Testimony from Tasha
I have started to write this several times, but wasn’t sure because the amount may not seem like much, but to us every dollar is hard to come by. Just a few years ago this would not have been a big deal to me, but now it is a big deal that we paid cash for a $100 blender!
The Background
I recently got hooked on green smoothies. Our old blender was doing an okay job, but with all the greens and fruits, I figured I would eventually need something much more powerful.
Our Story
I knew the only way to get this blender would be to start taking money out of our blow money category and save it. So I started taking out $30 dollars a week and within four weeks I had the cash to buy the blender — including shipping!
I bought a Kitchen Aid brand and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my new blender. It is a 5-speed with a Polycarbonate pitcher. The pitcher is wide all the way down allowing for a much better blending process. Now my green smoothies are silky smooth — yum! And clean-up is a breeze! It felt good to know I saved the money to purchase it with cash.
Ways We Save
We started budgeting everything two years ago. Our first go at it was not good. I totally protested.But within a few months we tried it again. I got it the second time!
We do a modified Dave Ramsey envelope system. We try to strictly stick to cash only except for monthly bills which I pay through the bank’s website. We rarely use our debit cards because it just doesn’t hurt as much as when cash leaves our hands.
Fast forward to today… I cannot imagine life any other way. I know exactly where our money goes.
Our motto now is: If we can’t buy it with cash, then we really do not need it. Or, we just must wait and save! Now I am saving for a new quilt for our bedroom!
Tasha is a stay-at-home mom with five year old twin boys. She will begin homeschooling in September. She is new to Money Saving Mom® and is excited to be seeing savings at the grocery store!
Have you saved up and paid cash for something — large or small? Submit your story for possible publication here.
Just found your website today, thanks to my mom.
We did Dave Ramsey’s FPU about 3 years ago..and we have gone from almost 30K in debt to less than 9K in that time. We live on a tight budget and we too have our stack of envelopes. What a blessing it is to pay cash for things!! We paid cash for a “new to us” truck a year ago February for my husband and hope to do the same for a new car for me soon. We are expecting our first baby and we need a car with 4 doors..at least we would really like one.
Kudos to you and your husband for your financial goals and successes!!
Tasha
That’s for being brave enough to share your story about your purchase. This makes this series more relatable to me. I am not in the market for a new home or RV and don’t think either of those would be even an idea of a cash option for me. Heck a new blender would not even be a cash option for me now. I do want a awesome running gps watch. I am now going to make it a goal of mine to not buy it unless I can by cash because of your post. (Sadly I want that awesome blender now too!). Thanks again!!
I have the same blender. I don’t live too far from the KitchenAide Factory Store in Greenvile, Ohio. They have returned and refurbished appliances for sale in the basement of the store. I bought my blender there for cheap and am looking forward to getting more discounted appliances there.
AWESOME!!!!! We do green smoothies ALL the time and our basic Wal-Mart blender is falling apart!! This is such an inspiration! Our blender does an okay job, but a better one like yours looks like it would last longer! And I’m happy to hear that a $100 blender can get rid of those little pieces that seem to usually be left over!
Thank you so much for sharing your story! I love hearing from others who paid cash and drink green smoothies! 😀
Just another voice that it truly is the small things that make a difference. I would venture to guess that most credit card debt is this sort of thing – a blender here, a new pillow set there, a new shirt, new shoes – the stuff that does not seem like a big deal that winds up snowballing into paralyzing debt. The only way out is to start a reverse snowball. Congrats to you on buying the blender with cash and congrats to Crystal for choosing celebrating the small victories!
Which Kitchenaid is it? I have a Kitchenaid blender that I got about 4 years ago for quite a lot of money and it has never been good for smoothies. I read up in a consumer reports that the Oster blender you can get for $40 or so in Bed bath and beyond is one of the best for smoothies and a lot cheaper (they compared it to kitchenaid and some other models as well and the three best were not kitchenaid). I love smoothies but am not able to make them right now.
The one I have is the Kitchen Aid KSB560-5 speed. I ordered it off Amazon.
Thanks everyone! And thank you Crystal for sharing my story!
