Simply Me: How To Save Your Pennies

Here are my thoughts on how to make

this year THE year you finally

save some money!

Do not buy anything new, unless absolutely necessary!
Keep a running list of things you think you "need".
When you've decided you "need" something, wait for a good deal. If you can't find a good deal, keep waiting. I bet you will realize half the stuff you think you need, you really don't.
DO NOT BUY IMPULSIVELY!!
If it's not on your list...don't buy it. Deh.
If you see something you want, wait a week...if you still remember that you want it, put it on your list and revert to #2. I've heard this tip given as "wait a month" but I find that sometimes by then, you DO still want it but it's nowhere to be found...at which point I guess it could be argued that you don't NEED it if it's that fleeting...so go with what's comfortable for you.
Try to buy in the off-season. So get your spring clothes in the fall, winter clothes in the spring, etc.
Barter. Will someone till your garden in exchange for some of those peaches you put up every year? You won't know 'til you ask! Value is in the eye of the beholder. lol.
Re-think those items you feel are necessary. Do you really need a power mower? Or can you use a hand mower? Can you borrow your neighbor's? Get a cow or goat?
Make it yourself with materials you have around already. Need a blanket? Take that box of old shirts destined for the Salvation Army and make a quilt! Need lined drapes? Do what I do: hang quilts in the window. Seriously. Very cozy.

These are obviously just very basic ideas

for general penny pinching.

I'd love to hear your specific ideas

on ways you "make-do"

Without getting overly preachy,

I really feel as a wife and mother,

my job centers around assisting

my husband in this area.

As the manager of the home, it is

important for me to use the money

my husband makes to the best of

my ability...and that means

stretching it as much as possible.

That makes my husband happy...

and makes him look good! ;-)

Simply Me