get a drink once or twice a week? Have a big cell phone plan? Have cable? There are so many ways to cut costs in your life that you should be able to find an extra $5 a week. That adds up to $20 a month. $240 a year. It seems small, but it is a start.

By following the savings chart you could have $1,378.00 in savings by the end of 2014. That is a cushion. A start to financial freedom.

The time to start is now.   

Favorite Subscription Box Finds

One of the reasons I love subscription boxes is that I am able to try items that I normally wouldn't buy or haven't even heard of. Below are three new favorites, that we use daily.

Happy Family happy creamies and happy yogis from the Ecocentric Baby Box. These are tiny little snacks that melt in baby's mouth and have pre & probiotics and are quite healthy. Amy loves the happy creamies the best, which are dairy free and made with creamy coconut milk. Honestly, we have all been found to snack on these as they are delicious. I need to find some coupons for these because I think they are kind of expensive in stores.

Moroccanoil hair treatment from the FabFit Fun box (which I no longer subscribe to). This oil is wonderful for my hair and makes it so shiny and healthy. This stuff is close to $40 a bottle, so I won't be buying more after mine is gone but luckily I have half the bottle left so I don't have to be sad yet.

Fortune Cookie Soap Whipped Cream. I didn't get this particular scent (In The Loop - smells exactly like Fruit Loops!) in a subscription box but I was introduced to their body butter in their subscription box. This is thick lotion that absorbs right into the skin without feeling greasy and smells sooooooo great! Every scent I've tried smells good enough to eat.

While I've found many different favorite items in boxes these are the ones I use daily. Maybe I'll do more favorite posts in the future. :)
 

Curly Girl Winner

Random.org chose #3 as a winner, which is:

I would love to see what it says. Does the library have the book too I wonder? I have wavy, frizzy hair so I understand what you mean. I don't know about throwing my shampoo away though, not sure I could do that! :O)
Carol Ann Singleton

E-mail your address to babys_mama1 "at" yahoo.com and I'll get that book mailed out to you this week. Please let us know your results! :)

Where's Amy?

                                                                Peek-A-Boo!

Walking With Mary

After watching my own sweet son slowly pass from this earth this year I've felt more of a connection with our Blessed Mother, Mary. Not many people truly stop to think about her role in birthing our Savoir, much less how she had to have felt watching her son be crucified. I felt an inkling of her pain this year.

Which is why I had high hopes for the book Walking with Mary; A Biblical Journey from Nazareth to the Cross by Edward Sri. I wanted to get to know Mary more as a person and feel what she felt.

I did learn a little more about Mary but feel the book was too text-book like and less for the lay person. Granted, Edward Sri didn't have a whole lot to go on as Mary is not mentioned in the Bible that much. Writing a book from a mere several verses would have been difficult. Which may be why I felt the book drummed on and on about the same topic at times.

I think reading this at your leisure would be better than a marathon read, like I did. It would help you absorb more and break it down better. Overall I did learn more about Mary but wish I could have felt more of a connection with her as a person through a more personal writing style.

Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

On a Cold Saturday...

Curly Girl Hair

I've always battled my curly hair, which typically would have better been described as frizzy hair. Most of the time I kept my hair in a pony tail or straightened it with a straight iron. Occasionally, only in the winter, I would have a good hair day and wear it down but that's about it.

I've heard about the book Curly Girl by Lorraine Massey but never paid much attention when it was recommended to me as nothing I tried ever worked for my hair before.

When I ran across the book at a thrift store for 10 cents I picked it just to see what all the fuss was about. 

After just two weeks of trying the methods in the book I'm actually loving my hair. I'm embracing the curl and notice hardly any frizz any longer. The below picture is just two weeks after implementing the directions in the book. I expect the "canopy" (the top part of my hair) to continue to get more body.

The idea is quite simple, mainly throw your brush and comb away (and only finger comb in the shower) and stop using shampoo and load up on the conditioner. I did have to modify that part since after several days of only washing with conditioner my scalp was greasy. I had to go back to shampoo but only use it directly on my scalp and not my hair.

The book instructs you on how to style the three different types of curls (corkscrew, Botticelli - the type I have, and wavy).

I'd love to help another curly girl fall in love with her hair by passing my book on to them. If you'd like to win this book write a comment below and I'll draw a name on Tuesday, November 26th.