This Christmas, Here’s a Gift that will Bless All Year Long!

Order for your family and friends today at imprbooks.com

Penny Pinching Meals presents a thrifty lifestyle as an exciting experiment. It will have you asking, “How far can I stretch the contents of my cupboard today and still have my family smiling?” The answer will be: “Further than you think!”

This is not about skimping and portioning and leaving the table hungry. This is about transforming and reusing and economizing to provide plenty. These recipes are simple and streamlined, but this is far more than a cookbook. It is a manual of tips and techniques and creative ideas that will leave your family happy and satisfied.

For the past several months, I’ve been praying for relief from our family’s debt. For you it might be the another financial woe.

In 2002 my husband lost his job and was out of work for more than a year. We piled up a mountain of debt that we’re still fighting 7 years later. But the good news is, God put an opportunity in my path that has become the answer for us. It may be for you.

You can hear the complete story here:
http://tinyurl.com/roseystory

If that idea touches a chord with you, please join me tomorrow night, Monday June 29, for more information during a telephone conference and webcast.

Click here for more info about how to get into the meeting:
http://dowteamforum.com

God bless!
Rosey Dow

Party invitations, decorations, entertainment, and food are all
essential to a traditional Independence Day celebration. While visions
of stationery stores, caterers, and a band come to mind, the sound
ka-ching resonates through them all. Fortunately you can have a great
time with friends and family while spending much less than you imagine.
Here are some ideas to get you started:

Invitations
1.    Record yourself and maybe a friend or
two, singing an off-key made-up tune inviting your friends. If you
aren’t opera star material, and you don’t mind
laughing at yourself, this will make the invitation all the more fun.
Send these audio clips out in emails, sort of a singing telegram in
cyberspace.

2.    Use your color printer to print the
invitation, roll it up with the print side out, and slide it into a
clear water bottle. Size the paper so it will release and become
readable one it’s inside. Tighten down the lid, fix a stick
label to the bottle and send it through the mail. Make a sample and
take it to the post office so you can get the proper postage for these
and mail one to yourself so you can see how long it will take to
arrive.

3.    Video yourself with a webcam and post
the clip to YouTube with a private setting. Send your friends the
YouTube link or Embed the video into a web page invitation if you are
computer savvy.

Decorations:
1.    Dig through your Christmas and
Valentine’s Day decorations for generic red or white items.
Add some blue items from the thrift store or dollar store and
you’re there.

2.    Check the Dollar Tree. They have
seasonal decorations at amazing prices.

3.    Check thrift stores for vases and
other items that you can spray with a $1 can of paint. For example,
spray the item white and stick on stars in red and blue.

Entertainment:
1.    A boom box and a stack of your
favorite CDs. Or borrow some CDs from a friend who is a connoisseur.

2.    Give a student experience at playing
for a live audience. At 15-25, whether the first chair at a recital or
a master’s student, students need places to play and the fee
would be minimal compared to a professional.

3.    Barter with a friend who plays. If
she’ll play for your party and you’ll help set up
for hers.

Food
1.    Spend time creating a beautiful table
arrangement with items you have or from the list above, then keep the
food simple: veggie trays, cheese and crackers, chips and dip.

2.    Ask key people to bring their best
dish. “I love your cheesecake, Aunt Jo. Would you mind
bringing one to the party?” Just 2-3 of these contributions
can make all the difference. And Aunt Jo will be flattered, too.

3.    Eliminate alcohol, lightly spike the punch, or make the event BYOB.

4.    Watch coupons and sales. Combine the 2 and catch great deals. Begin in April and save those jars of dip and cans of nuts for your party.

With a little imagination you can host a party and hardly feel it in
your pocketbook. After all, the fun comes from the jokes, the laughs,
the fun. And those are all free.

For more than 40 pages of ideas, check out Summer Party Ideas and Plans Collection.

Mark and Laura Wilson are passionately in love. Orphaned as a teenager, Laura married Mark knowing that her loneliness was gone forever. How could life be better? But then a thief with a gun walked into their store, and their lives changed forever.

