The Birth of a Business

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Today I’m launching a 3.5 week series on home based business.  For the first post, I’d like to tell my story and how it evolved into the 3 businesses I currrently run. 

Ever since a child I’ve dreamed of ways to make money.  I had a lemonade stand, participated in garage sales, and designed crafts that I hope to sell one day in my trinket store.  During High School I worked as a paige and then a clerk at our Public Library and loved it!  I also volunteered a few weeks out of the summer teaching at summer camps.  My main  job during that time was figuring out how to get scholarships.   Piecing them from here and there, they added up to a full ride for my 4 year teacher education.  While in college I also worked on campus as a Math Tutor and continued my library job in the summers, while adding a part time secretary position for the State of Kansas.

After graduation, I became a 5th grade math teacher.  The first year of teaching I got married in December.  The second year of teaching, my first daughter was born in January.  I had always thought I would be a stay at home mother, but my husband was in graduate school and without my income, we were stuck.  So I tearfully kissed my baby goodbye each morning and finished out the year.  That was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do.  While I was working, I was filled with guilt for leaving my baby behind and for burdening my family with her care.  At the end of the year, I couldn’t think about doing it one more time, and resigned.

Thankfully, my husband graduated that May and found a job at a local tax firm.  I quickly found out how hard it is to be a stay at home mom.  It is hard but worth it and I hope to never go back. 

The next year, a friend of mine started a historical bookstore in Nauvoo, Illinois and asked me if I would make some period crafts to sell in her shop.  My mother designed the convertable apron/bonnet pattern that I still sell at www.blesseddesigns.net and I started sewing.  I could work while my baby was asleep and enjoyed the craft.  Though after about 200 bonnets, it was getting old fast.  While the bookstore was open over the next decade I made about 1,000 bonnets and saved most of  the money I earned in a “seed money” account to start my next business venture.

During my bonnet sewing period, I also taught music lessons–piano and voice.  Sometimes I worked for cash, and sometimes traded for things like babysitting or raw milk.  I also crocheted doilies and made other little crafts to sell.  My childhood dream of owning a trinket shop was swirling in my mind and with the birth of the internet, a brick and mortor store wasn’t necessary.  I had 2 children aged 2 and under and started to see my laundry and dishes pile up as I tried to work and spend time with the children each day.  As I thought about my dreams for the future, I realized that trading my time for money wasn’t going to get me there.  I simply didn’t have enough time in my day to care for my family and work the hours to meet our goals. 

I decided to design and sell sewing patterns.  I could create the item once, print it and sell it hundreds of times with no new time spent.  My sewing skills were upper beginner level, I didn’t have any idea how to draft patterns or change them from one size to the other, and the printing options were expensive and mind boggling.  Undaunted, I drove back to my old library and asked for university books on all the subjects I didn’t know anything about.  They were able to borrow the books from universities free of charge to me and I built my own free home study course on pattern production while my children played at my feet.

It took 3 years for me to gain the knowledge I needed to design and print my first 3 patterns.  McCalls pattern company printed the designs for me and I insisted on driving the package there personally to get a tour of the plant.  They were very complimentary of my work and were gracious to give me the tour I craved, though were puzzled about my excitment.  To them it was just a dark warehouse full of machines.  To me it was the place where dreams were made. 

I’ll finish my story tomorrow.  Here’s the main point I want you to remember today: 

While trading time for money is a fast way to get the cash flow going, build your long term business plan around trading knowledge for money.

Quality Vs Quantity

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My husband and I have different opinions about buying clothes, but we both spend about the same amount. He would rather pay a lot for high quality stuff that he really likes and then wear it for the next 15-20 years. I would rather buy something inexpensive that I really like, wear it out in one or two seasons, sell it in a garage sale for almost what I paid for it, and then buy new.

For example, on our honeymoon, 12 years ago, Darren purchased a $300 Columbia brand coat. It had a zip-out liner, NASA invented thermal liner, tons of pockets and more. He wears the liner as his spring jacket, the shell for a rain coat and when it’s cold he zips it together and wears the whole thing. I nearly had a heart attack when he bought the coat, but so far it’s only cost us $25 a year to use it and he’ll be wearing it for quite awhile longer.

I bought a Columbia brand coat (without so many bells and whistles) at a garage sale this summer for $5. I wore it all winter, am tired of it, and will put it in our garage sale for $5. I’m on the lookout this summer for something about that price in another style.

