Christian Homekeeping

American society is constantly pushing against the family.  The most normal thing of all - having a family - is now considered repugnant.  However, remember, God created family!  It is no wonder this "world" doesn't want it.  Don't fall for churches and pastors that preach the world's ideology of preventing children, as if God was ever going to change His tune and start preaching the devil's doctrine.

Now, we are facing an economical attack on the family that could become successful during my lifetime of making it almost impossible for Americans to live on one income; that is, if you keep the American mindset of what normal is.  Americans think that we all must have our own house, fully furnished and eat meat at every meal and anything less is poverty.  No wonder the world scoffs at us when we talk about hardship!  

Is it really impossible to live on one income in America today?  Let's see what you can do going forth to be obedient to God rather than make excuses for your disobedience:

1. Multigenerational family living - Women will disobey God's Word of being a keeper at home because she deems it necessary due to her husband's low wages, when she hasn't even considered multigeneration living with her parents or in-laws or even her adult children.  More and more Americans are starting to do what the rest of the world has always done, living in a multigenerational home.  I would rather share a home with my adult daughter and her family than her (or even me) forsake God's commands and God forbid work on a job to have a singular family home.  When push comes to shove - do you look for alternatives or are you quick to rebel against God's Word?
2. Extreme frugality - I see it all the time, women think if they can't get their nails and hair done, eat out everyday and shop for clothes every week, then they are struggling.  God has to be nauseated at the American lifestyle!!  Practice a little frugality to bring yourself down to earth and have some discipline.  Eat meat only a few times a week and learn how to make good, nutritious meals with beans and other meatless options.  Not only is this good for your wallet but it is very good for your health, not to mention your waistline.
3. Giving up American luxuries - Most Americans don't view things such as high speed internet, new cars, name brand clothes, cell phones and eating out as luxuries but they are!  You could could cut out your high speed internet and downgrade to a cheaper plan or get rid of home internet altogether and use the library public Wi-Fi and computers that tax dollars pay for.  Buy cheap, used cars and keep up on the maintenance to help them last longer.  Shop thrift stores and yard sales for clothing or just make what you have last longer by taking care of it.  Cut out expensive cell phones and plans and go with a cheaper option or get rid of your cell phone or landline altogether and just have one.  Stop eating out and spare yourself disease that restaurant food attributes to and cook healthy food at home.  This king of goes hand in hand with #3 but we tend to view these luxuries as necessities and it just isn't so.
4. Sell things - As a wife, you could possibly find time to sell your crafts or goods online or at fairs.  You could also resell things from second-hand shops on eBay.  It's an option and one that I personally feel is acceptable if it doesn't take you away from your responsibilities.
5. Move and live where you can afford - If you can't make it where you are, don't stay there after exhausting the above list - MOVE!  Many cities and small towns in America are affordable, just pick up and move.

I last blogged about food prices from the end of March through June.  I decided that it's too much for me to go through 3 months of receipts to do those detailed posts.  I've decided to do a short list of things I've recently purchased to show the current prices instead.  

I've created a folder with the free printables so you can download them all or whichever one you want.  They are very simple, no frills and get the budgeting job done.  I also included a folder with calendars from July-Sept that I saved from Google if you need those.  

Here's what the monthly fixed expenses printable looks like:

I last blogged about food prices from the end of November through March and you can see that post by clicking here.  Below are prices from March 21st through June 3rd, and you can see the price increases in yellow and the price decreases in green.  You can definitely see that things have gone up overall.  Yet, we can still purchase good food for a reasonable price I believe.  My challenge is actually finding some foods, as we have had a lot of shortages and I will have to go to Kroger to find it, or even order from online for certain items.

I didn't include items from the last list that I didn't purchase March-June 3rd on this list.

I did a detailed budget plan to map out what we live on a year (not counting taxes) and we live on $32,620 in 2022!  This amount includes all our expenses like mortgage/property-taxes/insurance, utilities, even our current car loan, subscriptions, food, gas, haircuts (for the males), medical/dental and even extras.  The $32,620 does not include the federal income taxes, SS tax, medicare tax or Ohio state and local taxes and doesn't include anything that would come up like emergencies.  It is just basic living without dire emergencies.  We also don't receive any government handouts or food stamps or anything like that.  We are just frugal in our daily expenses.  I'm not sharing our income because my husband asked me not to, but I wanted to do a post to show people how it is possible to live a nice life under $40,000 still in America without the government.  We use our extra income to save, spend on things we want and vacations and give away to those in need.  We of course pay tithe and offering to our church.

