Sunday Savers...

If your like me, you like to save!

What do I like to save?
-money on the grocery bill
-money on clothes for three busy kiddos
-time
-our stuff. I try to make sure that what we do have, continues to last and work well for us!
-and my sanity!

This post will be devoted to ways to save. I hope to have a Sunday Savers post each Sunday with ideas on how to save everything from money to the life of your household appliances.
Here we go...
Remember these are just my thoughts and ideas, no magic formulas or promises of great fortune in the future. Just my thoughts. Enjoy.

Save on the grocery bill:

Coupons are great, but to really save using coupons DON'T use them alone. Wait until the item is on sale and add the coupon (if your grocery store allows it). 

One thing I have learned, but not mastered just yet, is to only shop store sales Then buy in bulk!
For those that can shop weekly, take the time to go through the sale ads and purchase primarily what's on sale. By only buying what is already on sale, and combining coupons, you will save quite a bit on your grocery bill. What this means is that you make your weekly menu plans from what you already have in your fridge and pantry, only purchasing a few things needed for the week that are not on sale. Those items would be things like milk, bread, and eggs, or other things you use and finish quickly but can not stock up on.

It takes some planning, learning to stock on food, and time to go through the sale ads, but it's worth it. And, no, I'm not suggesting you make shopping a full time job and go to the extreme coupon shopping like you have seen on tv. Normal people don't have that much free time or patience to have a full-time job planning and shopping to save money.


Save on the clothes:

Clothes and kids! Saving clothes from such violent destruction with boys is nearly impossible!
My boys have managed to take a brand new pair of shoes or jeans and destroy them in a single day, sometimes less! Plus, they grow so fast that a pair of jeans that fits this month is likely to not fit in two weeks! With a track record like this, I refuse to pay very much for the kids' clothing.
 I shop at thrift stores and clearance racks! I have also been very lucky to have friends who pass clothes down to my kiddos.
Anyway, here are a few ways to save a little cash on clothes.

-Shop thrift stores:
I have found some great deals on clothes for my kiddos. Paying $25-$30 for a pair of jeans for my boys that are going to skid across the kitchen floor or slide down the driveway in, is just not for me!
Paying $2-$5 for a pair of jeans or walking out the door with 6 pair of jeans for the kids for under $30, is for me!

-Shop the season end sales:
 Buy the size you think they should fit into by the following year. Even with guess work, this has worked great for us. There will be times, something you bought doesn't quite fit by the next season,  when that happens, either hold it aside until it fits or hold it for the younger sibling. And if that doesn't work find a friend with children that size! Someone always wins!

-Recycle worn and torn clothing:
I like to sew. Which has been very handy, as I have been able to repair and re purpose many of the kids' clothes. All three of my kiddos are very tall and thin, so finding pants that fit around the tummy and aren't up to their knees is a challenge. Many times I have made pants for all of my kiddos and each year I make shorts for my long-legged daughter. Trying to find shorts that are a decent length that will fit a very tall and slim pre-teen, is nearly impossible. So we make shorts for her each year. You can see a past post here of shorts made for my daughter.

Even if you don't sew much, you can still make some fun things with old clothing.

Take some lace or fun material to add to the cuff of a pair of pants for your daughter to add a little length is they still fit around the waist! This has often saved us just another month or so until summer when she is wearing short for months.
Holes in the knee? My boys love the flame and camo patches we found. It adds color and a little more life to the pants.
We all grew up with cut off shorts. Well, we do the same, just add something to the edge to dress it up and the kids have a new fun pair of shorts. Easy!

There really is so much you can do, to add a little life to clothes. I'll try to find some photos next week and share more ideas!

Save time:

This one is harder. We are of a very busy, go, go, go society. Everyone is doing something or going somewhere all the time. Even when many of us are home, we are busy on the computer, phone, ipad, tablet, or watching tv. We are busy working on bills, doing laundry, taking care of kids, animals, and spouses. It's difficult to find time to be alone or just relax. But if we are to truly care for our self, we must take a break and make good use of our time.
For this I only have two tips:

#1- TURN IT OFF!
Turn off the computer (wait, not until you're done reading this)
Turn off the tv
Turn off the iPad
Turn off the phone (yes, you will survive)
Turn off the tablet
Turn off the kids' video games (they too will survive, even if they don't believe it)

Think about how much time you spend with these items. If you added it up for an entire day, week, or month you would see just how much of our lives we spend on technology and away from the outdoors and the lives of our family.

If you spend 1.5 hours a day on these items, you spend:

10.5 hours a week  (that's an extra work day)
45 hours a month  (that's a full work week)
547 hours a year  (that is way too much of your life)

It may not feel like that much, but when you add it up, it's a huge part of your life.

I'm not saying never enjoy the technology we have, but limit yourself. Decide what is acceptable for you and keep it to that limit of time. I try, not always very successfully, to keep my tech time to after the kids are in bed or when they are otherwise occupied. Even then, I could do much better.

Our family, at least the kids and I, have tech-free weeks. Here and there, I will tell the kids it's a tech-free week, and for that entire week, we don't turn on the tv, video games, or computer. I LOVE TECH FREE WEEK!!! I'll admit the first day or so can sometimes be rough if they have had too much tech time recently, but after that we all enjoy it. We all spend more time outside, read more books, we even pull out the board games and have a great time. After that week, I try to limit very strictly, the amount of tech time we all use. It has been just what wee needed many times. My goal is to have tech-free week, once a month. I'm still working on that one though.

#2-GET OUTDOORS!
If you get outside more, you will feel better, you will have more energy, and you will be more clearheaded! It may not help your laundry get done, or your bills paid, but it will make you feel better and that will help you to be more focused and able to accomplish what you need to.


Save your appliances and household items:

Dishwasher & Coffee pot

We have very hard water in our area, so the dishwasher and coffee pot are not always very happy. With the amount of calcium and minerals in our water, the build up on these items can be excessive.

I have found that instead of using rinse aid in the dishwasher, place some (1/2 cup) vinegar in with the dish soap, it helps to keep the build up down and helps with the dishes as well. Plus, it rids the dishwasher of any odor that may come about due to specks of food or other washed off but left in the drain pipes of the dishwasher.

Same with the coffee pot. Washing it out isn't always enough. So, once a month or so I'll run a pot of water and vinegar through and then rinse it well. It helps with the build up, and the staining. (check your coffee pot, some say not to use vinegar)


Saving your sanity:

As I am still working on this one, I will just suggest this:

-Spend the day really playing with your kids. Jump rope, ride a bike, toss a ball, get down and build with the blocks.  Be a kid for the day and remember what it was like to just enjoy life!

-Take 15 minutes EVERY DAY to do something JUST. FOR. YOU!
Read the Bible, lay in the sun, take a walk, sit in the car with the radio on and sing along, draw or paint, enjoy a few minutes with a hobby you enjoy, read, or simply sit in the grass (or snow) and watch the clouds (or night time stars) and just BE.

-Live in the moment. Don't focus on the future, don't dwell on the past, just enjoy this moment right now!

-Think positively. Negativity is contagious, so is positivity! So share!


Saving is something we can all do better with. Whether it's money, time, or sanity we can all work to save what we need.
It just takes effort and the courage to keep trying daily!