126 Meals for $30

I thought this was a great video to share with you all, in case you are going to possibly be without work due to the coronavirus closures and need frugal meal ideas.  This lady fed her family of 6 for a week on $30 and she shows you exactly what to buy and each and every meal of the week how to make it!



Here is another video from another family of 7 that did 126 Meals for $50 - https://youtu.be/j75tMn8B3t0

Meal Planning & Shopping for the Month

We used to shop weekly, then we went to biweekly and now we do monthly grocery shopping.  We do make a trip to the local store whenever we need bananas or salad but everything else is bought once a month at Aldi and Kroger.  I made a meal plan for 4 weeks and then I go through the recipes and make a list and check it with what we have on hand.  Here is the menu for this 4-week period, which is January 18th - February 14th.

I like to do a big casserole on Saturday and have the leftovers (L/O) on Sunday.  Fridays are pizza days, frozen or homemade.  I like to have a Mexican night on Tuesdays and then a meatless night once a week, either vegetarian meal or breakfast for dinner meal.  We only eat red meat once a week, unless we have a kielbasa meal.  On days we have appointments that may keep us out for a few hours, I don't plan a meal to cook; we eat out.  It is just less stress for me that way!  A lot of the meals are very easy, instant pot meals.

For breakfast and lunches we do oatmeal, burritos, PB bread, protein bars, quesadillas, tacos and whatever else we crave depending upon the month.  Snacks are fruits, vegetables, string cheese, nuts/seeds, PB, homemade muffins/breads/cakes, tortilla chips, bean dip, etc.

We spend $360 a month on groceries, mostly all food but I do buy some non-food items like paper plates, ziplock bags, hand soap and napkins.  Soap, shampoo, toilet paper and all those type toiletry items and vitamins/supplements, we have a separate budget for called our "necessities", and it doesn't come out of the $360 we spend on groceries.

Clever Fox Cash Envelope System

I was using plain, cheap white envelopes for cash purchases but I was tired of them tearing and getting all bent up in my purse!  I came across these from Clever Fox and I absolutely love them!  They're waterproof, tear proof and hold their shape very well and even come with budget sheets and a zippered bag to keep them in.

We just started going back to using a debit card and cash envelopes after I got tired of being a paycheck behind on paying bills.  Although we paid off our credit card twice a month, I just kept having stress about it not being money we actually had that 2 week period.  Some months I would spend more and be stressed if we would get enough to pay it off.  I never paid a dime of interest.  I also have received over $2,000 in cash rewards since having the credit card but at what cost?  I may get $50 back a month but it's so much easier to overspend when using a credit card - so it wasn't helping!

Now, we only spend what's in the bank and we only use cash for local purchases like food, gas, etc.  It is less stressful and I actually think it's fun to do the envelopes lol.  Even the kids take part by stuffing the envelopes.

Here are the categories I have cash envelopes for, although I only use the first 6 categories regularly.  The others are occasionally or hopefully one day categories.

Cash Envelope Categories

Offering

Food

Gas (Car)

Haircuts

Necessities

Misc.

Home Maintenance

Car Maintenance

Homeschool

Medical

Entertainment

Clothing
Gifts

My White Bread Recipe Using Bosch Mixer

The Frugal Addict's White Bread

• 1.5 Tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup raw honey
• 2 3/4 cups warm water
• 6 cups unbleached flour
• 1.5 Teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup Canola oil

In the Bosch mixer, put the yeast, water and honey and let sit for 5 minutes.

Add in 3 cups of flour evenly around on top of the water mixture.  Then, add oil and salt evenly around on top of the flour.

With lid on, turn the Bosch mixer on to the first setting and let it incorporate the flour into the water.  Continue adding flour until the dough licks the sides clean.

Turn up to highest setting of 3 and let knead for 4-5 minutes.

Remove dough from Bosch onto a floured surface and divide dough in half.  Place each half in a greased bread pan and press down.

Warm oven for a minute or 2 to just get it warm, then turn off.  Place both bread pans with dough in oven and let rise for 45 minutes or until the dough is 1/2 inch above the pans.  Then, bake for 30 minutes at 350.  Remove pans from oven and then bread from the pans and let cool.

Update On Food Costs; Baking Bread; Freezer

We did it for a week on $65 for groceries and it was so stressful and not fun at all, so we quickly reverted back to our $90 a week plan with a sigh of relief.  I'm still not giving up though on striving to spend less on groceries despite all the food sensitivities.  I started baking my own bread again after learning about Calcium Propionate.   They put propionate in most bread products to preserve it and scientists now believe it is possibly being the CAUSE of Autism.  Not only is it that they possibly found the cause of Autism but they already KNOW that this stuff damages our brain - so why in the world are they putting it in bread products!?  After reading the facts about it, I could no longer give it to my children, much less myself and my husband!  So, I started baking bread again like I used to years ago and you know what, it is really easy and tastes a lot better anyway.  We were spending about $16 a month on bread, now, after accounting for cost of ingredients, we are only spending somewhere in the ballpark of $8 a month.

We purchased a small freezer and stocked up to cut our Aldi shopping trips down to twice a month, instead of weekly.  Aldi is about 20-25 minutes away and going there, shopping and coming back is tedious every week.  Kroger is just down the road, so we decided to get our fresh vegetables there and other things and save Aldi for bi-monthly trips.  We stocked up the freezer with frozen pizza, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, kielbasa, beef and chicken, vegetables, fruit and some other misc. things.

$90 a Week Groceries for a Family of 4

Since I'm starting a $250 a month challenge for May, I decided to do a post showing how we have been feeding our family of 4 on $360 a month - $90 a week.  This is our most recent week, what we spent, purchased and what we ate.  I plan meals for Saturday through Friday, so we are actually in the middle of this week that I'm sharing.  We do stockpile as we can when there is a good sale and it all evens out because some weeks we don't spend the whole $90.

I made some homemade hummus, blueberry muffins and then will also be making boiled eggs for snacks, granola bars, health balls and a few other things.

