Well, I’m the guest speaker at MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) next Wednesday. The title they gave me for my presentation is “Money Doesn’t Grow On Trees”. Needless to say, the topic is saving money 
So far, this is my basic plan.
1) Talk about my qualifications (IE-this blog and the number of folks who read it each day [which if you are curious runs about 144 folks a day]) the difference between being frugal and cheap, and my reasons for being frugal. I want to have them understand that being frugal doesn’t mean you shouldn’t spend money on the things you enjoy etc.
2) Concious Spending, aka the “Latte Factor”. I’ll probably use the example buying a cup of coffee on the way to work each day, and how much it adds up to over the course of a year. The point is to get folks thinking about how they can dribble away money.
3) Overview of the 3 ways you can save money.
1. Buy the same things for less money (shopping around,
thrift stores, coupons etc)
2. Buy something different instead (a used car instead
of new, chicken thighs instead of boneless skinless
breasts, store brand instead of national name brand)
3. Buying less (impulse control, repurposing or fixing
what you have, making it yourself)
4) Cutting food costs (as one of the biggest budget areas for most folks).
1. cooking at home, maybe with a comparison of price
for ingredients (if I have time to figure it out) and some
quick ideas for meals to avoid the drive through trap.
2. Spending less money on groceries. I plan on talking
about how to make a pricebook and why it is important
(I’ve been collecting prices at some local stores to show
comparisons) and to talk about brand loyalty.
5) Time permitting I’ll also talk about shopping second hand for clothes, kids toys, cars etc etc etc.
I plan on giving them a 1 page sheet with some pricebook info on it as an example, and also to give them a page with frugal websites/pages listed.
So what do you all think? Is there anything else I should be sure to cover? Any suggestions are welcome.
Oh, and on a non frugal note, I spent over $40 buy a collapsable presentation easle and large pad of paper for this presenation. I guess that is the Army Officer in me, I just have to have some slides or some flip charts or something when I’m giving a presentation. . . . Oh well, I’ll be able to use both for other things, and it will be easier to have some of my points etc written out ahead of time. (and yes, I am justifying myself. . . . )
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That sounds like fun!
They’re lucky to have you.
I’ve often thought about putting together a frugality workshop for our community education system. I think it would be fun to talk about our shared passion!
Way to go Sis, good luck. I wish our MOPS was as interesting sometimes…yawn. I especially like the visual aids idea and handouts are a must.