I am a proud housewife. I love the fact that my “job” consists of taking care of my people and my home. I know that it’s a blessing to have the job I have, and I remind myself of that when I’m crushed under an avalanche of laundry.
My husband is the primary bread-winner in our home, but that doesn’t give me the option of not contributing in some way to our finances. There are ways I can add to our financial health even though I’m not earning a steady paycheck or contributing to a 401K.
God has been using Proverbs 27:23-27 to speak to me about paying closer attention to my home and family life.
“Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds…..”
It’s so easy to just go about my day, doing whatever is next on the list and not pay attention to the things that are staring me right in the face. In fact, if I don’t open my eyes and realize that I am part of our financial equation, I could hurt our family.
Here are the top 5 ways I’ve found to contribute to our financial health:
1. Stop Wasting – This is a hard one for me. The biggest areas for me are electricity, laundry, and food. It’s simple things, but they add up. When you leave a room, make sure you turn off the light/lamps/fan. Put the laundry in the dryer when it’s done, so you don’t have to rerun the load wasting more soap and water. Use the fruits and veggies you buy! Take a few extra minutes when you get home to wash and cut them up so you don’t end up with that veggie drawer full of mush that makes you kick yourself!
2. Forward Thinking – This benefits our family in two areas: budgeting and meal planning. Keeping a budget/spending plan keeps us from using what’s in our account and not having funds for what is needed. And meal planning is a game changer with grocery bills. Taking a few minutes to look at the ads for your local stores, finding the loss leader (the top things on sale on the first page) and making your meal plans around them can add up to tons of savings. And it only takes a few minutes to search for coupons for things you already plan to buy. I’m not talking about going coupon-crazy, just a simple search for what’s already on your list.
3. Points/Rewards Programs – Some of them really work. Honestly. I am a firm believer in Swagbucks, Shopkick, and Walgreens. A little research would find you even more.
4. Automate Savings – Savings has always been hard around here, but automating a little at a time taken out of our account has made it virtually painless! For example, have $20.00 deducted from your paycheck as soon as it is direct deposited. You won’t even miss it! We use Capital One 360. With Capital One you can set up as many accounts as you want such as birthday, Christmas, plants, or fun money with as little as $5.00. And it takes two days to transfer money so it keeps me from impulse spending!
5. Make Your Own – this one takes a little time, but adds up in the long run. I make my own laundry detergent (unless I have a lot of Walgreens Balance Rewards and there’s a good sale), orange cleaning solution, and dryer sheets just to name a few. Seriously, this category should be a post of it’s own; there are so many ways you can make your own household supplies! Pinterest is a treasure trove.
These are just a few ideas that have helped out our family. Do you have anything to add to the list?
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