I think the best advice in the post is to weigh your time and against your money and decide which you have more of. I've found that if I focus my time on making more money, I'm much better off than trying to spend my time saving money. I call it supply side personal finance. I can spend an hour saving 5 bucks or spend an hour making 50 bucks. Do the math.
Free Advice from a Frugal Family Thrift Counselor
Photo: Frugal Family Kitchen
Go ahead. Say it three times fast. I dare ya. Seriously though, who knew such a job even existed? Enter Mary Webber, who held the post for Maine Savings Bank for over fourteen years, participating in radio shows, workshops and various television segments. To get the inside scoop on what she has to offer for advice, read on.
Number one mistake you saw people make.
In the grocery store? Not planning ahead! It leads to overspending in the first place, having to go back to the store for fill-in stuff, and the best, most nutritious and economical meals really do require planning.
Most hilarious media moment.
One experience I'll never forget was when Betty Rollin of NBC News came to my house to interview me. At that time I was single with four young children, having to do everything on my own including re-shingling my house. As I demonstrated that particular skill, Betty said to me, "Well, it doesn't sound as though you need a husband." To which i threw up my hands and sighed, "I DO need a husband!" A few weeks later NBC forwarded to me a piece of mail, a marriage proposal... from a man in an upstate New York mental institution.
Top piece of advice for people trying to create a budget for the first time.
Buy a school composition book, the kind with the black-and-white cover and lined pages inside. Then whenever a bill comes in, put it inside the book. Use one page for each month and list each bill, its due date and the amount - XYZ Company, the 17th, $23.89. When you pay each bill, check it off in the far right column with the date paid. This is totally NOT complicated, NOT time-consuming. It's amazing to me how many people just toss their bills in a drawer, pay them haphazardly and have no idea at any given time what they have and what they owe. Plus, the add-on fees for missing the due date on payments can get very expensive. This is absolutly the simplest way to ease into the budgeting, the next step being to acually plan ahead for bills you now can anticipate being due on certain dates each month, and eventually at different times of the year.
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Since few people have the time to tackle every single DIY savings project out there, can you recommend a few of the most powerful strategies, in your opinion?
Always consider the TRUE cost of any project in terms of both time and money AND then consider carefully which you have the most
of. And, when I say time, that includes energy and skill, as a lack of either will mean spending a lot more time! Some things just can't possibly be worth the time they'd take you to do them! Let me give you a couple of concrete examples: One example would be painting even one room in your home. After the expense of buying materials (something which often costs more than anticipated because you need a few specialized tools you didn't think of at first), do you have the patience and the time to do a good job of painting around those windows and doors, etc.? How much would a painter charge? You can usually find individuals who do great work at much less cost than hiring a company to do it. Now, if it would take me a good full day, say 8 hours, to paint my room, and a painter might take 6 hours and charge $100. Well, you decide... How long will it take to earn enough to pay for it? While I might sew curtains because I really enjoy sewing, it may be quite time-consuming and not save a whole lot of money. But to me, that's okay. Any DIY project is always a trade-off of time and money. ALWAYS!
In addition to being a thrift counselor, Mary is also the author of The Frugal Family Kitchen Book, where she tackles such things as the time-money conundrum, hay bale gardening and provides a tip that regular readers will know is close to my heart: When you notice a particular item is dirt cheap, study up on every conceivable thing you could possibly use it for. (Binder clips, block mozzarella, raisins, whatever.)
A cool recipe from Mary’s book? Peanut butter frosting.
- one quarter cup peanut butter (she recommends crunchy for extra attitude)
- 3 cups of confectioner’s sugar
- one third of a cup of milk.
Beat all three ingredients together until spreadable.
To read more about Mary’s advice and adventures, check out her web site.
Additional photo credit: Amazon
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I agree with rstlne. I pay my bills before they arrive, where possible. Some companies let you do it online.
Thanks for chiming in, everybody.
Just some thoughts on the bill schedule. Everybody has to find a system that works for them, certainly. And I used to pay my bills right away too.