I saved my receipts from November 23rd to March 5th to track the rising costs of food at my local Aldi and Kroger, and I've added in Walmart.  I blogged about my Oct-Nov prices already but this is the next update covering the next 3 months.  I've highlighted in yellow the price increases and in green those that decreased in price.  Not a lot of price increases for us yet.  However, the problem for us lately is finding what we need, as there has been a lot out of stock and then we have to buy higher-priced items at Kroger.  

Also, some items I haven't bought since the last price list, so I don't know what their current price is.

I've saved my receipts and decided to post current prices in my area at my Aldi and Kroger.  These are from October 1st - November 9th.  It should be noted that I buy only grass-fed organic red meat, organic milk, soymilk, tortilla chips and some organic produce and other foods.  I haven't made a price book in a long time, so I decided to start keeping track.  Since I was doing a stock-up of sorts, I thought was now a good time and would be beneficial to a lot to compare in your area.  Several things have risen 20 cents each or more as I'm comparing 4 weeks receipts, so I'm putting the current higher price.  It is so tiny that you may not notice it if you didn't pay attention to the actual price.  Also, some items have shrunk in size and amount you get for the same price!  Sneaky sneaky  😋  I may try and do this every month because, not only do I want a list to compare to, but I think it would help others.

We've had a 401K since we were 26 and didn't know really anything about it except that our money grew very well.  This past year we made an absolutely incredible amount and I didn't understand why my conscience always bothered me about the 401K.  I don't believe it is gambling, so why was I feeling so wrong?

I started understanding more about it all and then realized these "mutual funds" we are invested in, are actually a basket of companies.  I wondered what kind of companies are we involved in?  That, to my horror, was when I realized why all these years I felt my conscience feel so sick towards our 401K.  We were invested in Fakebook (gag me already), Abortion, Pornography... you sick yet?  Even Caesar's Entertainment!  OH MY GOODNESS, forgive us God!  So, I'm thinking how ashamed I am and then I find out that some "Christians" say it's ok to do this and they enjoy the money made off all the evil.  SAY WHAT!?

So, to check on the proposed "ok-ness" of all this, I did some research and spoke with some experts on the phone.  Guess what folks - you are PART OWNER when you invest in these companies. 

We follow Dave Ramsey's guidelines loosely, but we used to be totally 100% into his plan.  I had called Ramsey about 5 years ago asking if we should just go ahead and buy a home because we had been renting for 16 years.  We didn't have 20% down but we were completely debt-free and had our 3-month emergency fund saved.  He cut me off and didn't let me speak anymore and went on his usual rant about having 20% down or Murphy will move in the spare bedroom.

He didn't take into account that we had numerous medical bills over the years that took any money we could have saved at the time because we were following his get out of debt fast plan and went gung-ho every time we had a medical bill, so we never stopped and actually saved a down payment.  We decided to buy a home anyway and I'm glad we did!  Because today, our home is worth $120K over what we owe!  We actually have an asset and the mortgage payment is parked for 30 years, the only thing that goes up are the property taxes and homeowner's insurance.  It was the best decision we could have made because this area rents out a 3 bedroom for well above $1400 a month and that wouldn't have worked for us.

Dave Ramsey does say some things I agree with, one being make sure your housing costs are 25% or less of your monthly take-home pay.  This used to be easily done because housing prices were affordable.  However, right now we are having massive inflation and low inventory in homes for sell is causing the most ridiculous market I've ever seen!  Whatever you do, don't buy something you can't afford.  Just look at these figures that I entered on Ramsey's website calculator for families making anywhere from $40K-$70K:

Having an income of $6,500 take-home pay, puts you making over $85,000 at least, including taxes in there.  So, there is no affordable housing right now using Ramsey's guidelines for most Americans that make less than middle-upper middle class.  Some people are buying homes based on 40% of their take-home pay and this is beyond dangerous, it is ridiculous!

You must think about what you CAN afford - since you can't afford what's out there right now, can you afford to build a new home?  Can you afford a small piece of land and a tiny home?  That may be the saving grace of many families and if that is all that you can afford, then that is all you can afford!

