April 11, 2008

• Saving money in the home!

   

  
  

  (This is from Laine’s Letters)

  
  

  Dear Sisters,
  
  Hi! Here is a recent question that came in.
  
  ~ “Do you ever feel that your job as a homemaker is worth little or
  less?
  What was your job prior to being a homemaker, and do you ever miss
  it?”~
  
  What a good question! Now here is a good practice, write down
  everything
  you save per month by being a homemaker. Then times that by 12 months
  and
  this is your “yearly savings salary”. I did this a long time ago, but
  decided to try it again as it is always my prayer that I could double
  my
  husband’s income by my savings in our home as a homemaker every year.
  
  We prayed and worked very hard to be completely debt free since 2003,
  so
  our savings have increased by not paying interest on anything since
  that
  time. This practice around, I more than doubled my husband’s $45,000 a
  year gross salary. I was surprised myself. Here are my saving figures
  based on what many of my friends and family members are paying
  regularly
  each month for all these items in So. California:
  
  1) No mortgage (paid off), no car payments, no credit card or any other
  debt payments in interest charges : $400 mo. savings
  
  2) No higher tax bracket because I do not work outside the home: $150
  mo.
  savings
  
  3) Food, Household, & Pet because I have time to shop carefully, use
  coupons, and homecook : $600 mo. savings
  
  4) Clothing – lots of hand-me-downs, no need to buy quality suit
  clothes
  for work anymore: $50 mo. savings
  
  5) Private Schooling -I provide this at home for my two students: $1100
  mo. savings
  
  6) Gas – I only go out once a weekday with the car, no drives to work
  and
  back, and I live 40 min round trip from town: $400 mo. savings
  
  7) DMV & Car insurance – I drive a ’92 Honda, older car purposely for
  bigger savings: $50 mo. savings
  
  8) Internet – none, so we use the library if we need it: $10 mo.
  savings
  
  9) Books – rarely buy them, rather use interlibrary loan system for
  free:
  $20 mo. savings
  
  10) Gifts – I have time to shop wisely and put gifts away when I see a
  good deal: $40 mo. savings
  
  11) Healthcare – I am consistently learning about herbs and nutrition
  to
  keep my family healthy so the doc visits are rare for them: $50 mo.
  savings
  
  12) Cleaning and decorating my home- done privately by me- including
  carpet cleaning: $90 mo. savings
  
  13) Landscape Maintenance – privately done by my husband and I, and the
  kids, above-ground pool maintenance too: $75 mo. savings
  
  14) Haircuts -done by me: $25 mo.
  
  15) Car maintenance – done by my husband, but kept at a lower minimum
  since I purposely use the car once a weekday: $50 mo. savings
  
  16) Car wash – done privately by us: $20 mo. savings
  
  17) Staying in our older home purposely with contentment for the past
  21
  years, no upgrades, so less yearly taxes: $250 mo. savings
  
  18) Childcare – done by me (savings once we get our baby, and years ago
  when my children were young): $600 mo. savings per child
  
  19) Drycleaning – none- done by me: $25 mo. savings
  
  20) No exercise membership fees – exercise at home for free: $40 mo.
  savings
  
  21) No shopping channels or cable for t.v.: $60 mo. savings
  
  22) Starbucks run – none- make ours at home and take it with us: $20
  mo.
  savings
  
  23) Renters – rent out part of our house – I am here all the time to
  manage our home: $290 mo. savings
  
  24) Skincare – I use natural and some homemade products which saves a
  lot: $20 mo.
  
  25) Frugal Vacation planning – time to do it and research for overall
  savings: $75 mo. savings
  
  26) Laundry – no dryer, hang out clothes outside and use 1/2 the amt of
  detergent each load: $30 mo. savings
  
  27) Heating – I am home to man the fireplace and the kerosene stove, so
  we save a lot: $30 mo. savings
  
  28) Cooling – I am home to keep the house cool with fans and window
  treatments, minimum air: $20 mo. savings
  
  29) Lunches out – kids eat at home, and more time to prepare lunches if
  we need them out: $40 mo. savings
  
  30) Newspaper & magazines – free at the library: $25 mo. savings
  
  31) Dining out – not frequently – rather time to cook at home: $50 mo.
  savings
  
  32) Rent old movies or buy music – rather rent from the library for
  free:
  $20 mo. savings
  
  33) Family Portraits and School/Senior Pics -done privately by me as I
  learned in college-$10 mo. savings
  
  My total savings a year: $56,820
  
  So, if I have estimated correctly, based on what my friends and family
  members are regularly paying for the above items, my “savings salary”
  combined with my husband’s gross income is $101,820 a year. Pretty
  good!
  For I learned long ago, it’s not what comes in, but how it goes out
  that
  counts. And it’s not about how much you can spend, but rather how much
  you can save.
  
  “When goods increase, they increase who eat them. So what profit have
  the
  owners except to see them with their eyes?” Eccl. 5:11
  
  “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who
  loves
  abundance with increase.” Eccl. 5:10
  
  My job as a homemaker affords me that wonderful word called “time”.
  Time
  is of the essence, as the saying goes. I have time to research, reuse,
  and recreate. It’s my job to save. And I really enjoy it. The challenge
  is to do the saving without anyone in the family really realizing it!
  What do I mean? Well, they are so well taken care of that they don’t
  notice the savings per se – they’re just really quite blessed by it
  all.
  
  It’s frugality, but fun.
  
  What was my old job before becoming a homemaker 25 years ago? I worked
  for American Express making a little more money than my husband at the
  time. Now I am quite content with my savings in my home, and all the
  creativity that goes along with it. I don’t miss working there at all.
  I
  am so thankful to be a homemaker, and to make my home a place of cozy
  contentment for my family. I am so thankful that my Marine sons love to
  come home more than anything. God is so good!
  
  “Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is
  established;
  by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant
  riches.”
  Proverbs 24:3-4
  
  “Honor the LORD with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all
  your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty. and your vats
  will overflow with new wine.” Proverbs 3:9-10
  
  Love,
  Laine
  
  ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
  Laine’s official website:  http://www.lainesletters.com
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  ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
  
  

  • 12:02 am
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