ideas for saving $ this week

using recycling money to get new books
Walking instead of driving
Finding stuff laying around the house you can bring in for consignment
Working on the house -- elbow grease (not expensive repairs -- leave the plumbing alone ;)
Maximize pantry supplies by inventorying and meal planning
Plan dinner party menu with current stock to save going out for dinner to see your friends
Planning a garden for next year or planting some herb containers for the deck
Scrapbooking or journalling memories using supplies you have on hand
doing an informal Freecycle with friends (get it started with an e-mail note)

starting on your dream life doesn't require a downpayment

Creating your dream life means identifying what is important to you – it might be...

creating a beautiful home that is right for you (i don't mean in square footage -- stuff like being organized, having lush gardens and a big library with ladder)
living within your means
doing meaningful work
giving your kids the gift of time
instilling in them a love of work and gratitude for what they have
embracing adventure and creating a life of memories

kids + summer = $

For all the things that are great about having the kids around for the summer, saving money is not usually one of them. It's hard to take time to look for the best deals with them in tow and they are around to ask for twice as much as you were planning to get them.
How to feed them:

rope them into the slow food movement. eating close to home. blackberries growing along the road are fair game to be turned into jams and desserts. corn and fruit stands start popping up all over this time of year. if you are lucky enough to have your own garden or are friends with someone who shares theirs, you can pick and eat right at home. making stuff from scratch (cinnamon buns, muffins, cakes, breads) is a good way to pass half a day and land up with cheaper pantry stores.

other ideas:

sitting at the beach all day
having friends over
meeting friends at all the different parks in your community
doing a "pick 1 thing" dollar store trip
yard work or chores in exchange for slurpees at the end

send me your ideas in comments below. i'm looking for more too

Thrift Chic has its Day

Well, it's official. Scraping by is now a popular type of "thrift chic". In today's issue of the Globe and Mail, columnist Elizabeth Renzetti reports, "It's easy to see why wartime thrift is enjoying such a vogue: It's virtuous, it's green, and you're going to lose weight eating soup from parsnips that you pulled from your victory garden." The stories of the Great Depression home economies are wildly inspiring. While the hardships of not having enough are always easier to talk about than to live through, and the tough road behind is always remembered more fondly than it usually plays out; remember that whatever money issues you're facing today will likely not always be there -- the economy will improve, kids will grow up, and you will have your turn at feeling flush. In the meantime, read a little Helen Forrester or pick up Renzetti's recommended "Eating for Victory: Healthy Home Front Cooking on War Rations".

Keeping financial stress at bay

1. Do face the numbers, open all bills, sort and shred and pay whatever you can afford to. My family went through an extremely tough couple of years of underemployment and only had bill collectors call a couple of times. It was all because of the $5 payment and the $20 grocery shop. Make regular payments whenever you can. (even every few days, deposit found money -- odd jobs, bottle depot money, consignment store money, garage sale profits) Even with $25 you can pay $5 on 5 bills. You may find this pointless but if you don't pay the little amounts because you can't pay the big amounts, the $25 will get spent on something else instead and your financial stress will go up.
2. Once you've paid what you can, setting aside something to stock the pantry with, put the bills aside, somewhere safe and out of the way, and plot out how you are going to spend the next pay period without much money. (meeting friends at the park with the kids, doing something creative, exercising, baking to stock the cupboard, hosting a potluck dinner, etc...)
3. Having a stocked cupboard (or even the illusion of it) will reduce the frantic feeling of "making it work" on little funds. Take all items out and wipe out the cupboard. Inventory what you have and check on recipe sites like www.epicurious.com what you can make with it. (don't be afraid to improvise) Don't worry about the kids not eating it and going hungry. Whining will not kill them. If they are truly hungry, they will eat it. When you restock the kitchen, do it with healthy "boring" non-instant foods. Your cupboards will stay full longer and everyone will be eating better.

Let the kids be kids

Keeping financial stress away from the kids does not mean buying them whatever they decide they need to keep them from thinking they're poor. It means that even if you are treading water financially, you can decide to pay the bills, stock the cupboards and then not focus on how you might have trouble doing that again next week. Do something else instead. Add a little order in the house. Plan some fun on the calendar. Have conversations of value with your kids. Instead of getting worried that they think they're poor, let them know that they are lucky to be in a family careful with their spending and one in which they know they will be fed. Not every child in the world has such a guarantee.