You can’t escape it. It’s all over the news. And even if it weren’t, your pocketbook is telling you. The cost of many things is going up, most notably food and gas. And of course, these are the things we need to buy on a regular basis. What’s a consumer to do? Well, if there were ever a time to adopt a frugal lifestyle, it might as well be now. Let’s go over some things that you can be doing to counteract this purchasing inflation. Food is the number one culprit, and luckily there are many things you can be doing to lower your food bill. You can start with how you approach food buying in the first place. What you should not be doing is planning your meals and then shopping for the ingredients. To save money on your food bill, you should be doing exactly the opposite. The most frugal approach to food shopping is to buy what’s on sale. Every supermarket advertises a few “loss leaders” in their circular to get you in the door. Buy these sale items. Stock up on them if they are perishable. Also keep your pantry well stocked with cheap meal ingredients. Pasta, rice (and other grains), oatmeal, beans, lentils, split peas, barley, canned tomatoes, etc.) Keep your freezer stocked with frozen veggies and fruits (bought when on sale). I buy them or grow my own and freeze them during the summer months when they are in season. But you can still buy them cheaply throughout the year, especially when there is a sale or in bulk size. If you eat meat, buy it when it is on sale, and then either freeze it or make your meal out of it and freeze (the whole meal, or a portion of it) to eat another time. Also stick to more reasonable products, like chicken, or ground beef. The less meat you can get by with, the better off you will be when it comes to food costs (not to mention your health!). This same concept goes for dairy products as well (another costly part of your food budget). The more you can stay away from pre-made, prepackaged, and processed food the better off you will be. The more you can plan your meals and snacks based on simple whole ingredients the less you will spend. Better for your wallet and your waistline! Try to stay away from these kind of boxed, highly processed foods as much as you can Your shopping cart should look more like this! As for drinks, the less you can buy of these the better too. Drink water! (From the tap). Sugary drinks are expensive and not good for your teeth anyway. This would be the perfect time to try and wean your family off them if you can. And least try to reduce the amount that you buy and drink. (This includes “100% fruit juice drinks”, just as unhealthy, unfortunately, and even more expensive!) When you approach food shopping this way, you will always have the “fixin’s” for an affordable and healthy meal at home, and you will notice an immediate drop in your weekly grocery bill. And hopefully, this will keep you out of restaurants and from picking up a quick (but expensive) take out meal on the way home. For more tips on grocery savings see: money-saving-grocery-tips-from-your-auntie-victoria.html The other quicky rising cost is gas (and this includes heating gas and oil). To combat this, try to eliminate unnecessary driving. Consolidate your errands as much as possible. Carpool if you can. Stay home when you can. When you do stay home, do not overheat your house. Stop drafts as much as you can. Wear sweaters. Use blankets. Use your wood burning stove if you have one. Don’t heat rooms you are not using. Maybe (safely!) use a space heater if you are only going to be in one room for a while. I always turn my heat completely off at night when we are sleeping. We just wear warm PJ’s and socks and cuddle under lots of blankets. It’s cozy. And I think probably better for your health. None of this is rocket science, of course. It’s just frugal. It’s the way people lived back in “the day”. It worked back then, and it can work for you through these expensive times too. Give it a try. You might like it! You may even decide to adopt this way of life permanently. Why live more expensively than you have to, right? I love this frugal life and I can’t help but spouting its virtues to anyone and everyone who will listen. I hope you will come to like it as much as I do! Wishing you all a bright and frugal future! ☀️
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A Sample of my garden bounty I’ve heard it said that gardening is an expensive endeavor. And it certainly can be. Just take a look in any garden store or online catalog. There are plenty of things you can buy, from tools to trellises, to totes and more. And plants aren’t cheap either! But I’m here to tell you it doesn’t have to be. I have been gardening here for over 20 years now and I do what I can to keep the costs to a minimum. I love to bring people on tours of my property and tell them how I acquired each plant or other garden paraphernalia for free or at a very low cost. And after gardening in this manner for several decades I have quite a few gardens to show for it. My Veggie garden (shared by a few flowers 😀) In the ornamental (flower) beds most of the plants have either come to me from gardening friends, who give them to me when they are are dividing up their own perennials (I do the same for them in return), or from “orphan” plants that need a good home. Sometimes they are offered to me from people who just don’t want them anymore, or sometimes they are looking sad on the clearance rack at a garden center. Both of these beauties (blue forget-me-nots and pink peonies) were shared from friend's gardens ,As long as the plant has good roots, I do not concern myself with how pathetic the foliage and flowers have become. Often the garden centers will put them out for clearance just because somebody forgot to water them, and the tops have died back. They are ugly to sell this way, but the savvy gardener knows that taken home and given a little TLC that plant can thrive and, if it is a perennial, live and flourish in your garden for years to come. I bought 24 of these dianthus on a clearance rack this spring, selling for $1 per 8 pack. For a grand total of $3 I got enough to line my entire front walkway. And the best part is, although they