I think this is why some consumers are leery of bargain shopping. It can be exhausting, frustrating, and labor intensive. However, it is worth the savings to you and your family! It is money that can be used in more important, practical, and utilitarian aspects of financial planning! This is a very painful journey for me, personally, as I am accustomed to filling a, sometimes, void with unnecessary spending (even if it is bargain shopping).

This part of me is, embarrassingly, a constant work-in-progress.I am blessed to have a husband provide for our family in many ways. He is an excellent father–he is very involved in our kid’s lives. He’s not the type of dad that tells people, “I babysat my children this weekend”. We work together, as a team, to raise our children to be spiritually led, considerate, compassionate, well-behaved, bright, and thankful children.I am also blessed in the taboo, “should-we-really-discuss-it?”, area of personal finances; my husband makes a hearty salary. This hasn’t come easily; this has been ten years of very hard work, a lot of travel (for awhile I was more accustomed to not seeing my husband), a couple residential moves, and most recently, several company buyouts. I am mentioning this, not to be haughty nor to be arrogant, but rather to articulate and discredit the idea that those who may have more always spend more.

More importantly, just because you have it, whatever that extra figure may be, doesn’t mean you have to spend it. This is another lesson I am still trying to learn. Can I hear an amen? Amen. There is a blessing in this down turned economy: “keeping up with the Joneses” is no longer a trend and living within your means is en vogue. I love it!

I think we all have our financial crosses to bear. While we have, thus far, escaped a loss of a job and we haven’t suffered any other financial mishap, we have the burden of knowing we purchased our first home at the very peak of the real estate market. We bought in October 2006 and the market crashed about four (4) months later. Again, this was our first home so there was no equity or profit from another house, and there was no money put down. We have a monthly mortgage on an overpriced, 100% financed, and inflated piece of property. Yikes! I think this speaks to the overall demographic of those who have begun bargain shopping. No matter what your walk of life, race, ethnicity, or your debt-income ratio, we are all scaling back for one reason or another.

We made the decision to remove Riley from her public school environment next year and, instead, place her in a wonderful, private, and Christian-based environment for First grade. This decision was not made lightly and my husband and I had to discuss how we were going to make this happen. When I mentioned my husband made a hearty salary, please note I said “hearty,” and not “hefty”. We still had to go to the drawing board and thoroughly investigate our finances to determine what could be cut out completely and what could be lessened. For us, there is no price tag on an amazing spiritual and educational journey. Therefore, we eliminated our eating-out budget, we made our second car a paid-off 1992 Volvo wagon, and alas, I lost a large portion of my shopping budget. So, what gives?

I decided to garage sale, consignment sale, and consignment store shop for Riley, Ella, and myself. My goodness! I had no idea what an assortment of incredible, beautiful, and “excellent condition” clothing was out there. I have been able to finagle Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer wardrobes for all three girls in this house (myself included,) for approximately $100 apiece. Suddenly, this kind of shopping made TJ Maxx and the like look ridiculously expensive! I think it’s true what they say–it’s all relative. I always thought I was getting the best bang for my buck, however, it wasn’t until we really pulled in the monetary reigns I realized you can still find creative and fun ways to stretch the dollar. The interesting and best thing is, not only does it feel wonderful to accomplish this frugal feat, but the real gifts are infinite.

I know my children are as well-dressed, cute, and “put-together” as any child out there (this is the human side of me!) but, more importantly, I know my spiritual heart is in the right place because I put even greater things first. My eldest daughter will have the best God-based education I can possibly give her because we are consuming less and spending less. I have also, with God’s guidance, taught my children that less is more when it comes to personal possessions. I hope I have, in essence, begun a spiritual path that will envelop my children for years to come.