Family Budgeting Tips And Advice

Most families wish to save time and money so they can enjoy increased leisure time. Patricia Sargeant, a homemaker who lives with her family in the Morgantown, West Virginia area, has learned from experience.

Patricia stopped working outside the home after her fourth child was born, and although she was always a coupon clipper, this is when she began looking for every possible way to conserve money.

Patricia says, “Coupons are cash. I know a lot of people don’t want to bother with them.” There used to be a coupon club at her church. Everyone contributed and one woman organized them in a Rubbermaid box.

“We would go through the box and take what we could use. Once I had a $100 grocery bill and paid $50.” This is especially possible when taking advantage of stores that offer double and triple coupon deals.

“I plan my meals around weekly coupons, and I’ll go to different stores to take advantage of sales. I always make a list and try to stick to it. I don’t normally just ‘go shopping,’” says Patricia.

This year the coupon clipper club saved by sharing the cost of beef with other members. “We bought a whole cow and split it. That has made a big difference, and the quality of the beef is much better.”

Cost-Cutting Ideas

“My parents did not have a garden, but when I got married, we started growing green beans. I bought a book about canning and that really helped. Now we grow everything and we don’t waste. Today, you don’t need a lot of space to garden. My father put garden boxes in his small yard and does quite well.”

“Someone offered me a bushel of green peppers and I said, ‘What can I do with these?’ I put the green peppers in the blender with onion and garlic and froze them in ice cube trays for sauces throughout the year.”

“My kids really enjoy canning, and hopefully they’ll do it when they have their families. This saves on our grocery bill and gives us a sense that we’re eating healthier.”

Now the Sargeant family cans green beans, spaghetti and pizza sauces, salsa, hot pepper mustard, peppers, peaches and applesauce. With all that she does to save, Patricia estimates that she spends approximately $300 each month on groceries for her family of six.

Her skills do not end with food. “I didn’t grow up sewing or crafting, but I enjoy it now. After I had my first child, a lady from church gave me a jumper pattern and encouraged me to make my daughter a dress. The only background I had was an eighth grade home-economics class. Now I sew for all four of my children.”

She also takes advantage of yard sales and says, “It’s not only fun, but the savings are great. You can find many new items for the family.” Finding quality second-hand clothes for children makes sense when new ones are so expensive and they grow out of them so quickly.

When asked to consider the best piece of advice she could offer young families, Patricia had no doubts. “Staying away from credit cards was number one. They cause a lot of stress.” She says her parents set an example. “They had five children and purchased everything on a cash basis. They still don’t have a major credit card,” Patricia says. “My dad taught me that you don’t want to pay interest to people.”

As a result, she and her husband avoided the pitfalls of debt that plague most young couples. They learned the difference between something they can live without and something they can’t. “I went a year without a dishwasher,” says Patricia. “John picked up extra work and we paid for it when we could. A hot water heater couldn’t wait. A dishwasher could.”