Practical Application: Wash Delicately

An easy way to extend the life of your clothing is to always wash on the delicate or gentle cycle. If you're not out in the mud all day (most of us aren't but some are!), your clothes will wash clean without all that extra agitation. Additionally, using your dryer on the low heat setting will also keep your clothes from fraying and looking faded.

Not all clothes are dirty just because you wore them a full day. Most pants and jeans as well as shirts worn over undershirts can be worn more than once between washings - unless you spill ketchup on them or something.

I always hang my jeans to dry rather than put them in the dryer at all because the more I dry them the shorter they become. I have a long inseam, so I need all the length I can get!

Extending the life of your clothes can save a lot of money, especially if you buy your clothes based on need rather than fads. You can still be fashionable, just don't let the opinions of others make all your clothes buying decisions.

Practical Application: Figure Out How to Spend Less Money Than You Make

I love this quote from Charles Dickens' book David Copperfield.

"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery."

It is so true! The key to financial wisdom is to simply spend less than you make. The only way to really have a handle on what you're spending is to have a spending plan (aka budget). Crown Financial Ministries has several free online tools that will help you create a budget based on your income. Whether you make a lot or a little, the key to a balanced budget is all about percentages. Here is what Crown Financial suggests for a $35,000 annual income (after *tithe and income taxes). These are just suggestions - as long as it all adds up to 100%, you're solid.

Spend 36% ($945 per month) on housing - house payment, insurance, maintenance, Utilities, etc.

Spend 12% ($315 per month)on food - groceries, laundry supplies, hygiene products, diapers, etc. For the record, our household spends more than 12% on food, but we also rarely go out to eat and have the flexibility in our budget to spend a greater percent in this category.

Spend 12% ($315 per month) on automobiles - car payment, insurance, gasoline, maintenance, and saving to replace a car.

Spend 5% ($131 per month) on insurance - life insurance

Spend 5% ($131 per month)on debts - the goal is to live debt-free, but debt happens.

Spend 6% ($158 per month) on entertainment - movie tickets and rentals, eating at restaurants, etc.

Spend 5% ($131 per month) on clothing - buy clothes to satisfy a need, not just a desire

Spend 5% ($131 per month) on savings - sounds weird to spend on savings, but feeding your savings account is an expenditure of your budget.

Spend 4% ($105 per month) on medical/dental - insurance premiums, prescriptions, fees, etc. Our family is forced to spend more on this category because our employer's health insurance is poor. We have to make it up in other categories.

Spend 5% ($131 per month) on miscellaneous - gifts (plan ahead for Christmas), allowances, etc.

Spend 6% ($158 per month) on childcare/school expenses (if you use this, you must decrease another category) - tuition, text books, etc.

Spend 5% ($131 per month) on investments - company 401k/403b, IRAs, Roth IRAs, bank CDs, etc.

*A tithe is literally 10%. When a family commits to tithing, they commit to giving 10% of their gross income (before taxes) to the work of the Lord. The annual tithe of a family making $35,000 a year would be $3,500 (or about $290 a month). As a Christian, I feel it is IMPERATIVE to tell anyone considering a tithe commitment the following:

Your salvation is secure because of Christ's finished work on the cross. You do not earn your salvation by tithing or otherwise being a "good person". You don't lose your salvation for not tithing.

Giving is important even if you can't start out at 10%. Just start giving, and you'll work your way up to it. Don't give on credit! Bad, bad, bad idea.

You can give more than 10%!!! God has blessed some people with the ability to make some serious money. The Bible does not say it is a sin to be wealthy; rather, it is sinful to be stingy and to make money your god. What a blessing it would be to learn to live a modest life, then be given a huge pay increase! Instead of raising your standard of living, consider giving more than 10%.

Although I feel it is vitally important that you support your local church, you do not have to give all of your tithe to one charity. In our family, we like to spread it among our church (it gets the lion's share), missionaries we know personally, and a couple local charities that minister to the homeless. We also listen to a few podcasts (Focus on the Family, for example) that provide free information. We feel it is important to support ministries like that, too. Always research your charities. Many big charities are more like businesses with CEOs making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, plus bonuses.

