Being frugal doesn’t mean you are a miser afraid of spending
any money. Frugal to my mind means that you use your wealth and resources deliberately.
Maybe it is just the accountant in me and I can’t get rid of the debit/credit
mindset.
When you use an asset it either can be for another asset, an
expense or a future liability. I don’t know about you but I want to feel like I
am getting value for the money I use,
not feeling like I just flushed it down the toilet.
My husband and I made the decision for me to work at home
raising our kids instead of in an office bringing home a paycheck. He works
hard to provide for our family and I work just as hard to respect that and use
our money in the most prudent way. That
isn’t to say that our purchases are strictly practical, that would suck the fun
out of life (and that’s when you turn into a miser).
No, what that means is that I try to use our money as
economically as possible. For instance, if I want to take my kids to a museum I
will look and see if they have any free days or discounts. Many times they do
and it just takes a little looking. So in this instance if I found out they do
offer a free day I would wait and go then. I still will be able to do what I
want and provide a fun, educational experience for my kids. The same experience
they would’ve had if I had paid full price, but instead I would have saved at
least $30 which I can now have available for something else. We can still have
nice things. We just have to choose which of those we want to set as a
priority.
There is a quote by Gandhi I came across recently that I
loved:
“There is enough on
Earth for everybody's need, but not enough for everybody's greed.”
I feel like that can apply individually to our lives as
well. There is enough for your needs. Enough even your wants (greed). But you
have to work within your financial constraints.
We might not all be able to take the most lavish and extravagant
vacations without a second thought about where the money is coming from but
there is probably a way to have meaningful, amazing travel experiences in
another way. And this doesn’t just relate to travel. This idea can apply to
every other facet of life.
I believe that we can have all the experiences we want in
life if we just look for a way to make it happen. When you live providently or
frugally, you feel like you have more. Not just for yourself but for others
also. When we save in so many little ways it makes it easier to give in big
ways. Life is abundant, there are so many opportunities out there and I plan to
make the most of them. If this is something you resonate with, then follow
along as I share my adventures and my frugal tips that make them possible.
Last week I found a 20lb bag of pinto beans for 13.00 dollars. That's pretty good. Normally they're around 23.00 dollars. When you buy food in bulk like that it usually comes packaged in a large plastic bag. That's fine if you are going to go through it quickly but not if you want to store it long-term. In plastic bags the food becomes susceptible to moisture, insects and rodents.
If you are just starting to make or built up a long-term food storage supply, the first thing you will need is something to store your food in. A great option is to use food-grade plastic buckets. Most buckets are food grade but there are times when they are not.
Sometimes dye has been added to the plastic that is not food-grade This will prevent the FDA from approving it as food-grade. Sometimes the bucket manufacturer uses recycled plastic. These buckets also are not food-grade. But most importantly, when something is put in the bucket that is a non-food product such as paint or chemicals, it makes them no longer food-grade.
Most plastic containers will have a number inside a small triangle, usually a 2. Some people think this signifies that the bucket is food grade but all it tells you is that it is made from High Density PolyEthylene (HDPE) plastic. HDPE plastic is slightly porous and will absorb chemicals or other non-food materials into the plastic and those chemicals would gradually leach back into any food you place in the bucket later. Not good.
So, how do you find buckets that are safe to use for your food storage? If you are going to buy them, ask the store. The grocery stores where I live sell food-grade buckets every few months when they do a canned goods case lot sale.
The buckets they sell are 5 gallon buckets made to store food safely and cost around 4-5 dollars. Sometimes they come with a lid and sometimes you have to buy them separately for $1.99.
I have a few of these. I store flour in one in my pantry but all the rest are filled with rice or wheat for my long-term storage. In my mom's pantry she has like 6. She stores her sugar, flour, rice, beans and a few other things in them.
To get an idea, one 5 gallon bucket holds around 30 lbs of sugar or 25 lbs of rice or beans. Using this size of buckets works for my mom because with 5 kids she was always rotating through her food fast enough. Once your stored food had been opened you should eat it within a year. With just me, my husband and a toddler there is no way we can cycle through that much food.
