Great post, Arwen.

This is something I’ve given much thought to—like you, I don’t go from store to store in order to save money. I have friends who do this and I used to feel guilty until I realized—they like doing this! It’s about saving money, yes, but it’s also about the hunt and kill (one friend can often get money back!).

I go through seasons where my sanity is higher on the list of importance. When things are very hectic, I will hire a college girl to help clean the bathrooms and mop the floors. Yes, I could do those things myself (or have the boys do them) but I can’t describe the peace and joy that come from having those done for me (at a very low cost) in particularly busy or stressful seasons.

I completely agree, Arwen.  My thing is ironing.  I hate to iron.  My mother ironed all my father’s work shirts from the day they were married until he retired.  Early in my marriage, I realized that she enjoys ironing and it wasn’t a chore for her.  Also, our finances aren’t as tight as my parents’ were.  I now send all my husband’s shirts to the cleaners and have never looked back.  It is SO worth it!

Early in our marriage, we bought a house on a postage stamp lot.  My husband went to the Home Depot and spent close to $1000 on a lawn mower, leaf blower and an edger, some rakes and shovels.  Then spring came, and he started taking care of the lawn.  This job of taking care of the lawn turned into a Saturday and Sunday ordeal.  Finally, after a few months, I stopped the neighbor’s landscaper and asked him how much it would cost to mow our lawn.  He told me that it would be $12 a week during the summer season.  I hired him on the spot.  It took him about 30 minutes during the week to do our lawn and it looked great.  We sold our lawnmower and kept the rakes.  I’ve never looked back.

Yes, in a perfect world we would all take care of our property like homesteaders.  But when you lack the knowledge and time, it makes a simple job take forever.  Sometimes it pays to have a professional do the job.

Loved your post Arwen. 

I am continually analyzing if the teeny bits of money I (might) save is worth the other costs involved.  This year I decided to hire a gutter cleaner ($70).  If my husband did it (which was doubtful) he would have had to rent the appropriate ladder (approximately $35), and spend at least half a day on it cleaning out leaves.  He’d also risk falling (we have a 2 story).  Most likely, his schedule wouldn’t have allowed for it and the gutters would go uncleaned - which in turn could lead to ice damage etc.  I felt a little extravagant hiring a gutter cleaner - but I would have been really feeling the pain if we wound up with damage from uncleaned gutters.  Another quick example - I am 36 weeks pregnant and trying to get all the Christmas shopping done - mostly online.  I was about to order some things on Walmart’s site and noticed I could just have the chosen items “delivered” to the closest WM store resulting in free shipping, otherwise it would be $10 to have everything delivered to my door. I was tempted to pick up at the store, but with 5 children as my constant companions I wasn’t sure when/how this would happen and it would take at least an hour of my time to go an get the stuff.  I bit my lip and paid for the shipping. I feel good about these choices and others like them.  I am, after all hugely pregnant and essentially on my own M-F due to DH work schedule. Fortunately I have some room in my budget to “indulge” and for that I am grateful.

Amen to saving your sanity over saving a few pennies.  My mom used to go to a different grocery store every night so she could get the best deals.  For my family I decided it was worth it to use an organic produce delivery service; being in the Northwest there are lots of reasonable options for this.  I don’t mind spending a little extra money on my produce so I know what goes into my families bodies is the healthiest it can be.  Plus my grocery store trips are much faster b/c I only need to pick up dairy products & meat.  Having all those fresh fruits & veggies on hand has made my meal prep quicker & easier.

My secret shame is that I hate packing lunches for the kids.  They are horrified by the school cafeteria food (I know, I should be thrilled) so there’s no getting out of it.  I can’t get it done fast enough, and I almost always pack the night before because I am not a morning person.  So to get the job done as quickly as possible I just use baggie after baggie.  I feel guilty for not washing and reusing them - or even using washable plastic containers, but I just can’t make myself do it.  And I know my baggie wastefulness negates any savings achieved thru bulk food purchases, but I feel so much better when I’m quickly done with this task!

This is so true and really puts things in perspective!

That said, I have to note that I read a post somewhere about soaking a wash cloth in liquid fabric softener, wringing it out and letting it dry, and then using IT as a fabric softener sheet in the dryer.  Apparently it lasts through a whole lot of loads, and then you just wash it and re-soak it.