Dinner Meals

Easter dinner at church (Free)
Chicken w/Noodles & Mixed Vegetables (Crockpot)
Pasta Fagioli (Instant Pot)
Beef & Bean Burrito Bowls (Instant Pot)
Coconut Chicken & Rice (Instant Pot)
Red Beans & Rice (Instant Pot)
Pizza

We utilized what we had in our pantry, some things like coconut milk in my fridge, I wanted to use up, so I found a recipe to use it in.  The Pizza is not a recipe - it's a cheap pizza from Aldi's frozen section and one I don't eat because I can't do heavy tomato meals like pizza often.  You can see that I LOVE to cook with my Instant Pot!  Not only is the food so delicious but it is so fast and easy clean-up as well.


Here's what we purchased from Aldi and Kroger for this week:
  
Aldi

At Aldi, we got frozen broccoli, turkey and beef uncured hot dogs, frozen pizza, whipped cream cheese, uncured turkey sandwich slices, uncured ham sandwich slices, frozen corndogs, yogurt, 1/2 gallon organic whole milk, pasta, egg noodles, head of cauliflower, organic apple juice, condensed cream of chicken (stockup), can diced tomatoes, pickles, cookies, granola bars, crushed red pepper flakes (stockup), Coconut cashew snack, ranch dressing, pretzels, bread and bagels.  We also purchased non-grocery items of zip bags and napkins.


Kroger

At Kroger, we got organic apples, bananas, organic onions, Dr. Pepper (My bad), Soymilk, Burritos and Cheezit's that my daughter begged for.  Because we did U-Scan and spent $35, we got $5 off - so basically the Cheezits were free and then some.  I don't normally spend that much for the Dr. Pepper but I had run out and it wasn't on sale.  I also don't normally buy organic onions but that is all they had and I was kicking myself for not getting the onions at Aldi for $1.49.  We stocked up on the burritos because we all have been having more of them for snacks.  I've tried to wean of us that but they are so convenient and quick and taste good.

So all together we spent $83.60 but we also purchased (not shown), 4 2-liters of soda for our Easter dinner at church, so right under $90 for this past week.

Is $250 a Month Groceries for a Family of 4 Possible in 2019?

We have been very loose with our grocery budgeting since moving to Ohio but we tightened it up last year and started saving money easily.  Now, we spend $360 a month to feed our family of 4 (no babies or toddlers - teenager and a hearty 6yr old snacker).  That is $90 a week and we eat good.  However, I heard that a lot of families, even families of 6 - are making it on $250 a month!  I'm wanting to see if this is possible for us.

Since I started not being able to eat tomato products a few years ago, it became very difficult to cut our grocery budget.  Up until my health problem with tomatoes, we were easily making it on $150-$200 a month groceries because tomato-based meals (spaghetti, etc.) are very cheap to make.  Most of the frugal meal plans across the internet that I came across always had tomato-based meals most days of the week.  So, it has been a process to find cheap meals minus most tomato products!  I do still make meals with some tomato products in them, if they are very minimal but most of the time, I don't eat them but my family does.

Having gave that caveat - let's find out in this month of May, if it is truly possible to for a family of 4 like us (with food/health issues) to eat on $250 a month!

Families Benefit from Tax Plan

I was playing around with some numbers on the new drafted tax forms from the IRS for this coming tax season of 2018.  It is pretty amazing how great Trump's new tax plan from last year is for families.  It is especially great for families with more than 3 kids but those with 2 kids will also find great savings.

For the typical family of 4, that includes 2 children, you actually will pay NO federal tax at all until your household income reaches $60K.  Then, for every $5K after that, you will pay on average $600 or 12% as shown below.  However, if you go into the next tax bracket past $78,950, your tax increases to 22%.

2-dependent child tax credit households making:

$60,000 and below = NO federal income tax owed
$65,000 = $600
$70,000 = $1200
$75,000 = $1800

If you have a 3rd child, you may even qualify for an additional child tax credit, which means the government will actually PAY you for having that child despite you not paying a dime in federal income tax.  Some may say that isn't fair but it is!  By having children, you are helping the government by adding another taxpayer.  It is great the government is finally giving back - oh, thanks to Marco Rubio who added this child tax credit increase at the last minute before the bill passed.

It isn't all roses, even though you may not pay federal income tax, you still must pay about 13% in other taxes:

• Social Security tax - 6.2% of income
• Medicare tax - 1.45% of income
• State Income Tax - Ohio's is 2.6% on most families
• City Income Tax - if you live in a state that taxes the city you work in, you pay up to 2.5% of income
• School Tax - again, if you live in a district that taxes you, you pay average of 1% of income tax

So for a family making close to $60K - you may pay upwards of $7,800 in other income taxes.


*Averages are based upon a typical one income earner, married filing jointly, with W2 wages only and no contributions to HSA, retirement, etc.  Calculation short list: Income - $24,000 standard deduction = taxable income; tax - child tax credits of $4,000 for 2 children = 0 tax owed

How to Evaluate Health Insurance Plans

As a homemaker you manage your home, and I believe this includes the budgeting and researching for what is needed, such as health insurance.  I wanted to help by showing you how I evaluate which plan overall would not only save the most, but in my opinion, be well worth the "risk."

Let's take 4 plans offered by a large employer.  You have the highest plan known as the PPO generally, which has the highest premium but lowest deductible and offers copays along with coinsurance.  Next, is the step-down plan, which costs a bit less in premiums but the deductible is higher.  Then, there is usually a third plan that is the lowest premium but highest deductible.  However, since Obamacare, a lot of employers have started offering high-deductible plans, which is the 4th one I'm going to share.  This plan has a very low premium but a very high deductible.

1. PPO Plan - $9,300/yr premium, $775/month; $2,000 deductible with copays ($30 doctor visit, etc.) and 20% coinsurance.  Yearly family maximum is $12,500.
2. Plan #2 - $6,200/yr premium, $517/month; $4,000 deductible with 20% coinsurance.  Yearly family maximum is $7,000.
3. Plan #3 - $4600/yr premium, $383/month; $6,000 deductible with 30% coinsurance.  Yearly maximum is $9,000
4. HDD Plan - $3,000/yr premium, $250/month; $10,000 deductible with 40% coinsurance.  Yearly family maximum is $12,500.

Let's consider a medical emergency happens of $10,000 total for the year for this family.  Here is what they will pay with each plan.  I include the premiums in the total cost but that is exactly HOW you should calculate your costs - what is it really costing you all year?

