Are you a frugal person? Do you always look for the deal, the coupon or the sale? Do you wait for a full price item to go to the 75% rack before you will buy it? Do you shop at Goodwill, Habitat and thrift stores? Well if you answered yes to 1 or more of those questions, you are probably frugal. I answer yes to all of them. I go window shopping at Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel and then go to Home Goods, Ross and Tuesday Morning to re-create it cheaper - that's half the fun!
I think being frugal is an art form. You have to have some talent and creativity to take a throw away/give away and turn it into a treasure. In Amherst, my lead pastor's wife and I were in a bit of a competition (according to me) at who could find the best deal. She came home from Goodwill with a dresser, spray painted it white, added new knobs and put it in her dining room to hold her linens. It cost her $5. Several days later, I was at my favorite store on main street, Vintage on Main, and came across two patio chairs. They needed some rust removed, a coat of paint and a new set of cushions. All of which I did and they cost me $5 each.
In today's economy you have to make your money stretch as far as you can. So I shop in bulk and at multiple stores for my groceries. I have to admit I do not clip coupons. I have tried several times and was never successful, so I gave it up. However, I will go to the dollar store for paper products and cleaning supplies, WalMart for the majority of my groceries, Big Lots for discount staples and then Whole Foods for the very specific items that cannot be found anywhere else. I also try to buy store brands as often as I can. Why pay extra for a name or fancy label.
A few years ago, I also started attempting to be more green in my household habits. Now people may think green is more expensive than not and in some cases that is true. However, I make my own household cleaners out of borax, baking soda, vinegar, water and esstenial oils. They work just as well, are cheap to make, are safer for the environment and safer for me and my husband. That is one reason I love the Pinterest site. There are tons of pins on how to make homemade cleaners and body products. It takes me about 3-4 months to go through a roll of paper towels. Dish towels are washable, longer lasting and pretty. If the label says biodegradable, it gets my seal of approval as well.
Several days ago, my mom made a trip to the Habitat store with her neighbor. She only went along for the ride and came home with a true prize. She had wanted to replace the blinds in her living room and dining room. We had been looking at options and looking at the prices. She had seven windows to do. Well after new blinds, new curtains and rods she would have been looking at about $500. Her find was 7 plantation shutter style blinds in white for $5 each. They look practically brand new! My husband was in the process of hanging them when my mom's handyman friend stopped by. He says, "I just took down a whole bunch of those at so-n-so's house and bagged up the hardware and took it to Habitat." Well we just looked at each other. He said, "Was all the hardware in a ziplock bag?" and mom said yes. He looked at the blinds and said, "I think those are the ones I took down!". They even came out of my mom's friends house. How funny is that. My mom called her friend to tell her the story and the woman said, "If I had known you wanted blinds I would have given them to you!". My mom was happy with her $35 purchase because new the blinds would have been $280.
If anything, being frugal may take a little more of your time. In the end, it is totally worth it. You will have saved money, perhaps helped the environment and been a better steward of your resources. The bible says we have been entrusted with this world. That means everything on it and everything coming from it. Our nation is one of the most wasteful. Take stock of what you already have and before you discard something see if it can be re-purposed.
In His service
Mally
I think being frugal is an art form. You have to have some talent and creativity to take a throw away/give away and turn it into a treasure. In Amherst, my lead pastor's wife and I were in a bit of a competition (according to me) at who could find the best deal. She came home from Goodwill with a dresser, spray painted it white, added new knobs and put it in her dining room to hold her linens. It cost her $5. Several days later, I was at my favorite store on main street, Vintage on Main, and came across two patio chairs. They needed some rust removed, a coat of paint and a new set of cushions. All of which I did and they cost me $5 each.
In today's economy you have to make your money stretch as far as you can. So I shop in bulk and at multiple stores for my groceries. I have to admit I do not clip coupons. I have tried several times and was never successful, so I gave it up. However, I will go to the dollar store for paper products and cleaning supplies, WalMart for the majority of my groceries, Big Lots for discount staples and then Whole Foods for the very specific items that cannot be found anywhere else. I also try to buy store brands as often as I can. Why pay extra for a name or fancy label.
A few years ago, I also started attempting to be more green in my household habits. Now people may think green is more expensive than not and in some cases that is true. However, I make my own household cleaners out of borax, baking soda, vinegar, water and esstenial oils. They work just as well, are cheap to make, are safer for the environment and safer for me and my husband. That is one reason I love the Pinterest site. There are tons of pins on how to make homemade cleaners and body products. It takes me about 3-4 months to go through a roll of paper towels. Dish towels are washable, longer lasting and pretty. If the label says biodegradable, it gets my seal of approval as well.
Several days ago, my mom made a trip to the Habitat store with her neighbor. She only went along for the ride and came home with a true prize. She had wanted to replace the blinds in her living room and dining room. We had been looking at options and looking at the prices. She had seven windows to do. Well after new blinds, new curtains and rods she would have been looking at about $500. Her find was 7 plantation shutter style blinds in white for $5 each. They look practically brand new! My husband was in the process of hanging them when my mom's handyman friend stopped by. He says, "I just took down a whole bunch of those at so-n-so's house and bagged up the hardware and took it to Habitat." Well we just looked at each other. He said, "Was all the hardware in a ziplock bag?" and mom said yes. He looked at the blinds and said, "I think those are the ones I took down!". They even came out of my mom's friends house. How funny is that. My mom called her friend to tell her the story and the woman said, "If I had known you wanted blinds I would have given them to you!". My mom was happy with her $35 purchase because new the blinds would have been $280.
 |
| Mom's $5 plantation blind! |
In His service
Mally
Comments