My Story....or part of it ;-), plus reminders and advice

Recently, several family members and friends have confided in me the financial difficulties they are going through. None of us are immune to these circumstances, including myself.

I will be posting some advice on what I have used in the past to generate income, save money, and a reminder that if you aren't currently in financial straits, PLEASE start at least purchasing extra food. If you have food, it will take a great worry out of your mind, while you work on money for house payments, car payments.

Please check back here.....

I have a family member who loves to make excuses as to why they can't reduce their debt, or their outgoing bills. It is frustrating to me, because it is clearly not a case of "can't" but "won't". This is very annoying, because I then have to listen to complaints as to there not being enough money during the month. Please listen, there are NO excuses. Either you are willing to reduce your debt, buckle down, and take my advice or you aren't.

Let me tell you my story....

After our son was born in 1989, we had a huge pile of medical bills, totaling almost a half a million dollars. It was outrageous, and there was never any hope of ever being able to pay it off. I made $12K a year, and Rodney didn't make much more than that, and then he was out of work for 18 months. I paid each medical bill $5.00 a month, because that is all I could afford, and I acknowledge the debt was mine, but I wasn't going to beggar myself by paying huge monthly payments and not being able to afford food.

Shortly after Taylor was born, we made the decision to give up our nice apartment in San Antonio, and rent a small house on 20 acres. Our rent went from $275.00 a month to $170.00 a month (remember this was the late 80's, but this was still a big chunk of my pay check, as I only brought home right under $1,000 a month). After three years, we received a letter that let us know that a "benefactor" had paid off our outstanding hospital medical bills. I was shocked, and though I tried to find out who it was so that I could thank them in some small way, the hospital wouldn't tell me who it was. (I did later find out that many people donate money to the hospital for just these cases, and we happened to be one of the lucky ones. Praise God!)

When Taylor was three we bought our home, that was in 1992. We have lived here for 16 years, and it has had both it's ups and down. Even though Rodney and I both worked full time jobs, we had a hard time meeting our obligations. Neither one of us were taught how to budget. There were still about $30K in medical bills that weren't hospital related that we were still working on, and along with falling into the credit card trap, new vehicle trap, and poor record keeping on my part and the mortgage company's part, we soon were facing foreclosure on our home. We managed to provide receipts that showed we had paid payments, but it was a close thing.

In 1997, we declared Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. Because I believed in paying what I owed (Rodney didn't care either way, whatever I decided to do) I chose the Chapter 13 plan. During the proceedings I was asked what percentage that I wanted to pay back. Normally, most people pay about 70% of what they owe. I chose 100%. It was hard, and my entire pay check of $1800 a month was garnished.

During this time I found the Tightwad Gazettes, and entered into a new era of frugality. For five years we scaled back, so that we could live on one paycheck, while my paycheck was devoted to paying off a huge bankruptcy obligation. We cut out cable, internet, all but basic phone service, turned in our car, but kept the truck. I bought ZERO pre-packaged food, made everything from pizza to cookies, didn't use AC, used a wood stove for heat, used cloth diapers, breast fed, cooked, etc., all while holding down a full time job. Finally, we came to the end of our bankruptcy payoff, and our attorney (a Christian himself) congratulated us on being the only client to EVER pay 100% of their debt. He said he had many Christian clients, but they opted to do what was legal, and not biblical. He credits this obedience to Scripture for our financial picture today.

We are by no means bragging, nor are we rich. But the only debt we have is our mortgage. We have utilities, car insurance and food. In 2003, we had our third child, and because of our diligence in paying off our debt, I was able to stay home with this last child of ours. Rodney has received significant raises over the years, and currently brings home over $3K a month. Our monthly bills come out to a little under $1500, so we have sufficient money to put in savings, etc.

In August, my dad passed away, and I was left a little money to add to our savings. We have used this money, plus our savings to do a variety of things we have never been able to accomplish such as:

storing up enough food and miscellaneous supplies for a year
purchasing 10.5 acres
buying a tractor
fencing for land
a generator
paying off car
purchasing curriculum for next school year
building a barn
purchasing food animals (fish, rabbits, chickens, goats)
starting in Watkins and Avon (by the way when we move, this will be made a little more difficult, as I won't have Internet access, but will be using the libraries computer to keep up with orders, questions, email. This was not a necessity, but a want to see if I could make it pay. Haven't yet, but will work on that in the future.)

My entire point in relating this is that I know and understand hardships. I grew up in a family of five, so I know all about making things stretch, from clothes to food, and I know how to do without wants, disguised as necessities (eating out, car payments, cell phones, internet and more)

If you are in hard times, a few things that you can do is to:

- give blood (the blood bank pays a few bucks, enough for a little food)
- have a yard sale either at home, someone else's home or put things on craigslist or set up a Yahoo website with your "For Sale" stuff and post the link on craigslist.
- pawn valuables (jewlery, tools, electronics)
- cut off unnecessary utilities (be honest with yourself - cable, cell phones and internet are NOT necessities, no matter how you try to excuse it)
- give back the car you are paying payments on, your credit is pretty much shot by now, so it's not going to hurt anything
-stop living by your credit report, take care of your family FIRST
- sell excess books on Amazon.com
-DO NOT deposit any money into a bank account, this will just eat up any fees, judgments, etc., that are levied against you. Bite the bullet and pay the 1% that the grocery store or check cashing place will charge you. Better to pay $10.00 than lose $1,000. Go to a CASH ONLY system.

