Saving Money #8 Quality vs Quantity
Good afternoon sisters!
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16
We need to remember that! Praise God for another day to glorify Him in this present wicked world. Let your light so shine...
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:16
Amen!
Today I want to continue working on the 10 ways we save money and this is number 8 Quality vs Quantity
Basically what we do is thoughfully consider whatever we buy to see if it's quality (that will last) vs quantity to just be buying things. Let me explain....many women have a lust of the flesh to shop. The thrill of buying new things or hunting down bargains becomes like an addiction and they are no longer content with what they have but they constantly have to be looking for something new and different. There's nothing sinful about buying things or upgrading something old to something new, if done in the right context and if it's glorifying to God.
Be careful, even finding things on sale can become an addiction and you could be spending more money on things you normally wouldn't. I fell into that trap years ago when I was cleaning out sinful items in our home (false religious pictures, immodest clothing etc.) I would go to the resale shop and find all sorts of things for next to nothing and I ended up getting swept away with the thrill of finding good deals and being able to swap things out easily for not much money. It was wasting money even if it was small amounts but more than that it was feeding my flesh and wasting my time.
Since then I have learned to wait patiently for items I needed to go on sale or in the resale shop and over time I have gotten what's important. There are times when something new comes out that can save you extra time or money by combining various gadgets into one and there you might end up spending a bit more on something but over time the cost weighs out to be a savings. Example: You may have a very old washer that uses a lot of water and electricity. You may find one that would do a better job with less water and power and over a year or so it pays for itself and then after that is a savings for you. On the other hand you may have an old washer that does just fine but the lust of your flesh wants something new.
Now when I buy something, I focus on just exactly what I need, get it and not be wandering around looking at what's out there to tantalize my flesh.
I do the same thing for food. Before being born again, there were times I used to try to get as much food as I could for the money, regardless of the nutritional value but now that I know differently, I contemplate each purchase to see if the nourishment from it is worth the money. For example: if I have the choice of a $5 loaf of organic bread; a decent quality bread for $2.00 or a cheap one for $1 that could have fillers in it, I would pick the one for $2.00. Buying any of the others is not sinful, it's just what we have chosen to do because to use the inbetween has a decent enough quality for the value.
It helps that we have downsized a lot because there's not much room in our living space (whether it's in our tiny off grid house of 224 square feet or our cargo van with much less space:-) to be just buying things that catch our eye.
I've noticed that when I set my mind on things above (Colossians 3:2) and remember that we are here on this earth to glorify the Lord, it's easier for me to walk right by what used to catch my eye in years past.
Also, when we actually have to spend a good amount of money on something, we carefully consider all our options and if it's something we decide would be a good addition to our life, we then compare the quality of similar items, make a list of the ones we would consider then we wait for a season to see if we can get it at a discount. For example, we have been wanting a good cooler because we can use it in our little house and on the road. In years past we found some older coolers that we used for short periods of time and they were okay for that but now that our life is different we wanted something of more quality that would hold the cold longer. So I was just sort of watching them here and there until we got here to Missouri and realized we were going to be here longer than we expected and our ice was melting really fast in the cooler. We discussed the pricing vs the quality and settled on a mid range cooler that was much better than what we had but not super expensive like the top of the line. I shopped around for the best price then found a promo code that saved me 6% off the that price and had it shipped to the store for free pick up. We are very pleased with it and think it should last many years.
As a keeper of the home, this is my new refrigerator:-) Depending on if we have it in the trailer or van when we travel it can also be a seat or table. To keep it even colder I have some blankets that I lay on the top to drape over the sides.
I'll share a little tip about how we save money on ice. We have a great big insulated mug that a customer gave us....
...and every time we get gas, brother Jim takes it in and asks if we can have some ice and 9 times out of 10 they say yes for free! Every once in a while they will charge us a 25 cents which is still a great deal. Also when we go fishing at McDonalds (we go get a cup of coffee and set out our bible and people come up to talk to us about the things of God) they let us fill a couple cups of ice that we put in the cooler as well. We normally have to buy very little ice on the road.
Anyway, this is just a few concepts we use when deciding to buy new items and you all will have to figure out what works best for your home. Hopefully it's been an encouragement.
Have a joyous day.
