Week 18 -
PART TWO
We move on to Part Two of our Yearly Plan. Finances. This year has seen huge changes in family finances for people throughout the world. Fuel, food, clothing, housing, everything has gone up and not just by a little. Purchasing everything has increased due to increased interest rates. When a company has to pay more to borrow money the cost of the product to the consumer goes up as well. Port slow downs, lack of enough truckers, greatly reduced domestic oil and natural gas productions and now a war affecting both food and fuel prices. All have led to greater and greater inflation. For the next several weeks we will be sharing ways to save money and stretch our pay checks. Please share your ideas as well.
Let’s begin with shopping:
Sign up for every free customer rewards program you can. Even if you rarely shop at that store or restaurant having a rewards card will eventually net you some coupons, discounts or freebies. To simplify and keep track of these programs create an email account just for mailings from these companies.
Purchase with cash. Everything except for a home or education should be paid for with cash whenever possible. It will take disciple but come up with a plan and work the plan. You will save thousands in interest charges and come to more clearly understand exactly how and where you are spending.
Make your own gifts instead of buying. Create food mixes, candles, breads, cookies, soaps, jewelry, Christmas ornaments, so many items can be easily and inexpensively created. The only limit to what you can accomplish is the limit of your imagination. I made dress-up costumes for my grandchildren one Christmas from remnants of fabrics I had around the house and a couple of old curtains. One of the curtains was given to me by a friend who discovered what I was during. They loved the costumes and we had lots of fun watching them dress up and play. Homemade gifts are appreciated so much more than something off the shelf. They say, “you are worth my time, you are loved”.
Master the thirty-day rule. Whenever you are considering making an unnecessary purchase, wait thirty days and then ask yourself if you still want to make the purchase. Quite often the urge to buy has passed and you will have saved yourself money by simply waiting.
Create a list before you shop and stick to it. Don’t place anything in your cart that is not on your list, unless the items are on sale, and you are using your food storage money to make the purchase. You should always have a food storage budget to take advantage of sales.