The following is a story about how my little town in central Illinois was changed forever!
On Saturday evening November 16, 2013 I was deciding whether or not to go to church in the morning. I had heard we were supposed to be getting some storms and since my husband wasn't feeling well I didn't know if I wanted to take all three boys to church in the rain by myself. So when I woke up Sunday morning I saw that the weather was fine, no rain, almost cloudless sky. So I packed up the kids headed to church while my husband stayed home.
Church let out at about 10:30 I went and picked up all three kiddos and headed out to the parking lot to go home. I left my church at about 10:45 am, and was planning on going to take back some movies to the video store. (Later I found out that the tornado struck my church parking lot at about 10:50 am). About the time I get to an intersection, which is where I could either go straight and head home or turn to take some back roads to the video store, was when I got a message on my phone. The message stated that there was a weather emergency and to take cover. I had never seen this type of message before and just thought it was my weather app on the phone, a few seconds after that alert the radio weather alert kicked in and began stating there was a tornado warning for a few counties over. It also said that the expected arrival of the storm in my town was 11:05 am, it was now 10:55 am.
About this same time I receive a phone call from my brother, who lives about 45 minutes away and he was telling me what was coming and to take shelter. My response to him was I am driving as fast as I can to get home. I was still headed towards the video store to return my movies.
Since I have lived in Central Illinois my whole life I am used to tornado watches and warnings being issued, and usually I can spot in the sky when its about to happen. That day was not the case, this storm came so fast and so strong it was nothing I had ever seen before. The sky was clear, there was no rain or anything! Then all of a sudden black sky!
After hanging up with my brother I try to call my husband at home to let him know what I was doing. By the time I got to a stop light about a half mile from the video store, it was dark and beginning to rain. While driving down the road towards the video store I was watching the sky and began to see the rotation begin in the clouds. I ran into the video store and threw the movies in, jumped back into the car and the power goes out and hail begins. In hindsight I should have stayed at the video store and rode out the storm. But I decided to try to get home. I go speeding down the road towards town and all the while watching to my right now as the tornado is forming. I get to another stop light and can see the huge mass of a tornado getting closer and closer to where my boys and I were in the van. It was at this point that I begin praying and asking God for wisdom to know what to do, I was scared to death!
I suddenly stop the car and turn around because I was getting ready to drive right into the oncoming tornado. I go flying through some parking lots and it starts pouring rain, almost to the point I couldn't see where I was driving. In my rearview mirror I am watching the tornado, all of a sudden it looks as though its going to turn and come back, but it moves on.
We sit at the shopping center for a few minutes and then I decide its time to get home. I head back to the road that I was on before, only to get stopped because of downed power lines. On the side of the road are about 3 cars with window busted out. Its at that moment I realize had I kept driving another 30 seconds I would have been right in the middle of the tornado! And had I stayed put and not turned around we could have had debris flying into our car! God totally answered my prayer for wisdom and told me to get out of there!
After several attempts to get ahold of my husband at home to let him know we were ok, I was finally able to get through. It also took me several attempts to find a road that was passable. Driving down the highway all I could see was places where houses once stood, and debris filled fields! Siding, mattresses, couch cushions, books, and papers. Driving through town to get back to my house, which was fine and my side of town was untouched, there were people standing out in front of their houses with unsure looks on their faces. I finally reached my house and was so shaken up I had a hard time getting out of the car!
I am so thankful that I had the wisdom to turn my car around and that we were unharmed! Later I found out that about 250-500 homes in my town were damaged or leveled. Still later I found out that I know 5 of them. Through it all there was only one person who died, and only a handful of injuries. Thankfully people heeded the warnings and sirens and took shelter. Most in my town were either at church or getting ready to sit down and watch a football game.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Friday, November 8, 2013
Living Frugally
Lets talk frugal living. My family has not always been a frugal family, in fact my husband and I went through a phase of not really monitoring what we were spending. Over the past few years we have slowly been redirecting our view of money. It started as a way to get out of debt, and now has become our way of life. So today I am going to share what we have been doing to save money and be better stewards of what God has blessed us with.
