Category Archives: Practical Things

Practical ideas, approaches and tools for a Rice and Beans Life

What makes you simply rich? (And our decision on the cable vs. antenna dilema)

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Ms. Practicality

Recently, we had family come to visit. It was a good visit. But they were deeply concerned. They could not, in any way, see why in the world we chose to live with some goofy looking rabbit ears on an old CRT television set. While they were here we started losing a few of the channels we’d previously had (we weren’t down to just the single one we had this past Friday just yet). We weren’t terribly dismayed by this but thought maybe we ought to try out a better quality antenna as we had company. It didn’t work. They took this as a sign that we must really be broke and struggling if we just could not afford cable. It took us three days and a lot of long heart-felt and loving conversations to convince them that not only are we just fine, but, for the most part we really do prefer life this way. We love the simplicity of it. We like not being inundated by a constant news loop or all the commercials causing our kids to insist that the world will end if they don’t have that new gadget that the television man swore was the very best thing ever! (I’ll never forget how hard it was to convince my five year old that Blue Bell Ice Cream wasn’t necessarily the very best ever just because the commercial said so. It IS good. Very good. But that’s not the point). This point of contention over our choice of antenna use went on, in spite of my two children happily playing outside in dirt (we have a LOT of dirt in the desert by the way), and making art on the sidewalks with chalk and reading books and playing cowboys and indians and space men and knights in shining duct-tape-covered-shopping-bag armor. My kids have some dvd’s they enjoy, but mostly they don’t miss cable tv because they don’t have it. We have old-fashioned fun. We read a lot. We laugh a lot. We listen to music a lot. And they have a healthy understanding of the joy of Saturday morning cartoons (something that my generation may have been the very last to really appreciate). We like the effusive childhood joy that rings throughout our home for lack of constant droning and distracting television. Until we limited the channels coming into our house we had no idea how much of a drain it was on our family life other than just the budget. Simplicity can bring so many rich things to our lives. I think it becomes easy to chase something we have been convinced is better, when in reality it may not be. So, dear friends, I share our choice on the cable matter as well as this old story with you I stumbled across today because it is timely to what we just experienced here at my house:

How Poor We Really Are

One day a wealthy family man took his son on a trip to the country so he could have his son see how poor country people were. They stayed one day and one night in the farmhouse of a very humble farm. On the way back home at the end of the trip the father asked the son, ‘What did you think of the trip?’

The son replied, ‘Very nice, Dad.’

The father then asked, ‘Did you noticed how poor they were?’

The son replied, ‘Yes, I guess so.’

The father then added, ‘And what did you learn?’

To this question, the son thought for a moment and answered slowly, ‘I learned that we have one dog in the house and they have four. We have a fountain in the garden and they have a stream that has no end.

‘We have fancy lanterns in our garden, while they have the stars. Our garden goes to the edge of our yard, but for their back yard they have the entire horizon!’ At the end of the son’s reply, the rich father was speechless. His son then added: ‘Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we really are.’

~Author Unknown~

We’re sticking with the antenna. For now.

So, dear readers, what unexpected rich joys have come into your life because of something you’ve simplified?

Crushing chalk

Art: Rainbow Rock. Medium used-crushed sidewalk chalk and...a rock. All on his own.

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Perspective and practice: When to change either or both

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Ms. Practicality

We have been in a good, consistent groove in our household for while with the way we function. We have some pretty specific practices in place for handling the budget, school, household chores and general everyday stuff. But today I turned on the television-the one with the antenna on top that I’ve previously written about-and found that the five good channels we used to get now consists of one that we can hear clearly but not see, two that look mostly fuzzy but can’t hear, and one that is just not there anymore. We get ONE channel in decently. My husband called an antenna installer and learned that, because we live up against the mountain that we need a line of sight over, we pretty much won’t get much of anything out of an antenna than we hadn’t previously gotten (which we were reasonably content with) and at this point maybe even less-even with a giant old-fashioned style mounted antenna on the roof since we can’t be sure what caused this disruption to begin with.  We also learned that the tree that has been bare the better part of the year since we moved into this house has caused further disruption by doing the darndest thing: growing leaves. So, faced with absolutely no television reception early this morning (except for a very low-budget Christian talk show out of Texas that manages to come in quite clearly) I fiddled with the antenna a while with no luck. I grabbed my laptop and a cup of coffee. My toddler grabbed his shoes and pointed out to the back yard. I thought-heck why not? So out we went in pajamas and sandals, with coffee and laptop and his breakfast in tow and sat outside for a change of scenery. As I sat there watching him puttering in the back yard, digging in the dirt, inspecting rocks, sitting on wet grass and happy as can be I considered if it’s worth the $35 a month for basic cable and if it fits our current goals and plans. It occurred to me as I sat there, enjoying the warm early morning summer sounds of the desert, the buzzing bees, the chirping birds, the little dog next door yapping out a hello to my dog who was lazily ignoring it, that sometimes changing your vantage point, even if it’s just sitting outside when you normally don’t, can help change your perspective on your needs and your wants. Inside the house, as I’d poured my coffee, I was seriously considering finding that $35 for cable in my budget today and calling the cable company this afternoon. But as I sat out there, watching my child play, surfing news online and tapping away for this post, I found myself at peace with the sounds of summer around me. I still need to review whether our household practice of having no cable is going to continue or not, but I’m taking the weekend to consider this practice from another perspective. I’ll keep you posted.