sell them as annuals, they will actually come back for me year after year. I also get free plants from my own garden. I divide perennials and plant the divisions around my yard, and I also take cuttings from some plants and root them to make new ones. Often shrubs will put out “suckers” around the base of the plant that you can dig up to create another shrub for yourself, or to trade for something else with one of your garden friends. I bought two of these hydrangea bushes, and used branch cuttings to make another three. Now I have five of them lining the side of my garage (for the cost of two). And many annuals are free too! You buy them once and plant them in your garden and they will reseed themselves for the rest of your days. All you need to do is creatively “edit” them to pull them out where you don’t want them or move them around to where you do. I have many plants that grace my garden from year to year this way, including cleomes, cosmos, poppies, sunflowers, morning glories, dill, lettuce, and daisies. These cleomes and cosmos reseed themselves and pop up all over my gardens to my delight each year And this frugal gardening does not stop at the flower gardens. I am very frugal when it comes to my veggies too. It is very easy and economical to grow most of your vegetables from seed. For the price of a cell pack, you can buy a packet of seeds with enough in it to last you for years to come. Just store them in a cool, dry place (I use plastic containers in my refrigerator). An almost free fresh salad bar for the price of a few seeds Some other ways to be economical in your vegetable patch are to source your own planting and mulching material. Your own shredded leaves are garden gold, used as mulch or allowed to break down into compost (or leaf mold). You can also use your own yard waste and kitchen scraps to make compost. And look around for other sources organic materials to use in your beds. Our town has a huge pile of wood chips free for the taking. Ask someone nearby with animals if you can use their manure (we trade veggies for cow manure with a local cattle farmer). Your own shredded leaves turn into a (free!) "garden gold" soil amendment As for tools and other garden paraphernalia, you can’t beat yard sales, and now you can even just search for them at the click of a button on sites like FB Marketplace. As they say, where there’s a will there’s a way, and if you have the will to garden there are a multitude of ways to do it for very little cost. I am as proud of how little I spent to create my gardens as I am of their beauty. And nothing tastes as good as free fresh food, straight from your own backyard! Wishing you all a bright, healthy, and beautiful future!
If you’re still with me as I lead you on this years-long journey toward getting on the road to financial solvency and freedom, then you are well on your way. Congratulations for sticking with it! If you are just joining me and are new to this blog, it would be a good idea to go back and read the monthly posts for 2018. They will give you a good foundation for learning how to gain control of your own financial journey, alleviating debt if you have it, and how to start saving for your own bright future. It’s not as hard as you might imagine and I hope you will come to find the frugal life to be as fun and satisfying as I do. I know you will enjoy seeing your savings grow as a result of the lifestyle changes I am recommending. This month the holidays are behind us. Hopefully you had a frugal celebration and did not overspend. If you have, then your best bet is to concentrate on getting out from any debt you have incurred as quickly as you can! This may sound counterintuitive, but if you have gotten a good handle on your spending, and are staying out of debt… January is a good month to SHOP the sales! There are the after-Christmas sales of course, if you need any of that (I rarely buy any of that stuff anymore, as you will read about next December). But there are many other reduced ticket items to be had in January. First of all, this is when the winter clothes (and other winter items) start hitting the clearance racks. NOW is the time to buy these items for next Christmas! You can get half your shopping done at a fraction of the cost of waiting until next December. And if there are any winter clothing items you need, keep an eye out on the clearance racks for that too. The operative word here is “need”, of course. This is not a time for recreational spending. In fact, no time is a time for recreational spending. It should not even be a thing. Certainly not if you want to live below your means and get ahead. Other things that go on sale in January are bedding and towels. If yours are getting threadbare, now is the time to think about replacing them. (They're also another holiday gift possibility.) Again, not just because you’re tired of the color of your perfectly good sheets, towels, etc. And don’t forget to keep the old ones as rags (eliminating the need for buying paper towels). If you having been saving up to replace some big ticket items (think furniture and appliances) there are often sales in those departments too at this time of year. But if you don’t have the money saved, a sale is not an excuse to put it on a credit card! One year our fridge went on the fritz in October or November, but the freezer was still working, so we patched together a system of using coolers in the cold outdoors, and froze water bottles to put in the defunct fridge to use as a giant indoor cooler. And this system got us through the holiday (spending) season, until the appliances went on sale in January and we got ourselves a sweet deal on a new refrigerator (which we paid cash for, of course!) So there you have a few examples of spending money to save money. There are times when careful spending will actually save you money in the long run. And I am not talking here about telling people that you “saved” $100 by buying your new ($500) wardrobe on “sale”. I am talking about some well- spent money now that will save you from going into a shopping frenzy next Christmas and buying those same items at three or four times the clearance price you are getting them at now.
