I grew up in a frugal family. More often than not my clothing came from a thrift store. My father is notorious for pinching pennies (and corners) and paying for it in the long run. We didn’t talk about it much, but we knew we weren’t as well off as some and therefore didn’t have all of the latest clothing, stuff, or cars.
Fast forward to my adult life… I graduated from college, got married shortly thereafter, and six years later we are expecting our third little one. So far we have survived on one income, give or take, and just recently my husband has been able to quit his corporate job in order to pursue our dreams of starting our own homestead.
I wouldn’t say that we’ve had to go without – even the poorest of our nation live like kings compared to much of the world. I would, however, say that a deliberate effort to diminish our monthly needs or expenses is at the heart of our saving money plan.
One of the first things we did when we looked at our finances was to create a monthly budget. Initially this was in effort to take stock of how much we were spending and what we were spending it on. Eventually it grew into a monthly envelope-type system because no matter how much you think you can keep your expenses to you will always spend more if there is no end to the cash in the envelope.
We began by just saying no to things we didn’t truly need or find beneficial. We opted out of cable, cell phone plans, and owning expensive electronics. We didn’t take vacations unless it was deliberately planned out to visit family. We didn’t buy our children (now 3 & 5) toys or clothes because, for the most part, grandparents were more than happy to send them clothing.
Me being at home to raise our children was a priority for us. So instead of trying to figure out how to make more money we simply figured out how to live on less money. I used my time at home with our boys to save us money. I made our own baby food. I cooked everything from scratch. I made homemade laundry soap and toothpaste. I hung laundry on a clothesline instead of using a drier. I used inexpensive cleaners like a $2 gallon of vinegar.
Eventually we realized that my husband wanted out of his corporate job so our more “extreme” measures of diminishing our needs came in to play. We began growing and preserving our own vegetables. I cloth diapered both of our sons. We stuck with the basic phone and internet plan, used vacation days as opportunities to earn money on the side and pay off student loans, and generally opted out of what can be a very consumerist cycle of wanting, buying, and regretting.
This is not to say that we are experts in any way on saving money. We simply made a cognitive decision to live a different lifestyle than the average American Dream that requires a lot of money. Ultimately, whatever you decide you truly need to spend money on (or not), is an assignment of priority. Simply saying no to things that might be nice but aren’t truly worth your time and money is one huge step in the right direction.
Good for you, I have the absolute greatest respect in the world for u. You have got all your right priorities together.Too many people are in search of pleasure in the wrong places, money, satus, sucess, when all they really need is contentment which is happiness with what you have and not just something more( if you let it there will always be something more).It could be a never ending road.
I really liked reading this.
Good luck to you and your “different” way of life. Sounds so much better than living a harried life, stressed about not being able to make all of your bills!
I am inspired…
I love the idea. I recently started letting go mentally of ‘more’ and loving ‘less is more’, but I want a balance between physical (house) work and mental (office) work. Either one unmanaged will deprive you. I’m sure I could do the gardening and feel proud about it, but have never thought about the laundry detergent and toothpaste especially in 2011. But its been food for thought.
I’m glad for your article and I love the thought of being on the same thought level as the significant other, being happy doing it and being constant and present for the children, teaching them values cable certainly won’t. Cable was one of my sacrifices, its still hurting my husband.
God bless.
Good article. In recent years I have been trying to get rid of all the junk that we accumulated during our first several years of marriage. We have remodeled our house several times ourselves, even though we are hardly what you would call carpenters. Sometimes I just want to hire someone to do things around here, but can’t justify the expense. Keep doing what you are doing. God said He would supply all your needs, not your wants. You are teaching your kids valuable lessons.
I really enjoyed reading this article. I would love to know more about how you make your own toothpaste and, preserve food from the garden. This summer was the first year my family did a food garden, and we loved it! my children loved planting, and watering the veggies/fruits and watching them grow. I love saving money from not having to buy something at the grocery store, and knowing my food is 100% organic. I would love to read an article similar to this, if you have any more tips.
Thank you for taking the time to write the article.
Flynn Family
This is wonderful! I look forward to reading your posts. This is very helpful to me. We are both retired and we never made enough to put money back for retirement. Now I am beginning to do things naturally and use less and less. I feel you will be able to help me greatly.
I’m looking forward to reading your tips for a less consumerism-oriented life.
I really enjoyed this post, Shannon! I love hearing the details of all the little things you did to save money, alongside the heart behind them. It really helps me to think through my own life and purchases. More on this topic, please!
Thanks for sharing your experiences. It is a refreshing view on living life differently then we are taught to live! Good for your children for learning what’s truly important in life. Good thing your husband is handy!
I agree with you that living a happy contented life is not all about money. It’s not about being able to buy lots of things. I am working very hard to save what we can. I have even talked about giving up cable TV, but our internet is tied into that. Aren’t you off the electric grid? How do you use the internet? This is why I want out of our HOA. I hate paying a monthly fee, and for what? We don’t use the pool or the playground. I don’t even want to tell you how much money per year we could save.
THis is great – yes- but sometimes I just get tired of saying “no”