How about you? Do you give yourself time and space to consider your choices carefully? Do you just jump in right away and hang on?

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Inspiration Thursdays: Some days…

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Ms. Practicality

Because Thursday’s child has far to go…

There are some days, in fact, some weeks where, little by little, life seems to get busier and busier. In fact, today is one of those days for me. Sleep seems to become a luxury during these times. It’s easy when you are tired to get a little overwhelmed, to not be able to see the brightness of life around you quite as easily. To feel significantly less than inspired. It’s on these days that I pour myself plenty of coffee (oh wonderful coffee!) and do my best to take each moment as it comes. I purposefully focus on “good” things. These are the days that focussing on the good things matters the very most. I look for the colors around me. Literally. I let myself be amazed by things that are so easily overlooked. At the end of these days, as I tuck my boys into bed, I spend a little extra time on our nightly ritual question: What was your favorite thing about this day that made you smile?

And if that doesn’t work, try a little relativism by considering what I often do: “Well, today didn’t kill me. Let’s try again tomorrow!”



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Are you a couponer?

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Ms. Practicality

There is a lot of information about coupon-ing these days. There are whole websites dedicated to coupon-ing. There’s even the show Extreme Couponing on TLC (though I haven’t watched it since I don’t have cable). One of the ways I tried to cut costs in our budget in the beginning was by coupon clipping. I tried. I bought myself a handy little organizer. I subscribed to some sites. I faithfully reviewed and cut out the coupons. At first I thought maybe I was doing something wrong. I was saving a very minimal amount of money. But weren’t people buying shopping carts full of groceries for a dollar?? I never managed to find many coupons for anything I actually buy. I felt a little like a failure about coupon-ing for a while. Then I came to the realization that we just don’t buy many prepared foods and that is what many of the coupons are for. I cook. A lot. Three meals a day. And I bake a lot too. Nothing complicated. I stick to healthy simple recipes and I use mostly whole, basic ingredients. It’s not common to find a coupon for whole wheat flour or for a bag of sugar or white vinegar (which I use in making cleaning supplies). On occasion I might run across a coupon for a dozen eggs but it’s rare. And honestly, if the item isn’t a healthy staple for our family I’m just not interested (my families’ health always comes first). After trying hard for a while to jump on this bandwagon, I decided to let this bandwagon roll on its own merry way. Coupons are great when I can find them for items I buy regularly and I love finding and using them for things like paper towels or toilet paper. But I just haven’t had any significant success with it and can’t justify buying a lot of the items the coupons are actually for.

So how about you? Do you coupon? Are you finding success with it?

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Frugal and Cheap are Not the Same

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Ms. Practicality

Frugality has come a long way recently. It’s become more main stream given the challenges of the economy. Many people are searching for ways to stretch their hard earned dollars to get by. Obviously frugality is nothing new (ask anyone who survived the Great Depression). Given the challenges of current times there has been a resurgence of people embracing all things frugal.

It occurred to me recently, after a conversation with a friend, that a lot of people are a little confused by what frugality really means. Some people think frugality is about being cheap or buying cheap things. Some people cringe at the words and feel deprived by even the thought of them. Some people even feel like they are forms of cruel punishment!

But bear with me a bit here as I don my homeschool mom glasses to take a closer look at these words (I do this on occasion so please don’t let it put you off!). Words are pretty powerful stuff. So let’s take a closer look at the actual word FRUGAL as it appears in the Merriam Webster Dictionary  and to round out our definitions and for the sake of thoroughness I’m adding the definition, from the same source, of the word ECONOMY:

Definition: Frugal: characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources

Origin: Frugal: Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin frugalis virtuous, frugal, from frug-, frux fruit, value; akin to Latinfrui to enjoy

Definition: Economy: 1. archaic : the management of household or private affairs and especially expenses 2. a : thrifty and efficient use of material resources : frugality in expenditures; also : an instance or a means of

Now let’s take a look at the word CHEAP (again from the same source for consistencies’ sake):

Definition: Cheap:adj. 1 a : purchasable below the going price or the real value b:charging or obtainable at a low price <a good cheap hotel> <cheap tickets>c : depreciated in value (as by currency inflation) <cheap dollars: gained or done with little effort <a cheap victory> <talk ischeap>.3a : of inferior quality or worth :tawdry, sleazy  <cheapworkmanship>b : contemptible because of lack of any fine, lofty, or redeeming qualities <feeling cheap>c :stingy <my cheap uncle>

Looking at what these words actually mean, it becomes pretty clear that frugality is about how we use our actual resources (our income, our time, our skills, etc.). Economy is about management and efficiency. It is about how we choose to use what we have to make it most cost effective to our situation. There is nothing coarse or detrimental in the definitions of these words. They are positive words. Constructive words. But when you look at the word cheap you find some not so pleasant or constructive things in the definition. No wonder cheap seems to be a word most of us don’t want to closely associate with!

