Crystal is looking forward to speaking at all four Teach Them Diligently Conventions in 2014. These Christian homeschool, discipleship, and parenting events offer encouragement and fun for the entire family. We hope you'll join her there! Click here to learn more.
Teach Them Diligently celebrates the focus of Christian families – that is, the discipleship of children to glorify God. More than simply a convention about home education, they purposefully develop the themes of missions, discipleship, and Christian parenting in addition to the traditional academic “how-to’s”. In addition to amazing speakers, you will also find a large exhibit hall with some of the best prices available on the resources you need. Check out the event closest to you to find out all that you can expect to experience at Teach Them Diligently!
Six years ago my husband and I had health insurance coverage through his work. But when the premiums started to rise, we realized we had to do something to save money because we were already struggling to stretch our dollars from week to week.
It was about this time I happened upon this post by Shaun Groves. Shaun's son came down with a sudden illness that resulted in an enormous medical bill, and even though their family didn’t have insurance, their out-of-pocket costs for the entire bill was just $12! Needless to say, I was intrigued.
Shaun explained that they were members of a Christian health care sharing ministry called Samaritan. Samaritan isn't insurance; instead a group of Christians share medical needs they have that exceed $300, and the members pay each others’ bills.
It sounded almost too good to be true, so I did a little investigating and talked to some current Samaritan members to find out whether it was a viable option for us. We determined it was, so in 2007 we cancelled our $500+/month insurance policy with a $3000 deductible and became members of Samaritan.
How Health Care Sharing with Samaritan Works
Each month Samaritan sends us the name and address of another Samaritan member and a summary of their medical need. We then write a check for our monthly share of $370, include a personal note, and send the money directly to the other member. This $370 'share' is basically our monthly premium.
Concerning our own medical costs, we pay out of pocket for things like preventative visits, one-time doctor sick visits, and our ongoing prescriptions. But several times our medical bills for an illness or injury have exceeded the $300 threshold, so we submitted those needs to Samaritan members and the bills were paid directly by the membership.
One of these needs was an $80,000 hospital bill from when my daughter shattered her femur and had to undergo two surgeries and spent a total of seven days in the hospital. Samaritan negotiated discounts from several of the providers, saving thousands of dollars, and once we received all the checks from the Samaritan members, our out-of-pocket cost was less than $200. We paid for only her wheelchair rental and the purchase of a walker, definitely thousands of dollars less than if we still had regular medical insurance.
As I just mentioned, Samaritan is not insurance. But even with the changes to the health insurance industry under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), we are not worried. Members of recognized health sharing ministries like Samaritan are exempt from the individual mandate penalty, so even though we don't technically have insurance, we aren't subject to the penalty.
How We Save Money on Prescriptions
Not only do we save money on health care costs each month by being members of Samaritan, we've also discovered how to save money on prescriptions with GoodRX.com.
Since we have to pay for most of our prescriptions (Samaritan does cover some prescriptions following an illness or injury, but we still have to pay for some), we try to find the lowest cost for prescriptions.
GoodRX is a free website (as well as a mobile app) that allows me to look up both the cash-pay and GoodRX discount price for prescriptions in my area. It has allowed us to save quite a bit of money on our prescriptions, almost as if we had regular prescription coverage.
For example, I recently had to refill two medications for my daughter, and if I'd simply gone to Target as usual, I would have paid more than $60 for the two. But I logged on to GoodRX before requesting the refill and discovered I'd save quite a bit of money if I transferred the prescription to Wal-mart, which I did. I ended up paying just $20 for the prescriptions, and all it took was a little research on GoodRX.com.
Will This Work for You?
Being a member of Samaritan and going without typical health insurance coverage is definitely not for everyone, but it has been such a blessing for our family. So if you're looking for ways to save money on your health care costs, you might want to investigate health care sharing ministries like Samaritan and discount prescription programs like GoodRX.com to see if they are a good fit for your own situation.