Now that we get paid once a month via pension and other income comes from interest bearing sources, it's more beneficial for us to wait and get as much interest as possible. So we time things differently. If you are still getting weekly or twice a month pay statements however, the way you all are mentioning might make more sense.
To each his own, I guess. Mary is such a cool person with loads of advice and really knows how to stretch a dime.
While I will agree there is a trade off in time and money in some circumstances, its not always so.
Some can argue that if I take time off from work to paint a room, that its "costing" me what I would have earned that day. But what if I opt to use my vacation time? Or squeeze out time to paint the room in off hours? I wouldn't have otherwise been "making" any money anyways. As for "specialized tools" to paint-- really now. Paint brush, roller, and paint tray do not cost THAT much- plus- if you clean your tools and take care of them (Ie- not treat them as disposable), they will serve for multiple times. A drop cloth to me is an old ripped shower curtain I've had for forever. A lot of the "specialized tools" have been created to make money off the DIY craze. I am a firm believer of just getting in there and doing it.
My partner and I took two weeks off years ago (before kids) and did a kitchen renovation of our own. We put in all new cabinets (some seconds- but in ways it didn't show), sink, gas stove, and tile countertop- for under $2000. There is no way we would have afforded it otherwise- our sacrifice was our vacation time. But if we worked those weeks- we wouldn't have made more money- the salary remains the same. And all the "specialty tools" were not bought- we rented. Not many people think of that anymore, but its out there. I have to say that it was one of our most memorable vacations too. Not for everyone, but we liked it.
Thanks for stopping by. You make some good points. Although, I have to say that I think with any situation things are so individualized that it's a case by case decision. For example, I've had rooms where I could have done it cheaper, and rooms with high ceilings and custom woodwork that I could be working for weeks to get done. Also I think it depends on what you make. For your situation though, it sounds like you made the right decision for you.
I have a copy, and think it is a decent book. Depends on what you are looking for. It does have a fair number of recipes, but also has conversational style advice and anecdotals. Sort of like the Tightwad Gazette only thinner and not a compilation of newsletters. I think that's why she calls it a kitchen book rather than a cookbook. It just has ideas , strategies (and yes, recipes) for eating well and cheaply. There are things like homemade pancake syrup along with the three ingredient frosting recipe listed above. Apparently she did one like this years ago. My friend has a copy, and that one has all kinds of different cool items like homemade spa products. This one is more food oriented. But it is definitely not your traditional cookbook. It also has a more homey style. So if you like the feel of those church spiral bound cookbooks with all the home cooking recipes, you'll probably like this one just fine. Your call, though.
The time-vs-money is a good one to think about, and I would frankly encourage anyone and everyone to think about branching out from saving money during their free time to earning money during their free time. If you've got a comfortable 9-5 salaried job, it's actually a great time to start doing stuff "on the side" that you do well and enjoy doing. It may lead to something bigger, or it may never be more than a couple hundred extra bucks in your pocket every now and then. But it gives you options and allows you to focus your penny-pinching strategies on things that are also fun for you.
If you look forward to building your own deck or sewing your own clothes--more power to you! If you can produce results are good as or better than someone else--think about ways you can turn that ambition into doing those things for other people! But if you'd really rather spend your weekend coding a buddy's web site than tamping your own gravel for a new patio or hauling all over God's creation for loss leaders at the grocery store--then like I said, you've got options.
I really appreciate all your comments and love the back and forth with Myscha. I hadn't known about this website, but I'll certainly be a frequent visitor now! Mary
This is exactly the kind of simple system I need. I'm going to try and expand upon it and track my grocery, gas and other spending as well.
I like to pay bills at the beginning of each month when the bulk of my income comes in so that I don't have to worry about "what's due?" the rest of the month.
Last night as I creaked into bed after a long day moving large stones to make a new walkway/patio at the front door I thought - I could have gone to the mountains hiking and biking while spending a fair amount of money on gas and lodgings and not felt any more (wonderfully) exhausted! But this way . . . I get to look at the source of the muscle discomfort and . . . I can spend some of the money saved on a relaxing massage.
