Frugal Aspirations

Save by Repurposing

2009-02-25T23:17:00.000-08:00

Repurposing is a means of using an item
in an unexpected way. Ultimately, you can find new uses for items that you would have discarded. The greatest benefit of doing so is to prevent an additional purchase.

Here is an example our family has been fascinated with this winter: dryer lint. Like most families, we do a lot of laundry, and it seems that there is no end to the amount of dryer lint I clean out of the dryer filter between loads. As we began to research some alternative uses, these are some of the things we found:

Dryer lint makes an excellent firestarter in our wood-burning fireplace insert. (Watching the speed in which it ignites will convince you to never forget to clean out your lint filter.) While the lint works well alone, we learned that if we place it inside of a cardboard roll with wax chips leftover from a used candle, we can get a good 10 minutes of burn time that gets our fire going extremely well with no kindling.
We placed some of the dryer lint outside on the tops of bushes, and the birds had carried it away to their nests in no time!
We used it to stuff homemade felt heart ornaments for Valentine’s Day.
Although we haven’t tried these yet, there are actually craft recipes for dryer lint paper, dryer lint papier mache`, and dryer lint clay. Who knew?
It can be composted.

So many possibilities from something we used to just toss in the trash! There is really no limit to the number of things that an alternate use can be found for. It requires a little thinking. It may even require a little research. But in the end the benefits are many: the obvious money saved on a new purchase, getting a greater value for your money on the original item purchased, the satisfaction of discovery, and the fun of getting everyone involved in the thought process of it all.

As I thought about making this little entry about repurposing, I was reminded that even I am repurposed. When I trusted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I became a new creation in Him. I hope that you know the excitement of being repurposed in Christ.

Joy in the Journey

2009-02-22T18:50:00.000-08:00

As a Christian, I know that my real joy lies in Jesus, and He does not want me to be robbed of that joy by my circumstances. As our family continues to make progress with a more frugal lifestyle, we want to have positive feelings about those changes. It is important to us that we reflect for our children that these changes are about the privilege of choice, not deprivation.

Here are a few of the ways we are trying to foster good feelings about being more frugal while forming the habit of making more cost effective choices:

Review our goals regularly - As we take the time to do this, it helps to remind us that every time we don't spend money and save it instead, we are a step closer to one of our goals. Some of these goals are very tangible. For example, our family wants to travel to Alaska to visit family members before they move back to the lower 48. We want it to be an educational trip that can be part of our homeschooling experience. We have a beautiful framed photo of an Alaskan landscape in our homeschool room, so that we can see this visual reminder of one of the goals we are working toward.

Celebrate savings by writing them down - I love to make special note of amounts we have saved every week. It then becomes a little game with myself to see if I can top that savings the next week. I'm by nature competitive, so even competing with myself seems to work! It not only makes me feel good, but my husband loves it too!
Validating our purchases - I'm not referring to regular spending like groceries or gas, but for any purchase even mildly out of the ordinary. First, I need to consider why I want the item. It's amazing how lame my rationale can sometimes be. I am finding that when I just take time to think about it, I can pretty easily find an alternative to the purchase -- even if it is just a less expensive purchase.
Ask yourself why - Is this a NEED or a WANT?

Stay well groomed - I am not proud to admit this, but I have learned that I am less likely to spend money when I feel good. And I feel best when I am showered and dressed completely, including my shoes! I feel more energetic and more efficient. It would be easy to let that slide some days in conjunction with staying home more due to spending less on outside activities.
Enjoy what you already own. I realize that we have CDs, movies, games,puzzles, and books that we rarely use. We have thoroughly loved pulling them out and using them again. The children have been especially pleased with some of these activities. It was fun AND free!

We want our lives to reflect that happiness is not dependent upon the latest gadget or designer label. We want to radiate happiness because we are richly blessed by an Almighty God who doesn't want us to be bogged down in financial worry of our own making or side-tracked by obsession with the things we own. We are learning that in this journey of restraint...there is freedom.

Saving Water

2009-02-20T18:15:00.000-08:00

When I think about saving money on utilities, I usually think about our natural gas and electricity. For some reason, increasing measures to conserve our water usage rarely crosses my mind. But recently, one of my neighbors pointed out that the water utility service in our area charges a "sewer usage fee" that is MORE than the charge for the water itself! Seems crazy to me, but there is nothing I can do to change it.

So, I decided it was time to begin focusing more on wise water usage. Obviously, a decrease in our water bill is a main motivator, but it still seems prudent to form better habits of conserving our water. We were fortunate this past summer to not be in an area affected by enforced water restrictions, but that doesn't mean that it could not become necessary at some point for a variety of reasons.

