Saving Money By Being Busy At Home
Vacations are expensive, and we just got back from a ten day trip (including travel time) to Florida. So, it’s time to balance our vacation spending with tightening the wallet and spending a few weekends laying low at home. That doesn’t mean I’ll be planing myself on the couch though. If I’m sitting idle, my mind would likely start thinking of things to do, many of which would cost money. To NOT spend money is the goal, so I have to find ways to keep myself occupied.
When I’m occupied with tasks around the house, I don’t have time to spend money.
Here’s my plan for the weekend:
Yard Work
My lawn is need of it’s first mowing and trimming of the season. Once that’s complete, I can also put on the spring application of fertilizer (which I’ve already purchased).
Cost: $4 for a couple of gallons of gasoline for the lawn mower (which will last be for awhile)
Electrical Repairs
I’ve got some outlets and switches I need to replace from my todo list. This weekend is a perfect time to get those items checked off the list!
Cost: $20 (or less).
Deep Clean My Bedroom
It’s easy to move furniture and clean under and behind them in our living room areas. But, our bedroom is a different story. The usual cleaning of our bedroom is light dusting and vacuuming the main walkways. To do a real deep clean, we either have to put everything into the hallway, or pile everything up and clean one side of the room at a time. Either way, it’s a huge pain. But, it’s been a very long time since it’s been done, and I’m actually a little scared to see how bad it is.
Cost: $0
Clean Out Kitchen Cabinets
Baking supplies, canned foods and cereal just seem to accumulate over time. Every now and then my wife and I go through all the kitchen cabinets looking for expired food to toss, or food we won’t use that we can donate.
Cost: $0
Hitting Golf Balls
Since my son joined the high school golf team, he’s been practicing every day. We have a park behind our house where we can hit balls (and pick them back up). It’s good practice for him, and fun for me to spend time with him. If you’re buying golf balls for practice, go used. Used balls sell for about 25 cents each. This is about 1/4 the price of a new ball. Amazon has some pretty good deals
.
Cost: $0
If I’m busy with activities around the house, I won’t fall into the trap of finding a way to spend money. I can be productive, get some things needed tasks completed, have a little fun and keep my money in my pocket!
How about you, Clever friends? Do you ever preoccupy yourself with tasks around the house to keep from spending money?
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Brock is a software engineer by day and personal finance blogger at night. He is a fitness junkie and enjoys grilling and smoking meat. Married with two children, Brock strives to improve his skills as a husband and father, and is always on the lookout to stretch his family’s budget as far as he can.
This is how I save money! I am so fortunate that I am a total homebody and could care less about going out! Unfortunately, my husband is the opposite and hates being stuck inside. We have to find the balance between going out and staying in and saving money. That proves to be the most difficult.
My wife is a lot your husband Liz! She’ll say that she likes to stay home….but sooner or later, her true colors come out. 🙂
I spend most of my free time at home writing and trying to save up and hustle away debt! But occasionally I find time to read books from the library, knit (I’ve got a huge stash from my spendy days, so it doesn’t cost me anything to knit now), or lately, I’ve been teaching my dog tricks. She is a food fiend and I’m trying to teach her how to balance a treat on her nose. It’s going to take a while. I also like to get out and go hiking and fishing sometimes too.
Those all sound like frugal activities, Lindsay! Thanks for sharing!
We’re pretty good at staying in or finding free options for entertainment (trips to the park, walks, library). I do love finding and finishing a big project, especially one that’s cheap or free. We just scavenged a bunch of rocks around the property to build a fire pit, and having an outdoor evening around the fire is one of our favorite activities.
I love sitting around a fire with friends and just shooting the breeze too, Emily!
I’ve never really thought of these as money saving tactics, but you’re right – they are! Last time I was home for a while, my dad started teaching me how to make stained glass lamps with the scraps he had from when he did it more often. Hopefully we can pick that back up when I go home again in a few weeks.
I love projects that are not only cost effective, but also adds value to your life!
Unfortunately I’m not a big fan of house chores. I do enjoy reading a book at home though. On the other hand, going out doesn’t have to be expensive either – I like spending time outdoors, hiking, playing tennis, etc. – they are free as well.
There’s not a lot of activities that are as expensive, and as enjoyable as reading a great book – thanks for sharing!
How chores work for me: I cut my own grass, throw $25 in my savings jar each time I do it, pay myself instead of someone else. Anything I do I assign a cost and the savings goes into money jar. Sometimes I cut my own hair, $25 in savings jar, shovel snowblow my driveway $30 in savings jar. I have a huge savings divided between emergency savings for projects I can’t do or don’t have time to do and vacation savings, I have saved a huge amount. Our 25 year old dryer died a few months ago, not worth spending time/$ to fix it, my emergency savings paid for the new one. I pay myself instead of someone else. A great incentive to do things, I am Mrs. Fixit. Gate on our cedar fence broke, fixed it, $100 in my savings jar, hose leaked $10 in my savings jar. My husband does not have access to my savings jar nor the accounts. It is not spent randomly.
Great idea, PW….saving money AND forcing yourself to save for things that need to be fixed. Thanks for sharing!