1. PPO Plan: $9,300 premium + $3,600 ($2,000 deductible + $1,600 (20% of $8,000)) = $12,900
2. Plan #2:  $6,200 premium + $6,200 ($4,000 deductible + $1,200 (20% of $6,000)) = $11,400
3. Plan #3: $4,600 premium + $7,200 ($6,000 deductible + $1,200 (30% of 4,000)) = $11,800
4. HDD Plan: $3,000 premium + $10K ($10,000 deductible +$0 (Nothing covered))    = $13,000

You can see the cheapest plan for a $10K emergency is Plan #2.  But we aren't done evaluating yet!  Most employers will give you money for medical bills in your HSA and it varies depending upon what plan you go with.  The HDD plan gets the MOST money from your employer of any other plan as you will see here:

1. PPO Plan: $12,900 yearly cost - NO employer HSA donation = $12,900
2. Plan #2: $11,400 yearly cost - $400 Employer HSA donation = $11,000
3. Plan #3: $11,800 yearly cost - $600 Employer HSA donation = $11,200
4. HDD Plan: $13,000 yearly cost - $1,000 Employer HSA donation = $12,000

Those are your true numbers to compare!  If you expect a $10,000 emergency, then go with the cheapest (Plan #2), however if you don't know what you will spend or if you will spend any at all, go with the HDD Plan as it is by far worth the risk.  It won't cost too much more than the other plans in the event of $10,000 medical emergency and it will save you thousands of dollars if you don't end up having any medical costs because you are paying a low premium!!


Here is another comparison - take the yearly premium plus the family maximum for each to see worst-case scenarios:

1. PPO Plan - $9,300 premium + $12,500 maximum = $21,800
2. Plan #2 - $6,200 premium + $7,000 maximum - $400 HSA donation = $12,800
3. Plan #3 - $4,600 premium + $9,000 maximum - $600 HSA donation = $13,000
4. HDD Plan - $3,000 premium + $12,500 maximum - $1,000 HSA donation = $14,500

Clearly, the PPO plan is a joke and takes most of your money, yet it is the most commonly chosen plan - go figure!  Plan #2, is your best worst-case scenario plan if you know surgery or something is coming up.

Take Care of Your 4 Walls

If you have listened to Dave Ramsey for any amount of time, you have heard about the 4 walls.  He recommends you take care of your 4 walls before anything else - always making sure you have your 4 walls!  What are the 4 walls?

1. Food 
2. Shelter
3. Transportation
4. Clothing

I had always put food and clothing on the back burner in place of other things because those were usually the areas that we could save in.  However, after listening to people's stories and those who didn't tend to these things FIRST, I have changed my thoughts on it.  I wanted to go into detail about each to help you all in case you haven't heard of this before.


1.  Food - this includes enough food for your entire family to live on each month.  I believe it also includes things like toilet paper, soap, etc.  The basics - not extras or luxuries.

2.  Shelter - this includes your housing and utilities.   If you have a mortgage, it also includes your property taxes and homeowner's insurance.  If you don't own a home, it includes rent and renter's insurance.  Then, it also includes electric/gas, water/sewer and garbage and non-luxury phone.

3.  Transportation - This is includes gas, car insurance and maintenance of your vehicle.

4.  Clothing - includes basic clothing needs, such as: clothing, shoes, socks, etc.


Dave Ramsey says to make sure you the 4 walls are funded and paid BEFORE paying anything else, such as credit cards or other debts or non-basic expenses.

Just Making It Budget for Family of 4

Times are getting hard for a lot of "former" middle class families, now considered lower class, despite the economy going so well.  I've been reading it and hearing it in various places.  I'm talking about families that are living on one income already without luxuries.  Incomes aren't going up for a lot, though the prices of everything is, especially health care.

I decided to do a no-frills, no government assistance, just-make-it budget for a typical family of 4 on one income to see just what the base salary needs to be.  This family has no debt but the mortgage possibly.  They also have no life insurance, though some say you can get it for $10 a month, which could be easily added in.  

Tithe - $260
Offerings - $50
Housing (rent or mortgage/prop taxes/HO insurance) - $1000
Car Maintenance/Repair Fund - $90
Car Insurance - $50
Gasoline - $150
Home phone - FREE (Google Voice with Obihai)
Cell phone - $25 (Google Project Fi)
Additional Cell phone line - $15
Electric/Gas - $175
Water/Sewer - $30
Garbage - $30
Internet - $50
Food - $350
Necessity items - $50
Clothing - $30

Total:  $2,355/mo - Higher to cover taxes, so $15 an hour needed; $31,200/yr, $2,600/mo

A good wage for a family really needs to be at $15 an hour and no less to just live.  I didn't include health insurance because a lot are already going without.  Families that live at this level, would need to get government assistance for medical if they want to be covered, as it has become too outrageous for almost anyone to afford.

This budget includes no entertainment/fun money, eating out or other things that most of us do.  I suppose you could find a very cheap place to live to lower the housing and provide extra money that way but the norm around the US is about $1K for something decent - whether that is mortgage/taxes/insurance for a home or rent costs.

After seeing this written out, you can see what a lot of people are facing right now.  There are those that will cut out the tithe/offering but they will soon find out that you can't rob God and expect good things to come!  God has never failed in the 19 years I've paid tithe and offerings and never withheld!  It is HIS money to begin with - he lets you have 90%, please don't think your thoughts are higher than what God has established with our finances.

Update - Food Budget and Meals

Food Budget
It has been a very long time since I've shared about our food budget and meal plans.  We spend more money on food here in Ohio than we did in Washington and that isn't due to prices, that is due to my daughter eating a ton of food and my son eating almost as much!  Our current food budget is $350 a month and I would really like to get it below $300 but it works for right now.

We do most of our shopping at Aldi.  We didn't have an Aldi in Washington but I had heard about it over the years from others on the East Coast.  We have several in our area of Ohio and not only are the prices very cheap, but the products are mostly natural, without additives, etc.  I also get a few items at Kroger and a handful of items, like toiletries, at Walmart and Amazon.  I shop once a week and I no longer freezer cook, as I don't believe it is healthy anymore.  My Amazon and Walmart orders are shipped, but once in a while I may actually go into Walmart, but I try and stay away because I will find too much at Walmart that we don't really need.