Wishing you all a Happy New Year and (rare to hear from me) happy shopping! Tis the season …for exuberance, generosity and joyful abandonment. It’s so very festive and fun, but oh so easy to get carried away with it all. And temptations to spend are everywhere you look. Deep discounts! Drastically reduced! Prices slashed! The more you buy the more you save! …. Or do you? It certainly doesn’t seem like it when the bills roll in come January … right around the time when you’re making those New Year’s resolutions, it seems. You know, the ones about getting on a budget and stopping the overspending? So, what are some strategies that you can employ to obtain that simple peaceful holiday season and reign in the excess spending? The first thing you can do is pare down those lists. Of people to buy for, indulgences, activities, and, of course, presents to buy. Well, now is the time to stop and think about that. Take a deep breath, have a cup of tea and sit down and contemplate a quieter, simpler, less hectic holiday season. One that you won’t regret when the new year rolls around. One that you’re not paying for until next August. Does that thought bring you joy? Do you feel your blood pressure dropping already? Sometimes the amount of people we exchange with can become out of hand. What starts out as a nice gesture one year, exchanging with this friend or that relative eventually morphs into a yearly obligation. You may be surprised to find that the other person in this exchange feels the same way and is more than happy to drop the yearly gift swap. Talk to them. Often we also have auxiliary people in our lives to favor with a gift, from teachers to work-related people to babysitters and hairdressers, etc. Many times these people are also swamped with all those many little gifts at holiday time, and though the thought is appreciated they would rather not deal with the deluge. Sometimes a kind and heartfelt note of appreciation is most welcome. If you feel you must give something, make up a big batch of your holiday specialty (cookies, candy, fudge, whatever) and parcel a little out to each of the people in your life that you need to thank. One and done. And edibles are often more appreciated than extra objects to clutter up their lives. Besides paring down the list of people that you exchange with, it is also a good idea to pare down the amount of gifts exchanged. This especially applies our beloved and cherished little offspring. I know it can be so fun to spoil them and see their happy faces when they open that pile of gifts, but is it worth going into debt for? And is it really good for them in the grand scheme of things? ‘
Have you ever noticed that the more gifts children get the less they are actually appreciated? If they open, open, open more and more gifts the presents themselves become secondary to the act of tearing into the innumerable presents. Is this greedy abandonment really the kind of “happiness” you want for your child? Just a few thoughtful gifts might instill a more genuine thankfulness in your child. My last gift giving tip comes too late for this Christmas, but is certainly something you can start for next Christmas. That is to prepare for the holidays all year, both in your spending and your buying. The old fashioned “envelope system” works great here. Just deposit a little bit out of each paycheck and let that be your holiday budget for next year. Pay cash for your presents and other holiday expenses, and when the money’s gone it’s gone. No more spending. And no credit card bills to fret over in January. You can also spread out your buying for the entire year. Look for those after-Christmas sales. Take advantage of clearance sales throughput the year. And one of my favorites, yard sales and thrift shops. I used to pick up gifts for my kids (often still in the box or with tags on) all summer at yard sales and my Christmas shopping was almost done (for dirt cheap) by October except for a few requested items to round out the list. This works especially well with smaller kids who are not as particular as older kids can get. You can sometimes score presents for the adults on your list this way too (keep them in mind when you look around). So, yes, Virginia (or whatever your name is), you can have a joyous holiday season without going into debt for it. In fact, I might venture to say that you can have an even more joyous and peaceful holiday when you keep it simple and take this time to relax and enjoy yourself with your family and friends without all that frenzied spending. Give it a try. You have nothing to lose and lots to gain! Wishing you all a warm and wonderful holiday and a peaceful and prosperous new year! Last month I discussed the topic of saving money on your school expenses. Now I would like to suggest that you think of every day as an opportunity to save money. Staunching the flow of money out of your pockets in your daily life you can really add up to some serious savings by the month’s end. And even more serious savings by the end of a year. Invest that money and just watch the pile grow larger year after year. All with a few simple changes in your life to save, well, some simple change each and every day. It really requires nothing but a shift in your mindset. When you start