I have a friend, who is big on green smoothies and raw foods, she told me this blender. She has tried others and just has not been happy. She even has the Vita-Mix blender and prefers this for smoothies. That is not saying that others would not be better for other things. I primarily use my new blender for smoothies. Oh and have tried it to crush ice. It turns into SNOW!
My favorite green smoothie is the Hairy Green Supreme!
1 kiwi(hairy skin and all)
a handful of organic baby spinach
1 cup frozen pineapple
1 frozen banana
2 cups of ice
Blend until smooth.
That is my favorite, but love to try all kinds of other fruits with the baby spinach. I find the baby spinach to be milder and so far that is all I have used for my green smoothies.
Some turn out a really disgusting color, but taste GREAT! My goal is 60% greens and 40% fruit. I am about half way there.
Forgot to add the smoothie in the picture is………..
1 Frozen banana
6 fresh strawberries
2 frozen nectarine
BIG handful of organic baby spinach
2 cups water
YUM!
@Tasha-
I agree with many of the other commenters here. If something is an accomplishment to you, it is worth celebrating! Crystal reminds us often that everyone’s situation is different and what works for some may not work for others, so don’t be hindered in sharing your excitement especially when your story may serve to encourage someone else! 🙂 Congrats!
I have the same exact Kitchenaid blender in white! I love it too- but omg is it heavy! But I guess that’s because it’s good quality 🙂
My boyfriend bought it for me off of Ebay for $45 refurbished. Now i’d like to get the matching food processor but just can’t seem to rationalize the spending just yet!
Congrats on paying cash!! Regarding the clothes, we shop at a nearby consignment store. I haven’t had very good luck at the thrift store for teens. But between watching for sales and coupons I can do pretty well. Some of the teen clothing stores, such as American Eagle and Aeropostale do text coupons, and that combined with sales can be a very good deal.
i love green smoothies… so i totally understand the importance of having a good blender! way to go- even saving for cash for little things is a huge accomplishment. thanks for sharing!
I purchased a “new” blender at our local thrift store which is in a fairly upscale area. I’ve gotten some wonderful designer clothes there and really great other stuff.
@Tasha
I’ve been looking for a blender as well and will also like to know why you bought that one in particular. I would love to buy a Blendtec but those go for $300-$400. I have a 16 oz. green smoothie EVERY single morning. It has improve my health and energy immensely.
Mine broke at the bottom of the crystal jar and it didn’t turn, so I glued it with super glue!! 🙂 I have to chop everything very small and pulse it a couple of times to get it going. But I know it won’t last long, so I have to make do with it for know.
For those asking for recipes anything goes it doesn’t matter the amounts, but this is the basic:
1 part leafy greens
2 parts fresh or frozen fruits (or both)
water or ice (or both) to get it moving
That it! do not add milk or yogurt otherwise It won’t be a Green Smoothie 😉
The books that I recommend tremendously (hope that I can put this here) are from Victoria Boutenko and here Raw Food Lifestyle, “Green for Life” and “Green Smoothie Revolution”.
thanks
@gwen,
here is a very fun video of green smoothies!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR3_wK92K9U&feature=player_embedded
I recently bought that same blender and love it dearly. The reason I got that model is that it’s the only one I could find that had a non-breakable pitcher. This was my top priority since it was the (plastic) pitcher that broke on my old one and you can’t buy replacements. I think this is a sometimes overlooked aspect of frugality–sometimes spending more for an item that you know will last longer or be easier or cheaper to repair. (I also have a Phil and Ted’s stroller that I got used on ebay with cash I had saved from Christmas and birthday money. It was a huge splurge even used but all of the parts are easily replaceable. )
Tasha,
Yay..thank you for sharing your story and letting us celebrate with you!!
God Bless!
I’m not sure which part of the story is the most impressive/exciting… The new blender or having $30/week in blow money. Good job!
Yeah, I don’t even think I have room in my budget for blow money. I need to seriously think about this envelope method ‘cuz we need new sheets/quilt for our bed, too.
