Living on a Dime

I think the best way to save money is just not to spend it. :) That sounds easy and all, but there are some things that are necessary to buy and some things that, as a culture, we deem as necessary. Here are a few ways I have saved money this year.


Library fines
(Who me? Ummm......yeah, the librarians just count on it.)
I pay my library fines by finding fifty cent to $1.00 (no more ever!) movies at yard sales. The librarian will take them in exchange for my humungous fines.

Groceries
I buy groceries at Walmart where I can price match. Before my Walmart price matching frenzies, I use to shop at Maceys. I loved Maceys. I was in Maceys last night and was amazed at how expensive everything seemed to be.
See http://corkyceran.blogspot.com/2013/05/grocery-shopping-at-half-price.html

Gifts
I buy birthday and Christmas gifts at garage sales, on sale, and at second hand stores. I buy them when I find them so my closet is always off limits because that's where I keep my treasures. I also keep in mind the things that are coming. We have a gift exchange at Christmas time; we have an ugly sweater contest in December; and we have extended family birthday parties once a month. There are always friends and family members having babies. Weddings are just around the corner. I keep my eyes peeled for gifts that look new and are something I wouldn't be ashamed of giving. I find so many things. For example, I found a  newlywed book written by Dr. Lund. He's a leading counselor on family issues. His ideas are great, and his stories are interesting and fun to read. It's a great wedding gift, and it was only fifty cents! For more examples see
http://corkyceran.blogspot.com/2013/05/an-example-of-my-garage-sale-deals.html and http://corkyceran.blogspot.com/2013/05/christmas-shopping-in-may-on-tight.html.


School Clothes
Yes, it's that time again, and I have 5 K-12 students this year. I mentioned the other day that as soon as my children's room were clean, I would pull out their school clothes. "What? We have school clothes?" Sure, we do. I have been stacking them on the top shelf of my closet, in order of age, for months now. Are they new? Not most of them, but they sure are nice. AND they were cheap! Again, I've been watching for great deals throughout the year. I was tempted many times to pull them down and give them to the children, but I kept in mind the day they would be so excited to have "new" clothes for the new school year.
There are still things for each child I need to buy. They all need socks and underwear, most of them still need shoes, and my six foot 145 pound Michael is not an easy one to find pants for, so I'll be having to find a tall and slim store for that one! :)

I'm going to be grow up and be a bum!

I first heard of this interesting line of work as a life's goal the first semester some of my children were in American schools. I was trying to convince my daughter to get her homework done when she asked in broken English, "Why you care? This my school."

"I want you to be able to go to college and get a good education so you can get a good job if you need to someday."

"I don't want to go college," she responded matter-of-factly.

"Oh, then how will you get a job if something happens to your husband?"

"I won't."

"Oh? Well, then how will you make money?"

"I'll beg!"

Shocked, I practically hollered, "I didn't bring you all the way to America to be a bum!"

Even more shocked, she shot back, "You just brought me here to work?"

ARG! I was swamped in a losing battle.

Obviously there was more culture shock than I was aware there would be. On both ends. I don't understand the mentality. But you know what? It's what they knew. When we hosted them, we asked them through a translator what they would like to be when they grow up. Christina and Alex had no idea. I've never heard of a child just not knowing what they want to be. Even the children in my preschool class want to be SOMETHING, even if it's a frog Prince. Jake did tell us he wanted to be a police officer. It took a very long time before our other ehildren would ever say what they want to be someday.

Today Christina dreams of serving an LDS mission to Greece, getting married, adopting a child from Africa, and even talks of becoming a pediatrician (after years of college!) She can do it, too. She's a bright girl and she's a girl who has learned how to dream, set goals, work hard, and how to accomplish what she can dream.

As for Alex, he found his dream job when we were in Mexico this past summer and saw a fire-breather on the street. Alex thought he was so cool, but wondered why he was doing it in the middle of the road. I explained that he was waiting for people to throw money to him. His eyes lit up as he almost yelped, "What a GREAT way to earn money!!!"

And Jake? He's going to marry a rich woman who likes to work, so he'll be provided for his whole life.

Luckily, we still have time.

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Preschool Information

Corky's Kids Hands-on Learning Preschool

My name is Corrine Ceran. I started teaching children to read when I was twelve years old and it was my job to help my little sister and her friend learn the basics. I’ve loved it ever since.  My school is Christian based with a focus on reading before Kindergarten. However, I love teaching all subjects and believe in a well-rounded education at all levels. I incorporate basic life skills with all our learning- kindness, helpfulness, listening, and trying again when we mess up as we learn letters and sounds, animals, people and places, math skills and on and on. My classses are small so I can focus on each child at their level. We do crafts that go along with our lessons and science experiements to get the ‘wow’ effect that comes with true learning. Call or text at 801-735-3526 with questions or to tour our little school.

Schedule

3-4 year old class: Tuesdays and Thursdays 10 am-12 pm (8 students)

4-5 year old class: Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:30-2:45 pm (10 students)

Classes start on August 20, 2019

Preschool graduation in on May 21, 2020

Prices

Tuition is $60 a month for the 3-4 year old class and $70 for the 4-5 year old class.
(August is half price.)

Registration is $40.00 and is due at the time of registration.
I also require a $13.00 set of 12 books for at-home reading. I will order them & the books are yours!

Class Schedule

AM class (3-4 year olds, 2 hours)

10:00 - 10:05 Greeting, shoes, coats off

10:05 -10:30 Circle time: Prayer, pledge, intro to letter/subject, blending, patterns, songs, etc.

10:30 -10:50 Writing time: Name, shapes, patterns, numbers, words, etc.

10:50 -10:55 Snack: crackers and water

10:55 -11:30 Activity: Create, play-dough, paint, cut, glue, color, science experiments, etc

11:30 - 11:50 Play/Individual reading with me (Half of the children read with me each play time.)

11:50 - 12:00 Clean up and ready to go

PM class (4-5 year olds, 2 hours 15 minutes)

12:30 -12:35 Greeting, shoes, coats off

12:35 -1:00 Circle time: Prayer, pledge, intro to letter/subject, blending, patterns, map, songs, etc.

1:00 - 1:20 Writing time: Name, shapes, patterns, numbers, words, etc.

1:20 - 1:25 Snack: crackers and water

1:25 - 2:00 Activity: Create, play-dough, paint, cut, glue, color, etc.

2:00 - 2:20 Play/Individual reading with me (Half of the children read with me each play time.)

2:20 - 2:35 Circle time review

2:35 - 2:45 Clean up and ready to go

Place

I have a preschool room in my home in Eagle Mountain City Center where each class is held.