to look around at every purchase you make (or decide not to make) with an eye to saving a few bucks you will be amazed at how many opportunities to do just that will arise. Here are some key points to consider before making any purchase. It may seem obvious but first of all, do you really need it? A great deal of purchases are made for things that we don’t really need. Try to be more cognizant of this before parting with any of your hard earned bucks. From the blatant impulse buy (snacks, drinks, etc.) to the fancy gadgets. Stop and think. Do I need this? Do I already own something else I can use for this purpose? Can I borrow it? Can I wait until it comes down in price? Buy it used? If you decide that you really do need an item, do not buy it on impulse. Take some time to comparison shop, look for deals, bargain with the seller. If you take enough time you may even cool off and decide you don’t need it after all And remember the old expression “Waste not, want not” (or am I dating myself here)? Another (more modern?) way of putting it is “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” These are excellent frugal words to live by. The less you waste your resources, the less you have to spend money replacing them. This applies to all aspects of life and everything you spend your money on, from food, to beauty products, to cleaning products, to clothes, to utilities (heat, electricity) and even to electronics, appliances, and cars. If you keep these expressions in the forefront of your mind it will help you to make wiser more frugal spending decisions in your everyday life. Speaking of utilities like heat, electricity, and also phones, internet, and TV, and insurance, do not leave them on autopilot. Revisit what you are spending on these things every so often. Are you really using everything you are paying for? Do some comparison shopping. Perhaps it’s time to switch companies? Sometimes even the threat of such a thing will get your existing company to lower its rates. Sometimes entertainment is a big budget drain. Keep in mind that there are a great many ways to be entertained for free. At home game nights, potluck suppers with friends, videos borrowed from the library, village festivals and events, picnics in the park, hikes, bike rides, free museums, and art exhibits, the list goes on and on. (And if all else fails you can always take one of my enlightening and fun courses or attend one of my Frugal Living meetings one night for a nominal fee) ;)😃😃 I would like to get up on my soapbox for just a moment with a little speech on the pleasure principle. Think about something that you really enjoy. Chocolate? Wine? A big juicy steak or lobster? Now imagine that you have unlimited access to said thing (since we’re imagining here, you might as well imagine that said thing will not do anything to your waistline or arteries). Now you can eat this thing as much as you want all day, every day. (I’m not sure what it says about me that all the items I chose were food). Anyway, what do you think that constant access to your beloved treat would do to your enjoyment of it? I would wager a guess that it would no longer hold the same joyous appeal after a while. So what I am saying is a little self-deprivation of the things that you love can actually enhance your enjoyment of them. Good for your pocketbook, your waistline and your pleasure sensors! A win-win-win all around! And it goes without saying (or does it?) that you should always consider before you make a purchase whether this is a want or a need. Be honest. Many times what we call a need is actually a want. And what I like to do is make a game out of it. Challenge yourself. How low can you go with your grocery shopping this week? Can you skip a week and creatively make use of what you have in your pantry already? How long can you stretch that product? Always use everything to the last drop. How long can you go without buying clothes? Without getting a haircut? Save every $5 bill you get for one month (one year?) Make mini goals for yourself. If you usually spend $100/week on groceries, try to keep it to $80 this week (then $60 …). Can you put away an extra $200/month ($50/week) to pay for a nice vacation next summer? (without having to put in on the credit card). Once you get into the “mode” you will begin to discover many ways in your daily life that you can shave off a few dollars spent. And this success will spur you on to even greater savings. It’s a wonderful feeling to gain control of your spending and have your money work for you in a way it never has before. The joy of frugal living can be very addicting. And unlike other addictions this is a great one to have! People say having kids is expensive and while they are definitely an expense, much of that expenditure can be trimmed up dramatically with a more frugal approach. There are certain times in the child rearing when spending can skyrocket if you are not careful (the holidays for example) and back to school is one of those times. First of all, it should not come as a big surprise that in September the little sweeties will be heading back to the classroom. Therefore, it should not come as a big surprise to your pocketbook. This is an event that should have been included in your budget all