When you set down and make a written budget and you follow it, you almost always give yourself and instant raise! 🙂
Wanted to add that we already pay cash for almost everything. We only use our credit cards for emergencies now. We also don’t buy stuff online unless it is a necessity (like mail-order prescriptions) even if it is a good deal.
Have you read The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey? I’d highly encourage it. You’ll have a lot fewer emergencies and never need to use your credit card again, if you choose. It’s revolutionized our lives!
@Ashlee, I just finished reading The Total Money Makeover, and assuming someone in our household gets rescued from unemployment very soon, I am going to make sure we follow the guidelines. I too, however, was quite amused at the “Blow Money” category. Blow Money? What’s that? That hasn’t existed in our budget in a LOONG time! And now I can actually plan on blowing money? We’ll see how it pans out… =)
I have full confidence you are going to have some “blow money” soon. 😉 By the way, the most we’ve ever budgeted for blow money is $50 per month. However, we also budget in things like eating out, household items, homeschool etc. — whereas, some people aren’t so specific on their categories and will use the blow money for things like that.
@Crystal,
We follow a modified Dave Ramsey system & we have blow money but it’s only $10/month. My husband pointed out that even on a tighter budget, you could have more blow money depending on what all you specifically budget for. We budget money for household purchases, marriage enrichment, fun/vacation, and gifts. So then we don’t have much left to”blow.”
Tasha – This is great. I recently purchased a blender because I am doing more shakes everyday, but returned it because of the performance. I am shopping for a new one now, and would like to know why u chose this brand. I hope to purchase soon just not sure on which brand will stand up to daily use and ice crushing as well. Please tell me mor about the green smoothies. Thanks.
Tasha, this testimony was just what I needed!! I have thought so many times about writing because my husband and I saved cash to buy a grill and patio set – total: $250.
It doesn’t seem like much, but not long ago, we wouldve just charged it and said, we’ll pay it off. It felt SO good to hand over that cash!!!!
CONGRATS! 🙂 🙂
Congratulations on your cash purchase! It’s wonderful when you can pay cash for any item, big or small. I do have a question for all of you using the envelope system: I read that Crystal saves $15 per month per person for her clothing budget, but how is that enough? Does it work only if you have very young children? Eight children (2 biological) have been in my life through two marriages… currently 3.5 of them (one part-time) live with me, ages 16, 12, 11 & 2. I can’t imagine how one would be able save $15 per month for the 16 year-old, and in the end, have enough cash to get school clothes, and clothing for each season change, as 16 year-olds usually balk at uncool clothing (and yes, we do shop the clearance racks and get some GREAT deals, like Guess shorts for $5). The younger children are growing like crazy, so I have to purchase basically an entire new wardrobe for each child every time the weather changes. The 11 & 12 year-olds are a girl and a boy, so they can’t swap clothing. There are too many years between my 11 year-old girl and my 2 year-old girl to save the hand-me-downs, so, any suggestions on how to shop on a savings plan of $15 per month per child would be EXTREMELY appreciated. My 16 year-old stepdaughter literally has rips/tears/holes in ALL of her clothes (don’t ask me how, because I don’t have the slightest idea) so they aren’t in any shape to pass on to another child either. Personally, I am not a huge fan of thrift shops, usually because I have a difficult time finding clothes that are not well-worn, stained or shrunk in an odd, misshapen way. Thanks again for any advice…
@Amanda, Crystal has mentioned that she’s a minimalist, especially when it comes to clothes, and only has a very few outfits (same for her girls). One great way to save is to wear fewer outfits more often! Also, it doesn’t sound like $15 would work for your family, so don’t be hard on yourself if you couldn’t fit that budget – you have a lot of people to clothe. I’d encourage you to keep checking the thrift stores and consignment shops in your area; these places are often hit or miss. Maybe you could put together a kids’ clothing swap with some friends? And finally, 16 is a great age to start working a part-time job and paying for some of your own clothes 🙂 Good luck!
