After reconciling our marriage in 2009, getting control of my spending and finding Dave Ramsey in 2010, and getting out of debt in 2011, 2012
was an interesting year for us. After
years of being in debt, we both kind of sat back and thought, now what? The next
step in Dave’s plan was to save 3-6 months of expenses, so we began adding to
our savings account. We also added extra envelopes for updates to our
home, travel, and savings for a different car for me someday. Instead of going
out and buying a different car and financing it, we put an equivalent of a “car
payment” away in savings and I continued to drive my Suburban. Here are some thing we were able to pay for
with cash since we had been putting money aside in envelopes.
1: We put a new air conditioning unit in our house when the
old one died. This expense was covered
mostly by what we had been setting aside in the “household” envelope. We did
have to take a little from savings, but not much! It was so wonderful that it
didn't put us in a financial bind.
2: We were able to help our twin daughters buy cars; (we
matched their savings up to a certain amount for their cars). We
were able to use our tax refund for this.
Any other year our tax refund went to debt. It was wonderful being able to assist them in buying something they had been saving for for many years.
3: We paid for our
middle daughter’s braces. We
had been adding money to a Health Saving Account monthly and were able to pay
the entire sum in cash, saving us 10%!
4: We paid for our oldest daughter’s graduation party after
setting aside money each month for the year leading up to it. I also shopped sales for party supplies and food and was able to buy 50
pounds of roast for sandwiches at her party for $1 per pound. By doing the food
myself we were able to provide a nice meal at the party for about $1.25 per
person.
5: After saving for
about 6 months we went to Colorado on a hiking trip for our 10th anniversary.
We stayed in a simple house in a quiet neighborhood with a lower rental
fee. This worked fine since we were
mostly out hiking. It came equipped with
a kitchen, so instead of eating out we cooked most of our meals and only went
out to dinner twice. We enjoyed going out for dessert out a little more often, but it was much cheaper than eating out 3 meals and snacks a day.
Paying for things with cash from money we had set aside was
a totally new experience for us. Our
savings was growing more slowly with the added expenses, but regardless, we
were able to add significant amounts each month. For the most part we continued to use cash,
although I would use my debit card more for the ease of paying when grocery
shopping. I was able to keep track of each expense in a money program to keep
my spending on track within each virtual “envelope”.
That year, my grocery spending took even more of an overhaul
than when we were trying to get out of debt.
We switched to mostly whole, organic, foods, and I made many of my own
cleaning products, lotions, and personal care products. I started a small
garden plot and grew the vegetables we ate the most of and also frequented the
farmer’s market which also saved a great
deal. I also started to buy in
bulk. I make my own bread, buns, and
tortillas, so we buy 25 pounds of wheat every few months which I grind into
flour. We also buy honey, oatmeal, nuts, dried fruit, raw, organic sugar, and olive and coconut oil in bulk. With these I made my own granola, bars, trail
mix, and cookies for a quick breakfast or snack. Even with buying organic I was
able to lower our grocery budget $200 more per month by being mindful of what
we were eating, buying in bulk, and eating in season, when possible. We also went mostly paperless. I bought some cloth napkins on clearance for
about the price of a package of paper napkins. We still use these after over 2
years and they are in great shape. We also had cloth cleaning rags we used in
the kitchen to greatly reduce our paper towel usage. All of these little changes added up to big savings.
During this time I found I had a real love for doing things
the “old fashioned” way. I realize that
this isn't for everyone, that some women work full-time or part-time, or that
some simply do not have an interest in spending hours a day in the
kitchen. That is ok! That is the beauty
of our country that women have so many different options. But this is what I loved and what worked for
my family. Chad, too, loved the home
cooked food and the savings we had by my making things at home. After staying out of stores for so long I had
really lost the desire to shop like I once had. And my mind had slowly shifted
from what I consumed to how I could save. I actually made more selling clothes that year
than I spent buying them. I loved the
freedom being debt free (except for our house) provided.
But in the midst of this, the desire to get out of the rat
race of our typical suburban life was becoming more prevalent in my mind. Let me say right now, we were SO fortunate to have what we had, but even though I was thankful for our beautiful home and
nice neighborhood, I had the desire to have a quieter, simpler life. I wanted a life where I could quietly serve
my family, raise more of my own food, and perhaps someday help and encourage young
women who also had similar desires.
Chad during this time was having a desire as well; to learn and
share more about the Bible. He loved
sharing with other men and encouraging them in their walk
with God. He also greatly enjoyed
teaching his adult Sunday school class. He wanted to be better equipped to do
both of these things, so after talking it over with me, he decided to enroll in
seminary online, while continuing to do his job at the bank. So in August of 2012 he started classes. This caused people to ask what he planned on
doing with this degree. While at that moment, he did not have a clear picture, he felt it would be shown to him in time.
Your financial story is so inspiring! I got laid off a year ago today, our son is 18 and heading off to college in the fall. He also needs a more reliable car. God is providing. We also did the Dave Ramsey thing seven years ago and that's helped drastically. I hear you on craving the simple life! There's something really attractive about it.
ReplyDeleteThe simple life is not for everyone, but I do think more people would want it if the could understand the freedom it gives. It IS harder though when you have children at home, I know. God always provides, but not always in the way we imagine He will. Although, I have found the times when I don't know how things are going to work out, and I give it all to Him, He amazes me with providing more than I asked for! Thank you again for stopping by, Alison!
Delete