I started thinking that it would be great to have smaller buckets to help keep my food fresh but I've never seen a smaller size offered at my grocery stores.
The other day I was reading a few comments on being frugal and one of them mentioned that you can get used food-grade buckets from places like bakeries, ice cream manufacturers, large restaurants, or food processing plants. I guess Burger King's pickles come in 5 gallon buckets and someone knew a manager who would save them for him.
This was an awesome idea so I decided to try it out. You know they are food grade since they've only had food packaged in them by a professional company and best of all you can get them for free or really low cost.
The next time I went grocery shopping, I stopped by the bakery and asked if they had any food-grade buckets they were getting rid of. The woman said they didn't right then but they would at the end of the week and she'd save some for me if I wanted to come back. I said sure.
Sure enough, when I went back she had some for me and guess what? They even had 2 and 3.5 gallon buckets! Just what I was hoping for. All the icing they use for their cakes comes in the smaller size buckets but they did have 5 gallon buckets too.
This made my day. I was kind of skeptical that it would actually work but my motto for life has been "It never hurts to ask" so I did and I ended up getting exactly what I wanted for free! If I would've had to buy them (if I could even find the right size) I'd have had to spend at least 15 dollars which is more than my bag of beans cost. And best of all, the bakery didn't have to throw them away so I'm helping the environment too.
There are ways to be provident all around us. It just takes initiative.
I'd love to hear any ideas you might have.
With Thanksgiving and the Christmas Season approaching I am reminded constantly of all that I have to be thankful for.
I am thankful for my wonderful husband and all he does to make my life easier. I'm thankful for my cute daughter and how much happiness she brings to my life and the fact that I can stay at home with her. I am pregnant again and in good health. My husband has a good job which is something to be very thankful for during these scary economic times. We are in the process of buying a house. In short, I have a lot to be thankful for. Part of being thankful is having and showing gratitude to the person who is responsible for all of my blessings. In the scriptures, God asks us to give 10 percent of our income to the Church to help the poor, widows and furthering His work on the earth. I know that all good things come from God and as a way to thank Him for all he has done for me and my family we pay tithing.
I consider giving tithes to be the first rule of good finances. When setting up a budget it is very easy to become overwhelmed by the amount of things claiming a piece of the pie and think that there isn't money left for tithing. The Bible mentions giving your 'first fruits' over 20 times. So by making tithing the first line on our budget helps remind us to keep God first in our lives and lets us acknowledge him for all that he has given us. A quote I love from Dave Ramsey is "If you cannot live off 90% of your income, then you cannot live off 100%. It does not require a miracle for you to get through the month. I think that if you sit down and look at your budget, you will see that you can make it while giving at least 10%."
Who We Are is Reflected in How We Use Our Money
God doesn't need our tithing. The law of tithing is more for our benefit and what we can learn from giving willingly. Dave Ramsey also said that "giving reminds us that the world does not revolve around us and that no matter what our financial status is, someone is in a much worse situation."
In chapter 4 of Financial Peace Revisited
, Dave Ramsey speaks to the spiritual aspects of money saying "Personal Finance is who you are. The personal, philosophical, and emotional problems and strengths that you have will be reflected in your use of money. If you are very disciplined, you can be a good saver of money. If you are very selfish or self-centered, you will surround yourself with expensive toys that you cannot afford." Giving teaches us how to be unselfish people. "Unselfish people make better husbands, wives, friends, relatives, employees, and employers. God is trying to teach us how to prosper over time."
I think this is what we are all aiming for in ourselves and for our children. We want to encourage them to develop good habits and traits and to be good people. When we give, we learn to be selfless and aware of other people. When we manage our money responsibly, we learn self-confidence and independence.
God makes this promise to us about paying our tithing in the Old Testament.
Malachi 3:10 (King James Version)
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Your blessings may not always come in the form of a bigger income and more wealth. It can come in the form of your money being able to stretch farther. Like getting really good deals on things that you need. Your family not being sick as much as usual, thereby reducing medical bills, or your car not breaking down. Or just learning the ability to manage your money so that you know how to provide for what you need.
I hope all of us will be able to see and appreciate all that we have been blessed with as we celebrate Thanksgiving this week.
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