Musings by Melissa

When Wayne and I were first married, we purchased life insurance.  Because we didn’t understand the difference between whole life and term life insurance,  the salesman had an easy job convincing us to purchase whole life.  It was a handful of years after that when we realized we made a poor decision.

The salesman told us whole life was better because it has a savings plan as part of it.  What he didn’t tell us is that when we die, the life insurance company got to keep our savings.  He told us we could borrow from “our” savings.  But he failed to tell us that we needed to pay “our” money back.  He didn’t tell us that for the same amount of money we were spending on whole life, that we could have ten times the amount of term life insurance!  Ten times!  That’s a lot!  $40,000 quickly became $400,000.

Needless to say, once we realized our mistake, we purchased new insurance and cancelled the old.  And even though we had paid on the whole life policy for a number of years, we didn’t get a dime of “our” savings.

I enjoy decorating our kids’ rooms.  Alicia recently switched from a butterfly theme to a horse theme.  When I re-do a kids’ room, all the children’s furniture stays the same.  It’s just the accessories that change.  (Unless of course, the child is moving from a crib to a toddler bed or to a twin bed.)

So, when re-doing Alicia’s room, we took down the cling butterflies that were on her walls.  I had made her new “horse curtains” for her window and a new ”horse pillowcase” for her bed.  So, I had leftover material.  I carefully cut out some of the horses from that leftover material.  I dipped them in liquid starch, and placed them on her wall.  Wa-laa…  Her walls are covered with horses!

Down with the butterfly and ladybug posters.  Up with the horses.  Out with the ladybug bedspread.  In with the denium quilt.  Add some old cowboy boots that Justin has outgrown and a horse-ish blanket to cover her chair, and her room has a whole new feel. 

And what did it cost me?  I made the quilt from old jeans that were ready for the trash heap.  I purchased the back for about $15.  The material for the curtains and pillowcase probably set me back about $8.  The liquid starch for the cutouts for her walls was just a couple bucks, and it’ll last me forever.  (I’ve already used some to re-do the boys’ room.)  The cowboy boots were picked out of our garage sale box.  (And hence, were free!)  The blanket was a dollar at a garage sale.  Horse posters and pictures were gifts from friends and relatives.

So, for less than $30 (and some time!), Alicia loves her “whole new room!”

As a homeschooling mom, I often get asked if I’m going to go all the way through high school.  My reply is always, “That’s the plan.”  While I understand that God may have other plans, I am planning on teaching my kids all through high school.  The next question is always, “Well, what about college?”

“Well, what about college?”

If college is in the future for our kids, and at this point, who knows whether or not it is, then yes, further education will be a part of their future.  And this is where many parents wash their hands, hope they did well, and send their kids off.

While college is still five years away for us, there are many things that we are considering.  Just as you can pay someone to help with your GMAT prep, so there are services which will help students prepare for college placement tests.  CollegePlus is one that I’ve seen advertised quite a bit lately.  I haven’t researched it completely, but the little bit I have read is intriguing.   

They claim that for around $10,000 they can guide you through the process to earn a college education.  That’s a bargain!  Granted, you’ll be doing all the studying and taking all the tests.

Here’s how it works: You pay CollegePlus, and they tell you what to study and how to study to prepare for the college placement tests.  Most homeschooled students are used to studying on their own, so this will come as nothing new for them.  And for all students, homeschooled or not, it’s redundant to study the same things in college that they studied in high school.  Push them a bit harder in high school, so they can take the placement test and place out of many college courses.

When I was in high school, I did something similar, but it was only for one class.  I placed out of the first semester of calculus.  It was great to be able to go to college with credits already under my belt.

Anyway, I have more research to do about this program, but so far I’m liking what I’m seeing.

One of the biggest “frivolous” expenses in our budget is Scout.  Between his food and his vet bills, he’s not exactly inexpensive to keep around.  (And he’s a healthy dog, so he doesn’t require any extra visits to the vet… just an annual check-up and heartworm & flea/tick preventer.)  In fact, one of Scout’s nicknames is “budget drain.”  ~smile~

Anyway, the other day I had the radio on, and I heard a call-in show that I had never heard before.  It was on pet care.  I only heard one caller, but that caller had a dog who was arthritic.  His vet had perscribed some rather expensive pet supplements, and in this economy, he just couldn’t justify the expense, even though it was supposed to help with his dog’s arthritis.

