I'll also chime in. I've got 3 children, which is that borderline size - some people think we're being reckless profligates and contributing madly to overpopulation while others think we are being stingy with our love by stopping at three. Such is life :)
As far as money goes, we both think that the big decisions are the big ones when it comes to finances. There's no point making your own laundry powder if you're overextended on cars and house.
We have two cars, both bought very used, a 1999 Toyota Estima (aka Previa) ,and a Hyundai Lantra of roughly the same vintage. The Hyundai is what my DH uses to get to work, and the Estima does family duty. the Estima is the only one with Collision coverage (I think you call it? where if I hit something then the damage to our car gets repaired and so does any other damage). The Hyundai just has 3rd party, fire, and theft coverage, both with high deductibles.
We live in a modest 3br house, 1 bath, 1 living room, 1 detached garage. I've been sorely tempted to up-size in the last couple of years - to have another bathroom and a second living space would be great. But in this part of the world, that means moving from a house value of about $255k to closer to $400k. That's an awfully expensive toilet. So for now we stay put. And there are a lot of great things about our current house which I'm happy to keep.
We homeschool. I take a relaxed eclectic approach, which means I don't pay tons of money for a full curriculum. I pick and choose resources for the reading, writing, math component for each child, and basically rely on the internet and the library for books and projects for the other subjects. Any poor curriculum choice can usually be flipped on the second hand circuit, and new resources to try can usually be found the same way.
Of course, we do the small things too:
- making our own laundry powder
- drink homemade kombucha or tap water, not bought drinks
- meal plan and shopping to a list. Actual numbers will be meaningless due to the whole different country thing, but we try and spend what is generally considered a very budget amount, while keeping the quality good (i.e. no processed foods, lots of veg, real meat, very little sugar and flour, all made from scratch)
- limiting kids' activities - 1 activity per child at a time, and preferably overlapping. i.e softball or basketball but not both for a single child. And they have to be within budget - art classes last year were awesome but completely fragged our budget, so we're not doing that this year.
- We have a chest freezer and buy beef by the half-beast
- we have 4 backyard chickens. Not really cheaper than buying eggs, but as far as pets go, they at least give something back.
- weekly trips to the city library instead of buying books. We had vouchers for a book shop so last week I took the children. They suffered total sticker shock, and couldn't believe how expensive new books are. (and they are here, much pricier than buying them online because of import duties and taxes).
And the non-mustachian:
- One geriatric cat who needs daily medication and a special diet and 6-monthly blood tests. All my frugal ancestors are undoubtedly turning in their graves, rolling their eyes and saying things like "a bullet only costs 5c". But he's a honey and he'll live out his days in warmth and caring in our house.
- DH plays Magic the Gathering, which can be ridiculously expensive. But to give him full credit, he usually translates his winnings in tournaments into store credit which he uses to pay entry into the next tournament, and he doesn't spend much on cards at all anymore.
- I'm a quilter, which occasionally manifests as insane fabric purchases. But to give myself full credit, I try to use my fabric stash as much as I can, and only add to it if it is actually truly necessary. truly :) And I like to use reclaimed/upcycled fabrics too i.e. shirts etc from op shops (I think you call them goodwill shops?). My basic self-defense is to just stay out of fabric stores.
Lovely to meet you all.
