Really. If we'd stop listening to the world telling us homemakers that we're a bunch of stay-at-home lazies without incomes, perhaps we could hear some truth, instead.
I mean, when I spend one hour on my grocery list and coupons and then go and save $60 at the supermarket, then that's like I'm earning $60 an hour. Even if it takes me 2 hours, I'm at least earning $30 an hour. When I save $300 a month on groceries, that's $3,600 savings each year.
If I'm making my own 2 cups of coffee each day, then I've earned/saved anywhere from $60 to $120 (or even more) each month (as opposed to purchasing it in a coffee shop).
When I buy clothes at thrift shops I'm saving hundreds of dollars each year. When I do my own yard work, gardening, composting, decorating, laundry (air-drying clothes, included) and housecleaning (making my own cleaners, as well) I save thousands.
By painting my own rooms I save thousands, as well as cutting my own hair for all these decades.
Yearly I save thousands of dollars by cooking my own meals rather than eating out frequently. I save hundreds on a gym membership by walking around the neighborhood and exercising at home, instead.
Since I downloaded amazon.com's free Kindle Cloud Reader and because I download hundreds of free books, I save untold amounts of money on reading material. By researching information online, I save money on books I might have bought or even on the gas I would have spent traveling to the library, not to mention all the additional ways I'm learning to save money by that very research.
By giving money freely (as we did yesterday to the delivery guys who carried out our awful, old couch before lugging in the new one) I add extra money to a sort of heavenly account which later provides for us in our time of need.
Just by living simply--not caving-in to advertisements which tell me what I must buy or where I must travel--I save thousands of dollars.
Wow. We homemakers really rake in the earnings --and it's time that we see it like that rather than the way we're viewed by those people who just don't understand.
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For you who love books about fixing up houses, I have another one--you can even find this one online for free!
The Worn Doorstep by Margaret Sherwood
A most unique, dreamy book and I'll always treasure my dusty Salvation Army copy. (Amazon.com has copies if you'd prefer one to hold in your hands or an inexpensive version for your kindle.)
You'll find some of the first lines of the book here. Many of you will enjoy this one!
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Deuteronomy 15:10
Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.
"But don’t feel sorry that you must give and don’t feel you are forced to give. God loves people who love to give. God can bless you with everything you need, and you will always have more than enough to do all kinds of good things for others." ... 2 Corinthians 9:8
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A special thanks to those of you who commented here, at Facebook and in emails about our green wall and red couch! I always appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks! I'm loading up my Kindle and my book bag for vacation.
ReplyDeleteOf course I have pencils and paper, and a bit of wool for my knitting dolly.
You are so right. When you have the freedom from a job, you have so much more time and motivation to save by doing all of the things you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteWhen I quit my very stressful job, I was motivated to cut way down on spending, and was able to save far more money than I did when I had a nice salary.
nancyr
Look at those hostas! You must not have deer there. Or at least deer who can get in your yard. Hostas are deer candy.
ReplyDeletePlus, think of the money you save by not needing to buy clothes for work! Or another car and more transportation.
ReplyDeleteRe K.E.'s comments - we have deer and they never touch my hostas, nor my daughters. And she has even more deer. So many interesting things in the world.
I wish I had the courage and know-how to paint my walls. They surely need it.
ReplyDeleteyou are absolutely right! i was blessed to be able to stay home and raise our family and homeschool. when they grew up i went out to work and found that i just spent most of it, it didn't really get us ahead. so now hubby and i both work part time so we still have time to "do" for ourselves. --karen
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