He wondered if the host of the show had any less expensive alternatives.  I was surprised when the host mentioned using human supplements.  Obviously, he didn’t give any dosage amounts, and he did suggest that the man double-check with his vet first.  But the host figured that human supplements would be quite a bit cheaper than pet supplements.

So, if you’ve got a dear pet, and you’re facing some costly bills for supplements/medication, you may want to look into using medicines made for humans.  Check the dosages first; you may need to cut pills in half, and I can guarantee they won’t be “beef-flavored.”  ~smile~  But if you can save a bit o’ cash, it’d be worth the time to do a bit o’ research.

When the hot, dog-days of summer arrive, our home gets hot!  We do have a window air-conditioning unit, but we usually put that downstairs (due to the windows upstairs not being able to accommodate it, due to the fact that I like the view from upstairs and don’t want it blocked all summer long, and due to the fact that I’d rather have it cool when I sleep).

Anyway, there are a number of things that we do to keep our house as cool as possible when those dog-days hit.  (These are in no particular order.)

1- Open and close the windows.  Whenever it’s cooler outside than inside, the windows get open, but in the morning, when it starts getting warmer outside, we close them. 

2- Make use of shades/blinds.  When the sun starts beating in a window, close the shade/blind.  You may choose to open it when the sun is around the other side of the house, but be aware that hot air may be hiding behind the blind.  Don’t believe me?  Stick your hand back there after the sun’s been beating on it for a couple hours.

3- Plant shade trees around your house.  Preferable trees with leaves.  The leaves will shade the house in the summer, but in the winter when you want the sun to reach your house, the leaves will be gone.

4- Make use of fans.  Floor/desk fans as well as ceiling fans.  I’ve never owned a ceiling fan, so I’m not sure what the “rules” are, but I do know that the blades are supposed to be drawing the air one direction in the summer and another direction in the winter.   Check the owners’ manual or do an online search to make sure your ceiling fan blades are at the right angle.  Also, I’ve heard that putting a shallow pan full of ice water in front of a short fan will help cool the room quite a bit.  But I’ve never tried that one.

5- Hang laundry outside.  Using the dryer just heats things up more inside.

6- Be careful when cooking.  I like to use my crockpot in the summer.  You’ll often find it out on our back porch.  Keep the heat outside!  Or we’ll grill or eat cold food.  (Sandwiches, leftovers, salads, pasta salads, etc.)  I rarely use my oven when the temperature is soaring.  But sometimes I’m forced to– for making birthday cakes and the like.

7- Have a wet t-shirt contest.  No, I’m not being risque!  It’s amazing how much cooler the body becomes when a dampened t-shirt is worn!  It definitely helps whisk that heat away from the body.  Of course, this is a tip we do when we’re not expecting company! 

8- Play with water.  Water balloons, swimming pools, watering the garden, water guns.  Again, this is the same concept as #7.  Being wet causes the body to loose heat more rapidly.

9- Insulate.  This may seem odd, but an attic that is well-insulated will help to keep the heat in the attic rather than allowing it to come into the house.  Good vents in the attic will help that attic heat to escape into the outside as well.  It goes without saying that good insulation will also help with the heat bills in another six months!

10- When all else fails, spend time in the basement.  (It’s usually cooler down there.)  Put in a movie , eat a popsicle, and enjoy the hot lazy dog-days of summer!

Ah, usually about this time each year I spend some time trying to figure out what we’re going to do for Christmas gifts for the kids.  That’s not an easy task, since they have everything they want (except for flying lessons and a horse!).  The last couple years we have given each of our children one main gift, with the traditional filler stuff for their stockings.  (We fill those with tic-tacs, raisins, juice boxes, oranges, etc.) 

Typically the main gift is something that either my husband or myself has made.  Gifts in the past have included afghans, quilts, shelves, and a wooden pencil box.

The money we “save” by not buying our kids a million things (that they don’t need) is put toward a family vacation.  That way Wayne and I can enjoy it as well.  It doesn’t break within a hour of opening it.  It fits perfectly.  You get the idea.

Well, I’m stumped for this year.  I really don’t have any ideas for any of our kids.  The typical stuff–  like playstation 3, hip clothes, or Wii– just isn’t stuff that fit with our philosophy of life.

And so, I’m left sitting here.  Wondering what I’ll come up with for this year.  If anyone has any suggestions, I’d love to hear them!

I hate cleaning my shower.  I hate the fumes.  And so, because it’s been winter and I don’t want to open the windows, I have hesitated to clean my shower.  So, it was pretty disgusting. 