First of all I already shared how we live on a tight budget. How do we make that work? We use what is referred to as the Envelope System. We use cash for most things in our monthly spending. Bills are paid online as much as possible and we still use the debit card for gas (mostly for convince sake). Groceries, clothing, gifts, and eating out are all cash based. That way if we run out of cash then we don't spend it. Period. End of story! This has helped us greatly in getting our budget under control.
I also try to buy used when ever possible. I shop garage sales, second hand stores, and ask around before buying new. I have found some great deals just by asking friends on Facebook. I have gotten coats for my kids, a dresser for my bedroom, and even curriculum! You just never know who might be holding onto something they really don't want and that you could use. So never underestimate the power of asking! I am also very fortunate that I have 3 boys, and I can hand clothes down. I also have a very generous mother in law that loves to buy clothes for them. So its not too often that I have to worry about clothing my children.
I don't drive needlessly around places. I try to run errands on one day of the week, and plan play dates or field trips along with running errands. With the price of gas I just can't afford to be wasteful.
We don't buy paper products like napkins or paper towels. Those are too expensive especially when we have towels that work just as well. I buy generic about 98% of the time, there are a few things that I just really like the name brand, so we "splurge" and get that.
My husband and I also talk over purchases before spending. If I want to get a pair of shoes for the boys, we talk about it first, that cuts down on the impulse buying. There have been countless times I have called my hubby from the store to ask about something, and he has talked me out of it. Thankfully too, because it would have put us over budget!
We have cut out our cable and shopped around for a cheaper internet. We have a monthly subscription to Netflix and that keeps the kids happy. Our cell phones are piggy backed onto my parents, so we spend less on those. I am the only one who has a smart phone, my poor hubby is still carrying his trusty old flip phone.
My final bit of advice if you are trying to live a frugal life... If you can't afford it, don't have cash to pay for it, then don't buy it!! That montra has saved us countless times!
First of all I already shared how we live on a tight budget. How do we make that work? We use what is referred to as the Envelope System. We use cash for most things in our monthly spending. Bills are paid online as much as possible and we still use the debit card for gas (mostly for convince sake). Groceries, clothing, gifts, and eating out are all cash based. That way if we run out of cash then we don't spend it. Period. End of story! This has helped us greatly in getting our budget under control.
I also try to buy used when ever possible. I shop garage sales, second hand stores, and ask around before buying new. I have found some great deals just by asking friends on Facebook. I have gotten coats for my kids, a dresser for my bedroom, and even curriculum! You just never know who might be holding onto something they really don't want and that you could use. So never underestimate the power of asking! I am also very fortunate that I have 3 boys, and I can hand clothes down. I also have a very generous mother in law that loves to buy clothes for them. So its not too often that I have to worry about clothing my children.
I don't drive needlessly around places. I try to run errands on one day of the week, and plan play dates or field trips along with running errands. With the price of gas I just can't afford to be wasteful.
We don't buy paper products like napkins or paper towels. Those are too expensive especially when we have towels that work just as well. I buy generic about 98% of the time, there are a few things that I just really like the name brand, so we "splurge" and get that.
My husband and I also talk over purchases before spending. If I want to get a pair of shoes for the boys, we talk about it first, that cuts down on the impulse buying. There have been countless times I have called my hubby from the store to ask about something, and he has talked me out of it. Thankfully too, because it would have put us over budget!
We have cut out our cable and shopped around for a cheaper internet. We have a monthly subscription to Netflix and that keeps the kids happy. Our cell phones are piggy backed onto my parents, so we spend less on those. I am the only one who has a smart phone, my poor hubby is still carrying his trusty old flip phone.
My final bit of advice if you are trying to live a frugal life... If you can't afford it, don't have cash to pay for it, then don't buy it!! That montra has saved us countless times!
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
How I Feed My Family of 5 on a Tight Budget
Today I am going to share a little about how we save money on our grocery bill every month.
