We smell like $7 Bucks

So I am thinking learning to be more frugal and manage money better could be considered an academic type topic right?

Fabulous. Let’s get to it then.

I bought this little book on our recent Stay-Cation. My friend Kim gave it to Jeanetta on her birthday, and I just thought it was inspiring and interesting, and so when I found a copy on our trip to the Pea Ridge Civil War museum I had to snatch it up. Written in 1832, I love how relevant the spirit of the book still is today…

Here is an excerpt from the introduction:
“The true economy of housekeeping is simply the art of gathering up all the fragments so that nothing be lost. I mean fragments of time as well as materials. Nothing should be thrown away so long as it is possible to make any use of it, however trifling that use may be; and whatever size the family every member should be employed either in earning or saving money.”

Isn’t that great? I think you can even download it HERE for free.

Because the Back-2-School time of year feels much more like a time for starting fresh than the actual New Year date does (or at least it feels this way to us,) our little family is trying to kick off this new season with some healthy changes. Some of these changes are for the health of our bodies, some for the health our minds & hearts, and some for the health of our pocket book.
See for me, the health of my mind and emotions is directly linked to the health of my pocket book, so for me getting that one straightened out & healthier is a big deal.

While my sweet mans income is the same every 2 weeks, mine is NEVER the same for even 2 days, let alone 2 weeks, or 2 months. As a craft artist and design consultant, I am completely at the mercy of the whims of buyers and clients. With high gas prices, and back-2-school expenses, and food prices rising, my goodies are not the most important things for people to purchase. I get that, because I can’t always buy their goodies either (though I wish I could!)
And while I do manage, by the grace of God, to squeak by each month there are still moments which can be very stressful and very tense, when I am just not sure how it is all going to play out, and yet somehow it does. But the fact remains that I cannot control how much money comes in, but I can do a much better job of controlling how much goes out after the bills are paid. And that is where some of our changes are starting…

Yesterday I noticed that we were all out of every kind of bath product – bath wash, shampoos, conditioner, bar soap, all of it. My shower was full of empty containers.
So while at the Dollar Tree to purchase some supplies for work, I decided to pick up a few items for us:

Here is what $7 will get you at the Dollar Tree.
My favorite purchase? The Skin Milk Body Lotion with Shimmer.
Just last week I had been looking for Body Lotion with Shimmer and couldn’t find any for under $8. Yesterday I got all our bath products for under the price of 1 bottle of lotion at Target. Amazing! Now, I know most of it is not fancy, and the shampoo and conditioner might not do the same job that my more expensive stuff can do, but I think this month I will take clean-enough over stressed-out.

The boys are getting into the frugal game as well. Miles asked Nathan to give him a haircut, and Nathan took up the challenge and the shears. Wylie jumped in too and wanted a cut of his own, so that is $20 saved right there.

I think gardening, composting and canning might be on the agenda for the fall. As well as less eating out, more walks around the neighborhood for exercise and altering some clothing found at my favorite thrift stores for my fall wardrobe.

Living more frugally will require us to think ahead a little more, do some planning, think outside the box, and say “no” more than we like, but in the end, I think the benefits of being less stressed will far out way the little daily sacrifices of learning to live within our means.
Maybe our grandparents were on to something after all…