Guest Post: Lessons Learned from Unemployment

Guest Post by Jessica from Utah Deal Diva

Like millions of other Americans, I hadn’t anticipated my husband suddenly being out of work. We’d always lived within our means and had little debt, but we didn’t have much in savings either.

How were we going to pay our bills? Would we lose our house?

Those were the thoughts running through my head as the reality of our situation began to sink in. I am a stay at home mom for our three young children; my husband was the sole breadwinner and then suddenly he was without a job.

How were we going to make it with no income? I was overwhelmed with our sudden change of circumstances.

Thankfully, my husband and I quickly resolved that we would not let this situation break us. We had worked too hard to let this ailing economy make victims out of us. We made a plan and prayed hard that God would help us. Little did we know how abundantly our prayers would be answered.

Here are some lessons we learned while my husband was unemployed:

1. Being unemployed is hard work. My husband and I are both hard workers, but never before have we worked so hard to stay right where we were at. Our only goal at the time was to pay our bills and stay in our home.

Within two days of being out of work my husband secured a part-time job working retail. When he wasn’t working there, he was spending hours and hours every day searching for a new job. I helped him search before the kids woke up and after they went down for naps. We worked with recruiting firms and friends to find new employment. In one word I would describe it all as exhausting.

2. The companies you pay your bills to are more willing to help if you ask. Within a week of being unemployed, I called all of the companies our bills were through, telling them our situation and asking what they could do. I was so grateful to find that every company I called was more than willing to help us. We switched phone plans, downgraded our cable, and canceled services. Suddenly our meager income was stretching a lot farther.

3. I didn’t miss luxuries nearly as much as I thought I would. Right after my husband lost his job, we declared a spending halt. We bought nothing unless it was absolutely necessary, and even then, we most often bought second-hand.

We re-discovered the value of family time and truly enjoyed spending it together. We made meals from scratch and had a new-found appreciation for the items we already had. Our lives became very simple and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

4. Meal planning and cooking from scratch saves a lot of money. This is something I’d known for a while, but I learned anew just how true it was while unemployed.

We had built up a nice food storage thanks to using coupons so I regularly assessed the items in our pantry and planned meals accordingly. We made our own bread and found joy in creating yummy treats ourselves.

I also got very creative in seeing how far some food items could stretch. A member of our church dropped off a whole ham one night and I stayed up late slicing and packaging it so as to use the entire thing. I even boiled the ham bone in soup! We were able to feed our family over 7 meals with that one ham!

5. Using less of everything really didn’t affect our way of life. And when I say everything, I mean everything! One of the areas we made a real effort to use less of was gas and electricity. We wore sweatshirts instead of adjusting the heater and used the warmth of the oven to heat the house after we baked something. 

We were mindful of even the little things from the length of showers we took to how much shampoo we used. We turned our water heater down and adjusted our dishwasher to the lowest settings. As a result of changing our actions, we didn’t freeze, our clothes and dishes were still clean (as were we!), and we ended up shaving 25% off our utility bills!

6. We didn’t really need many of the items we already had. I regularly walked around the house assessing what our family could live without and I sold the items online. I sold books, clothes, and electronics. Anything we didn’t need that I thought might have value was suddenly on the market!

My husband scoured the garage and cashed in a load of scrap metal. I’d been couponing for years and had quite a supply, so I assembled coupons and sold them in groups. We spent $20 to cosmetically fix up an old car we’d had for years and hung the “For Sale” sign on it, unsure if we could even sell it in this economy. We sold it for our full asking price a month later.

Each time I sold something I’d calculate what bills that item could pay for or how long it would enable us to live in our house. Tens of dollars turned to hundreds, and hundreds turned to thousands. It was incredible and we felt so blessed.

7. Our trials give others the opportunity to serve. As difficult as it might be to be on the receiving end, it’s necessary at different times in our lives.