I pay 98 cents a gallon for milk - yep, it is nice and cheap here!  Eggs are 48 cents a dozen and cheese is cheap too.  Potatoes are more expensive than what we paid in Washington, as are apples, but everything else is cheaper here in Ohio.

Meals
I've been using different meals and trying new ones.  I found several that we like from a mom of 8 kids, that only spends $350 for her family (WOWZER!).  Her meals are delicious so far, you can find a lot on her blog.  My favorites from her are the puffed pancake (I add 1/2t cinnamon, tastes like french toast but SO easy to make!!) and chicken stew.

Some of our recent meals:

Macaroni & Cheese with Hot Dog slices - 5qt dish full lasts 2 days
Tacos - I add a can of refried beans to stretch them
Homemade pizza
Chicken Stew
Beans & Rice in Instapot
Baked "Fried" chicken
Cheeseburger Helper
Manicotti
Kielbasa, Potato and Green Beans
Red Beans & Rice with Sausage
Turkey skillet with Green Beans

Our breakfast, lunches and snacks consist of:

Oatmeal
Eggs or egg sandwiches
Puffed Pancakes
Fruit & veggies/hummus
Boiled eggs
Burritos
Chips & Salsa
Trail Mix
PBJ
Yogurt & Granola
Cereal

Home Ownership is More Than a Mortgage!

We have been homeowners for 1 1/2 years now and I'm learning all the time!  Having rented since I was 17 years old (that's 19 years of renting!), I would have to say that it IS far better to have a home than rent.  You look at things differently and you treat things differently because it is YOURS.  No, it isn't necessarily "yours" until you pay the mortgage off but for this post, I will say "owning" a home.  When you own your home, you have to fix things and that is new for us.  We were so used to someone else taking care of all of that when we rented.  I had no idea how much things cost or what goes in to maintaining a home and property.

We had a list of things that we needed to fix when we bought the home and well, we still have that list.  I really hope we can get it all completed this summer and most of it done ourselves.  However, there a few things we're not willing to kill our backs over, so we are going to pay for those to be done.  This is things like pulling up entire hedges - I'm NOT a hedge/plant person!  I like things very simple and clean and low-maintenance.

The other things we need fixed or replaced are things like:  shower re-caulking, new sink faucet in master bathroom, door seals replaced, sliding door track fixed, holes in siding either patched or replaced, french drain installed on side of house that has standing water next to foundation when it rains, repairing patio concrete cracks, power-washing concrete walkways/patio, etc.  You get the idea - a lot of things but not huge expenses, though the french drain might end up costing a bit.  I really would love to do DIY posts on these as we go through our checklist and get them done.

When you plan on buying a home, don't just plan on money for the mortgage.  Plan on money for insurance, property taxes, a home warranty (American Home Shield is best), maintenance and repairs and even saving for big-ticket expenses like a roof.  If you plan for those things, you will find that owning a home is a joy, instead of a nightmare.  Also, keep up on the maintenance and fix things as they happen.  That way you never have a long list of things to do!

Our home value has gone up $25,000 in just 1 1/2 years!  We already got a letter saying they have a buyer for our home if we want to sell.  Our neighbor sold their house before they even listed it.  The price of homes are some of the highest, if not the highest, they have ever been.  One thing a lot of people don't think about when they buy a home, is when the value goes up, so does the property taxes.  Ours have risen dramatically and we didn't plan for that, so make sure you consider that the property tax is variable from year-to-year.

To summarize, here is a list of what to consider when buying a home, besides the mortgage: 

• Property Taxes - expect they will go up yearly
• Homeowner's Insurance
• Home Warranty - covers appliances, HVAC, plumbing, electric, etc.
• Maintenance costs
• Repairs
• Big-ticket Items Savings

Let's Talk Life Insurance

In my Financial series, I talked about the importance of having insurance, especially health, but life insurance is another one of the crucial insurances to have.  A husband that doesn't provide life insurance for his family must not care for his family's future because in the event of his death, he has left them with nothing.  A Godly husband will make sure his family is taken care of in the present and future - especially upon his death, right?  If he doesn't, he is knowingly leaving them with no financial security and a life of hardship upon his death - that just doesn't sit well with me.  This is my opinion of course but in reality - all husband's plan for their family's future upon his death - he either plans for them to have something or he plans for them to have nothing! 

What kind of life insurance should you buy?  Only term life insurance is a good investment, anyone that tells you different is probably trying to sell you whole life insurance or they have been duped by it and are too afraid to admit the truth.  Term life insurance guarantees for a specific term - whether it is, 10, 15 or 30 years.  If you have health problems, it will cost more, so a wise way to purchase life insurance is when you are young and healthy.  Here is a scenario for a family starting at age 20:

Age 20 - purchase 15-year term life insurance

Age 35 - purchase 30-year term life insurance, which will cover you up until retirement age of 65

If you follow the above plan, you will probably get the best rates and you will be covered until retirement age of 65.  You don't need life insurance after 65 if you prepared ahead of time by investing in retirement.  If you didn't invest and have little or no retirement - well, get ready to fork over a good chunk of your pay for life insurance because it will cost a lot at age 65.  The goal is to insure with life insurance until retirement and then live off your retirement, which will be yours and your wife's end-of-life living.

Most healthy adults can get the standard rates but if you want preferred plus rates, you will need to make sure you are in optimal health before applying.  I recommend before your renewal at age 35 in the scenario above, that you do several things to ensure you get the preferred plus rate.  Why?  Well, preferred plus will save you a substantial amount of money and lock in that rate for 30 years!  You will save on average $10,000 by just being in optimal health and qualifying for the preferred plus rate.

Follow these tips to have a good chance at getting the preferred plus rate:

1. Pray - believe me as we know from experience - GOD CAN DO ANYTHING!!!
2. Be at a normal weight for your height - if you aren't, strive to get there before applying or at least make sure you are within a few pounds over
3. Go on a low-salt, vegetarian diet a week or two before your exam - this will ensure, in most cases, a lower blood pressure and good blood sugar results
4. Cut out stress well in advance of your exam - stress can raise not only your blood pressure but other important things in your blood which could prevent you from getting a preferred plus rate
5. Get a lot of sleep the night before - sleep as much as you can (9+ hours) before your exam, this really does make a difference in all your blood results and BP

Buy from a reputable, long-standing company that has a good chance of being around in 30 or so years.   A lot of people realized in the past financial crisis, that their "cheap" life insurance was not worth it as they lost their policies when their life insurance companies failed.  I would recommend spending slightly more for a good company that won't likely fail - preferably a mutually-owned company.

