Chapter One: Learning to be Frugal

I remember so clearly the panic I felt at the thought of how we were going to be able to afford to buy our oldest son school clothes.

“What are we going to do,” I asked my husband.

“We aren’t going to buy school clothes. We are going to go through his dresser, and pick out the ones good enough for school.” he said simply. I was horrified. “Could a person really start school without new school clothes,” I wondered.

Three years later, we were homeschoolers. One of the funniest statements I would hear from people was, “Oh, you homeschool? You are so lucky because you don’t have to buy school clothes.”

“Well, we don’t actually make them do their school work naked,” I would reply.

“We do, however, have to buy every book, paper, map and computer that the public

school supplies for your children.” (This was when computers were not a common household name.)

As each new baby was born, I was slowly learning to be frugal. I started doing most of my shopping at thrift shops. The kids always loved to hear mom say, “Let’s go junkin’!” Thrift shops are filled with all kinds of treasures. It is not unusual to find

brand new things that are still in the original packaging. The only difference being that I spend pennies instead of twenties. A few months ago, I found a $30.00 school book, and only paid 10 cents for it! Many people may cringe at this, but we even buy a lot of our

gifts at the thrift shops. Of course, we wouldn’t use it as a gift if it looked old, used or run down, but you may be surprised at the items these shops offer.

I learned quickly to shop the clearance racks and sale shelves. By searching out where the stores I normally shop keep these items, I have literally saved hundreds of dollars. Many times, I find brand new items that are cheaper on these shelves than I would even be able to find at the thrift shops. You can even use coupons on clearance

items!

Learning to scan the store’s flyers for their loss leaders is easy enough; it was going into the store and only buying the lost leaders that was sometimes a problem.

(Loss leaders are super low prices a store offers on a few items in order to get you into the store. They figure they will make up the difference once they get you in.)

If I thought I wouldn’t be able to just run in and grab those great sale items, then I would send my husband or adult child. (When you send someone else, they tend to only get what is actually on the list.)

I used to do some mystery shopping a few years ago. It was always nice to get paid to shop! The actual stores hire a company that has mystery shoppers. They send you in to see how well their stores are being kept, and how customers are being treated.

When you are finished shopping, you fill out a simple survey online, then scan and submit your receipt. They reimburse you for the items purchased, plus a little extra.

I have been a good shopper for years. With this many children, it didn’t take me long to realize that if I wasn’t a smart shopper, we wouldn’t make it very far! I wanted to continue to be a stay-at-home mother, but I wondered if this was going to be possible.
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