Save Money & Live Simply

Last updated on: January 3, 2014 at 5:01 pm by Denise Bossert

Save Money & Live Simply 2014-01-03T17:01:49-05:00 Denise Bossert

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

1. This year, learn one new hobby. Try to make it a time-honored craft, like knitting, crocheting, Artisan bread-making, rug-hooking, candy-making, or painting. (If you already are proficient at one of these, pass your knowledge on to another!) Your new skill should be personally entertaining, but it should also be something that you can utilize as a gift-giving source.

2. Make your own disinfecting cleaning wipes. Cut a roll of quality paper towel in half using a serrated knife. Insert half a roll of Bounty paper towels, cut side down, into a round Rubbermaid container. Pour 1/8 C. of cleaning solution, like Mr. Clean, right on top of the paper towel roll. Pour two cups of warm water on top of that. Wait ten minutes and remove the brown cardboard roll from the center, exposing the inner-most paper towel. Pull that towel out through the top of your container for easy dispensing. (1/2 Paper towel will run about 50 cents if purchased in package of 8 and 1/8 C Mr. Clean around 20 cents [total 80 cents]- a large container of store wipes will run $3-4.) Of course, if you always use a cloth and bucket, you are being an even better steward of your money and the environment, but if you use the store-bought variety, this is a definite save on both money and environment.

3. Analyze your television habits. Consider cutting out the movie channels. If possible, stop cable or dish service completely. (We watch EWTN and The Food Channel so much that basic service is merited, but we did cut about $30 per month off fees by dropping movie channels.)

4. Make your morning coffee at home and put it in a to-go cup. You’ll save money and a landfill deposit if you use a thermos and clean it daily. If that is too much trouble, consider buying to-go cups at your membership store (Sam’s or Costco). You’ll still save money even if you aren’t altering your impact on the environment.

5. Live like the poor. That sounds awful to Americans. We want to “live like the rich and famous.” But in Holy Scripture, we learn that the poor are blessed by God, beloved by God. Do one thing today to become more like the poor. Buy more staples and fewer prepared foods at the grocery store. Rice, flour, eggs, milk. Consider what you can make from scratch using these items.

6. Consider learning how to do something that you currently outsource, like how to change your own oil in your car.

7. If you love to eat out (like I do), then you really need to rethink how often you indulge. A family of four can easily eat at home for under $8. There will probably be leftovers as well. Eating out at almost any non-fastfood place will cost a family of four closer to fifty dollars – and that doesn’t count a tip. A reasonable tip (for that bill) will probably run about $8-10! That makes the tip more than the entire home-cooked meal.

8. Commit to hanging on to your vehicles until they are about ten years old. Be willing to do maintenance and occasionally replace parts. It’s worth it.

9. Invest in music lessons for your child/children. Piano is a particularly useful instrument to learn. The initial investment is costly ($60-100/month), but by the time your child is in high school, he/she can probably give younger children lessons. Now, you’ll be glad that lessons are so expensive! Talk about a great part-time job for your high school student!

10. Give up soda. If that is too much of a compromise, consider cutting back your soda intake to one a day. My husband and I calculated that we were spending about $40/week on diet soda (between cans at home, cans at work, and drinks in restaurants). Cutting back to one soda a day will reduce your monthly bill from $120 to $20.

Keep a log of your savings. Commit to giving a portion of your savings to charity. If you are in debt, use part of your savings to pay down that debt. Next year, you will be financially free to commit even more to charitable giving!

Previous Post

December 29, 2013

The Adventure is About to Begin: a 2014 that promises the impossible

Next Post

January 4, 2014 What One Woman Did With Grief

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Diocesan Column Holy Land Travel Writing Let's Go On A Pilgrimage Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "El Shaddai" mean?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Prince of Peace God is Judge Provider God Almighty