I love the 5 x 7 folded cards from Shutterfly, and found a deal today! I used the code “karma5” to get 5 free cards, and paid about $1 per card for shipping. Very much better than buying cards at the store.
Also, they had a $10 offer if I would share my card with you, so I thought I’d try that too! So here goes:
How’s it look? These flowers are called celestials, and they are truly heavenly!
Lately, I’ve been reading coupon saver blogs and printing internet coupons to help hold down the food budget. It occurred to me though, to wonder, “Am I saving money or not?” I can see how it is easy to buy something that I wouldn’t have ordinarily bought, simply because I had a really great coupon! And of course the idea of coupons for new products is to make you want to always buy it, whether you have a coupon or not.
Also, I’m a believer that the more “things” you expose your mind to, the more of those “things” you think you must purchase, even though you never knew about them previously. This idea is mentioned in one of my favorite books, Scaling Down : Living Large in a Smaller Space by Judi Culbertson and Marj Decker. They point it out rather succinctly: Exposure Creates Desire. The more things you see, the more things you want. So I struggle with a balance between shopping around and using coupons to save money, and trying not to notice all those new things I didn’t know I “desired” until I saw them. Because if I buy too many of them, I haven’t saved any money at all.
I’ve been toying with the idea of making homemade laundry detergent lately, and I know lots of people have blogged about that. One other thing I’d like to mention about laundry is that I truly love Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day lavender laundry detergent. It has the most realistic lavender scent I’ve ever smelled, and it truly is aromatherapeutic. When I use it, I feel relaxed and have a smile on my face.
However, Mrs. Meyer’s detergent costs $11 for 64 oz., which is good for 32 loads. Ouch! So what I’ve done to make it last as long as possible, is to use it only for loads with shirts. That way, when we’re wearing them, we can smell it and feel happy! I don’t use it for whites or darks, because I’m probably not going to notice how they smell. I use the cheap dollar store detergent for them.
If I truly didn’t have the money, I wouldn’t buy it at all, but this technique helps me get the most “bang for the buck” and helps brighten my day.
There’s been a change of attitude around here–a subtle one, but with far-reaching consequences. After being inspired by a Common Room post about using what you have instead of buying something new, I have found myself using that idea in many ways. For example, I volunteered to make a twin-size quilt for a local children’s home. In the past, I would have picked out my pattern, chosen my colors, and gone to buy new material, using what I had ONLY if it fit with my plans. Instead, I noticed that I had a huge bag of blue scraps, so I chose a pattern that uses all shades of blue scraps–thus I had a free quilt instead of spending $25-30, and it will be a lovely one. (The batting and backing were donated.)
Another place I have used this idea is in the kitchen. We’re trying to spend as little as possible this month, so before going to the grocery store, I made a list of items I already had in the pantry, and what I could make with them. I made another list of what was in the freezer, and what I could make using those items. In the past, I usually got out my recipes, and chose whatever I thought we would like to eat, and bought what those recipes required. This change has been good for me, because I don’t like leftovers, and I tend to let things languish in the freezer forever.
I’ve found that a lot of frugal living has more to do with attitude than just squeezing pennies. Our attitudes about spending money are formed from childhood, and we often do things automatically without asking ourselves, “Why?” For years, I have spent money pretty much the way my parents did, with the exception of investments, which they didn’t do. It has been interesting to challenge some of those ingrained ideas, and look for a better way.
Patchwork of Life 