I used to work in the health business. I ran a vitamin shop and helped people to find alternatives to drugs and more natural ways to feel better. Each year around New Years everyone would come in and want to lose weight or get healthy. It was the busiest time of the year for us and we were always jumping. By mid-February the business had slacked off and it was business as usual. A friend of mine who works as a personal trainer says that the gyms love the rush they get in January. That is why they try to lock you into a long term contract, because they know by February you stop going to the gym.
I don’t like to set myself up for failure so we will call them goals. Saying resolution makes it sound like there is no room to change or play.
As far as what I’d like to keep doing, that is easy. I want to keep moving forward in trying to pay off my home years ahead of time and save for retirement. Those are my goals…your goals may be different.
I am going to keep researching ways to save my hard earned money and be smarter with it.
In the last few years I have come to enjoy my “twice a month cooking” marathons. It saves me time and a lot of money. Yes, it is an all day affair to cook 14+ meals in advance, but it is so wonderful after a long day at work to just heat and eat. It also cuts out the “we will have to go out to eat because we don’t have anything here and I don’t feel like cooking” excuse. It saves money because I know what I’m going to cook in advance and I make a list of what I need and that is what I shop for. I don’t walk aimlessly around the store picking this and that and then come to realize I don’t even have everything it takes to make that meal. My goal is to get good enough at this to cook just once a month as opposed to twice, but I think I will need a bigger freezer. My second goal is to learn how to can, so I can stretch my food budget even further. I have really no yard to speak of but I do want to start a small herb garden, because I love fresh herbs when I’m cooking. We will also make our lunches for work which save a good chunk of change.
I make my own household cleaners and I love them. I would like to find the best recipes for cleaners that I can make for the least amount of money. I think I have the laundry detergent, bathroom cleaner and dishwasher detergent down. But I am still experimenting with the other cleaners that I use. This saves so much money. I can make a 5 gallon bucket of laundry detergent for about $3. You can barely buy a 32 oz. bottle for that price. I can make a little more than a gallon of dishwasher detergent for about $11 and at 1 tablespoon per use it will last me nearly a year!! I iron my husband’s work shirts instead of sending them to a laundry at $2 a shirt. I will mend our clothes when they need it.
Something else I want to get better at is saving money on electricity and gas. I need to be more aware of energy “vampires” in the house. To get more power strips to plug several items into and just click off the entire strip when I won’t be in the room for a period of time (like when we are sleeping). Electronics are a real energy zapper. Even when you think they are off they are still drawing energy. I want to make a complete change from iridescent light bulbs to more energy efficient bulbs. We are about 90% there, just waiting for a few to blow out to change them (which is more a matter of being lazy). We will use our electric blanket more and turn down the heat at night -- a huge money saver! Open the windows more in the Spring and Fall. Use dryer balls in the dryer to help the clothes dry faster or line dry some of them.
I plan to research and find inexpensive entertainment. We don’t have cable anymore so we talk more and listen better. We find ways to have fun and we don’t just sit and stare at a screen. The savings are astronomical.
I will recycle more and buy new less. I will make it a point to visit thrift shops more often to search for frugal buys. I will try to find other uses for items before throwing them away, such as balling up slightly used aluminum foil and using it like steel wool to clean pots and pans (don’t use on non-stick pans). Make my own gifts and gift wrap.
I know this all sounds so old fashioned to do what I do. But it makes me happy. To keep what I’ve worked hard for and not have to scrape by paycheck to paycheck -- the choice is easy.
My goals (my resolutions if you must) are to keep saving! To stay debt free! To keep learning and stay frugal, and to not get trapped in a gym contract!!
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 -- May 11, 2012
- Frugal Lessons Every Parent Should Teach Their Children -- May 18, 2012
- What Would YOU Do For A Million Dollars? -- June 1, 2012
- "Make It So" -- July 8, 2012
- Lessons My Grandmother Taught Me -- October 5, 2012