Some may wonder how much should you invest in for life insurance?  If you are starting out in your 20's, you could think of it one or two different ways.  You could say, well, I'm young and I probably won't die before we renew our next policy at 35, so I will go with a low amount now.  Then, when you reach 35, raise it to a level that suits your family's needs.  Or you might say that you want to ensure as much as you can since your wife and kids will be left alone for many years, so you will get a large policy.  Some men, don't want their wives to ever think about working, so you will need to purchase a large policy.  Others, just want the house and bills paid and then the wife will find a job in a few years, so they will choose a lower amount.  It is up to the husband and wife but I think the best option is for the policy to ensure the wife will never have to worry about money or working and so she isn't a burden to her children.

Policies usually range from as low as $10,000 to a million or more.  Do the calculations and find out what it will take to live on for how many ever years.  Most people can get by with $250K by investing it and letting it grow and living on a small amount each year.  Others, prefer to go higher with a $500K to $1M policy to live in comfort and also invest.  Of course larger amounts cost a lot more, so base it on what you feel is best for your family and how healthy (or not) you are.

What about your wife and children?  If the husband will suffer a substantial loss in the event of his wife's death, then he should insure her life as well.  You will want to get small policies on your children for, God forbid, their burial and funeral expenses.  Hopefully, that will never happen but if it does, you will be glad to know it didn't ruin the rest of your life financially and you can just rest and mourn.

If you are unable to afford life insurance, ask yourself if that is really true.  Most people can give up a few luxuries like smartphones or lattes and afford a policy.  Do you care about your future and your children's future?  How will you pay for the burial and funeral expenses of your spouse?  If you are a homekeeper, then what will you do for work if your husband dies?  Where will you put your children and how will you pay for daycare?  Why not alleviate all that stress and the hard work, that will be the rest of your life, and ensure your future?  No one should have to worry about money when also mourning the loss of a spouse - Be WISE!

Living Debt-Free Series - Part 2

In Part 1 of this series I shared with you how to stay debt free and steps you need to take to ensure that you are not reliant upon credit/debt.  In this part of the series, I will share ideas and tips on how you can live within and even below your means.

To live within or below your means follow these basic ideas:

                Within Your Means                                       Below Your Means

1. Pay 10% Tithe and Give Offerings       Pay 10% Tithe, Give Offerings + Extra
2. Housing at 35% or below income         Housing at 25% or below of income
3. Save on Utilities as you can                 Cut costs drastically; Cut luxuries
4. Keep car maintained & plan trips         Same but also stay home more
5. Keep insurance costs low                     Same but consider HD plans
6. Buy discounted personal items            Get creative and make your own
7. Plan meals, Shop sales                       Cut down your meat, more homemade
8. Shop clothing sales                               Buy used, shop yard sales, trade
9. Eat out only a few times a month          Don't eat out, do free things for recreation

Some of you may be wondering why I had giving more under "Below Your Means" column - well that is simple - what you give comes back to you and it really is true!  The saying goes that if you never send a ship out, it can't come back to you.

For housing, it really is up to the family in what you want.  Do you want a larger house and then not save as much and spend less in other areas OR would you rather have a smaller or lower-priced home and be able to save more, do more and have other things?  With a larger home, comes higher utility costs of electric and gas, so you have to remember to factor those in as well.  Also, you need to think about property taxes and homeowner's insurance when counting the cost of your larger home.  You can usually save significantly with a smaller home and still be comfortable.

Other than the varying electric and gas utilities that I talked about, there is water, sewer, garbage, phone, internet and cable.  Water is based on usage, so it is easy to save there - just stop using so much and find ways to cut down.  I wash all my dishwasher loads on the lightest setting to save costs - it really doesn't matter as the lightest still gets everything just as clean as the highest but at a much lower cost in water and electricity.  Garbage can be saved by only using one can and you can do this with a large family by also having a recycling container.  You can cut phone expenses by just having a landline phone and a Tracfone for emergencies when out.  We only spend $120 a year for a cell phone and then my husband's employer provides him with a free cell phone for work that he can use to call me a few times a day.  These days you can go without cable because you can pretty much find cheaper ways to get your shows online.  We never did have cable but we think internet is a necessity in today's world and we like the highest speed, so we found a great deal by negotiating the costs.  I was able to negotiate the costs down and lock in the rate for a year.  Then every year, I have to call and negotiate again and it is a hassle but after it is over, we have the rate locked in for another year.

With transportation, you need to plan your trips that would give you the most cost-effective use of gas.  If you run an errand everyday, you will be wasting a lot of gas.  Why not plan your trips into one day a week?  Also keeping your vehicle maintained will help keep it running longer and thereby save you money on repairs.  Study Consumer Reports and learn which used cars have the best reliability so that you won't have it in the shop all the time.  Staying home more obviously saves you more in gas and wear on your vehicle.  We drive an almost 12-year old car and it only has 102,000 miles on it!

I've already discussed in detail on how to save on various medical plans in this post.  Basically, save as much as you can and costs will vary depending upon risk level.  The best is usually an HSA high-deductible plan.

With personal items in your budget you can save a lot by simply making your own or using generic products.  I used to buy a lot of things I didn't really need and since cutting them out - I don't even miss them, except for my Satsuma Body Shop body butter.  I tried cutting my husband's hair but I was never successful but I do cut my son's hair to save money.

Food is one area you can really save a lot of money in if you are willing to sacrifice.  You can eat meat everyday but you will spend more unless you stretch the meat or use the meat as a condiment rather than the main dish.  We prefer to save meat as a 2-3 times a week thing and save the extra money.  You can also save by buying in bulk things like flour, rice, spices/herbs, beans, etc.  You can also save by making a lot of homemade items and that also saves on health costs as you are healthier by eating no or less processed foods.

