Archive for the ‘Frugal Friday’ Category

Frugal Friday: Practicing Hospitality

by Mary O. Moss

One of my earliest memories of “cooking” is when I was very young and my mom allowed me to stir the party mix at holiday time. Now keep in mind, her party mix is legendary! So, it was an honor to have even a small part in the creation of her famous party mix.

My parents also entertained often and I have wonderful memories of helping my mom prepare some of her “specialties” (and sampling them as a reward for helping). The kitchen was the heart of the home throughout my childhood and that didn’t change when I had my own children. Food has always equaled family, fun, hospitality throughout my life.

Moses provides us a model for hospitality. “My lord,” he said, “if it pleases you, stop here for a while. Rest in the shade of this tree while water is brought to wash your feet.  And since you’ve honored your servant with this visit, let me prepare some food to refresh you before you continue on your journey.” “All right,” they said. “Do as you have said” (Genesis 18:3-5 NLT).

Hospitality is important in the lives of Christians. Feeding family and friends is one of the most tangible demonstrations of hospitality. Having meals ready to cook and serve offers us a chance to chat with family and friends and not spend all our time cooking in the kitchen! No preparation or last-minute planning means less stress and more time to enjoy each other’s company.

When I think of ways to cut my budget, though, my grocery list is almost always the first place I look. Years ago I found a wonderful cookbook, Once-A-Month Cooking by Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lageborg. This cookbook offers an easy plan to prepare meals for two weeks or an entire month at one time. Really – it’s great and even tells you what size pans and storage containers you’ll need and (my personal favorite) provides you a grocery list!

No gimmicks, here; just practical, step-by-step instructions. Pick one day a month to cook, gather around the family, give everyone an assignment and make it a family celebration! Even young children can divide up shredded cheese and chopped vegetables into one-cup servings.

Older children can help chop vegetables and slice fruits. They probably have mastered an electric can opener and hand mixer by this age and can help out with much of the meal prep.

Cooking once a month allows us to always have nutritious meals prepared to feed our family. No need to run through the drive-thru or stop by the grocery store every day. It also affords us the luxury of entertaining guests – even unexpected ones who stop by at dinner time – without throwing things into a panic.

Using a plan helps us save money at the grocery store as well—money we can put away for a “rainy day” or use to help others by donating or buying food to donate.

“Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling” (1 Peter 4:9).


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Live a life of extravagance!

by Mary O. Moss

No! You haven’t happened upon the wrong column! This is, indeed, Frugal Fridays! So why would I be advising readers to live extravagantly? The answer is not about money. It’s not about acquiring anything and everything we see or want! Nor is it about throwing lavish parties, celebrating recklessly or living foolishly. The extravagant life we are called to is one grounded in, and in celebration of, God’s great and amazingly extravagant grace!

“God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done. As one psalmist puts it, He throws caution to the winds, giving to the needy in reckless abandon. His right-living, right-giving ways never run out, never wear out. This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God” (2 Corinthians 9:8 The Message).

Yes, it is important to be good stewards of our money and our possessions, our time and our talents. There is another principle at work here, though!

Extravagance is defined as: exceeding the bounds of reason; going beyond what is deserved or justifiable. Because of God’s extravagant gift of His grace – the undeserved and unjustified gift that we could never earn or merit, we can go beyond the bounds of reason fully and completely in every aspect of our lives. Share friendship—invest in it wholeheartedly. Lavishly shower others with love and kindness.

Generously and with reckless abandon, spread the peace of Christ and the knowledge of our Heavenly Father with every deed and thought. Share God’s limitless and endless grace. What is our model for such extravagant gift-giving? It happened on the Cross over 2000 years ago. God gave up His beloved and precious Son so that we might have the extravagant blessing of eternal life in heaven!

While we may not throw confetti and send out invitations to a party, there are ways we can be generous and share our blessings with others without being reckless or foolish.  We don’t have to spend money we don’t have to buy gifts for friends and relatives. Our time and our presence are probably what they desire anyway.

A birthday card (even far away friends and family can receive an e-card) and a home-made birthday cake are rare commodities these days. Include in the card a note indicating you’ll be walking in an autism walk or the Susan G. Komen race for a cure, or participating in some other fundraiser in their honor. Even on a tight budget we can collect ‘box tops for education’ or Campbell’s soup labels for education. It’s not about how much we give, anyway! It’s about why. It’s about Jesus. And He is more than enough!


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Frugal Friday – Cast Your Bread Upon the Water

by Mary O. Moss

“Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again. Give portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land. Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well” (Ecclesiastes 11:1-2, 6 NIV)

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary explains the odd language of Ecclesiastes 11 for us. “Solomon presses the rich to do good to others. Give freely, though it may seem thrown away and lost. Give to many. . . And we may well trust God to provide for us, without our anxious, disquieting cares. Be not weary in well-doing, for in due season, in God’s time, you shall reap.”

Henry contends we must each labor to be a blessing to others. Further, we are to give what we can, when we can, to whomever we can. John Wesley, founder of Methodism, not only practiced, but implored others to practice, charity as a spiritual discipline.

