About Me
My name is Tami and I live in central Illinois with my husband, Larry and three children, Caleb (7), Camden (5) and Emma Grace (3). I hope you'll enjoy reading about my life as a wife/mother and about our family's adventures.
Works For Me Wednesday – Savings Spreadsheet
It has been a long time since I participated in a Works for Me Wednesday, but today is a theme day, a “Greatest Hits Edition”. And, this was my most popular Works for Me Wednesday post. It seemed to strike a chord with a lot of people.
My husband and I took a Financial Peace University class this spring at our church. We do fairly well with managing our money, but were hoping to get some additional tips to improve even more. After hearing all of Dave Ramsey’s tips for money management, we modified some of his principles to work for our family. One thing we have started is to set up a savings spreadsheet. Here is an example of ours, with modified numbers.
- emergency fund ($1000)
- 3-6 months of living expenses (not there yet)
We also put money in our savings every month for infrequent expenses:
- insurance
- car tags
- homeowners dues
- auto repair/maintenance
- clothing
- gifts
- home improvements
- school tuition/expenses
- vacation
Additional funds are added as we feel they are needed. We put money into our savings every paycheck for the second emergency fund (3-6 months) and our infrequent expenses and specific items we are saving for (a new computer or a vacation). When a bill is due or we have made a purchase from one of the infrequent purchase categories, we know the money is there. The money is then deducted from whatever the specific category is. For instance, we recently had an unexpected car repair and we were able to use the money in our emergency fund to pay for it.
This is still a work in progress for our family and we hope for it to improve over time. We have only been using this for about 6 months, but have already seen an improvement in how our money is managed.
Update: We have been using a savings spreadsheet for our family for about 2 years. It has really been working great and helpted to reduce our stress when purchasing an item when we know the money is available.
Go read more Works For Me Wednesday tips at Rocks in My Dryer.
Tags: 
Dave Ramsey, 
Financial Peace University, 
savings spreadsheet
Works For Me Wednesday – Special Plate
This is an idea that came from a friend and is something we are starting to do in our house.
The idea is for a “Special Plate”. At dinner, one person gets to use the special plate during the meal. The plate is different from the ones used by the other family members. It could be a different color or a plate made specifically for this purpose. There are a couple of ways the plate can be used:
- the plate is rotated from family member to family member each night and everyone else has to say something nice/positive about the person with the special plate
- the plate is given to a person who has had a “success” that day, such as a good grade, potty training, doing something nice for a sibling, etc. (the possibilities are endless)
This is a great way to encourage conversation at the dinner table and to remind others what they appreciate about the “special” person.
Go over to Rocks In My Dryer for other Works For Me Wednesday tips.
Tags: 
family time, 
conversation, 
special plate
Works For Me Wednesday – Keepsake Ornament Box
When our first son was born, my husband and I wanted to start a special tradition for his first Christmas. Thus began the keepsake ornament box. Every year, we get a special ornament that represents the past year. During the holidays, the ornaments go on a small tree in the hallway between the boys rooms. By the time our children leave home, they will have a box full of ornaments for their own Christmas tree and will have wonderful memories of past Christmases.
This was the first ornament for both of our boys.
Head over to Rocks In My Dryer for more Works for me Wednesday tips.
Tags: 
Christmas ornaments, 
holiday traditions
Works For Me Wednesday – Recycling Totes
We have been recycling in our house for years. We have tried several containers to hold all of the recyclables, but never been happy with anything we used.
These recycling bags from Design Within Reach have proven to be perfect for us. The bags are made of “industrial-strength tarpaulin, a heavy double-warp fabric, that is plastic coated.” They are waterproof, color coded, have velcro tabs to attach the bags together and handles to make for easy carrying.
I can usually go a couple of weeks before I have to take the recycling in since they hold so much. I place them on our basement stairs to stay out of the way. Our 3 year old son can even help with this. He knows which tote to put the recyclables in based on the color and is always excited to help.
Go read more Works For Me Wednesday tips at Rocks in My Dryer.
Tags: 
recycling, 
organization, 
recycling bags
Works For Me Wednesday – Savings Spreadsheet
My husband and I took a Financial Peace University class this spring at our church. We do fairly well with managing our money, but were hoping to get some additional tips to improve even more. After hearing all of Dave Ramsey’s tips for money management, we modified some of his principles to work for our family. One way was to set up a savings spreadsheet. Here is an example of ours, with modified numbers.
I have it set up by month and fund. The first two funds are:
- emergency fund ($1000)
- 3-6 months of living expenses (not there yet)
We also put money in our savings every month for infrequent expenses:
- insurance
- car tags
- homeowners dues
- auto repair/maintenance
- clothing
- gifts
- home improvements
- school tuition/expenses
- vacation
Additional funds are added as we feel they are needed. We put money into our savings every paycheck for the second emergency fund (3-6 months) and our infrequent expenses and specific items we are saving for (a new computer or a vacation). When a bill is due or we have made a purchase from one of the infrequent purchase categories, we know the money is there. The money is then deducted from whatever the specific category is. For instance, we recently had an unexpected car repair and we were able to use the money in our emergency fund to pay for it.
This is still a work in progress for our family and we hope for it to improve over time. We have only been using this for about 6 months, but have already seen an improvement in how our money is managed.
Go read more Works For Me Wednesday tips at Rocks in My Dryer.
Tags: Dave Ramsey, Financial Peace University, savings spreadsheet
Works For Me Wednesday – Homemade Vanilla
I’ve decided to finally participate in Works For Me Wednesday instead of just reading all of the great tips.
I haven’t bought vanilla in the store for several years. I’ve started making my own. Here is the recipe. Combine:
- 1 bottle vodka
- 4-5 vanilla beans
Store in a cool dark place (such as a cupboard or closet) for 4 weeks. Shake the bottle several times a week. The vanilla extract is now ready to use. I usually leave the vanilla beans in the bottle or you can remove them.
Go read more Works For Me Wednesday tips at Rocks in My Dryer.
Tags: 
recipes, 
homemade vanilla
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