Saving Money Wasn’t an Option
My husband and I started our saving journey before we even got married. We were lucky enough to purchase a house together while dating, which we rented out to pay for the mortgage. That became a whole debacle. We had two couples living in the main part of the house and a couple in the basement. Basically, the house was a mess. One of the couples in the main part of the house had sprung a leak in their water bed, which poured down to the first floor. They never cleaned the house, and they never took care of the property. My husband used to go there to cut the lawn while the people renting would sit in their lawn chairs and drink beer. The couple in the basement never paid their rent, and he was abusive to his girlfriend. When we finally were able to move the tenants out (it would be much harder today), we cleaned up the house, painted, put new blinds on the windows, and sold it - at a loss! Housing prices in the late eighties had taken a nose dive.
Our start to saving happened before we even got married
Save on laundry soap
Use at least half the soap the detergent manufacturer recommends
That was probably the beginning of realizing that we had to watch every penny we had to get anywhere. We both made average salaries in our respective jobs, and we wanted to have a fairly large family. I don’t regret anything we did to save. I never felt like I missed out on things or that we went without. The only thing I regret is that we probably could have stayed with my in-laws longer. (We had moved in with them when we married and lived with them for over four years.) Moving closer to my husband’s work didn’t work out for my sanity, and the move closer to family didn’t work out for my husband, who then spent an hour each way driving to and from work. That affected his sanity.
We started our saving journey by figuring out what we really needed and what we didn’t.
We were never big restaurant people, so that saved us a lot. We preferred to cook at home, and we enjoyed trying to make different dishes. I love finding a recipe for inspiration but adding my own touch to it.
We kept one car. My husband would use it for work, and I would use it whenever he was home. I took public transportation to and from work.
We only bought clothes when we needed them, and sometimes I would use second-hand stores too.
When the kids came along, we used clothing handed down to us.
Diapers were bought at a diaper factory. So they usually were defective in some way, but they worked and they were cheap.
I made as much baby food as I could.
Furniture was handed down, and we definitely used it. We still do to this day.
We did not have magazine subscriptions or cable TV.
I didn’t buy cleaning products. I made my own with vinegar, water, and a few drops of dish washing soap. It works great and disinfects surfaces too. Give it a try.
Laundry soap is half of what the manufacturer recommends, and dryer sheets are cut in half and used twice.
I’ve even had full cans of paint handed down to me just recently, and I’ve used them.
I have even used paint that was given to me for free.
Nothing is ever a waste. And nothing we have done ever feels like we are wanting for anything.
My husband and I still watch every penny. I think it’s ingrained in us, and we can’t let it go. My kids have also started down this path and try to watch their money. Their goal is to buy their own home, hopefully in the near future. Sometimes people feel saving is hard or a pain in the ‘you know what’, but once you start doing it, it becomes a part of yourself and you tend not to think about it anymore.
Everyone has a different journey, but remember, you don’t have to do it perfectly to start saving. Small changes add up, and that’s what this website and my YouTube channel, Anne’s House of Six, are all about. Small bite-sized changes that put money in your pocket over the long haul. It does give you a certain freedom to have money saved in the bank, to live comfortably, and to know that you’ll be okay tomorrow. Start today, and you’ll be amazed how fast small savings can add to big savings. We’ve done it, and with four kids in tow, so you can do it too.
I would love to hear your comments about how you try to save, or how you feel about money, and your experiences with it.