Wonderful Ways to save Money. Part One

 

It is hard for people to grasp this truth, but the amount of money the housewife and homemaker can save is staggering. 

And Yes, I do believe it is possible to become a full time wife and homemaker in a modest income household, even today. Stay tuned.

I would like to make a whole series of posts, giving tips and ideas on this subject. In my experience it is much easier to get the most out of these if there are not too many suggested at once. All these suggestions will be pleasant and rewarding. The idea is that we get a sense of joy and contentment and also a sense of satisfaction as we begin to reap the rewards.

I am fortunate enough to remember how life was before the Internet. There were lots of housewives back then. They enjoyed their homes and their family life.  They didn’t work at the pace of today where there is no time to think or sit down with a cup of tea and a bit of knitting or to write a real letter to a real friend (as opposed to a quick text or posting a selfie to your Instagram page).

1. Get good at what you do by getting off the internet 

We all know deep down that the internet, particularly social media is now engineered towards getting you addicted. That’s why we can’t get off it. Notifications and toxic news especially are giving us high levels of anxiety and stress. We are so frazzled that it’s hard to think straight. We begin to react to everything instead of pausing, before deciding the best way to respond sensibly to a particular situation.

But as we have observed, getting off the internet is not a simple matter  The anxiety stays with us for a quite a while when we switch off from all the fast stuff on our screens. We have to think first about what everyone did when there was no internet at all. When there were no mobile phones. 

So my first suggestion is to think about things you enjoy, or might like to try, that are mainly home-based, and don’t involve screen time. 

Could it be baking or cooking and making simple but delicious meals or cookies for the family?

Perhaps, reading a real, physical book from your bookshelf.

Taking up crochet, knitting, a bit of sewing, making cards, drawing, or other craft you can do at home. 

Could you start a little bit of a garden?

Listen to relaxing classical music or learn about the great composers.

(Have you noticed a problem about these suggestions? Hmmm. How can you learn to get good at any of these if you don’t go on the internet? )

I suggest that you don’t have to get immediate answers. Don’t go straight to Google or YouTube for your answers. Think a bit about how pre-internet society learned these things. One extremely popular way they learned things was to go to the local library. They are usually free, and they can order books from other libraries for you too. Libraries can be addictive but in such a nice way! 

Be intentional about what you go online for. For instance, once a week I go  onto YouTube specifically to watch the new video by the channel Frugal Money saver. The link to this channel is at the top right on this blog. Or go to YouTube directly and type Frugal Money Saver Channel into the search bar. Have your notebook and pen ready to note down ideas and recipes you like and check out the wonderful comments under the videos posted by viewers 

Trot along to a thrift store or charity shop. Here you can often discover helpful books. (Vintage are usually better than modern). Old style cookery books especially the hardbacks are illustrated so beautifully and you can browse them at home like magazines. You can also often find craft supplies like yarn and fabric.

Get to know your neighbours. Many neighbours already have experience of the pre-internet activities that you want to learn, and would be happy to talk and show you about them. 

Another way to learn is almost lost art. And that is to think it out yourself. Try out ideas, and make notes about what works and what you want to tweak for next time. This is the way many people learned to do things in the past and it gives tremendous confidence over time. For instance, many mothers and homemakers could sew clothes and bake cakes without using a pattern or recipe book.

Most of the things listed above will be very inexpensive. By doing these things you will be less likely to go internet shopping, or impulse buy, of run out for entertainment outside the home. You will already begin to save a lot of money.

Until next time, thank you for joining me today. 

Please leave a comment. I would love to hear from you. 

 

Treasure hunting at home. Your Home is your Thrift Shop

 

People have so much stuff, so why do they keep amassing more? Part of the reason is that they have an impulse, which is born of a deep anxiety about lack. Partly, those companies selling 'stuff' have spent billions on working out how to push people's buttons.

Most people exist in a state of chaos because there is nowhere to put all their possessions:

They have so much clothing! And yet, they wear a fraction of it and return to the same few items at the front of their wardrobes and closets. 

They have so much food! Yet it rots in the fridge and cupboards, and they do not even know it is there. Then they run out for a takeaway 'treat'.

They are over-run with toys for the children! But the children are unhappy, dissatisfied and overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stimulation around them.

They have boxes and boxes of craft materials and it all stays in the boxes unused; while they get another fix of retail therapy.


They spend as little time as they can in their homes because the clutter and disorder claws at their peace when they are there. 

One could go on, but you get the picture. It is all very sad, because these poor overstretched, overmarketed people are making themselves sick and anxious every day. They are not enjoying their daily life - or anything they have purchased (for more than a momentary high - followed by the inevitable let-down) 

Life-coaches will encourage them to grit their teeth and get organised. But... there is no need to be so hard on yourself. For the housewife there is a happier solution.

I call it 'Treasure-Hunting at Home'.

