Queen's Edge Farm: Taxes, Investing, Daycare and Government Subsidies

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Taxes, Investing, Daycare and Government Subsidies

Okay, a warning....I am about to rant ;-)

I read this morning that the governor of California wants to raise taxes. How stupid is that idea? We are headed into a depression, over 70,000 jobs were cut last week alone, and legislators all across the nation are considering raising income taxes, and sales taxes. That's right, I'm going to step on you while you are down. Great mentality there!

I don't play golf, and am lucky that the majority of car repairs my husband can fix, but my word. Car repairs? Isn't the cost of labor high enough? People cannot afford to buy new cars, and I am not sure that even if they could "afford" it at this moment, that it is a good idea to buy a new car right now. The best option is to be frugal and fiscally responsible and repair what you have, but adding taxes on top of an already strapped demographic is absurd.

I was also reading an investing newsletter I receive in an email. Now we used to contribute to 401K, but contrary to what many others feel that it IS actually a GOOD time to invest in the stock market because it is down, we disagree. I am sure others in the 1930's thought it was a good time to buy low, that is until the entire stock market crashed. I can read and learn from history, and the writing is clearly on the wall. If you cannot pay off all your debt now, you have ZERO business contributing to a 401K, the stock market, mutual funds, CDs, etc. Your cash and assets need to be liquid. It is better to be safe and sorry, and God does call us to be good stewards of what he has given us, and throwing good money after bad is not being a good steward. My advice is to cash in everything, pay off as much debt as you can (credit card debt would be last on the list) especially housing, and make sure you have enough food to weather the continuing economic crisis. If credit card debt is ALL you have, then by all means pay it off, but credit card debt is primarily unsecured debt, and if it comes to having a secure, paid for place to live, and enough food, the cards can go unpaid for a time. Now is the time to downsize, not 2 months from now, but now, actually two years ago was a better time, but please do not wait for the last minute. I wish I had put my house up for sale two years ago, but I am trying not to stress too much. I did make the comment to several people that I wasn't TOO worried about the mortgage, as I would just walk away from the house, before I sacrificed my children's welfare. The comments I received back "what about your equity in the house?" A fat lot of good equity is going to do me when I have depleted my savings, and the house is STILL foreclosed on. I'll just be without a house, without equity, and NO money.

Now for child care. I listened to an online radio show this morning where the "parenting consultant" was complaining that the U.S. is behind the curve in the area of subsidizing daycare, and that the majority of parents spend between 17-20% of their monthly income on daycare. I will soon have four children, and not once did I ever expect the government to pay the cost of daycare for me. Yes, daycare takes a huge chunk out of your paycheck, but again re-evaluate your situation, it IS possible for one parent to stay home, IF you sacrifice and are willing to be a little less materialistic.

It actually costs MORE to have a two person household. Especially, if you have children. It is not my responsibility, as a taxpayer, to pay for someone else's child care. The U.S. is by no means "behind" the curve. I applaud our nation for not having wide-scale subsidized child care, it's not the government's responsibility. And the thought that the "great Unifer" is planning on throwing away even more tax dollars towards "0-5 education" and providing federal block grants to "low income" parents to pay for child care, really makes me angry. The fact that today we have more mothers in the work force (in a two parent household) than any time in history has not escaped me. Please, please, please, scale down, and have one parent stay home (mom or dad). It is the parent's responsibility to care for and educate their child not society's or the government.

In my opinion, if I have to pay taxes that will be used for child care then I should be eligible to receive child care, but it doesn't normally work that way. People who work hard, pay more in taxes, receive less benefits, because well, they work, and have a good job. So, they are then penalized because they "make too much". The tax dollars then go towards providing even more benefits to low income households, who often don't pay much, if any, taxes at all.

I get so frustrated when I do taxes for people, and see how much (or little) they make. I know of one family that is extremely lazy, both parents work sporadically, live in a shack with five kids, often no electricity, begs around town for handouts (food, money, clothing), but yet receives over $8K a year in an income tax refund??? In addition, their electricity is subsidized when they have it, their water is paid for by the city, they receive food stamps, Medicaid and more. I do not define these people as needy. Needy, is when you are doing ALL that you can to survive, and you can't make it. Needy IS NOT being lazy, and milking society for all it's worth. These people are a perfect example of why we do not need MORE government programs. We actually need to get rid of government programs, and expect people to work for what they receive.

We are a one income family, and yes there are times (right now for instance) I wish I qualified for food stamps, but we make "too much". Too much to qualify, not enough to buy groceries. Oh, I can buy staples, but I spend way below the national average for a family our size. We spend roughly $280 a month, and believe me my kids can eat. I manage to get by on this amount because I cook and bake, and rarely buy pre-packaged foods. Plus, when I have had surplus funds in the past, I stocked up on staples and meats. Back to the food stamps.... I realize that there are truly needy families out there, and if the food stamp program was cut they would be in dire straits, I feel for these families, but what to do? It is often the case where the good pay for the actions of the bad. During tough economic times likes we are seeing, it is the time to seek help from family, friends, community and church, NOT the government.