But I read about a homemade cleaner that doesn’t give off toxic fumes.  Since I had the ingredients onhand, I thought I’d give it a try.  I am thrilled with the results.  (I thought about posting a before and after picture, but I was too embarrassed to let anyone see the “before!”)

Put 1/2 C Dawn dishwashing soap in a spray bottle.  Fill the rest of the bottle with vinegar.

That’s it.  Just spray it on and scrub away.  It cut through the shower scum without too much difficulty, and it got rid of the mildew that had built up in the corners.

There’s still an odor, but the smell of vinegar is much more “healthy” than that of chemicals!

Enjoy!  And happy spring cleaning!

He’d be the first to admit it… that he’s on again and off again with computers.  Sometimes he can find the problem and fix it, and other times, well, it’d be kind to say he’s not quite so successful.  ~smile~

And the internet is something he has had absolutely no interest in until recently.  In the past couple months, my husband has developed a new skill (or hobby, if you will).  This new skill is paying our bills online.

Previously he’d set aside an hour or so every week to pay the bills.  Now, we don’t have a lot of bills.  Just the normal stuff, plus one credit card.  But it always seemed like it was taking him way too long to deal with it.

I’m not sure what it was that inspired him to check into online bill paying, but he’s enjoying it.  He’s keeping better track of what we have and where it’s going.  I know he’s got our credit card, our house payment, our phone bill, and our electric bill set up where he can pay them online.  I’m not sure about our life, home or auto insurance.  But I’m sure those will come with time.

And, as he pointed out to me today, this will save us money in postage returning the bills with the checks, but it will also save our credit union money because they well no longer have to send us a paper statement every month.  We can choose to view it online instead.

I never thought my husband would be interested in anything “online,” but it’s good to know that he’s developing a skill that requires some online time.

Geiko… 15 minutes can save you 15% or more on your car insurance.

While we were on vacation the last two weeks, the kids had a ball trying to catch little geckos.  Everytime they saw one, they recited the Geiko commercial… 15 minutes can save you 15% or more on your car insurance.  Now, I’m not pushing Geiko; I honestly don’t know anything more about them than they have a cute mascot, and they sell car insurance!  But the principle behind their slogan rings true.

In an era of high enemployment, almost everyone is looking for a way to save money.  Shopping around for insurance can be one way to save money.  Get a variety of car insurance quotes, homeowners (or renters) quotes, and life insurance quotes.  Just be sure to compare apples to apples.  Make sure the deductibles are the same and that the insurances cover the same things.

Another way is to pare down your monthly bills.  Do you really need call waiting or caller ID on your phone?  Do you spend a lot on long distance?  Would Vonage make more sense for your long distance calls?

Call your trash company (unless it’s included in your property taxes).  Maybe you can get a smaller can for your trash.  We pay per the bag, and it’s a LOT cheaper than paying for their can! 

Recycling… check to see if there is a “free” recycling place in your area.  Sure the convience of having it picked up at the end of the driveway is nice, but the last time I priced recycling through our trash provider, I was blown away.  For that price, I’ll have my husband stop on his way to/from work to drop off our paper, plastics, and aluminum.

There are lots of ways to start saving money.  These are just a few ways that making a couple quick phone calls can save you money all year.

Happy saving!

There is a neat organization in West Michigan that I love to support with my business.  It’s Love, Inc.  The Inc stands for In the Name of Christ.  So, yes, this is a relious organization.

While I’ve never read their mission statement, I have had opportunities to refer people to them.  And I have had many opportunities to shop at their resale shop!  ~grin~

What Love does is take donations, of money and of second-hand stuff, which they resell.  They use these donations to help people in need.  But they are responsible with the money.  (Unlike our big government!)  In exchange for taking classes on budgeting, for example, students are given gift certificates for gasoline.  This provides an incentive for these people to learn and apply something beneficial in exchange for gas for their vehicle.

Another service Love provides is to the local church.  Not a week goes by when a church does not receive a hardship letter or a phone call requesting financial help.  But what is a church to do?  A church secretary certainly doesn’t have time to check out each request for help.  And while some of the requests are genuine, many are often people scamming just to see what they can get.

That’s where Love comes in.  Many churches refer such letters and phone calls to Love.  Because this is the line of work they are in, Love knows more than the local church who is really in need of help and who just always has their hand out, waiting for a free lunch.

If you have a chance, stop by a Love, Inc. store.  They are full of good deals.  (Especially on books!!!)  Or consider writing them a check if you have the means.  Your funds will definitely be put to good use.