A Practical Approach To Food Storage

Over the past several years we have been thinking about food storage. This was not a possibility when our obligations were going to our creditors. However, once we became debt free we realized that our next obligation was to plan for our future. Part of that planning involved food storage.

Food storage has been taught to us since we knee high to a grasshopper. My mom used to make all kinds of things out of wheat. I don't know that I was all that fond of it, but it left an impression on me nonetheless. So, when I thought of food storage I thought of wheat, rice, dry milk, sugar, and beans. Not real exciting things but when you are hungry they will fill your belly and are nutrient filled.

DeeAnn and I had differing opinions on the matter...kinda. I have found that more often than not our differing opinions are simply the way we approach the subject, in other words, it is simply a matter of perspective. Neither one of us were excited about what was suggested by the church, but I felt that if we truly believe in revelation and that the foundation of our faith is built upon that rock, then that should be our priority. However, I realized as DeeAnn did that it was not the most practical solution, because those items are not on our everyday menu. 

So, after looking at several different options, DeeAnn was inspired with a plan that satisfied, not only what we felt was our obligation to be obedient to the revelation for the church, but also would be practical for our eating habits. 

We decided that we would gather 3 months supply of the, what we call, hardcore extreme storage that was suggested by the church. This would be used for extreme emergencies, although we would incorporate certain things into diet so as to be able to digest it on a regular basis if necessary. So, by going to http://providentliving.org/ we found the tools to calculate what we needed and we have been working on gathering those items needed for our Extreme food storage.

Next we decided that to put some distance from us and the Extreme food storage, we would look into freeze dried and or dehydrated foods. Foods that have a long shelf life, but are more practical for what we use on a daily basis. We decided that Freeze dried was what we liked more and so we have chosen to go with  http://dailybread.com/ there are other companies out there as well, but we liked what we saw with these guys and the food was pretty tasty. They have a plan for 2 or 3 meals per day so you can tailor a plan to your needs and wants. Again other companies do the same, but we liked daily bread. 3 more months done and neither one would we have to worry about for 25 years. 

Lastly we decided to store up 3 months worth of every day foods our green beans, cream of mushroom soups, what ever we normally would eat week to week. 

Once these 9 months are taken care of we can then add a month to each level and have a years supply with little effort. 

This way we figured would be cheaper for us and more practical because it allows us to eat the things we like, while still having access to the things we need. We also figured that by the time we saw ourselves dipping into our secondary reserve we would be able to have enough time to work our extreme storage into our menu. 

My Thoughts on Finances

It is a well known fact that financial woes are the number one reason for divorce. First we have to recognize that financial problems have little to do with money, but we focus on money because money is easy to blame. We think we don't have enough or we think that our spouse just spends too much. More often than not our financial woes are simply a matter of ignorance, pride, and seeking comfort where you can not find it.
One of the reasons that we struggle is because we do not know how to communicate our emotions when it comes to finances and finances are all about controlling emotions. A man wants to be everything to his wife. He wants to feel confident and competent when it comes to running the affairs of his family. He wants to provide the necessities as well as the wants of his family. He does not want to know that he is falling short of his own high expectations. In the case of finances pride and ignorance seem to go hand in hand. Women on the other hand have the desire to feel secure and protected from their dragons. They place a high expectation on their man, because every woman knows that she married superman. She wants to believe that her every wish is at his command. Emotional spending might be blamed on both the man and the woman for these reasons.
Most of us grew up being taught how to tie our shoes, how to recognize the alphabet, and how to do math, but we do not learn about finances. Finances were done in the "office." Out of sight of the little people. All we know is mom and dad had money or they didn't have money. We never saw the games they played or the negotiations that they made in order to keep their household running. We have grown up for the most part without really learning the principles that govern money...especially budgeting.
Budgeting is where reality hits. As I said men do not want to know that they are failing and women do not want to feel unsecure. When we budget we have to face the facts. We have to step out of the fairy tale where money grows on trees and as long as we have checks we must still have money.
This is where a man and woman have the opportunity to grow closer together than any other way. When a husband and wife sit down together the woman encouraging her man, showing complete faith in him, beautiful things can happen. When a man sits down with his wife and they can create a workable plan, he will experience a hope like no other.

Once you can resolve to dealing with the real emotional issues involved with finances then you are ready to find the tools you need to make it as easy as possible. There are many ideas and many methods that have worked for others, but when it comes to comprehensive budgeting and planning tools I don't know of anyone with a better plan than Dave Ramsey. I highly recommend finding him on your radio or at least visiting his website and buying a couple of books. The principles he teaches are those we have been taught in the gospel all our lives, but we did not understand how to do it.  http://www.daveramsey.com/
My own experience with his program has been nothing less than miraculous. We went from going $200 dollars in debt every month to saving $1000 and paying off another $700 in 3 months. We went gang busters at first then we slowed down, but we were still able to pay off  $13,000, making less than $40,000 per year, and we did it in 2 1/2 years. We also remodeled my daughters room replaced a transmission and bought a used car in that same time period.

There is nothing more frustrating than working hard only to find out your debt load has increased. What is even more frustrating is watching someone do the same stupid things we were doing, and knowing that they will have to find out for themselves that it doesn't have to be that hard.

Poverty Is A Bad Habit

Poverty is not just the lack of finances it is a mentality. There are many who have money, but they don't know how to use it. They spend more than they make, on things that they do not need. There is nothing wrong with buying that which you want, so long as you take care of your needs first. There are also those who have no money but they have hope, and they are truly rich.
At this time of Year we often feel sorry for ourselves when we do not have money to buy our children the things they want, so we over extend ourselves and we go into debt. Sometimes we spend because it helps us feel hopeful, but it is a false sense of hope. Poverty comes when the reality of that false sense of hope reveals itself to us. Just as any other bad habit poverty becomes a cycle. We do it to feel strong, like we are in control, but in reality each time we spend it begins to control us more and more. Learning how to do with, reuse, or do without is a principle that your children will be blessed to understand. However, we must walk them through why we are doing it or they are likely to return to our own cycle of hopeless spending.
Have a truly Merry Christmas this Season.
Remember the real gift that Santa Gives.... http://thegiftthatsantagives.blogspot.com/