@Amanda, One thing that makes it easy for my family to keep the clothes budget low is the hand-me-down factor, which I’m sure varies widely from family to family. We only have two children so far, a 2-year-old and a 2-month old, both boys, which does make it easier. We were given lots of baby clothes when the first was born, did a little consignment store shopping, and otherwise have mostly been getting hand-me-downs from friends and neighbors with older children. We’re truly blessed to have such generous and thoughtful people in our lives who also happen to have children the right age to give us their hand-me-downs, and I know that’s not the case for everyone. I don’t know how Crystal keeps her clothing budget so low, but that’s a possibility.
A tip on consignment store shopping: check out the consignment stores and Goodwills in the upscale areas of town. Generally that’s where you’ll find the higher quality stuff with less wear on it, in my experience. And you might even have more luck at Goodwill than at consignment stores because the people who spend a lot of money on nice clothes and then get rid of it after hardly wearing it are often not willing to bother with trying to sell them, so they just donate them to make room for the new clothes. 🙂
@Amanda,
@ Amanda,
I have two children, a 5yr old boy and a 1yr old girl. For them, I usually get hand me downs and I buy clearance @ the end of season for next year. (it’s also nice to have a stash of bigger clothes so you don’t have to run out and pay full price when they have a growth spurt.) If I still need more, I turn to craigslist where I usually get most clothing for $1/item. When they outgrow their clothing, I sell it to put towards new clothing. As for the 16 yr old, Being only 23 myself, I understand the uncool clothing thing. (i shop in the juniors section) What I do for myself is buy clearance! Kohls is great!! If you don’t have one near you, you can shop online. I have a kohls charge so I always have a coupon code for 15-30% off plus free shipping. then I pay the balance off in full. I buy @ the end of the season, the basics that are on clearance like jeans, plain tees, tank tops… etc. the basics that can be layered and aren’t going out of style. another option is Plato’s closet, if you have one near you, which sells gently used, name brand clothing. they also buy your gently used name brand clothing which you can get cash or put towards your purchase. I’ve gotten stuff with the tags still on for next to nothing. in my area, we also have a few little consignment shops like this that are geared to the younger crowd.
I hope this helps!
@Amanda, I have 3 girls and a boy. We used to joke that we wanted #4 (the boy) to be a girl, because of the savings in clothes! How’s that for cheap? Just have kids of all one gender!
Anyway, I find the best way to save and look nice (I’m picky on how the kids dress) is through buying the end-of-season clearance and saving for the next year. It’s a bit of a gamble, especially when they are babies, but I have very rarely been burned by buying something that didn’t fit. It is so nice to not have to run out and buy at regular price. I’m not a big fan of yard sales or Goodwill. Takes too much time for what you get, and hard to shop with the little ones. Maybe when they are older. But for the price of what’s at Goodwill, I can often find a new item on clearance at Target.
@Heather, You can help clothing last longer by turining everything inside out before washing. My dh gets annoyed with me that I do this, but it saves on a lot of wear and tear, and fading. Plus, make sure everything is snapped and zipped before washing. I can see why junior clothing rips easily – the quality is so poor and thin, IMO.
@Amanda, I cannot speak for Crystal, but I can tell you a few things we do. First of all, for the younger children, make it known to friends/relatives that we would love hand-me-downs… and that you would appreciate new clothes/shoes as gifts at birthdays/holidays. For new clothes, we shop in the off-season. I find excellent deals for summer clothes in the winter and vice versa… Also, we go to thrift stores, Goodwills or Yard Sale shopping! I was a bit apprehensive until our daughter and son were some of the best dressed children in their school for pennies on the dollar… We find Hollister, Gap, Aeropostale…. all for pennies…. I love the new outfits and shoes at rock-bottom prices, but I also love a good thrift or yard sale find… You can see just a few of the things we snagged here: http://budgetingmommy.blogspot.com/2010/07/frugal-fashionista-fashion-show.html
@Kassandra Wood, Your daughter looks adorable; looks like you have found some amazing deals… thank you so much for your suggestions.
