Couponing is so fun! Amy said it was like going through the ads at Thanksgiving. I can't believe how much I hadn't known or noticed, such as the extra rewards in the Walgreen's & CVS ads.
Today I bought 18 items at Walgreen's for $23. They are 12 pack Angel soft toilet paper, 3 boxes cereal (2 Kashi Go Lean), instant coffee, air wick oil warmer & refills, chap stick, Snickers, 2 boxes foil, 2 mandarin oranges, 2 mushrooms, olive oil. I also got 2 Skippy PB & 4 cans of Progresso soup for $8. Yesterday I got 2 bottles Purex laundry soap & 4 Fructis products for $13 at CVS. Next time I go to either store I have a $5 credit. My total for the week of 1 trip to grocery store plus the pharmacies was just under $100 so I stayed within budget even with the extra trips. As I build up my coupons & my stock of extra groceries & store credits my grocery bill will go down.
Thegrocerygame.com shows the best deals at whichever stores I choose for $10/month (1 month free trial) & moneysavingmom.com had great tips for doubling up savings at Walgreen's & CVS. The lady at money saving mom gets almost all their non-food items free at CVS. If any of you know of any good websites or books or have other tips on savings please let me know.
Judy

Bruschetta Pizza

• French bread (or ciabatta or facoccia bread)
• 2-3 T. olive oil
• 1 can tomatoes or 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, diced
• 1 T. olive oil
• Basil
• 1 t. salt
• Baby spinach
• Grated mozzarella cheese
• Parmesan
• Black olives

Mix tomatoes, 1 T. olive oil, salt, and basil. Set aside.
Slice bread and fry in 2-3 T. of olive oil, adding oil as needed. Rub a clove of garlic on bread. Layer spinach, tomatoes, cheeses, and olives. Toast in toaster oven to melt cheese.

FedEx brought me $2000 in traveler's checks yesterday! They are from my "too good to be true nanny job". I got suspicious when he hired me without checking my references, so I went back to Craig's list to read about scam warnings. Some of the indications were that he was from another country, never called or met in person (said his dad was out of town so couldn't come to meet me either), and was paying through a third party. I still couldn't see how he would get money from me though like the other scams, but I did not write him back. Then 3 days later I get these checks. He had said to let him know when they came. I went to write him but he had already written me to say the check would arrive today & please take it to my bank. I had no intention of doing this, so I wrote back & said I had received the checks & asked when his father was coming to meet me. He wrote back to tell me they accidently paid me too much & didn't pay his travel expense so please go ahead & take all 4 checks to the bank. Amy said to write back "I ain't no sucka, you a scammer". First I wrote, I'm not a sucker, you're a scammer. May God have mercy on your soul. But when I added Rom. 5:28 then I thought it looked a little harsh. So I changed it to: I'm sorry you are not for real. I am praying for you. God does love you and will forgive you. Regretfully, Judy PS-If you send me your address I will send you back your bogus checks (he had asked for my address & phone to pay ahead).
I am so thankful I was leery of this offer & discovered the scam before going to the bank. I did write Craig's list (got no response) & didn't know about going to the police since all I have is an email address. I'm tempted to go to the bank (& explain the scam) just to see if there is any chance these might be real (maybe paid for with conterfeit money?). Amy & Mike don't like this idea. I also thought about putting them in my kids stockings, then telling them I accidently put an extra 0 so they need to give me back $450 (a good lesson on being scammed, as long as they aren't tempted to take them to the bank).
I never dreamed what an adventure job hunting could be.
Judy

Nehemiah 4:15 When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work.

I did a wonderful lesson this week in Beth Moore's study of Esther on facing our fears (week 5, p.107-108 if you have the book). It's about when Esther decides to approach the king (Esther 4:12-5:2) and says "If I perish, I perish".
Beth reminds us that Satan has no authority to destroy us but he will threaten to destroy us. Both "the enemy and our own self-destructive natures combine to taunt us with "what ifs"".
Satan knows our fears and areas that we have trouble trusting God. He wants to cause us to doubt God's faithfulness and purposes. Just believing our situation is hopeless makes it more hopeless. Beth reminds us of Prov. 23:7-"as a man thinks, so is he".
Beth said "The most critical breakthrough of faith you and I could ever experience is to let God bring us to a place where we trust Him--period. We don't just trust Him to let us avoid what we fear most. We determine to trust Him no matter what, even if our worst nightmare befalls us. "
She acknowledges that this is not easy, no one welcomes suffering, but living with constant fear is harder. She teaches that our best defense against life's uncertainty is "unconditional trust in a Savior who loves us more than His own life".
I thank Beth Moore for such a timely lesson and I now determine to trust God no matter what.
Judy

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose. Romans 8:27-29

Definition of Providence
According to Merriam Webster providence is "God conceived as the power sustaining and guiding human destiny".
Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary says, in His providence "God attends not only to apparently momentous events and people but also to those that seem both mundane and trivial...Indeed, so all encompassing is God's attention to events within creation that nothing...happens by chance."
I read this in Beth Moore's study on Esther and couldn't resist posting it because I am always quick to tell people I don't believe in luck, good or bad. This is what I believe in- providence.
Judy

Psalms 37:23-24 The steps of a [good] man are directed and established by the Lord when He delights in his way [and He busies Himself with his every step].
24Though he falls, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord grasps his hand in support and upholds him. (Amplified Bible)

When I started this blog about our adventure into retirement, I thought it was going to be about frugal living and practical tips. My father was an ingenious, frugal Yankee who never needed help from the government or insurance (and was self-employed most of his life) yet left my mother well off. However, I don't give credit to his frugality as much as to their faith in God.

