Budget: belt-tightening just a bit more

Dh and I have a running battle with our budget ... in the words of Mr. Micawber from David Copperfield (played to perfection by Bob Hoskins in the excellent BBC version): 

He [Mr. Micawber] solemnly conjured me, I remember, to take warning by his fate; and to observe that if a man had twenty pounds a-year for his income, and spent nineteen pounds nineteen shillings and sixpence, he would be happy, but that if he spent twenty pounds one he would be miserable.

Well, we'd rather be happy than miserable. 

So, we have to belt-tighten just a bit more ... trying to shave off the monthly budget (and keep it UNDER budget) is not hard, but does take some additional strategies and willpower (and I'm pretty good at the strategies, not so good at the willpower part!).

What are we doing?

• by making and baking our own sandwich bread; we are saving almost $50 per month while also getting a better food-product for the kids and warming the house with the oven.  Besides, making the bread not only gets out my agressions but is building my upper-body strength.
• by saving our credits from Amazon to buy resources for our home-school unit studies; for instance, I just ordered The Winter Olympics: An Insider's Guide to the Legends, Lore and Events and Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games with our credits.  See, everytime someone orders a resource from Amazon that I've linked, I get a small (REALLY, REALLY small) commission ... but the commssions add up and I didn't have to pay anything for our upcoming Winter Olympic Unit Study!
• by baking cookies, brownies and other treats from scratch; again, we're saving probably $10-15 per month by not buying the already-made or packaged mixes for treats.  When Lent starts, we'll wipe out this category completely (well for Monday-Saturday; Sundays we can indulge!).  Again, the kids are getting a better, healthier option and we're heating the house.
• by putting the thermostat down to 66 and using the gas-log to take the chill off the house in the morning.
• by designing and knitting gifts for various folks; as I knit a gift for someone, I always say a prayer for the recipient.  So, not only is the recipient getting a unique gift, they are also getting the benefit of the prayers said.
• by grocery shopping every two weeks, avoiding the pre-packaged and sticking to the staples -- flour, sugar, milk, butter, eggs, cheese, etc.  It's amazing how much I can shave off our monthly grocery bill by avoiding the seductive pre-packaged stuff.  And, again, we're eating better.

Some of the other ideas I have "cooking" include ebaying some of my knitting books -- many of which are now collector's items but are just collecting dust -- and my unused home-education resources.  I have some amazing books, supplies and resources I've collected over the years ... but if we're not using them, what's the point?  Someone will get a great deal and we'll get a bit of cash ....

I'm also trying to do a better job of submitting knitting designs to publishers ... I won't ever make a fortune with my knitting but it's a way I can bring in a little bit of income, using the gifts God has given me.

So what am I missing?  I don't do coupon cutting -- too often the products are those packaged, name-brand products we don't use anyway.  Is there a great budget-saving tip you want to share ... please post in the comments and I'll do a follow-up with all the great ideas.

Hugs and prayers for all of us that are feeling the pinch of the economy ... may it make me a better steward of our resources!

Frugality is NOT a four-letter word

There is no doubt that the American economy continues to tank.  Personally, we have been staunching the flow of red-ink since we sold the house in Denver, but it will take time for us to recover our hard-earned nest-egg ... a nest-egg built when dh and I (before we even met each other) left our corporate ladder-climbing jobs to do what we believed (and still believe) was God's will for us.  In fact, that's what brought us together over 12 years ago ... so we must have been doing something right.

But now-a-days, if you tell people "Oh, we can't do that, we can't afford it" or "well, that's not in the budget this month" or "sorry, we don't have any money" ... the proverbial "they" think you're broke ... or are being overly negative.

Not at all.

Yes, I am on a budget.  Yes, I have to be careful with the resources God has given us.  Yes, I have to be frugal.  And, you know what?  I actually enjoy it.  I like thinking of ways to stretch a dollar ... either through inexpensive meals, creative gift-giving or simply by doing without.  These are not bad things. 

But American society would say differently, don't you think?  In this country, we've come to believe that if you don't take your kids out to fast-food joints at least weekly, you are depriving them of something.  If you don't buy them everything they WANT (not what they need, but what they want), you are being unfair.  If you make your kids (or yourself) wait till a special occasion to get something, you are being cheap.  If you have left-overs for supper, somehow you must be on the way to the "poor house". 

Me and mine are trying to re-order our priorities away from STUFF to a deeper something ... a deeper Someone.  We are trying to have less and do more.  We are trying to, in the words of Mary Englebreit, "Let Go ... Go On". 

As we finish off the last week of the liturgical year and begin Advent 2009 ... we seek the Way to happiness through a "less is more" mentality.  But we can't do it alone ... we need to use prayer to help us know the needs from the wants ... the must-haves from the nice-to-haves.  And God has that covered for us ... Jesus gave us His mother to help:

Before, by yourself, you couldn't. Now, you have turned to our Lady, and, with her, how easy it is!

– St. Josemaria Escriva, The Way, #513