The Frugal Living Challenge: Week 1
I’ve been inspired.
My friend Diana posted a link on Facebook to an interesting post about staying at home with your children when you can barely afford it. After reading that post I found this other site in the comments, and I’m embarrassed.
We spend money like money doesn’t matter. We don’t spend more than we have and we reach our saving goals each month, but we are just not conscious enough. I stuff my cart at the market even when the fridge is half full at home. We use a roll of paper towels at least once a week. I buy anything and everything for Raffi without truly considering if we need it. I only use about 4 cloth diapers a week now because I’m lazy.
Over the last few weeks I’ve been working to be more aware of my money. I think before I make a purchase, but sometimes I fall into old habits. Sometimes I just don’t care. And sometimes I simply don’t know how to spend less. These women have inspired me to work harder and start a frugal living challenge.
For 12 weeks my husband and I will work to spend less, consume less, and save our family a little more money. It will be extra challenging with the holidays and loads of entertaining, but that’s where I need the help anyway.
I hope to start with small challenges and add something new each week so I don’t get overwhelmed.
Week 1:
Big task: We use too many paper towels in my house. At one time I used less than a roll per month, but since having Raffi I’ve completely slipped and become paper-towel-happy. Trig is guilty of this too. This week we will use cloth napkins during dinner instead of paper, and we will pay more attention to use our dish towels instead of paper towels whenever possible.
Small task: We will change the air filters for our HVAC units with the help of experts like All Heating or Hearn Plumbing, Heating & Air. This should save us some money over the winter as our units won’t have to work so hard to heat our home. If you want to do the same, you can visit sites like https://mullinsmechanical.com/ or https://friendsandfamilyhvac.com/heat-pump-repair/ for additional guidance.
Who wants to join in? Share your week 1 goals.