along. When I was using the envelope system (see February’s blog) I put in a few bucks (maybe $10) out of each paycheck into the “School Supplies” envelope so that I would be ready when the time came without having to break out the old credit card and go into debt for a perfectly expected event. But the savings don’t end there. It is also in how and what you go about spending this school supply budget on. Obviously you will need supplies for the classroom. But take a good inventory first. How much can you reuse from last year? Does your child really need a new backpack this year, or might he be able to get by another year (or more) with this one? Take this approach with all supplies. Sometimes there are notebooks that only have a few pages written in. Rip out those pages and you have a brand new notebook for this year. And while it feels good to have that fresh pack of colored pencils at the beginning of the school year, does the old pack still have enough life in it for another year? Once you are sure that you are not buying “wants” for the new school year but actual needs, then it is time to replenish the supply. I am all for back to school sales. Know and watch your prices and comparison shop. Just because it is listed as part of a school sale does not mean the price is actually a bargain. If there is a really good price on something, (loose leaf paper for 17 cents a pack?) then by all means stock up on that item for the rest of the school year and even subsequent school years if there is no limit. And you do not have to give in to the desires of your children that just have to have that particular (insert popular character/name brand here) item. Remember there are other lessons to be taught to kids than the ones they learn at a classroom desk. And you as parents are obligated to teach them. Now we move onto another category of possible contention. School clothes. And while it is nice and fun to start off the new year with a whole new wardrobe it is not necessarily necessary! Once again take careful stock of actual needs. And once again refrain from giving in to entitled demands. Another point in question, is do these “new” clothes actually have to be new? I shopped for much of my kids clothing needs at thrift shops and yard sales and back to school was no exception. And I can guarantee you that no one could look at my kids’ wardrobes and tell me which items were purchased new and which were “preworn”. As the kids got a little older and more aware of their “wants”, I would let them make the choice. I would give them each an envelope with a certain amount of money in it for school clothes and off we would go shopping. It was entirely up to them as to whether they wanted to buy a nice “new” wardrobe with that money for a few bucks an item at the thrift shops or whether they wanted to take that same amount of money and just buy a few name brand (or whatever) new items at the stores, or shop a combination of the two. Of course, remember you are still their parent and retain final say on what is appropriate to buy and wear with “their” money, and what items they need to buy (socks and underwear might not be on the #1 “gotta have it” list, but a necessary expenditure never the less). And another non-classroom lesson learned here . . . budgeting their money! There are also year-long school related expenses to consider, like school lunches. Consider your budget here as well. Is it cheaper for them to bring their own lunch? (hint: Almost always) (another hint: This goes for adults as well). And although the grocery stores are blasting you with back-to-school lunch items at this time of the year, these are usually not the best things for your lunch budget. For instance, do not be tempted by those cute little single serve packs of anything. Buy your own (pretzels, dried fruit, crackers, cookies, cheese, etc. etc.) and prepackage it yourself into Ziploc bags or even better reusable containers (P.S. aside here, I reuse Ziploc bags too). Have the kids participate in the preparing of their school lunches, making as much of it themselves as possible. The more they are involved in the prep the more they will be likely to actually eat it (and bonus, another life skill lesson learned!). I always told my kids to bring home what they didn’t eat rather than throw it away in the garbage. It drives me crazy how much perfectly good food gets thrown into school lunchroom (and all) garbage cans. If they bring it home, they can eat it as part of their after school snack or take it again the next day. So, I hope you can see that sending the little ones (and not so little ones) back to school does not have to be quite the piggy bank shattering event that it can become if you are not careful. Stretch your frugal muscle and save your dollars. Your piggy bank will thank you for many years to come. And who knows, maybe even your kids will thank you someday for all the (out of school) lessons learned. 😉