Our budget it super tight, we spend around $350 a month for the five of us. That includes toiletries and such. First thing that I did over a year ago was to stop buying paper products. I no long spend half my budget on paper towels or napkins! We use kitchen towels to clean up spills and we use cloth napkins at the dinner table.
I also make my own laundry detergent, I use this recipe here. It says it will last a family of four a year, I made my first batch in June and I am going to need to make another one in December. So even though it didn't last quite as long as I had hoped it really is still a cost savings for us to spend about $30 to last us 6 months.
Another way I spend less at the grocery store is making a monthly menu. We get paid every two weeks, so that is when I do my grocery shopping. I only buy enough to last the two weeks, so menu planning is a MUST for me. Our menu also does not consist of fancy food. We eat meatloaf, sloppy joes, tacos, spaghetti, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, and right now LOTS of homemade soup! Yes I know not the healthiest menu, but our budget is tight and I try to fix foods my kids will eat so we don't waste!
When making my soups I fill the crock pot full and make it stretch! Meaning I might add a little extra water to it. One crockpot full of soup will give us at least 3-4 meals. So we eat it once then I freeze the rest into 2-3 containers. So at no extra cost I have extra meals ready to go in my freezer! I plan those into the menu for that month or the next as well.
My favorite "secret" weapon right now... ALDI! That place is awesome for saving money. I was a total skeptic for a long time, because I couldn't do everything in one place. Until recently I would have had to drive an extra 20 minutes to another town to go to Aldi. Last year though one opened up right next door to our Wal-Mart! Do you think I went right away, nope! It wasn't until this summer after begin convinced by friends to at least try it. And you know what, its awesome! I can get a full cart with about 2 weeks worth of food for $80! Where at Wal-Mart I was spending at least $100 or more just on food! If you have yet to try Aldi, I urge you to at least try a few things. There has only been a handful of items that we have not cared for, but everything else there has been great.
I don't coupon, I don't look at add because quite frankly... Aint nobody got time for that!!!
What does your family do to save money? I am always looking for new ways to improve my grocery savings, and I would love to hear from you.
Our budget it super tight, we spend around $350 a month for the five of us. That includes toiletries and such. First thing that I did over a year ago was to stop buying paper products. I no long spend half my budget on paper towels or napkins! We use kitchen towels to clean up spills and we use cloth napkins at the dinner table.
I also make my own laundry detergent, I use this recipe here. It says it will last a family of four a year, I made my first batch in June and I am going to need to make another one in December. So even though it didn't last quite as long as I had hoped it really is still a cost savings for us to spend about $30 to last us 6 months.
Another way I spend less at the grocery store is making a monthly menu. We get paid every two weeks, so that is when I do my grocery shopping. I only buy enough to last the two weeks, so menu planning is a MUST for me. Our menu also does not consist of fancy food. We eat meatloaf, sloppy joes, tacos, spaghetti, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, and right now LOTS of homemade soup! Yes I know not the healthiest menu, but our budget is tight and I try to fix foods my kids will eat so we don't waste!
When making my soups I fill the crock pot full and make it stretch! Meaning I might add a little extra water to it. One crockpot full of soup will give us at least 3-4 meals. So we eat it once then I freeze the rest into 2-3 containers. So at no extra cost I have extra meals ready to go in my freezer! I plan those into the menu for that month or the next as well.
My favorite "secret" weapon right now... ALDI! That place is awesome for saving money. I was a total skeptic for a long time, because I couldn't do everything in one place. Until recently I would have had to drive an extra 20 minutes to another town to go to Aldi. Last year though one opened up right next door to our Wal-Mart! Do you think I went right away, nope! It wasn't until this summer after begin convinced by friends to at least try it. And you know what, its awesome! I can get a full cart with about 2 weeks worth of food for $80! Where at Wal-Mart I was spending at least $100 or more just on food! If you have yet to try Aldi, I urge you to at least try a few things. There has only been a handful of items that we have not cared for, but everything else there has been great.
I don't coupon, I don't look at add because quite frankly... Aint nobody got time for that!!!
What does your family do to save money? I am always looking for new ways to improve my grocery savings, and I would love to hear from you.
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