I've been reading this book: Living with less so your family has more.
Basically the authors (Mark and Jill Savage) use lots of scripture and are laying out the biblical way to honor God with your resources. Not just money, but time too! And in prioritizing to do so, putting your family first. They lived off one income, below what society said they should, and made it work. I highly recommend this book. A HUGE amount of family and marital problems are over finances so this would be a great book for any couple- especially engaged or newly marrieds- but really anybody, and especially if you are looking to cut your expenses and dive into budgeting!!
I appreciate this book because a lifestyle that puts your family first and sees the benefits of having a parent at home is not one that is encouraged in our culture, or even in most of our churches. We are instead encouraged to work more, make more, have more, spend more, be busier, get into more debt, and consequently have more conflict and less time with our loved ones.
One thing that I liked is that they discussed sacrificing costly hobbies. Mark traded regular golf for Frisbee golf because it was usually free after you have the equipment and this better fit their family budget. We turn down ski trips, paintball outings, and other events that occur because they are costly, require equipment, and just don't fit into our budget. They're not bad things of course, but we really are not missing out on anything.
I began pondering all this after we took the boys to a small amusement park nearby a couple of weeks ago. Under 3 is free so we only had to pay for ourselves, but those types of outings can be expensive...especially with older kids and also factoring in gas and food. As the boys get older and get more expensive (I think babies and toddlers are pretty cheap to take care of for the most part)...we need to be proactively planning entertainment/family fun that fits in our budget.
Our new favorite "frugal fun" is exploring all of the elementary schools on our side of town. There are 5 different elementary schools within a couple of miles. All have fun play structures, soccer fields, tracks, and trails. Mateo is at the age where he loves exploring and playing...and really just doing anything that involves us all together outside. So after naps on Sunday afternoon lately we'll load up and drive the short distance to one of these schools (one is walking distance). We'll play and run around until dinner time and then head home. I've been trying to plan ahead for Sunday dinners so we don't have to cook much and so we can have more family time. Sometimes I'll do a double batch on Saturday so we can just heat up some leftovers and keep it simple!
Exploring a new school on a sunny Sunday!
