Take the Thrifty Challenge
Proverbs 31:13 says, “She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.”
One way we can save more money at home is by expanding our knowledge and abilities.
With 3 boys and 1 husband, I knew the cost of haircuts would really add up over a year’s time. With much practice, I have learned how to cut hair decently enough to pass as a fair haircut. Perhaps there’s something that you can take time to learn to do that would save money for your household. There is a wealth of information and numerous step-by-step videos online for almost any project you would like to conquer.
Save money by challenging yourself to “do it yourself”.
Sometimes, we already have the knowledge and ability to do more things than we do. We just need to roll up our sleeves and do a little extra W-O-R-K.
I faced this challenge this week. My husband likes something for breakfast that he can grab and go. We usually picked up a box of muffins each week at the grocery store so that he could toss them in with his lunch stuff in the mornings. Because we’re also trying to eat healthier, he discovered that the ingredients in the muffins were not that good for him.
I decided to rise to the challenge to find a healthy version of oatmeal muffins that I could make for him and my boys. The fact is, I had already been thinking on conquering this issue as a weekly project to save money on muffins. So one evening, I rolled up my sleeves and set out to make some muffins. I doubled the recipe and then stored them in the refrigerator for the week. Surprisingly, it really didn’t take me that long to do…I just hadn’t taken the time to do it. Now we have healthier muffins for breakfast and we’re saving money too!
Take the Thrifty Challenge!
I want to challenge you ladies to find just ONE extra thing to do this week that can save you some money. Make it a goal…and please do share a comment with us below. (Making your goals public can help you commit to accomplishing them!)
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4 Comments
Kristina
That’s funny that you just wrote about this, because that’s exactly what I did this week… I gave my husband a haircut(first time in years!) AND I made homemade muffins for breakfast! I also made bread this weekend along with pizza dough and noodles, it was fun, and really so much cheaper than store-bought! I am looking for snacks for the kids for lunches/after-school that would be cheaper to make as opposed to buying. I am accepting this challenge!
Rhonda
lol, That’s amazing that we’re working on the same things! Noodles & pizza dough really are cheaper to make yourself…and truthfully they do not take that much time.
I’ve been making my own salad dressing for quite awhile now (and also homemade salsa for my boys)…it’s really saving extra pocket money. It adds up over time.
Snacks from the store are quite costly and add up…that’s a good goal.
Shirley
This is a hard one for me, I already do much on my own, I walk instead of drive so I only have to get gas once a month, I bake from scratch and do home cooked meals already. The one thing I do like the convenience of is to pay for my child’s lunch at school so I could commit to packing it this week instead. My husband usually buys his lunch only once or twice a week, but this next week I could pack it everyday.
I suppose we could forgo our once a week eating out a restaurant or getting take night. I don’t think I would want to that every week though I would if some else cooked it and cleaned it up! But I can do that this week b/c I know we are going to church for Asian American Fellowship Night and will get a meal there and I just bring a dessert. hat may be cheating slightly but it is doable!
Rhonda
Shirley,
I admire the fact that you do so much on your own! That’s fantastic and a blessing to your husband, I’m sure!
I understand about conveniences…and if you can afford to do so, then that’s not such a bad thing. Perhaps packing lunches just once each week for your child could really add up over the year. You could put the lunch money that day into a savings jar and when it’s full, spend it on something special for your home.
I wanted the challenge to be something that would encourage women to put their skills to good use to save money. I didn’t want anyone feeling like they needed to deprive themselves of conveniences that were important to them if they could afford to do so.