A few months after our honeymoon, Darren purchased a pair of Johnston and Murphy black dress shoes with leather soles for about $175. The first soles lasted 6 years and he has had them resoled 2 times at $35 each. He polishes them faithfully and keeps them looking brand new. The cost per year (including new soles) has been about $20 a year and they are still going. On the other hand, I love shoes. Shoes with ruffles, straps, and heels. Black shoes, silver shoes, red shiny shoes, pink shoes with black trim…I’d be sad with just one pair of dress shoes. So I buy my shoes at garage sales for $1-3 or at Payless for around $15. They last a year or two before wearing, or I’m tired of them, put them in the garage sale and take the money to get something different.

While Darren’s shopping style makes me uncomfortable since I personally can’t commit to clothing like he can.  It hasn’t cost us a lot of money through the years.  There’s nothing wrong with buying nice stuff, if you can pay for it, and you know that you will wear it often and long enough to make it worth the price.   I look for quality too, but I prefer to buy used quality items.  Clothing drops in resale value faster than a new car, but when you buy used, you can generally sell your clothing for what you paid for it.

So which are you? Do you commit to quality higher priced items over a long period of time?  Or do you prefer to buy used  more often?

Part 2: Make a Clothing Menu

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I make a food menu to help me use the food I have on hand, purchase only what is useful, and save time and money.  A clothing menu will do the same thing!  I make a unique menu for each person in the family and include on it the person’s sizes and basic measurements.  I shop with my menus with me and use the measurements to make sure the pants will be long enough and the waists will fit. A retractable tape measure in my purse makes it easy.  This helps since there can be a large variation in actual garment measurements within the same numerical size.

Here’s a free download of a blank menu to print and use for your family:  Blank clothing menu

And to help you get started, here’s a list of items and amounts that might be on a woman’s spring wardrobe list.

Saving Money on Clothing Part 1

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The next  5 days are dedicated to the second largest place to save money in the family budget, clothing.  I think about my clothing shopping the same way I do food!  I make a “menu” (wardrobe plan) for each person for each season.  Then shop at the lowest prices avaiable, stocking up for the future when there is an especially good deal. 

Just like a menu plan saves you from not knowing what to fix for supper, a clothing menu saves you from having nothing to wear!

This type of careful planning is designed to keep our closets  and drawers from being too full, while still giving us everything we need to wear.  We save money by not buying more than what we need and also by buying used or at deep discount when possible.  I’ve found that the least expensive clothing options are (in order from best choice to last best choice):  Church garage sale; family garage salel; clearance racks at deep discounts such as found at Old Navy, Target, and Sears; Thrift Stores; Consignment Stores; Clothing Store Sale Prices.

It’s late and I’m tired, so we’ll dive in deeper tomorrow–starting with how to build a clothing menu and use it to shop to your best advantage.

February Receipts

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 Before I type in what I spent on what, where and when for February.  I need to give you a little background.  We were gone the first week filming for the 700 club.  I still purchased pretty much the same because I buy for storing in the pantry not for what we eat right away.  It was a particularly good month for sales and I took advantage until the last week. 

I went to the store more frequently than normal in February as I took advantage of the sales and to help replenish our fridge after being gone for several weeks in a row.

I had money left this month  and decided to save it in an envelope for August when I plan to make a bulk food order.  I will pinch off a little each month until then so I have the extra cash to spend come time.

I recommend $50 per person per month and for our family that’s $350 a month.  It’s a comfortable level for us, we did it for $200 a  month a little over a year ago during a time of lengthy unemployment.  So at $250 a month I can buy several treats and this month those included canned wheat Grand’s biscuits and breakfast sausage.  I normally don’t have those items on hand, but at this stage in my pregnancy it was nice to have a treat and save some preparation time.  It’s interesting to note, that after a meal with those items none of us felt well and my 7 yo vomited in the night.  I had to remind mysel fthat there’s a reason I normally pass those items by even when they are a good deal.

2/5/11  Costco

Jonagold apples 2 flats–$3.99 each ($.79 a lb)

Honey ham lunch meat (treat) $8.99

Mini Bell Peppers $3.99

10 lb bag of chicken breasts $19.99

4 lbs of butter $9.69

Fresh broccoli florets $4.49

5 lb organic frozen green beans $5.79

2 gallons of skim milk $2.31 each

Roasted red pepper hummus (treat) $4.99

Colby Jack 2 lb Brick $4.89

5 lbs of Turkey Burgers (treat) $9.99

Total with tax $89.87

02/05/2011  Price Choper

4 boxes of Barilla Manicotti shells (on sale for $.69 off and I bought extra to freeze casseroles for after the baby comes) $1.50 each