We saw the Lord’s hand in so many small acts of service given to us by neighbors and friends. People wrote us kind letters with thoughts of encouragement. Others sent small amounts of money anonymously. It was all very much appreciated and we are grateful for the services rendered.

After only a few months, my husband was able to find a new job--for which we are very thankful! The truly amazing thing is, due to the changes we quickly made in our lives, not only did we not have to touch our savings, but we added to it!

If I can pass on one piece of advice for others who find themselves suddenly unemployed it’s this: even in this economy, you have more influence on your personal and financial situations than you think. Never forget the power of prayer and hard work!

Jessica blogs about all the deals, steals, and freebies available in Utah at her blog Utah Deal Diva.

Guest Post: The Envelope System Experiment

photo by pfala

Guest Post by Jenny Whitney

Paying with cash...we all did it at one point. When you are a child and are too young to have a credit card or debit card or checkbook, it is quite socially acceptable to pay with your allowance or hard-earned lemonade stand money.

At some point in our society, though, paying with cash becomes more unusual. I, like most Americans, have a credit card, and since we pay it off in full each month, I always thought I was being as responsible as possible with our finances.

But as I started to learn about deals, I became intrigued by this Envelope System that I read about (you can read about it here, here, and here). Could it possibly help me to be a better steward of the money we’ve been given?

I decided to give it a try--but on a smaller scale. Our budget for groceries and consumable household supplies (soap, detergent, toilet paper, etc.) is $40 per week and I do almost all of the grocery shopping, so that seemed like a logical place to start. So it began.

Here’s basically how it worked for me:

As I headed out to go grocery shopping on my first cash-only day, I stopped by the ATM and took out $40. I stuck it in an envelope and only used that to pay for all of our groceries. If I happened to purchase other items (gifts, clothing, etc.) while I was grocery shopping, I just asked the cashier to do separate transactions.

The following week, I added another $40 to the change from the previous week. And this same pattern has repeated now for about three months. It seems so simple--but it’s teaching me a lot about how I shop. 

Here are six lessons I am learning:

1) No Mental Math Needed--Before trying out the envelope system, I would mentally try to add up how much I had spent at various stores in my head to see how much I had left. Well, if you’ve ever taught mental math, you know that estimation is an oft-used strategy. Needless to say, I often went over my budget using this strategy (without even realizing it until checking our statements later).

Many weeks, the amount was as little as $5, but that adds up to $260 over the course of a year--the equivalent of over 6 weeks of groceries on our budget! With the envelopes, figuring out how much I have left to spend is easy--just look in the envelope.

2) When You’re Done, You’re Done--It was so tempting for me to “borrow” from future weeks before trying out the envelope system. If I found a great deal, or just really wanted to make a particular recipe, I would just tell myself I would spend less the next week. Of course, when next week rolled around, I would have either forgotten or have convinced myself that I should go ahead and spend the full budgeted amount. Having a certain amount in cash has really helped me develop the discipline of saying, “Enough’s enough.”

3) Jell-O is Not a Food Group--Although I try to stockpile, there are certain staples that we need to get pretty regularly (like milk, eggs, fresh fruits, and vegetables, etc.). The first week that I tried out the envelope system, I realized something very important: If I do the “deals” first and then look to buy the staples, I’ll run out of money and have to decide between eggs and milk.  Although I meal-planned and shopped off of a list before going cash-only, I now prioritize my list based on what we need and what we can do without.

4) What’s the OOP (really?)--Check out many deal forums and you’ll see a discussion on a “free” item, only to realize that you’ll get a gift card/Catalina/ECB/Register Reward when you purchase the item for the amount you spent.  Before the envelope system, it was really easy to let myself believe that I was getting the item for free--but what I’ve learned is that when I pull out some money from that envelope, that’s money I no longer have to spend.

Although I might have a money replacement, I am often limited on where and when I can use it. That doesn’t mean I never do these deals, but it does help me to be much more aware of what my real out-of-pocket expenses are and I don’t justify going over my budget by saying that I’ll get a gift card back. 

