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Side effects of saving
We have been watching our spending for a couple of months now. For the most part we have been doing a good job and sticking to our budget. In all, we’ve cut our spending by about $500 a month. We’ve managed to do that by stopping the impulsive purchases, becoming more efficient at grocery shopping, doing more home cooking and The Thinker taking lunch to work each day.
The obvious side effect of saving this money are that we is able to live without a credit card. We are paying down our credit card debt slowly but surely. However, I’ve begun to notice other positive things happening. Things that I wouldn’t have immediately attributed to living more frugally, but on reflection are unquestionably due to our new savings habits.
- We are eating differently - good for our bodies.
- There are no more convenience foods in our pantry. I know exactly what is in everything we eat. Planning our meals means that I can vary our menus to give us a full range of nutrition.
- We are doing more things together - good for our family.
- Rather than going to the shops on the weekends, we are spending more meaningful time together. The Thinker and the kids have made a lego table and a recycling box. They’ve spent a few quality hours together cutting, hammering and painting. We’ve had museum visits and walks in the park.
- We have less rubbish - good for the environment.
- I noticed both our recycling and general rubbish bins have been less than overflowing for the last couple of weeks. I guess this is because of less packaging and I tend to use our leftovers rather than tossing them out now.
So it would appear that watching our pennies has far reaching consequences that we never even considered.
Have you had any unexpected pleasant surprises on your savings journeys?
I am impressed and congratulations - I am going to try it.
Good on you for the fun activities the children will remember that more than if they had junk food in their lunch box.
I want to buy our meat in bulk and shop at local fruit markets for savings.
Cut the junk food
I have a great email about what the average family spends on food around the world … I will post it when I get to it. Very astounding.
Trishs last blog post..Anyone out there ?
June 5th, 2008 at 11:13 pmI am very proud of our efforts to tame our “Wants” quite a lot because of our reduction in income.
It has also had a huge impact on my decluttering. Rather than buying my way through a rough day, I’ve had to look for other sources of relief that we could actually afford. I have turned to journal writing for the times when I want to feel introspective and have rediscovered the stress relief of using my body (cleaning with fury, doing exercise, etc.) for times when I don’t want to be still.
This has had a two-fold effect. I don’t buy clutter that I will later have to deal with and have used my “free time” to look inward…both at myself and my home. Doing so is what prompted me to commit myself to the 365 Days of Decluttering Challenge to rid my life of one item each day for 365 days.
Suzannes last blog post..Tally Tuesday – June 3
June 6th, 2008 at 3:51 am$500 a month is amazing savings. One thing that I have noticed when we are trying to save on fuel is that we walk more, which increases everyones activity levels.
PlanningQueens last blog post..Parenting Tips For First Borns
June 6th, 2008 at 10:48 pmTrish, I’d be interested to see that email. I’m sure it’s much more than I’d initially think.
PlanningQueen, good on you for walking more. It’s tough to make a start on the cold mornings, but so worth it. It cost me $99.31 to fill up my car yesterday. I’ll definitely be trying to walk more! $500 saved just goes to show how wasteful we were being.
June 7th, 2008 at 5:47 pm