6 pkgs lowfat Turkey Hot Dogs (Treat!  ON sale and wanted these for Valentine’s Day and bought extra to freeze for later.) $.68 each

4-1.5 lb packages of 93% lean ground turkey Regularly $3.50 onsale for –$2.00 each

9lbs of Pork strips for BBQ @ $1.00 a lb

2 jars Pace PIcante Sauce Sale $1.48 each

3 Nufchatel Cheese bricks onsale $.69 each

Valentine Candy–$4.00

2 boxes of wheatable crackers on sale–$$1.48 a box

Total with tax:  $51.76

02/11/2011 Price Chopper

4 KoolAid Packets for Valentine crafts–$.60

2-12 oz  links Turkey Sausage (like Keilbasa) on sale $1.98 each

6 pgs of 12 oz breakfast sausage links on sale $.78 each

8 lbs of chicken tenders $2 a lb

4 Cans whole wheat grands biscuits–$.98 each

Marichino Cherries (for Valentine’s Day) $1.49

Chili Powder $1.49

2 heads of cauliflower $.98 each

Total with tax $37.42

02/14/2011 Aldi

2 boxes of bran flakes–$1.69 each

24 cans of tomato sauce $.25 each

10 lbs of potatoes $.299

10 lbs of naval oranges $3.00

4-1 lb bags of baby carrots $1 each

3-1.5 oz of ground turkey $2.49 each

Bananas $1.30

2 cans of Rotele tomatoes $.49 each

2 cans of Refried beans $.65 each

4 cans of Black Beans $.55 each

4 cans of tuna–$.52 each

Velveeta style cheese $3.69

2 cans of mandrain organges $.49 each

2 boxes of Microwave popcorn (treat) $1.49 each

6 boxes of mac and cheese (treat) $.29 each

2 cans of chili powder $.99 each

Lite pancake syrup (treat) $1.29

2 boxes of “cheerios” $1.59 each

2 cans parmesan cheese $2.29 each

2lbs of Fresh red grapes $1 a lb

2 bags of frito style cornchips (treat) $.99 each

2 gallons of Skim milk $2.88 each

Mustard $.69

5 lbs of sugar $2.39

Strawberry Jam $1.49

Red pepper flakes $.99

Pepperoni $1.99

2 cans of Chunk Pineapple $.98 each

Total with tax $85.08

02/17/2011 Costco

6 Romaine Hearts $3.49

5 lbs shredded mozzarella cheese $9.99

2 gallons of skim milk $2.31 each

64 oz of plain yogurt $3.99

Tortilla Chips $3.39

Total with tax 27.79

02/15/2011 Nature’s Pantry

1 lb Vital wheat gluten $4.83

4.7 lbs White whole wheat flour $4.73

4.3 lbs of barley $6.16

2.4 lbs of spelt $4.33

1.6 lbs of buckwheat $2.87

1.2 lbs of rye berries $2.86

Total with Tax:  29.89

2/19/2011 Aldi (quick run to grab some stuff for a friend’s party)

onions $1.49

sweet onions $1.49

teriyaki sauce $.99

2 pks pf crescent rolls $1.29 each

Total with tax $6.85

Total for the month:  $328.85

March 2011 Menu

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I’m going to have to write today’s post in 2 parts.  I promised a few of you to post what I spent this month on groceries, where I spent it, and what I bought.  I’ve had all the info for a week now, but I’ve been procrastinating the post.  It’s feels really personal, but if it will help you, I’m wiling to share it.  That will be part two.

Today is the last day of February and if you don’t already have your March menu written, it’s not too late. 

Click here to download and print the 2011 Menu Calendars

Here’s what I’ve planned for Dinners:

1.  Tuna Casserole, Peas, Home frozen peaches

2.  Burritoes, corn and rice

3. Slow Cooked Salisbury steak, steamed broccoli, salad

4. Homemade Pizza

5.  Egg burritoes, pears

6.  Pot Roast with carrots and potatoes, green beans, fresh rolls and salad

7.  Shepherd’s pie (with leftoevers from potroast), cornbread

8.  Date Night (Darren and I eat out twice a month on our date night.  My cousin fixes dinner for our children those nights.  The in between nights I babsit and cooker for her family.)