But, for 40 cents a YEAR, I think you’re just fine.  :>)

A helpful concept I learned from economics was that of “opportunity cost”.  That’s the cost of doing something when that something displaces something else that could be done.  For example, if an accountant who bills $100/hour stops his work to take an hour to mop a floor that could be done by a janitor who makes $15/hour, then the opportunity cost of that mopped floor is $85 ($100/hour rate minus the $15/hour that it could have been done for.) This concept helped my wife a lot, since it demonstrates that time, too, has value, and needs to be weighed against money.  She was raised in a family where there was one criterion of value: lowest cost.  By that criterion, if she was in a store looking at a can of tomato paste and knew that the can in the other store was 15 cents cheaper, she felt obligated to get it there.  But the opportunity cost of going there to get it (unless she was going there anyway) would mean that the other tomato paste would actually be more expensive, since she might save 15 cents but expend $2 worth of time. 

A quick way to summarize this is to think, “how much would I pay someone to go get or do that for me?” Would she pay someone 15 cents to fetch that tomato paste from the other store for her? If so, she should buy the can that costs more, because in real cost, it’s cheaper.

Incidentally, the principle of opportunity cost is one reason why these studies of how much it costs to raise a child always come up with such ridiculous figures.  Economists calculate opportunity costs as if they were out-of-pocket expenses and add them into the equation.  So if a woman who earns $40,000/year forgoes that to stay at home and raise her children, that adds $40,000/year to the “cost” of raising them.

By the way, Arwen’s use of an extra fabric softener sheet was not a waste, but an economy.  How so?  Because the only economic value that matters is achieving the desired result.  Not attaining what you set out to get is every bit as wasteful as overindulging, since you expended the resources to no purpose.  As long as she was throwing in a sheet but not getting what she wanted, she was effectively wasting that money.  By using the proper amount to attain her result, she’s being perfectly economical.

In my house, we describe this as time vs. money.  Both are limited commodities, and require thoughtful use.  Mom with lots of littles + enough money = hire a housekeeper, spend time some other way.  Mom with lots of littles + not enough money = spend time doing housework, save money.

I always feel guilty when I go shopping and everyone else at the checkout has a pile of coupons with them.  I find the whole process overwhelming-clipping the coupons, keeping track of them, remembering to bring them. I have 2 choices -I could stop feeling guilty or put more effort into clipping coupons.  I just can’t decide yet!

Congrats on your laundry project! I am in the midst of managing our household budget after a 1/3 cut in income.  This discussion is a great reminder that first I need to determine where my efforts will be most beneficial (in terms of true savings for our budget without driving up the stress factor in our home).

However, I must say there is something that doesn’t resonate with me regarding this discussion.  Even if one has plenty of income to feed, clothe and care for one’s family, Christ calls us to feed, clothe and care for others.  With that in mind, we mustn’t forget the value in saving money in order to help those less fortunate.

On the other hand, I agree that a person can spend too much time figuring out how to save every dime and not enough time trusting God that He will provide.  There is a balance here for sure.

I use to be a big tightwad. Then my SIL said something that changed my mind about several things. I had been telling her I made my own diaper wipes etc. She said “I don’t think of diapers, wipes etc as ‘expensive’ I think of them as an ‘expense’”. I think thats a good point. It’s all in the way you look at it.

That being said. I still make cleaners, laundry soap and wash out my ziplocs on a pretty regular basis:)

My confession:  I’ve started buying the fancy, “green”, expensive cleaning products, ie, Mrs. Meyer’s and Method.  I wish I could say it was out of a great desire to benefit the environment, but it’s not.  And I know that vinegar is a fabulous, inexpensive cleaner.  But I LOVE the way the expensive cleaners smell.  Yeah, it’s costing me more, but it makes cleaning more enjoyable for me.  If a different cleaner can help me to almost enjoy cleaning the bathroom, it’s money well-spent.

Debbie - I understand what you’re saying and agree we need to sacrifice our money to help those less fortunate. And, sometimes by saving time, we are better able and willing to serve others less fortunate.  For example, if my husband had to spend most of today cleaning the gutters, then we wouldn’t be able to provide side dishes for Thanksgiving dinner for the local homeless shelter. It doesn’t have to be either time or money.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Want to know a secret?

Sometimes, I decide that treating myself to a peppermint mocha goes a long way in improving my day and attitude.

Even though we don’t have tons of money, it’s an important treat for me.

Good post!

I have been discussing this with my husband lately. I tend to be a sale chaser. Again, that means going to a few stores for the best prices. That can be awfully time consuming. I am rethinking my shopping habits and subsequently weighing any of the time I spend outside my home and deciding if it is beneficial or counter productive to the way I want to live.