- Read the Tightwad Gazettes and ALL the books by Mary Hunt. (I didn't say buy, I said read, so dust off your library card, or if you are close, I'll lend you mine)

- Start cooking, dust off the cookbook. Only by basic ingredients, not pre-packaged.
- Breast feed
- Use ONLY cloth diapers (I have almost NO sympathy for a couple of family members with new borns, who have been complaining to me about the high cost of formula and diapers. I have the answer, but if you don't take the advice, you forfeit your right to complain to me. I AM NOT AN ENABLER, I AM A FIXER. IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE WAY I WANT TO FIX THINGS, GO TWO DOORS DOWN.)

A few websites to check out are: www.hillbillyhousewife.com, www.stretcher.com, www.cheapskatemonthly.com, www.angelfoodministries.com, and www.crown.org

Remember the the ONLY three things you need are: food, water, shelter; everything else is expendable, yes, even your car to get to work. It is ALWAYS possible to car pool or find another way. Think outside of the box. Keeping the three things you need in mind, set up your home to be able to withstand no electricity. Because if it comes down to only enough money for food or electricity, which will you choose. (It had better be the food).

So think, do you have enough food to get you through the month? If not, and you can afford it, make a list of the basics (don't know what these are, ask me) and go NOW, buy one month of basics and set it aside. Then go about your normal shopping, and when you buy a can of soup, buy an extra for your storage. Choose foods that don't need refrigeration (even cheese comes in types that need no refrigeration).

Do you have water? Start buying gallon jugs of water. You will need water to cook with and drink if you can't afford to pay the water bill. I am lucky and have a well, which has been handy at times that I couldn't afford to pay the city water bill. But if you don't have a well, there are plenty of places to bathe (this is when you are in desperate times) such as the YMCA, truck stops, gyms, rec centers, public pools have showers in the dressing/restroom area.

Do you have shelter? If you are lucky enough to be still in your home, thank God for the blessing. If you still are in a good financial situation, start working on setting aside money until you get one extra mortgage/rent payment. Having this one month extra, plus one month of food, can often buy you the time you need to get a job, or get out of a small financial mess.

If you are in danger of losing your home, start looking at yard sales, craigslist, or ask a friend if they have a tent. Texas state parks have campsites for $8 a night for four people. Just a thought, remember it, in case you need it. State parks are your friend (safe camping spots, showers, electricity, grills, picnic tables).

You may have heard all of this before, or this may be totally new to you. If so, start small. If you have problems knowing where to start, call or email me. I have helped MANY people get started. This normally entails looking at all your expenses and income, setting you up on a budget, and making SACRIFICES.

Everything may seem overwhelming right now, or just a little scary, but you CAN and WILL get through this time, but you will have to work at it, you will have to eat things you'd prefer not to.
The only thing of real value you stand to lose is your PRIDE. It's just not worth it, don't let it prevent you from asking for help, be it monetary, some place temporary to live, or advice. (Please, just be prepared to follow the advice, if sound, or don't ask.)

Columbus Day

I just wanted to share this photo with you. It's my dream home. (just kidding)
It's called a Hillbilly RV.

Happy Columbus Day! In observance of the holiday we took off homeschooling today. Tomorrow we will learn why.

On the schedule is to pick up the tags for the truck at the county seat, then drive Taylor to school. In the evening, my sister Ann and I are headed to my dad's former job to pick up his personal belongings and last check.

Now, that the hectic pace of summer is winding down, I wanted to encourage people to start stocking up and preparing for the winter, a natural disaster or worse. No, I am not crazy. I prepare mainly for natural disasters, with an eye on a bigger break down in society being plausible, if not possible.

Last year I made certain we had enough wood on the property. I didn't split and stack it, that was DS and DH jobs, but I did make sure I located it throughout the year and got it here.
I made sure we had enough food, mainly so I wouldn't have to go out in the cold, and that we had enough water on hand for three days or so. This came in handy when we had an ice storm. Everyone around me had trouble staying warm, but with our wood stove, we were fine. I even cooked our meals on it (normally soup or chili).

I know I am better prepared this year, though I do want to add more shelves to the pantry and stock up with at least a year's worth of food.

If you look back in my blog you can see where I took inventory of my pantry. I want to encourage you to do the same, and to take seriously the curve balls that life throws at us. Who knows what weather lies ahead this winter or what financial straits will pop up in the coming months. Having enough food on hand will take some stress off.

I try to encourage my extended family, but other than my inlaws (who lived during the depression, and the direct aftermath of the depression) no one takes me serious.

While I love my family, I am only prepping for my immediate family (myself and kids), everyone else is on their own. I can't provide for everyone, they need to provide for themselves, and not bother coming here, unless they come prepared.

Of all my family, I can only thing of one that would be an asset, and he is a hunter, the rest are too citified.

On my DH side, his parents would be useful, his brother too is an experienced hunter. My FIL is the greatest asset I know, but he is in his mid 70's, and it is hard dragging info from him. I wish I had a better relationship with him, so I could pick his brain. He grew up on a farm, was a sharecropper, hog farmer, in the military, and can fix or make just about anything. Along with my husband, we would be fine. If, we could band together. I don't really want to leave my home, as all my preps are here, and we are in better shape prep wise, but the inlaws have the land.

Okay, enough of a ramble....have a good night everyone.