Tuesday
Oct202009
tips for $aving money
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 10:12AM
my brother-in-law john works as the operations director for a large for-profit company. part of his job is to always be on the lookout for ways in which the company could be saving additional money. this year, he spent time researching and looking at the budget from a fresh perspective until he stumbled upon an area, that after a strategic restructure, will wind up saving the company close to a million dollars.
so, i asked him to share some of his money saving tips with us - in hopes that we might stumble upon a fresh idea for saving our churches near a million dollars!
ten ways for children's ministry leaders to $ave money:
1. raid the closets, storage sheds, rooms and pastors offices for long lost supplies you can use.
2. locate the local dollar store. it is amazing how far $25 will go in that store.
3. buy in bulk when you actually have plans to use everything.
4. do not buy in bulk when it is just a "good deal." most likely you will never use it and you just wasted money.
5. let nothing gather dust...if you see something with dust find a way to use it before you buy anything new.
6. go digital whenever possible, if not print on both sides of the paper
7. ask parents to supply items for their own kids.
8. church events do not need to equal food. plan events before or after meal times 9am-11am, 2pm-5pm or 7pm-9pm.
9. buy off-season. christmas and easter come every year. this category is allowed to gather dust until the next year. you can often get things 75%+ off if you buy after the holiday is over.
10. consider giving your freed up money to other ministries or help those in need.
#8 is my particular favorite. i always assume that a full meal is required for a meeting.
what are your tips?
so, i asked him to share some of his money saving tips with us - in hopes that we might stumble upon a fresh idea for saving our churches near a million dollars!
ten ways for children's ministry leaders to $ave money:
1. raid the closets, storage sheds, rooms and pastors offices for long lost supplies you can use.
2. locate the local dollar store. it is amazing how far $25 will go in that store.
3. buy in bulk when you actually have plans to use everything.
4. do not buy in bulk when it is just a "good deal." most likely you will never use it and you just wasted money.
5. let nothing gather dust...if you see something with dust find a way to use it before you buy anything new.
6. go digital whenever possible, if not print on both sides of the paper
7. ask parents to supply items for their own kids.
8. church events do not need to equal food. plan events before or after meal times 9am-11am, 2pm-5pm or 7pm-9pm.
9. buy off-season. christmas and easter come every year. this category is allowed to gather dust until the next year. you can often get things 75%+ off if you buy after the holiday is over.
10. consider giving your freed up money to other ministries or help those in need.
#8 is my particular favorite. i always assume that a full meal is required for a meeting.
what are your tips?
Reader Comments (3)
[...] North Point Kids offers some great reasons why budgets matter in kids ministry. Also check out 10 ways that children’s ministry leaders can save money from Lemon Lime [...]
#9 is a REALLY good tip. I always am shopping after holidays for the following year. I also try and plan a year ahead for summer themes and keep my eyes open for clearance stuff.
One other great thing to save money is to approach store managers and let them know what you are doing and see if they are willing to donate or discount stuff you need.
great idea about approaching store managers! it can't hurt to just ask, right?