Time = Money; Money = Time

Time is money and money is time. When we think about money as being equal to time, it can change the way we use that money. If you earn $20.00 an hour, and you're spending $500 on your groceries each month, that's equal to 25 hours of your labor (three 8-hour days plus 1 extra hour). Equating your purchase amounts to the time it takes in labor to produce that amount of money can be sobering. And when you are the spender but you are not the earner, it becomes even more important to save where you can.

When my husband and I started having children, we decided together that it would be best if I stayed home with the children instead of staying in the workplace. Besides, daycare for 8 children would have been astronomical! Over the years, because I was not contributing a paycheck, it was important to me to be as frugal as possible with the household funds. The money I was spending was the fruit of my husband's labor. He has always worked hard in a field that is physically demanding. I never wanted to contribute to his exhaustion through my frivolous spending.

A friend once told me, "I spend what I spend and then my husband knows what he needs to earn". I hope she was joking.

One of my Grocery Smarts friends told me recently her husband was so excited with her Grocery Smarts savings. She had saved more in one day than he had made being paid by the hour on his job for the day. She says he brags to his friends about their grocery savings. My husband is the same way. When we are saving money regularly, it sends a message to those who are working for that money. It says, "I value you and your efforts for our family enough to manage that money wisely". And if you are the earner, you know first hand what is required of you on the job. Saving money on your groceries each week is equivalent to a weekly bonus!

How fortunate we are to have the Grocery Smarts program that helps us stretch those dollars and lighten the workload. In a time when many are struggling to make ends meet, we have been given the tools to ease the strain. If you want to know more about Grocery Smarts, I would be happy to share what I've learned. Why pay full price for your groceries? Call me and we'll schedule a class.