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Thriftiness Fun

Those of you who know me, or have spent at least 5 mintutes around me...know that I am one of the most frugal people on the planet. Why am I such a tightwad? Well...I think I gotta give the credit to my dad on that one. He taught me from an early age the importance of being smart with money. I saved up my birthday and Christmas money when I was very young just so that I could start my first savings account. I started babysitting at age 11 (which I cannot believe), and every bit of that went into my account. I did lots of odd jobs when I was a kid to earn and save a buck here and there, including collecting chestnuts from the giant trees in our backyard to sell at a local grocery store. (Have you ever seen where chestnuts come from?? A baseball sized ball of needles, basically.)  It was a tough job, but I was excited to be earning and saving. So that's the story of my thrifty beginnings, and it has continued to follow me into my adulthood.

At this point in my life, saving money is actually exciting! I think of ways to pinch pennies, while working hard to provide my family with sweet memories that'll last a lifetime.  I am going to take a moment to tell you my WHY when it comes to money and thriftiness...

First of all, I look at it biblically.  The bible tells us over and over again, to be a good steward of the money the Lord blesses us with.  To me, not only does this include tithing from our first fruits of our income, but also making smart choices with the money that comes after our tithes and offerings.

Kyle and I are both teaching again, which means that a large chunk of our income is going to pay for the preschool our little ones go to.  We are unbelievably happy with where they are going, so this is not to come off as a complaint....we don't worry about our babies for a second when they are at "school," and that is a feeling that is priceless!  They are having a great time learning about Jesus with their friends, and I love listening to them tell us all that they have learned at school.  There's not much that can melt a mama's heart than watching her babies lead the prayer at dinner each night.

When all our bills and groceries have been paid for, we really strive to be smart with what we have left.  We are very fortunate not to have any major needs right now.  We are set on clothes for ourselves, the two little girls are totally set thanks to hand-me-downs from big sis and their cousin, so really all we NEED to by is clothes for the biggest girl!

So...now onto shopping....
I am not a normal girl.  I do not enjoy going to the mall and spending hours and tons of money buying clothes and having to sift through all the stores and racks, and try not to lose a child simultaneously.  I have always tried to make my shopping trips as quick and painless as possible.  I went straight to the clearance racks, and then decided to shop only consignment.  Our mall is annoying and lame.  #nooffense I fell in love with a couple of consignment stores here in town, but then I got to the point where shopping was going to have to be a weekend thing....due to schedules for work and what not.  Consignment stores have weird hours, and they aren't open on Sundays, so....my shopping for clothes started to become a non-existent thing.  Which was fine, because our biggest girl doesn't grow out of things too fast.  I'd occasionally visit a Goodwill here and there when I needed some random thing for a Halloween outfit, or sometimes when I needed to look for some kind of unique trinket.....but my good friend, K, started really encouraging me to go Goodwill shopping on a regular basis.  She taught me which stores were the best, and told me the best times to visit.  There's been no turning back since then.  I LOVE shopping at Goodwill!  I just find it so thrilling to find great deals on gently used things....Is it sad to say that shopping GW is now even something the big girls beg to do?  Haha!  I have found SO many great finds at the GW.....and it makes me so happy that I am paying just a fraction of the cost of what other people do in stores.  I could go on for days about what all I have found, but ain't nobody got time fo that!  (This was especially helpful once I lost weight after babies and needed a new wardrobe!)

Now....there may be a rare day here and then where I actually spend money on brand new items, but we try to save those for special occasions (like birthdays/Christmas), but even then, I shop around until I find the best bang for my buck!  (Anyone remember Kyle's new cowboy boots?  We saved over $200 shopping around!)

I think some people listen to me talk about all my GW finds and thriftiness and think I am crazy, or that we can't afford to shop in regular stores.  We can, but we just choose to make different choices with our money for this time in our life.  Our major goal right now is to get out of debt as fast as possible, so instead of just being tight with money all the time, we have made it almost a game to see who can find the best deals!  With the money we save by being frugal, we are able to put extra money down on our debt each month....which will hopefully help us with our goals for debt freedom!

Other ways I like to be thrifty include:

  • Smart shopping with groceries
  • Using health insurance points for big purchases
  • Meal Planning
  • Looking for ways to cut monthly bills
  • Cleaning with reusable/chemical free products
  • Networking with others to find out ways to save money
What about you?? What do you do to cut corners and be thrifty!  I'd love some new ideas!



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