It is amazing how many people feel as though they're struggling financially month to month, regardless of their income. Couples who make far more than we do, with less children, feel the same pinch that those with far lower incomes and more mouths to feed feel. It's baffling! Yet, through experience, we have come to understand this phenomena. It seems that the more money you have to spend, the more you spend {DUH, yeah?}, but seriously...
There are many, many reasons for all of us to rethink our spending habits, regardless of income, family size, social status, or anything else. For one thing, God expects us to be good stewards of what He's provided. He expects us to invest in His Kingdom, to give generously, and to prioritize how we spend our resources according to His will and vision.
When we spend excessively, regardless of income, we are not being good stewards, we are not prioritizing properly, and we are not free to give our money or our time. When we need to work more than necessary to meet immediate needs, to pay unnecessary bills and feed our need for "things", we fail to live out the life that God has called us to. A life of freedom. A life defined by relationships. Families. Churches. Communities. Sadly, these relationships seem to be the first thing to suffer when our finances are 'out of whack'.
Whether you feel the need to reassess your finances in order to live more comfortably, to enable mom to stay home and raise her kiddos, to homeschool, so that daddy can be more invested in his family, or simply out of utter necessity, here are some basic principles to consider.
Debt is bondage, not freedom
While it may feel liberating to buy whatever you want whenever you want it, using debt is NOT freedom! Whether it is credit card debt for smaller items, loans for vehicles, or mortgages, debt enslaves us to a cycle of living to work instead of working to live! We become like little mice on an exercise wheel, running ourselves to exhaustion, and never getting ahead. Our money would be better spent serving the genuinely poor than on paying the bank to use their money on things we don't have patience to wait and save for! I would urge each of you to look closely at the amount of your monthly income that goes to paying interest. The number will shock you!
Say goodbye to credit cards, learn to live within your means, wait and save for more expensive necessities. Then...
Buy used and save the difference
Beggars can, in fact, be choosers! Shopping at the thrift store or garage sales for clothing, or waiting until end of season sales before shopping does not mean that you have to dress poorly. In fact, the vast majority of our clothing is name-brand, high-quality clothing for which I paid a fraction of the cost{and face it, once you wear it once it becomes "used clothing"...and it pains me a whole lot less to see a stain on something I paid three dollars for, than something I paid $60 for!}
The same is true of vehicles, appliances, and anything else you can think of! The moment you drive that new car off the lot, or install that new appliance, it becomes used and depreciates an appalling amount. Why not buy used, (or scratch and dent) and save the difference?
A funny {kindof} story that affirmed this principle to us happened when we were building our home. The idea was to build to sell within a couple years, a stepping stone to where we eventually hoped to be, debt free. When I suggested buying appliances, nice ones too, from a 'scratch and dent' appliance shop in the cities, my husband scoffed and said he'd never put used, or dinged up appliances in a brand new house. Submitting to his leadership, I said "Ok...have it your way!" with a raised eyebrow...
As he installed our brand spankin' new dishwasher, he somehow managed to put a huge scratch right across the front! And the next day, as we installed our perfect, new fridge we noticed a small dent! Naturally, I pointed to both and said, "Hey look, we have used, scratch and dent appliances!" He wasn't happy :P But he learned a lesson!
Similarly, when in the market for a tractor he managed to snag the tractor of his dreams with financing for five years at 0% interest....the problem was the pricetag! More than we spent on all of our cars COMBINED. Once again, we learned that buying new never pays when, a year later, the exact same model tractor sold on auction for half of what we paid! It was duly noted.
BUDGET, BUDGET, BUDGET
I'm sure this seems painfully obvious to many of you reading this, but you might be surprised by how many people don't think to budget! Especially when income far exceeds expenses. In our experience, we went from being very strictly budgeted, to very loose (not even paying attention to where our money was going) when we made good money. It is a sad truth that we are far more responsible with less than we are with more without great discipline!
There are so many places that our money goes, and quickly! A budget MAKES you stop and prioritize where you spend it. Tithe first, Bills next, {I would suggest a good chunk monthly to put down on any debt}, essentials like food and gas, and savings for emergencies (it's good to have 3 months of income available for such things!)...and if you're lucky to have above and beyond those basic necessities allocate a percentage to each of your following priorities. If you homeschool, budget a percentage of what's left to that, if family trips and vacations are important priorities to you, allocate a percentage to that fund, you like the freedom to be able to go out to eat often? allocate a percentage of your 'extra' to that! If giving to the poor in some way is a priority (as it should be), put a percentage into a fund just for that! You get the idea :)
So often, our hearts tell us that we feel one way, that some things are the most important...while our spending says very, very different. This leads to my next point, which is something that needs to be done before we can accurately budget!
Track your spending long term
When my husband was making 3x what he now brings in monthly, we seemed to be 'just getting by' every month. We have never spent much on entertainment or dining out. In part because I am naturally very cheap, a homebody, and far too picky to eat at restaurants {I'm a cook's worst nightmare}! We had all our vehicles paid off and had no debt other than our mortgage and land contract. Yet, somehow at the end of the month I would scratch my head wondering where is all of this money going????