Most of us could easily make a quick list of ways to conserve water, but here are a few suggestions I found particularly helpful:

When hot water sits in your tap for a little while, it can get cold. If you need hot water, often you run the tap until the cold water in the hot water tap goes warm or hot. That amount of water is approximately 2-4 liters depending upon the distance from the tap to the hot water heater. As a way to utilize that 2-4 liters of cold water, fill up a Brita-type water pitcher and use it for drinking or cooking. You could also fill up your watering can, and give your house plants a quick drink or collect it in a small bucket and use it for cleaning.

One trick is to turn your toilet into a "low flow" toilet. By doing this you reduce the amount of water used in each flush, and take a bite out of your water bill. You can do this by filling up an empty 2-liter soda bottle or an empty milk jug and placing the bottle in the tank of your toilet.

Stop those drippy faucets! It's unbelievable how much water is wasted from even the slowest drip. After counting the drips per minute, use the drip calculator here: http://theplumber.com/drip_calculator.html When I used it, I found out that what I thought was an insignificant faucet drip, was causing me to pay for an extra 1051 gallons of water per year! YIKES!

Running your washing machine & dish washer only when full can save you up to 1,000 gallons per month.

If your shower fills a one-gallon bucket in less than 20 seconds, replace the shower head with a water-efficient model. You can purchase a water-saving shower head for as little as $15. They are easy to install and can cut the cost of a shower in half. In the past they've been criticized for offering very little water pressure, but newer models produce a full-power spray that uses as little as three gallons of water per minute.

It can also be helpful to set a timer every time you get into the shower to get yourself into the habit of using less water. Shortening your shower by a minute or two saves up to 150 gallons per month.

Collect water from your roof to water your garden. This one is something we've committed to try. We intend to install rain barrels at 2 gutter downspouts, and use the free water for our outdoor watering needs.

Time for Change

2009-02-18T11:46:00.000-08:00

Everyone is familiar with the idea of keeping some sort of money jar to deposit all of your coins in at the end of the day. It's been a long-standing way to save-a-little. But is it really that little?

Many folks view loose change as merely a tool to help them keep from breaking the more valuable bills in their wallets. If this is the case with you, it may surprise you to know how much change you've handled. Statistically the average person has acquired $800 in spare change over the course of a year!

We experienced our first money jar windfall "by accident." Our children had received a Christmas goody package inside what turned out to be a very large football bank. Immediately, they became enamored with filling it up. Every night, they would ask us for our loose change. And every night, we gave it to them. After all, it was just change. About 5 months into their coin savings, they couldn't wait to count it. Imagine everyone's surprise when it turned out to be just over $400!

A small inconvenience of the coin jar, is what to do with the saved coins. Banks and other enterprises have figured out that they can charge you for taking your change. My bank charges a fee for counting loose coins, but there is no charge if I roll the coins myself. My local grocery store has a coin-counting machine that charges a whopping 10% of your total!

Because of this very thing, I've recently seen several articles suggesting a change from the coin jar to the dollar jar. In this scenario, you wouldn't spend any $1 bills you receive, but save them in the jar instead. That means all purchases would have to be made with coins or large bills ($5, $10, or $20 dollar bills). While the idea is to bypass the hassle and potential expense of "cashing in" your coin jar, I personally think I would be more tempted to dip into the jar when I needed a few dollars on my way out the door. While the coins are certainly legal tender, I'd be less likely to count out a quick $5.00 for gas in pennies, nickels, and dimes.

Regardless of the jar savings method you choose, it will still be worth it in the long run.A mere $2.00 a day in change, and you will have saved $730.00 in the first year. At an average of $3.00 a day, you'll have over $1000.00 at the end of the year. It's do-able for all of us.

The Bread of Life

2009-02-17T05:57:00.001-08:00

I just love the smell of homemade bread. I also love the smiling faces of my children when they race to the kitchen for a warm slice. Treasured moments. More blessings from The Master.

I began grinding wheat and baking bread a couple of years ago. A friend of mine was hosting a "bread baking" night at her home to share the wonderful things she had learned about the health benefits of grinding her own grain for baking. I confess that as a homeschooling mom, what interested me most about the evening was the chance to socialize with other adults. I went into the evening with absolutely no intention of becoming a wheat-grinding-dough-kneading earth mother. Ahh, how God must have chuckled to Himself.

After I left, I couldn't stop thinking about it. My mind kept reciting all of the health benefits for my family. And I knew to the core that they were valid. It took a few weeks of wrestling -- half of that time with myself over the fact that I didn't have time to take on doing all of our baking from scratch. It took the rest of that time to convince my husband that spending $200 on a grain mill would not be a total waste of money.

