Good Old Mom and Pop

I love a good bargain! How about you?

While I will never claim to be a super thrifty person, I enjoy saving money just like the next gal. I enjoy shopping at yard sales for kids clothes and toys and random household items, but alas, it is winter and I'll be itching to be "yard saling" in a few months. I have lots of hand-me downs for the kids, I try to make my own cleaning supplies (OK, sometimes), and we try not to buy stuff we don't need (again, most of the time, I'm not perfect)

There are lots of websites you can google with money saving tips: how to be frugal mom, how to reuse plastic bags 300 times, how to stretch a head of cabbage for 10 meals etc...I'm not linking to them because I don't follow any, but you get my point. You've probably seen them. However, there's something small I've been wrestling with that I thought I'd share.

With the economy being what it is, I'd like to take a few minutes to write about something that I've thought a lot about recently. As most people are, we are looking at our budget and making some trimmings where possible and making less trips to various stores unless we need to. With Christmas being over, I'm finding that much easier!


With big businesses announcing job cuts every day, I have to wonder what it does for the small business, you know, the little places you see all over and wonder, "What in the world do they sell there?" Or the small places you love to shop at because they carry unique and wonderfully cool things. Or the small hardware store versus large one, or small market versus large grocery store, or cool-individual toy store versus Walmart or Target.


I don't know about you, but I'm not much for big businesses. For those that know my family that might sound ironic since my husband is employed by a "big-business" home improvement store. We are grateful for that job as it helps provide for our needs and there have been times we have gotten some great deals that have helped make improvements on our home. But for the most part, we don't shop much there, unless he's getting a super-huge-can't-pass-it-up deal.


Without small businesses, we'd all be run over by the big companies. That's not to say all big businesses are bad, but when I think about the things I buy, say at Target or Giant (our local grocery store), I can find those things other places, at smaller stores. It would take some more running around to find them, perhaps, and I'm not all for that either, but it's not like they carry anything super unique that isn't found anywhere else. However, a lot of small stores have really neat things that you can't find anywhere else.

So what's the catch then? Why not always shop at small businesses? Well, you know the obvious answer, money! Small businesses have to charge a little bit more for all kinds of different reasons. They have bills to pay too, you know! And small businesses employ a lot of people. Take a look around sometime and think what would happen if some of the smaller businesses shut down. It would effect a lot of people.

I also have to say that advertising for some large businesses drives me nuts! The biggest offender is Wal-Mart. I am not trying to step on any walmart lover's toes so please don't get offended by these comments. It's really just my humble and personal opinion. But their advertisements of "Save Money, Live Better, Walmart," just tick me off. First of all, the store is totally overwhelming and I don't like walking a mile to find something I need when most of the time I can't find it anywhere because there is so much STUFF in that store. Second, whoever said that if you save a few pennies or dollars, your life will suddenly be better? Is life about saving money? Is "living better" defined by our back account? I certainly think not! Where is our trust in the One who promises to care for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field? Isn't it He who can make our lives better?

Don't get me wrong. Big businesses support a lot of people, provide a service to others, employ many people. They are not bad necessarily. I do understand the need to save money and that certain stores carry items cheaper than others, but I also understand the need to support the "little people." I love the little shops, the way you can talk to the owners and ask about their products and where they came from. There is a local soap store here where we buy all of our bath soap. She makes all of her own products and whenever we go there, she remembers our kids and has treats for them. She shows us new stuff or gives samples if we want them. I feel comfortable asking about her products. It's the advantage of a small personal business.

I'm also recently into buying homemade things. I love finding cool kids toys at yard sales for cheaper than new but sometimes I want my kids to have original stuff too. Check out etsy.com for an overwhelmingly cool site where people can sell their homemade stuff. Really addicting, by the way. If you spend too much time reading other people's blogs, get ready for a new passion.

Now, after saying all that, does it mean I'll never shop at Target again? No, of course not. But I will think hard about the things I need to buy and whether or not I'll buy them there or look somewhere else. And a bargain is a bargain so if I found a super deal at a big store, I'd consider it.

But I'll also think twice at whether the 24 cents rollback savings are really that important.

A New Toy

You know how men love their toys? Tools, electronics, that cool funky stuff that I could care less about?

I have a small confession.

I have a new toy that I love.

Truly.

I know it's so materialistic to say that I love it, but I do.

Really.

It was my Christmas gift. Well, sort of. We were saving for AWHILE to get one (because really, it is a lot of money to spend on one toy) and just happened to get it in time for Christmas.

My husband was home when it came and even wrapped it for me. Even though I knew what it was and was planning to open it before Christmas. And it was sweet, even though he used the velvety wrapping paper I was saving. I love the man dearly, but he doesn't pay attention to things like velvety wrapping paper.

So what is this cool new toy?

A blender.

While that sounds boring, this is truly the blender of all blenders. It's a Vita-Mix blender. And let me tell you, it does everthing! It's like a juicer, blender, food-processor and more all in one! I can make my own juice, smoothies, ice cream, soup, grind nuts and make nut butter, grind grain into flour. You name it and it does it.

What I love is that it takes so little prep time and I can control the ingredients in so many foods. I can make my own nut butter and no longer have to buy it. I can grind my own flour and no longer have to buy it. Same for juice, ice cream, and many other fun things.

We made strawberry ice cream with strawberries, raw milk and cream, and a little sweetener. OH YUMMY!

If you don't believe it can do these things, check out their demo.

And while I'm not much for spending large amounts of money on "stuff," I think this one was worth the savings!

Any favorite toys you love?

A Fresh Start

Well, after taking 5 weeks off from blogging, I think I'm back. At least I'm trying to get back to this. All 5 of you who used to read this blog are now totally uninterested in healthy living so I'm writing to myself, I'm sure. But, I'll take the chance.

Seriously, where does time go? I took a break from writing because my son got sick and had another seizure and then I got sick and my daughter got sick and then suddenly it was Christmas and even though I had over a week off from my job I still couldn't get back to blogging because I just really needed to break from things that were on my mind a lot. I tend to use run-ons when making long excuses. I do that when I leave long boring messages on my friends' answering machines too.

Anyway, a happy New Year to all! Don't you love the New Year! While I'm not much for resolutions, I love the feeling of a fresh start. If you're like me, you let yourself slip a little during holidays...eating more, drinking more, relaxing more, and suddenly January comes and you need to "get back to it" so to speak. While I try to eat healthy as much as possible, I do enjoy some extra Christmas cookies and candy when possible!

You know, while we tend to look at January as a time to get a fresh start, God gives us the opportunity of a fresh start every day! I love knowing that no matter how many times I mess up, He has grace abundant for me. Thank goodness! He knows I need it for sure!

So while I have no resolutions to share with you (OK, except maybe TRYING to blog more often), let me just say that I hope you find something fresh and new in each day. Sometimes we can get so bogged down by the "stuff" in life that we forget to see what goodness God is trying to show us in each day. He wants to shower us with His love and blessings.

Have you found any today?