Essential Oils on a Budget

Before I jumped on the essential oils bandwagon, I had many questions. What kind of oils to use, how to use essential oils, which ones I should always have on hand, and most importantly, how to stick to a budget when essential oils can be anything but budget friendly?

If you are a wholesale member of Young Living, you can purchase the oils at the wholesale price instead of the retail price, which is a great way to help you save money. Young Living offers an auto ship program called Essential Rewards where you have to place a $50 order every month. This is where I was unsure of how this program was going to help me stick to a budget when I have to spend $50 a month. I mean, $50 is not exactly chump change for my family.

However, after one month of using Young Living, I quickly realized that I was not only using them like crazy but that I had spent the $50 reordering and ordering new oils. I was missing out on one of the greatest benefits of the Essential Rewards program – the ability to earn points toward free oils. For me it made sense to join the program, but what oils do you order in order to stick to your $50 budget and build your essential oil stockpile?

Make a List

Before you make any decisions on whether or not to join the Essential Rewards program (or another similar program from another essential oil company), make a list of the oils you want by priority. For example, I use Lemon essential oil every day in my water and add it make Thieves tea for when I have a sore throat. I even apply it topically to help minimize the appearance of cellulite. Since I use Lemon so much, it makes sense that it should be a priority on my list. I use PanAway less frequently so it would towards the bottom of my list.

This is what my list for next month looks like:

Lemon (I run out every month)
Valor
Thieves (Due to cold and flu season, I’m running low on this)
Total Spent: $57.75

Lemon is usually always on my list because I use it so much and run out. Thieves would not usually be on the  list except for the fact that we have been using it to fight off the flu. Valor is one that I have not tried yet, but it is known for helping to relieve anxiety and negative energy.

Restock Your Starter Kit

When figuring out my order every month, I first look at what I need to order – what am I running low on. Then I look at my list and decide from there which oils to add to my order in order to stay around the $50 mark (I usually can’t get it at a perfect $50 but I aim to be as close as possible based on my current needs). If you are unsure of what oils to buy, start by restocking the oils that came with your starter kit (the Everyday Oils). These are some combinations that you can try:

Month One:

Lemon
Peppermint
Lavender
Total: $56.25

Month Two:

Purification
Peace and Calming (great if you have little children)
Total: $51.50

Month Three:

Thieves
Valor
Total: $55.50

Month Four:

Stress Away
PanAway
Total: $62.25 (PanAway is expensive but it is one of my favorite oils for muscle aches and it gets used regularly)

Month Five:

Joy
Cedarwood (This is great for helping with sleep and for hair loss)
Total: $51.00 

Month Six:

Frankincense
Total: $71.75 (Another expensive one but if you use it, you’ll love it. I use it to help with my breakouts and to help fight off colds)

Take it Slow

I know that I when first started my oily adventure I was super tempted to buy, buy, buy. Make sure that you take it slow. Make a list and figure out the oils that you truly want, and slowly build up your oil arsenal from there. Make sure you use a reference book * to help you figure out the correct oils for your aliments and Gentle Babies * for little ones. If you need more ideas on oils to add, add one of the Perfect 13 to your monthly order to help build up your stockpile, but remember to take it slow so you do not wreck your budget.

If you need more help figuring out how to use essential oils and which ones to add to your stockpile, these resources are amazing:

Essential Oil Starter Guide

I Got My Kit. Now What?

How do you budget for your Essential Oil purchases?

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