Save Money at Home…part one

Save money at home

Plain living is the thought that helps me focus on what’s really important. In order to attain certain goals I try to keep it all plain and simple. Having a cluttered home clutters my mind and I’m not free to focus on what I need to accomplish. The more stuff you have, the more you have to take care of. It’s really all about freedom for me. I only take about 15 minutes every morning to clean up and my cleared surroundings give me the energy I need to reach my goals for the day-which usually have to do with finding ways to save money for the family.

I have seven main topics I work with and keep updated on a daily basis. Within these topics are what I call subtopics…for example, HOME can involve anything from saving on groceries to getting free clothing and ENTERTAINMENT can involve a night out verses staying in. I constantly ask myself “is this cheap and necessary?” This helps me to evaluate whether I can get it cheaper elsewhere, do without it altogether or find an alternative.

It’s taken a number of years for me to reach this point and I found the more you live in this constant thought of frugality, the more you want to do it and enjoy it. If I walk into a clothing shop, for example, I actually think of ways I can get clothes for free. Some of my favorite outfits came to me free for the taking or real cheap at second hand stores. So, with that having been said, I’ll just start off with letting you know some of the ways I save money on clothes and food.

In my area, we have lots of second hand stores, consignment shops, help agencies (free clothing offered) as well as church basement shops and even a garage sale store. Garage sales and or estate sales are good too. A local church up my street holds a monthly rummage sale at a separate location they rent out next to the island market and I got 4 next to new lawn chairs for 25 cents a piece.

If you can’t afford something, they’ll either lower the price or give it to you for free. I find dealing with most of the church folks is quite beneficial. Sometimes, if you bring in a bag of donations, they’ll trade.

I use the FREE CLOTHES CLOSET (a home set up behind a local Baptist church that gives everything away for free) as my clothing recycle post for the entire family. I bring in clothing that doesn’t fit anymore and get free clothes in return. Everyone wins and you’re helping the less fortunate in the community. That’s a double whammy for me when I can help others in need and save at the same time! When I bring in larger donations, the ladies stuff my bag with everything from toilet paper to toothpaste and shampoo.

Around the holidays, I usually give a small money donation or some coffee and donuts. I also barter for a lot of goods and services. There are new sites on the net popping up all over the place that deal with bartered goods. You can even get a car through bartering.

These are extremely hard economic times and I have found that for me having kept my life simple is actually better. I don’t have investments, I own both my cars, my children attend the best public schools in the area and I rent a home in an exclusive neighborhood.

The house was originally 2 bedroom 2 bath, but I realized after seeing the home for the first time, that the large back sunroom was actually enclosed with central air and made that my son’s bedroom. I live among millionaires in the safest neighborhood. My rent is extremely low compared to other rentals because I turned a room into a bedroom and fixed the place up in trade for lower rent.

We mow our own yard…that saves us about 100.00 dollars a month or more and get the benefit of exercise. If something breaks, my husband will try to fix it himself-and that goes for the cars as well. My dryer stopped working several months ago and after taking it apart, my husband found it was a 20.00 stable roller. The time before that it was a 5.00 piece That saved us the cost of initially having a technician come and check it out (that’s the first initial cost…like paying some one to put your car on a machine just to find out what’s wrong with it) and then pay for time and labor… not to mention THIER parts are usually more expensive.

If you have the mindset that everything is about money and you can do it yourself if you really tried…you’ll find you accomplish a whole lot more, save money and feel self sufficient and in control. I’ve just grown tired of giving money away. I don’t make much and can’t stand the rat race. It’s all about getting free. You don’t have to own land, grow your own food and build your own log cabin to be self-sufficient and save money. I know there are ways to do it anywhere you are.

I don’t want to set rules or offer guidelines. Some of the simplicity and frugality books out there can actually be more confusing and ridiculous. This is common sense stuff that has actually worked for me. I’m not going to have you separating toilet roll squares or reuse every single plastic baggie. I want my time, freedom and money. I am in the world but not necessarily of the world. Well, it’s getting late and I’m exhausted. I will continue with more on home life and savings tomorrow.
Later,G