Thursday, November 15, 2007

Thrifty Tip Thursday: Thrifty Thinking!

A bunch of "T's" in this Title!

Thursday's Thrifty Tip:

Take care of what you have. Don't be quick to replace things, as this can become costly and wasteful. Example: Instead of tossing out an old table in a hurry to replace...repaint it and use it outside or in a kid's room, bonus room, garage, craft room, etc... (Different sized tables for different type rooms or uses of course.) I am not talking just about tables here...think of nearly anything that you want to "replace" because you want something new. Think...is it necessary for me to replace at this time? Is there a bill that needs to be paid, or activity I want to do that I could use the money for instead of purchasing something I already have? Just some thrifty thinking for you all.

I experienced this when I first got married years ago to my husband. He wanted to "throw away" a "TRASH" container! I was like...why? He didn't like the color (white) he wanted a fancy silver one. I said...well...I would rather buy something we don't already have (At the time that was a LOT of things...newly married and all and he from Romania). Guess what? We still have that same white trash container and he loves all the things we have bought in between and now thinks like I do. Sometimes he out-thrifty thinks me. :-) He likes to make, repair and build things. This is money saver for sure. DIYing! (DIY-Do It Yourself) We save a lot DIYing, thanks to my husband being a go-getter when it comes to wanting to learn how to do things. He has installed irrigation, built raised garden beds, sandbox, working on a swing for my son (still buying piece by piece), and he has even added an extra outlet box (In our old house) out to a pond he built. Friends and Family are always blown away by what he has done and continues to do. Hard worker...he says he can't sit still...geez, I believe it. He has painted nearly every room in our new house, installed knobs on the kitchen cabinets...I could keep going. My point, other than my husband is awesome, DIYing can also save you some money. There have been instances where it didn't but for the most part it does because you can spread out your spending. A piece of wood here, mulch there, plants, etc...one at a time, when you are done...whamoo...

Challenge yourself not to toss out items before needed and try to DIY here and there! Happy Thursday! Tomorrow FRIDAY! Yippie!!!

1 comment:

SAHMmy Says said...

Great advice! Right now I'm trying to explain this concept to my three year old. So far the most clear example I've thought of is: you must take care of your (and our--and his baby sister's) things. Daddy and Mommy work very hard to give you everything you need but have other things to spend money on besides replacing broken items. If you willfully destroy something: Mommy and Daddy will take it away as a consequence. God will be very sad that you don't take care of all the nice things he's given you. Santa will take your gifts to a little boy who will appreciate and take care of them. How do you get the message across to your little one?