(Note: I know “rolling” gift cards and Catalinas makes for some great deals; I just think it was easy for me to forget they actually cost something to start with.)

5) Life Will Go On--If you are anything like me, discovering the world of coupons and deals was a turning point in my life (“You mean I don’t have to pay for toothpaste or razors ever again?”). I will admit that during the first few months, I went a bit overboard.  I felt the need to do every deal and print out every coupon.

With the Envelope System, I am learning to let go of some of the deals and I am finding out that it is okay--we still have more than we need.

6) Rely on the Lord. I like being in control and couponing fed that feeling for me. I know more about “the systems” than most cashiers around here and I know what I am able to get for free or really cheap.  I found that putting limitations on my couponing (through having to prioritize, miss deals, etc.) has helped me to remember the real Source of all that we have and consequently not worry about it.

So, what’s the bottom line? I tried out the envelope system thinking that I might save some money, and I have. More importantly, though, I’ve learned lessons that will help me to be a better steward of the money we have. I don’t know if the rest of our lives will transfer over to the Envelope System, but I know the things I’ve learned will.

Note: These are simply lessons I am learning; I don’t suggest that they are universal to all bargain shoppers. However, I would encourage you to try out a cash-only system (even if only for groceries) and see what you learn about yourself. You just might be surprised!

Jenny Whitney is a stay-at-home mom of a lively one-year-old son. She is learning to be a loving graceful wife and mother, happy homemaker, and responsible steward of all of her resources.

From Money Saving Mom: Do you follow The Envelope System or have a cash-only policy for some or most of your purchases? If so, I'd love to hear how it works for your family. If you'd like to learn how it works for us or how to get started making it work for you, too, you can check out my article here.

Guest Post: Teaching Your Children About Money Management

Guest Post by Jill Savage from Hearts at Home

Every child has their own financial personality. Three of our children are savers. Two are spenders. Of course, they take after both my husband and me, who sit at opposite ends of the spending/saving spectrum ourselves.

Regardless of our default tendencies in money matters, it is vital that as parents we teach our children sound financial principles. Their ability to handle money as an adult will be influenced by the financial education we impart as well as the habits we model ourselves.

Because faith is an important part of our life, we base our financial education on the 10-10-80 principle: 10% to God, 10% to savings, and 80% for spending. This provides us a foundation for all of our money lessons.

If you are trying to teach your kids good money management skills, here are some practical financial strategies to consider:

1) Resist making loans. Invariably, the kids will ask for an advance on their allowance or a short-term loan until their allowance or next paycheck and it is tempting to front them the money. However, this can plant the seed that borrowing is an optional financial strategy for short-term pleasures.

2) Teach them to spend based upon a budget rather than a paycheck. Help your children to identify budget categories like entertainment, future events (concerts, ski trips, etc), gas and auto expenses (if they are driving), clothing, and Christmas to allow them to learn the value of truly "managing" their money. If they sock away a certain amount or percentage into each category each time they are paid, then they will most likely have money for the things they want to do. This also teaches delayed gratification where they learn to wait for the things they want through short-term sacrifice rather than getting short-term gratification with long-term consequences (debt).

3) Open a checking account with your teen. Ideally this would happen a year or two before they go to college so they can learn to manage the account with your guiding hand. Teach them how to keep good records and how to reconcile their account each month. Set aside a regular time each week to financially "check in" with your teen, going over their register, checking the account online, and overseeing their reconciliation.

4) Rather than starting your teen with a debit card, ask the bank for an ATM card. There is a common misunderstanding that a debit card purchase will be denied if the bank account is overdrawn. However, a debit purchase is only denied after the account is already overdrawn and fees have likely been incurred. This is because the bank doesn’t know what purchases haven’t yet posted to the account. Therefore, it won’t stop a new purchase because it isn’t aware of recent purchases until it’s too late.

