Is It Worth It? Raising Chickens For Eggs

Our family is blessed to live near the city of Atlanta and enjoy all the benefits that come from being residents of such a cosmopolitan city. We are also blessed because many of the suburbs of Atlanta have kept to their agricultural roots. A half hour to an hour drive from the city among strip malls and subdivisions are horse ranches, corn fields and wooded areas. In essence we enjoy the best of both worlds.

A few weeks ago we got an invitation by one of our dear friends and neighbors to go to the East Alabama Poultry and Goat Auction. This family lives outside of a subdivision and have a bit of land so they raise chickens and have many times provided us with delicious eggs laid by their own hens. In case you are wondering, oh yes, these eggs from their homegrown, organically fed, free range chickens do have a wonderful robust flavor that tastes markedly better than your run of the mill store bought eggs. To be honest we have never consider raising our own chicken for eggs but our family of four eats a lot of eggs. So this gave us a chance to look at raising chickens first hand and determine for ourselves: Is it worth it?

On our day trip the the auction we met a family who, since the economic downturn eliminated many construction jobs, has been living chiefly from raising and breeding chickens. Well we learned that there are a great variety of different breeds of chickens and just like dogs, rare breeds are worth more. Frankly I was surprised at how beautiful some of these birds were but how about buying and raising some chicken for their eggs?

Is it worth it? Not for us. Frankly the up front cost is quite high. You have to buy the birds, feed and have the room to contain them or build a chicken coop. Also we don’t even have a dog so caring for animals would be a huge learning curve for us. It just seemed like the amount of time you have to spend caring for chickens is more than we have to spend. Of course, for the family that lives on a rural block of land, has the initial investment of the coop and who has the room to breed and then sell the eggs, it may potentially be worth it.

It is was amazing to be able to step out of our comfort zone for a day and spend some time learning about something brand new but I think we’ll continue paying for the convenience of getting organic eggs at the grocery.

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His POV: Free Comic Book Day – Saturday May 1

Had to borrow the spotlight from mom today and remind everyone that Free Comic Book Day is this Saturday!

We have two boys and superheroes are a huge part of our day to day lives. From Super Hero Squad on TV to Buzz Lightyear on their underwear for boys it is all about superheroes.

Take a moment to take your boys to Free Comic Book Day! Comic books are not cheap and for one day there is a great selection of book you can walk away for free just by visiting your local comic book store. If you visit their website you can preview the great selection of books you can get for free! This is a great way to inspire the love of reading.

Visit www.freecomicbookday.com to find a participating store near you and find out more about this AWESOME event! (Free Comic Book Day is not a sponsor of Affluent Pauper. We gush because we genuinely love this event ... well at least dad does.)

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Is It Worth it? – Making Your Own Strawberry Jam

If you have been blessed with kids you know that Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches aren’t just an easy go to meal that you are sure the kids will eat but really a staple in the weekly menu. It is surprising how may jars of jam you can go through with two kids. So a couple of times of year a group of moms get together and we go to a local farm and go strawberry picking. For $10 you are provided a small bucket and can fill it overflowing with beautiful, fresh, ripe strawberries. This year we decided to all get together a preserve our bounty by making jars of strawberry jam.

For those who were wondering here is the recipe pulled straight from the farm’s website: http://www.washingtonfarms.net/

Cooked Jam
5 cups crushed berries (2qts)
7 cups (3lbs) sugar
1 box powdered fruit pectin

1/2 tsp of butter (not necessary, but I like to use it as it prevents froth)
Stir powdered pectin into the berries. Bring berries, pectin and butter to a rolling boil (meaning, when you stir it, it doesn't stop boiling) and stir in the sugar all at one. Again, bring the mixture back to a rolling boil (it might take 4 or 5 minutes to get it back to that rapid rolling boil) and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and fill jars. After the jars are sealed, we put them in a canner (I got mine on ebay for $15) and boil the jar in hot water for 5 minutes. This will ensure a tight seal, so that you can store the jars in your pantry for the rest of the year.

If you don't have a canner, you can use the following recipe:

Freezer Jam
2 cups crushed berries (1qt)
4 cups sugar (1 ¾ lb)
¾ cup water
1 box powdered fruit pectin
Add sugar to fruit and stir well. In a saucepan boil ¾ cup of water and the fruit pectin for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the hot pectin and water to the fruit and continue stirring for 3 minutes. Put in containers. Let stand 24 hours and store in freezer. When you need jam, you can take it out of the freezer and store it in the fridge for a week or so.