Ultimately, we came away with a compromise of sorts. I make what I call cheater's bread. I use a bread machine. Not that I can't make bread the old fashioned way, I just find the machine to be more convenient for fitting the baking into our daily activities. (In my defense, I bought the bread machine used online). And although frugality was not an issue we thought about at that time, baking my own bread is the least expensive way to get the best possible product for my family. We reap the benefits of wholesome ingredients and no preservatives, it's more filling than store-bought bread, and it tastes wonderful!

As my idea of frugal living is to live the best possible life at the lowest possible cost, making our bread meets that standard. And the $200 grain mill? It earned it's keep the first year -- when we stopped buying 2 loaves of bread @ $4/week. My favorite supplier for grain and supplies can be found at:

www.breadbeckers.com

Our Efforts -- Multiplied

2009-02-16T13:26:00.000-08:00

Most of us know the story of Jesus feeding the 5000 with nothing more than a boy's 5 loaves and 2 fishes:

"Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. ~ John 6:9-13 NIV

I believe that Jesus continues to multiply the fruits of our efforts when it's for our good and to His glory. So, do I believe He blesses our efforts of frugality and savings? Absolutely! One of the ways my family is consistently rewarded for our labor is with clipping coupons. I know it's time-consuming, and can appear on the surface to be too much of a hassle. But I have found the bounty to be more than worth it! I am routinely saving between $50 and $100 per week on my grocery shopping -- much to my husband's surprise and excitement!

I don't consider myself to be a "coupon queen," as there is still much I am learning about becoming more effective at using them. But I do want to share some incredible links that have taken me from feeling overwhelmed to confident in the worthiness of coupon clipping. If you only check out one coupon site, go to www.couponmom.com . This site is loaded with information for everyone from beginners to the relative expert. Other really good sites are : www.smartsource.com , www.coolsavings.com , and www.ppgazette.com . Enjoy!

The Lord Will Provide For Us

2009-02-15T13:54:00.000-08:00

You may have heard about the guy who fell off a cliff and on his way down he was able to grab onto a tree branch jutting out from the face of the rock. As he hung there reviewing his options, he started yelling, Is anyone up there? He was surprised to hear a voice say to him, Yes, this is God. The man was greatly relieved, and quickly stuttered, God, can you save me? Of course I can, responded God. The man was really happy now and shouted out, Great! What should I do?The answer from the Almighty was not what he was expecting: Let go of the branch. After a long period of silence, the man replied faintly, Is there anyone else up there?

I'm like that man sometimes. I want God to help me, but don't always want to do what He says. I'm not always willing to let go of the things that God shows me are holding me back. I know that God will provide for my every need -- He has proven that many times and in many ways in my life. And yet, in my flesh, I still sometimes doubt if He will really come through for me. And so I sometimes hold on, and wonder if there is someone else who can help me. How heartbreaking that must be to the Father who gave His ONLY SON for me.

It isn't always intentional on my part. Sometimes I get caught up in all the fuss of notifying friends of my latest crisis, searching for answers on the internet, reading a book about the issue I'm facing, etc. I can wind up in an absolute frenzy over trying to address an issue under my own steam. Using a variety of resources has its place, but for my own well-being I should seek Him first. He is more committed to meeting my needs than anyone. In fact, He promised to meet them.

And so even in striving to live a simpler, more frugal lifestyle -- whether voluntarily or because circumstances have forced one there -- it is appropriate to ask Him for guidance. Really, it's simpler that way...

Waste Not, Want Not

2009-02-14T10:59:00.000-08:00

Some of our first steps toward simplifying our lifestyle included a re-evaluation of the things we own. We have so much stuff! Some days I feel as if I'm drowning in it. No doubt there are many perfectly good choices for purging the unnecessary items from our home. We have donated, free cycled, swapped, and participated in consignment store selling. But in looking at a variety of ways to become better stewards of our finances, it began to seem less than frugal to give away items we could profit from.

It has now been 3 years since I began selling online. During that time, the money we made back from the items we no longer needed has paid for a new computer, homeschooling books and supplies, supplemented the cost of the children's extracurricular activities, and paid for Christmas and birthday gifts. We do still donate items, especially clothing, as we feel led. But with the economy tightening for everyone, I am convinced that we need to take the opportunity to turn unwanted items into profit. In the long run, it's good for all of us.

And we begin...

2009-02-13T23:32:00.000-08:00

It is almost shocking to me that I am beginning this blog. I haven't given it a lot of thought, except for realizing that I pass on a huge amount of information via email every day. As our family is trying to live more simply and be more frugal, I am becoming aware that we need to be frugal with our time as well. I feel a sense of urgency in regards to preparing our home and lifestyle for a future that does not rely so heavily on material abundance.