It doesn’t seem remotely possible, but back to school time is here again!
Best-selling author and finance columnist Mary Hunt returns to the show with money saving tips on buying school supplies, new shoes and clothes, and much more. We also get a refresher course in how to get out of debt and stay that way.
Mary talks tips, strategies, and wise advice from her new book Debt-Proof Living.
She shares a couple principles to get the conversation started on back to school shopping:
1. You need to start by putting together a budget.
2. Have your older kids help with making decisions (within reason!). Things like – do you want to spend $100 on this one pair of jeans or maybe $10 each on multiple cheaper tops?
Mary lays out how the ‘Hunt Kids Financial Plans’ work in her household. It’s an effort to put kids in charge to an extent that engenders the traits that will make them financially responsible adults.
An additional good tip in this effort – there are many economically feasible treasures to be found at consignment stores, says Mary. She shares the website Thred Up in a discussion on affordable finds.
Many people look at a story like Mary’s and just wonder how it can actually happen. She says one of the keys is saving money in places we may not think are important at first glance. Things like owning an older car that still works or even crafting our own homemade laundry detergent can make a huge difference.
“We need to save money in things that don’t matter.” – Mary Hunt
Mary believes from what she’s seen that we’re either born spenders or born savers. It’s not a black or white, 100 percent of the time situation, but we definitely lean one way or the other. It’s the behavior patterns we make our own that make the difference.