So, was it worth the trouble?

Filling our buckets took less than a half an hour on a Friday morning and was a fun activity for the kids. Yes, making the jam and sealing it in mason jars probably took a couple of hours worth of work but we made an evening of it and it was great fun.

From the 5 buckets of strawberries we picked, we used about 3 of them for jam. We yielded 40 jars of jam in varying sizes totalling 320 oz of jam.

A jar of generic, store bought jam will cost around $2.49 for 18oz (13.8c per oz). You might be able to get it cheaper than that, but any cheaper and you usually get preservatives and coloring to go with it. So, 320 0z of store bought jam would cost $44.16. With $30 of berries, $7.45 of pectin and $3.87 of sugar, our total was $41.32. If you're new to jam making, you would have to add in the initial investment of the cost of jars, but I was able to snag some from a friend at no cost and we'll be able to use the jars for years to come.

The cost comes out essentially the same - so was it worth it? Absolutely!

The #1 reason for me is taste. Once you've had home made jam, you'll find that your trained palate finds it difficult to go back to the store bought stuff.

#2 - I don't want to get all holistic, but it's the love that goes in to each and every jar. There's something extraordinarily gratifying about hand picking the berries from a local field, crushing them and going through the cooking and jarring process and then serving the wonderful gourmet end result to your family. They're also great as gifts. You'd probably never show up to a friend's house with a jar of Kroger jam, but home made jam... ah... that's another story!

#3 - You're encouraging local farming and business. It's great to have a huge strawberry field here in our own community. If no one supported it, the operation would close down and it's entirely possible that yet another Walmart would pop up in it's place.

#4 - The kids get to appreciate where food comes from. No, it doesn't just magically appear at the supermarket!

#5 - It's a fun social event. Sure, you could sit down and watch a movie, but dinner and a "jamming" session - a fun way to share a Friday night.

If you get a chance give it try. You may find that you love it too.

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Free Bowling at AMF

You may be looking for something to do during this long weekend. If so, sign up to AMF's eClub. With 500 locations, there's probably one near you. Within a couple of days you'll receive a coupon in your in-box for free bowling for up to 10 people - you just have to pay for the shoe rental. The coupon will expire 30 days from when they send it.

If you're looking for something else to do and you're in Atlanta, rummage through your junk drawer and see if you've got an old cellphone lying around. It will get you free admission to see an IMAX movie at Fernbank.

If you love cooking, head down to Williams Sonoma to take a free class to brush up on your sauteing and pan frying skills.

To stay in the loop on free stuff you can take advantage of while you're out and about, bookmark my freebie calendar and check it frequently.

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Old Cellphone = Fernbank IMAX Admission

Most people have an old cellphone or two lying around somewhere in a drawer. Now, here's your incentive to go dig it out.

As part of an environmental initiative sponsored by Nokia, visitors are invited to bring an old cell phone for recycling to Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta and they will receive free admission to the IMAX film Wild Ocean (an underwater adventure where Africa meets the sea) from January 15-24, 2010. The environmentally minded promotion also includes a free reusable shopping bag. Tickets to IMAX films at Fernbank will typically run you $15 for adults and $13 for kids 3-12. Thanks to Atlanta on the Cheap for posting.

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Upcoming Free Home Depot and Lowes Workshops

We love going to these and they are a fantastic indoor freebie for kids especially with the freezing temperatures outside...

Home Depot Kids Workshops

Jan 2, 2010 - Make a calendar (they'll really want to learn about dates with this!)

Lowes Build and Grow Workshops for Kids

Dec 19, 2009 - Pet Treat Keeper

Jan 9, 2010 - Coin Bank (OK... this has to be one of the best ones they've had so far!)

Just in case you're starting to feel left out, why not take some time out for yourself to learn a new skill (for free of course!). Home Depot offers a variety of workshops for adults. Here's a what's coming up at a store near you:

Dec 19 and 26 10-11am - Interior Painting

Dec 19 and 26 11am-12pm - Tiling Floors and Walls

Dec 19 and 26 1-2pm - How to measure, cut and install crown moulding

Dec 20 and 27 1-2pm - How to install a programmable thermostat

Dec 20 and 27 2-3pm - Installing window treatments

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Upcoming Free Kids Workshops at Lowes and Home Depot

What's going on at upcoming Lowes Build and Grow clinics? On Sat Aug 8th you can take the kids to make a wooden powerboat and on Sat Aug 22nd, they can make a school bus. As usual, all supplies included and they'll love to take home their free apron and goggles. All classes are from 10-11am. Over at Home Depot, they can make a message center on Sat Aug 1st (it looks really cool - cork on one side and a corkboard on the other!) and on Sat Sept 5th, they can make a bean bag toss. Classes are from 9am-noon. There's nothing quite like free family fun! For my son, these free outings never get old!

