Not long ago somebody told me that it must be nice to be able to afford to stay home. I wanted to say... You could do this too! Have a garden, make all your meals from scratch, buy all your clothes from yard sales, don't eat out, don't waste money on entertainment, etc. I didn't say that however because to her, it was to radical! They didn't think they could live on less than $30,000 a year. We have never made more than $30,000 a year since I have been home and we have five children, they only had one.
Making a choice to purposefully live below the poverty line isn't a choice many are willing to make. We have chosen this lifestyle and God has blessed it. Here are some things we have done to make our money s-t-r-e-t-c-h.
When we were "poorest" we didn't have Internet, cable, or cell phones. We also didn't buy clothes. We each had a couple "go to town" outfits and the rest were only worn at home to make the nice clothes last. I only hung our clothes out to dry. We did not eat out at all. We also didn't use our air conditioning so I would bake and clean in the morning and then we went outside if it was warm.
I bought our toys at yard sales. Home school curriculum was only a phonics book and nature walks. Our children didn't get allowances, we couldn't afford it. Now that we have (almost) two teenagers and older children we use 4-H as a method for them to earn money. The oldest three each raise a market animal every summer. We have a yearly yard sale to buy extras for our school or fun books. We still buy 99% of stuff we want from yard sales or Goodwill.
We own two older paid in full vehicles. We do the maintenance ourselves. We also limit our trips into town. My goal for the summer is to only leave the house three days a week.
I plant a large garden every year. I haven't mastered the art of starting plants from seed, so I purchase flats of plants. I have spent around $40.00 this year on plants. One of the best decisions I have made is planting red raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries. We planted those as soon as we moved to our home and it has saved us hundreds of dollars. The last two years we picked enough berries to freeze and last all winter!
Clothing can quickly be a budget buster. Here's my method for looking our best while saving the most. We have "home clothes" and "go to town" clothes. Our home clothes are clothes that might be stained up or well worn. It doesn't matter though, because we're busy climbing trees, swimming in the creek, jumping on the trampoline, or frolicking with our dairy goats. Our "go to town" clothes are reserved for when we leave the farm. By doing this each person might only need four or five nice shirts and a couple pairs of shorts or pants.
I believe that God will bless your efforts in raising your children. It won't be easy. My husband has had many layoffs and injures that cost us months without any income but we have always stayed true to our calling. There will be times you want to quit. It is so worth it my friend. I wouldn't trade my time with my children for anything in the world.
