The Job of Stretching and Saving!

For the purpose of this article, I’m speaking to wives … some straight talk if you will … some laying it on the line, telling it like it is kind of talk.  

I hear more and more people talking about how hard it is to make ends meet … and I agree with them.  With everything going up except wages, it can sometimes be overwhelming trying to figure it all out.

We all know that women set the tone in their homes, so ladies listen up.  You may be a middle age or older woman who has no marketable skills.  You may be a young mother at home with her children or a woman who is knocking on the door of retirement age.  You may be a woman that is disabled or have a home situation that prohibits you from bringing in any extra income or you may be a woman that prefers being a homemaker at home.   Whatever your situation, there is still something you can do, embrace the job of stretching and saving your family's income!

Change your attitude from ‘we don't make enough money’ to that of a frugal zealot and a savings guru.  Make it a challenge to see how far you can stretch your family's paychecks and don’t forget to involve the whole family.  Make stretching and saving your income your job!  If you do and stay the course, you will reap some very pleasant rewards, both financially and in your relationship with your family, especially your spouse.  

Below, I’m sharing some things that can help if you chose to take on the job of saving and stretching your family's income. The first few are about our attitudes …

Realize you cannot have everything you want when you want it.  That’s just being an adult.

Don’t depend on others to take care of you.  Occasional help from others is fine, but when we start to EXPECT others to meet our needs long term, something is wrong with our attitude.  (‘Expect’ here is the key word.)

Don’t spend money you don’t have. When you spend money on things you can’t afford using money you should have paid bills with don’t expect others to clean up your mistakes.  The ‘I deserve this’ mentality is not adult!  The ‘entitlement’ mentality is not adult!

Don’t play the victim card.  We are all victims of our choices and circumstances.  What we do with them and how we choose to react says a lot about who we are.

Doing without is not a sin!  It won’t hurt you or your children or your spouse.

Know and accept that this will be hard and not fun at times!  It’s called sacrifice!

Realize that your attitude will set the tone in your home about your new job.

Please understand that it is not my intention for this to sound harsh, but in today’s society, these are attitudes and mindsets I see on a regular basis.  (I overheard a conversation in a public place just a few days ago that smirked of an attitude of ungrateful “entitlement”  between 2 women talking about their husband's income.  That's what prompted me to write this article.) News Flash … The Calvary is not coming; there comes a time when you have to be your own Calvary!  Don’t waste your life expecting someone else to fix your problems.  Get busy and figure it out!

Now, let’s talk about some practical ways to implement your job of stretching and saving should you choose to take it on …

Stay away from online shopping as much as possible.  It is the worse place possible for impulse buying.  Think of it as something temporary if it helps, make a game out of it, but stay away from online shopping if you have a tendency to spend more than you should.

Learn how to coupon shop and how to shop loss leaders.  Don’t buy stuff you wouldn’t normally buy just because you have a coupon.   That’s throwing away money you wouldn’t have spent in the first place.

Slowly build a well – stocked pantry so that you will have the option of shopping when you want to and not when you have to.   See this post for some ideas on how to get started building a well-stocked pantry.  

Plan your menu and stick to it as much as possible.

Become a DIY person.  If you don’t know how to do something … learn.  There are tutorials for learning how to do just about anything online.

Know how to substitute and make do.  If you don’t have something, let your first thought be, ‘what can I use instead and get the same results’ not ‘I need to go purchase’ whatever it is that you don’t have.

Recycle and Repurpose.  One example is outgrown clothing and hand-me-downs.  They can be turned into new clothing or household items.   Don’t know how?  Search online for what you want to do.

Stay home as much as possible.   This will cut down on fuel costs as well as wear and tear on your vehicle.

Plan your free entertainment.  Entertainment doesn’t have to cost lots of money … just saying!

Cook from scratch.  Purchasing prepackaged foods, heat and eat foods as well as ready-to-eat snacks are much more expensive than cooking from scratch.

Use cash when you go shopping.

Never, ever go shopping without a list. 

Explore ways to bring in a little extra income from home.  Doing Swagbucks will generate you some discretionary income.  I know of someone who has a goal of earning $100/month through Swagbucks and is using it to help pay off debt.  Can you sew?  Do you blog? What can you do that can be turned into an income source?  

Make a budget and stick to it as much as possible.  Include in that budget, if at all possible, savings and a personal allowance for you and your husband.  You may need to start out with as little as $5/month for savings and $5/month each for personal allowances.  You will be amazed at how you will come to look at your own ‘I can spend it on whatever I want to without guilt’ allowance.

If you feel like your spending is out of control, have a ‘no-spend’ month where you only pay the bills and buy groceries, fuel … the necessities.

Make sure necessities are really necessities and not wants dressed up in camouflage fueled by desire.

Reserve eating out for special occasions.  Two or three times a week is not a special occasion.

When it’s Christmas or your birthday, ask for gift cards to places you would like to shop.

Get creative with your own gift giving.  Set limits on how much you will spend on each person and stick to that amount.  Whittle that gift giving list down to the bare minimum until things are better financially. Gift giving shouldn’t be about how big or how expensive the gift is.   When you are going through lean times, it shouldn’t be about how badly you want an item either if the cost is more than you can afford.

Accept things others don’t want when offered.  What can you do with it? How can you repurpose it into something useful for you? 

Shop yard sales and thrift stores.  Always take cash but don’t buy stuff you’ll be asking yourself, ‘why did I buy that’ the next day.

Don’t be wasteful!  Learn how to use up the last little bit of everything, especially food.

When friends want to meet for an outing you can’t afford, offer an alternative that you can afford or decline their offer.

Work towards getting out of debt and staying out of debt.  Debt is more than likely a contributing factor to your current financial strain.

Stop using your credit cards even if you plan to/think you can pay them off at the end of each month.   When finances are tight, sticking to the plan to pay it off at the end of the month doesn’t always happen.   You cannot borrow your way out of debt!

Be willing to settle for used items until you can pay cash for new items.

Put God first, tithe … even if it is only some change or $1 each week.  God knows your circumstances and what you can really give.  He doesn’t demand tithing; He wants our tithing to be given with a cheerful and purposeful heart.    

Don’t blame God for your financial situation.  He knows what put you where you are and if it was choices that you made, realize that He didn’t make you make the choices that landed you in this situation.

Ask God for wisdom, guidance and discernment in your quest to live happily and graciously on your family's income.

Don’t blame others for your financial situation.  Own it and move forward.

Don’t dwell on past financial mistakes, yours or your husbands.  Own it and move forward.

Determine to do better in the future starting now.  You can’t change the past; you can only change your future.

Don’t be prideful.  Accepting help from others on a temporary basis is not sinful nor does it make you less of a person. 

Don’t poor mouth your husband or make him feel less of a man because he isn’t earning what you want him to earn.  This attitude will severely damage your marriage.

Don't walk around with a 'poor me' attitude.  

Don’t set yourself up for failure by expecting perfection in your efforts.  You will make mistakes, give yourself some grace. 

And finally, be thankful for what you do have!  Develop an attitude of gratitude!

Until tomorrow!

Patsi 

Sharing 42 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building 

A Working Pantry

My second blog:  From This Heart of Mine 

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

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