9.  Jack Mackerel Patties, Twice Baked potatoes, peas, salad

10.  Slow Cooker Lasagna, green beans, garlic bread, salad

11.  Tacos

12.  Biscuits and gravy, fruit salad

13.  Slow Cooked Creamy chicken and rice, steamed broccoli, fruit salad

14.  Italian Meatbal subs (I froze a huge portion of Italian meatballs last month.), Veggie Sticks with dip, baked cinnamon apples

15.  Slow Cooker Spaghetii and Meatballs (more of those frozen meatballs), garlic bread, green beans, canned pears and salad

16.  Creamy potato sou0p, blueberry scones

17.  Fish Sticks, Macaroni and cheese, peas (This is our traditional St. Patrick’s day meal.  The only day of the year I buy Fishsticks.  My daughter (11) told me it was her favorite holiday because of this meal, bwa hahaha.)

18. Homemade Pizza

19.  Slow Cooker Chicken Veggie Alfredo, Salad

20.  Roast Chicken with carrots and potaotes, fresh rolls, salad

21.  Chicken enchiladas (with leftover chicken from the night before.)  Rice, refried beans, peas

22.  Date Night

23.  Turkey burgers, baked potatoe wedges (like steak fries), steamed Normandy Vegetable blend

24.  Chili (with cinnamon rolls if I have the energy)

25.  Tacos

26.  Creamed Eggs over biscuits, sauteed Lamb’s quarter, beets

27.  Slow Cooked Beef Topped Bean enchiladas, brownies (For the basket dinner at church.)

28.  Ham and cheese stromboli (Using the same dough as our pizza crust), fruit wedges, salad

29.  Frito Pie (or other Mexican type casserole), baked cinnamon apples, salad, Steamed green beans–cookies (When we babysit for all the kids, I make dessert.  Those are the only nights we have dessert.)

30.  Chicken Noodle soup (I take out 2 cups of the cooked chicken to freeze for a later dish.), blueberry muffins

31.  Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta, mixed vegetables, salad, applesauce

Now I’m off to start the kids on school, clean out the freezer, wash my dishes, and mark garage sale items.  I’ll post part two when that is done.

 

Preserving the Harvest

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I save a bundle on my food budget by preserving garden or low-cost purchased produce.  Proper preservation prevents vitamin loss and spoilage.  The three basic types of food preservation are drying, canning, and freezing.  Some foods (like apples, onions, potatoes, and winter squash) can also be preserved for a few months in their fresh state in a dark, dry, cool environment (like a basement or cellar.)

Many foods can be preserved in more than one way. I keep Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving
on hand to help me decide what to do and for the best instructions available.  This is what I try to do each year:

Can green beans, apple sauce, pears, and jam.

Freeze okra, beets, corn, peaches, blueberries, pumpkin puree, shredded zucchini (for baking), and lamb’s quarter.

Dry strawberries, apples, onions, peppers, and herbs. (I don’t dry every year–it’s more of a treat for us and is hard to do in our humid Missouri climate.)

This sounds like a lot, but I only tackle one at a time, which makes it more doable.  Each produce item harvests at a slightly different time which keeps the tasks spread out.

Here are some links to past Grocery Shrink articles about preserving:

Freezing Corn

Pumpkin Puree

Lamb’s Quarter

Freezing Peaches

Applesauce

Final Thought:  Most people think of home gardening when it comes to canning and freezing food.  But there are other ways to get quantities of food to preserve.  A friend of mine volunteers at a local food pantry.  At the end of the day, they send with her what the visitors don’t take.  She takes it home and cans and preserves it.  A dear family from church has pear and apple trees in their yard and they can’t use all the fruit.  They call me every fall after they have picked to take what they can’t use.  My mother in law has also purchased large boxes of produce from Amish food auctions for preserving.  I like to buy my pumpkins from local grocery stores and farmer’s markets after Halloween.  They have lots of life left and are great for making into puree.  You also might advertise to care for gardens during the summer as people vacation.  Ask in pay for the ripe produce you harvest during the vacation.  It keeps the plants producing and reduces pests for the owner and you get fresh food for the labor.

Really, final thought:  You can also preserve fresh produce by freezing it already prepared.  We like to freeze zucchini muffins and pumpkin bread for a quick thaw and eat breakfast or for unexpected company.  You can also freeze vegetable lasagna, veggie pancakes, marinara sauce, and veggie rich meatballs.

Saving Seeds

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Quality seeds can get expensive, but if you purchase heirloom seeds you can save seeds from year to year and never buy that variety again.  Imagine how much money this saves for just a little effort!  If you’d like to save seeds from your garden vegetables, look for seed varieties that say open-pollinated or heirloom.  Avoid seeds labeled as hybrid as the seeds from these plants won’t be true to the parent plant.  When in doubt, ask before buying.

