March 24, 2021
Leave a Comment
Being a homemaker in this day and age presents some unexpected challenges. You might think that life is a piece of cake for modern homemakers, since we have so many more conveniences and labor-saving devices than our great-grandmothers had: from dishwashers and robotic vacuum cleaners to indoor plumbing and electricity, there are certainly many things to be thankful for in the 21st century!
However, with new advancements come new challenges. Homemaking is becoming less and less common a lifestyle choice among women, and this is reflected in the price of just about everything. Why is this? As more and more women work outside the home and earn an income, families can afford more luxuries, and the standard of living increases across the board.
In order to “keep up” with a “normal” standard of living in developed nations, many people would say it is now necessary for both women and men to work full-time jobs, if not more.
Now, I’m certainly not saying that homemaking isn’t a viable option anymore; it is still a good option, and one that should definitely be considered when young women are choosing among different career paths and lifestyles. However, to state the matter plainly, the modern homemaker faces increased challenges in regards to money.
Frugal Living is a Challenge for Today’s Homemaker
In Great-Grandmother’s day, perhaps her family didn’t have much extra money to spend; but chances are, her friends and relatives were in a similar boat. She had others she could relate to about financial difficulties, and perhaps learn from them some creative ways to make do with what she had.
Today, if you are a family trying to survive on one income so that the wife can be a homemaker (whether she’s raising children at the moment or not), you are the exception instead of the rule. And that can be daunting.
While your friends can afford the newest technology, vehicles, and clothes, you might be driving a ten- or twenty-year-old car and making do with secondhand clothes. Worse still, if you don’t have any close friends or family members who are homemakers, it’s easy to feel alone and “left behind” the rest of the world.
You might start to feel like everyone else has more than you, and it’s not fair. I completely understand this attitude, but it’s dangerous and unhealthy. It’s not healthy for your marriage or your vocation as a homemaker. It can make you dissatisfied with your life, and start focusing on money as the ultimate goal.
The good news is that you don’t have to think this way, and there are many practical things you can do as a homemaker to help with your family’s finances. Learning a few traditional homemaking skills can go a long way toward improving your financial situation. Some of these skills involve saving money, others help you manage your money better, and still others provide ways for homemakers to make some income themselves. Today, we’ll cover ways to save and manage money.
Traditional Homemaking Skills That Help You Save Money
Creativity is key when it comes to saving money without feeling stinted. It’s one thing to say, “We’re not going to spend any extra money this month,” and quite another thing to actually carry it out! If you start thinking in terms of “we can’t do this or that,” it’s easy to get frustrated and start feeling like you’re living in the poorhouse. That’s where creativity comes in, my friend! These skills will help you to find positive ways to save, instead of negative ways (“We can’t order pizza this month”, etc.)
Baking bread
This one’s first on the list because it’s my favorite! Baking bread can shave quite a bit off of your grocery bill: probably more than you would expect. Think of all the bread or baked items you buy: not just loaves, but buns, muffins, tortillas, bagels, cookies and cakes, etc.
You might think these items are cheap and not worth making yourself. But wait: the price of one whole-grain loaf of bread is roughly $4.00-6.00 (in my area, at least). Or I can buy a 5-lb. bag of whole wheat flour for $6.00, which will yield approximately 6 loaves of bread.
Yes, there are other ingredients in bread, and they do cost money: yeast costs me approximately $0.08 per loaf (I buy mine in bulk); salt costs $0.02 per loaf; and sugar costs $0.02 per loaf. If you use butter or oil, that will add an additional $0.02-$0.25 per loaf. So we’re looking at a total cost of $1.27 for one loaf of homemade whole wheat bread.
If you use all or part all-purpose flour or bread flour, the cost will be even lower (whole wheat flour is more expensive). That’s a significant savings when compared to a $6.00 loaf from the store! Bread baking is a skill to be learned, and it does take practice, but the results are well worth it, both in flavor and price.
Gardening
Do you have memories of visiting your grandparents, and helping with a big garden full of vegetables? Like bread baking, it’s much more convenient to pick up your salad fixings from the grocery store or farmer’s market, but the convenience is costly. I know vegetable prices vary widely by region and season, but home grown is always less expensive.
I can buy a head of leaf lettuce for about $1.50 during the summer, or $2.99 during the winter. But a packet of seeds only costs $1-2.00, and yields enough lettuce for months. Even if you don’t want to start seeds yourself, buying lettuce plugs or starts from a local greenhouse or farmer’s market shouldn’t cost more than $0.50-$0.60 per plant.
You will see even more savings with other vegetables, like tomatoes: if your plant costs $3-4.00, and you harvest 20-40 tomatoes from it, the price of each is $0.10-$0.20 per tomato! Like baking, there are other costs involved with gardening: soil, fertilizer and mulch (natural or not), watering apparatus, etc. But when you divide the costs among each plant, they become negligible. Now, I know that gardening can become expensive if you let it; but the basics shouldn’t put too large a dent in your pocketbook.
Buying in bulk
This is one instance where buying more at a time can actually cost less! Over time, of course. But learning how to spot a good deal and stock up on pantry basics when they’re on sale can save you money down the road. This skill is a bit tedious to learn, as it involves paying attention to normal prices and sales; but once you have it down, it’s really not that time-consuming.