Don't put yourself into a situation that not only compromises your finances, but also compromises your obedience to God's Word as being a keeper-at-home!  

I've discussed this very thing with my daughter recently and we talked about how we may not always have it so good - things can change and you must put God first and obedience to His Word.  If your treasure is in Heaven, then it won't matter how many square feet you have or don't have.

I recommend everyone write your Congressman and demand affordable housing!  I have more to say on this in the future and hope to do a podcast about it.  But most importantly, PRAY - because God can open doors that are closed for others and you would be amazed because nothing is impossible with God!!  Somewhere out there is a wealthy builder who will be part of the solution and build some affordable, smaller homes and I pray that God will bless this man 1000-fold!

Image credit: My screenshots of DaveRamsey.com

I absolutely loved Dave Ramsey's response in this call about mothers staying home with their kids!  He talks about how his wife hasn't made a dime in her life - she's been a (full-time) mother for 33 years and a grandmother.  Being a mother is the most valuable job you could ever have!!  Go Dave!

I was using plain, cheap white envelopes for cash purchases but I was tired of them tearing and getting all bent up in my purse.  I came across these from Clever Fox and I absolutely love them!  They're waterproof, tear proof and hold their shape very well and even come with budget sheets and a zippered bag to keep them in.


Last year we started going back to using a debit card and cash envelopes after I got tired of being a paycheck behind on paying bills.  Although we paid off our credit card twice a month, I just kept having stress about it not being money we actually had that 2 week period.  Some months I would spend more and be stressed if we would get enough to pay it off.  I never paid a dime of interest.  I also have received over $2,000 in cash rewards since having the credit card but at what cost?  I may get $50 back a month but it's so much easier to overspend when using a credit card - so it wasn't helping!

I'm sure you all know about the government shutdown and the sad stories of so many that can't pay the bills, rent, etc. because they just missed a paycheck.  However, the issue isn't the government shutdown - the issue is that so many people in America can't make it ONE month without pay!  If you can't make it without pay for ONE month, then you must do whatever you can do RIGHT NOW and start preparing!

The issue of unpreparedness could be traced to a lack of maturity in some cases.  Immaturity screams, "I want it now!' and is impulsive and doesn't think to the future or consequences.  Maturity waits till it has the money, considers the risks and looks to the future.  Sure, there are exceptions - families or people who had the savings but just recently came in to a big medical bill or car repair that wiped out their emergency fund or just being poor or without work and unable to save.  However, for most, it has never even been a thought to save for a possible calamity or emergency but just depend on the government to see you through.  I've found that if you put your trust in God and do your part - by preparing - you will be ok no matter the emergency that comes your way.

Look at your budget and determine your total expenses for one month that is needed.  Strive to save that money and put it in savings in preparation for an emergency in which you could be without a job for a month or there is some sort of crisis that prevents you from even going to work or getting paid.  Most families of 4 should be able to get by on $2,000 unless you have debt.

I believe this is a great wake-up call to Americans to start saving!  At least set aside that one month of expenses and don't touch it until you really need it and then work on replenishing it when things calm down.  Teach your kids to save (and pay tithe!) and to think more on the future than the right-now.  No one else is going to teach them, actually quite the opposite!

I was playing around with some numbers on the new drafted tax forms from the IRS for this coming tax season of 2018.  It is pretty amazing how great Trump's new tax plan from last year is for families.  It is especially great for families with more than 3 kids but those with 2 kids will also find great savings.

For the typical family of 4, that includes 2 children, you actually will pay NO federal tax at all until your household income reaches $60K.  Then, for every $5K after that, you will pay on average $600 or 12% as shown below.  However, if you go into the next tax bracket past $78,950, your tax increases to 22%.

2-dependent child tax credit households making:

$60,000 and below = NO federal income tax owed
$65,000 = $600
$70,000 = $1200
$75,000 = $1800

If you have a 3rd child, you may even qualify for an additional child tax credit, which means the government will actually PAY you for having that child despite you not paying a dime in federal income tax.  Some may say that isn't fair but it is!  By having children, you are helping the government by adding another taxpayer.  It is great the government is finally giving back - oh, thanks to Marco Rubio who added this child tax credit increase at the last minute before the bill passed.