@Amanda, Thank you so, so much to everyone for taking the time to respond. So far, I have been shopping the end of season clearance racks for the past several years (Dillard’s/Macy’s/Tilly’s usually have the best deals in our area), and purchasing the clothing a size or so bigger than what they are currently wearing so that they may fit a year later… but it still costs so much! Maybe it’s just having so many kids!!! Ha! Having the 16 year-old has been interesting (as well as the 18 and 23 year-olds especially!) because I am only 32 myself (both my husband and ex-husband are 46, by coincidence). My bios are the 11 and 2 year-olds. Anyway, 16 did get a job this summer, and we are making her buy some of her clothes finally, although I feel horribly guilty about it because I always felt it was my responsibility as a parent to provide the clothing. I guess I rationalize it by thinking that I will buy her basic stuff, but if she wants more expensive “cool” stuff, she can buy it herself. Also, I work full-time, so I suppose part of the problem is that I don’t have time to do everyone’s laundry, so I always feel like I have to provide them all with enough clothes to get through the entire week (and the minimalist thing doesn’t work). 16 does her own laundry(which is probably why it all falls apart), but I have gotten her to hang dry most things these days… On another subject, what is everyone’s opinion about an 11 year-old girl doing her own laundry? I am thinking it’s time, but I am not sure? Thanks again for all the good advice.
I did all our family of nine’s laundry for two years when I was around 13 and 14 years old. My mom had each of us take it over for a few years so that we were well-versed in how to do laundry. The same with cooking.
And my parents had us start buying our own clothes by the time we were around 12. It taught us to be thrifty, creative, resourceful and entrepreneurial.
I think instilling personal responsibility and a strong work ethic in your children are some of the best gifts you can give to them — as it will benefit them tremendously the rest of their lives!
@Amanda,
Something we would do after looking at the price tag is looking at the wash instructions! We would only buy machine washable clothing. I know a lot of “hip” teenager clothing nowadays is not machine washable so maybe give the 16 year old a little help with figuring out how to pick clothes she can take care of, and how to properly take care of them so they last longer. If a kid knows they aren’t getting a replacement, they take better care of their possesions.
And I insisted on doing my laundry at 10 years old. That way my mom didn’t get it mixed up with all my sister’s clothing. It taught me responsibility and I was much more likely to get all my socks back if I just washed from my own hamper.
@Amanda,
I had my son start doing his laundry when he was 10 yrs. He did a great job. At 20, he knows how to do laundry, cook, clean and all the manly skills his father taught him. He was responsible for his laundry only. The Marine Corps has taught him to take his cleaning skills to a whole new level. The White Glove. LOL. I believe we should teach our children to be independently functioning adults that work well with others. Example, when I was on complete bedrest while pregnant with our son, my husband had to do the laundry and cook.
@Amanda, Here are some of my ideas, hope something clicks:
1. First of all, do you have any friends that you can clothes swap with? Especially for the 2 year old? My kids are 9 (girl), 8, 2 and baby (all boys) and I understand about not saving the older kids clothes for the younger. However, I’m part of a great church and we all clothes swap. My 9 year old gets clothes from a girl a few years older than her, then I hand those clothes down to another little girl, who I’ve seen hand them down to someone else! My 2 year old gets his clothes from a little boy a few years older, too, then I do save those for the baby. Once the baby is done, they get passed on to the new babies. This is great, especially for the babies, who go through clothes sizes so fast and the clothes are still perfectly good. So, my first piece of advise is to see if any of your friends want to do a clothes swap.
2. My 8 year old is the only one not in a clothes swap, so I buy all of his clothes “new”. However, I don’t usually buy new, rather I buy thrift store. We are blessed here with an abundance of great thrift stores. Yes, you have to weed, but once you get the hang of it, it doesn’t take all that long. I second the idea to hit the stores that are in the better parts of town. Also, do the stores have a “sales” day? One of our stores does 99 cent Mondays, where a certain colored tag is 99 cents. I make it part of my routine to hit the store every Monday. It only takes an hour or so to quickly comb through and see if there are any deals to be had. This past week I picked up a pair of jeans and a pair of church pants for my son for 99 cents each. Yes, some days I walk away with nothing, but more often then not I get some great deals.
