I used to buy powdered iced tea mix for Matt instead of buying Snapple like I did the first two years we were married. Yes, that saved money but I could save even more by learning how to make iced tea from tea bags. Even better, I use maple syrup as the sweetener. Healthier for sure and cheaper as we make maple syrup each year and have plenty on hand. I put the tea in old washed out Snapple jars for Matt take in his lunch. Since they are glass, they are safe to wash and reuse.
One of the biggest things in living a frugal life is to go from thinking. “How can I buy this for less” to thinking “How can I use items and resources I have to get something that works for what I need instead of buying something.”
We actually had one of those situations recently. We needed some lumber to set something up for maple syrup season. Twice we forgot to pick it up while in town. Matt ended up taking apart a broken pole from the garden that the green beans climbed and cut apart a pallet and got enough lumber to do the project. By thinking outside the box and using what we had, we easily saved $20.
Just think. If for every 10 projects/tasks you need to buy something that would be $20, you manage to make or make do with what you have available to you for 6 of those, you saved yourself $120!
Sometimes it is a small savings, sometimes it is a big savings. But every savings adds up. By doing little things and changing your thinking, you can easily save a couple hundred dollars a month.
Changing your thinking doesn’t happen over night. I’ve been living this way for six years, more intensely in the past 3 years, and I am still learning how to do this. It takes time to change a habit and a mindset. To start, take a look around your kitchen and cleaning cabinet and ask yourself, “What here can I make myself or do without?” You’ll be amazing what you can find if you do this once a week.
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