It isn't all roses, even though you may not pay federal income tax, you still must pay about 13% in other taxes:

• Social Security tax - 6.2% of income
• Medicare tax - 1.45% of income
• State Income Tax - Ohio's is 2.6% on most families
• City Income Tax - if you live in a state that taxes the city you work in, you pay up to 2.5% of income
• School Tax - again, if you live in a district that taxes you, you pay average of 1% of income tax

So for a family making close to $60K - you may pay upwards of $7,800 in other income taxes.


*Averages are based upon a typical one income earner, married filing jointly, with W2 wages only and no contributions to HSA, retirement, etc.  Calculation short list: Income - $24,000 standard deduction = taxable income; tax - child tax credits of $4,000 for 2 children = 0 tax owed

We had a unexpected situation recently that we had to make an immediate upfront payment for.  It was a large sum money and one we believed was going to be reimbursed to us in the near future.  However, the reimbursement was being denied (which just isn't right for them to do!), and we were left with the lack of funds to cover our monthly expenses.  I was angry and just couldn't believe that such an injustice would be done and then we were left in a situation that could put us into debt temporarily.

In the midst of this anger and fear - I stood up and began declaring the Word of God!  I prayed and petitioned Heaven for help to correct this wrong done to us.  I then did my best to let the situation go and just waited upon God to move.

Nothing happened.  I was getting nervous as the date was drawing nearer and we were going to be short money and be in debt to cover our regular expenses.  This past Sunday I knelt at the altar and asked for financial help.  I didn't think much about it until Monday came and the miracles started flowing in drowning me in blessings!!

Why are we supporting legislation to help women with child care costs when they should be raising their own children at home?  We should only be helping women who are single or have husbands that can't work - you know, the ones who actually need it?  How about being content with your husband's wages and raising your children, like everyone else does that makes it on one income?  Put aside greed, your selfish desires, your "success" and follow after God's design for women - being a mother!  Novel thought I know.

Save the food stamps, housing, child care costs, etc. for those who NEED it - the disabled and single.  Quit stealing the working man and his family's money!!

That goes for school too - why do we support a socialism-based schooling system where everyone has to pay for it?  Pay for your own!  Leave the funded-school for those that NEED it.

If you keep milking the system and stealing from others - you will keep saying the same ole' rhetoric that you can't make it on one income.  I've got a newsflash for you - God's way works and He blesses you for obedience!!


*Unfortunately the medical world and insurance companies have made it almost impossible for ANYBODY but a millionaire to afford the medical costs today.  What needs to happen is the costs to go down and bring back affordable premiums and costs.  Until then, we have Christian-sharing ministries to help afford the costs if your employer doesn't provide a low-cost plan.

As a homemaker you manage your home, and I believe this includes the budgeting and researching for what is needed, such as health insurance.  I wanted to help by showing you how I evaluate which plan overall would not only save the most, but in my opinion, be well worth the "risk."

Let's take 4 plans offered by a large employer.  You have the highest plan known as the PPO generally, which has the highest premium but lowest deductible and offers copays along with coinsurance.  Next, is the step-down plan, which costs a bit less in premiums but the deductible is higher.  Then, there is usually a third plan that is the lowest premium but highest deductible.  However, since Obamacare, a lot of employers have started offering high-deductible plans, which is the 4th one I'm going to share.  This plan has a very low premium but a very high deductible.

1. PPO Plan - $9,300/yr premium, $775/month; $2,000 deductible with copays ($30 doctor visit, etc.) and 20% coinsurance.  Yearly family maximum is $12,500.
2. Plan #2 - $6,200/yr premium, $517/month; $4,000 deductible with 20% coinsurance.  Yearly family maximum is $7,000.
3. Plan #3 - $4600/yr premium, $383/month; $6,000 deductible with 30% coinsurance.  Yearly maximum is $9,000
4. HDD Plan - $3,000/yr premium, $250/month; $10,000 deductible with 40% coinsurance.  Yearly family maximum is $12,500.

Let's consider a medical emergency happens of $10,000 total for the year for this family.  Here is what they will pay with each plan.  I include the premiums in the total cost but that is exactly HOW you should calculate your costs - what is it really costing you all year?

