Good job.

Blockbuster sounds like it’s good, but you are right - food is more important and so is survival. I would like to even have limited cable or something for the winter months, but I doubt we will either. We have to be able to afford our electric heating and that will be #1, right along with groceries.

I wish you all the best. I think $80.00 for 2 is doable, not easy, but still possible. Can you get some assistance from the local food pantry if necessary? As I mentioned before, any little bit of food you can put away now will help you this winter.

This was a personal choice that I made back when my children were little, after I watched the school mess up my older daughters education. Without going into too much detail, it was not at all a good situation. I sent a very smart, top of her class child to kindergarten, and brought home a soon to be fourth grader who cared nothing about school and thought that she was stupid. Not good, and finally realized that the school did not have her best interests at heart.

I will not subject my other daughter to such abuses. She is so smart, and working toward going to college and majoring in psychology. Homeschooling is not for everyone, but it is best for us. And no, not all schools would do something like this. Ours did, and to more children than just my daughter.

I will gladly sacrifice many things for my daughters well-being. I am very proud of how hard she has worked to get as far as she has.
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Even at minimum wage you could earn $14,560 per year working full time and, depending on the job, you might get health insurance and other benefits out of it too.

No, I could not get the insurance. I could not afford to pay for that as well as regular bills. By the way, I do work full time - 30 to 40 hours+, depending on the week.

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Likely, you’d make even more than that soon enough, as employers don’t tend to keep a worker at minimum wage forever.

Not necessarily so. Many employers deliberately are keeping you under full time so that they do not have to give you benefits or pay you more.

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Plus, if you didn’t homeschool, you wouldn’t need the DirecTV, which would save you $948 per year.

I do not *need* DirecTV to homeschool, but it was so beneficial. Children can learn so much with the proper programming, and she is a little old for the educational stuff on PBS.

At any rate, if you read through the blog more, you will notice that we no longer have DirecTV. We will no longer see the benefits of the programming, which was a major way that was used for her to learn many non-school topics that she wants to learn about.

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Is your back problem bad enough that you can’t work?

The doctor said, no more cleaning hotel rooms (which was my job when I hurt my back), and no jobs where I have to sit or be on my feet for long periods of time. Oh, and no lifting anything over 10 pounds. LOL. The grocery store is supposed to pack groceries to 13 pounds.

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But yes, I do work full time. I provide childcare, which is slow business right now. I may also be typing for extra money, if all works out well. I care for a couple of my nephews right now.

I am crafty, and will be making things to sell but, with the economy the way it is, it will not likely do me much - if any - good.

Also, it used to be that there were a good many pages of job listings in the Saturday paper, but not so much any more.

Thanks for your comment, and I hope that I answered all of your questions successfully.

I have a question for you. I hope this doesn’t sound like I’m judging you, because I’m not. I’m just curious.

Why do you choose to homeschool your daughter and earn only $4,000-$10,000 per year? Even at minimum wage you could earn $14,560 per year working full time and, depending on the job, you might get health insurance and other benefits out of it too. Likely, you’d make even more than that soon enough, as employers don’t tend to keep a worker at minimum wage forever. Plus, if you didn’t homeschool, you wouldn’t need the DirecTV, which would save you $948 per year. Is your back problem bad enough that you can’t work?

Lee

We did come by some blankets for free, though. One had been my grandmothers, and my mother-in-law recently gave us five twin size blankets. These will fit my daughters bed, or can be used in the livingroom.

I love crockpot lasagna, and my brother makes pasta sauce in his. I intend to try an oatmeal recipe in mine. We generally eat vegetarian meals, so I am looking for soups and such that I can learn to make in mine.

I bake from scratch almost all winter, so the oven gets used a lot. If anyone can tell me how to make breads, pies, cakes and cookies in the slowcooker, then I would be willing to give it a try.

I don’t know if I can get ahead on the bills, but that is my next plan of action. I have already cut out the DirecTV.

Doing the same here as well. My little home is all-electric and do we get slammed here in the winter.

A few tips:

If you need extra blankets, try looking for them now - even at yard sales or Goodwill.

Use your crockpot for meals - that will help to save energy. I’ve not had my oven working now for a long while. I only use the stove top, toaster oven and crockpot to cook in. It’s a blessing in disguise and saves us a lot on the electric bill.

Can you “put up” any food right now? Freezing veggies, fruits or doing any dehydrating or canning? Every bit you can do know will help to save on any food costs this winter.

Pay ahead or pad any bills you can right now - even if it’s $10 here and there, it all adds up and will help in the winter months.

Baked beans are so easy to do in the crockpot. I usually cook up a batch of navy beans one day and then the next I make baked beans. I’m not a measuring type of cook, but I add brown sugar, molasses, cut up onion, some prepared mustard, ketchup, salt and pepper. You could add a little meat for flavor, but we mostly eat them vegetarian too.

Good ideas and an important topic to discuss now. Take care.