How to Become a Home Economist – Increase Your Income in 5 Simple Steps

Learn how to become a home economist and serve your family well. This article will explain 5 simple steps that you can take to increase your income as a homemaker.

How often as a homemaker, when attending social engagements or meeting new people, you are presented with the infamous question. “So, what do you do?” or “Where do you work?”

Most of the time people don’t mean anything by it, it’s just a part of our culture’s small talk. But sometimes you encounter someone who asks this question as if by you not working outside of the home you are in some way not contributing to your family’s income. Or they assume that you couldn’t possibly have goals and ambitions in your life. It’s as if your conversation experiences a cosmic shift with your response.

How to Respond to the Question, “Where do you work?”

I would be remiss if I just pointed out the fault of those asking the questions and failed to point out my own and often other homemaker’s fault in how we answer. How often do we respond with the answer, “Oh, I don’t work” or “I just stay at home.” I’m ashamed to admit that I have responded like this in the past.

Being a homemaker is one of the greatest jobs there is and definitely not one that should evoke any shame on our part. It’s a position that requires an endless amount of skills and if a résumé were to be written it would be quite impressive. I believe it is time that we as homemakers learn to take pride in our position as well as challenge ourselves to constant improvement in caring for our home.

The other week while listening to a podcast I heard a term that I had never heard before and I have decided to claim it as my new answer when asked, “So, what do you do?”

My Response: “I’m a Home Economist”

What is an Economist?

An Economist is defined as: One who manages pecuniary or other resources; a manager in general, with reference to means and expenditure or outlay.

I can’t think of a better way to define my position in the home. Yes, as a homemaker I might technically not “bring home” a physical paycheck but my responsibility for managing our families finances and resources is a full time job, and a vital one at that.

This is a position that we shouldn’t take lightly and one that we must cultivate and be wise in carrying out on a daily basis. How we manage the resources and finances of our home as the Home Economist has the ability to greatly increase or decrease our yearly salary as a household.

I want to share with you 5 areas of your home that you can begin to make simple changes in, in order to increase the amount of money that your family is able to save and invest for your future. Being the economist of your home is not a job to take lightly. I hope that you will read the tips and encouragement below in order to increase your skills as a homemaker. 

The beauty of our position as home economist is…there is no glass ceiling, there is always a way to move up.

Five Simple Steps to Increase Your Family’s Income

Step 1 – The Kitchen

There is no doubt in my mind that how you manage the resources and the activity that happens in your kitchen on a daily basis has the ability to save you and your family hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Here are some ways that you can start:

Meal Plan

Being a home economist means that you manage your home’s resources. In order to manage effectively you have to have a plan. Starting out your week with the idea that you will just “figure out” meals for your family is the perfect recipe for…takeout! In our home, every weekend I set aside 30 mins or so to meal plan. I write out the meals that we will have for the week as well as the groceries that we need to prepare those meals. 

These meals don’t have to be some type of culinary masterpiece. You want wholesome foods that can feed and provide nutrients for your family. We typically eat the same thing every day for breakfast, and leftovers for lunch so when I am meal planning I technically am only planning our suppers for the following week.

Shop Wisely

I personally don’t coupon, although if one presents itself I am definitely not ashamed to use it. My main goal in shopping wisely is purchasing our food from cost effective stores as well as purchasing very little or no pre-made boxed snacks and meals. These types of items have the ability to eat up your food budget and not in a positive way. This leads me to my next tip.

Cook from Scratch

Coking from scratch is a lost art in our modern society and a skill that has the ability to save your family SO MUCH money. Not to mention the greatly increased health benefits. Cooking from scratch doesn’t have to be time consuming. I can often bring a nutritious meal together for my family in 45 minutes. It does take a little bit of planning but the outcome is well worth it. Cooking for your family is one of those skills that I encourage you to sharpen and improve as a home economist. Challenge yourself to cook more from scratch, involve your children and learn together.

Step 2 – Clothing

This is another area of home management that you can save tons of money in and it’s really so simple.

Buy Used-Almost Always

There are very few clothing items in my wardrobe that have been bought new. Our family often purchases our clothing second hand and the savings are huge. There are so many great consignment stores, online secondhand options and thrift shops. In my opinion the amount of money a family needs in their budget for clothing should be pretty minimal.

Minimize Your Wardrobe

This tip stems from my belief in a life of simplicity and minimalism but I swear by it. The more you realize how little you actually need, the less you need to buy, which ultimately equals more money saved.

