How often do you do money saving activities? Are they now second nature or do you have to think them through? How about this: do you sometimes feel stressed out by trying to save money to the point you are jealous of people that don’t have to make everything from scratch? Money saving vs. sanity saving can be a real struggle. I know that I go through the struggle a couple times a year myself. So how do you decide which to choose? There is no one answer. Each situation, family, and budget is different. Instead, here are some questions to ask yourself to decide if you want to save money or save your sanity.
1- Is your week busy or empty?
If you are going to have an insane week, maybe it’s the week to buy some convenience items and not try to make everything. This goes beyond food. Maybe you ran out of your homemade laundry detergent unexpectedly. Go ahead and save your sanity rather than trying to fit in time for a bigger DIY task.
2- What type of life season are you in?
If you are pregnant, have a newborn, are taking care of a sick family member, etc. this may not be the time to try to save as much money as possible. Your focus needs to be on the sick family member or your pregnancy, not on making your own bread and cleaning products. Take the short cut and save your sanity.
3- Are you just tired and worn out?
This one is a harder question to decide if you save the money or you save your sanity. Some times just being tired and worn out is a time to spend the money. Other times it is worth it to just suck it up and do it. Only you know the answer to this. This comes down to personality type, who you are, etc.
Which is more important: saving money or saving your sanity? Ask yourself these 4 questions. Click To Tweet4- Do you have a little extra money?
Are you on an incredibly tight budget with no wiggle room or are you just trying to save a little extra? If you are on a tight budget, you may not have a choice. But, if you have a little wiggle room, maybe it is worth buying a few things that you know you could make instead or things that just make life a little easier. For me, it is worth my sanity to buy dishwasher packs instead of powder or gel. They clean so much better that I don’t have to worry about re-washing things that didn’t get clean.
When it comes to money saving vs. sanity saving there really is no one right answer. Next time you are trying to decide what to do, go over these four questions to help yourself make the decision.
Helen says
Some stage advice here! I just have to be careful not to make too many excuses not to save.
Julie says
YUp…the excuses can be very easy to make. 🙂
Emily @ JohnJaneDoe says
Love this. I tend to pendulum back and forth. Right now, I’m more focused on saving. Other times, I’ve been more convenience-oriented. These are good questions to make sure that the pendulum is swinging one way or the other for the right reasons.
Julie says
I pendulum sometimes too. I think that’s natural as life goes through ebbs and flows.
Marina @ Parental Journey says
Great questions.. I believe sanity is more important, when things are just too much, we need to sit down and sort things out with ourselves.. Or answer these questions to help us!
Marina @ Parental Journey recently posted…Piano Teacher for Wii U
Leslie says
This is a question I struggle with all the time. As much as I want to save money, sometimes convenience items really win due to schedule and general life craziness. Sometimes it’s worth spending a little bit more to relieve some stress. If parents are stressed, everyone is stressed!
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Julie says
Life definitely has different seasons that make this question a constant one.
Holly says
Great post. Everything has a value–especially one’s sanity! It’s best for people to do what works best for them.