by Marg Bona
Philosophy of Thrift in the Home
Any discussion about money saving ideas has to start with why you should practice thrift. And of course, you don’t want to take this whole concept too far, after all, who has the time to be thrifty? We’re home schooling moms after all!
Just a few reasons:
- We should strive to become the Proverbs 31 woman. Look it up when you get a chance and read it again. Talk about inspirational!
- If you save money, your husband (and you) can work less and have more time to spend with the family.
- Once you figure in taxes, a dollar saved is lots more than a dollar earned.
Saving Money vs. “Who’s Got the Time?!”
I like the saying “Always put people before things.” Saving money is like finding the “narrow road.” The devil is constantly trying to pull me from one extreme to the other. The trick is to make saving money a habit, but not an obsession. When I’ve had a stressful week, buying a ready-made pizza is a bargain. I just make sure I use a coupon and have my husband pick it up.
Organization Goes Hand in Hand with Thrift
A friend of mine recently reminded of this. It doesn’t do any good to buy in bulk if you can’t find what you need when you need it. And who needs to be buried in 200 pounds of thick rolled oats anyways?!
Always start with clearing out your excess. I’m convinced this will be a life-long pursuit for most Americans (including me!). On a regular basis go through your house with three bags (or boxes). One is for stuff that goes in the garbage, one for stuff that goes to the Goodwill, and one is for stuff that gets set aside for a future garage sale (though this last option is risky – too many little hands that will discover what you are up to and pull things back). Get Clutters Last Stand from the library and read a little just to psyche yourself up. Then send dad out with the kids on errands (to the bakery thrift store, Sams Club, etc.) to clear your playing field and BE RUTHLESS!
Food Issues
The organization issue leads naturally to the food issues. We always follow the sale ads and stock up on the bargains. My husband is a great help here as he’s willing to go to more than one store (Rainbow/Cub Foods/K-Mart, etc.). I think this is a great teaching opportunity for kids.
Some kids seem born with a sense of the “value of things.” Other kids appear to be born spendthrifts and will require daily work in this area to make headway. Bring them shopping and something good might “rub off ” on them. The home supply places run sales on their shelving units (usually in the fall) and it’s a bargain to buy some and organize your storage spaces. We stock up on spaghetti, sauces, canned goods, cereal, beans, rice, etc. If it’s neatly stacked and in full view you’ll use it and save bunches of money.
Of course no talk about food issues is complete without mentioning the chest freezer. We resisted this purchase for years considering the extra energy costs of having one. But once we started having kids, the value was clear. So we purchased the most energy efficient little chest box we could find, only to realize we needed more space. We looked for a larger model and found one in the Thrifties for just $25, which has proven wonderfully reliable and a boon to our food bills (which run about $200/month for a family of 5).
The trick is to keep the freezer organized. Have your husband or kids help you go through them every 4-6 months and write down what’s in there. Make a couple copies of the list and keep one taped to the top of the freezer and one on your clipboard for meal planning. Keep the food inside the freezer sorted in boxes. Pulling out 4 boxes to get your hands on that ground beef on the very bottom is tons quicker than pulling out items one by one. And talk about the energy savings! I use dishpans in my kitchen refrigerator-freezer so I can pull them out like drawers to look for what I need. No more juice-can torpedoes breaking my toes when I open the door!
Rummage Sales, Garage Sales and Thrift Stores: The Great Recycling Adventure
This is my favorite area, because finding clothes/shoes/households at these places saves so much money for my family and is like treasure hunting – such fun! Of course prayer for prudence is a must so you don’t overdo it. We tithe on our income and allocate some of these funds to church festivals that often have rummage sale attractions included. The Little Sisters of the Poor have a spring festival. We end up supporting worthy causes and getting great buys for our family. And be sure to stop in at the Goodwill [used clothing and goods store] from time to time. Many of their things are brand new end-of-the-season items donated by local stores.
I try to keep a season or two ahead of my kids in clothing supplies and store the stuff in a box in their closets. I keep a couple under-the-bed storage boxes for shoes I run across that are too big for the kids. Most of our shoes cost 25 cents to $1 each. Then when they start complaining that their shoes are too small (usually just before you have to run out to that important meeting) you can run upstairs and find a pair that will fit. Make sure you give away the clothes/shoes they outgrow immediately or they will pile up mercilessly in no time.
Areas Where You Can Save a Lot of Money
Insurance. Set aside enough money to cover an $1000 deductible, then raise your deductible to that amount. You’ll save lots each month and if you need to dig into the savings, you’ll still come out ahead.
Debt. We paid our house off years ago so we’d have to work less and could spend more time with our kids.
Income vs. taxes. Get a tax program like Turbo Tax (about $30) and put it on your computer. These programs are wonderfully user-friendly. Then when you are considering a financial decision like taking a second job or re-financing your mortgage, push the numbers through and see what the tax implications will be. They’re bound to surprise you. My husband and I watched a news program once about a 2-income family where the mom and dad tag-teamed their parenting. They thought they couldn’t make it financially any other way. It turned out once the hidden costs of their life style were added up, they were losing money having the wife work part time.
Books to Read
It turns out I could write for hours on this subject, but haven’t the time or space to do so. So go to the library and get some books to read to inspire you. Just one little thrifty thing practiced for the rest of your life really adds up!
Suggested books:
Clutter’s Last Stand
Living More With Less, by Doris Janzen Longacre
The Heart Has Its Own Reasons
The Tightwad Gazette, by Amy Dacyczyn
Unplug the Christmas Machine, by Jo Robinson & Jean Staeheli.
Marg Bona is a homeschooling mother of three who lives with her family in White Bear Lake, Minnesota.
(This article first appeared in the newsletter of Twin Cities Catholic Homeschooling Network.)