Be sure to check my freebie calendar regularly for free events. Last week, we went to see a free movie at a local movie theatre, and we have received several DVD rentals for free from Redbox using the free weekly codes. You can get free movies, coffee and more. And don't forget to mark your calendar to go online every Friday to get your coupons for free chocolate bars!

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Back to School Deals Week of 7/19/09

Here's this week's best back to school deals... If you have friends with school-age kids, share this post so that they can get the best deals on back to school supplies!

Staples (sale thru 7/25/09)
FREE after easy rebate: Zebra Cadoozles 0.7mm mechanical pencils (reg $2.99), Zebra Sarasa retractable gel pens 5/pk (reg. $4.99), pentel Handy Lines retractable assorted highlighters 4/pack (reg $4.99), Staples Slim-Line pencil sharpener (reg. $15.99) – limit 1
$1 after easy rebate or instant savings – Staples photo supreme 8.5x11 paper 50/0k (reg $12.98), Expo 4/pk bold color dry erase markers, 4/pk Pentel high polymer erasers, 5/pk Pentel ballpoint pens, perforated mini legal pads, staples notebooks – limit 2
$2 each – Pilot erasable gel pen 3/pk, Staples 0.7mm 6/pk mechanical pencils, Staples 6/pk stickies, mini dry erase board, pack of erasers – limit 2
Buy any backpack, get 100% back in Staples rewards (like getting a free backpack)

OfficeMax (sale thru 7/25)
20c Schoolio Von Hoolio 1” or 1.5” poly binders (reg. $1.99) – limit 6
25c Schoolio Von Hoolio colored pencils 12/pk (reg. 99c) – limit 3
1c dual pencil sharpener – limit 3
50c composition books (reg $1.59) – limit 6
50c OfficeMax glue combo pack (reg. $1.49)
50c Dixon #2 pencils 10/pk (reg. 99c)

Office Depot (sale thru 7/25/09)
5c Office Depot folders (reg 39c) – limit 5
5c Office Depot brand 6” protractor (reg $1.99) – limit 3
25c Write Bros Stick Pens 12/pk (reg 99c)
25c 24/pk Scholastic crayons 24/pk (reg 89c)
Free Office Depot acrylic ruler with $10 purchase

Walgreens (sale thru 7/25/09)
9c – 22x28 posterboard, 2 pocket Penway folder, #2 pencil, Penway highlighter – limit 12
19c – 10ct papermate 1.2 pens, 5 ct Papermate mechanical pencils – limit 6
19c – Penway flexible wooden 12” ruler, 100 pk Acco paper clips, 2 pocket Penway Poly folder with prongs
29c – 10/pk yellow pencils, 2/pk pink or 15 pk cap erasers
39c – Penway poly binder, 4oz glue, scotch transparent tape
49c – 5/pk bic Brite liner highlighters, 24/pk Penway crayons, 6 pack Jumbo crayons, school pencil box
59c – Scotch mailers (4x7 to 10.5x15”), 7-10/pk clasp envelopes, Penway dual hole sharpener, It’s Academic sharpener and eraser
99c – 12/pk Crayola colored pencils, 3 subject Penway notebook (120 sheets), It’s Academic stretch book cover, Spangles pencil pouch, Penway fabric carry-all pouch, 25/pk all in one set, 80 or 100 sheet 5x7 or 10.5x8” portfolio
Pilot G2 gel pens 2/pk $1 (free after Register Rewards)
Backpacks - $9.99 (rg $15.99)

Walmart
50c Trapper Keeper notebook
$1 Crayola 10-ct classic markers or Crayola 12ct colored pencils
$2.50 Georgia Pacific copy paper

CVS
PaperMate 10ct 1.2 pens 99c (free after ECB)
Caliber or CVS/pharmacy filler sheets 150ct $2 (free after ECB)

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Back to School Deals Have Started!

Walmart is kicking off the back to school savings season! This week (7/5/09-7/11/09), they're offering 70 page spiral notebooks for 25c, Elmers Washable Glue (4 oz) for 30c and Crayola 24ct Crayons for 30c.

Toys R Us is also getting started by offering a free lunch kit (valued at $9.99) with any backpack valued at $12.99 or more (excluding Adidas). If you're planning on packing your kids a healthy lunch, be sure to check out my post on how you can get an amazing deal on organic apple juice boxes here.