An ATM card allows access to cash anytime, but keeps teens from over-drafting the account with unrecorded debit purchases. There is still a risk of overdraft with an ATM card if the teen is writing checks and not keeping good records, but the risk is definitely less than if they are using a debit card.   

5) Teach kids to shop wisely. Kids can use their fledgling math skills to divide the cost of a product by the ounces in the container to get a per-ounce price that allows them to make cost comparisons. Taking along a small calculator can come in handy.

6) Educate your kids about confusing marketing tactics, misleading credit card offers, and hidden costs in purchases. Television commercials provide many examples of misleading marketing tactics that our kids need to understand. The dozens of credit card offers we get in the mail can become an instant lesson in the dangers of borrowing money and how the minimum payment keeps a person in debt for years. Online purchases include shipping and handling costs that kids need to figure into the final price for an item they might want to purchase.

Certainly our spenders need to learn to be savers and our savers need to learn how to spend wisely. However, the most important lesson our children need to learn is money can manage us or we can manage our money!

Jill Savage is the founder and Executive Director of Hearts at Home. A mother of five, Jill is the author of seven books including My Heart's at Home.You can find Jill's website and blog at www.JillSavage.org.

Town Hall for Hope: Watch for free on Hulu!

I was excited to find out this morning that Dave Ramsey's Town Hall for Hope is now available to watch for free on Hulu. If you were unable to attend the event or would like to watch it again, you can go here to do so.

I highly recommend everyone watch this--especially if you need some encouragement and hope regarding the economy and your own personal financial situation. And if you're interested, you can read my thoughts on it here.

A great way to recycle your cut-up credit cards

If you're a Dave Ramsey fan like me, you probably have become quite adept at cutting up credit cards. Up until now, I'd never considered a way to recycle them, but this mosaic idea is brilliant. Not only is it a way to show your disdain for credit cards, but you can do it in a beautiful way!

photo from CraftStylish.com

Check out the detailed instructions for making your own mosaic here (thanks to Rachael for passing along the link!)

Oh and if you are still sold on using plastic, you can go here to read why you should cut up those cards forever and find freedom in using real money.

Guest Post: Finding Joy in the Journey

photo by stukinha

Guest Post by Amanda from Trent Tribe Refreshment Company

I once heard a story about two brothers who set out to dig a deep hole in their backyard. “What are you doing?” some older boys asked. 

“We are digging a hole through the earth!” the brothers replied.

The older boys laughed. Digging a hole all the way through the earth was impossible.

After a few moments, one of the diggers picked up a jar full of spiders, worms, and other treasures. “Even if we don’t dig all the way through the earth, look what we found along the way!”

The moral of the story: It is in the digging that life is lived.

In our journey towards debt-free living, how many times do we say, “I’ll be happy when I’m debt-free?”   “I’ll be happy when the emergency fund is fully-funded.” or “I’ll be happy when the mortgage is paid off.”

We’re distracted by crisis. We all face frustration, boredom, pain. But joy is a choice. 

By recognizing the positives in my life, I feel joy. Celebrating the everyday blessings is a deliberate action. It’s a purposeful mindset which transforms my life.

Blessings are all around us; they are just waiting to be noticed. We can choose to dwell on the difficulties or we can look for the joy.

I still have problems. I still have inconveniences and discomforts. However, I am allowing them to be less important, less significant by choosing to acknowledge the wonderful things in my life. I am practicing praise and attempting to do away with complaining.

There is joy in the journey.  

Amanda Trent blogs at Trent Tribe Refreshment Company. There she posts about loving her husband, mothering/homeschooling her four children, clipping coupons, seeking God, and finding encouragement along the way.

The Emotional Benefits of Becoming Debt-Free

This was such an excellent article by Simple Mom on "The Emotional Benefits of Becoming Debt-Free". Here's a little snippet:

Now, I’m not trying to paint a rosy picture that being debt-free solves everything.  Economic setbacks still happen.  Layoffs still happen.  And unexpected money pits still happen.  But being debt-free means those things don’t hit you like a mack truck - they’re an annoyance. They don’t have to change our entire lifestyle - they can further confirm our conviction that living without debt means having more options, having more peace.

