Help For Haiti
Tonight as I sit in my warm house, surrounded by family, food, and running water, my mind turns to those in Haiti. This past week they have been ravished by the earthquake and have lost homes, friends, parents, children, security, and perhaps even hope. As we sit thousands of miles away and watch the struggles on t.v., I am reminded that we too can help and give, whatever little faith, prayers, or money we can.
Crystal at MoneySavingMom is hosting a Helping Haiti blog drive. Bloggers around the web will participate in “Helping Haiti” and pledge to give a certain amount for every post blogging about Haiti and added to Mr. Linky from now until January 21st. For those without the means to give, you can still help post a blog or comment on sites raising money to increase their donations.
For those who have the means to give here are some links to well-known charities that have already begun serving in Haiti.
LDS Humanitarian Emergency Response Fund
As my husband and I conversed over the tragedy in Haiti we realized how blessed we are. We know that going without a few wants for a month pales in comparison to the devastation of those affected in Haiti.I was preparing to link up and raise donations with others, but after talking with my husband we came to the agreement that we weren’t ready for such a public commitment. Instead, we will give a private donation to the LDS Emergency Response Fund.
I have been amazed that when we sacrificed to give to others, God has always returned our offerings. As Crystal said, “Even if it seems like it’s a drop in the bucket, remember that a bucket of water is made up of that–drops!”. Every dollar, dime, link and prayer will make a difference to those in Haiti. Please join the effort.
~Chelsea
Saving for the Expected: The Baby Fund
January 13, 2010 by Chelsea
Filed under Children, Piggy Bank, Planning
Deniz Ongar
I often hear the old adage, “Save for a rainy day”, in reference to unexpected occurrences such as unemployment, health issues, and accidents. But I rarely hear people express the need to save for major expected expenses that can just as easily derail your budget and potentially lead to unwanted debt.
Last year we were fortunate enough to bring baby Sweet Pea into our home. Although we have great health insurance, we still knew that we had to make room in our budget for medical expenses associated with her birth.
Shortly after we found out we were pregnant, I started doing my research on the estimated costs for a routine delivery in our area. I looked into various doctors, hospitals, etc. and after extensive online research and numerous phone calls I felt confident estimating the cost to deliver our baby.
We put our emergency fund savings on hold for a few months and funneled all of our savings into “The Baby Fund”. After this was fully funded we returned to building up our emergency fund.
My estimation for the cost of her birth, was roughly accurate. The only reason we had to dip a little into savings was an extra day in the NICU.
Knowing that our baby was paid for without going into debt, allowed us to fully enjoy her without worrying about finances.
Update: Site Construction Gone Awry Is Fixed
Marcelo Terraza
Update: I love my husband. He fixed my problems in five minutes flat! Thanks Tim!
Please excuse the random code showing on my site. I tried to do some html on my own and it was a flop. Now I’ve learned, save the original code before you make changes. Luckily I have a husband who can (hopefully) help fix it, but unfortunately he’s really busy at the moment. At least I can still post, which is fortunate because I have several great posts coming your way.
What To Do When You Don’t Have a Clothesline
I’ll let the picture speak for itself.
I will say that
- I’m a little embarrassed to show a picture of my bathroom.
- By hanging clothes we have saved money and extended the lives of our clothing.
- I currently don’t hang up socks, children’s clothes or underwear.
We paid a lot more for drying when we had to go to the laundromat in our last apartment. I wish I had seen this nifty indoor clothesline that Apartment Therapy built.
Hanging my clothes works for me. See what others are saying at We Are That Family’s Work for Me Wednesday.
Krogers Trip Jan 9
I went to Kroger’s on Saturday and picked up all of the above items for $10.71. The produce was all on sale and I was able to stack this e-coupon with an online coupon to get the meals for $.07-$.20/each. These will make very cheap lunches for my husband!
I am doing a scaled-back version of moneysavingmom’s eat from the pantry challenge. This week we only needed to buy produce, milk and cheap lunches and will be creating the rest of our meals from items in our fridge and freezer. So far, by using what I already have, I am $30 under budget for groceries. My goal is to save $50 by the end of the month, or 25% of our food budget.