Joy Miller works from home with her husband, Jeff, doing book, graphic, and web design through their business Five J's Design. She also runs a homeschooling website called Five J's. In 2012, after being in debt for 18 years, Jeff and Joy became debt free (except for their house) and have recently begun a financial coaching business to help others discover financial freedom. Jeff & Joy live in Texas where they homeschool their three children, Jaden, Jerah, and Joely.
Crystal is looking forward to speaking at all four Teach Them Diligently Conventions in 2014. These Christian homeschool, discipleship, and parenting events offer encouragement and fun for the entire family. We hope you'll join her there! Click here to learn more.
Here are the best gluten-free coupons and deals, thanks to Janelle from Gluten Freely Frugal:
High Value $2/1 Udi’s and Glutino Coupons: There are 2 new high value coupons available to print for $2/1 Udi's Gluten Free product and $2/1 Glutino product. These are on the Hannaford website, but are manufacturer's coupons and print with no logo or even mention of Hannaford on them. Sort by Foods to find them quickly.
Two Free Boxes from Taste Guru (Just Pay Shipping): Here's a sweet deal you won't want to miss out on! Taste Guru is currently offering 2 FREE boxes for new customers (a $74 value)! You just pay $24 for shipping ($12 for each month's box)! TasteGuru is a gluten-free subscription service. Each month, they put together a box of fabulous gluten-free goodies and ship them right to your door! Just use coupon code 2FREE at checkout! Your price will drop to just $24 for shipping!
Save 36% on PureFit Gluten-Free Crunch Bars: Gluten-Free Saver is currently offering a nice deal on PureFit Bars. Right now you can purchase a 15-count box at a 36% savings! Shipping is included in the value of this deal, so you don’t have to worry about any extra shipping charges.
Ranch Popchips $0.52/Bag Shipped: Amazon Warehouse currently has the Popchips Tortilla Chips, Ranch, 1-Ounce (Pack of 24) priced at $12.60 and eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping! That equals out to approximately $0.52 per bag shipped! This is a Warehouse deal, so quantities are limited.
Coupon code for 20% Off at Abe’s Market: Abe’s Market is currently offering a coupon code for 20% off any purchase! The code AUTUMN20 is available through October 15, 2013. Abe's Market sells lots of health food items, including gluten-free specialty items that are not readily available elsewhere.
Janelle is wife to Brad, who is celiac, and mom to 2 sweet girls, one of whom is celiac, and the other showing signs of gluten intolerance. She blogs about the gluten free life on a budget, including coupons, deals, recipes, and other money-saving tips at Gluten Freely Frugal.
Crystal is looking forward to speaking at all four Teach Them Diligently Conventions in 2014. These Christian homeschool, discipleship, and parenting events offer encouragement and fun for the entire family. We hope you'll join her there! Click here to learn more.
Crystal is looking forward to speaking at all four Teach Them Diligently Conventions in 2014. These Christian homeschool, discipleship, and parenting events offer encouragement and fun for the entire family. We hope you'll join her there! Click here to learn more.
Crystal is looking forward to speaking at all four Teach Them Diligently Conventions in 2014. These Christian homeschool, discipleship, and parenting events offer encouragement and fun for the entire family. We hope you'll join her there! Click here to learn more.
Do you have a fun and frugal DIY idea to share? I’d love to hear about it! Read the submission guidelines and submit it here.
Crystal is looking forward to speaking at all four Teach Them Diligently Conventions in 2014. These Christian homeschool, discipleship, and parenting events offer encouragement and fun for the entire family. We hope you'll join her there! Click here to learn more.
There’s a hot deal on the Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Puppy this week at Target. I can’t guarantee that your Target will have these marked down to $15.19, but it’s definitely worth checking on!
Crystal is looking forward to speaking at all four Teach Them Diligently Conventions in 2014. These Christian homeschool, discipleship, and parenting events offer encouragement and fun for the entire family. We hope you'll join her there! Click here to learn more.