And while we may never be rich, we can be wealthy in those areas where we want to be wealthy - in relationships, in experiences, and in supporting causes that matter for eternity.  I’ll take that over depending on Master Card, any day.

It takes work and effort to stay out of debt. Believe me, I know.

It takes sacrifice, it takes commitment, it takes self-discipline. It means you have to forgo some things others might think you're entitled to, you have to stop worrying what the Jones family thinks, and you probably will come across as rather weird to a number of people.

But it is every bit worth it to be free from the bondage of payments. To not have to worry so much if you are hit with unexpected things like job loss (we've been there twice in the last few years), or a big medical bill (we've had that, too, more than once in the last few years), or an accident which totals your one reliable vehicle (yep, we had that happen to us last year, too!).

We've hit a lot of financial rough spots in the six years my husband and I have been married and life has thrown us a number of unexpected curve balls. But that's life, isn't it? No one is free from crisis or difficulty in some form or another.

There were many times along the way when pulling out a credit card to pay for an unexpected bill or taking out a loan to pay for a bigger expense would have been really easy to do. There have been times when we've both faltered and wanted to throw in the towel. But by the grace of God, we've stayed true to our commitment to stay out of debt--even when we didn't know how those ends were going to meet at the end of the month.

And you know what? Committing to stay out of debt from day one of our marriage has been one of the best decisions we've ever made. After years of scrimping and sacrifice, we're reaping the benefits now of being able to live significantly below our means because we don't have any payments. We're not only able to take care of the needs of our own family, save for our childrens' future, our retirement, and our first paid-for home, but we're also able to give abundantly to our church, to missions, to causes we believe in, and to those who are needy.

To us, that is what it's all about--"living like no one else, so we can live and give like no one else".

Enough said. Go read the article by Simple Mom here.

Free Dave Ramsey series: Life, Money, Hope

If you are interested in saving money, getting out of debt, getting on a budget, or just being a better steward of your money, I highly recommend the resources by Dave Ramsey. While we've always lived on a budget and (by the grace of God!) never incurred any debt, we have learned so much from him and been so inspired by him.

Recently, Dave did a three-part series of messages at LifeChurch.tv which is available to watch free online here. It's somewhat a mini-version of the Total Money Makeover Live Event with his session on Giving from Financial Peace University thrown in as well. I highly recommend it--especially if you've not watched or listened to much of his stuff before. I promise you can't help but be motivated!

Go here to watch this three-part series.

Town Hall for Hope Recap: Change Begins With Me

Wow! If you missed the Town Hall for Hope tonight, you really missed out!

If you've spent any time at all on this blog, you know good and well that I'm a big fan of Dave Ramsey. I've listened to him countless times on the radio, watched some of his television show on Hulu, read his books, gone through Financial Peace University twice, attended two of his live events, and even met him in person (okay, so it was all of about thirty seconds at a book signing, but I have shaken his hand and had my picture taken with him and his wife!).

So, I was expecting tonight to be good. But it far exceeded my imaginations. In fact, Dave's message of hope and personal responsibility was an out-of-the-park home run!

I could write twenty different lengthy blog posts on things he shared tonight, and maybe you'll see some of those over the next few weeks and months. The biggest takeaway from tonight for me was the reminder that change begins with me.

It's easy to want to blame others for our failures and mistakes, but we need to own up to our own actions and take personal responsibility for them. We need to stop expecting hand-outs or expecting the government to be the solution. Change begins with me.

I read a book earlier this week called Do Hard Things and one of the quotes from that book really stuck out to me: "What each of us will become later in life largely depends on what we become now."

What are you doing now to be where you want to be next year or in five years or in twenty-five years? Don't just wait around for a lightning bolt to strike you and change your life. Start setting goals, start taking steps, and start seeing results. Change begins with you.

