Lately Billy and I have been trying to cut back on our expenses as much as we can. Yes, our primary goal is to save money...but it's interesting to me that the less we spend, the more satisfied I begin to feel. Sure...it's super annoying not going to Chick-fil-A for my very regular (think multiple times a week!) unsweet tea or Diet Dr. Pepper. And I definitely miss eating out...that's just one of those things that I like doing. BUT we want to save more money, and right now that's more important than the instant gratification of buying what I want when I want it.
I've been thinking about frugality today and how that looks different for everyone. Ever since Billy got laid off in 2010 we've tried to really cut back. I guess that was the motivation we needed to start our "frugal journey." Before that, we definitely didn't have a lot of money, but we also didn't have any children, and we just spent our money however we wanted (for the most part). Obviously, we paid all of our bills and took care of the necessities...but whatever was left we just used when we wanted something. Once Billy lost his job (Ellie was just a month old at the time) I started looking into couponing and how to save more money, which is how I discovered Money Saving Mom (what would I do without her blog?!?), as well as the whole do-it-yourself-make-it-from-scratch phenomenon. It really amazes me to look back at how we handled our money then as opposed to now!
Prior to our frugal-living efforts, we spent $100 per week on groceries...for two people. With the amount of money Billy was making at the time, that was really a stupid decision on our part. Not sure what we were thinking spending $400 a month on groceries, but I think it can be attributed to not making a list, and just buying whatever struck my fancy at the grocery store. And buying a lot of name brands. And *a lot* of processed, pre-packaged foods. Back then, I would give you the stink eye if you suggested buying store-brand peanut butter. Only Jif for me, thank you. Now, take a look in my pantry....ain't no Jif in there. Just Kroger brand peanut butter. And oh my goodness, if the cheese wasn't Kraft then it was contaminated. Again...Kroger brand in my refrigerator right now. Needless to say, I was a little ridiculous over my brand preferences. Now I'm not completely brand-free...I still buy Heinz ketchup and Lipton tea bags (never even tried the store brand...old habits die hard). But honestly, I think that's pretty much it. I certainly have brand preferences...but that's another story.
Now, we spend $50 for a family of three (Piper doesn't count yet since she doesn't eat real food). And that $50 includes food, hygiene, cleaning, baby, and dog products. Honestly, there are some weeks that I wonder, "How in the world am I going to make this work?" By the way, read this lady's post if you're interested in hard-core frugality...it will blow your mind! But really it's just a learning process...and the grace of God. Can't forget that... =)
I am by no means perfect at the saving-money thing (nor do I think everyone should spend $50 on groceries...this is what works for us). I know *so* many people who do this better than we do. But that's my whole point...frugality looks different for everyone.
Two years ago, we were spending $100 a week on groceries for two people, as well as buying stupid things from Sam's Club for the fun of it haha. We had cable TV (granted, it was the "ghetto basic" cable...just local channels for like $10 a month), plus Netflix, ate out multiple times per week, and bought basically whatever we wanted when we wanted it. We were also very unhealthy haha.
A year ago, we were spending $50 on two people (Ellie didn't count since she was just doing baby food, courtesy of WIC) and dabbling in making food from scratch, as well as other money-saving activities, like homemade laundry detergent. We still ate out fairly frequently, had cable TV, and Netflix. Started eating better, though!
This year, we're spending $50 a week for three people (no WIC now) and making 90% of our meals from scratch. We don't subscribe to any TV stuff (no cable, Netflix, or Hulu). We watch movies that we already own, watch shows online for free, and rent movies from Redbox when there are free codes available. We also rent from the library on occasion. I haven't bought laundry detergent since last year (I stocked up when I had some really high value coupons and it was on sale, plus make my own liquid detergent). We don't eat a zillion sides with our meals anymore...usually just the main course and either bread or a vegetable. I also make meatless meals a couple times a week. If there's something extra that we need/want (dishwasher packets and baby wipes, for example) I buy them on Amazon when I have a gift card, which I earn for free through Swagbucks. Date nights and any eating out are now paid by our "fun money jar," which consists of all of our loose change, as well as any gift money we receive from family (unless we really need something, then that money goes to basic necessities!). Clothes are bought with gift cards that I get for my birthday or Christmas.
Can we scale back any more? Oh my, yes. We go over budget occasionally, and until recently we were still eating out at least once a week. I keep our house very cool, so I could definitely save money on the electric bill by pushing the thermostat up. I could hang dry our clothes instead of drying them. I could buy cloth diapers instead of disposable. I could stop buying splurge items at the grocery store, like chocolate or tea bags. I could plant a container garden instead of buying fruits and vegetables. We could downsize to one vehicle instead of two and a half (I say the motorcycle counts as half because it can't transport our whole family haha). The list is endless. The point is that it's a process. Our lifestyle is quite different compared to two years ago. And in my book, that's success. Not that we're the most frugal people, or that we have the this whole living-beneath-our-means thing down-pat. But we are trying.
Through this process, we're learning to become better stewards of what we've been given. I think that's where the satisfaction comes in. I get pretty excited when we pay for a date night with cash that we saved in our jar. And $1 for a pack of Pampers diapers? I basically acted like a two year old when I told Billy. "Guess what?!? Guess how much I spent on diapers?? Guess!!!" It's not a race or a contest...it's just a process of slowly tweaking our lifestyle so that we can live comfortably in the good times and the bad. Frugal living looks different for everyone, and seeing the progress we've made in the last two years is such an encouragement to me. Our frugal journey isn't over...I don't think it will ever be over. I'd like to think that someday we might have more money, but we're definitely not guaranteed that. So we might as well learn to make do with what we have and learn to have contentment in that.
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