With clothing you can shop for the best bargains or you can buy used and/or make your own.  I shopped yard sales last summer and got name-brand pants and tops for 50 cents to a dollar.  I wish I had gone this summer but I didn't get out to search for the next size up, so now I'm trying to find ways to get the most bang for my buck.  I had saved my "skinny" clothes and now my 10 year old daughter can fit into them - so guess who won't be buying much clothes for the next 8 years or so?

With recreation or fun money it really is up to you how much you want to spend.  You can limit eating out or not eat out at all.  You can only do things that are free for family recreation or do low-cost things.  You can buy used books or just use your library.  It really is up to each family how much they want to spend and then you go from there to find things that work with your budgeted amount.

Living Debt-Free Series - Part 1

Upon the heels of my Financial Budgeting 101 series, I wanted to do a series about Living Debt-Free and give you tips and ideas on how you STAY debt free.  If you have something to share, please leave a comment to help me and others!

#1 Task for Staying Debt-Free  - The first step to living debt-free is to make sure that you have an emergency fund!  If you don't do this, then you probably won't STAY debt-free for long because things break, cars need repairs, kids get sick and on and on and if you don't have money set aside to pay for these things, then what will you do?  Borrow or put it on a credit card and pay interest.  Many financial advisors recommend you have 6 months worth of living expenses (not income but expenses) saved up in a savings account somewhere that you can get to easily in the case of an emergency.  This will help ensure you staying debt-free when trouble shows up at your door and it will.

#2 Save for future purchases - If you plan on buying a big-ticket purchase in the future, which most people do, then you need to have a fund to save for it since you are no longer using credit and paying extra with interest.  Most people need a car these days and if yours is older, you probably should start saving up for a newer one.  Save until you get enough and then go shopping with cash!  Not only will you save on all that interest, but you will get a reduced price by paying cash and if you can trade-in your older car, you will save even more.  Say goodbye to car payments with interest and hello to saving and buying a car with cash!  You will feel awesome when you ride that car off the lot knowing it is PAID FOR!

More things that you can save for are:  electronics (computers, gadgets, etc.), furniture, school supplies or homeschool curriculum, vacations, appliances, and whatever else is a big purchase that needs time to save for.

I will give you an example of a car fund and how it would work to save up for one.  Say your goal is to purchase a newer car in 3 years.  A good, reliable used car for $12,000 is your goal and your current car will have a trade-in value in 3 years of about $3,000.  Subtract the value of your trade-in from the price of the newer car and that leaves you with needing to save $9,000.  Now you know you will need to save $250 a month and you will be able to shop for a $12,000 car - which could very well be a much higher car but you can negotiate that down to $12K easily when paying cash!  Say, you just want to spend $8,000, so subtracting your trade-in, you only need to save $5K, which is only $139 a month.  No interest to pay, just the price of the car - now that is freedom!

#3 Insure Everything - This is one area you must do in order to stay debt-free.  You can't predict the future but you can insure that you are covered when something tragic happens.  This includes health insurance, home/renter's insurance, auto insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, identity protection and anything else that you need to insure that has the potential of bankrupting you or ruining your financial life.  Trust me as I know personally what it feels like to be WITHOUT insurance and a crisis happen - we have paid our share of medical bills because of our lack of health insurance a few years ago.

For those that think you can do without life insurance, well you CAN but are you sure you want to?  What if your husband dies today.  How would you pay for his funeral?  Or better yet, WHO wants to think of how they will pay during that time?  You will be grieving and you sure don't need the extra burden of financial ruin.  It isn't just the funeral either, how will you support yourself or your children?  What will you do until you find a job?  How will you pay for child care?  And on and on.....  These are things a lot of people don't think about until something like this happens and then they spend the rest of their lives thinking about it. 

Same thing goes for disability insurance in the event that your husband becomes disabled and can no longer work.  Disability from Social Security is barely enough to even live on, much less support a family!  The rest of the insurances are really no-brainers, I mean if you go without home/renter's, auto, identity protection or health insurance - you are just one crisis away from debt and/or bankruptcy.  Insure everything!

#4 Live Within or Below Your Means - Most people agree in living WITHIN your means, but how about living BELOW your means?  If you live below your means, you can save a whole lot more.  Whatever you do, always live within your means and not above!!  If you make $50K net - live on $40K and throw the rest in savings.  Then, if one day you get the urge to go to Italy - hey, just GO!  Or you could live on the $50K and have a bigger house, nicer car and more luxuries if that is what you choose.  I prefer to live below our means because to me, that Italy trip sounds pretty sweet!

Part 2 is here where I give you ideas and tips on living within and below your means:
https://frugaladdict.blogspot.com/2014/09/living-debt-free-series-part-2.html

Family of 4 Health Insurance Options

I've found that a lot of people do not actually know about the various ways to afford healthcare that are available today and meet the law requirements.  I will start out with the obvious ones that most people know about and then share with you some others that are available to Christians.  I'm just going to talk about the ones that I'm personally familiar with - if you know another option that is better, leave a comment!

1. Traditional Health Insurance - this is your basic health insurance that has a premium, deductible and then copays or coinsurance.   These plans are usually the highest of all the ones I'm going to talk about today.  They are also usually NOT the best choice as your total yearly costs are the most expensive.  You can purchase these online, through the exchange (what a joke) or they are normally offered from your husband's employer and given at a reduced rate and you can pay your premiums with pre-tax dollars in a payroll deduction.
2. Health Savings Account High Deductible Health Insurance (HSA) - these health insurance plans require an HSA (Health Savings Account) and are generally the best option when you look at total yearly costs.  The plan itself can have a high deductible ($3K or above) and then you pay a certain percentage up until your out-of-pocket limit.  You can set aside money to pay your medical bills through the HSA and it is pre-tax and stays tax-free if you pay only approved items with your HSA (medical, dental, etc.) and your premium is also pre-tax through your payroll deduction.  Most of the time employers offer this option along with the first one and this one is the least expensive as premiums are way lower and when compared to the yearly costs of the first plan, this one wins. 
3. Christian Sharing Medical plans - these are plans only offered to Christians and are very affordable.  You pay a set amount each month depending upon age and/or family size, then you either only pay up to a certain amount of your bills a month and anything over is paid for by others OR you set your deductible and premium and once the deductible is met, you pay nothing.  These plans would be good for those who don't get a discounted plan from their employer or for those that don't foresee any medical needs of substantial amounts in the upcoming year.  The downside is that you pay your monthly premiums with after-tax dollars.