This offer expires tonight (October 8th, 2013) at midnight EST. This magazine can also be a great source of unique coupons from time to time.
About Weight Watchers: Weight Watchers Magazine is the perfect companion for women or men who are dedicated to their health and fitness goals. Issues of Weight Watchers provide great quick-recipe ideas, seven-day menu plans, exercise tips, and other great health and lifestyle advice that can help the reader stay on track. Weight Watchers Magazine brings many inspirational stories from Weight Watchers members that will be sure to keep motivation high. Whether already enrolled in a weight loss program or simply trying to maintain current fitness, Weight Watchers is a valuable tool for success.
Crystal is looking forward to speaking at all four Teach Them Diligently Conventions in 2014. These Christian homeschool, discipleship, and parenting events offer encouragement and fun for the entire family. We hope you'll join her there! Click here to learn more.
Crystal is looking forward to speaking at all four Teach Them Diligently Conventions in 2014. These Christian homeschool, discipleship, and parenting events offer encouragement and fun for the entire family. We hope you'll join her there! Click here to learn more.
Crystal is looking forward to speaking at all four Teach Them Diligently Conventions in 2014. These Christian homeschool, discipleship, and parenting events offer encouragement and fun for the entire family. We hope you'll join her there! Click here to learn more.
What happens when non-recyclables end up in the bin? Find out with A Smarter Way to Sort and earn up to 150 points.
Crystal is looking forward to speaking at all four Teach Them Diligently Conventions in 2014. These Christian homeschool, discipleship, and parenting events offer encouragement and fun for the entire family. We hope you'll join her there! Click here to learn more.
Crystal is looking forward to speaking at all four Teach Them Diligently Conventions in 2014. These Christian homeschool, discipleship, and parenting events offer encouragement and fun for the entire family. We hope you'll join her there! Click here to learn more.
Want a chance to win a $250 Amazon gift card? Well, we’ve partnered with Mvelopes and we’re looking for the best Budgeting Success Story from amongst our readers.
Maybe you’ve gone from no-budget to successfully sticking with a budget. Or maybe you’ve been really successful at following a cash budget. Or, perhaps budgeting has allowed you to do something amazing. We want to hear about it!
Budgeting Success Story Guidelines:
Posts must be high-quality, original content (i.e. not published anywhere else online).
Posts must be related to budgeting success
Please limit your post to 750 words or less.
Use of bullets, lists and short paragraphs is highly encouraged as it makes reading much easier.
Please do not email your submission in HTML format or in a Word or text document. Only posts submitted through the form on this post will be accepted as entrants.
Please make a concerted effort to use correct spelling, grammar and punctuation.
Include a short bio (50 words or less) at the end of your post. Feel free to include a link to your site.
Posts must be received by October 14, 2013 to be eligible.
Our team will review all the entries and will select the winner.
The winning entry will be posted on MoneySavingMom.com the week of October 21, 2013, and the author of it will be awarded a $250 Amazon gift card.
We will notify the winner via email.
Submit Your Budgeting Success Story
Mvelopes is an award-winning online and mobile budgeting platform that has helped its users eliminate more than $1 billion in debt. Selected by Kiplinger as the “Best Budgeting Site for Over-Spenders”, Mvelopes continues to help people manage their spending and eliminate debt!
This free Mvelopes budgeting package includes a free financial coaching session and personal financial analysis plus a free financial ebook Money for Life. Sign up for this free offer here.
Crystal is looking forward to speaking at all four Teach Them Diligently Conventions in 2014. These Christian homeschool, discipleship, and parenting events offer encouragement and fun for the entire family. We hope you'll join her there! Click here to learn more.
Life is full of struggles and difficulties. In fact, probably for most of us, rarely a day goes by that we do not have something (or many somethings!) to be stressed about.