Last year the real deals started the week of July 20 and the best deals lasted three weeks. Stay tuned next week for even more savings (last year we got lots of crayons, pens, pads of paper and more for free - I got supplies not only for my kids but stocked up on a years worth of office supplies too). If you know anyone with kids, let them know about my blog. By subscribing, you'll get a recap each week of the hottest deals for this back to school season.

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AMC Summer Movie Camp

AMC is offering $1 admission on Wednesdays from June 17-August 5th. Go to the AMC site for participating locations and movie listings. All proceeds will benefit the Variety Children's Charity and the Will Rogers Institute.

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Regal Cinemas Free Family Film Festival

Regal's annual Free Family Film Festival is back. You can watch free rated G and PG movies each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 10am thru July 30th. Go to the Regal Family Film Festival site for a search by state listing of participating theatres and movie listings.

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Free Frugal Fun During the Summer

This post is borrowed from Trent The Simple Dollar via SisterlySavings. Thanks for giving us some ideas for the summer break Trent!

Like many families, the schedule of our family changes drastically during the summer. My wife goes on hiatus from her job for a few months, our children are constantly at home, and I strive to rearrange my own work so that I can spend more time with them. Plus, the weather is beautiful, encouraging us to be outside.

Most summers, we load our summer scheduled down with all kinds of different activities - camping trips, visits to state parks, community festivals, and lots of other things.
But how do you find all of these things. Here are ten resources we use for finding great free/cheap things to do during the summer.

Community Festivals
http://www.festivals.com/
Looking for city-wide festivals in your local community or in neighboring communities? Festivals.com is the best resource I’ve yet found for collecting listings of all of these festivals. While it doesn’t include everything, it does point out lots of interesting activities near your zip code all throughout the summer.

Music Festivals
http://www.festivalfinder.com/
Once you get beyond mega-festivals like Bonnaroo, there are a lot of music festivals all across the country, and many are surprisingly inexpensive (sometimes free). Such festivals are a great way to hear lots of interesting music and meet people who have similar interests.

National Parks
http://www.nps.gov/findapark/
A national parks pass can be one of the best frugal investments around. National parks are wonderful places to explore, camp, hike, and enjoy. The stunning beauty and majesty of nature found within many of the parks is well worth visiting.

State Parks
http://www.stateparks.com/usa.html
If you want a even less expensive and more local alternative to national parks, try finding a great state park near your area. State parks offer very inexpensive camping options and plenty of interesting area to explore and enjoy.

Libraries
http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/libraries/librarysearch/
Many libraries offer great summer programs of all kinds: reading groups, reading programs for kids, free film nights, and so on. Summertime is a great time to get in touch with the many interesting and free programs available right in your own town at the library.

Community Calendars
http://www.google.com/search?q=community+calendar
Just add your city and state to the above Google query to find the community calendar for your own town. Community calendars are loaded with interesting and enjoyable free events, from community dinners to farmer’s markets in your local area. It’s also worth searching for the community calendars of cities and towns adjacent to where you life.

Craft Fairs
http://www.craftsfaironline.com/region.html
If you enjoy crafting, craft fairs can be incredibly fun ways to spend a day or two. Most craft fairs are free to enter and often provide a way to sell or trade your craft products, as well as pick up interesting and useful supplies and also learn new techniques.

Natural Collections
http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2008/06/25/starting-a-natural-collection/
Summertime is the perfect time to start a natural collection of your own. It gives you a great reason to start exploring the outdoors anywhere and everywhere, doesn’t cost a thing, and can provide the foundation of a lifelong passion. Start a notebook tracking the birds you find. Collect leaves or interesting rocks. Just explore the natural beauty around you.

Minor League Baseball
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com
Most communities of any size have a minor league baseball team in the area - or has one at least somewhere nearby. Minor league baseball games are pure fun - much more frugal and much more laid back than major league games, often with wacky entertainment to boot. Minor league versions of any other sport are similar in their frugal fun, particularly minor league hockey, though it is rarely played in the summer.

Volunteering
http://www.volunteermatch.org/
Want a great free activity that you can spend lots of hours on, enjoy the outdoors, and feel good about yourself afterward? Few things can beat volunteering, and you can usually get the whole family involved.

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Free Ice Cream for Kids at Brusters

Get free ice cream for your little ones at Brusters! Thanks to Mom Advice for posting that children under 40" tall can get a free baby ice cream cone. I called my local Brusters and it turns out that this offer is available every day of the week and there is no purchase required.