Stop participating in this recession by letting the fear-mongering talking heads bring you down. Get up and get busy living your life, pursuing your goals, and making a difference in your future and in the lives of those around you.

And remember, that the greatest hope and change you can ever have is found in Jesus Christ.

**************************
If you missed tonight's broadcast, you can read Passionate Homemaker's live-blogged post here. Also, be sure to check out the Three Things You Can Do to Choose to Commit to Hope.

Reminder: Tonight is the Town Hall for Hope!

When just about every media outlet and talking head out there would have you think our world is coming to an end, Dave Ramsey is here to sound a message of hope--something we could all use a good dose of right now.

Tonight (April 23, 2009) at 8 PM EDT, Dave Ramsey will be hosting a free nationwide Town Hall for Hope:

Town Hall for Hope is your opportunity to sit down with people in your community for a nationwide town hall meeting led by Dave Ramsey. Thousands of venues across the country will host the event, broadcasting Dave's live presentation. In the opening half hour, Dave will offer straight talk about the economy, recession, foreclosures and more. He'll carefully explain where we've come from, where we are now, and what we should be doing with our money during this time. Then, Dave will spend an hour answering your questions live!

Go here to see what venues in your area are hosting this event. 

Will you be attending? I hope so!

I am so disappointed because my head cold (yes, the same one I had most of last week!) has gotten worse instead of better this week and morphed into the most awful sinus infection I've ever had, so I'm not going to be able to go tonight unless I have some miraculous recovery in the next few hours. However, my hubby is going and I'm hopeful he'll be able to take it all in so he can come home and tell me all about it!

I've been searching high and low to find a webcast of it, but so far I've been unsuccessful. Anyone know if there is going to be a live webcast available online for this event?

Guest Post: The Little Things Make a Big Difference

Guest Post by Beth from Recipes and Deals

Do you ever sit down to pay bills and think, “Where did the money go?”

That used to be me every month. I was nervous to have anything automatically withdrawn from our checking account because I didn't want to write a check and not have money to pay a bill, yet I felt like all I did was pay bills!

We had recently made the transition from two salaries to one and we found it to be a big challenge. Plus, we had two children 20 months apart. Both were in diapers for awhile and both have food allergies which necessitate the purchase of more expensive grocery items.

After several attempts at setting budget and falling behind we finally took advantage of our church's class offer of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. We began a hard, long, and ongoing conversation about where our money was going and we've learned a number of things along the way. Here are just a few of the things which have made a big change in our finances:

1) Always use cash when possible. Making the change to pay with cash as opposed to using a debit or credit card has made such a huge difference for us. We use the Envelope System outlined here. When the envelope is empty, it's empty.

2) Look for extra ways to make money. I am a certified swimming instructor and now that our boys are older, I've been able to slowly begin teaching again part-time in the Summer. The extra money goes to our emergency fund or other extra expenses we have. 

I sell our children's clothing to a local consignment store and have made a few hundred dollars doing so. In addition, we have a garage sale once a year. Throughout the year, as we outgrow things or find we no longer need them, I price them and add them to our garage sale boxes in the basement. In the past 3 years, I've made over a thousand dollars selling old furniture, baby items, and clothes at our yearly garage sale.

3) Find an accountability partner. This is vital! My sister-in-law and I are of the same mindset. With children 4 months apart in age, we are in the same life stage, and have the same desires to be good stewards of our money and bodies. We talk several times a week, exchange recipes, coupons, and tips. Most importantly, we celebrate each other's successes and encourage each other in the frustrating times.

Since October, we have been aggressively paying down school debt and have been committed to paying cash for all expenses. As of April 1, we will have approximately $7,000 less debt than we had in October! We have truly seen how often it's the little things which make a big difference in the long run!

Beth is a stay-at-home mom and lives in a small town in the Midwest. You can see her weekly menus, recipes, and deals at her blog.