Filled with a overwhelming desire to pursue the outlaw, Mark left Laura although she clung to him, begging him to stay. Alone for the second time in her life, Laura takes a teaching job and waits and prays for Mark’s safe return while Mark roams the rugged mountains. Can their love endure the hurt feelings of betrayal… the dangers, doubts and fears… the months of separation?

Inspirational/Mystery/Romance, softcover, 417 pages

Click Here to read the first chapter.

Click Here to order.

One of the most exciting new methods of communication today is the Internet teleseminar. This is similar to a radio interview but much, much simpler. A teleseminar is an interview that is broadcast over the phone lines and the Internet at the same time. The speakers are using their the telephones. To attend, all you need to do is dial into the special conference number and put in the ID code. You’ll immediately enter the conference and hear the entire interview. You can even listen on your cell phone while in the car.

Or if you’d rather, you can listen from a special web page. The interview will come over your computer speakers just the same as if you were on the phone, but this method is free to anyone in the world–no international charges. People on the web page can also ask questions and hear the presenters answer them right there from their computer speakers.

Angela Breidenbach

Tonight, I’m going to be interview Mrs Montana International Angela Breidenbach. Please join us and see how this amazing technology works. It’s as simple as making a phone call or clicking a web link. And if you can’t be there for the live event, you can listen to the replay. It will be up almost immediately on the web page.

To attend, just go to:
http://tinyurl.com/mrsmontana

and enter your first name and email address. Once you do that, you’ll get the phone number and also the web page information via email. The interview is tonight. I hope to meet you there.

Warm wishes,
Rosey Dow

Join us on July 15th as Angela Breidenbach talks about filling your treasure chest with Gems of Wisdom and her passion for helping children at home and abroad through Hope’s Promise Orphan Ministries, The Jadyn Fred Foundation, and promoting healthy lifestyles with the American Heart Association.

Registration is free at
http://tinyurl.com/mrsmontana

When we thing about working, we generally focus on the hours we work per week and the total paycheck. While it’s true that getting the most pay for your hard work is critical, there are other aspects to consider when thinking about the value of your job.

While employment brings you income, but it costs you as well. If you are on track with living a simpler, healthier, greener lifestyle, you need to consider all drains on your budget including this one.

Here are 5 ways your job may be costing you:

1. Commute expenses.

A. How much gas are you when you travel to work? Figure out your average gas mileage:

1)      The day before your work week begins, fill your car with gas and jot down the mileage reading on your odometer.

2)      Get the accurate distance of your drive, not your estimate but the mileage from your odometer. Jot down the mileage when you leave home and the mileage when you park in the lot then subtract them. Or use your vacation mileage counter, if you have one.

3)      When the tank is low, fill the tank again. Note down the number of gallons you’ve used and the miles you’ve driven.

4)      Divide the miles by the number of gallons. For example, if you have driven 355 miles and used 10 gallons of gas, you would divide 355 by 10. Your miles per gallon would be 35.5.

5)      Take your distance to work from #3, multiply by 2 to get the to-and-from amount. Then multiply by the number of days you work per month. For example, if you drive 5 miles to work, then your to-and-from distance is 10 miles per day. If you work 20 days per month, you drive a total of 200 miles per month.

6)      Multiply the miles per month by your gas mileage. In this case 200 miles times 35.5 miles per gallon equals 5.63 gallons per month.

7)      With gas at $2.00 per gallon, your total gas allowance for your job is $11.26 per month.

B. Do you own your car because of this job? If so, add your car payments, insurance, and maintenance costs per month. Even stops at the car wash should be included. The average older car costs about $1200 per year in repairs, so add $100 per month for repairs as well, if your car is more than 5 years old.

2. Does your closet contain clothes you consider your work clothes? If so, how much does it cost to maintain your wardrobe. For example, bank tellers and clerks at upscale clothing stores are expected to look classy on a very un-classy paycheck. How much is your work wardrobe worth? And how much does it take to maintain it?

3. Do you pay for daycare or after-school care? Be sure to add those expenses to your list along with special food, diapers, or other materials these services require.