Let's look at a typical employer-given health plan:

1. Traditional - $6,000 annual premium; $1,000 deductible then plan pays 80%; $12,000 out-of-pocket limit
2. HSA plan - $3,500 annual premium; $3,000 deductible then plan pays 90%; $6,000 out-of-pocket limit

Now let's compare those rates with Christian sharing medical plans:

Family of 4 monthly premium -  $405

Yearly premium amount - $4,860

Responsible for bills up to $300 a month then plan pays 100%

OR

Family of 4 monthly premium of $10,000 deductible plan - $184

Yearly premium amount - $2,208

Plan pays 100% after $10K deductible

OR

Family of 4 monthly premium of $2,500 deductible plan - $500

Yearly premium amount - $6,000

Plan pays 100% after $2,500 deductible

Taking these plan scenarios, let's see what a medical crisis looks like within a year of these plans:

Worst Case Scenario - $55,000 medical bills

What you pay max for this year:
Traditional -  $19,000
HSA plan - $9,500 (can all be pre-tax dollars)
Christian sharing #1 - $8,460 (if bills are over $300 each month)
                                    $5,160 (if bills happened in one month)
Christian sharing #2 - $12,208
Christian sharing #3 - $8,500

You can see that the Christian sharing #1 is the cheapest option for a $55K scenario with the traditional plan costing the most.  However, most large employers give a portion to your HSA, so if they gave $1,000 towards your yearly costs, that would make the HSA plan comparable to the cheapest Christian sharing plan at $8,500.  You should also factor in the cost of using after-tax dollars to pay the Christian sharing plans and how the other plans will decrease your taxable income.  This can make a difference at tax time by putting you in a different tax bracket and you could factor in those numbers depending upon your personal situation to get a true cost.

When you choose a plan for your family, you can either plan for the worst case scenario or take the risk with a high-deductible plan and save on costs.  Let's say you want to take the risk, everyone is healthy and you don't foresee any medical bills (besides office visits) for the upcoming year:

No Medical Bills Scenario

What you pay max this year:
Traditional - $6,000 + office visits you pay
HSA - $3,500 + office visits you pay
Christian Sharing #1 - $4,860 + office visits you pay
Christian Sharing #2 - $2,208 + office visits you pay
Christian Sharing #3 - $6,000 + office visits you pay

The cheapest option would be the Christian Sharing #2 that has a very low monthly/yearly cost and a very high deductible, but this is risky business, you don't know if you will get in a car accident or someone will get very ill or need to be in the hospital.  If you take this risk, make sure you have the money in an emergency fund just in case!

In my opinion, the HSA high-deductible plan through your employer is the best option as it is the least riskiest but still gives you a great deal and you can pay all of your medical bills and your premium with pre-tax dollars and that also brings down your taxable income!

Notes - I didn't include Flexible Spending Account (FSA) plans because I have no experience with them and because you lose the money at the end of year if you didn't spend it.  The HSA is by far the better choice if your employer offers it as the funds roll-over from year to year.

Financial Budgeting 101 - Index of Posts

I've had a lot of response and traffic to my budget post of a family living on $40,000 a year.  I realize that this is an area that we need more help in and though I'm not a financial expert, I sure know the way to deal with your finances is by following Biblical principles.  I hope this is a series worthy of your time and may you be able to gain insight in bettering your financial future.

Here is an index of the posts in this series:

1. Our Financial Story - here I will tell you our family story and how we learned the hard way financially
2. The Why and How of Budgeting - this is where I tell you why you should budget and how to do it
3. Our Family Budget - I will show you our budget in percentages on how we divide our money
4. Budget scenarios - I will share with you various financial scenarios on varying incomes/expenditures
5. Summary - this is where I sum up the entire series up and share printables for you to utilize

*After this series, I do plan on doing a "Living Debt Free" series, which will give you ways to cut back, save and make your financial dreams a reality!

Summary of Financial Budgeting 101

I hope you all enjoyed this series on financial budgeting, here is the summary of what we talked about a few more things I wanted to share.  I'm also including a link to my Scribd account that has free printables for budget planning.

I shared with you all our financial story and how we learned many lessons the hard way that brought us to where we are at today.  Thankfully, we were able to pick up the pieces and put them back together again and this time do it correctly.  We are still working towards our financial goals but have learned enough to share with others what not to do!  Thanks to Dave Ramsey, we have learned how to really have financial freedom and live like no one else.

Credit can be tempting because it gives you immediate access to what you want, even though you don't have the money for it.  Using credit is actually a sign of immaturity - just like a child wanting it NOW - think about the girl in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, sadly, that is most adults today too.  They want the clothes, shoes, purse, car, house, trips and all that NOW - so they put it on credit and then spend today paying for yesterday's desires.  BREAK THE CHAINS!!!!  As Christians, we shouldn't be bound up by debt.  Christians should be the ones that can show control (temperance) and hold off on purchasing things until we have the money to pay for it.  We should be the ones living modestly within our means and showing the world that you can be content with the things God has blessed you with - not with what Wells Fargo or Discover has chained you in.

I showed you why and how to do a budget and then even shared scenarios on how a family of 4 could live on low-middle incomes.  I also shared you with our family budget and how we manage living on one income while still giving to God, saving for the future and insuring our lives from financial crisis.  Most of the time the reason we fall into debt is because we don't have a plan for crisis situations.  You NEED an emergency fund, not a credit card.  You can't afford to pay interest and you can't afford to be without an emergency fund.  Why would you pay Visa $6,500 for borrowing $5,000?  You could have had that $5K in savings and kept your additional $1100 in interest.  You can give me $6,500 and I will give you $5,000 - sure, be that stupid - someone is making money off of your stupidity and your immaturity and lack of self-control!  As Dave Ramsey has said, you have Discover-ed bondage.

Plan.  Think ahead.  Don't think that nothing will happen to you.  Be mature - wait, have self control, be modest in your lifestyle by living within your means or even BELOW your means!  If others can do it - why can't you?  Do you need to re-prioritize your life?  Start now! 

