I received a Facebook message from a mom who came up with a creative “Living With Less” solution to a problem they were having. I thought her solution was such a great idea that I asked her if I could share it with you! She kindly agreed.
Jill:
This is so interesting and I thought you might like to ‘put this out there’. Last month our power bill was like $260, and it isn’t even summer with the air conditioner on, etc. So, my husband and I decided to teach the girls and see what happened. We sat down and had a family meeting about how high the power bill was and how to some extent we could control this, by not wasting power where it is not necessary–turning lights off that we don’t need, shutting the door, when you walk in and out, etc. We took a ‘field trip’ to the meter, right after we got home before we started doing anything and showed them how fast it was moving. Then we went in and started laundry and the dishwasher and waited for the furnace to kick on–then we took another ‘field trip’ and showed them the difference and explained how much more $ it was costing us, etc. We told them that if we could work together to get that bill below $260 that anything under that amount we would give each of them 25% and we would get 50%….Okay, that’s pretty much all we did for a month.
I got the bill yesterday and it was down to $200–a $60 savings and we didn’t change a thing. They were so excited when I was writing them each a $15 check and talking about what they were going to do with their $. We’ve also done this with the water–it’s amazing how fast they get out of the shower now and how they don’t try to ‘swim’ in the tub–they get it and so do we–lol! Now, they are going around and shutting off lights, etc. It’s AMAZING! And all we really did was give them ownership over it. I would much rather write a check to my kiddos than to Ameron…..lol!
Thought your living with less friends would enjoy that one!
Tina
Now isn’t that creative? Tina’s two kids (ages 10 and 12) learned so much from this little lesson.
- They learned that when you save money, you sometimes have more to spend.
- They learned that there are direct consequences to our actions.
- They learned that household expenses add up and little things do make a big difference.
That is fantastic! We actully sat down with our kids and our monthly budget to show them where money was going. We agreed as a family to a 6 week break from buying anything from a restaurant. It saved money, and our daughter was excited to make us stick to it.
We also bought a dehydrator from ebay and make our own fruit roll ups, which cost way less and are much healthier than the store-bought ones. This year, we are also starting a garden to save on vegetable costs, and as far as clothes, we typically shop a big bi-annual consignment sale in our area.
Love it!
Since we’ve started eating healthier we’ve decided to start a garden and an herb garden to save on the costs of veggies. I know we won’t get an immediate turn around but I know the savings in the long run will be worth it!
What a great lesson. I will have to remember this when my children get older.
What a great way to teach kids a lesson! I remember my dad charging us $.10 each time he found our bedroom light on when I was a tween. To this day when I leave a room I hear my dad’s voice in my head saying “turn the light off.” 🙂