No more paper plates!

Lets face it, they sure are convenient. With 4 kids, homework, dance, band, myself now employed & working, my husband working long hours, dishes, laundry, shopping, cleaning, life - using paper plates is just one of those things that makes life simpler.

I vowed long ago to give up paper plates. And though I don't use them near as often as I did, I'm still buying them. Last weekend, my husband got a new truck. He works his butt off for our family & he deserves that new truck. But with that new truck, came another vehicle payment (his previous truck had been paid off for years). I mentioned in the post below, another vehicle payment is not in our budget. It's not there. So I have to make it there.

I love a good challenge & I'm loving saving money anywhere I can. When I look back, seeing the amount of money we (especially, me!) have blown over the years literally makes me sick. I'm so ashamed. How stupid! I can't change the past, but I sure can change the present & the future. Foregoing paper plates might be just a tiny improvement, but every tiny improvement adds up. Granted, these paper plates only cost about $4 or so. But that $4 I'd rather have in my pocket!! Let me encourage you, ditch the paper plates. Put that $4 in your pocket, too!

You know what I always say - any change is better than no change at all!

As I come across areas where I'll be saving our family money, I'll be blogging those changes, so be sure to follow along. I'm just getting started & I have a long way to go. Project: Money Smart is underway!

Dani Johnson shared three money saving tips, so I'll post them for you. Maybe these tips will help your family, as well. No, Dani Johnson doesn't know I blog about her & I'm not compensated in any way. She's a smart lady & a huge inspiration. So I share, in hopes of learning from her wisdom. I also posted this information on my Facebook page the other day.

From Dani:

"I have 3 very simple tips I want to share with you today that are really going to show you some places where you may be losing money:

1. Avoid catalogs! Get rid of department store catalogs and get off of email lists today. CANCEL your catalogs from Victoria's Secret, Apple, electronic stores, nutrition stores, and the rest of the traps where you shop. Think about it... The only reason they have your address or your email address is to sell you something. These catalogs and emails are nothing but sales letters.

2. Sell your stuff! Have a garage sale. You don't need tons of stuff! It just takes time to manage, dust, and keep clean and organized. So sell it! Use the money to pay off debt or to invest. I once had a garage sale, and we made $2,600 in one weekend in my tiny little town. I also sold a bunch of my clothes and made $2,000. That's $4,600 from STUFF! Do I miss any of it? No way! Heck, I don't even remember what I sold! Neither will you...

3. Eat what is in your pantry! Do not go to the grocery store until all the food in your house is gone. For most people that is at least 30 days. (I've even had clients who said they didn't go to the grocery store for 6 months!) See, we have been trained to think that our refrigerators and pantries are supposed to be well-stocked. But, my friend, you have been duped by advertising. If you do not go to the grocery store for the next 30 days and eat everything in your pantry, that is CASH in your kitchen! Take the money you would have spent on food and attack your debt with it."

I have to giggle at the "Sell your stuff" because I have been saying for months now that we should all get rid of some of our stuff, because it's just more to dust! Ha! But that's the truth, isn't it? :)

Here's another post I did not long ago regarding little things I do to save our family money. Click here.

How are you saving your family money?

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