It seems like everyone I talk to now (all my SAHM mom friends and lots of others) are trying to figure out ways to cut costs and save money, whether to save for a new house/garage purchase (this is us) save for a new vehicle, pay off medical bills, or just to have cash set aside!
I wanted to let you 5 of the best ways I save money around our house. :)
1) I make my own Baby Wipes.I cannot stress this enough!!! I have simply saved HUNDREDS of dollars doing this, as opposed to buying. For example, When Leah was born, I purchased a Huge pack (10 rolls I think) of High-Quality, Bounty Paper Towels. ($10 for the pack) For her baby shower we received lots of Johnson's Baby Shampoo (2 bottles) and Baby Oil (2 bottles) For her entire first year of life, I only used 1 1/2 of the Bounty Packs and 1 bottle each of Shampoo and Oil!!! (Translates to about $15 for entire year's supply of baby wipes!!) What a great deal!!!!!!! Just now as Leah reaches 2 years old, I am on my 4th purchased Bounty Pack, and have never had to purchase Shampoo or Oil yet!!!
2) I cook from scratch and try to avoid packaged foods.
This alone saves us lots of money on our grocery budget and it frees us up from all the chemical junk in processed foods anyway! It does take a bit more time to prepare meals, and for some of us time is money, but for a SAH Mom like me, it is worth the extra effort! Plus I often cook ahead and freeze meals for future use.
3) I never buy new clothes.With the exception of my husband Josh!!! (Carpenters go through jeans like crazy, and need brand new ones!!!) (Another excepetion would be great clearance deals!) I love shopping at thrift stores, often using store credit from my "donations", so usually I get lots of FREE items! Plus friends have been very generous with donations of clothes, shoes and outerwear, especially for Leah! I also love to sew, and sometimes it is much cheaper than buying, but in our stores today often it is just as cheap to buy!!
4) We cut all our un-necessary things out of budget.Such as long-distance on our phones.. we use Josh's cell phone for all our long distance calls. (which we pay for anyway!) Also, we used to have certain "extras" (Movie rentals, TV channels, magazine subsriptions, etc) which were nice, but in the end we determined they weren't worth the $ we were spending every month. There are lots of free options out there for entertainment.. borrowing movies from friends, library check-outs, etc.
5) Never buying what isn't on my list, and using cash as opposed to credit.Of course there are exceptions to this rule (I forgot to write down something, great clearance deals, etc) But for the most part I usually stick to my list, and if it's not written down, it's not that important. I find once I go home and unpack groceries, I'm usually right! It is a hard rule to stick to in a store though! Another example is when we get gas for our van. I try and not charge anything extra on our gas card except gas, (ie: Coffee, drinks, snacks, gum) These all seem like little purchases, but they add up very fast!! Another great rule I recently discovered is paying with cash. Yes, it is a LOT harder to keep that total down when you know you only have a set amount in your pocket! I find when I carry cash as opposed to a check, I am 90% more likely to stick to my original budgeted amount, as if I write a check, saying to myself "A few extra dollars won't hurt that much"
Just a couple of ideas that have helped us save a LOT of money over the years.. I hope it might help some of you! :)
