Thrifty

thrift:

• careful and diligent in the use of resources
• careful: mindful of the future in spending money; "careful with money"

So what makes one family The Thriftiest Family in America? What's the criteria? He makes 58,000 a year and they have 70,000 in savings. If we made that much I'd have a lot more in savings too, living the way we live and have learned to live! DH has never made that much money in a year! How long has this man been making that much? How long have they been living thriftily?? Eleven years the article said. Is it so incredible that they make only 58,000 a year? We make much less than that. And we are doing well financially. To me, that's a lot of money.

In discussing this family with friends, we talked about how their savings really didn't need to be brought into, except as an after thought. If we are talking about thriftiness, let's talk about thriftiness. They are thrifty and they have savings. That's great. Give me your thrifty tips, thrifty family. Do they have a website or a blog?

While I don't have a 5 dollar cell phone bill or feed my family of 7 on 4$ a meal, we live on a lot less than 58,000 a year. There was a time when we didn't but we are definitely living within our means now. We don't have the same coupon and deal advantages as those in the states have. But I save wherever I can - shopping flyers, using a few coupons, buying second hand rather than new. DH does our renovations and repairs. We do a lot of the same things this family does. I guess I'm thriftier than I thought I was.

Are there places we could cut back? Are there things we could live without? Of course. We could cut back on our cell internet and tv packages. We could cut back on eating out. I take the girls and we get our haircut; we don't have to do that. Some people would suggest we cut back on our groceries.

It has been recommended to us that the average family (in Canada) live on 100$ a week on groceries and other such items. I could see that working in a larger center, but I live in the boonies! I don't get deals on anything. (Ok, that's a small exaggeration.) I pay over 6$ for a gallon of 3.25% milk by the time they add all the taxes and deposits. And milk doesn't go on sale, ever. At least I've never seen it. Oh and they said average. What is the average? Is it still the 2 parents, 2.5 kids? I have 5 kids, three of which I buy diaper type products for! We spend between 200 and 300 a week on groceries, cosmetics and paper type products.

I just figured out what I spend on milk in a month. We pay 6 dollars a gallon and go through about 3 gallons a week, more if DH and I are drinking as much as we'd like as well. That's 72 dollars a month on milk alone!

I'm without an oven so I'm not making our bread right now. We like to buy the whole grain bread for our healthy. It runs over 4$ a loaf and we can eat a loaf a day. Thankfully we don't eat that much bread, but at say 3 loaves a week, that would be 48 dollars a month on bread.

That's just bread and milk. And we're already over a hundred. Okay, what about veggies, fruit, pasta, meat. It adds up so fast.

Oh and let's add up the diapers (I do use cloth occasionally as back up or to save when things are tighter). Baby R goes through 2 pkgs a month. Cutie Boy uses about 3 pkgs a month. And M's pullups are 1 pkg a month. The average cost per pkg is 15$ with the pullups being a bit more. There's another hundred a month!

Okay, this has turned into a rant on grocery prices. LOL. Sorry, back to the point of thriftiness.

I think everyone's thriftiness looks different. For us thriftiness is not scrimping on groceries. We do have a garden though because DH loves doing that. We shop at discount, secondhand, and clearance stores. We don't take vacations. If we go anywhere, we drive to visit family, stay with family and try to cook at home with family. We eat out a couple times a month for sure. But that's the only real "entertainment" we do. We don't have sports costs. We don't leave our little town for much. We get all our furniture from friends and neighbors.

The husband on that show said this, "It's an alternative to living beyond our means, really," Brett says. "Instead of spending too much money on things, we just make choices." So let's start making some smart choices about our spending.

So, what are some thrifty choices we (you) could make?

• cut hair yourself
• coupons
• sales and deals
• menu/meal planning
• shopping with a list
• grow a garden
• canning
• shutting out lights
• unplugging electronics that aren't in use
• stockpile when buying sales
• walk or carpool
• take a bag lunch to work
• one vehicle
• trim the "fat" off cell phones, tv pkgs, internet, etc
• lower your heat
  

What it comes down to is choices. What are you spending your money on and why? Some of those things may not work for your family. Find what works. Look very very closely and specifically at what you are spending your dollars on and cut where you can.

Are you content in your current financial situation? If not, find help. Ask questions. (I have some tricks and tips, so you can leave a specific question in the comments and I'll contact you, if you want.) In today's crazy world, being happy and content is very important.

Note: To read the blog post that sparked this post, click here.