Living in such a materialistic society as we do, it can be hard to even detangle oneself from the mindset of constantly wanting and buying more and more stuff. We have been bombarded with ads from a very early age, from every possible media, telling us why we “need” this that and the other thing. We are told how each of these items will make our lives easier, fuller, more fun, etc., etc. Just the very act of “shopping” has become a leisure time activity in and of itself. We are trained to always want the bigger and better next thing. We compare ourselves to others based on if our stuff is as good, new, and shiny as theirs. We never reach the point of satisfaction because there is always that next best new thing coming out that we have to have, as evidenced by the lines for the newest model iPhone. Really??! Is it that much better than the previous model that you have to waste precious hours of your life waiting on line to have it a few hours (or even days or weeks) earlier than you would have been able to get it otherwise? To me, that represents the epitome of how deeply this materialistic mindset is entrenched in us. And once we get that new thing, how long does the satisfied happy feeling last? Not long apparently as evidenced by all the stuff put out at garage sales (many with tags still on), not to mention Craigslist, eBay, and even worse, into the ever-growing landfills. It is the thrill of the acquisition that is being sought. Once we actually own the thing the joy fades pretty quickly. This just sets us up for wanting more to experience that “high of the buy” once again. As you can see with this type of scenario one can never be truly satisfied and happy. Would you like to get off this unsatisfying and frustrating carousel? I know I do and I make a very concentrated effort in my life to buck the system. It can be hard to do when you are literally surrounded by it, but the better you get at recognizing the pattern and fighting to control being sucked in by it, the happier (not to mention less stressed and richer) you can be. It is when you get out of the “more and better stuff” mindset you truly start to appreciate the things that you have. And ironically the less stuff you have the more you appreciate it. And even more ironically the less you pay for each item the more you appreciate it. I take great satisfaction in having acquired an item for free or very inexpensively that has given me much use or added beauty to my life. The less I spend on something the more I appreciate it, because not only do I appreciate the thing itself, I am also appreciative that it did not take my hard earned money away from me. This can be especially true of items that we tend to collect a lot of, such as clothes. It feels much better to have a few shirts that you really like and enjoy wearing than to have your closets and drawers stuffed with them, many of which you don’t even wear. And if you spent a lot of money on those shirts that you don’t even wear that can make you feel worse. As they say, “Less is more”. It really is true! I take great pleasure in buying a shirt that I really like at a thrift shop for a few bucks (or even better if someone has given it to me for free) and I feel that pleasure each time I wear the shirt. The fact that our world is bombarded with stuff and we can go out to stores filled with it and buy, buy, buy, and now even at home we are bombarded with the urge to buy, buy, buy on our computers leaves us in a state of wanting constant instant gratification. All we have to do is have a thought of wanting something and it can be ours at the swipe of a credit card or click of a button. But has this made us any happier? I would venture to say no. What it has done is deprive us of the joy of waiting for our pleasure. For it is in that anticipation of pleasure that our excitement builds up. If we have to wait for something, then we appreciate it so much more when we finally do get it. Instant gratification has effectively deprived us of that very pleasure. Some people think of trying to live below their means as a painful way to live. They view it as deprivation. But it is all in the mindset of how you approach it. I find that living below my means gives me more pleasure than living the life of constant instant gratification through buying more and more stuff. It is a less stressful, slower, more satisfying way to live. It allows you to savor pleasure more deeply rather than to be constantly looking to acquire the next best thing. I urge you to give the joy of slow acquisition a try. You will be surprised how much pleasure not spending money can bring you. Your life will be less stressful, more peaceful and richer than ever before, I promise! Here we are mid-summer, the height of “fun” season, with so many ways to enjoy this glorious time of year. And the myriad of activities at our disposal can run the gamut from free to ultra-expensive. How are you doing so far? Here’s a tip. The amount of money spent does not equate to the amount of fun had. It’s as simple as that. Let’s look at some ways you can have a great summer without breaking the piggy bank, and some alternatives to those activities you are currently forking over oodles of your hard-earned money for. We’ll start with kids who, as anyone who has ever had them in their lives knows, can be a huge drain on your pocketbook. But as the financial savvy among us know, only if you let them. The first thing that comes to mind with kids and summer is camp. This phenomenon alone can empty your piggy bank. The first question that comes to mind is “Do they really need to go?” At the