Money Saving Mom®

A testimony from Kristin

My husband works in lawn care so there is never a spare week in the grass-growing days of spring and summer to take a vacation.

Since I was expecting another baby at the end of the summer, we would be too busy caring for an infant to attempt a family get-away in the fall or winter either. However, when we got the urge to take the kids on a fun outing one day in June, we were able to do it without lots of planning and without a twinge of guilt!

How We Did It

We only use cash when we pay for things so we accumulate a lot of spare change. Each time we return from a shopping trip, we put all of our dimes, nickels and pennies in a container in our bedroom. We roll and spend the small change periodically, usually on small treats like ice cream or a movie.

Our quarters are more sacred. We put all of them in a separate jar out of sight and allow the pile to collect…and collect…and collect.

Then comes the fun part. About once every six months, we decide on a fun way to spend the money we’ve saved. It can be used to purchase an item we can all enjoy or, as in this case, used to fund an outing we otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford. Since it was June and my husband couldn’t take extra time off, we needed to keep our outing close to home so we decided to visit a touristy beach town, about 45 minutes away.

Getting Ready to Go

Once we began to make plans, we let everyone be hands-on. My husband dumped the quarters out onto the floor and the kids stacked them in groups of four. Then my husband and I wrapped the coins into rolls of $10. We all counted the rolls and took them to the bank to exchange for paper money.

With our quarter money, we were able to spend the whole day away. We had enough money for gas, parking fees, wrist bands for a small amusement park, lunch on the Boardwalk and dinner at a restaurant on the way home.

Still Going…

When we got home, after carrying sleepy children in the house and tucking them under their covers, we emptied our pockets and…clink!…dropped the first of our new collection of quarters into the jar.

Kristin is wife to Brian and home school mom to Gavin, Maddie, Owen, Benjamin, and Alaine. She blogs about her family and her passions at Bits and Pieces From My Life.

Have you saved up and paid cash for something — large or small? Submit your story for possible publication here.

A testimony from Melissa

My husband was born in Japan and only came to the U.S. 12 years ago. His entire family is still in Japan, so it was important to us that our children learn Japanese.

Our first child was born six years ago, and though my husband spoke to him in Japanese, my son only picked up bits and pieces because I don’t know the language, so my son couldn’t hear real conversation.

The Background

We discovered a Japanese Montessori Language school close to our home, but it came with a hefty price tag — $750 for half-day Japanese instruction and $970 for half-day Japanese instruction and half-day English instruction.

At the same time, my husband was in graduate school and making little-to-no money monthly. We were living entirely off my teaching salary, but it was very important to us that my son learn Japanese so he could communicate with his relatives.

How We Did It

Here is how we paid for three years of Japanese language school (we estimated this cost us $27,000 over the three years):

• Have only one car. I drove the car, and my husband took public transportation.
• Limit eating out. We try to spend less than $100 a month on eating out.
• Cook in bulk. This eliminates the need to eat out after a crazy day and also helps to lower the grocery bill.
• Take on additional work opportunities. Throughout the three years, I occasionally took on extra work at the school I taught at to make some more money.
• Subscribe to basic cable. We only had the cable that was necessary to get in regular broadcast channels.
• Have date night at home. We couldn’t afford the cost of a babysitter and going out, so we often had a date night at home and rented a movie and ate take out. When we did go out on a date (rarely), my mom watched the kids for free.
• Buy and keep a minimal wardrobe. Many of our clothes come from thrift shops or consignments stores. If I did buy new for work, it was always at a steep discount.
• Keep electronic luxuries to a minimum. We only have one cell phone that we buy minutes for when we need it. We don’t have iPods, mp3 players or any other modern electronic gadgets. A digital camera is about as advanced as we get technologically.
• Pack lunches. My husband and I both packed our lunches every day so we wouldn’t be tempted to eat out at work.

The $27,000 we invested in my son’s language development had a hefty price tag. We still rent and probably will for several more years. However, it is a sacrifice we are willing to make so our children can communicate with their grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousins in Japan.

In another year we will be paying for my daughter to attend the same school, but in our opinion, it is money well spent.

Melissa is a stay-at-home mom to three children ages 6, 2 and 6 months. She and her husband are now saving for their next child to attend Japanese school. She blogs at Mom’s Plans and Dining Out Challenge.

Have you saved up and paid cash for something — large or small? Submit your story for possible publication here.