6

Creative Spending Enhances Profit Sharing

A number of years ago, I took a group of college students to Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico, for a visit to the Wycliffe Bible Translators “jungle camp.” Here we observed missionaries being trained in the technique of living in primitive conditions. They learned how to build houses, ovens, chairs, beds—all out of materials available in the jungle. I have reflected on that experience many times. If that same creativity could be used by the average couple in America, what could be accomplished?

People are instinctively creators. The museums of art and industry located across the world bear visual witness to human creativity. We are made in the image of a God who creates, and we who bear his image have tremendous creative potential. The couple who will exercise this creativity in financial matters will find significant assets. Sewing, refinishing used furniture, recycling others’ discards, and painting your own house can do wonders for your budget.

In this chapter, I want to challenge you to apply your creativity to the manner in which you spend your money. When I was growing up, my father often said, “A dollar saved is a dollar earned.” He was not using that adage to encourage me to put a dollar in the bank; he was encouraging me to compare prices before I bought something. If I could buy the same item for a dollar less in the store next door, I had saved a dollar, which was just as significant as working to earn a dollar. Dad was teaching me to shop, not simply buy.

Taking the time to compare prices goes against the grain of many men. “I don’t want to spend half a day shopping. I want to go into a store, buy what I want, and get out” is their philosophy. If a man has unlimited resources, then that philosophy is feasible. But if finances are tight, that philosophy is irresponsible, is a disservice to his wife, and will likely lead to conflicts in the marriage.

I believe that creative spending could radically change the climate of your marriage. I present the following ideas in an effort to stimulate your creativity about how to get more for your dollar.

This chapter is not written for the wealthy. In fact, the person who has unlimited resources is probably not reading this part of the book. This chapter is for the couple who have average or modest income but who constantly struggle with having enough money to meet the needs of the family.

Discount Shopping

In most towns, there is a good store that sells items cheaper than all the rest. Why not buy your groceries there? Typically, these discount stores, whether they are called that or not, will save you money. If you regularly buy at these stores, you will save several hundred dollars per year on regular household purchases. This is especially true for food and household items. And if you want to save even more, look for the weekly discounts in these discount stores. Stock up on items when they are super discounted.

A second level of discount shopping is using manufacturers’ coupons. These are often received in the mail, available in the local newspapers, and sometimes available at the coupon desk or bulletin board in the local store. These coupons can reduce the price of your purchases by several dollars. One lady shared, “I got $60 worth of groceries for $35 after cashing in my coupons.” I could tell she was excited about the way her creative spending was impacting the family budget.

Buying at the cheapest store, using coupons, and stocking up on the special sale items can save literally hundreds of dollars on your food and household budget.

Recycle Shopping

Most communities have a Goodwill store, a thrift store, and/or a Salvation Army store. These stores serve a valuable purpose in the community. They take discarded items from individuals and then sort and keep only those that are truly usable. They display and sell these items at greatly reduced prices and use the proceeds to minister to those in need.

One customer said, “I started buying clothes for my children here but soon realized that the store had really nice clothes for ladies. I can’t believe the money I’ve saved on my clothes since I started shopping at Goodwill.” The added value of shopping at resale stores run by charitable organizations is that you are also helping them fulfill their mission. If you think it is below your dignity to shop at such stores, you probably haven’t visited one in a few years. Most of them are well-managed; the clothes and products are clean and in excellent condition.

At one of my marriage seminars, a couple told me that they had saved thousands of dollars by recycle shopping. It all started with an experiment. They agreed that for six months they would seek to buy all their household items, all their clothes, and all the children’s toys and school supplies at resale or consignment shops. After the six-month trial period, they were hooked.

Free Shopping

A couple who live in Florida told me they had found something even better than shopping at Goodwill. “We call it free shopping,” the husband said.

“How does that work?” I asked.

“Three ways,” he said. “First, we drive through affluent neighborhoods the night before the discards are to be collected. It’s amazing the things you find sitting beside a garbage can. Recently, we found a perfectly good basketball goal. We brought it home, and our kids love it. At first, we felt guilty that maybe we were stealing. So now, we ring the doorbell and ask the family if they would mind our having whatever is sitting beside their garbage can. We’ve never had anyone refuse to give it to us.

“The second approach is that we have let all our friends know that we are open to receiving hand-me-downs, especially children’s clothing and toys. We get more than we need, so we pass the extra items along to others.

“The third approach is to inform our parents of specific toys that our children have requested. We know that they are going to give the children presents on their birthdays, Christmas, and other occasions, so why not have them purchase things that the children really want?

“With these three approaches, about the only thing we have to buy our children is food. And now that the children are older, next summer we are going to start a garden,” he said with a smile.

Seasonal Shopping

Another approach to saving money is seasonal shopping. My wife is an expert in this kind of shopping, which is especially helpful when buying clothing. Karolyn likes to wear nice clothes, and I like to see her in nice clothes. But she never pays full price for anything. She always shops at the seasonal sales. I don’t mean the first day of the sale; I mean after it has been reduced one, two, or three times. The other day she came home with a $399 outfit that she had bought for $59. I love the woman, and I love her skills. I told her, “We could not afford for you to work outside the home because you wouldn’t have time to save us all this money.” I was teasing, but actually, the money she saves by seasonal shopping provides a rather good income.

Even those couples who are not financially strapped have found that seasonal shopping is wise stewardship. All stores have seasonal sales in which products are greatly reduced. The stores want to get rid of their stock so they can bring in the next season’s wares. In order to do this, they sell at greatly reduced prices. This is true for large items like cars as well as smaller items like clothes. Seasonal shopping is creative spending, and the profit sharing is great.

Creative spending can become an exciting part of life for the couple who are trying to take hold of their finances, utilize their assets in the best possible manner, and create money that can be used in other ways to enrich their marriage. Another way to use your creativity in helping the family budget is in developing your skills in such crafts as sewing, refinishing furniture, making dolls and stuffed animals. Whatever you make or refurbish almost always costs considerably less than purchasing those items made by someone else. When you allow your children to join you in these creative arts, you have the added advantage of teaching your children the joy of creativity.

I remember the couple who said, “When we got serious about our finances, we set aside a weekly amount to be used to purchase our food. Whatever we didn’t spend in a given week we put in a fund to be used for our vacation. We kicked in the creative juices on how to get more for our dollar when purchasing food. I will never forget how exciting it was when we ended up with $2,000 laid aside to use for fun when we went on our vacation.” One of the purposes of money is to deepen the marital relationship and enrich the lives of our children. This couple had found that creative spending helped them do that.

* * *

Putting the Principles into Practice

1. Would you be willing to sit down with your spouse, look at each of the ideas suggested in this chapter, and ask the question “Is this for us?” Here are the creative spending ideas covered in the chapter:

• Discount shopping

• Recycle shopping

• Free shopping

• Seasonal shopping

2. Does either of you have a skill, such as sewing or refinishing furniture, that could be used to improve your family finances?

3. What additional creative ideas can you come up with related to spending or making things for yourselves that would enhance your family’s financial condition?