Less = More

I am enjoying my experiences with finding creative ways to make money. Here is one of my experiences...

I have mentioned in one of my previous posts, that the Lord is helping me in my preparations for what is to come, (whatever that is). One thing that I have been impressed to do lately is to simplify and organize our home. Two months ago, I received a few promptings to cleaning out our "storage room" (aka the most disgusting, dust collecting, junk filled room we have had). I didn't act on the promptings right away, but before long, I discovered why it was such a good idea. 

One month later, my father needed a place to stay. His lease was ending and he had a hard time finding another place to live that was in his price range and in an area of town that he wanted to live. We invited him to live with us until he could find a home of his own. We had to clean out that storage room in order to clean out two other rooms for him and build a bathroom.

The rule that determined our simplifying decisions is if we haven’t used it in 6 months and don’t have definite plans to use it within the next three to six months, get rid of it. I dumped drawers and into boxes to sell or donate or take to the dump, and took out any items that I wanted to keep. Eventually, the only things that we will have left in our house are things that we use regularly. No more someday craft projects, no more clothes that may fit better someday, no more junk lying around for us to trip over or dust off or take up space. It feels great!

“Let’s turn our dust collecting, space taking items into money.” That’s what I said to my husband. Luckily he was on board. I am happy to report that most of the things in that junk room were treasures for others, who paid money to take them off our hands. A Yard Sale… It’s a lot of work, but honestly, it was worth it. Indoor/Online yard sales are great too if you want to take time to post pictures on those sites or Facebook pages. Our outdoor yard sale lasted three days. We took everything that didn’t sell to the D.I. and TAG at the end of each day. TAG is a Thrift Store that pays a small amount of money for your donations. 

I also found some things that I was able to cross off of our “Survival Shopping” list and I am making room for the things that matter most. “Things” don’t really matter, so de-junking hasn’t been difficult. What we have left now from our pile of things to get rid of, are items that are the most valuable, things that people don’t pay enough money for at yard sales. Those items will be on e-bay this week, auctioning off for the most amounts possible; like my husband’s golf clubs and my leather, Harley Davidson jacket.

We are using the extra funds to purchase food and other items that we have been wanting to add to our storage.

Our 4-yr-old daughter wanted to help us with our yard sale, but didn’t want to give up some of her stuff, even though it was stuff that she has grown out of and never plays with any more. So I made her a deal; “When someone buys your stuff, you can have the money to buy a new toy!” She also sold orange juice, donuts and candy.

One month later, my father is living with us. Our basement will be finished soon, which will increase the value of our home if we ever decide to re-finance or sell it. We have had that “someday” goal since we moved in 10 years ago. Things are working out better than I thought was possible. Where there’s a will, there’s a way; I have always believed that.

Ezra Taft Benson Talks About The Last Days

"Knowing what we know as His servants can we hesitate to raise a warning voice to all who will listen that they may be prepared for the days ahead?

Unto an otherwise gloomy picture, there is a bright side; the coming of our Lord in all His glory. His coming will be both glorious and terrible, depending on the spiritual condition of those who remain."

We know not the day, nor the hour of His coming, but of this you may feel assured; you stand close to the great day of the Lord! 

D&C 101:38

"As a special witness of our Lord, I humbly declare to you that he lives and He is close to His servants. His words shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled. Whether by His own voice or the voice of His servants, it is the same." 

President Ezra Taft Benson

Insurance, preparing for the unexpected

My husband is self-employed. For the first 9 years of our marriage, I worked and provided health and dental insurance. When I stopped working to be at home with our daughter, our benefits ended. We were without insurance for a couple of years. I tried to apply through the Federal Government’s “Health Marketplace” website (for Obama Care), but we were denied coverage, because according to their calculations, we qualified for Medicaid. So I applied for Medicaid through the Utah Department of Workforce Services site.

They denied us because we made too much money for their criteria. I gave up on applying for insurance, knowing that I was taking a risk and that we would have to pay penalties for having no insurance. Freedom from the runaround headache outweighed the loss from penalties, until… April of this year, when I found myself in the ER because of complications from a health condition that I have. My condition is not life threatening, but it is painful. My Dr. recommended that I have surgery ASAP.  A $25,000 surgery was not an option without insurance.

So I applied for insurance again two year after my first attempt. This time I applied for Medicaid first and was ~ you guessed it ~ denied coverage. This time, our denial from Medicaid became our ticket to Obama Care. You cannot apply for coverage outside of the open enrollment period (around Oct/Nov), but there are a few exceptions to that rule, like change in employment, change in family member count, and denial from Medicaid. Their denial letter was sent to the Market Place, which gave me the key to that locked door.

Long story short; I applied, we qualified for coverage including premium payment assistance. We now have better Health Insurance than we have ever had (even when I was employed by Intermountain Healthcare)! Our coverage started on July 1st. On July 2nd my husband was diagnosed with a disease that requires frequent medical attention and expensive medication that would have been beyond our ability to pay. Call it coincidence if you want, I call it miracles and Divine Intervention.

If you don’t have insurance, apply for Medicaid through the Department of Workforce Services. If you are disabled or over the age of 65, apply for Medicare. If you are denied coverage, apply for Obama Care through the Health Care Marketplace. If you need help with any of this, call or e-mail me. I can walk you through it or direct you to someone else who can. I can also tell you about financial assistance through Intermountain Healthcare. If your medical bills are beyond what you can pay, they will help you by setting up a monthly payment plan or in some cases, writing off a portion of what you owe.

Survival Kits Part II

I finished our 72 Hour Kits by the last day of July like I wanted to. With each of us having our own backpacks, we will survive for 72 hours; that is reassuring. Since then, I have been working on adding to our survival supplies, one item at a time.

We are going to experience earthquakes in Utah; that is a well-known fact and it's inevitable. Our dollar is losing its value; that is also a well-known fact. Companies are going out of business, people are losing their jobs and new jobs are becoming limited. Whatever the cause, we will need to survive off of the food and water that we save right now. And it will be for longer than 72 hours. That is why the Lord has directed His prophets for years to warn us to be prepared. Now is not the time to ignore those warnings!

I believe that the Lord will protect us by leading us away from here before the destruction hits, like He has done in the past. Whether you believe that or not, whether we leave or stay, we will need to be prepared. As much food and survival supplies as we can save right now. Survival supplies is not a directive from the Brethren. I added that part to my list, for personal preference. I will not go out of debt to provide our family with those things. And I will not preach this as doctrine or necessity, it is only my personal prference. 

My list is prioritized by the greatest necessity, not by the most affordable items. With our lack of funds and lack of knowledge of what we will need, we are relying on the Lord to guide us. He is helping me prioritize and showing me ways to make, save and spend our money. I have been prompted about what I should buy and in some cases, where I should buy it. But His council for you and yours may be different, so I won’t share our list with you at this time. If you need some suggestions, search Pinterest or Google and go with what YOU feel inspired to go with for your Survival Supplies.

The answer to the Trivia Question; "What is one thing that survivors of Hurricane Katrina didn't have that they wish they had more than anything else after their disaster?" - - - More than food, more than water, more than first aid kits ~ Official Documents... Family members were separated and many were brought to hospitals. Getting to them without the right documentation was impossible. We will need Birth certificates, Social Security cards, Photo IDs, Adoption Papers etc. For some of us, these will end up being the most important items that we have in our supplies.