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Farmers know how to get the most out of every dollar spent, as nothing goes to waste when you live on a farm — they even recycle manure! For many farm families, living frugally is a way of life passed down from generation to generation. Frugality is an intentional part of raising farm kids, so what can we learn from them?
Here are five lessons on frugality for kids from the farm.
Money Lessons for Kids from the Farm
1. Recycling is essential.
Food scraps get fed to cats, dogs, cows, and other livestock instead of being put in the trash or down a garbage disposal. Old tractor tires are used to grow potatoes or serve as swings and flower beds. When a building needs repairs, materials are often found already on the farm. Old roofing isn’t discarded. Nails are pulled from old boards for re-use, and roofing that’s no longer fit for the farmhouse is recycled for the chicken coop or woodshed.
Bailer twine is saved for tying up plants, securing loose items, and even holding up your britches in a pinch. Look under the kitchen sink, and you’re likely to find a ball of used tin foil, carefully washed and stored for re-use.
How often do we recycle in our modern society? And recycling (or repurposing in some cases) doesn’t even have to be about saving money. Sometimes, it just makes things better. Did you know that Cantonese restaurants use ingredients left over from different dishes to make other ones? Their soup base is often a mix of different scraps taken from different orders. They take a bit of crab meat here, a spoonful of chicken oil there, and voila, a base that can create a brand new dish. That’s one of the reasons why Cantonese restaurants are better in Asia. They just have a ton more customers to create complex dishes from all those orders.
When was the last time you thought about reusing what you already have? [ continue reading… ]
I’ve been playing this game called Path of Exile recently. Actually, let me correct myself. It’s more like I’ve been “living” the video game lately because I played for so many hours already. I found out that this behavior is pretty common. In fact, spending hours and hours on a game is so common for so many people that there’s actually a term for it. They call it “no-lifing” (pronounced no life-ing) a game because you spend so much time of your day in the game that there’s no life left to do anything else in your life.
My wife can’t understand why I’m so obsessed with this game. And I agree with her that there’s no reason to spend so many hours trying to get an item in the game that’s pretty meaningless at the end. But look under the hood more closely and you can see why people become so addicted. In the game, you slay monsters, and eventually, you get enough in-game currency to obtain a better item. This in turn makes your in-game character more powerful and thus lets you enjoy your life a bit more in the game as you slay monsters more efficiently to gain more in-game wealth.
Here’s where it dawned on me that this is just like our pursuit of financial wealth. You make money (and save it). Eventually, you amass enough to be able to use that money to make money. Then you can use the money to enjoy life a little bit more and be more efficient at making more money.
That’s all interesting, but can we translate this understanding into us being able to gather more wealth? Luckily, it turns out that we CAN use this information to further our path to financial independence. Can you imagine how much more money I can amass if I spend just a fraction of the time I spend on these games on activities that result in more wealth? [ continue reading… ]
I have my reservations with technology as it relates to money. I love how technology can help us better manage our money, but I’m also somewhat reluctant to turn too much of my financial management over to technology.
That’s because too much of a hands-off approach leads to poor money management and can get you in trouble financially. Technology can also be more of a crutch than a help, especially when it doesn’t work like you thought it would. In the end, you still have to know how to manage your finances manually without the help of a computer or software.
On the other hand, I can see how technology can be a great help in spending money wisely and saving money. Here are some cool technology advances associated with money. [ continue reading… ]
Did you know that many people not only get a Starbucks coffee once a day but multiple times each and every day? Well, color me surprised when I found out that my wife, Emma, belonged to this group for at least a few months.
It’s really not a huge deal when I think about it since she is frugal in other ways and our finances can handle her small guilty pleasure. If getting their sweet tea floats her boat, then by all means. After all, money is meant to help us live more comfortably and not just to be saved. On the other hand, does she know that she’s the wife of the owner of a decently popular personal finance blog that routinely tells people how skipping small purchases can add up to huge savings?
Surprise! Or at least that’s what it felt like she yelled out when she told me her routine a few months ago. [ continue reading… ]
Many people are tired of the shutdown caused by COVID-19. That’s why people around me are starting to slowly return to normal life because things seem just fine for them after so many months of hearing about the devastation of the pandemic on the news. I can understand that too. After all, it’s hard to see how bad things are out there if you don’t know anyone who was diagnosed with the disease. What’s harder to dismiss is the shock this pandemic already caused the economy though. We haven’t heard about mass layoffs just yet, as many companies borrowed money at record low rates to stay profitable. But if slow economic activity drags on much longer, there’s a real possibility that employers will start laying workers off on mass to keep their bottom line. That’s why no matter what your job is these days, you could be faced with the reality of a pay cut.
No matter why you end up with reduced income, the important thing is to make sure that your finances will survive if a pay cut happens. And, of course, if you are thinking of dropping to part-time to pursue other opportunities, or if you want to cut back on your hours in order to spend more time with your family, you will need to make sure your finances can handle the change, and maybe even downsize your lifestyle. Here are some things to do now to prepare for a pay cut later: [ continue reading… ]
Having sold a home recently, it still amazes me that people are practically stepping on top of each other to buy a home during this pandemic when no agent is allowed to host an open house. Mortgage rates are crazy low right now, but is the monthly payment the only thing you should be considering?
Sure, the economic numbers aren’t as dire as what the experts feared at the onset of the shutdowns, but aren’t there too many people thinking that now is the time to buy a home? Is the fear of missing out happening not just in the stock market but in the housing market as well? While it’s no doubt tempting to rush out and buy a house, whether now is the best time for you to purchase a home isn’t a sure thing. Give these questions some consideration before you decide. [ continue reading… ]
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