JenX
I've never heard the term before, but it only make sense. JenX is the female member of Jeneration, err, Generation X. And guess what. I think we're pretty savvy. You can read the whole article here.PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- After spending freely in her twenties, JenX, the female member of Generation X now in her 30s, has no illusions about "having it all" and is rolling up her sleeves to build an adulthood grounded in reality.
Since we've been talking about money issues on this blog, I thought this quote was interesting:
"Contrary to the predictions about this generation, the women in our study have a can-do attitude," reports Watson. "They got caught under the wheel of college loans, credit cards and luxury brands, but as they've entered their 30s, they are demonstrating a strong willingness to get things under control, more so than any other age group in our study. She is not the self entitled Slacker everyone assumed she would be."
Oh, and this one:
"JenX's willingness to cut back is most visible in her shopping behaviors. Even though this consumer was raised to want and to expect only luxury brands, she has matured and is now motivated to buy smarter and with greater discernment than any of her predecessors. Sixty-six percent of women in this age group have cut back on spending in the past two years by reducing their spending on premium name brands and shopping at premium stores."
So, for those of us working on our spending, we're not alone!
Personally, some things I've been doing lately:
1. We've been eating at home every week after church, instead of taking the family out to eat. Savings $50/week.
2. I've been printing up two week's worth of menus at a time. I use http://www.savingdinner.com/ the Low Carb version. (I mainly use Low-carb because my family feels they have to have meat at every meal. I usually do rice and steamed veggies and a salad as side dishes.) Savings . . . so far it seems to be about $100 per week since I'm not constantly running to the store, and picking up other junk while I'm there.
3. I've been creative with birthday gifts. I usually buy stuff on clearance and keep in a dresser in my room. Instead of running out to by b-day gifts, I've been putting fun stuff together. I've also found stuff I have around the house. Or--for one friend who is a single guy and loves coming over to visit my husband--I gave him a coupon for his favorite dinner. It's a win-win situation. He loves homemade meals and I have to cook for my family anyway. Savings this month has been about $60 so far.
4. I set up a cleaning chart for my kids instead of hiring someone to come once a week. They do a pretty good job and it's training them on how to take care of a home--yes, this includes windows! Savings $60/week.
5. Finally, I purchased a color printer for my business. I was always having stuff done at the copy story. I figured in the long run I'd save 20 cents per copy if I had my own printer. And with hundred of copies a month, this adds up. Savings . . . well, you have to spend money to make money, but in the long run it will pay off!
What about you?
posted by Tricia Goyer @ 3:51 AM
1 Comments:
I am proud to say that I paid off all my credit card debt and college and car loans before I quit working full time to become a SAHM. That was HUGE challenge, required the majority of my paycheck, and enormous amounts of self discipline, which personally I don't have (so I give thanks to God for loaning me some). We are a single income family, and we have to watch our budget.
Ways I save(and are definately places my money would go if I were working):
*I plan a 'menu' too, but I just write down several meals I'll make for the next few weeks-I like being able to make what I 'feel like' of the pre-chosen meals.
*I color my own hair and wear it long so I don't need much upkeep. I cut DH's hair.
*I buy used clothing, more than I care to admit. God has been generous to us here too because I LOVE clothes--for example, a friend just gave me loads of brand name items for my toddler.
*We don't go out much: to eat, or even get pizza; to the movies-we belong to Netflix. I go to the library instead of buying books (most of the time ;-))
*We've spoken with our families and friends and don't give presents for Christmas and birthdays.
*We drive an older car and DH does most of the maintenence himself.
*We have CHEAP internet service and it is S-L-O-W, so I consider this huge sacrifice!
It has taken me a long time to learn that contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but realization of how much you already have. (I still need reminded of that!)
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