Town Hall for Hope--April 23, 2009

Did you hear the great news? When just about every media outlet and talking head out there would have you think our world is coming to an end, Dave Ramsey is here to sound a message of hope--something we could all use a good dose of right now.

On April 23, 2009 at 8 PM EDT, Dave Ramsey will be hosting a free nationwide Town Hall for Hope:

Town Hall for Hope is your opportunity to sit down with people in your community for a nationwide town hall meeting led by Dave Ramsey. Thousands of venues across the country will host the event, broadcasting Dave's live presentation. In the opening half hour, Dave will offer straight talk about the economy, recession, foreclosures and more. He'll carefully explain where we've come from, where we are now, and what we should be doing with our money during this time. Then, Dave will spend an hour answering your questions live!

Go here to see what venues in your area are hosting this event. And be sure to check out the Get Involved page to find out how you can spread the word and join in the discussion.

Thanks, Alyssa!

Guest Post: The Balancing Act

photo by Shopping Diva

Guest Post by Kasey Tross from The Beautiful Thrifty Life

 

This fall my two-year-old and I signed up for Mommy & Me gymnastics classes. As we began attending the classes and she started learning some basic gymnastic skills, I was surprised by how adept she was at the balance beam. Usually, being a two-year-old, her balance leaves a lot to be desired, but once she gets up on that balance beam, she just holds on to my pinky with one hand and scoots right along.

Her only downfall (literally) is when she loses focus on the end of the beam. Once she looks down at the beam or at one of the other children practicing another skill on the floor, she immediately begins to wobble and lose her balance.

 

One day as she was scooting along holding my pinky, I started thinking about how much living life on a budget is like walking on a balance beam: there is not much room for error, and distraction can lead to disaster and frustration. But I have also realized if you practice and start to get comfortable up there, not only can you stay on, but you can make it a thing of beauty.

 

Life on a budget can be difficult--much like walking on that balance beam. We have only a few inches on which to keep our footing, and if you try to pretend there’s an extra inch or two, you can completely miss your mark, lose your balance, and fall.

Up there on the budget balance beam, it is tempting to focus on the restrictions. It is tempting to stare down at the narrow beam and at the long drop on either side, to wish for money you don’t have, and gripe about a small paycheck. But once you start focusing on the limitations, you begin to lose sight of the goal.

For most, the ultimate goal is to someday have a little more wiggle room, so that the balancing act isn’t so hard. When you keep your eyes up and focus only on that end result--the dismount--you can keep your balance and put one foot in front of the other.

           

Another fatal distraction can happen when you start looking around at everyone else who isn’t walking the budget balance beam. They may be bounding across the floor doing their tumbling or soaring through the air on the uneven bars.

If all you do is watch them, you will long to jump off the beam and run out onto the floor. In the process, your focus on the end of the beam will be lost and you will fall. If you want to reach your ultimate goal, then that goal is where your focus needs to be--not on the financial situations of those around you.

 

We all walk the beam differently; there are some people who, like my two-year-old, gingerly scoot across the budget beam, somewhat unbalanced at times, nearly falling off once or twice before dismounting. But there are others who see the tumblers flipping and twirling across the floor and rather than be discouraged, they are inspired. They see the beam not as a limitation, but as an opportunity to test their skills and do amazing things.

Granted, they can’t leap and bound with the same freedom of those on the floor, but in their own way, up on that balance beam, they can turn their balancing act into a beautiful and graceful gymnastics show, just as remarkable as those on the floor, even with only a few inches on either side to work with. Time after time, cartwheel after flip, they nail the beam and come up with arms outstretched, smiling triumphantly.

 

So, what are the financial life lessons I learned from the balance beam? Don’t look down, don’t compare your financial situation with those of the people around you, and keep your eye on the ultimate goal: financial freedom. Remember, too, that sometimes it’s not just about staying on--it’s about making the most of the journey, about exercising your creativity, and finding real joy in your beautiful thrifty life.           

