Some time ago I had a major shift in my attitude when it came to saving money. For quite a while, to my own folly, I thought the only way I could save money was when I spent money. I would do little things at home to save money that were just second nature to me. But I thought that when I wanted to buy something that I needed to save money that way instead of saving money by not spending money.

There is nothing wrong with saving money when you are buying something. I still do this. You can bet I am not going to waste Kohls’ cash or a Menards’ rebate by not using it. But saving money this way is only one aspect of saving money. To be truly frugal, I had to start looking at the big picture.

Savings money was only something I could do. I can encourage and enforce my children to save money and make cost-saving measures. But in the end, I am the one who has to do this. This was a big revelation to me in a way. In another way, it was a “duh” moment.

I started looking around at all the projects I could see that I never did. Broken jewelry that could be fixed. Cabinet and drawer handles that were loose and could be tighted/fixed. A plug-in that needed to be rewired. All things I could do, but before would have thought nothing of having someone take care of it or buying something new.

Sure I didn’t enjoy painting, but I would save a ton of money doing the painting myself. I don’t truly enjoy mending clothes, but not having to buy new clothes and get more wear out of the current clothes is a huge cost-savings over time. Making due with what I have and using the skills I possessed was what really saved me money.

When I read books from the Depression era, the one thing that sticks with me is how they used everything, wasted nothing, and made do with what they had. No buying a new thing unless they couldn’t possibly find another thing to replace it at home. No food went to waste ever. No buying something new if they could make it themselves. They were the original reduce, reuse, and recycle people.

More than anything else, that has radically changed my attitude about saving money. Sure, sometimes it is more work for me to make my own things, but that is what I have to do to save money and make ends meet.

I know some of you are saying “What if I don’t have those skills?” Learn them. Find someone to learn from or pick up a book/manual. There is so many books and manuals out there to learn from. Your local library may have them or can help you find them. Find someone you think of as a jack-of-all-trades and ask them to teach you.

We are in a time in our country where the economy is not good and services/goods are getting higher and higher priced. Being self-sufficient and doing your own work will only help you save money.

And you never know…you might become so good at those skills that you can barter for items or make some money on the side!

Thanks for reading! Have a good day!

Sharing is caring!