risk of sounding like the old fart that I am, back in my day, we didn’t all get shuffled off to “enriching” summer camps. We just stayed home and played with our siblings and neighborhood friends all summer. And dare I say, used our imaginations and got plenty of exercise to boot. If you still have the need (or desire) to send your kid(s) to camp, there are less expensive, and yes, free options. Look into them. Your little Einstein can have just as much fun at a town or church camp, often run free of charge, then at a fancy “science” (or art, music, sports, etc.) designed primarily to relieve you of your money. Give it some thought before you sign on the dotted line. As for entertaining the little darlings at home (and may I add here that it is not necessarily our job as parents to “entertain” them?), there is no end to the fun things they can do for free or a small layout for materials. There is art (painting, drawing, sculpting, etc.), water play (small backyard pool, water balloons, sprinkler, etc.), backyard games (tag, soccer, hide and seek, red rover, etc.), indoor (board) games for rainy days. Or take them for a bike ride or a hike or a picnic. Get them involved in some gardening. Have them make a little fairy garden. Take them to the library to check out some books and videos or take part in the many free activities offered there. Have a make-your-own sundae party or a campfire and make s’mores. Look around for free family activities in your or neighboring communities. There are often free concerts in the park, street fairs, and other kid-friendly events listed in your local paper. The possibilities for free fun are only limited by your (and your children’s) imagination. Use it! And many of these activities double as adult entertainment too, even for those of you without children in your lives. Bike rides, hikes, picnics, games, campfires, s’mores, ice cream sundaes, and concerts in the park can all be enjoyed by you too. The library is not only a source of free reading material and videos but often also offers programs geared to adults as well, from book clubs to art classes to writer’s groups. There is something for everyone. Again, keep your eyes and minds open to opportunities in your area. Let’s look at some of those things that drain your pocketbook in the summer. I’ve already mentioned concerts. You can find many for free. Even the paid events will often have cheaper outdoor lawn seats available. I much prefer these “seats” anyway as it is very pleasant being outdoors under the stars enjoying the music.
Going out to eat can get costly in the summer months (and always). Why not take turns hosting potluck dinners with your friends at each other’s houses, or take it out to a park or beach? If you just can’t stay away from restaurants, try skipping the appetizers, keeping drinks to a minimum (one or none), sharing an entree, and/or a dessert, or having the dessert when you get home. At least this will keep the cost down to a minimum. And save the eating out for a special occasion. If you do it all the time it loses its specialness and joy anyway. And then, of course, there’s vacation. The cheapest thing to do of course, is not to go on one, or to opt for the ever-popular “staycation”. But if you must go away there are many things you can do to keep the costs down. Staying for a week at a place with a kitchen will cut your meals budget. Going in on a place like this with friends will cut the cost even further. And just as I suggested at home, look for free activities in the area. You can always go on their town’s website in advance to check out the calendar of events. If you don’t want to rent for the week, you can try house-swapping, either with people you know (to check out a new place with in-the-know references as to what is good to do), or through a house swap registry. Some other tactics to save money would be to go on a shorter vacation (do you really need a whole week away?) Try this midweek to save even more. And always be sure to use any discounts you have available, AAA, AARP, Groupon, discount coupon books, etc.) And as for those money intensive kids on vacation, make sure to give them a budget ahead of time. It might be a good idea to provide them with their own vacation fund (for treats, souvenirs, etc.) ahead of time. When it’s gone it’s gone. It’s up to them how long they make it last. This doubles as a good lesson for them for future budgeting (wink, wink). Here’s to enjoying the glorious bittersweet last month of summer. Keep the activities simple and on-budget and you can look back on your delightful summer with no regrets and no debt, only fond memories to treasure forever. Did you spring clean your finances? Were you able to take a good look at your expenditures and trim some of the fat out of your monthly expenses? If you have done this successfully, I bet you are feeling pretty light right now. In fact, you are probably walking around with a spring in your step! It’s amazing how good lightening up your budget can make you feel! Before people start on this process they actually tend to think that putting themselves on a tighter budget will make them feel weighed down and restricted, but once they get started they realize that it actually has quite the opposite effect.
