It is going to be worth it!

We have dreamed of moving for quite some time! But as soon as we saw our dreams becoming reality, we began looking for ways to save where we could.  Here are just a few of the things we've done over the last 6 years to save money:

• No cable/satellite TV for 5 of the 6 years ($2700)
• No 'smart' phone for either one of us for 5 of the 6 years.  Only 1 year did I have a smart phone, but am now back to my old flip phone ($4620)
• No car payments - we purchased older cars to avoid having a car payment (say the average car payment is $250/month and we both have cars - ($36,000)
• No internet for 2 of the 6 years ($720)
• Used scooters as daily drivers over the summer to save on gas as they get 110 mpg (~$100/month for 5 months each summer over 2 years = $1,000)
• We eloped ($5,000 minimum) and did not have a honeymoon ($5,000 minimum) and did not have a wedding reception ($5,000 minimum)
• We never purchased a flat screen TV and still use our old, heavy 19" and ~30" TVs (~$1000 minimum)
• We have refrained from taking vacations, trips, or getaways over the last 3 years ($6,000 minimum)
• We do not purchase clothing unless it is a dire necessity.  And when we do, we have shopped strictly at Goodwill for the last 4 years. (estimated $500/person/year = $4,000)
• We have not purchased birthday or Christmas gifts for each other or for our family/friends for the last 3-4 years (~$4,000 total)
• I now color my own hair ($2,500) and only get a hair cut once a year ($720).  When I do get a haircut I now go to Super Cuts.
• We do not turn on the furnace at night, no matter how cold it gets.  And during the day we only turn on the furnace first thing in the morning then use infrared heaters (2 of them) to heat the rooms we are in at the time. (saves $100-$200/month for 4 months out of the year)

Additionally:

• We have made all home renovations ourselves
• We do not have any decorations in our house
• We used hand-me-down furniture, kitchen stuff, and even clothes
• I made homemade laundry and dish soap for the last 2 years
• We have limited our out-to-eat meals to more cost effective restaurants like Steak 'N Shake, Hot Head Burrito, and fast food places.  And we have cut back to only 2-3 times per month.
• I purchased all Scott's junk food for his lunches at the Hostess thrift store (now it is closed, but this was a big savings for 2 years!)
• I also purchase all our bread, for the last 2 years, at the Aunt Millies Thrift Store too
• All our food comes from Aldi or is the generic brand from Kroger or Wal-Mart
•  We don't go out to see movies and Scott rarely buys beer (maybe one 12 pack every 3-4 months)
• I use the plastic grocery bags instead of buying trash bags for all the rooms in the house
• Instead of purchasing new shower curtain liners each month, I wash and reuse them
• We only plug in and turn on appliances that we are using.  All other times they are not only turned off, but unplugged - like the washer/dryer, microwave, TVs, etc. 
• One summer I even had my own garden that really helped save grocery money!  And for 2 years, I've been growing my own blackberries as they can be up to $4/container!! 
• We buy groceries that are cost effective.  For example, we don't buy a lot of meat, so we substitute a lot of beans/legumes in our diet.  I like to purchase dried beans to save even more money!
• I pre-make breakfasts for Scott to last at least 1 month.  He really likes French toast, breakfast burritos, and pancakes. 
• We no longer purchase cans of soda.  If we do purchase soda, we will either get the off-brand 2 liters, or get name brand 2 liters when they are on sale.
• When I can, I use coupons.  But I discovered that if you typically purchase store brand or Aldi products, that it's usually the same price as buying name brand with a coupon.
• We combine our trips to town to save on gas.  We try to plan trips so that there are at least 3-4 stops every time we go to town.
• We planned to ahead, and decided to wait to have children till we are in Wyoming and have our house built.
• My husband made one of the biggest sacrifices.  He sold his 1966 Ford Fairlane XL!  This car meant so much to me as we had some of our first dates in it. However, we both knew that this car would provide so much more for us if we sold it:

Finally, we will be saving at least $75,000 - $100,000 because we are going to be building our house ourselves.
DISCLAIMER - If you do not have the background experience in construction, electrical, plumbing, concrete, etc then I do not recommend you go this route!


We have lived our lives with this motto:

Use it up,

Wear it out.

Do with less,

Or do without!!