Personally, I like to give to Christian organizations. It's not that I ill-wish secular organizations, but I feel there are many non-Christians in this world that are giving to the secular ones. Christians are the only ones giving to Christian organizations.

Even if you are in debt, it is still important to give while you repay the debt. If we all waited to be debt-free before we started giving, charities would not exist long.

There is a difference between a tithe and a one-time gift. Sometimes a charity that you support will ask you to give a one-time gift in addition to your tithe. For example, many homeless ministries ask for extra money during long stretches of cold weather because they have an increased volume of people to serve.

Not only is it good to think of your giving in terms of a monthly amount ($290 vs. $3,500 seems more do-able), it is also important to give frequently rather than writing one check at the end of the year. Where your treasure is, your heart is also - giving money to a charity helps for your heart to be with the charity as well.

Practical Application: Hints for Reducing Your Grocery Bill

Hints for Reducing Your Grocery Bill (taken from Crown Financial Ministries)

Always use a written list of needs.

Try to conserve gas by buying food for a longer time period and in larger quantities.

Avoid buying when hungry (especially if you’re a “sugarholic”).

Use a calculator, if possible, to total purchases.

Reduce or eliminate paper products—paper plates, cups, napkins (use cloth napkins).

Evaluate where to purchase sundry items, such as shampoo, mouthwash. (These are normally somewhat cheaper at discount stores.)

Avoid processed and sugar-coated cereals. (These are expensive and most of them have little nutritional value.)

Avoid prepared foods, such as frozen dinners, pot pies, cakes. (You are paying for expensive labor that you can provide.)

Determine good meat cuts that are available from roasts or shoulders, and have the butcher cut these for you. (Buying steaks by the package on sale is fairly inexpensive also.)

Try store brand canned products. (These are normally cheaper and just as nutritious.)

Avoid products in a seasonal price hike. Substitute or eliminate.

Shop for advertised specials. (These are usually posted in the store window.)

Use manufacturer’s coupons (cents-off on an item or items) only if you were going to buy the item anyway and it is cheaper than another brand would be without the coupon.

When possible, purchase food in bulk quantities from large discount stores; the per-item cost is cheaper. Do not buy from convenience stores except in case of emergency.

Avoid buying non-grocery items in a grocery supermarket except on sale. (These are normally “high mark-up” items.)

For baby foods, use normal foods processed in a blender.

Leave the children at home to avoid unnecessary pressure.

Check every item as it is being “rung up” at the store and again when you get home.

Consider canning fresh vegetables whenever possible. Make bulk purchases with other families at farmers’ markets and such. (NOTE: Secure canning supplies during off seasons.)

Practical Application: Cooking From Scratch & A Valuable Cookbook

"Cooking from scratch" means different things to different people. For some, it means Hamburger Helper, for others it means milling your own flour to make the noodles. I think we can all agree that cooking ANYTHING at home is much cheaper than buying fast food or going to a sit-down restaurant. To help save money, take whatever steps you can to fix more meals at home. Save the restaurants for special occasions.

Once you're in the habit of using your kitchen to make boxed dinners, use spice packets, and reheat canned soup, challenge yourself one step further. Learn to put together a meal (protein, complex carb, and simple carb) that you used to buy in the box. Learn to combine your own spices instead of buying spice packets. Learn to make soup!

Don't know how to start? Never learned all this from your mother? Neither did I! Do yourself a favor and buy the following book - "Healthy Meals for Less" by Jonni McCoy. Don't ask questions. Just go to Amazon.com and buy the book. Any cookbook can show you how to cook, but McCoy's cookbook will show you how to save money by doing the expensive stuff on your own.

Once you're an experienced cook, don't feel bad about the occasional Hamburger Helper night. Everyone needs a shortcut sometimes, but once you know how to make meals without the Helper, you will truly understand the price you are paying for the convenience.