Ben’s temporary leave from ministry is not something we anticipated. It is necessary and we believe God is guiding us here, but the uncertainty about the future in general and our finances in particular is a challenge.
We tend toward conservatism in our personal finances. We are secure for the near future, but we’re feeling motivated to minimize our household budget. During February we tried out several strategies for a more frugal lifestyle and here are some that seem to work for us. The challenge is oddly satisfying to me.
- Coupons! I’ve always used coupons for groceries, but now I’ve started following a blog that helps me match coupons with sales and find coupons online. I’m also trying to get the hang of stocking up on things when I find a coupon + sale deal. You should see the supply of Cheerios at our house! So far: grocery expense down about 30%.
- Limit shopping trips. Buying groceries 1x/wk., and being thoughtful about trips to other places where I’m tempted to spend money helps a lot. No idle browsing at the Learning Store, no wandering the mall. If I go to Target, I stick to a list and smack my own hand if I pick up something I never thought I needed until I got to the store.
- Eat in. Ben is good at this. We used to get take-out when planning or cooking just seemed like too much. Now, we choose something simple from the grocery store instead. Still costs more than actual cooking, but a lot less than restaurant food.
- Swagbucks. Returning to school means buying a LOT of books. Swagbucks gives me points for using its search engine, finding secret codes, etc. and then I redeem those points for Amazon gift cards. We’ve gotten about $50 of giftcards so far.
- Turn down the thermostat. We have a programmable thermostat, and we’ve turned the temp. down for day and night.
- Line dry the clothes. This one has made a noticeable difference already. I’ve been putting clothes in the dryer for about 15 minutes and then hanging them on a line in our basement. The February utility bill showed a significant decrease in electricity use.
- Cash For Books. We’re getting rid of some books to make room for the billions of pages of books Ben now needs to keep at home. Cash4Books has bought some from us. We only get a dollar or two per book, but the shipping is free and it turns out to be worth the effort for us.
- Sam Rips Pants. Don’t bother paying more for Sam’s pants or shoes because Jude or Owen might wear them. They won’t survive. Sam rips the knees out of every single pair of pants he wears.
4 comments:
May I add some others from a fellow "going thru grad school on a dime:"
1. Learn to love lentils, beans, and rice and buy in bulk.
2. Join a mystery shopper for free dinners out occasionally.
3. e-rewards... online surveys which got me several books at Borders.
4. Clean a hair salon in exchange for services.
5. Grad writing tutor.
6. Focus groups or usability studies (Microsoft gave us software that we sold on Craigs List).
7. Sell your junk: Ebay and Half.com
8. Resale shops for kid clothes
9. Nanny (my least favorite) a few hours a week
10. Decide what you can't cut without becoming very grumpy. For us it was coffee and wine.
Nice, Beth. Thanks. Any trouble persuading your children to love lentils & beans?
I agree re: #10.
Nope. It was harder on Chris. He finally admitted one day that he couldn't take any more lentils for the week.
Joe liked to wear a certain brand of jeans, not because he was brand conscious, but because they hit his skinny bones just right and stayed up without a belt. Sears had a program (in store, not online) called Kidvantage which guaranteed clothing would be outgrown before it was worn out. At the beginning of the school year I would buy 3 pairs of jeans, and that's what he wore all year--black or tan ones for church and blue for school. During the year I returned jeans with holey knees 3 or 4 times. As long as I had my original receipt, they were happy to make the exchange.
Now, I wonder if Kidvantage applies to shoes as well?
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