You don't have to make a schedule, remember. Just make spending time in your home a priority. If you treasure-hunt at home, you will soon want to spend so much time at home, it will be hard to coax you away!

You can begin where your desire takes you. It is not a question of scrubbing out, chucking the lot, and having a massive spring clean until you are exhausted and want to run away again. This is a NEW way that actually works.

Maybe you want to start with the food in the kitchen. That is where I would choose, I think. Would you like to treasure-hunt in your baking things, or the pots and pans cupboard? Take your time and don't give yourself a guilt-trip. You are going to be gradually getting to know what you have and how to use it. Each small area you deal with will give you more peace, contentment and the feeling that you have accomplished something for the long-term.

You will almost certainly find treaure in whichever area you choose to hunt. A saucepan or crockpot hidden away at the back. A long-lost pudding basin which will make you some steamed puddings - you don't need to buy a steamer just use what you have. I can tell you how to steam a pudding if you don't know how. What will you find?

Baking cupboard: Throw out the very old packets, but there is probably something that you will enjoy using now that you have found it. Make a jelly with that gelatine. Make a soup with the pearl barley you had forgotten about. Put on your shopping list the fresh vegetables that you will need to go with it. A great idea is to use 1940s rationing cookbook recipes. In Britain, during the years of rationing, they were extremely healthy, and despite what you might hear, most meals were delicious and there was no waste. We have the advantage now of not having to grow our own herbs and seasonings.

Clothing is a great place to treasure hunt too. One drawer or cupboard at a time - find those hidden treasures. Pull out those long-lost shoes and give them a lovely shine-up. Then they can go in a box with their identity written in large letters on the front. Each shoebox will stack nicely on top of the other with the label facing you if they are not see through.How nice it will be to easily identify them and choose which to wear. You don't need to go and buy a shoe 'system' or clear plastic boxes if you prefer to keep the shoebox in which they came.

Of course, you can treasure-hunt anywhere now you see how much fun it is. The main thing is that the longer you spend in an area, the more you will become comfortable and familiar in it. Try not to rush therefore. Soon enough you will find yourself actually enjoying the things you have bought and forgotten about - and if not, you can give them to the charity shop. Organisation is a kind of by-product of the treasure-hunting. It will begin to fall into place (no pun intended), and new ideas will come to you over time too. When you see how much you have already, and begin using it, the desire to buy more will diminish. You will be looking after and enjoying what you have.

What treasure hunting you have done today in your home, and how much you have saved?

The Richer Life of a Housewife. Savings

 It's great news!

A housewife on a very modest income can have a richer life.

What the housewife can save without batting an eyelid:



Transport and petrol/gas costs. Your trips can be leisurely and well-planned and you may not need to run another vehicle.

Meal costs  You will be staggered at what you will save on meals! Expensive takeaways (because you have no time and are exhausted from work) will be replaced by inexpensive, healthy foods, that take 5  minutes to plan in the week. Food won't be wasted, and you won't run out and have to dash to the shops to buy more. 



Clothing costs  Business clothes can be replaced by pretty day dresses and skirts. You can learn to make them at home and have fun. An inexpensive pattern can be reused often, every scrap of the fabrics can be used to make unique gifts, items for the home, and accessories. The housewife has time to treat her and her family's clothing carefully and they will last much longer.



Electricity costs No more expensive drier. The washing line can be used when it is not wet. Meals can be planned for the oven and items batch-cooked. Just having the time to think will give you easy routines that save on costs around the home.



Maintenance  Taking your time, and incorporating little habits and routines will mean less accidents and breakages. Appliances and furniture will be cared for and maintained; they will last for years longer.



Shopping  When a housewife learns to potter around her home, changing, arranging and making pretty little touches here and there; things that lift her heart and calm her restlessness; she will find a deep sense of contentment begins to appear. That compulsion to keep buying new 'stuff' is mostly caused by a continual sense of dis-satisfaction with what one has. The truth is, that what we already have, when we have time to care for and enjoy it, will give us more peace and contentment than buying more stuff will.


'Me' time  Me-time costs pretty much nothing for the happy housewife. Her schedule is her own, to plan and organise according to her preferences. Inviting a friend for tea and home-made scones; reading her book in the garden after lunch, or listening to some peaceful music, for instance. Or she can pick up her knitting, or take a walk in the sunshine (or snow!). She can teach herself all sorts of skills to enrich her homemaking. These will be happy times - and much more relaxing and rewarding for herself and her family, than scrolling FaceBook or social media.



Child-care Instead of paying through the nose to have your children cared for by strangers, the housewife can care for them at home. She can guide them and give them the security of a mother's presence. As they grow, she will learn how to create order, and routines so that life will be richer for her and them. She will be the one to see and encourage their first steps, or put a blanket over a table to make a little play house. She will be the one to fill the doll's tea-pot with water for the teddy-bear's picnic...  while her friend enjoys real tea and a chat. A trusted friend  can arrange that each have an afternoon off by looking after the other mother's child once a week if wished.