I think that the economy and the housing market taking a turn for the worse last year really opened peoples eyes about the changes that could be made in their lives financially, without making significant sacrifices. Now that the economy and housing market are finally on the right track again, a slow one at least, families can finally resume life as it was before the financial crisis. But, why would anyone want to resume life as normal.
Being frugal, and thrifty aren’t new concepts, but they seem to be the current trend. This is something that our grandparents did everyday, and it wasn’t trendy or in style; it was life. I like that we live frugal lives. I think it helps us as a family stay on track with what life should really be about, and not see how fast we can live life. Living slower paced lives helps us to spend more time together as a family. We don’t have family game night, but we do sit and eat dinner together as a family every evening.
I have found that a lot of our frugal activities revolve around the kitchen. Food is something that everyone in our family enjoys, and it is an easy area to see the immediate financial results of living frugal. My daughters are learning their way around the kitchen, making cookies and being my kitchen assistants. While cooking they are usually called upon to assist in some task in the kitchen, whether it is standing over the stove stirring a pot, prepping vegetables, or even using a knife. That last one is still a little frightening for me.
As they are involved in the process of preparing, cooking, and serving the food, I feel good knowing that what we are teaching them about frugal cooking will be with them for their lifetime. I find myself explaining to them the steps I take in cooking to not only help save money, but how to add flavor to the food economically, while still having great tasting food.
They have watched my husband and I many times chopping vegetables to store in the freezer because of a great sale we’ve come across. They’ve even learned that mom insists on chopping up that half of an onion that always seems to be around, instead of throwing it in the refrigerator, or worse, in the trash. They would still rather spend their time doing teenager things, but they know that the money we save in the kitchen helps us to do all the other things that make life fun.