We all have the things that we enjoy. I enjoy fashion and being well-dressed. It can be an expensive habit. I refuse to fall into the typical mom uniform. I wear a dress or skirt/ top assemble every day. I am the first to admit when I was first married and my husband was working, he came home to a fresh-faced wife. I find that it is possible to stay on budget if you wear classic, well-made clothing, makeup, and jewelry paired with a trend or two. I sew about 85 % of my wardrobe and 50% of our daughters. I am not a fan of used clothing nor do I like Walmart fashion. We live in a rural area. We simply do not have clothing boutiques nearby. My husband prefers me sans makeup. I prefer to wear it. I have found that using mineral makeup and false lashes makes me happy because I do not feel washed out. I am blonde and blue-eyed with alabaster skin. Since I cannot wear contacts in the desert, I am in glasses all the time. I tend to need more eye definition in glasses. The issue at hand is that is it possible on a budget to have things the thing you need and want. It requires a great deal of creativity.
Our son loves to build electronics. I put the word out that he was building a gaming PC. One of our friends gave him a desktop that he can upgrade. he sued his savings to upgrade it. It will be finished next week. I am always on the lookout to put things we no longer want to good use. I have a monthly neighborhood newsletter that I send out to about 50 neighbors. I send it digitally so I do not pay for printing. We have a comment section, news around town, want ads, needs section, recipes, and new to the neighborhood. I am the end of the court so I have put up a free little library, a community bulletin board, and a produce stand. I wasn't fond of our neighborhood when we moved in. It needed change. The rental community was wrecking it. I decided that I would find free, tongue-in-cheek ways to make it known that the block needed a Queen Bee, so I made a newsletter titled the Queen Bee Buzz.
Today, I am drying a year's worth of Basil in the dehydrator and the van. It is hot in Colorado. Basil is 6 dollars for a little bottle in the brand I prefer. With all the flack about metals and other impurities in some of the big brands. I am glad I made the switch. We consume many jars of Basil every year. I plan to bring my daughter a year's supply of mint and Basil as well. Our Basil seed is free. I save the seeds every year. It requires very little water. Tomorrow, I will be drying Tyme and Rosemary. I have a raised bed of garlic. I figured out that our family consumes 5 pounds of onions every week. I grow these. I found that Safeway has really failed on onions. I lightly cook peppers and onions to freeze. I will spend many hours this summer prepping for the winter. However, this saves us thousands every year.
We have a trip planned for Maine this Fall. We are packing a box to bring with us for the grandchildren. Postage at the office for even the economy pricing has become out of my price range. Size is the issue. We are also bringing their Christmas presents wrapped for my daughter to the store. It is the same concept as stacking up your errands. We would much rather give the grandchildren 50-75 dollars for their savings than pay the post office.
Clutter is a giant waste of space, time. and money. If you can't clean a room easily in 20-30 minutes, you have too much stuff in the room. I can clean the whole house in 3 hours if the dog hasn't stepped in paint or the husband hasn't been in the kitchen. If you haven't used it in a year get rid of it. Sell it or donate it if it is in good shape. My husband and daughter are COLLECTORS who need a bit of shaping from time to time. I usually take a photo of the area and sent it to their email. My husband has learned not to put anything on the outside dining room table if he wants meals served outside. I simply put an area out of sight for all his projects.
What is your favorite way to save money?
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