Some types of plants, squash for example,  require another plant for fertilization.   If you have more than one type of plant (say zucchinni and yellow squash), they will cross pollinate to create an unknown seed.  You can prevent this by only growing one type of these plants (there are 4 different families of squash that generally don’t cross-pollinate), building a fine net shelter for them to prevent insects from cross-pollinating, or by hand pollinating them to reduce the chance that the wrong plant will pollinate it.  If neither of these options sounds appealing, you can plan to just buy the seeds for these types of plants and save the seeds from the easier savers.

Here’s a list of seeds that are self-pollinating for easy seed saving: beans, peas, lettuce, most tomatoes, eggplant, some peppers

Seeds that might cross-contaminate if another variety is nearby:  corn, squash

You can also prevent crossing by checking out the scientific names of the plants.  Plants with the same name will cross.

You should select your most beautiful, healthiest, tastiest plant to save seeds from.  Tie a little ribbon around it, or the piece of fruit that you want to save seeds from.  Allow that fruit to become fully ripe (or a little past) before picking to make sure the seeds are mature.  There are 3 methods to saving seeds: 

1.  Allowing seeds to dry on the plant

2.  Removing seeds to dry in the air

3.  Fermentation

Want to know more?

http://www.virtualseeds.com/seedsaving.html

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/clay56.html

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/clay51.html

http://www.northerngardening.com/LSseedsavg.htm

http://www.kidsgardening.com/growingideas/projects/aug04/pg1.html

Planning a Garden

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As with anything, planning a garden is key to the success of the project.  If you know me well, you know this is backwards thinking for me.  I’m a doer, not a planner.    Details tend to slow me down.  But if planning helps me get the most from my grocery dollars then it will help me save gardening money too.

I’ve been at the kitchen table today trying to figure out many snap together garden kits I should purchase, and been making a list of seeds to buy.  This little panicky feeling came over me at the same time, wondering if all those expensive seeds would fit into the number of garden squares I could afford.  As I was doing a little research, I realized there was a mathematical way to know if it would all work out.  Make a plan!

There were so many things to think about that I soon got overwhelmed.  Then I put the steps in this order.

1.  Divide your paper into 3 columns

2. In the first column, write down the vegetables that your family enjoys most (or will use).  Cross out the ones that won’t grow in your area.

3.  On the left, star the vegetables that you would like to can, freeze, or dry for use all year.

4.  In the second column write down how much a week of that vegetable you use.  For example, we eat about 2 quarts of green beans a week. 

5.  In the third column multiply by 44 to find out how much you need to preserve for the year.  (I subtracted 8 weeks of fresh produce use from the 52 weeks of the year.)

6.  Use this chart  from the KSU extension center to know how many seeds to buy/ plants to plant.

7.  Once you’ve done that, you’re ready to design a home for all those plants.

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I found this beautiful garden plan from Heart of Wisdom.  It’s worth the click over to her blog for more planning tips.  She used a 30 day free trial of the GroVeg software to make this beautiful plan.  I just signed up for my free trial and it is a lot of fun.

Another good source for learning to plan a garden is from My Squarefoot Garden.  She uses Excel to build a visual plan and also has examples adn tips on her site for making a winning plan.

If you aren’t convinced squarefoot gardening is for you, Better Homes and Gardens has an article to help you plan any style of vegetable garden.

More Seed Starting Ideas

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I had convinced myself it was okay not to garden this year with a wee babe due on planting day, but after I found the snap together square foot garden boxes at Sam’s Club, I’m thinking again. 

I had also told myself not to bother trying to start seeds indoors again, since all previous attempts had flopped because of insufficient light.  Then I got my Family Fun Magazine in the mail.  They showed a child starting garden seeds in a plastic baseball card organizer. (If a child can do it…right?)  He filled the pockets with seed starting mix and pushed a seed in the top of each one, then used suction cups to attach it to the sunniest window.  Here’s a photo of one unfilled to help illustrate.  Since they are pressed up right against the glass, low light isn’t much of a problem anymore.

I can see two possible problems here:  1.  There are no drain holes to help prevent overwatering (but then I wouldn’t want them to drip down my window! and 2. What if the suction cups decide to let go?  Ooh, that could get messy.  I’m headed to Hobby Lobby with my coupon for card sleeves anyway.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

This blogger uses ziploc bags to start her seeds and a commenter said she attaches her clear baggies to the window with suction cups too.

I hesitate to even show you these since they are so awesome, yet I can’t find them for sale anywhere.  These containers are called, Windowherbs by Zodesign, and were designed so you could grow an entire herb garden indoors.  I wonder how lettuce would do in them during the winter?