by Hazel A.B. Javier
All of us have been hit by the pandemic; some or most of us have been impacted financially. The challenge as homemakers is how to trust God in these uncertain times while trying to make ends meet. Is there an intersection where our faith meets our needs? The answer is yes, because God provides.
Psalm 145:15 said, “The eyes of all look to you in hope; you give them their food as they need it.” I read of the testimony of George Müller who ran an orphan home. One morning, he had no food to feed the children. Miraculously, after prayer, a baker delivered bread to Müller because he was convinced God wanted him to. Right after, a milk cart broke down outside of the orphanage and the cart owner offered Müller the milk because it couldn’t be delivered. Such is a powerful story of God’s provision.
Just the same, we find from the Proverbs 31 woman that she was considered excellent – fearing the Lord and yet “looks well to the ways of her household”.
In a time where our income may not be what it used to be, it’s even more reason to be frugal and resourceful! So, I asked some of my homemaker friends for their “tipid hacks”. Surprisingly, it was a list ranging from budgeting to shopping tips, maximizing and even upcycling.
- Save when able, and save regularly if you can. The ideal, if you ask any financial advisor is to set aside to savings 20% of one’s salary to start building up one’s emergency fund.
- For moms with small kids, keep newborn clothes in “ziplock” packs to keep them mold-free. They can be used if you’ll have another baby in a few years.
- For those with school-age kids, re-use the other side of a paper since kids usually need scratch paper for scribbling and drawing.
- Buy in bulk. This tip never goes out of style. You save on a few pesos but you’re also helping the environment with less usage of container or sachet packs.
- Plan for your meals. This way, you’re sure that vegetables and food products in your ref won’t spoil and you’re able to be as creative as you can with your food menu!
- Gather leftover soap and put in a liquid soap dispenser. Just put some water and you can re-use the soap pieces for handwashing.
- Instead of buying branded disinfectant, you can buy chlorine crystals and mix in water. This hack was shared by a teacher-friend!
- Unsubscribe from online shopping sites or mute notifications. It can be tempting to buy from food deliveries when a message pops up on your phone about promos. But when you add up all the expense, you might be shocked at how much unplanned expense you had because of these 6.6 or 7.7 sales.
- Clean out your closets and sell / swap or donate usable items.
These are practical tips that I hope you find useful, but I also hope you find encouragement in God’s word that reassures us that He is with us through the tough times and good days up ahead, even as we learn to live simply and dependent on His grace.
Sources
‘Money Saving Tips From Financial Advisors and Why You Need One’, Imoney Learning Centre, July 26, 2016, Accessed June 2021, <https://www.imoney.ph/articles/8-money-saving-tips-from-financial-advisors-and-why-you-need-one/>
Roger Steer, ‘George Müller, Did You Know?’, Christian History Institute, [Christian History originally published this article in Christian History Issue #128 in 2018] Accessed June 2021, <https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/did-you-know-mueller>
