CentsAbility Makes Money
Phew, it’s been 30 days doing this challenge with Manulife to save and I have to admit one thing, centsability makes money. It’s funny that when I started this 30 day challenge, I set out a goal for myself to stop spending so much on crappy, expensive snacks for my kids lunches and make them snacks instead. This was overall a great plan but once I got going, it wasn’t enough.
When I did my mid-month check in I made an additional commitment to dig deep in the back of the pantry and in the bottom of the deep freeze to use things for meals that would ordinarily get shoved to the back and forgotten. It seemed that food was where I planned to save the most money and yes, it sure did. Feeding a family of 6 isn’t easy or cheap. While I did manage to use several cans of diced tomatoes and some lentils here and there I didn’t get as much used as I could so I’m going to keep going and see how much of my pantry I can use before replenishing.
The big revelation came when I purged the clutter in the house. Oh I hate clutter. And yes, I did snap. I went on a purging rampage. I started in the kids bedrooms. They were scared. There were some tears. Poor little Hilary asked if I was going to sell her bed too. I didn’t but I could have at the rate I was going. It felt great, does that make me a bad mom? So after finishing most of the house, even the basement (haven’t tackled the garage yet) I’ve managed to donate a full box and a full garbage bag to a local charity. I threw away 3 full garbage bags of junk, broken toys, ripped clothes and general trash. And then came the jackpot!
I put aside a pile for stuff I would sell but not just stuff to sell for like $1, more like stuff that would sell for $10-150 and fast! I searched out a Facebook group created for my community to buy and sell stuff and started posting pictures as I pulled stuff out of the basement and within minutes I was finding buyers! 4 days and 18 buyers later I had $525 in my wallet! I can’t wait to get into the garage and into all those boxes in storage. Nothing is safe anymore!
I wonder how much I would get for a slightly used husband?
What a high!
So let’s recap the month.
Baking snacks instead of buying them = saved $75
Digging deep in the pantry to made dinners = saved $50
Purging and selling = made $525 and still going!
Overall, there are savings to be had if you just look in the right places. For me it was a theme of using what I had (or selling it) instead of buying more. What a great concept for everyday life and one I am sure to continue with.
What have you done lately to save money for your family?
Follow
This is a great plan. I love it.
Well I don’t have a plan. But I might start one.
I took something from the freezer last night instead of ordering out. It was healthier stuff too.
We pack lunches from home every day instead of buying from the food court or eating out.
When we cook stews and soups and casseroles we always make enough for freezer batches. Right now have shepherd’s pie. Last week lived off of turkey soup, turkey pie, pea soup all from left over Thanksgiving stuff. It’s good. I hate throwing out good food that I intended to cook and just got derailed or too tired for one reason or another, then it’s all gooey and smelly and who wants to eat that. Bad, bad, bad.
Now the selling of stuff – that intrigues me. I have lots and before I put stuff on the “block” any family members want first dibs? It’s work though – I’ll need to find big chunks of time to plan and manage. Where/what is the site you used to post your ads? Is it close enough for us to be considered part of that community? Interesting. Time to purge. Christmas is coming! xo
Love this!!! And what great lessons this will teach your girls
xo
Great lessons here, DG, that can be learned by anyone. Is your $75 saved by baking including the ingredients you had to buy?
Mike McIntosh recently posted..Make Your New Home Safe from the Moment You Move In