Frugal Friday: Less is More - Part 1
Sorry for the delay in posting this - I was only just now able to get internet access. My family invited us to go to Branson with them for my birthday. Since Branson is one of my absolute favorite places to go, especially this time of year, Jesse was kind enough to make it happen.
As most of you know, I love getting good deals - especially when it comes to grocery shopping. However, I've learned over the years that while getting good deals can be a great thing and can save your family a lot of money, just because the price is cheap, it doesn't mean it's a good deal - at least for your family.
For me, bargain shopping is not about accumulating stuff, it's about being a wise steward with the resources God has given us and stretching my husband's hard-earned money as far as possible. If you're not careful, getting good deals can quickly turn into more of the accumulating of stuff, though. Too much stuff - even if you got it free or only spent pennies on it - is still too much stuff. It will clutter up your life, suck up your time, and result in a chaotic, unorganized home.
Being a wise steward means learning that often, less is more. In this series which I will be exploring in my Frugal Friday posts over the next few weeks, I want to share some things which have helped to save me time and money and keep bargain shopping in check.
#1 Stay Home!
Staying home is one of the simplest ways to have more time, spend less money, accumulate less clutter, and well, to plain just live a less frenetic lifestyle.
A lot of times I'm asked how I get so much done. I'm no wonder woman, but I do know that one of my "secrets" to efficiency is that I am home almost all day, every day. I've purposely said "no" to a multitude of outside activities and opportunities because I know that running around with two littles for most of the day not only wears me out, it is a surefire way for me to spend more money (i.e. trips through the fast-food lane while we're out, swinging by to check out a sale I see signs for when I don’t really need anything, or ordering carry out for dinner because I'm exhausted and didn’t have time to make anything for dinner) and get less done. It's just not worth it, folks.
Now, am I saying you need to cut out every outside activity and commitment and never step foot outside your doorstep? No. What I am encouraging you to do is to carefully evaluate all outside commitments and see if there are some that are really necessities or if they are just cluttering up your life for no good reason.
I have purposely limited myself to one grocery shopping trip a week for time, money, and efficiency's sake. Outside of my once-a-week grocery shopping trip, unless there is some incredibly knock-down drag out good deal on something we need and use and we're going to be right in the vicinity of that store or it is right down the block from us, I just pass the deal over.
Knowing that I've only got one shot at grocery shopping each week motivates me to do the best I can do in that one shopping trip. It also forces me to make sure and write a thorough menu and grocery list and to have determined the sales and matched them with my coupons ahead of time. If I forget to write an ingredient down, I have to do without.
Besides grocery shopping which I've found I have to do at least every 7-10 days so that I can have plenty of food to cook, we really do very little other shopping. I hit the second-hand stores or a large community-wide garage sale twice a year to buy clothes for myself and the girls. We also make a trip to the office supply store once or twice a month for business supplies. Other than that, shopping trips for anything else are a rarity at our home. I make it my goal to learn to make do with what we have or to learn to live without.
One of the nice side effects of this mentality is that we don't have a lot of clutter. In fact, some would probably think our home looks really bare. Compared to many, it is, but it makes things so much simpler. I'd much rather have only things we need, use, and love taking up residence in our home, than to have our rooms bulging with stuff we don't need, haven't used in a long time, and don't like in the first place. For us, less is more, I tell you!
It's so simple but it really works: just stay home!
To be continued next Frugal Friday!
posted by Crystal Paine at 8:15 AM
25 Comments:
I agree! The best way to save money is to STAY HOME!
Thank you, Crystal.
Staying home is a BIG money saver in so many ways! Thanks for new ideas!
Thanks for keeping this going. I know how frustrating that down time can be.
Happy Birthday! Hope Branson was fun! Thanks for the reminder about keeping life simple by staying home. I tend to go out a LOT to do activities/play dates with other people. I'm working on cutting it down, but I love my time with other moms and being a Christian witness to them or encouraging them in their roles as moms by building friendships. I do think at times bargain shopping has become a "hobby" for me and if I don't limit myself, I can shop too much and end up spending more than I need to.
A great reminder! I'm a fan of the "bare look" too.
Lindsey S.