Do Less Laundry

I think this is a tip that all homemakers can agree on. Who truly loves doing laundry? My tips to achieve this goal are to let yourself and your children wear the same outfits multiple days in a row. I promise, it won’t kill you or them. Obviously if an outfit is filthy it needs to be washed but a little stain here and there is fine to be worn again the next day. Another plus to doing less laundry is that your clothes will last longer, which means they need to be replaced less frequently, which again equals more money saved.

My last tip concerning clothing is one that some might not find simple but it’s one that I encourage more than any other. Not only will it help in the clothing category but I believe in your overall role as a homemaker

Get Off of Social Media

How often do we purchase clothing because we see new trends and styles and not because of an actual need? I would bet that 99% of the time, we view these new trends on some type of social media. Social media outlets don’t often encourage contentment in the role of homemaker and home economist. One of the best things you can do for your clothing budget and your overall mental health is to leave the social media scene.

Step 3 – Healthcare

I understand that there are healthcare expenses that we just can’t get away from. We have to pay for insurance and obviously if there is an emergency we need medical attention for ourselves and our family members. However I have several tips of ways that you can better your family’s health and help prevent unnecessary health related costs.

Get Outside and Exercise

Making sure that yourself and your children are getting outside and experiencing fresh air and vitamin D from the sunshine is crucial in keeping your family healthy. 

Eat Healthy Food

If there is one tip I could give that I wish everyone would follow in order to save on healthcare expenses it is, STOP EATING SUGAR! Sugar is known to lower the function of your immune system in fighting off disease. I know we all enjoy a little treat every once in awhile but focus on limiting your sugar intake. Read labels or better yet, don’t eat foods that have labels.

Consider Alternative Healthcare

If you have perused my blog at all, you know that I am a huge advocate for homeopathy. Homeopathy is a very minimal cost, safe and effective form of medicine with zero side effects. Becoming more skilled in the knowledge of healthcare for yourself and your family is a way that you can save substantial amounts of money throughout the year. If you are interested in learning more about homeopathy, check out my Homeopathy Basics article.

Step 4 – Gas & Auto Care

Within the past fifteen years we have all watched the price of gas and automobiles go up exponentially. Whether from recessions or pandemics it seems like every time we turn around all things automotive are more expensive. But this too is a resource that you can wisely manage as the economist of your home.

Buy Used Cars

Just like with our clothes, we don’t ever personally buy cars that are new. We believe in buying used cars for cash. Like Dave Ramsey teaches, “a car payment is like the pay day lender of the middle class.” Car payments keep the middle class broke. You can find a great, reliable car that you can buy for a fraction of the cost you would spend on a new one. This equals huge savings and a raise in your family’s paycheck.

Don’t Go Out So Much

In our modern society it seems that the stay-at-home mom life revolves around play dates and coffee dates and mom’s groups and all of the things. The best way to save money on gas is to stop driving to unnecessary outings. This doesn’t mean you can’t take your kids to a fun outing or go to the grocery store and run errands. It means try to limit your outings as a whole. Not only will you save financially but you will also have less stress and better health.

Combine Your Trips

If you have to go out, which we all do, try combining your trips. Make it your goal to accomplish several things in one morning or afternoon and try staying home for the majority of the week. You can utilize this at home time to increase your skills as a homemaker and think of other ways that you can save money and increase your income.

Step 5 – Give Up the Extras

I saved this step for last because it might receive the most push back. We live in a society that promotes self-care in the form of extreme pampering which we often pay an extravagant price for. I’m not opposed to doing things that you enjoy but learning to simplify these “extras” in our lives is a part of becoming a strong home economist.

Give Up the Pampering

This suggestion is going to mainly apply to women but I’m sure there are some men out there who could benefit as well. When I say give up the pampering this means getting your hair done regularly, pedicures, manicures, massages and all of the things we really don’t need on a regular basis. There are so many simple activities you can do to relax and give yourself some self care including taking a bath, reading a good book or making a cup of tea.

Decorate for Less

Don’t get me wrong, I believe that we should enjoy being in our homes and they should be a place of calm and peace. The ability to do this is often much less expensive than we think. Just like in several of our other points consider buying used items to decorate your home. Limit items that can only be placed out seasonally as decorations and decorate in a way that is timeless to you and your family rather than following the fads. (a.k.a. social media)

I hope that you find these steps helpful and are encouraged to be the economist of your home. Your role as homemaker is vital and one that makes a substantial impact. Don’t ever think that as a homemaker you don’t “bring in” a paycheck. Your work is to make the paycheck last!

Comment below and let me know how you work to be the economist of your home.