I am ALL for saving a buck (or even a penny because those add up too) but when someone does the legwork for me then I’m more inclined to use their tips! As many homeschooling families do, we live in a limited budget and making those dollars stretch each month to cover everything is sometimes a challenge. We recently embarked on a new savings and giving program, it’s a new concept for us but we are already seeing the fruits of our efforts. I’d like to share some of the resources that I’ve found helpful and encourage you to give some of your savings to the less fortunate.
Have you heard of Mary Hunt? She is the author of the books Live Your Life for Half Price and Debt-Proof Living as well as the very helpful e-Newsletters Everyday Cheapskate and Cheapskate Monthly. In the free e-Newsletter Everyday Cheapskate she offers tips ranging from make-at-home cleaning products, organizing your home to investing and savings tips. I look forward to receiving it everyday because each one has something that I can use and put into action with our new endeavor. Mrs. Hunt’s website is a plethora of tips and techniques for digging yourself out of debt and building your savings as well as calculators to help you figure-out complicated calculations about compounding interest rates as well as what credit card to pay off first, just to name a few. I believe the most encouraging thing about stumbling onto this site is Mrs. Hunt is a Christian and openly encourages Christians not to live in the bondage of debt. Stop into her website at www.debtproofliving.com to learn more about her offerings.
Another great find from Mrs. Hunt’s website was The Coupon Mom, Stephanie Nelson. She is the author of the book Greatest Secrets of the Coupon Mom as well as the driving force behind the website http://www.couponmom.com/. She offers free printable coupons, a virtual coupon organizer along with other helpful features to get you on the road to saving a bundle on your grocery bill each month. Each week she posts the best grocery deals in your area that correlate to coupons found in your Sunday paper. It is almost painless to use coupons with her program! I believe the biggest incentive for our family is she began The Cut Out Hunger program to encourage you to use a bit of the money you save to make donations to your local food bank and/or food pantry. This is a way that we can all join hands to encourage those who have felt the pangs of hunger.
May God bless your family this Holiday Season!
~ Contributed by Anissa DeGrasse
Public Relations Assistant
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC
anissa@thehomeschoolmagazine.com