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100 Things You Can Make For Free

Convenience aside, have you ever sat back and thought "I wonder if I could make that?" Well, check out this cool post by Bliss Tree. There's a list of 100 things you can make for free. OK, I don't think I'll be trekking out any time soon to make my own maple syrup or a back yard shed, but I'd try making fingerpaints and mouthwash (not at the same time). And yes, I've made play dough from scratch and it was totally cool and lasted months!

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Free Chuck E. Cheese Calendars/Tokens

A couple of years ago, I headed down to Walmart to look for some reward calendars for my then 2-years old. I found a couple of calendars, but these look much cooler. If you're looking for a way to reward your little tike's accomplishments (getting dressed, brushing teeth, cleaning room, potty training, manners, etc.), go to Chuck E. Cheese to download your free calendars and print them out. Mark the days off with a pen as your child accomplishes his/her goals, take a calendar to Chuck E. Cheese and you'll get 10 free tokens as a reward (and be sure to check local circulars for additional tokens).

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Where to Pick Your Own Fruits and Veges

Have you ever gone to a farm and picked your own fruits and veges? Well, if you haven’t, you really should give it a try. There’s just something to be said about getting produce directly from the source.

If you’re interested in picking your own produce, check out http://www.pickyourown.org/. The website lists farms (and farmers markets) in the USA and other countries along with crop calendars so that you can plan your trip. They also have an abundance of resources on finding canning equipment and supplies, making jam, preserving, etc. I looked up my own county and it turns out that in a 20-30 minute drive, I can pick blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, muscadines, apples, pears, pumpkins, scuppernongs (not even sure what these are – will have to google this), tomatoes, figs, squash, tomatoes, corn, potatoes, muscadines and more and we’re not even in a rural area!

Be patient with the site, it takes a while to load, but it’s worth it if you’re serious about finding local places to pick fresh fruits and veges.

I took my sons to the strawberry patch twice last year. We picked strawberries and made strawberry jam and strawberry ice cream. We were so hooked on home made jam that I then went on to make peach jam and pear preserves. We also went to a pumpkin patch, at which point I made pumpkin pies from scratch (I guess I was feeling particularly domesticated last year). I wanted to pick apples too, but by the time I figured out where we could go to pick them, the season was already over. With Pick Your Own, I’m not going to miss the apple-picking season this year. What’s funny to me though is that we live in the Peach State, and we don’t have a peach orchard in our county! Go figure…

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Free Museum Entry for Bank of America Cardholders

If you're a Bank of America cardholder (check, credit or ATM), did you know that you can get in to over 70 museums nationwide for free on the first weekend of every month? Well, you can! More details here.

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Free Sheet Music and Lessons

Sheet music can be expensive. Why pay for sheet music when you can get it for free? Check out 8Notes where you can download sheet music from a variety of genres. You can get the sheets in a variety of file types (although you must subscribe for $20 a year for the pdf versions).

Craft Project Instructions for Free at CraftBits

Thanks to Diana for letting me know about CraftBits. Want to get your family out from in front of the TV this winter? CraftBits is an easy to navigate site that has simple instructions on a multitude of crafts. Ever wanted to make soap, a bath bomb, gifts in a jar or engage your kids with some paper crafts? CraftBits has not only written instructions but also links to online craft videos. Sure, you could go to the library, but this is so much easier!

How to Make Starbucks Treats at Home

I love the pumpkin loaf, gingerbread loaf and lemon pound cake at Starbucks. It used to be virtually impossible for me to step in to Starbucks for a tall drink and not walk away with a delicious slice of something. And I figured…. Hey, I deserve it. But at around $1.95 a slice, my bank account also deserves a break. I had to find an alternate way to satisfy my sweet tooth. Then one day I wondered in passing if I could make all this yummy deliciousness myself. With a couple of keystrokes, I discovered that Recipe Zaar has an entire section of Starbucks recipes that are extraordinarily close to the real thing. Now on cold winter days, my kitchen can smell like Starbucks!

Here are my faves if you want to try them at home. These make great gifts too. You can buy loaf baggies with ribbon at your local JoAnn store this time of year (be sure to use your 40% off coupon from the newspaper insert!)

Starbucks Gingerbread
Starbucks Pumpkin Scones
Starbucks Lemon Loaf
Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins (I actually skip the cream cheese part and divide this in to two loaf pans to make pumpkin bread and then add a cream cheese frosting. You can also substitute half of the vegetable oil for applesauce.)