I Cut Everything in HALF…Here’s What Happened✂️

Sometimes it is the simplest frugal hacks that are the best ones. And this one is literally as easy as just cutting it in half. You would be surprised how many everyday items we can tear down, slice, split in half, so that we can save money and make our budget stretch. And the best part is you still get to have the thing. It doesn't even feel like a sacrifice. It's win-win. I've got some great ideas for you all today, and many of you have submitted your own ideas, YouTube subscribers and Instagram followers, so I'm going to include those in here as well. And thank you all who contributed there. So appreciate it. You had some great ideas. Let's dive in. One of my YouTube subscribers named One True King, great name by the way, I love that, recommended something that I've actually done and love doing, and that is using plants that I already have in my garden and propagating them, literally splitting them in half or in multiple pieces so that I can just produce new plants, free plants. This is free plants from your garden, things that you already have, you already know work in your climate, you already know how to take care of them, and it costs you nothing. These could be free gifts that you can share with friends. You could even organize a plant swap a couple times a year. Usually spring and fall are the best time to do propagations, but it kind of depends on the plant. And you and a like-minded gardening friend could just swap plants with each other. There's so much potential here and so much money savings. Have you been to the garden center lately? Those plants, they're not cheap. Now, I had two people, one on YouTube, Kathy, and one on Instagram, Sarah, also a great name, by the way. They both mentioned the first go-to for cutting things in half is their scrubbers and sponges, things like that. I mean, what a great idea. You have something and you can probably just make it last and stretch further by just making it a little bit smaller. Things like Brillo pads and magic erasers could also work here, too. You're literally going to double the amount of time that box of sponges or whatever lasts you in your house. And you can definitely get by with a slightly smaller sponge. I know it could seem a little silly, like how much money are you actually saving, but it's all about taking what you have and making it stretch, because a lot of times you don't need that whole big thing anyway. And those little changes, they really do add up over time when it comes to your bottom line. Another subscriber here on YouTube named Janine had an awesome suggestion that I've never heard of before, and that was to take paper plates and cut them in half when she's serving small desserts. I started thinking about all the cool things you could actually do to that plate to make it really intentional. Maybe some of those scalloped edge scissors or cute hole punches, something that makes it look like this wasn't just a plate I cut in half, but I actually meant for this cool, different way of presenting this dessert. And paper plates, they're not cheap. You reduce waste, you reduce costs, and you have the chance to be a little bit creative and serve your food on something unique. I love this one, definitely going to be trying it. Another area where we can cut things in half is our laundry rooms. Dryer sheets, if you use those, are full of all of those chemicals or scents or whatever the things are that do the job, and you really don't need as much of a concentration of all of that stuff for it to soften and freshen your clothes. Cutting those in half means you're buying less boxes. You might even be cutting out some of the chemicals that you maybe don't want to be on your clothes or you want less of. So if you're a dryer sheets user, maybe consider trying to see if cutting it in half will help you to get the same benefit, but cut the cost. And another way that we can cut things in half is literally by just using half of the amount, like with our laundry detergent. A lot of times the manufacturers, they want us to go through the product faster. So there are many types of items that you really don't need to use that full cup amount that they tell you that you need. I do this all the time with laundry detergents. I will just use a little bit. Maybe my load of laundry isn't quite that big, doesn't need the full cup. I would play around with this. See if your clothes come out just as clean if you use a little bit less. And that will add up over time as you're not having to replace those big jugs of laundry detergent. Chances are you're going to end up with the same result. And this also applies to another area and that's our beauty products. I have many products that I use smaller amounts of them what they suggest. Tiny little pea-sized amounts of things like moisturizers and serums, little can really go a long way. I cut these glycolic acid towelette treatments in half to make the box stretch. That half cut towel is perfect for treating my face and my neck, tops of my hands in different areas. Super effective and I don't have to buy a box nearly as much. I have this company that I love to buy their goat's milk soaps from. I will link that down below. But when soaps sit in the shower and are exposed to the moisture or water, they degrade. So I'll cut these bars into quarters and just use smaller pieces. It makes the overall bar last longer and then I don't have to buy this off. And it's kind of fun because I can change out the scent of the bar more frequently if I want to. Over on Instagram, one of my followers, her name is chosenbeingsanctified, which again, such a cool name. You guys come up with the best ideas. She recommended taking a smaller amount of your facial moisturizer but using damp hands to make it stretch. I love this idea and it's scientifically proven that these products will absorb into our face better and retain more moisture if we use them on slightly damp faces or mix them with water. It's just, it's the chemistry of the product. So what a great way to save money and actually make the products more effective at the same time. Another area where we can save a ton is with our food, particularly if we're gonna go out to eat. We all know the portions at most of these restaurants are way more than any of us need to be eating at one sitting. I went out to lunch with some girlfriends after church last week and I just purposely got a box ahead of time and set aside half of the portion of the item that I bought and the next day, I had it for lunch. It actually tasted even better the next day. So I spent the money once and I got two meals out of it. I also got less calories out of it. So again, win-win. Your wallet will be heavier but you won't be. So there you have it. It is literally that easy. Just cut it in half. You save money, you make your budget stretch but you're not sacrificing. You're still getting to use and enjoy all of those same things with more money in your pocket. This tiny shift over time adds up in a big way because that's what financial faithfulness is all about. That's what good stewardship is. It's little consistent faithfulnesses over time adding up. Thank you to everyone here and over on Instagram who shared their ideas. I loved reading all of your comments and let us know down below if we missed any. What is something that you cut in half to save money? Which one of these might you consider giving a try? If you've got more frugal cut in half hacks, add those in the comments down below because I'd love to give them a try. 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