Crystal - I agree with you on this 100%. Staying home more enables me to have a more peaceful rhythm, and helps me stay away from the temptation of unnecessary purchases.
I agree, staying home not only saves money but ensures that things get done, schedules are kept and stress is lessened! I love being home!
I posted my Frugal Friday link twice, sorry! I forgot to put what mine was about which is always helpful!
My wise grandmomma from Georgia has always used a wonderful phrase to summarize frugal living: "Eat it up, Wear it out, Make it do, Or do without."
amazing.. i was just thinking this morning on the run.. the very same thing.. "less is more"
wow.. synchronicity... blessings nad shalom
gp in montana
I agree wholeheartedly!!
And happy birthday!!
I totally agree with you! Great post!
I'm a firm believer in being at hom a lot...it really does save in so many ways (including my sanity!)
So true! We save quite a bit of time, money and energy by not over scheduling ourselves, and staying home most of the time. I also have more time to take care of the house, and just "be" with the family.
Great post, Crystal. I'm with you! I love the fact that working from home means even less gas money spent and less wear and tear on my vehicle. As for those trips to the office supply - if you already know what you need and aren't also using the trip as some "out of the house time" (as I have been known to do), ordering online and taking advantage of free delivery from stores like Staples and Office Depot might save you the gas and time spent as well! These stores also have buyer programs for home educators/teachers and for businesses. I've earned quite a few $10 Staples checks in the past few years using my teacher card. They come in handy for future trips! They roll over with every $100 you spend, so one large purchase can get you $10 for the next trip...came in handy when I needed a new printer. Used Staples checks to offset my cost, and the total purchase earned me ANOTHER check that quarter. *grin*
I definetly see your point about staying home! I'd like to suggest there is a place between staying hom and going out and spending - and that is going out to use 'free' things - like playgrounds, story hour at the local library, etc. I have really found that we all benefit from getting out, my son just takes better naps and since we don't have much of a yard we really like to go out and play at playgrounds. So what we do is go to free places like playgrounds, the library, local ponds with ducks, free water parks, etc. We just go straight there, I usually pack a snack, and we are home in time for meals and lunch. I'm loathe to take DS in and out of the car so when we go we don't make any extra stops at stores or such. I find that getting out to a playground really makes our days go smoother.
(plus, we are all paying taxes for them so why not use them? :)
You are so right. I've found that staying home more often not only saves time and money from the acculmulation of unneeded items, it saves a fortune in gas. I have a large family, hence a large SUV. I used to fill up once a week. Now
I only have to buy gas every other week. It's an automatic savings of $130 per month.
Crystal, I am just itching to know the results of the draw for the gift certificate! ;)
It keeps you out of trouble for sure!
Me too! I am totally a minimalist at heart, however, my children's playroom does not scream this. It is harder to stay less cluttered the older your children get and the more children you have! The overwhelming toys are not from us but rather our family. Each year I take a ton of stuff to Goodwill just to keep the clutter down. But our kids have 5 sets of grandparents -some are "adopted grandparents :)and two sets of aunt/uncles and no one has any kids but us. So they all go a bit nutty! Having cash only system and staying home keeps me in budget too!
Happy Birthday!
Yes, staying home does save money! I love it!
Love,
Joy
This is a good tip :). When I go out it is so easy to "browse" in all kinds of shops I don't really need to go into!
I heartily agree. Staying home does save my family lots of money...any ideas about how to save me from cabin fever, though? Sometimes I think I'm going to go nuts if I don't get out of the house!
I just posted a link for Fuzzi Bunz cloth diapers. Cloth diapers are a great way to save money! So cute too :o) Amy
Staying home is DEFINITELY my biggest money saver. Which brings me to another point you have, Making your Home a Haven. Since the first of the year I have felt the Lord gently tugging on me to save money and not be a money waster. Be a good steward, not let 'things' take me over. Staying home, being the keeper of my home, reading more, delighting in cleaning, being with my boys at home, its all made me a better person I feel like. AND a lot less crazy. Kids off schedules, no naps, because we were out, fast food because we were out too long, late to church, late for everything. There is peace. Thank GOD for peace! and thank you for your blog. It has definitely been a help to me.
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