10 Ways We Save Money

From the time I was in college, I was an intense saver.  I did not waste money and I was quite proud of myself.  I had been taught well by my parents to live under my means.  I saved for unexpected expenses, gave to the church 10% plus, and saved for the future.  While much of my living on the outside was wise, the root system was very sick.  I saw myself as my own provider.  I knew theologically that God was my provider, but in my core I did not believe it nor live it out.  I detail our story of loosing our earthly security in the following posts here, here, and here.  Looking back, I see that season as intense schooling, but I also refer to it has my prison cell.  It was exactly what we needed, but the last thing I wanted.  We did it right- this could not happen to us.  You see I was trying to live to please the father because that meant he owed me a comfortable and pain free life.  This is essentially the story of the two brothers told in Luke 15 .  The older brother lived to please the father so that the father owed him.  When the younger brother who deserved nothing came home and got a party which he did not deserve, the older brother then revealed his true cards of why he obeyed and stayed loyal and faithful all those years.  It was not because he knew the father loved him and he loved the father.  It was because he loved himself and he calculated how to use the father to get the prosperous life he wanted.  On the outside, it looked religious, holy, and godly, but in reality it wasn't a heart that had received grace- it was a heart trying to earn grace...thus very ugly .  Hence, I believed that right living = deserved outward blessing.  I, too, like the older brother was trying to use the father and earn righteousness.  There are three ways to live: to please myself, to please God, or to live free because God is already pleased with me because of the righteousness of Christ imputed to me.   I am a work in progress and ever so slowly learning to live free because He is already pleased with me. 

With all that said and our security blanket taken, we have to rely on the father to provide for what he thinks we need.   We pray for little things.  We pray for big things.  We pray when we enter a store.  We have story after story of provision. 

We are a family of 6 living on my husband's teacher's salary.  As we learn to live on little, we are slowly majoring in finding deals and want to pass on what we are learning.   

Groceries for a family of 6- 5 months out of the year our grocery budget is right around $350 a month when we have deer meat.  When we run out of deer meat, our budget consistently stays at $500 a month.  I detail how we do this here. 

Treating illness at home- We use herbs, whole foods, homeopathy, essential oils, and many things I make at home.  I spend about $200 a year on supplies.  Many of the supplies have a long shelf life.  One year, I may pay a lot for supplies and the next year not so much.  I detail how we do this here.  By God's grace I have been able to treat all things at home (with the exception of a prescription a nurse called in for a pink eye infection I could not seem to kick on my own).  Thus, I have avoided paying for sick visits and prescriptions for five years. 

Healthcare- We found a gospel-centered, body-of- Christ focused approach to healthcare that we love- Samaritan Ministries.  I detail how we stumbled upon this here.  We pay $405 a month. 

Cars-  We drive old cars.  Chad drives the car he got in college.  Since we have four kiddos, I upgraded from my college Honda to a minivan three years ago.  My husband is very handy and changes our oil and does car maintenance that doesn't require heavy training.  For the big stuff, the Lord has provided friends and/or friends of friends that work on our car on the side saving us 60-70% what we would pay in a shop.  A lot of leg work is involved for my husband such as finding parts, etc. but with what we save, he would say it is well worth it. 

House- We live in a small house, 1300 square feet to be exact, that we bought at 50% of it's value.  The house was a foreclosure.   Our electric bill is small.  Our mortgage is small.  Our house has a well so our water bill is nothing. 

Garbage- We take our own trash to the dump twice a week which saves us $20-30 a month. 

Clothes- Hand-me-downs, Good Will, & Consignment stores are the way we role.   I pray before each season asking the Lord for hand-me-downs.  When I enter a store, I pray for deals. 

Cell phones- $10 per phone for unlimited talk and text with Republic Wireless.  We pay a total of $20 a month.

Date nights- We get creative.  We don't pay for sitters because it doesn't fit in our budget.  Thankfully, we do have family in town.  We also have dear friends that step in so we can get an occasional night out together. 

Schooling- Right now we are homeschooling.  After years and years of spending too much money and freaking out over curriculum, I stumbled upon this.  I use a free Christian site that is awesome and cannot recommend enough.  Thus, I do not pay for curriculum.  http://allinonehomeschool.com/

While the particulars of finding deals and saving money may look different for each person, the bottom line is God is a gracious father who takes care of his children.