4. What about the fatigue factor? Do you stop for fast food or call out for pizza because you are so tired you can’t face the kitchen routine? Mark those charges on your kitchen calendar (Ordered Pizza, $25) and add them up at the end of the month. Add 75% of the total to your monthly work expense list since you would still pay about 25% of the cost when you cook a meal.

Once you have your 4 amounts, think about how you could cut costs in each category. By shopping for consignment items? Paying a student for after-school care instead of a childcare service? Trading in for a more fuel-efficient car?

Don’t rule out the possibility of finding a job closer to home or a job with flexible hours so you could avoid childcare expenses.

Working at home eliminates the car, wardrobe, and childcare altogether. Even at a greatly reduced income, you may still come out ahead. Is that an option for you?

No matter how large your paycheck seems, what really matters is how much you get to keep.

Check out the video trailer for my new cookbook Penny Pinching Meals

We all love tender stories. Some love to sigh and sink deeper into their soft armchairs, others love a good cry. Think of best-selling authors who have that ability: Nicholas Sparks, Francine Rivers, and Janette Oke. Their characters are so real and have such deep needs that we can’t help but lose ourselves within the pages of their books.

But where does that ability come from? Some writers have a natural gift for this kind of writing, but others must develop it. Either way, creating heartfelt prose is a skill that most fledgling writers can discover and strengthen over time.

Here is the key: Writers who stir our hearts are brave enough to reach into the hurting corners of their own souls. Instead of shying away from the pain, they explore it and embrace it and articulate it in great detail. Every aspiring writer would love to have such a soul connection to their readers, but they don’t have the courage to go where you have to go in order to have that happen.

Many times I’ve wept as my fingers swept across the keyboard, yet those pieces are the best I’ve ever written. It is from our own pain that we have a chance to reach other hurting souls who need so desperately to hear from us. (2 Corinthians 1:4) Every one of us has places in our hearts that only God can comfort. What amazing joy it brings when He allows us to share that comfort with others’people we will never meet and yet we can move so profoundly.

What hurting corner can you explore in your next story?

Mention the word frugal and many people duck for cover. They feel deprived before they hear another syllable. However, the idea of frugality is catching hold with a new connotation—simpler, healthier, gentler living.

An old breakfast food advertisement showed a family groomed and dressed sitting at a cloth-covered table eating eggs and sausage and holding polite conversation. The image was in black and white. The clothing styles were outdated and drab. Then suddenly the scene shifted to brilliant colors, blaring music, kids screaming and running through the kitchen while cereal boxes went flying. Mom and dad were trying to sip their orange juice while packing lunches and watching the clock.

That was an ad for quick and easy (and very expensive) breakfast food. But my question is this: what was wrong with the first scenario? What’s wrong with a simple breakfast for 25% of the expense? Why is the quiet, simple lifestyle drab and boring?

Is basketball no longer stimulating and amusing? Do skateboards cause boys to stretch and yawn? Do girls sag in their seats at the thought of getting together with friends at a park for a picnic? If you can engage in an activity for little or no cost, does that make it drab and boring?

Where does it end? With a conscious decision to make a change. Ask yourself these 3 questions:

1. Are my purchases based on my desire for true fulfillment or a gut reaction to marketing?
2. Can I turn away from shopping as entertainment?
3. Can I change my mindset and begin to notice every dime that leaves my wallet and bank account?

It seems like a paradox that more spending leads to less contentment, but that’s exactly what happens. Frugality doesn’t mean deprivation. Instead, it means conscious choices that will bring real satisfaction and shut the mouth of that little voice urging you to buy more.

Join us at http://PainlessPennyPinching.com where we’ll help you Live More and Spend Less!

Tues evening, master storyteller Melea Brock will perform her story “Suitcases” online. The performance is absolutely free. This is a wonderful opportunity for those who may be visually impaired or shut in since her voice will be broadcast via telephone and webcasting.

Listen to a sneak preview of “Suitcases” here.

Adults and children will enjoy the program in honor of Easter week. The live event is on April 7 at 6pm Pacific / 9pm Eastern / Wed. noon Sidney / -4GMT

But if you can’t be there for the live event, the replay will be up almost immediately.

Register free at http://StorynightwithMelea.com

Warm wishes for a blessed holiday!
Rosey Dow