3. My other point for thrift stores is this: decide what pieces of clothing MUST be such and such brand, and what you can “skimp” on. If school pants must be X brand, but play clothes can be whatever, set aside money for the X brand, then fill in the play clothes with cheap sales.
4. Also, check out Beauty and Bedlam’s Frugal Fashionista series http://beautyandbedlam.com/category/frugal-fashionista/for lots of tips about dressing great on a small budget. She’s got lots of great ideas.
5. I’d get to the bottom of why the 16 year old’s clothes are such a mess. Likely she doesn’t appreciate what she is getting and thus doesn’t take good care of them. Being held responsible for her clothing may help with this. And, like another poster said, being 16 is old enough to get a job and start paying for clothing. If that’s not an option, then taking better care of the clothes she has should be top priority. She should be able to hand-down to the 12 year old.
6. Take advantage of the online sales and freebies posted here and other places. I bought two pairs of shoes for $2.12 each Wednesday by taking advantage of the JCPenney sale. I bought them in bigger sizes so that they can use them next year. Putting money aside so that you can do that will net you a bigger return, so to speak, when you can take advantage of these sales.
7. This is one of those key tips that you see on clothing shows, but it’s worth mentioning: Buy several KEY pieces of clothing and mix and match them. And, for the 16 year old, accessorize. There is no need for 30 different outfits, but if you have 10 pairs of pants that mix with 10 shirts, and a few accessories like scarves and belts, you can easily come up with 50 different outfits. Also, experimenting with different hairstyles and make-up can make a difference, too.
Finally, don’t compare your budget to others. Besides being a minimalist, Crystal also gets some free clothes from reviews she does for her site, as well as gifts from her family I’m sure. She has different priorities and challenges. Find a budget that works for you and stick with that.
Good luck. Sorry this got so long!
@Amanda,
I am a step-mother, too! I have three amazing step-sons who live with us for half the year and their mom for half. Their ages are 15, 11, and 10. We only allot $20/month for all three of them for their clothing budget. This works for us because our 11 and 10 year old are only one size different (our youngest is actually the bigger of the two!) so I only ever have to buy one set of clothes for the two of them, and I try my hardest to keep our 15 year old’s clothes decent so that they can be passed down to their little ones.
Here are some things that I would suggest for helping with your clothing budget (sorry if I repeat anything that’s already been said!):
1. Do what you can to keep your oldest daughters clothes nice to be able to pass down to your 11 year old. I try to have clothes that are specifically for “play” or to just lounge around in and not to wear when we are going somewhere nice. And, for clothes your 16 year old outgrows, if there is any life left in them at all they could be saved for one of your younger daughters as “play” clothes. Because of the age gap in your kids it will take a few years to use the clothes you are saving, but once your 11 year old hits 15 or 16 and you can start using them you’ll be thankful you did!!
2. Reconsider buying clothes for “back to school.” We don’t do “back to school” shopping in our family. It’s not necessary to buy a whole new wardrobe when school starts if they have a sufficient amount of clothes that already fit them.
3. When you are not feeling pressed to buy clothes at a specific time (see above) you free up some of your money to buy clothes before your kids need it. This has been huge for our eldest because he doesn’t have an older brother giving him clothes. I always look at clearance racks when I’m out shopping-wherever it may be-and if I see a great price on clothes I may pick a few up (this is especially true for jeans, I hate paying a lot for jeans!!). Keep an inventory so you don’t end up with more than you need (I pulled out my size 12’s the other day to switch out my tens and realized I had somehow accumulated over 10 pairs of size 12 pants!!!) and you will quickly-and inexpensively-get a nice stash going. And if it’s a super deal I might buy 2 sizes ahead.
4. Hand-me-downs!! I always wore hand-me-downs from my older cousins growing up. What I liked about it was my mom gave me the freedom to look through the clothes first and choose what I wanted. I love getting hand-me-downs from friends and family for my boys. Being boys, they don’t care too much about fashion just yet, so they don’t even want to look through the clothes. We get tons of hand-me-downs from friends, which is great!