However, more and more I’ve been realizing that John G. Miller is right: “Stress is a choice.”You can’t always choose your circumstances, but you can always choose your response to those circumstances.
When hard things come, you can either become uptight and anxious, or you can choose to be calm and cheerful. Sitting and stewing never accomplishes anything good, so you might as well opt to look for the silver lining and choose gratitude instead.
No matter what you’re going through, there is always something to be thankful for. No matter how hard your situation, it could always be worse. So make a choice to rejoice!
Burning the candle at both ends doesn’t make you superwoman; it makes you exhausted. I learned this lesson the hard way in the first six years of our marriage. As a result, I’ve now made sleep a high priority in my life. And I’ve learned that I actually get a lot more done when I’m well rested, plus I feel a lot calmer about life in general.
So I’ve been trying to go to be earlier and, on the nights when I don’t go to bed early, I let myself sleep in a little. It makes such a difference in my productivity — and in my overall demeanor.
I know, I know. It's hard to get sleep when you have a hundred other things you feel you should be doing.
However, if you don't take the time to rest, you'll constantly be running on fumes. Rearrange your schedule, turn off the electronics, do relaxing things before bed, go to bed early (if at all possible), take a 30-minute nap in the afternoon, or do whatever else it takes to make sure you are getting good sleep at least 5-6 nights each week (I've found that if I sleep well at least five nights each week, I'm rested enough that I can have a late night once or twice a week without it really affecting me!)
Don't know whether you're getting adequate sleep? I've heard that a good barometer is to see if you're tired at all midday or afternoon. If you are, you aren't getting enough sleep at night. Keep extending your sleep at night by 15 to 30 minutes until you no longer feel tired in the afternoon.
Crystal is looking forward to speaking at all four Teach Them Diligently Conventions in 2014. These Christian homeschool, discipleship, and parenting events offer encouragement and fun for the entire family. We hope you'll join her there! Click here to learn more.
How did you do on last week's goals? What are your goals for this week? I'd love to have you share your progress on last week's goals and your goals for this coming week in the comments. Of, if you've blogged about it, leave your direct link below. Let's cheer each other on to live purposeful and productive lives!
Crystal is looking forward to speaking at all four Teach Them Diligently Conventions in 2014. These Christian homeschool, discipleship, and parenting events offer encouragement and fun for the entire family. We hope you'll join her there! Click here to learn more.
Breakfast for dinner: Pancakes, fruit, scrambled eggs Tacos, fruit Lasagna, fruit, bread (my mom sent home the leftovers from the birthday dinner she made for me) Homemade Pizza, fruit, veggies Meat, Potatoes, Onions, and Carrots in the crockpot, Chocolate Chip Muffins Dinner with extended family Dinner out
What's on your menu this week? Tell us in the comments or leave a link to your menu plan post.
Crystal is looking forward to speaking at all four Teach Them Diligently Conventions in 2014. These Christian homeschool, discipleship, and parenting events offer encouragement and fun for the entire family. We hope you'll join her there! Click here to learn more.
Crystal is looking forward to speaking at all four Teach Them Diligently Conventions in 2014. These Christian homeschool, discipleship, and parenting events offer encouragement and fun for the entire family. We hope you'll join her there! Click here to learn more.
Crystal is looking forward to speaking at all four Teach Them Diligently Conventions in 2014. These Christian homeschool, discipleship, and parenting events offer encouragement and fun for the entire family. We hope you'll join her there! Click here to learn more.
Each month Samaritan sends us the name and address of another Samaritan member and a summary of their medical need. We then write a check for 
Not only do we save money on health care costs each month by being members of Samaritan, we've also discovered how to save money on prescriptions with 
Joy Miller works from home with her husband, Jeff, doing book, graphic, and web design through their business 
Do you have a fun and frugal DIY idea to share? I’d love to hear about it! Read the submission guidelines and submit it 
Read 3 chapters of 
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