Right after we got out of debt, my husband received word that they were transferring us to Indianapolis, Indiana and renting us an apartment so he could open a new department in that branch. It would be for about a year and then they would transfer us back. It sounded like a fun adventure.
We gave notice on the house we were renting and our landlord quickly found a new renter to move in as soon as we were gone. I set aside the bare necessities for living (one set of dishes, one pot, one set of towels etc.) and packed the rest up into a storage unit. Not too long after, my husband’s work changed their mind. The move wasn’t going to work out after all. And just like that we were homeless.
The West view from their porch
Even though we had 3 babies, my in-laws invited us to come and stay with them until we could figure something out. Their house was a charming 1920’s bungalow with only one bathroom featuring a cute cast iron tub. For cleaning up after coming in from the fields, there was an open shower in the basement.
The plumbing in the house was old (and plumbed backwards so the left handle was cold water and the right hot ) The bathtub faucet dripped. My mother-in-law put a bucket under the faucet and then used the water to water her plants, or to get a head start on the bathtub filling when it was time. It just dripped once every second or so, but if we didn’t watch the bucket it would overflow in just a few hours. She couldn’t keep the bathtub stopped up all the time to catch the drips or by the end of the day we’d have a tub full of cold water and not enough room to add hot water to warm it up.
When I look at our finances I catch myself saying stuff like, “And that’s not even a drop in the bucket.” Meaning, we could save a few dollars here or there, but it won’t make a difference. That’s wrong. A few cents or dollars here and there if found CONSISTENTLY and at increasing frequency will fill a bucket in no time.
Leave a comment and give us some ideas. Where can you find a drop for your bucket?
P.S. Keep in mind that if it costs more than you save by driving too far to get a special deal…that’s not saving anything. If you cancel a membership or subscription that is saving you money than it costs you (like a Costco membership or a Grocery Shrink Plus subcription #shamelessplug ….. then that’s going backwards too.) Take some time and look at the numbers so you can make your decisions with wisdom.
My best little helps take my time into consideration. For example…we use mostly cloth diapers…probably saves me $25 a month right now. It really is no big time eater to wash am extra load of laundry twice a week. Scouring multiple store ads and making extra stops might save me that much. But the time spent would be considerably more, and I dont rhink it is worth it right now. We homeschool..getting to the store at all is a challenge!
Also, actual savings, not perceived savings….I’ve watched those Extreme Couponing shows a few times. I just don’t get it. So they get.dozens ofbottles of vitamin water. That only saves you money if you normally buy a lot of vitamin water, lol.
Melanie, I agree, take your time into consideration. I like to figure an hourly wage on my extra work that saves us money. Also, with extreme couponing they have to have lots of copies of the newspaper….It still impresses me, but not enough to do it, lol.