It turns out that a little bit here, and a little bit there, really adds up :P But I had no idea just how often we were adding these little bits up until I began tracking our spending. I sat down for a few hours, made a spread sheet with columns for groceries, gas, bills, dining, other, etc. I added each expenditure on our bank statement for the month, and repeated for four months, and was blown away by the amount we were spending! This made it possible to figure out where we needed to cut down on spending, and allowed us to accurately budget.
Get on the DIY bandwagon, and don't hop off
One way that is easy to save big money is to make anything and everything you can. From food items to cleaning products. There is nothing that you need to buy at the store that you can't make yourself except whole foods and basic ingredients! It really isn't as hard or overwhelming as it seems, and really it's quite fun and fulfilling once you start.
Just off the top of my head I will list a few things that we've been making and what the savings is:
Bread: I make all of our baked goods from scratch, from flour that I grind fresh. A loaf of my bread costs about $1 to make {I make four loaves once a month to have on hand, extra loaves if I plan a meal that requires one like sandwiches, or french toast}. Compare that to the average $3 per loaf, not organic or fresh!
Cereal: We easily spent hundreds on cereal monthly...before I tracked our spending, I didn't realize that we were constantly running to the store, and when I stopped to think about it I realized that it was almost always for cereal! For convenience, we ate it almost every morning, and at close to $5/box (less than a pound), the expense was substantial. I began making my own granola monthly, using organic oats I purchase in bulk for less than $1/lb, organic nuts and dried fruits that I buy in bulk as well (their prices vary). Because I have sold granola now for a while, I've figure that my cost per pound is anywhere from $2-3, depending on the variety! and it's so much tastier and more filling than run-of-the-mill cereal :) We also eat alot of wheat farina, oatmeal, eggs and toast, pancakes, and breakfast wraps to supplement our cereal addictions.
Tomato Sauce: which I use for spaghetti, bolognese, pizza sauce, etc. I can make a quart of organic sauce for $.54, as opposed to buying a 15 oz can of Hunts for $1 at best!
BEANS: Adding organic beans regularly to our menu has saved us tonnage. Buying bulk, dried black beans, soaking them overnight, and cooking them to serve (in whatever way I want to stretch our meat or go vegetarian) costs me $2.10/lb. Compared to beef, that's a steal! And while I've never actually bought cans of beans, so I don't know the average price, I guarantee it's far cheaper to buy dried and prepare them at home--if only because you're not paying for the liquid the beans are canned in!
Laundry detergent: This is a big one for me, because I have enormous amounts of laundry. Really, scary amounts. The laundry detergent I used to buy cost me a good $20/month. (not to mention the oxi-clean for soaking, and fabric softener). I now make my own and spend about $12 ingredients that make enough detergent for THREE MONTHS+!!!
All-Purpose cleaner: Can you imagine never having to buy windex, disinfectant spray, dusting spray, bathroom cleaner, etc. again? Think of what you could save! I kid not when I say that distilled white vinegar, water, alcohol, and your choice of antimicrobial E.O.s makes a killer all purpose cleaner. I use it for my windows, my appliances, my bathrooms (in combination with baking soda for the toilets and tubs), EVERYTHING! I have a spray bottle in each room that I refill regularly, and each month it costs me about $4. {I always have a supply of oils on hand for just about every purpose too. A worthy investment!}
Diaper wipes: It literally could not get easier. Paper towels, water, coconut oil, and natural soap {I use E.O.s here too for my eczema-ridden baby bums}. A batch costs less than $1 (gotta get those bulk paper products from Sam's!). I don't know how much you spend on diaper wipes, but I know I WAS spending well over $10 every two months or less.
This list is certainly not exhaustive...anything that can be made, including soap, I make it! But these are the biggies, and a really, really good place to start!
Create an inventory of staples, make menus, and SHOP ONCE A MONTH
Keeping inventory of what you like to have on hand allows for smarter shopping. Creating menus helps to plan an accurate grocery list, spares the trouble of overbuying and wasting, and also inspires you to be more creative with your cooking! We use our inventory list as a "running shopping list", checking our pantry and freezers, adding the quantities that we need to purchase each month. This has saved us a lot of money! You know what they say, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail". Planning ahead=SUCCESS!
Buy BULK when you can, and when it's practical
We have been very blessed to be part of a buying club where we can get good quality, organic staples like grain, beans, pasta, oils, nuts, and dried fruits. Without this luxury, we wouldn't be eating quite as well! Take the initiative to research what's available in your area and take advantage of this! You can easily store bulk dried goods in plastic icing buckets that bakeries dispose of {that's for free!}.
If you are able to save some cash and purchase locally raised meat in bulk, DO IT! We have benefited greatly from buying half hogs and quarters of beef. Unfortunately it's not always an option when unforseen expenses rob our savings accounts :P
Take advantage of farmers markets when produce is in season. You can buy bushels and bushels of green beans, tomatoes, leafy greens, cucumbers, beets...all kinds of good stuff, and spend a few days canning and freezing to supplement your winter grocery bill!
And find places to pick your own fruits and berries! If for no other reason, it's fun and memorable ;)
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