Kasey Tross is a stay-at-home mother of 2 living in Richmond, Virginia. She celebrates the fact that the most beautiful things in life don't cost money and blogs at The Beautiful Thrifty Life.

Guest Post: It's not about how much we save, it's about how little we spend

 

Note from Money Saving Mom: One of the most exciting things about having this blog is the opportunity to hear from readers. Your kind and encouraging emails brighten my days. And while what is shared on this blog is the combined effort of hours of work from many different bloggers and readers who take the time to find and share the deals with me so I can post them, I am honored and humbled to have a little part in helping families to live on less than they make so they can save more and give more.

I hope Jill's testimonial below of how MoneySavingMom.com has impacted their family and the changes they've made as a result is an encouragement to you today--wherever you are in your financial journey.

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Guest post by Jill

Prior to early July 2008, I never gave any thought to my purchases. If we needed something, I bought it.  If we wanted something chances are we bought that, too. I always rationalized that I was a working mom so we could afford those extras.

Then one day, on a parenting message board I frequent, there was a topic of what websites you visited daily. Someone responded with MoneySavingMom.com. I clicked the link and the rest, as they say, is history.

Originally, my thought was that I'd try to save what the higher fuel costs were costing our family. That was easily achieved just by entering the world of CVS shopping. 

I was proud of myself and my new found frugalness. Oddly enough, I found the deal finding, coupon clipping, and deal shopping strangely entertaining. Suddenly, in addition to the weekly savings I was accumulating at CVS, I was also saving in entertainment budgeting because my new entertainment was saving money! 

Somewhere along the line, I came across a blog about questioning your purchases. What stuck with me was the question, "How can I do this for less?". It was a life-changing concept. 

It didn't say that I should necessarily go without my desires, just that I should search for a way to do it cheaper. Eureka!

I quickly started adopting that idea as part or my daily mantra. Recently, for example, my husband and I wanted to get our children the John Deere Gator ride-on toy. In the time where we paid for shampoo and toothpaste (that's how I refer to our pre-CVS days!), we'd go to the toy store and spend the $350. This time was different.

I sat with the idea of wanting it; I knew we didn't need it right then, so I waited. Then, one day I found one on ebay and we won it for $36--just under a 90% savings! You know what? My kids are just as excited as if it were brand new. 

I've found there are two ways to think about being frugal. There is the "Wow, I saved $95.23!" approach and there is the "Wow, I only spent $5.32!" approach.

When I first started this journey, I was amazed by how much money I was saving and didn't focus on how little I was spending. It wasn't until I checked my bank account recently, that my eyes were truly opened. Our account was rapidly growing and it wasn't because we were putting more money in, we were just taking less money out.

Being frugal, shouldn't be about how much you save, it should be about how little you spend.  Some days I could rack up great savings on products I don't truly need, but I have to focus on spending less, not saving more.

Throughout this journey, the economy has continued to decline and my job has become less stable.  Back when we paid for shampoo and toothpaste, the thought of being unemployed would have terrified me. Now, we are actively planning for me to become a stay-at-home mom. Yes, our spending has changed so dramatically, that it not only negates the raise in gas prices, it would also balance my loss of income (along with the savings in childcare and work-related expenses). 

We've watched our savings account rise, our cupboards and freezer fill, and our heart rest easy in knowing God's provision for our family. What amazes me is that while we are spending significantly less money each month, we aren't sacrificing more. We are still eating the same foods, buying the same products, and living a life with extras. We are just being a lot more mindful of the sales, asking ourselves "How can we do this for less?", and stockpiling a bit when there are good deals on products we regularly use. 

MoneySavingMom.com hasn't just provided me with a few good deals; it has provided me the opportunity to have a sense of peace in a worrisome economy.  We'll be okay, it will work out, and if all else fails, we have enough Kashi, Chex Mix, and Johnson's Buddies to see us through the rough patches!

Jill is a working mom of three who is eternally thankful her mother-in-law's paper route nets her multiple copies of the ads each week.

photo by Darren Hester