I did not write yesterday. I was disappointed with my last post, seeing that now I was putting my hope in a 401K plan instead of a job opportunity. I want to put my hope in Christ alone. I thought: I need balance between self-sufficiency and trusting God and I need to reevaluate my priorities. Last year when the news about the economy concerned me, I started praying about how we should respond. I felt led to get out of debt. Thankfully, we now owe no credit cards & only have 1 year left of car payments & 3 years to pay off our house. So I'm feeling ok again, but on my way to blog I read an email with a link to a You Tube video.

Actually, I got stuck in You Tube for over 2 hours. "Do NOT get a swine flu VACCINE" grabbed my attention. You absolutely have to see for yourself what they are saying about these dangerous vaccinations! It only took 1 video for me to know I will not get one, but then I'm told that they will be mandatory & can be enforced with martial law. It's a miracle I was able to go to sleep last night. I still haven't wrapped my brain around how to respond to this newest crisis (escept to pray, pray, pray) but I thought about a song our choir sang that morning. I can only remember 2 words from the whole song. Behind the soloist the whole choir kept repeating "peace Lord, peace Lord". They also had wonderful scriptures on the screen. I couldn't write them down fast enough, so when I awoke too early this morning & thought of impending crisis, I decided to get up & pray & review those scriptures. I went to www.biblegateway.com & found 108 verses on "do not be afraid" & 247 verses on peace. If you want to hear more of the words of the song you can go to www.firsteuless.com to see yesterdays morning sermon (which was about the Bible having the answer to all our problems).

So, I have a different perspective today about the significance of our financial struggles, but I have the same answer to both problems. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.

On my knees,

Judy

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."John 16:32-33

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:26-28

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."Deuteronomy 31:5-7

The LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you."Joshua 10:7-9

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.Philippians 4:6-8

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.2 Chronicles 7:13-15

Hallelujah, I found my job today! I was going to a planning meeting to be a substitute at a church preschool that I had applied for months ago. I even wondered about going to a second planning meeting next week just for a sub job. Instead, I discovered they still needed some regular teachers so I'm working there on Sunday evenings from 4:30-8:30 & on Wed. mornings from 9-12. With my other MDO job on Tues. & Thurs. I have now doubled my income to about $200/week. Both churches know that if I was offered a full time job at the public school that I would take it. Also, both are nice working environments. I know I will like it better than substituting at the public school.
Mike has 9 days left to work and I have 3 weeks until I start back to work. We've also figured that we should not have to use any pension money until Mike's ready for SS. He can use his 401K earlier without a tax penalty.
God is faithful!
Judy

It is a huge relief to have made the first decision to accept the early retirement offer. God was faithful in leading us to the right decision and I truly trust He will be faithful in leading us to the right jobs. My "too good to be true" job opportunity turned out to be a scam. I'm thankful that I decided yesterday not to put my hope in opportunities that may not pan out and I'm thankful that I discovered it was a scam before any money was involved and before I wasted another week when I could have been pursuing a real job. It's funny that yesterday I felt down most of the day but today I have been so at peace, even when I realized the job was a scam. Actually, it's not funny, it's a result of putting my trust in God.
Judy

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.

This has been a real up and down day. Yesterday was a very good day. I wrote our budget using the guidelines from Larry Burkett and percentages for each area. Our worst area was for groceries so I joined the coupon grocery game (first month free) to find out how a .25 coupon could be worthwhile. They have some great ideas I plan to try to implement.
Then I got a fantastic job offer I found on Craig's list! However, I've had no response from them today and I'm even wondering if the whole thing was a joke.
I may have found some other good news this afternoon but don't want to get excited about it till it's a sure thing. Conclusion: I don't want to get excited about possibilities and then be disappointed when they don't pan out, so instead I will trust in God who is in control and has good plans for us. Wait till you see the awesome scripture God reminded me of for today!
Judy

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask OR EVEN IMAGINE, according to His power that is at work within us. Eph. 3:20

why now?

Surprise! We're going to retire 5 years early! Actually, a working retirement.
Yes, we know this is a hard time to find a job. Yes, we know the older you are, the harder to get a job. We had ample forewarning, but here we go anyways. Knowing the bleak outlook, our two-pronged approach includes cutting back on our budget as much as possible. You know, cutting out some of the frills. Hoping to stretch his severence pay to last as long as needed to find jobs.
Of course the first prong is looking for new jobs-permanent, temporary, full-time or part-time, & substituting. Any income to help prolong running out of severance pay.
Besides dusting off our antique resumes, we also will be educationg ourselves on how best to invest our pension, how using pension money affects taxes, & finally learning how to make and stick with a budget. Maybe even checking out the claims of couponers.
So, if any of you have any wise advice on any of these subjects, please send it our way.
I'm off to check out Larry Burkett's web site...
Judy

Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. Mt. 6:33