Be prepared! Be ready! Re-read Proverbs 31 to remind yourself of what God's design is for a TRUE Proverbs 31 woman.

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Grandma's Yummy Cinnamon Rolls

2 pkgs active dry yeast or 5 tsps if using bulk yeast
1/2 cup warm water (not too hot)
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup shortening, butter, margarine
2 tsps salt
2 cups milk, scalded
1 1/2 cups cold water
10 to 12 cups flour (white or whole wheat)

Yield: 4 loaves

Soften yeast in warm water, springkle in a tsp of the sugar
In LARGE mixing bowl blend sugar, shortening, salt and milk until shortening is melted. Add cold water, cool to luke-warm. Stir in yeast. Gradually add flour to form a stiff dough. Knead on floured surface until smooth and satiny, 5 to 10 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover with foil or damp towel. Let rise in warm place (85 to 90 deg) until light and doubled in volume about two hours. Punch dough down by plunging fist in center. Knead dough for about 5 minutes.

Roll out one fourth of dough to a 16 X 12 inch rectangle. Brush with 2 TBSP of melted butter. Combine 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 1/3 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tsp of cinnamon (or more to taste). Sprinkle mixture over dough. Starting with 16 inch side, roll jellyroll fashion. Either cut into 16 1 inch slices or leave as a whole loaf. Place on a greased pan, cover and let rise in warm place until light, about 30 to 45 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees about 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Mix one box 10X sugar with 2 tbsps water. If too stiff, add more water until icing consistency, add a drop of vanilla too. Spread on baked bread while bread is still warm.

2010 Homestead Stats

Laundry Soap

Homemade Laundry Soap:
1/3 bar Fels Naptha or other type of soap, as listed above
½ cup washing soda
½ cup borax powder
~You will also need a small washpan or bowl that holds about 2 gallons.

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the washpan. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Transfer soap (using a funnel if necessary) into empty plastic laundry holders, milk containers (I use my empty glass milk bottles and old Fab containers) Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load.

Wild Mustang Grape Jelly

Wild Mustang Grape Jelly

5 cups grape juice (about 3 1/2 pounds of ripe grapes)1 (1 3/4 ounce) box of sure-jel pectin7 cups sugarBefore getting started it is best to clean the entire kitchen, making sure the sink is empty. Bleach the sink and all utensils used in making jelly (I do this as I sell my grape jelly as part of my homesteading business.)

Wash the canning jars in warm soapy water, and rinse well. Set off to side.

Place a large pan of water on the stove to heat. Once it starts steaming, place lids and rings in the bottom, and 2-3 jars (depending on if you use actual jelly jars or pints) to sterilize.

Next make the grape juice using clean washed grapes (make sure you use rubber gloves when picking or washing wild grapes)To 3 1/2 pounds of clean grapes (6 cups of grapes) add 1 1/2 cups water.Bring to a boil and simmer covered for 10 minutes.Strain and squeeze out all of the juice with cheese cloth (see paragraph below)
I didn't have cheese cloth, so I poured the grape mixture into a large spaghetti strainer with a large pan underneath. I had to stir it around some as the skins and seeds would sink to the bottom, and clog the colander up. Stirring allowed the liquid to drain out. I then used a large metal spoon and squished it some to get more of the juice out.

In a very big pan, put 5 cups of the juice (it’s okay to add no more than ½ cup water to even out amount)Add the fruit pectin to the juice.Mix well.On high heat, bring to a full rolling boil, and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly.Stir in sugar all at once, and bring back to a full rolling boil, again boil hard for 1 minute stirring constantly.
Remove jelly from heat, skim off foam
Use a large spoon inserted inside the jar to lift CAREFULLY out of the water. DO NOT TOUCH THE INSIDE OF THE JAR OR THE RIM WITH YOUR HANDS.
Ladle jelly into hot jars, place a lid and ring onto jar (do not tighten yet).
Set jars to the side. After a while you should start hearing “pings” as the jar seals.
When jars are completely cool, tighten rings and store on pantry shelf.**SIDE NOTE: Wild Mustang Grapes are normally ready the end of June, so be prepared. Keep an eye open for vines on the side of the road, or any that friends and family may have growing in their yard. Many people just let them grow and don’t do anything with them, so it shouldn’t be hard to find a good supply. Also, the more you pick off the vine, the more the vine produces new grapes, so you probably won’t EVER run out of grapes to use until the vine dies or you get sick of making jelly. Good luck and feel free to contact me at queensedgefarm@yahoo.com for questions.