Hi, I’m Jill and I’m stopping in from Called To Be A Mom. Â We have been keeping Heather and her crew in prayer this past week. I am also so excited to have been selected as a guest blogger while Heather has been taking care of things way more important than blogging! Â Thank you, The Welcoming House Blog!
The past few Called To Be A Mom series has been about some very sensitive issues. I decided to talk about another hard issue, just not one that will make you cry as hard.
There are times when we just don’t have enough money. Our bills are piling up and we can’t ever get ahead on life. There are scares that happen to each one of us. Job loss, health problems, losing our house and so many other things happen everyday and some days it is our unlucky day and we inherit those problems. Also some of us have horrible luck.
What do you do when you don’t have money to put food on your table. 1 in 5 American children don’t know where their next meal is coming from. This is a real problem for a lot of people. These last few years have been very hard. Lots of nations are in debt and it affects all of us. We personally have been through job loss. We have also had a few occurrences with emergency room and hospital visits. We all go through different struggles.
First off, I want to encourage you as a mother. The important things to a child is that they are loved and you spend time with them. Yes, you may not spend as much time as you want especially if you are working two or three jobs just to make ends meet. Kids do know you are trying though. They will know that you were working hard to keep the family fed.
Secondly, there are some things you can do to get cheaper things such as buying on garage sales or thrift stores. You can also buy things on Facebook auction groups.
Third, have no spend days. Don’t spend any money on a couple days of the week and this will make your money go further.
This is not an intensive article to get you out of debt. But this is an article to help you remember what matters most.
A lot of times the struggles don’t last forever. While they may seem like they will, they really won’t! Kids who have parents who are there instead of parents who just buy stuff to entertain them do better overall. Kids don’t need things, they need love and basic needs met.
Maybe reach out to a friend and see if they can help you along the way. Maybe a family member is there for when you need them the most.
Sometimes you just need to pray and wait upon the Lord. There are going to be hard times that are going to be when you can’t afford to put food on the table. Remember the things that are important. The rest of things can wait for a time when things are not chaotic.
We all have struggles and sometimes we just need to ask for help. For me personally, that would be difficult but for the welfare of my kids I would do it. If you have some thoughts about additional ideas, please put those into comments.
Great info ! Excited to see you here on Heather’s page as a guest blogger 🙂 I’ve never thought of the ‘no spend’ day, what a perfect tip! I always find when my car is in for repair and I have to spend the day at home, I manage to stretch my dollars further that week, so I guess I’ve done this without even realizing, but loved the benefit of a sick car (if you don’t count the bill the next day!). I don’t know if I saw above, but if not.. maybe you could add a post (I did one a few months ago) on Freecycle.org , this is a fabulous way to get free things and share what you no longer need. I’ve used this site for craft supplies mostly but also given away extra tiles from home projects and other home improvement items. Oh, I also got a walker for a patient at work on Freecycle.org 🙂
Kim, That is a great idea. My mom has gotten something off of freecycle as well! Yes, the sick car gave you the day to not spend. I agree. I have been in your place where you just manage to pay those big bills. I had a hard nine months of my life. I was living with nothing and was making very little money. I was fortunate that this was months and not years. I was also fortunate that I went through my tough spot as an adult with no kids at the time. I know that poverty and food hunger are real problems in our own country.
I like the idea of “no spend” days. Cookingfrom ingredients we already have in the pantry/freezer, going to the park/library/farmers market instead of shopping (not that we go anywhere besides target and grocery store, but still target is dangerous!)
Yup, I agree our favorite Superstore can be so dangerous! I love cooking from home with ingredients you already have as well!
Not spending ANY money for a couple of days is a wonderful idea and people who try it will learn that it really IS possible! If you look around, you’ll find that there are free opportunities in your area: 7 Eleven giving free slurpies, free admission days to museums, etc. GREAT post!