If you’re new to bulk buying, the best tool you can use is a price book. Get a small notebook and write down one item of food you commonly buy at the top of each page: for example, apples, applesauce, baking soda, brown rice, etc. It is helpful to start at the beginning of the alphabet and work your way through, so it’s easier to navigate your price book later. Don’t feel like you have to include every single item you’ve ever purchased; just start with the basics. You can always add more later.
Next, bring your price book along to the grocery store the next time you shop. Note the unit price of each item you buy, as well as any sale prices. The unit price is the price per pound, ounce, liter, or whatever unit of measurement is used for any given item. You can usually find it in a corner of the price tag, in small print.
Comparing unit prices helps you to compare prices on items which are in different sizes of packaging: for example, 15-oz. cans versus 29-oz. cans. This can be particularly helpful when you are comparing different brands, or sale prices of name brands versus the regular price of store brands. For more tips on using price books and saving money on groceries, read the Beginner’s Guide to Grocery Shopping and Ultra Power Saving Mode for your Grocery Budget.
Meal planning
Meal planning is one of those tricky things that can help you save a lot of money–or it can help you spend even more than usual! The basic idea is that you write out a list of meals for the week or month, and then only buy the ingredients you need for those meals. If you’re an impulse shopper, this could clearly help you save a lot of money!
However, if you’re really trying to save money, you need to be careful about which meals (and ingredients) end up on your menu. It’s fun to plan fancy meals, right? But looking at your grocery receipt later might not be so much fun. Once you get the hang of meal planning, it’s quite simple. I’ve got all the information you could want about meal planning right here! Check out Easing into Meal Planning and Why You Should Have a Simple Meal Plan.
Using leftovers
This is everybody’s favorite subject, right? Leftovers don’t have to be boring (or worse). There are plenty of ways you can transform leftovers into something (almost) new and exciting! But sometimes we lack inspiration for what to do with a little of this and a cupful of that.
Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a list of meal ideas for common leftovers like meats, rice, and pasta? Guess what? There is! 16 Ways to get Creative with Leftovers is your cheatsheet for success when faced with a fridge full of random containers. Or read about How to Use Leftovers and Prevent Food Waste if you frequently find yourself throwing out spoiled food.
DIY household items
Did you know that many common household items can be made right at home–for a fraction of the price? Cleaning products, beauty products, toiletries, and a host of other items command a premium for their flashy packaging or brand names, but you can make them for a few cents with some basic ingredients. Try making your own soaps, lip balm, natural cleaning solutions, laundry or dishwasher detergent, and more! Here are a few resources I’ve found helpful:
- 13 Housekeeping Secrets from our Great-Grandmothers
- Citrus + Sage Natural Cleaner
- Soap Making for Beginners
- Homemade Citrus Dusting Spray
Mending your own clothes
Instead of throwing out those ripped jeans and buying another pair, why not mend them and use them for gardening or other messy jobs? Why consign your favorite top to the back of the closet merely because it lost a button or a seam is coming undone? Did the zipper break on your winter coat? That can be replaced too–and zippers are a lot cheaper than new coats!
With a few simple sewing skills and inexpensive items like needles, thread, and thimbles, you will be ready to tackle all sorts of clothing catastrophes! Sewing machines are nice, but they’re optional for mending purposes. You can definitely mend clothing by hand; but it’s okay to keep an eye out for a nice used sewing machine, too!
Finding quality used clothing
This goes right along with the previous skill. New clothing costs a pretty penny, and keeping a family well dressed can be a daunting task for today’s housewife. Old clothes can be mended once or twice, but they might not be presentable for church or outings anymore. Acquiring the knack for spotting quality clothes at thrift stores, consignment shops, or garage sales becomes an important skill.
Why does quality matter, if you’re buying it used anyway? Well, quality matters even more when you’re looking at previously owned garments. Some pieces are cheaply made, and begin to unravel or stretch after only a few washings. If you’re shopping at a thrift store, that cute top might be only one washing away from garbage! In order to avoid this predicament, stick to quality brands and natural fibers. These will stand the test of time much better than clingy polyesters or spandex. For more tips, read How to Find Quality Clothes on a Budget.
Budgeting
Speaking of budgets, this is one of the best tools you can use to help keep track of your finances and, ultimately, save more money. Have you ever gotten to the end of a month and wondered where all the money went? Budgeting answers that question by showing you exactly where you spent each dollar.
Its usefulness goes far beyond merely keeping track of your spending, however. Budgets allow you to plan a certain amount of money each month for housing, food, utilities, gas, and anything else. This shows you clearly how much “extra” money can be spent on unnecessary or fun purchases without putting you into debt or digging into savings.
Do you think budgeting won’t work for you because your income isn’t the same every month? Think again. I’ve been in that boat for most of my married life, and budgeting still helps. Yes, we have months where we spend more than we make, and other months where we can save a lot. Budgeting helps us to rein in our spending during the good times, so we have enough left over to get us through the lean times–and still save. I like the EveryDollar app because it’s free and simple to use, although you can pay for an upgraded version if you like.
***
I think that’s enough for one day! These nine skills are simple enough for any homemaker to learn, and fit well into the daily rhythm of a modern housewife. They may take a little while to learn, but over time you will become more adept at saving money, and more confident in managing it! I hope this list inspires you to try your hand at something new.
Happy homemaking!
~Kimberly