The first verse Ecclesiastes Chapter 11 refers to the planting/sowing method during Solomon’s time. Rice was sown on muddy ground or ground covered with water and trodden by cattle into the ground, allowing it to take root. After many days, given the perfect combination of soil, water and fertilizer, the harvest was bountiful.

Verse two refers to an ancient custom whereby the host of a feast distributed several parts to each guest, and then sent portions to the poor.  John Wesley’s commentary implores us, “Early and late, in all seasons and occasions; [be generous] speedily and continually, be not weary of it.”

So what does all this have to do with frugal living?  In my first column, Why Be Frugal, I shared that living frugally involves being a good steward of what God has provided us and sharing with others. When we keep less for ourselves, we have more to share with others. When we rely upon God for all our needs and work hard to maximize the gifts he has bestowed upon us, we aren’t anxious about giving to others, or fearful that in doing so we will somehow be deprived.

Jesus tells us, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Luke 6:38 NIV).

Like all new habits, we are more likely to succeed if we start slowly and work our way up to a higher level. So for now, how about practicing generosity by making a starter batch of  Amish friendship bread and deliver a batch of the starter and a baked loaf to a new neighbor or one you’d like to get to know better.

Before you know it, you’ll be thinking of more and more ways to be generous without “breaking the bank.”


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Frugal Friday – Sell All You Possess?

by Mary O. Moss

“And behold, one came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions” (Matthew 19:16, 21-22 NRSV)

I don’t think Jesus was literally telling this man to give away all his possessions and become homeless. The point Jesus was trying to make is that we must place Him and His word above all other things in our lives. Money won’t buy us a place at the banquet table in heaven. It can certainly buy us plenty of wonderful things. But the worry and stress of excessive debt can interfere with our ability to live abundantly in Christ!

Jesus assures the young man in this passage [and us] that nothing on earth can buy him what he sought after the most. The young man asked Jesus what he lacked. Jesus gave him an answer that was pretty hard to hear. In essence, Jesus tells us that to live the life God has planned, we must place Jesus above anything else: above a new sofa, above a redecorated home, even above that amazing pair of shoes that have been calling your name. Spending money to buy things we can’t afford means we’re placing more value on “things” than we should.

Before we can be truly debt-free we need to free ourselves of all the stuff that is complicating our lives; all the stuff we didn’t need in the first place! Then we need to get rid of the debt that is keeping us from enjoying our life! A friend suggested selling our excess items (shoes, books, clothes, and other “stuff”) on e-bay, at a yard sale, on craigslist, or on consignment. Then use the money from selling all that stuff and apply it towards credit card balances. Cut back in other areas of your life for the time being, to get the burden of debt out of your life!

Pay as much as you can on the first card and pay the minimum balance due on each of your other cards. Then once you pay off the lowest balance card ($700 here), pay the minimum due on the Card #2 PLUS the payment you made on Card #1. So your payment on Card #2 ($35 in the example here) will become $49 ($14.00 + $35.00), etc.

Jesus wants to be the most important thing in our lives! He wants us to want only Him! He offers us treasure in heaven. Let’s face it: those ‘to die for’ shoes will wear out one day! Once the debt is gone, develop a habit of paying cash or only charging what you know you can pay off at the end of each month. Free of the burden of debt, we can begin to fully live abundantly in Christ—the ultimate fulfillment of all our needs.


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Frugal Friday – Why Be Frugal?

by Mary Moss

Frugality is defined as “economical in use or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful:a frugal manager.” [Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 16 Feb. 2010]

The question you might be asking is, “Why be frugal?” I share this at the top of my Just Be Frugal blog “I consider frugality an art form and a religious conviction. I learned about paying cash for purchases, recycling and reusing just about everything and being generous to friends and those in need from my parents.”

“My faith instructs me all things are gifted by God and so I am compelled to be a good steward of my gifts. [The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth he has given to man.]“ Psalm 115:16

Being frugal isn’t about money.  Yes, it involves money, but it’s about more than money. It’s about a mindset and a lifestyle. Yes, often frugality is a necessity. But it doesn’t have to be a hardship. Frugality is not stinginess or being cheap or tight-fisted. Nor is it an excuse not to share with others. Most of all frugality is NOT about deprivation!

Frugality demonstrates one’s belief that God will provide all one needs.

Fr freedom from the need to acquire more than we need
u unburdened from managing and maintaining  “stuff”
g generosity toward others is possible when I keep less for myself
a ample provision—think manna in the dessert – God provides what we        need
l less is more. Less me . . . more God

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them” (Matthew 25:14-15,19)

The servants who had received 5 and 2 talents, respectively, received praise and reward from their master upon his return because they had managed his fortune well and used what he had given them wisely. He told each of these servants, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

The servant who hoarded what his master had given him? The master declared  “Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him” (Matthew 25:28-29).

Don’t misunderstand! Whether one is homeless or a millionaire is not a reflection on one’s faith or lack thereof! God wants us to rely solely upon Him. He wants us to desire only Him. He also expects us to use wisely those gifts and graces which He has bestowed upon us.

When we make the decision to live frugally, we demonstrate our faith in an all-sufficient God who provides for our every need; who gave us the one perfect and unsurpassed provision: Jesus!

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