In our Debt Free Update for June post we shared that summer is the hardest time to add back into our savings because my husband takes off work and we travel. So far this has proved to be true again this summer, but we have enjoyed spending our summer together as a family. It really rejuvenates us before we get back into the hectic schedule of school and fall sports. (See all of our Debt Free Journey posts here).
How we made changes this month to save and earn extra income while we are spending as little as possible:
- We started focusing on How to Become a Minimalist this last year, and started purging items last summer. However, with the new baby it was tough, so this summer I have gained serious ground in our war on “things.” After donating seven contractor bags full of my pre-pregnancy clothes to the local good will, I can actually find things in my closet again. Please note that we have started a YouTube series on our YouTube channel titled “Daily Dime.” Make sure to subscribe to our channel and check by daily for ways you can save money every day. We are also on Periscope (search for DebtFreeSpending.com) and also have our Daily Dime show listed on there as well!
- Hubby and I shared last month that we started a local photography business. You can check out our Brandt Family Media website and our Brandt Family Media Facebook page. While we did use some savings to purchase supplies for this business, we were able to take over 20 photo shoots to build our portfolio. This was a huge praise and we were so grateful to the families who allowed us to capture their lives! The idea for this business is for hubby to earn extra income at times when he is not working with his client. He works for an nursing agency that deals with sick children. Sometimes his clients do not need his services, so he doesn’t work. However, it’s a huge blessing to our family to have him off at times, so we don’t mind that he doesn’t work every day. The majority of money we would have saved this month went towards building this business. While it was a sacrifice, we feel it will be worth it in the long run.
- This month we went on vacation to the beach, and my awesome mother-in-law bought us the perfect beach cart. Read about our Top 10 Beach Hacks. We were able to save at the beach by sharing our condo with family which made the cost so much less because we split it between four families. We took our own beach chairs, umbrellas, and sand toys so that we didn’t have to rent/buy anything at the beach. We also took our own food to cook in the condo instead of eating out and paying a ton of money on expensive meals.
- We continue to work on building our Young Living essential oils team to create extra income for our family. This past month our check was over $600. We have been using these oils since last year, and they have made such a difference in our lives! We are now making a residual income from this business.
- We were hoping to add on to our deck this summer. However, as we’ve learned on this journey, sometimes you have to wait for the things you want! While we continue to want to pursue a minimalist lifestyle where we live as much as possible, we’d really like to have room so that when guests come over we can actually sit around a table outside! So, that will have to wait for another year.
- After much debate we decided to go ahead and turn on our second refrigerator. This was a huge decision for our family, because we know it costs about an average of $35 in utility costs per month to run it. However, between my three boys (including hubby) we are going through 5-6 gallons of milk per week. So, I needed the extra space so I didn’t have to run to the grocery store every other day. I truly believe that this will save so much on time and fuel that I will recoup my monthly expenses to keep it running. Also, since school is starting, we decided to purchase extra food on sale this month to help stock that fridge so it runs more efficiently. This will also help lessen frequent trips to the store, which makes it very tough during the week when school is in session.
Prayer Requests:
- We have a huge praise! We have continued to tell you about our son’s health concerns throughout the year. We are so excited to share that his MRI and all of his cancer screenings came back negative. This is a huge praise for our family as the neurologist (and our local pediatrician) really felt we should complete these tests to rule out the major things for our son’s motor movements. Even though we all had a terrible cold last month, he was able to get the MRI completed, and all of the results have been normal. Praise the Lord!
- Please continue to pray that we will be able to start saving again this fall. It is really important that we continue to build our savings back up. We have spent a major amount of money on health related items this year way beyond our FSA (that was tapped out by February!).
- I have iron deficiency anemia right now and I am currently getting iron infusions each week. Please pray that I will get back my energy and stamina once my body starts creating more hemoglobin!
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