Too many of us are just like that this time of year when it comes to the temperature. We turn the heat on at night and the AC on during the day. Especially when the weather is pretty nice it is better to coast a little.

We close the windows when the sun goes down and then we open them during the day as soon as the outside temp gets the same as the inside temp.

We made need to put on long sleeves in the evening or mornings but overall it is pretty nice. The fresh air is better for us and we probably save a couple hundred dollars a year by doing this.

Take it into account when planning your spending. Some things like hanging clothes on the line and making bread from scratch can be great money savers but only if you have the time. In my opinion time is worth much more than money. But there are still times when I will go the more convenient more expensive route to have the time to so something important. It all matters what matters most to you.

Living our life with no regrets takes careful planning  .

It has been my experience that for the cost of one “out to eat” meal you could probably make 3 at home. If you know how. Knowledge in things you can do to serve your family is a worthwhile investment. Learning to to cook and sew can save you hundreds of dollars a year.

I tend to think of just about everything in terms of price per pound. When you do that cereal especially is very expensive. And so are a lot of other things that coupons are used for.

So let me know, how do YOU use coupons?

It has been a big tomato season this year, and when it is time to can everything else gets set aside.   When the harvest is ready it cannot wait.

Time management is really important in saving money.

I have taught my children that time is more important than money. More money can always be made but lost time can never be replaced. Jesus has given us choices. How much money we have to spend is a choice. How we spend it is a choice. It really isn’t about how much we have but rather it is about spending it how we want to. I would rather make things from scratch which I enjoy anyway and teach my daughters spending time with them in the kitchen than to eat in the fanciest restaurant. Living frugally is not something I have to do it is something I choose to do. It is something I get to do. I consider where and how we live paradise.

Why do you strive to live frugal?

Even though I buy extras at good prices it does no good at all if I don’t know what I have. That is where the inventory lesson comes in. I like to have an inventory list of what is in the pantry and deep freeze and extra storage closet. Because if I lose track of what I have, money gets wasted. Waste is like a really bad word to me .

So guess what most of our meals consist of?

Yep.  Blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, fresh milk, fresh eggs. Tomatoes, corn, peppers, eggplants, squash, lettucs, cliantro, onions. Etc.

My point is, use what you have been given or grown, or that the Lord provides or is on sale .

Plan ahead. It will save you lots of money. It doesn’t matter nearly as much how much you have as it does how you spend it.

It seems to me though that the box fans we use to cool the upstairs might be using to much electricity, so I thought about replacing with ceiling fans. Yes it turns out that ceiling fans use about half as much. As long as they don;t have big whopping motors and light kits that use 4 bulbs. I got a small motor 1 light contractors special at Lowes for $34 that looks like it will work in the upstairs bedrooms. We also put one box fan pointing outside in a window upstairs and another pointing in downstairs that we run for about an hour at dusk. Seems to cool the whole house down quite a bit.  Then the small ceiling fans in the bedrooms as needed. All of this is about 1/5 the cost of AC and a whole lot healthier. What works for you?