Putting a Dollar Value on Blessings

I used to faithfully document the money we saved and/or didn't spend in a little notebook. I’d write down what I did and how much it would have cost if we had to buy it i.e. make a loaf of bread, saved 90 cents; repaired the hem on Wayne's work pants, saved $7.50; cut the boys' hair, saved $13 and so on. At the end of each day I'd move the "savings" from the particular spending plan categories into our Emergency Fund so that it was really saved.

I stopped jotting down back in 2007. I'm not sure why; life became busy when Debt Free, Cashed Up and Laughing was published, the kids needed more attention (teenagers are such a lot of work - fun, but a lot of work) and I'm sure there are a dozen other reasons excuses I could find.

I still shift money from spending plan categories to our Emergency Fund, only these days I do it at the end of each month.

My lovely friend Annabel over at The Bluebirds are Nesting started the Vicky Challenge last year. It's pretty much doing what I used to do - giving every task a dollar value and calculating the savings when it is MOOed instead of outsourced or bought.

I was thinking about this yesterday when I was in NQR (a discount grocery clearance store we have here in Victoria). A couple of months ago Wendy blessed us with some gravy sachets. Now, I normally make gravy from scratch using the pan juices, stock and plain flour, so I had no idea just how much these sachets cost. Hannah used them one Sunday when she cooked dinner and again when she prepared a meal with rissoles and it was very nice tasting gravy. So, when I saw them in NQR today I thought I'd get a couple as a treat. Until I saw the price! The discounted price at NQR was $1.89! I haven't been able to find them at Coles or Woolworths to see how much they are regularly.

Even so, at $1.89 each that's expensive gravy. Pan juices and stock are free, 2 tablespoons of plain flour costs approximately 5 cents. Add another 2 cents for salt and pepper and a jug of gravy costs 7 cents. That's a $1.82 saving! Just on gravy.

And that's a $3.78  blessing we received, and $3.64 I can move from my grocery budget  to our Emergency Fund (I deducted the 14 cent cost of two lots of gravy).

In January Carol blessed me with beautiful papers and cardstock I can use to make cards and other gifts. I used the Kaisercraft price of 12 sheets for $5 to calculate this as I have no idea what the original retail value was I  moved $15 from my spending money to our holiday fund.

It may sound crass to put a dollar value on blessings you receive, but I believe we receive blessings to fill a need. Sometimes we don't know we have that need when we are blessed, but it always pops up.

Making sure you use those blessings wisely is a part of being a good steward. And being a good steward means using our resources, including money, wisely. Saving the value of blessings is another form of good stewardship and financial wisdom.

Remember: money isn't saved until it is safely in the bank in your Emergency Fund, PoM Account or a specific savings account. Until then it just isn't spent; that's why I make sure I move the savings from the many blessings we receive into one of our savings accounts, ready to meet that need when it pops up.