Proverbs 31:16 says "She considers a field and she buys it, out of her earnings she plants a vineyard."
Isn't our goal to be a Proverbs 31 woman? Mine sure is. But I'm glad there is grace when I fail miserably, especially the part about her getting up while it's still dark....hmmm.... I haven't done that in a while.
The above verse (in my opinion) speaks about the wife and financial responsibility. This isn't the argument for whether a woman should or shouldn't work outside the home, that is for husband and wife to decide. However, I do believe in this verse, we are commanded to know our money, to make good choices for our family, and certainly consider needs vs wants and the best way to invest/spend our money.
So what works for me? Making baby food. I went to the grocery store yesterday to buy baby food because I had decided I wasn't going to waste my time. Hannah never liked any of my food anyway and basically went straight to eating table food, thus wasting all the time I had spent boiling, blending, freezing and labeling.
However, as I stood there in the baby food aisle, I just couldn't bring myself to spend the money. I bought peas and green beans because those are the hardest to get the right texture for a new eater. But the rest? It's so much cheaper to make! I spent $3 on pears and made a couple ice cube trays of it.
I found some blueberries in the freezer and made those, then I made some pumpkin out of the pumpkin I had cooked earlier (which I was going to make something for us, but decided against it).
I'm only going to make a little at a time, just to make sure Olivia will eat it. Assuming she does though, this is a great way to save money.
As parents who have had to spend a bit of money on adoption, and as parents who would love to keep on adopting, it is my responsibility to find ways to save money.
Please share, what works for you? I would love to hear any money (or time) saving tips you may have.
4 comments:
I'm not so good at the saving, which is why I try to only use cash. And automatically deposit savings from our paychecks.
I also think not going to Target when I'm bored helps. A lot.
I loved making baby food. I didn't start out doing it, but then I got a grinder and I went to town. It's fun, creative, and nice to know exactly what your kid is ingesting.
I"m good with the grinder once they can eat what we are eating-but those are great ideas for younger babies-and considering mine is younger-i muchly appreciate it. Wait, did you seriously COOK a PUMPKIN? You are amazing. Seriously, I'm constantly inspired by what a good wife/mom you are and are striving to be!
We are a Dave Ramsey household...so only cash-and I basically find that just not spending money saves money. :) I wish I had more ideas. I'm going to keep checking back to see the other smart people!
I will check back to see what other advice people have in this area as well!!! I love new time/money saving tips! I think the main things I do to save time/money:
1-Keep a set of cleaning supplies(windex, paper, towels,pledge,toilet stuff) under every sink in my house~ then I can spot clean quickly
2-Meal plan by the month, then re-evaluate week by week every Sunday night (this helps me be a little more creative with meals as well as stay organized)~ then I can change it according to plans/coupons/ad sales, etc.
3-I spend minimal time using coupons. I clip from the Sunday paper and then print out from coupons.com,redplum.com,target.com Then I write down my "ad matches"~ I almost always shop at Wal-Mart except for my meat or if I need good produce for something special. It is by far the cheapest and they aren't picky about matching ads. You will def save the $$$ you spend on the paper~ and I would say I spend 30 minutes a week doing this. I think it is worth the savings!!!
Everyone around our house loves a 'snack.' I really don't buy any snack foods - my rule for the boys is if you're hungry, have a banana-apple-kiwi-pear-blueberries-strawberries-or any other fruit they can find. However, I have been making our own granola bars for the past few years... which are much healthier and cheaper than buying them. I got them from our Runner's World mag -- let me know if you want the recipe!
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