The same five-dollar bill has lived in my wallet for weeks. Normally, it would be long gone, spent on coffee or some forgotten trifle.
But since the virus came…
Like any good citizen, I don’t do more shopping than absolutely necessary these days. I don’t go to restaurants or coffee shops, and the cash in my wallet stays intact. I still use my credit card, of course, but I’m starting to find ways to live more simply. Lots of times we spend money on things we don’t actually need or even want.
For Penny Letters this week, I thought I’d share some stories of how I’m trying to save money. I’m not a financial guru. These are just my experiences and maybe you can relate to some of them.
A 1883 penny Dad found in our house during a remodeling project.
1. Keep your house/closet/car in order.
One Saturday, I spent all day cleaning out my room. My closet was especially bad. I dug through mounds of clothing, some of which I haven’t worn in months or even years. I boxed some of the clothing to donate somewhere once thrift stores re-open. I found unopened tubes of toothpaste which I placed in the bathroom to use. I found a new toothbrush still in a package, which I swapped out for my well-used toothbrush in the bathroom. I organized years’ worth of hair accessories— I now know I never need to buy hair pins again.
More than ever, I’m a firm believer in the “Go shopping in your closet” concept. If you’re like me, you’ll be surprised at what’s in there.
Yesterday I cleaned my car and found a lost insulated water bottle and an iPhone charger underneath the seat. The water bottle had been a free gift; the iPhone charger most definitely hadn’t been. I’m glad to have them both back.
2. Cherish the old-fashioned skills
Recently a friend told me, “Since all this has started, not a day goes by that I don’t think about my mom telling me if hard times come I’ll be glad for all the practical skills she taught me. I’m glad now that I can bake bread.”
Yup, bread baking, raising chickens, canning… they’re all trendy now. And based on the fabric sales we’re seeing at work, so is sewing. There’s the now-famous homemade faces masks. I made mine with leftover cotton fabric and didn’t have to spend a penny for Spring 2020’s biggest fashion accessory.
Since the paper aisle at Giant is still bare, with not even paper napkins, Mom sewed us cloth napkins using leftover fabric from the fabric cabinet.
Yes, I know that buying a sewing machine, canning equipment, chicken coop, etc, etc, all cost money. But if you have the tools and supplies already, this is a great time to use them.
Maybe if I get really ambitious, I’ll learn how to change my oil! My old car had a weird oil plug that made changing the oil really difficult, so I got in the habit of always going to the garage to have my oil changed. But I have a new car now, so maybe it’s time to give it another try.
3. Borrow/lend books
Since the libraries are closed, my siblings and I have been loaning books to each other. I probably have about a hundred books loaned out to family members. I like seeing people borrow my books, even though, from a strictly financial perspective, buying books is a “sunk cost” and “getting my money’s worth” is a logical fallacy. Oh well, there’s more to life than money.
Just to clarify, no one is coming into each other’s house for this. My sister and I rendezvous in parking lots and swap bags of books, and my brother and I work at the same place so we can exchange books there.
Besides some borrowed books, I’ve been trying to read books I already own, rather than hopping on the Internet to buy new ones. I’m reading my 826-page copy of Charles Dickens’ Little Dorrit and the book Undeniable by Douglas Axe, which argues for intelligent design based on evidence from biochemistry.
4. Fix stuff instead of buying new stuff
Last week, one of the stems of my eyeglasses broke off. A few months ago, I would have thought, “Time for a new look!” and made an eye doctor appointment. But since I’m not real anxious to go try on new glasses right now, I got out the Super Glue, and ta-da— glasses fixed!
5. Riding my bike to work
Gas may be cheap, but it’s not free yet. I’ve been riding my bike six miles to work when the weather’s nice. Traffic is light, thanks to the stay-at-home order and no school buses. Since I don’t have evening plans, it’s not a big deal to get home from work later than normal.
One time, I was expounding the joys of biking to work to an athletic friend who protested by saying, “I couldn’t ride my bike to work. I’d be sweaty and feel like I smell bad all day.”
We’re all different, but honestly, I really don’t think biking causes body odor. I have co-workers who bike to work every single day, summer or winter, and I haven’t ever smelled sweat on any of them. Besides, we’ve got that six-foot rule now!
6. Volunteering together instead of blowing money together
Yesterday, when I was at Blessings of the Hope, I noticed a lot of the volunteers were obviously youth groups. My sixteen-year-old niece, Hannah, says her friends are volunteering weekly.
Bored teenagers (and bored no-longer-teenagers) helping out an overtaxed food ministry? Sounds win-win to me.
So those are my tips! I hope you enjoyed them. Whether you’ve saving money to give to worthy causes, pay off a house, or even saving for a special trip, finding little ways to save money can make life more interesting!
All the best, Susan
Susan, thanks for lending out your books…I was really blessed by reading one of them today, Dangerous Love, by World Vision’s Roy Norman. It is so good I want to look for it on Thrift Books to put in our church library.
You’re welcome! It’s been a while since I read Dangerous Love, but I remember it was very good. Glad my books are getting read.
Hear, hear! Good advice. I’m particularly fond of the fix-it tip, it’s good thing from so many angles.
There’s a quote that says, “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” According to Google, it’s from Boyd K. Packer.