1. PPO Plan: $9,300 premium + $3,600 ($2,000 deductible + $1,600 (20% of $8,000)) = $12,900
2. Plan #2:  $6,200 premium + $6,200 ($4,000 deductible + $1,200 (20% of $6,000)) = $11,400
3. Plan #3: $4,600 premium + $7,200 ($6,000 deductible + $1,200 (30% of 4,000)) = $11,800
4. HDD Plan: $3,000 premium + $10K ($10,000 deductible +$0 (Nothing covered))    = $13,000

You can see the cheapest plan for a $10K emergency is Plan #2.  But we aren't done evaluating yet!  Most employers will give you money for medical bills in your HSA and it varies depending upon what plan you go with.  The HDD plan gets the MOST money from your employer of any other plan as you will see here:

1. PPO Plan: $12,900 yearly cost - NO employer HSA donation = $12,900
2. Plan #2: $11,400 yearly cost - $400 Employer HSA donation = $11,000
3. Plan #3: $11,800 yearly cost - $600 Employer HSA donation = $11,200
4. HDD Plan: $13,000 yearly cost - $1,000 Employer HSA donation = $12,000

Those are your true numbers to compare!  If you expect a $10,000 emergency, then go with the cheapest (Plan #2), however if you don't know what you will spend or if you will spend any at all, go with the HDD Plan as it is by far worth the risk.  It won't cost too much more than the other plans in the event of $10,000 medical emergency and it will save you thousands of dollars if you don't end up having any medical costs because you are paying a low premium!!


Here is another comparison - take the yearly premium plus the family maximum for each to see worst-case scenarios:

1. PPO Plan - $9,300 premium + $12,500 maximum = $21,800
2. Plan #2 - $6,200 premium + $7,000 maximum - $400 HSA donation = $12,800
3. Plan #3 - $4,600 premium + $9,000 maximum - $600 HSA donation = $13,000
4. HDD Plan - $3,000 premium + $12,500 maximum - $1,000 HSA donation = $14,500

Clearly, the PPO plan is a joke and takes most of your money, yet it is the most commonly chosen plan - go figure!  Plan #2, is your best worst-case scenario plan if you know surgery or something is coming up.


I hope that helped you all understand how health insurance works.  I've found that a lot of homemakers don't even research this or leave it up to their husbands, who have a struggle to even find time to research things like this!  Help him out and do it and save your family money and make sure you are with the right plan for your situation.

If you have listened to Dave Ramsey for any amount of time, you have heard about the 4 walls.  He recommends you take care of your 4 walls before anything else - always making sure you have your 4 walls!  What are the 4 walls?

Times are getting hard for a lot of "former" middle class families, now considered lower class, despite the economy going so well.  I've been reading it and hearing it in various places.  I'm talking about families that are living on one income already without luxuries.  Incomes aren't going up for a lot, though the prices of everything is, especially health care.

I decided to do a no-frills, no government assistance, just-make-it budget for a typical family of 4 on one income to see just what the base salary needs to be.  This family has no debt but the mortgage possibly.  They also have no life insurance, though some say you can get it for $10 a month, which could be easily added in.  

Tithe - $260
Offerings - $50
Housing (rent or mortgage/prop taxes/HO insurance) - $1000
Car Maintenance/Repair Fund - $90
Car Insurance - $50
Gasoline - $150
Home phone - FREE (Google Voice with Obihai)
Cell phone - $25 (Google Project Fi)
Additional Cell phone line - $15
Electric/Gas - $175
Water/Sewer - $30
Garbage - $30
Internet - $50
Food - $350
Necessity items - $50
Clothing - $30

Total:  $2,355/mo - Higher to cover taxes, so $15 an hour needed; $31,200/yr, $2,600/mo

A good wage for a family really needs to be at $15 an hour and no less to just live.  I didn't include health insurance because a lot are already going without.  Families that live at this level, would need to get government assistance for medical if they want to be covered, as it has become too outrageous for almost anyone to afford.

This budget includes no entertainment/fun money, eating out or other things that most of us do.  I suppose you could find a very cheap place to live to lower the housing and provide extra money that way but the norm around the US is about $1K for something decent - whether that is mortgage/taxes/insurance for a home or rent costs.

After seeing this written out, you can see what a lot of people are facing right now.  There are those that will cut out the tithe/offering but they will soon find out that you can't rob God and expect good things to come!  God has never failed in the 19 years I've paid tithe and offerings and never withheld!  It is HIS money to begin with - he lets you have 90%, please don't think your thoughts are higher than what God has established with our finances.


