Frugal Mama
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. Romans 11:36
How can being frugal bring glory to God? Let me share just a few ways. Being frugal is being a good steward of the financial means which God has provided you. Being frugal can help you have more to share with others who are in need. It can help you to have a plethora of food in your home enabling you to open your doors in hospitality to others, bringing about great fellowship. It allows you to help your husband in making it financially possible for you to remain at home and out of the workforce so that you can raise and educate your children.
My frugality was originally born out of necessity. However, it didn't take me long to see how it could be used for God's glory. For me, it enables me to do all the things I mentioned above, but most of all it enables me to be able to homeschool my son which I feel is vitally important to his spiritual upbringing.
I would like to compile a list of ways to be frugal in hopes that it might help others.
Extreme Couponing - This involves matching coupons to sales, specifically BOGO (buy one get one free) sales, and getting most of your grocery, household, and personal care items for very little and often free. Because of extreme couponing I currently spend on average $50 or less per week on all of my grocery, household and personal care items for my family of three. To learn how to do this click here. For another place to learn how, click here and then click on the "basics" tab at the top. I would strongly encourage you to attend a couponing class if there are any available in your area.
Other ways to save on groceries - Look for bread outlets. We get loaves of premium bread for $1 or less at the outlet store. Find out what time your local Walmart puts out marked down meat in the morning. You can often get meat for around 30% off. You just need to make sure to freeze it, and then to thaw and use it on the same day. I've never gotten any bad meat doing this. To save on fresh produce, only buy what is on sale. That usually means eating what is in season and it tastes best then anyway.
Drugstores - Drugstores are a goldmine for getting personal care andhousehold products for practically free. You can learn the best way to do this by following the "how to" links in the extreme couponing paragraph above.
Office Supplies - As a homeschool teacher I qualify for the MaxPerks program at Office Max. By using this rewards program I am often able to get free paper and ink cartridges.
Craft Supplies - Any time I need craft supplies, for all those wonderful homeschool projects, I purchase them one at a time at Michael's using the 40% off coupon that is in their weekly ad. Sign up at the store for email alerts and sometimes they send you 50% off coupons. I never buy craft supplies without using one of these coupons.
Buy used and save the difference - I got this motto from the Duggar family on TLC. I actually buy used because I don't have the difference, but if I had the difference I would save it.
We buy most of our clothes from thrift stores. We have also purchased dishes, pots and pans, and furniture from thrift stores.
We always buy used tires. Most areas have a tire store that sells barely used tires. The last time we replaced tires on our vehicle we saved at least $500 by doing this.
We always buy used vehicles and try not to ever have car payments.
Go Paperless - The only paper products we buy are printer paper (for coupons) and toilet paper. We do not buy napkins, paper towels, paper plates, plastic cups, etc. The only exception I make to this is when we are having large get togethers and then it is simply because I don't have enough dishes to go around. I keep a large stash of flour sack towels, cheap washcloths, and cloth napkins on hand.
Make your own - I make my own of all of the following:
Laundry Soap - less than $3.00 for a batch that will last a couple of months
All Purpose Cleaner - less than $.25 per large spray bottle
Window Cleaner - less than $.25 per large spray bottle
Foaming Handsoap - $.05-$.10 per bottle
Shampoo - $.50 for over 100 shampoos
Conditioner - less than $.25 per spray bottle
Cloth napkins - $4.00 for 12 napkins
Entertainment -
Check out these sites:
We check out most of our movies from the library. Many of them are free and the ones that aren't are only $1 for a week. Don't forget to find all the free things to do around your city.
Swagbucks - Conduct all of your online searches through swagbucks.com and earn points which can be cashed in for prizes or gift cards. I always cash mine in for Amazon gift cards. I've earned about $75 in Amazon gift cards in the past year. I know a lot of people who have earned a lot more. Sign up here.
A couple of last pointers - Figure out what is the highest price you are willing to pay for something and don't buy it unless you can get it for that price. Shop weekly to take advantage of all the sales. Don't buy it unless you need it.
Hey Jennie!~
ReplyDeleteCan you give the downsides of following the frugal path? I know that there were times that I cared more about making a deal with the coupons than with the actual need for what I was getting (sin in my own heart!)I know for me and Nolan there were times that we weren't agreeing on what to be frugal on..ie save money HERE just to go blow money THERE....what are your thoughts?
Yes, blessed, there can be some downsides or what I would rather call temptations. In addition to what you mentioned some ladies are tempted to stockpile far more items than they will ever need and hoard them away selfishly instead of sharing with those in need. Others are tempted to try and get around the rules of couponing, or cheating. One temptation I struggled with when I first started couponing was never wanting to miss out on a deal, not so much for the thrill of the deal but because I really needed to maximize my coupon savings. As a result I was spending far to much time hunting for coupons and deals and neglecting some of my other duties. I think if we keep Romans 11:36 in perspective while doing anything and everything it will make it much easier to resist those temptations. We should always be asking ourselves, "why am I doing this?" We need to make sure that we have the right answer to that question.
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