5. Old Navy has been a life-saver for me. The majority of our kids’ clothes come from their, if they aren’t hand-me-downs. I love Old Navy’s clearance section and their sales. I have a credit card for there, so I try to shop only when they’re running their “Stuff and Save” special, where you get 10% off the sale and clearance prices if you use your card. The other day I was there they were running both the stuff and save, and 30% of clearance items, and you got both discounts!! These are great ways to save if you are able to pay your bill of when it comes.
6. Set a budget and stick to it. 16 is old enough to understand the concept of a budget. We explain this to all our kids-that we have a budget-and if they ask for something we can’t afford we tell them that. If your 16 year old feels like she must have name brand clothing, then tell her exactly what her budget is for clothes and let her make up the difference.
I hope that some of this was helpful to you!!
@Meagan, I love your tip about it not being necessary to buy “back-to-school” clothes. My childrens’ school has uniforms, so we do have to buy uniforms, but otherwise, I agree that it’s not necessary to buy clothes if new clothes are not, well, necessary!
I’d encourage you to do what works for you and not to compare yourself to others. $15 per person works for us because I’m a minimalist, because I don’t wash laundry unless it’s really dirty, because we use lots of Shout, because I’m willing to accept hand-me-downs, because I do a lot of online shopping when clothing is under $3-4 each, because my children are just grateful for whatever I buy for them and because that’s what works for our family.
In five years from now, it might not work at all. We re-evaluate all the time and are completely willing to change as life and circumstances change.
A lot of others gave some excellent tips for cutting down your clothing bill, so I don’t think have much extra to add. But I did want to mention that I will definitely be expecting my children to start helping to pay for their clothes by the time they are 12 or 13. And when they are 15 or 16, I would expect them to be buying most all their own clothes. 🙂
@Crystal, I am really glad and grateful that you have this site, because it is an incredible way to get a new perspective on all subjects. I have learned a lot today. I come from a family that was EXTREMELY unusual (I think) in that my mom did EVERYTHING (and I mean everything) for us while we lived at home, and still does if we come home to visit. So although I learned how to “live” on my own (ha ha), I haven’t got the slightest idea about what ages are appropriate to expect certain things from all of our kids. I do ask my friends for age appropriate advice but most answers are so vague… your site is invaluable and I thank every one of you who took the time to answer my questions. It never would have occured to me to have the children buy their own clothes. My brothers and I certainly weren’t spoiled financially (only domestically :)) since my parents lived on one income, but my parents still bought us everything that we needed. I have always felt like I was doing something “wrong” if I made the kids buy their own things or if I made them do certain “chores” that I wasn’t sure if they were ready for, but reading this makes me see things from many different viewpoints. I wholeheartedly agree that all these things teach them responsibility, etc., and how to “live” in the real world so I am looking forward to giving them more responsibility. Still unsure of which household jobs are age appropriate though… I like what your parents did with the laundry. How did you have the time to do ALL that laundry with having to go to school, do homework, etc.? Anyway, you are an inspiration. Thank you.
Tasha
What is your recipe for green smoothies?
Love the story and puts me in a good mood about saving money and using cash. I love reading all these stories to give me motivation to keep saving.
Tasha – I love this! It isn’t just the BIG cash purchases that should be celebrated. It’s the attitude behind cash purchases – which should apply to big and small items! YAY for a new blender!!
We bought a new one back in April when we started doing green smoothies 3x a day – they are incredible!!
@Jessica Lynette, what is your recipe for green smoothies?
@Kelly,
I have a lot of recipes on my blog.
Generally though we just use whatever happens to be on hand 🙂
We always put coconut oil in for a fat and usually Kale over any other green. Other than that it’s whatever we happen to have!
If they turn out exceptional I share the recipe on my blog.
I’ve been doing a lot of kale smoothies too. We love them! My kale plants are almost done (in the NW) and I guess I’m going to have to buy my greens. : (
This is great! I am a huge budgeter too… and just so happens, I have a broken blender 🙂
@Misty Butler, Another thing that you can do is look at buying the part that is broken. I have a broken blender, too. The replacement part is $10 (plus shipping). I have been looking to replace the part as soon as I am able to. Just go the the website of the blender brand nd look for replacment parts (if its something as simple as that).