We are going down to one income. I am trying to find ways to either save money or get the most for my dollar.
I have found several things that have been useful:
- I use a CC to pay for everything that earns miles and i pay it off at the end of each week. Once I have earned 25K miles they send me $250.
- I learned that I could cash in my airline miles for gift cards to several places including target.
- When I buy things online, I ensure that the shipping is free or that I go thru some service that will give me miles or give me a percentage back.
- I haven't been real good at clipping coupons since college, but I am about to start doing that again.
Do any of you have any other suggestions? Please pass them on!
Thank you,
J.
Thank you so much for all your wonderful ideas... I will definitely look into several of them. It took me 9 years to bring a child into this world and she gets to have Mommy all she needs. I am very blessed!!!!
We have been doing grocerygame for over a year now and we have saved tons of money, I even get free stuff!!!
Larry Burkett has a great book about going to SAHM status. It is very encouraging.
Women Leaving the Workplace: How to Make the Transition from Work to Home (Hardcover)
by Larry Burkett (Author) "More women than ever are seeking to leave full-time jobs and return home to become stay-at-home moms, according to several recent surveys..." (more)
A lot of our budget was going into our grocery bill and this is what I have done.
1) A. Food Ministries. Its AWESOME!!!! And ANYONE can buy from them no questions asks no applying nothing. And that is the price, no tax. Order as much as you want www.angelfoodministries.com.
2) Big Lots - most people dont realize they have a food area. GREAT for great prices on nonperishable foods as well as breads and such. Also GREAT place to save money on household cleaners, toilet paper, even on diapers pullups wipes etc. This store has also saved me a lot of money and time as well than even walmart.
3) There are a lot of farmers markets and flea markets around here that are GREAT for produce. I like one of them at pequeno mexico the best as well as our local farmers market. Exp at the flea market the guy knows that we buy from him all the time so we always get a discount and or free produce.
4) There is an liquidation store off Beach Street called Town talk that you can get some really great deals at as well when it comes to foods.
5) Freecycle on yahoo groups is a great place to look when you are needing something for your home too. I even got my daughter an aquarium with all the stuff I needed for it for her bday for free off freecycle.
6) If you have the room a small garden also helps even if all you can plany is tomatoes or something. :)
7) Check competiors for things like TV and internet and so forth. I was able to cut my TV/Internet bill down by $105 a month just by switching my carrier.
I can go on and on but you can just PM me if you want. :) Good luck! Its all so worth it! :)
The grocery game (http://www.thegrocerygame.com/index.cfm?goto=catalog&...) is great for coupons. You have to subscribe and it's $10/month, but I've cut my monthly food bill in half using this service. It matches store ads to newspaper coupons so you get the maximum savings. Of course you can do it yourself, but using the site is a huge time-saver.
Start reading Dave Ramesey's "The Total Money Makeover" NOW & listen on 570 am M-F 1-4 p.m. BUDGET your heart out & listen to keep yourself on track. He'll help & recommends Larry Burkett, too. I wished I had heard of him 8 years ago- heck, make that 20 years ago!
D.
The Grocery Game works great for us!
Also, my husband and I each get an "allowance" each month that we can spend on anything. That way I don't have to feel guilty about buying something for myself every once in a while, but I don't go overboard and spend too much!
Good for you! I think that is sooo wonderful! I stayed home to raise our daughter too. When she started Preschool at 4, I went back to work.
Saving Money Advice?
Friends want to do things involving shopping and eating out.
So much of our budgets go to eating out.
I suggest rather to pack a lunch and have playdates at the park or mall-with your own lunch you brought, and your child will eat SO much healthier this way, too!
I also suggest clipping coupons from the paper and buying groceries at Super Target or Wal-Mart-- your money will go further there!
If you have: lawn or pool service, maid, any other paid people, let them go. I have a friend who saved $40,000 a year by her and her husband just doing everything themselves a year in advance to plan for their adjusted income, so when it came, they were already living within their new budget.
Honestly, the little darlings go through clothes so fast! We have gotten some of the best compliments on clothes we have bought through Ebay. And so you buy them for less, they outgrow them in 3-6 months, and then you can even resell them. So, it's like dressing your baby for free! Also--buy on sale off season to save money.
Save on Gas? Have the playdates at your house.
Enjoy them, it goes by so fast!
One step better than using coupons is that WalMart will match any sale items advertised in other stores that week (except Malones). Just take your fliers with you and at check-out show them the sale price and they will match it. Plus you can use any coupons you have on top of that.
I save about $15-20/wk and esp. save a lot on all the meat I buy.
I only shop on one day. I plan one week's worth of meals ahead of time and a checklist of all the ingredients. I also try to make meals with the items on sale that week. That way I only buy and use what I need (cuts down on wasted food going bad in fridge, wasted gas and multiple trips to the store). I also always try to make a bit extra for dinner to send with my husband for lunches the next day.
I buy items I use a lot of at Sam's club (like diapers, wipes, laundry detergent, etc).
I've probably saved at least $1,500 -$2K per year going this route than the way I used to do it.
You have some good ideas too, thanks!
keep in mind that alot of brand store products are still cheaper than the coupon..
when you go out to shop or to run a errand try to do them in groups
for example if you going grocier shopping today, and the drug store is close by that you will need to go later in the week, can you combine them together in that one day and do it all then.
for it s aves gas if you can.
clothes don't have to buy the fancy labels, you can find things at thrift stores, garage sales and save money that way.
cut back your A/c unit, don't allow the kids to hold the icebox open for long period of time, or go in and out for that allows cool air out.
home some of these tips will help you out.
One thing that wasn't mentioned that saved me some money is car insurance. If you had a commute before, be sure to call your insurance company and update your estimated miles driven per month. My insurance premiums went down significantly when I was no longer using my car for a daily commute!
Also, don't forget to check out Consignment sakes for baby items. You can get some awesome deals at events such as Divine Consign!
I also do The Grocery Game and I haven't been grocery shopping in a couple of weeks (except to get fresh items like milk and bread) It is pretty neat how it works, you don't have to spend time cutting coupons... they tell you exactly which ones to cut. If you want more info, message me. My husband has become very interested in it also... he wants to look over the list with me when it comes out. :o)
~ t
