- Take a person who works out in the cold a warm drink. This could be your school’s recess monitor, mail carrier, trash collector, etc.
- Text your husband that you love him and let him know how much you appreciate _____.
- Send a “Thinking of You” card to someone who may be struggling.
- Cut out cable and use the money to sponsor a child from Compassion.
- Send a pizza on a Friday night to a young family with children. There are $10 large 1 topping specials going on at several establishments.
This is the most recent ministry idea:
(This is applicable to working and/or SAHM’s)
Because I felt the answers to this were so valuable, I wanted to share some of them with you!
“Survivor week! Last week of the month, don’t grocery shop… Get creative with what’s left in your pantry and fridge!” – Shoshanna
“How do I save money? I stay home. If I’m not in the stores I can’t spend money. This is easy for me because I like staying home.” – Char
“I decided my motto this year is, “I don’t need that.”…Let’s hope it works!” -Patti
“Thanks for sharing. I lots of times feel ‘not buying’ as something that suffocates me. I never looked at it as lessening my husband’s burden. I hope to keep this in the forefront of my mind as I shop. Yes, Aldi helps us save drastically too.” – Carmel
“I never pay full price for any clothing item, I make all of my own cleaning supplies, use soap nuts, and have most of my paper goods and a few other things delivered from Amazon Subscribe and Save where I save 20% over what I would pay if I bought the exact same items at the store. I also shop at Aldi and always, always plan a weekly menu (though admittedly we go in waves with how well we stick to it). “-Heidi
“This month my sister and I have committed to eat from our pantry with allowing a small amount of money for dairy and fruit/veggies and no spending beyond our bills for the home and car.” – Nicole
“Love this! I shop at Goodwill and love consigning and consignment shops. I also love giving hand me downs to friends that have children younger than mine.” -Suzan
“I make all our household cleaners and clothes detergent in order to save money. I, also, make our bread and condiments to save money.” -Angela
“I don’t shop for clothes very often, and I don’t tend to spend a lot on them when I do. I always look for sales every week in the grocery store ads, and tend to stock up when I find good deals. We try to eat all the leftovers (there are just the two of us now).” -Liz
“Well, I’m a couponer. Also, I love Aldis! I make and freeze things like waffles and muffins and corn dogs in big batches. I make my own cleaning products. And for clothes and things like that, I go to thrift and consignment stores, garage sales and clearance racks. I’ve always been a bargain shopper!” -Amanda
“Instead of using fabric softener and use white vinegar instead – it makes our clothes so soft and smell fresh. I use 3/4 cup and fill the rest up with water.” -Nicole
Another food for thought:
I am very big on purchasing “needs”. Sometimes our minds can trick us when we shop sales or go to the thrift store for our “wants”. Every dollar spent is a dollar that isn’t used towards needs, saved, or for the needs of others. For example: $100 that is spent at Goodwill is just like $100 spent at Target, or Ann Taylor, or Macy’s. It is what it is! LOL!
Thank you to all the ladies who gave ideas. This is such great wisdom! Please comment on this post if you have more thoughts!
“Iron sharpens iron as one man sharpens another.” – Proverbs 27:17
Just a couple of quick things that come to mind:
#1- If you save your loose change, you can take it to one of those Coinstar machines, and get an Amazon credit. I usually just let my pennies, nickels and dimes build up until I have about $20 and cash them in. If you use your change to get a code (instead of cash) then you don’t pay a fee.
#2- I keep a printed list of about 100 meal ideas folded in my purse… that way if I’m at the grocery store without a list I can shop for the meals on my list that use ingredients that are on sale.
These are small ideas, but don’t take any planning or extra time. Anyone can do these.
These are FABULOUS!!!!! Thank you Ashleigh!
I’m an Aldi’s shopper, too….just wondered if you buy your meat there?
I purchased their chicken tenderloins there- they were great. Their frozen seafood is wonderful!
Love this Janelle! I have been shopping at Aldi for close to 20 years in 3 different states! It has saved us a lot of money. I’ve told so many friends and they are now Aldi lovers, too. Best part is that their selection of healthy foods keeps growing. No, no one in my family works there! 🙂
Also, I decided for the month of Jan., I’m on a financial fast! That means purchasing nothing that is not needed. Hoping to continue into spring. This has saved me lots of time by not perusing the fliers and e-mails I receive daily. Freedom!
I love these ideas(especially the coinstar one), thank you so much for sharing. We don’t have an Aldi close to me, but I have discovered Saving Star and iBotta and I just started couponing. With both, I “bank” money for items I purchase at Food Lion (or other stores) just by selecting them in my iphone app and then scanning my MVP card when I purchase them in the store. The items are things we need anyway and most of the time I have a coupon, too. I choose the Savingstar pay out in Amazon credit and with iBotta I can get an iTunes credit.
This helps because my husband and I also are trying to curb our spending by buying only things we need that are in the budget. However, we have budgeted ourselves $30 a month for splurge items and gift cards count as “free money” on top of the $30!