Simplicity…a way to save money

I read a suggestion this week of a way to save money. Every time you’re tempted to spend a dollar here or there, put that money in an envelope instead and then evaluate at the end of the month if you really want to spend all the money you saved. While that’s a neat concept it does have its balance.
I often will ‘save’ money when I’m willing to spend a little. Just this week I was at Walmart and they had little girls ‘crock’ type shoes marked $7.50 a pair, while just last month in Ardmore I got them on clearance for $1 a pair. I quickly found a worker in the shoe department to check the prices. She assured me they were $7.50 and that they had none for $1, I asked her to please just check. Boy, was she surprised to find them all on clearance for $1 each. I promptly bought 3 pairs, 1 for Miss A and two for Leelee to grow into. This will save me $22+ later this summer when both little ones need new shoes. Last fall, I also found shorts sets for Leelee’s first birthday ~cute as can be~ for $2 each. Now she’ll get multiple outfits instead of just one.
Other ways our family is working to save money is by having a garden, keeping chickens both for our own eggs and some to sell, using cloth diapers, and hanging our clothes on a clothes line to dry. A dear friend of mine, Nikki from www.IntegrityDiapers.com helped me get started with the cloth. I've been so intimidated with using cloth, yet she walked me through it and it truly has been an easy switch. The only time we do disposables now is when leaving home once or twice a week.



Another fun trick my dear friend Tamy taught me is to make very economical little girl dresses with the T-shirts that are $3.50 at Walmart and a ½ yard of matching fabric. I made the cutest little 4 of July dresses for the neighbors’ twin girls birthday this coming week… I hope she enjoys them as much as I do for our girls. I even went so far as to take undershirts and scrap fabric and make new nightgowns. I had an old eyelet dust ruffle in my donate box when I realized it had LOTS of fabric already hemmed and ready to make pretty gowns with!
Our family also relies heavily upon and appreciates greatly the hand~me~downs we get for the kids. It’s so fun to sort through a box wondering what the Lord will provide you with next. The girls love knowing where their ‘new clothes’ came from. They often will say… ‘Nikki gave me this dress’ or ‘Sissy shared with me and I’ll get to share with Miss A next’. What a joy to know they appreciate each thing they have and don’t feel slighted that they weren't the first owners.
I've always enjoyed the challenge of being thrifty, but moving to the country has given new opportunities to practice it, while taking away the most obvious ones like thrift stores and garage sales. I can’t see driving 30 miles to save a little at a garage sale.
Have a thrifty week…