Unfortunately frugal and cheap have been, far too often, put on the same playing field when, really, they aren’t  even in the same ballpark! I think because words have power it can hold us back from some positive changes in our lives. We are a frugal family. And frugality and economy are about making wise choices with our resources not necessarily about the cheapest item we can get (though don’t get me wrong-I love a darn good bargain!!). But because frugality is about choices and resources our frugality will likely look different from yours. Our resources and needs and wants are probably different from yours! Frugality is mindset and an approach. Frugality is not the same as cheap.

So do yourself a favor and kick the word “cheap” to the curb where it belongs. Be frugal. Be cost effective. Be bargain happy. Be economical. Be resourceful. Be thrifty. Be wise. Be Rice and Beans. But you don’t need to be “cheap.”

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Simple Ways to Remember and Inexpensive Ways to Have Fun-Part 2

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Ms. Practicality

So, now that you’ve armed yourself with some simple ways to work remembrance into your Memorial Day (from Part 1 of this post), what about the rest of your holiday weekend?. You don’t have to go far to have a fun, budget friendly, fabulous time. If you haven’t already got something on your weekend agenda here are some fun and inexpensive ways to spend this Memorial Day weekend:

  • Get some water pistols and have a water battle in your backyard (with or without the kiddos!).
  • Take a picnic (breakfast, lunch or dinner!) to a great nearby park.
  • Check out your local Rails to Trails and go on a hike. If you have a bike, bike the trail instead!
  • Have a red, white and blue barbecue in your backyard by eating red, white and blue food.
  • Have a water balloon battle.
  • Put the sprinklers on and run through them (or just enjoy watching your kids do it).
  • Go to your local farmers market.
  • Pretend you are a tourist in your hometown and go see any museums or sites you haven’t seen or even revisit the ones you have.
  • Check out any local community festivities that are going on for Memorial Day weekend.
  • Put out your lawn chairs and watch a great sunset. If you have kids ask them to describe the colors they are seeing to you. Kids have such fantastic descriptions of stuff like this.
  • If you have a laptop or portable dvd player, head out to your backyard for a homemade “drive-in” style movie night. Lay out on a blanket and bring the popcorn out.
  • Lay out in the backyard on a blanket and watch the stars come out one by one.
  • Find a local little league game to see.
  • Check into anything going on with the local VFW.
  • Go for a bike ride in your neighborhood.
  • Read that novel you’ve been hearing such great things about (you can probably borrow it free at the local library!)
  • Go camping in your own backyard. It’s a thrifty camping experience and you avoid the crowds. Bonus points if you have an outdoor fire pit so you can make s’mores and sing camp songs.
  • Blow lot of bubbles with your kids in the yard.
  • Go out for a frugal ice cream cone at McDonald’s for $1 (my husband and I did this even before we had kids and enjoyed the frugal silliness of it!).
Have a fun, fantastic, safe, “remember-ful” Memorial Day weekend!

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Simple Ways to Remember and Inexpensive Ways to Have Fun-Part 1

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Ms. Practicality

Memorial Day. It is the gateway to summer. People pack into cars and head off on their merry way to fill beaches and campgrounds. To roast marshmallows for making s’mores. To enjoy a long, fun, leisurely weekend. How can we not enjoy such a fantastic holiday weekend? But, bear with me a moment if you will. I read a startling statistic today that only 28% of Americans know the meaning of Memorial Day and that most just consider it day off. That made me sad. Especially being the wife of a veteran. It is so incredibly important to educate ourselves and our children on what Memorial Day really means. This is a day we honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for all of us and our great nation. So please, take a moment and check out some of the sites I’m linking today. There is some really interesting history here and there are some very simple ways to remember and honor the fallen. When our children watch us honor this holiday they will not forget. While we can plan to spend a great deal of this weekend celebrating and enjoying the coming of summer with our friends and family, it’s simple to incorporate remembrance. Here are some easy ways to remember (after you check these simple ways to remember, come on back for some easy inexpensive ways to enjoy some fun in Part 2 of this post):

  • Read the poem In Flanders Field:

IN FLANDER’S FIELD

by John McCrae 

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow,
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky,
The larks, still bravely singing, fly,
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead.
Short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved and now we lie,
In Flanders Fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe
To you, from failing hands, we throw,
The torch, be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us, who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow,
In Flanders Fields.

Ben Franklin said it best: “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”

As for my family we will, in particular, be remembering Josh Powell this weekend. He was a good man that served with my husband. Thank you Josh. We remember you.

In Memory of Staff Sgt. Joshua D. Powell

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