*Leave me a comment sharing your budget or thoughts.  I've hopefully fixed the comments, but I have no idea because some still say theirs doesn't show up.

I wanted to write this after my last post to make sure my readers know that I'm not saying if you do everything like God said, you will not have financial problems.  The rain falls on the just and the unjust the Bible says, but what is different about the Christian that is doing God's will in all areas of their lives, is that you can rest knowing that God will take care of you.  God WILL work it out as you have FAITH for Him to do so!  Faith is the missing piece today in the Christian world, it is sadly, a rarity.

Pray to God for wisdom and knowledge, do you actually ever pray for that?  I started praying for those 2 things several years ago and let me tell you - God delivered, just not in the way I had thought I would gain more of each.  I had to go through some things but came out the better and the wiser.  If you face a financial problem, pray and ask God for wisdom and knowledge about it.  Pray and believe in faith that God will answer.  Don't fret, worry and let anxiety take hold of you - stop, drop and pray!

A lot of our financial problems are really from our own doing.  From medical bills (due to not taking care of our health by eating right and exercising) to not saving money for life's surprises.  Let's face it, admit it and then ask God for mercy!  I've seen God move in my life when it seemed impossible and the debt, mostly from medical bills, seemed insurmountable.  I've had 9 surgeries and 2 children - it wasn't free!  God did amazing things like completely wiping out $26K from a computer that no one at the hospital billing could seem to figure out who did it or how it was taken off, but they said it was someone with administrator privileges and I didn't ask for financial aid!  God can do that! 

Our purpose in life is NOT to be rich or get money.  Our purpose is to do God's Will and live the life He wants for us. He WILL provide our needs!  He will even fulfill our wants as we ask in accordance to His Will.

I keep reading articles and seeing books being written about how bad it is financially right now for Americans.  From the talk of it, it is so bad with the "common family" that they can't help but live on the streets and in vehicles.  They can see why those on drugs, prostitution and other crimes live in these places due to their lifestyle choices, so why can't they see that it is the same for others as well?

Since when do people think they can go against God and His roles for each gender and the family unit and still turn out blessed?  Since when do people think that they can live a life of covetousness and it never come time to pay?  Since when is our mind so skewed that "poor" is when you can't live in a 2500sq ft house with the latest gadgets?

The married woman that works on a job instead of staying home is rebelling against God.  Rebellion IS as the sin of witchcraft!  1 Samuel 15:23  She sold out her place for vain glory and covetousness.  She neglected her husband and children for her own selfishness.  Plain and simple.  Listen ladies - your husband doesn't need a "help meet" who puts on the pants and goes and does the man thing!  He needs a hot meal when he comes from home from work and a clean house and laundry... and children that are actually being raised by their mother!  THAT is a help meet according to the Word of God.  If he needed a man, God would have made him one and sadly today, more and more men are turning to men.  What's the difference?  I mean you dress like a man, work like a man, act and go off at him like a man...  Femininity is far from the modern woman as she roars in dominion over the man and makes him feel like a weakling.

I was looking at a new book about why families can't survive anymore in America.  It talks about the reasons being the high cost of childcare, college being too high cost or the professional struggling after paying so much in college tuition and their jobs not paying enough - to saying it is so dire, they can't even AFFORD to raise children.

Child care isn't needed if the woman does her role.  College is a joke anyway and most college-educated people I know make less than my non-college-educated blue-collar husband.  And as for affording children, sure, people can't afford them that want to be covetous.  Again, plain and simple, their covetousness is their god and their reason for, again, rebelling against His Word of bearing children.

Payday will come - either financially speaking, emotionally, divorce or having children who go into all manner of sin, are on psych drugs or just plain are lazy because they never got what THEY needed - a mother!  Mother-hunger will haunt them their whole lives as they chase after so many things trying to fulfill what they should have gotten growing up from their mother.  Works for fathers too, the father not being there or being there but not being the man and leader - yep, children suffer.  The God-designed family unit is NEEDED and yet so many think they can do it their own way.

America is spoiled.  America needs to live within her means.  America needs to return to God's Word and plan for man, woman and family.  Then, and only then, will we be blessed.


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