Money Saving Wednesday…Learn From Others
One of the best suggestions I can make concerning saving money during these very difficult financial times is to learn from others. We all have strengths and areas in which we can be considered experts. Never be afraid to ask for help.
I love it when I get a phone call from someone asking for my advice or my help when planning a wedding. Because of my background this is an easy task for me. I worked in a retail store while in high school and learned to create displays, I graduated with a home economics degree and thus have experience with preparing foods, interior design and sewing, I’ve owned a retail store where I used my design experience to create displays, I have organized dinner/auctions for our school district serving 250-350 people, and I have lived on a tight budget, very tight at times. Notice I have never been a wedding planner or professional caterer. Due to my life experience though I have been called upon many times to plan, caterer, and supervise wedding receptions and business open houses and meetings. The photo on this page is of Jenna Bush’s reception. Believe it or not, this would not be difficult to duplicate, not exactly, but close, very close. You do not need a degree in a specific area to be a great resource for someone wishing to learn a skill or to save money by hiring someone with talent who won’t break the bank.
Consider the natural talents and experiences you have. What more do you need to be able to sell those skills to others? Find someone to help you learn those and then move forward making money. If your goal is saving money then find those who have talents you lack and ask them to teach you. It is not difficult to teach someone to stage a gorgeous banquet table making a simple party look as though it was being held in a five star hotel.
I am always amazed at the things people pay to have done for them. I am shocked when people tell me they have never painted a room. I remember our first home and learning to paint and wall paper. It was such a great sense of accomplishment that I would new consider hiring someone to do those jobs.
Often we are embarrassed to admit we lack a skill. When you are trying to make house payments and keep current on your bills you can not afford the luxury of pride. You may be surprised that the skills you consider second nature to you are ones that someone you admire lacks completely. They will be flattered that you asked for their help. At our recent family reunion our daughter gave her brother a haircut and another daughter did foot massage and pedicures. Both saved us money. In fact, we would never spend money in today’s economy on a pedicure.
After thinking about this topic and considering how we can learn from each other, and also considering how we would communicate during a pandemic I have begun a yahoo group. Should a disaster of any type affect any of us this will be a great tool for disseminating information in a timely manner and learning from each other’s experiences. Please join our yahoo group today:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TotallyReady/
Please tell all your family and friends to join us also. Should a pandemic hit hard in the next few months this will be a great forum for sharing information and encouraging each other. As a disaster such as a hurricane, wild fire, or ice storm arrives we will be able to offer suggestions to deal with the challenge. Please let others know this is the place to have their questions answered and to receive the support they have been looking for.
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Learning to cut hair is a great skill. I never went to beauty school, and probably never will, but I cut my husband’s, my daughter’s and my own hair. Cutting my own started with trimming bangs. Now, I can literally cut 8 inches and get a bob, or shorter hair style with confidence. With my husband, the first few cuts were essentially the same length using a clippers. I had never used them before. Now, I can get a pretty good looking hair cut in 15 minutes.
I will almost definitely never professionally style hair, but after getting a couple of whack jobs that I paid for, I figured it was time to learn to cut my own hair.
I’ve encouraged people in my neighborhood to be sure to store wheat and other items to make bread with even if they’ve never made bread, or have made bread and feel they don’t have a talent in that area. There are many people in the neighborhood who do make bread on a regular basis and make it well, who would love to make bread for a neighbor in return for another service or barter item. I agree that not everyone has to be talented at everything. My opinion is that if we don’t feel confident in something, let someone who does do it for you and you do something you feel confident in for them. Also, be sure to have the items it takes for making something even if you get someone else to do it for you. Thanks for the post