Trey and I made a major financial sacrifice when we decided I would quit working full time and stay home with Perrin. We've had to drastically reduce our spending, which means no more eating out, no more shopping trips for fun, no more weekend getaways, etc. It's tough, but totally worth it. I LOVE being home with Perrin. Even if it does mean eating ramen noodles for dinner. :)
Recently I read an article about the world's cheapest people. They recommend doing things like cutting your dryer sheets into fourths so the box will last four times as long. For annual savings of what, $3.50 a year?
Trey and I haven't gone to that extreme quite yet, but we are discovering some ways to save money. For one thing, we're doing the Angel Food Ministries program, which allows anyone to buy a box of food that's designed to feed a family of four for a week for $30. Can't beat $30 for a week's worth of groceries. Smart, huh? That's what I'm telling myself... not cheap, just smart.
But some of our other money-saving strategies are definitely starting to fall on the cheapskate side of things. For example, instead of buying Perrin toys, we take him to Wal-Mart and play with the toys there. He smiles and makes cute faces, then we put the toys back on the shelves and leave with a happy baby and wallets untouched. Smart? Or cheap? Or perhaps even a tad cruel?
Oh well. If Perrin could talk, I think he would agree that playing with toys at Wal-Mart instead of at home is a sacrifice he's also willing to make to have his mommy home with him all the time. Even Trey, who has typically been more spend-y than I am, is starting to embrace his inner cheapskate. He's gotten really good at picking out the cheapest brand of dog food. (Sorry, Molly. We love you, but you are a dog, after all.)
Gotta go... I need to grab some scissors and get to work on those dryer sheets. :)
we still do the toy thing with Keiran. He'll even carry one around the store while I shop then put it back before we leave. If he really wants something, we tell him to ask Nana (hence teh nickname NanaClaus)
ReplyDeleteWe do cut our dryer sheets in half and use half the detergent. We have noticed no difference in cleanliness or smell. We also cloth diaper, and make homemade babyfood. For clothes I shop clearance (never pay more than $5 for any one thing). BabysRus has the best clearance as far as price, quality, and consistency. On Saturdays and Sundays its an extra 30% off. If he needs anything more in season or play clothes, we go to the thrift store.
I call it economical, not cheap. I don't just buy things based on a low price, but the lowest price without forfeiting quality. What good is a $1 sweater if it only lasts a week? Probably more info than you wanted, but let me know if there is any other cheap questions you have. I did make the TN paper's top 50 cheapest of the cheap list (2007 or 08, I don't remember).