We Haven’t Learned Our Money Lessons
The news feeds over the past 2 months has really concerned me regarding how unprepared our
citizens are for hard economic times. Our recent January layoffs and the US Government shutdown
with the possibility for it to occur again in February, really concerns me. It makes me sad that so
many people are struggling and needing assistance because of losing 1 income for just 1-2 months
and it got me thinking about our household and how that situation would affect us. I don’t think
many people could manage an extended job loss especially if the job loss is the major wage earner.
So, what can we do?
I think we can start being mindful of our spending habits, taking the time to evaluate our purchases
and planning for lean times. I know that every Friday, I identify 5 things our family has done that
week to maintain a reasonable budget, but if times become financially tight, there is so much more
we could be doing.
There are many resources to help identify what saving opportunities are available. (The Tightwad
Gazette, The Cheapest Family books, various Youtube Channels, Blogs, etc.) Now this doesn’t
mean that you need to use every idea, but take the ideas that may work for your situation/family and
give it a try. I have found that carefully evaluating the ideas is very important because it MUST work
for your lifestyle and family as well as producing a reasonable savings, because if it isn’t saving you
money, then what’s the point? I have put together a short list of things that we have incorporated
into our habits to help us out.
NOTE- Many resources can be obtained for free either on the internet and/or at your local library.
Groceries
Make a weekly meal plan- I look at the sales flyers to see what is on sale and the loss leaders are
and plan accordingly. In addition, I try to reserve $10-$20.00 for stocking up on the items with rock
bottom prices.
Keep a Price Book- This is a book where I keep track of the prices of the more expensive items such
as chicken, sausage, etc. This book helps me to identify what items to stock up on. For example:
This week our local grocery store has Hillshire Sausage on sale for $1.88 this week, but you can
only get 5. So, I am planning on buying 5. It makes for a quick, easy meal at a very low price with
leftovers.
Pantry- My pantry is the Number 1, saving tool in my kitchen. Because I keep my pantry stocked
through stoking up when items prices are low, I can make most of my weekly meals from the items in
my pantry, freezer, and/or refrigerator.
Bulk Buying- Since we are a family of 3, in order to get a variety of fruits in our diet, I purchase in
bulk and buy 3-5lb of fruit at a time. This way we can enjoy apples, clementines, melon, etc., and
eat them over a 2 week period. Now if there is a good price on berries, bananas, etc., I will get a
little bit because these fruits will not last 2 weeks long.
Freezer Meals- When I have busy weeks/ months, I use freezer meals and my crockpot as a safety
net for these times. If I make a mistake in my meal planning and find that I will not have time that
evening to cook dinner, no worries-- I pull our a freezer meal and pop it into the crockpot. Dinner is
ready when we are. This is a lifesaver.
Use Leftovers- Whether it is eating them for lunch the next day or doing a leftover makeover. Use
the food you have already purchased and cooked. For example, we had pasta with shrimp last
night, so my husband took it for lunch today. In addition, I had cooked chicken for chicken
sandwiches the other night and will be using the leftover shredded chicken into chicken enchiladas
tonight.
Coupons- I leverage coupons, sale prices and rebates to get select items which we use for free or
extremely discounted. These items are usually stockable items such as TP, Cleaners, Toothpaste,
etc.
Utilities
Blinds and Curtains- Our house has a lot of windows that are old and tend to be a little drafty.
Unfortunately we are not in the position to replace the windows at this time and old windows are a
large culprit of heat loss for your home. So, we use blinds and curtains to block the heat from
escaping. Now this can get a little dreary, so during the day when we are home, we will open the
blinds/curtains so the light shines in, but at night or if we are not in the room, they get closed.
Unplug- If an electrical appliance/item is not in use, then unplug it. Even though the item isn’t pulling
the maximum amount of energy from the socket, it does pull some energy. I view doing this as
helping the environment as well as not being wasteful with your resources (energy and money).
This also includes turning off lights that really aren’t being useful. For example, my garage door
automatically turns on/off the garage light when the door opens/closes. If we are leaving, then we
can’t do anything about it, but if we are coming home, there is a light switch for this and we use it.
Utility Audit- For each Utility item (Trash, Internet, Phone, Electric, Gas, etc.), I compared prices for
each company in our area that provides the service. This is done on a yearly basis, so that we can
maintain the lowest rate. This also works for Insurance.
Winterize Your Home: I have written several posts on how to Winterize Your Home. If you are
interested in reading these post, they are listed below:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Gas
Gas Buddy- This is an app for your phone which tells you the current gas prices in your area and if
there is an expectation of the price decreasing or increasing.
Day of the Week- In my area, Tuesday- Thursday usually has the cheapest gas prices. I am always
mindful of my local gas prices and try to prevent my gas tank going below ½ a tank. For example,
we went to a “local” swim meet over the weekend and found gas for $.20 less per gallon, so we filled
up the tank. The funny thing is that 5 miles down the road, the price increase by $.09. I know that if
you get 10 gallons, you only save $.50- $1.00 per fill up, but over the course of a year, you would
save $26.00- $52.00. Every little bit helps.
Batch Errand Runs- I try run my errands in batches when I am already in the area. For example, if I
am working in a particular area, I make sure I am prepared to stop and pick up what I need when I
would already be going past the store or library.
Car Pool- I work with my friends to get the kids to all their activities. This way I help others to have
some time to themselves and save on their gas bill and they do the same for me. Win/Win
Entertainment
Cable- Cut the cord. We cancelled our cable 2 Christmas’ ago haven’t looked back. It saved us
$150 a month after counting the amount we are spending for internet and Sling TV. We currently
have Amazon Prime which also provides us with free Kindle book and a large number of TV shows
and Movies. Since we already had this service prior to cutting the cable, we didn’t count this against
the cable savings. In addition, during the Black Friday Sales, we were able to secure an antenna for
our HD TV and ROKU, which provides us with a lot of free TV Series and Movies each month. If
times go financially stressful, then I would cancel the Sling TV which would save each month and
when the Amazon Prime subscription comes due, we would evaluate whether the price would make
sense to spend.
Free/Cheap Activities- Take advantage of all the free activities in your local area. Our library has a
lot of fun activities (lectures, chess club, book based activities for kids) which are free to the public.
Our metro parks have a ton of different activities which are very different for each park. In the spring
and summer there are free movies, concerts, archery classes, etc. In addition, we have 4th Fridays
during the summer months. If you want to do an activity that does cost money, then look for
coupons, deals, etc. For example, my sons likes our local trampoline park, so we purchased a card
that allows him to go for 10 visits, but it saved us 25% off of the price. This pass does not expire, so
the fun just keeps on going. If you have little kids, check out the Home Depot/Lowes building
classes.
Neighborhood Gatherings- During the summer or when school is off, the neighborhood kids get
together at different houses and plan some kind of activity such as a huge Nerf Gun Battle, Water
Balloon Fight, Fishing at the local pond, Bike Ride, Etc.
Game Night- We have been collecting board games for years. We get them from garage sales,
holiday sales w/ coupons, gifts from friends, etc. So, gather your friends for a potluck dinner and a
night of games. It doesn’t cost anyone too much money and an enjoyable night for all.
I know this list is not exhausted, but it is a start to the journey. If you have anything to add to the list
please leave a comment below to help our community to grow.
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