I was sitting in the break room where I work and I overheard a conversation. One girl asked another: "What would you do for a million dollars?" They came up with all sorts of things...the limits to what they would do for that kind of money. They asked me and I told them I had a better question: "Would you do all those things to get out of debt, stay that way and to retire comfortably?" The answer did not surprise me when they said "No, I'd do it for a million dollars, but not for that." When I explained to them that sometimes that does equal a million dollars, it made them think about it a bit longer.
I wish I had that sort of time on my hands. To be able to set aside money to invest at their age and have it work for me over the years. The fact is that if they were to put aside money now and invest it properly they would be millionaires before they retire. The fact that I did not learn this early in life and the fact that I've had to start over several times puts me at a disadvantage and I have to play catch-up. I can't go back in time, I have to start where I am...but the point is, I had to start.
In order to get out of debt, to make the ball start rolling, I had to think frugally. I had to find money where there really wasn't much to find. I had to change the way I think and the way I live. I've always been frugal, but I had to hone those skills and put them to work in a more organized way. To actually "save" the money from the cuts I made.
The first step forward starts with $1000!
My goal was to have $1000 in savings so I could have my mini emergency fund. So that I could have a cushion between me and the bad things that always seem to happen.
So first up I had to learn to shop and make the money go as far as possible.
I had to plan ahead, make a list, carefully go over the sale ads and match coupons to the sale.
I had to check the pantry and freezer to see what I already had on hand and plan a menu around all of the above.
I shopped several different stores getting the best bargains at each.
I went to another store to buy marked down meats and produce.
I bought in family packs so I could split it up into meals.
We had vegetarian meals (meatless Mondays and Fridays) because meat is expensive.
We either took our lunch to work or we waited and ate when we come home.
When something would go on sale and I had coupons making it almost free, I would buy a small stockpile of it (by small I mean 4 to 6 of them) for the pantry to use in later cooking.
We ate at home every night. We were forgetting what the inside of a restaurant looked like.
We had a $70 a week grocery budget; anything left over went into savings.
I had to cut the utility bills down to something that would allow us a little more wiggle room in our budget.
We changed out all the bulbs to CFL bulbs. I found them on sale and stocked up. You would not believe the difference they make.
We started using the ceiling fans and less of the air conditioner. We used electric blankets in the winter to stay warm at night so we could lower the heat.
We made weather seals for around outlets and switch plates on outside walls out of Styrofoam meat trays. We sealed up leaks around doors and windows. We lowered the heat on the water heater to 120.
We only washed full loads of clothes and only in cold water.
We started unplugging appliances and electronics that we weren't using to stop the loss of phantom energy.
We took shorter showers.
I started using the Crockpot more and the oven less.
We wore our clothes more than once and used our towels a few times before throwing them in the wash.
We are on the budget billing program with our utility companies so we can budget better.
We cut household expenses (nothing was sacred any longer).
We had cable cut off, much to my husband’s dismay. We started using Netflix and Hulu.
We had our landline phone disconnected.
We have shared minutes on the cell phone, no texting, no media and a discount through our work.
We draw names at Christmas instead of buying everyone a gift we have a set amount for the person we draw. We pitch in and buy a gift for each child from the entire family.
We mapped out our trips so we would not be crisscrossing and wasting gas just going places.
We went to generic prescription drugs for our medications.
We shopped second hand stores for clothing or we made do with what we had.
I cut my husband’s hair (just haven't figured out how to do my own. I do color my own hair instead of going to a salon.)
Instead of going out with friends, we would have them over for movies and popcorn at home. Big family dinners were now burgers and hot dogs on the grill and potluck.
I make my own cleaning supplies and laundry detergents. I iron my husband’s work shirts and mend hems, buttons and split seams. No paying a laundry to do it for me!
We sold what we no longer wanted. If it hasn't been used in a year, why keep it. Remember, your junk is another's treasure. Consignments, yard sales, Craigslist, eBay!!
We stayed out of the mall and stopped all the advertiser emails so we could not be tempted to spend.
We stayed home and found our own entertainment. (Do you know you can borrow movies from the library for free? You can!)
If we did go out it was free entertainment such as walking paths or a concert in the park.
We did much more, but we can go over more at a later time. We did come up with that $1000 in a fairly short amount of time. Surprisingly short. We were living paycheck to paycheck and barely making it and now we had $1000 in the bank!! Now we had the foothold we needed to get the ball rolling, to really take the step to become debt free.
This is not easy. It's not fun. It's hard work. It's also worth it! What would I do for a million dollars? I'll let you know when I get there. I can only tell you what I'm doing for it now.
Check out the Being Frugal Sally blog and/or follow her on Facebook!
PREVIOUS "FRUGAL SALLY" ARTICLES IN MACARONI KID : NEPHILLY-EMC
- What Makes Me This Way -- Friday, May 11, 2012
- Frugal Lessons Every Parent Should Teach Their Children -- Friday, May 18, 2012