Here are some free printables on my Scribd for budgeting:

*Links expired, I plan to upload and update soon.

NEW! Budget Worksheet
Monthly Budgeting Expense Worksheet
Bills Due Worksheet
Another Monthly Budget Worksheet

There may be situations where you fell into the pit of credit because you didn't have the emergency fund saved up yet.  At least you are aiming for the future, so don't get discouraged!  You have to climb and fight your way out but you WILL get there!

Family of 4 Living On $30,000, $40,000, $50,000, and $60,000 a Year NET

I've showed you our family budget and now I would like to show some budget scenarios for a family of 4 to give you an idea of how all this works.  To make it easier, I'm using these annual incomes and considering that they are AFTER-tax incomes.  Generally for a family of 4, you would subtract $5,000 in taxes - factoring in state tax and the child tax credits.  That will give you a nice buffer.  So if you make $35,000, budget for $30,000 and so forth but as the income goes up, so do the taxes but I'm keeping these incomes low so that shouldn't be an issue.  Also, don't forget that your retirement contributions are pre-tax, which lowers your taxable income.  That is how I make these average monthly incomes work.  If you have an HSA account with your insurance plan, you will lower your taxable income even more!  But that is another topic in itself.

*I'm going to estimate that these families have a fully-funded emergency fund of $5-10K, so that they can purchase a higher-deductible medical plan.  They are also paying for disability, life and car insurance and have no car payments.  These would be ideal scenarios.  Imagine how much they would save if they had paid-for mortgages!  But in the meantime, let's assume they have a mortgage on a small, 2 or 3 bedroom home.  If you are wondering what each expense category covers, refer to my budgeting post here.

Family of 4 Living on $30,000 a Year - Average Monthly Income of $2,500

Income 
$30,000 after taxes

Expenses
Charity = $350
Savings = $320
Housing = $700
Utilities = $180
Food = $280
Personal = $130
Transportation = $230
Medical = $230
Clothing = $40
Recreation = $40
Debt - 0

This family has a high-deductible Medi-share plan to save on premium costs and they have their emergency fund fully funded to pay for any medical crisis that may happen this year.  Or, this family can get medicaid coverage because they are in poverty.  If they do that, they can then budget the medical money into other areas.  Their savings amount goes to fund their retirement and savings account.  They have to live in a very small home because they are living within their means.  They keep their costs down and consumption to the basics until they can pay off their mortgage.  Once they pay off their mortgage, they can either increase the other areas or add more bulk to their savings.  They find free things to do as a family and only reserve $40 for eating out or having friends over for dessert.  They shop consignment stores for clothing or the mom sews.  Many families live on this income and they make it work but it isn't ideal for sure but it can be done.  There is just NO room for debt! 


Family of 4 Living on $40,000 a Year - Average Monthly Income of $3,333

Income 
$40,000 after taxes

Expenses
Charity = $420
Savings = $600
Housing = $850
Utilities = $213
Food = $300
Personal = $150
Transportation = $250
Medical = $400
Clothing = $50
Recreation = $75
Debt - 0

This family does as the family above by saving 15% of their income for retirement but they will obviously give a larger portion and have a larger retirement.  They are also saving extra for misc. purchases that they choose to save for.  They can afford a higher housing cost than the $30K family but with that comes higher utility costs.  They spend more on food and personal items because they can and they also pay for a lower-deductible Christian sharing medical plan than the prior family but it costs more a month.  They are able to spend more on clothing and recreation but not so much as they can splurge yet until they pay off their mortgage.

Family of 4 Living on $50,000 a Year - Average Monthly Income of $4,167

Income 
$50,000 after taxes

Expenses
Charity = $510
Savings = $712
Housing = $1050
Utilities = $300
Food = $450
Personal = $200
Transportation = $320
Medical = $400
Clothing = $75
Recreation = $150
Debt - 0

This family is doing everything the prior families are doing with funding their retirement with 15% of their income and saving extra for whatever purchase they have on their list at the time.  They decided to get a larger home and with that comes an increased housing cost and utility cost.  They spend more on food and personal items but they decide to keep the same plan as the family before with a Christian sharing medical plan.  They still are frugal in their clothing expenses but decide to spend more in recreation because they like to go on field trips to the zoo or museum and this also increases their transportation costs as they use more gasoline for these outings.

Family of 4 Living on $60,000 a Year - Average Monthly Income of $5,000

Income 
$60,000 after taxes

Expenses
Charity = $600
Savings = $1425
Housing = $1050
Utilities = $300
Food = $500
Personal = $200
Transportation = $300
Medical = $400
Clothing = $75
Recreation = $150
Debt - 0

This family can live comfortably at this income as they are funding their retirements as all the previous families but they are also saving a lot more for other purchases.  They could also pay off their mortgage incredibly early by living on the lower income levels.  They can spend more in housing but they choose not to, so their housing and utility costs remain the same as the previous family.  They like to spend more on food and clothing but they keep their recreation and transportation costs about the same as the previous family so that they can fund their annual vacations and other big purchases.  They also keep the same Christian sharing medical plan to keep their costs low.


If you make more than $60,000 a year, it might be a good idea to live off a lower income and build wealth.  Set up your 6-month of expenses emergency fund, fully fund your retirement, pay off your mortgage, etc.  If you could live off the above scenarios and save and/or invest the rest - you could retire very early or even save to travel the world.  The possibilities are endless and it is in your favor.

Many families live in the $30-40K range and they have more than 2 children!  So tell me how a couple living on $50K can't seem to make ends meet?  I know families with upwards to 9 children that make it on very small incomes WITHOUT GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE and they live well and are happy.  God can make any budget work - God and the biblical principles of the bible!  Do what the Word says and be content with what you have and enjoy the showers of blessings that God pours on you year after year!  I call it basking in His bounty!

Notes
If you aren't debt-free and don't have a fully-funded emergency fund, then you would have to tweak other areas of these budgets to accommodate for higher medical and debt payments.  You can easily move money around the different categories as it suits your family.  If you want a larger housing cost, you will have to lower other categories.

I've seen budgets that did NOT work on paper but somehow every month God provided - don't lose hope, aim to do right and God will help you!