And once you have pushed past those first steps, you will find not only does it feel surprisingly good, but it gets easier. And not only does it get easier, but you get better at it. That frugal muscle begins to awaken and gain strength. And, by golly, not only is saving money not a chore, but it begins to become fun! You will start to examine each expenditure in a new light. You will find yourself looking for more ways to save. How can you cut back even further? Once you come out of that fog or never-ending consumerism your brain chemistry will begin to change. You will no longer take your satisfaction from acquiring more and more stuff and making all those daily instant pleasure purchases, but rather in the feeling of pride and contentment that you are living a full life without needing to spend money like that. As you gain control over your finances, get out from under that heavy debt, and begin to see your savings grow, you will delight in the peace of mind that your new frugal lifestyle has brought you. “Stuff” is no match for this joyful feeling of gratification. This will strengthen your resolve to save even more. Once you get the “snowball” going in the right direction there’s no stopping you! Who wants to go back to being buried under that avalanche of debt and stress.? You are free! Now you will stop and think about each purchase with what I call the Super Sliding Scale of Savings. It goes something like this:
The more times you can make it all the way to step 6, the better off you will be and the happier and more content you will become. So keep on flexing that frugal muscle! You will continue to grow stronger financially and lighter in your outlook and step. Here’s to financial fitness! If you are of a normal weight like I am, people will sometimes say to you “Oh, you are so lucky you don’t have to worry about your weight.” Or even more erroneously, “You are so lucky you can eat whatever you want.” Neither of these statements can be further from the truth. In fact, the only reason I am a normal weight is because I do worry about my weight, every day. And I do watch what I eat, every meal. It is just as much a struggle for me as for them. In fact, probably more so, given the fact that I am only 4’10” making every calorie count!
So what does that have to do with money, you ask? Well, I have also had people say to me, "Oh you are lucky that you were able to stay home with your kids and did not have to go out and work." And once again, luck had very little to do with it. Many of the women who said this to me had husbands who were making more money than mine did. These women also had cable TV, big new SUV’s or minivans, new clothes and shoes, maybe a Coach bag, and (back in the day when I had dial-up) high-speed internet. I would wager a bet that they also thought nothing of going out to lunch, buying coffee and drinks out, getting their nails and hair done, and picking up take-out for dinner. And yes, before you start yelling at me, I know there are single moms or other circumstances when women need to work, but my point is that often what people perceive as luck may actually be a result of the many choices made every day in life. Luck can also be a matter of perception in another way. Let’s say you get in a car accident and break your arm. Are you lucky or unlucky? Well, some might say of course you are unlucky! You got into a car accident and broke your arm for goodness sake! How can that be lucky? But then there is the person who says, “I am so lucky that all I got was a broken arm! I am still alive!!” Same scenario. Completely different perspective. So what is luck then? It is a matter of the results of your actions, and a matter of perception. So, the question is can you create your own “luck”? You absolutely can! Let me create a little story for you to illustrate my point even further: Let’s say Dick and Jane make the exact same amount of money. OK, scratch that, since Dick probably makes more. Let’s say Dixie and Jane make the exact same amount of money and through some cosmic fate have the exact same bills and expenditures every month. Each is able to save up exactly $100 per month after everything is paid, giving them each an extra $1,200 per year. At the end of Year One, Dixie takes that money and goes on a much-deserved vacation. Jane puts it in a one-year CD. At the end of Year Two, Dixie needs some new living room furniture, so she spends her $1,000 on that plus $200 on a hot new outfit. Jane now has $2,424 (her yearly savings of $1,200 plus $1,242 in her CD). She puts $2,200 of it into another CD, and spends $30 on a water filter for her tap, so she can stop buying bottled water, and spends $70 on an indoor antenna for her TV and cancels her $110 per month cable service. With the remaining $124 she has a great time at the thrift shop buying a new wardrobe for the coming year. Year Three: Dixie has her usual $1,200 at the end of the year. She splurges on buying herself the latest iPhone, which is just out, plus a nice case for it. Jane now has $2,244 from her CD, plus $350 saved by not buying bottled water, plus $1,320 saved by not paying for cable every month, plus her usual $1,200 for the year. A total of $5144. She spends $800 buying a washer and dryer so that she can stop going to the laundromat. She decides to invest the remaining $4,344 into a low-cost index mutual fund. At the end of Year Four, Dixie has her usual $1,200. Jane has her usual $1,200 plus $350 saved on water, plus $1320 saved on cable, plus $180 saved on laundry. And her mutual fund did pretty well to earn her 8%, so she now has $4,691 in that for a total of $7,741 … I could go on and on, but I hope you are starting to get the picture. One night Dixie meets Jane at a party. When the topic turns to finances, Jane happens to mention that she currently has about $3,000 in her savings account plus a mutual fund with over $4,500. Dixie is impressed and amazed and comments on how “lucky” Jane is to be so far ahead of her, while she, herself struggles living paycheck to paycheck. Does this sound familiar? Is Jane “lucky”? So how about starting to turn your own “luck” around. And one day in the future maybe you will chuckle inwardly when someone at a party tells you how lucky you are to have such a nice healthy nest-egg for your retirement and a nice bright future to look forward to. |
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