Love,
Sister Deb
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16
We need to remember that! Praise God for another day to glorify Him in this present wicked world. Let your light so shine...
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:16
Amen!
Today I want to continue working on the 10 ways we save money and this is number 8 Quality vs Quantity
Basically what we do is thoughfully consider whatever we buy to see if it's quality (that will last) vs quantity to just be buying things. Let me explain....many women have a lust of the flesh to shop. The thrill of buying new things or hunting down bargains becomes like an addiction and they are no longer content with what they have but they constantly have to be looking for something new and different. There's nothing sinful about buying things or upgrading something old to something new, if done in the right context and if it's glorifying to God.
Be careful, even finding things on sale can become an addiction and you could be spending more money on things you normally wouldn't. I fell into that trap years ago when I was cleaning out sinful items in our home (false religious pictures, immodest clothing etc.) I would go to the resale shop and find all sorts of things for next to nothing and I ended up getting swept away with the thrill of finding good deals and being able to swap things out easily for not much money. It was wasting money even if it was small amounts but more than that it was feeding my flesh and wasting my time.
Since then I have learned to wait patiently for items I needed to go on sale or in the resale shop and over time I have gotten what's important. There are times when something new comes out that can save you extra time or money by combining various gadgets into one and there you might end up spending a bit more on something but over time the cost weighs out to be a savings. Example: You may have a very old washer that uses a lot of water and electricity. You may find one that would do a better job with less water and power and over a year or so it pays for itself and then after that is a savings for you. On the other hand you may have an old washer that does just fine but the lust of your flesh wants something new.
Now when I buy something, I focus on just exactly what I need, get it and not be wandering around looking at what's out there to tantalize my flesh.
I do the same thing for food. Before being born again, there were times I used to try to get as much food as I could for the money, regardless of the nutritional value but now that I know differently, I contemplate each purchase to see if the nourishment from it is worth the money. For example: if I have the choice of a $5 loaf of organic bread; a decent quality bread for $2.00 or a cheap one for $1 that could have fillers in it, I would pick the one for $2.00. Buying any of the others is not sinful, it's just what we have chosen to do because to use the inbetween has a decent enough quality for the value.
It helps that we have downsized a lot because there's not much room in our living space (whether it's in our tiny off grid house of 224 square feet or our cargo van with much less space:-) to be just buying things that catch our eye.
I've noticed that when I set my mind on things above (Colossians 3:2) and remember that we are here on this earth to glorify the Lord, it's easier for me to walk right by what used to catch my eye in years past.
Also, when we actually have to spend a good amount of money on something, we carefully consider all our options and if it's something we decide would be a good addition to our life, we then compare the quality of similar items, make a list of the ones we would consider then we wait for a season to see if we can get it at a discount. For example, we have been wanting a good cooler because we can use it in our little house and on the road. In years past we found some older coolers that we used for short periods of time and they were okay for that but now that our life is different we wanted something of more quality that would hold the cold longer. So I was just sort of watching them here and there until we got here to Missouri and realized we were going to be here longer than we expected and our ice was melting really fast in the cooler. We discussed the pricing vs the quality and settled on a mid range cooler that was much better than what we had but not super expensive like the top of the line. I shopped around for the best price then found a promo code that saved me 6% off the that price and had it shipped to the store for free pick up. We are very pleased with it and think it should last many years.
As a keeper of the home, this is my new refrigerator:-) Depending on if we have it in the trailer or van when we travel it can also be a seat or table. To keep it even colder I have some blankets that I lay on the top to drape over the sides.
I'll share a little tip about how we save money on ice. We have a great big insulated mug that a customer gave us....
...and every time we get gas, brother Jim takes it in and asks if we can have some ice and 9 times out of 10 they say yes for free! Every once in a while they will charge us a 25 cents which is still a great deal. Also when we go fishing at McDonalds (we go get a cup of coffee and set out our bible and people come up to talk to us about the things of God) they let us fill a couple cups of ice that we put in the cooler as well. We normally have to buy very little ice on the road.
Anyway, this is just a few concepts we use when deciding to buy new items and you all will have to figure out what works best for your home. Hopefully it's been an encouragement.
Have a joyous day.
Love,
Sister Deb
The biblical gospel...