I wanted to share a list of Money Saving Ideas that I keep in the back of my monthly planner. I refer to this list any time I'm feeling frustrated about finances and need to be reminded of some basic ideas of how to save money. This is my go-to list that I share when someone asks me how to save money (and most of these can be done without clipping coupons).
1. Make a menu that repeats. I use a menu that repeats every two weeks. I plan for 6 dinners a week, leaving room for leftovers, a night out, or a night at someone else's house.
2. Stock up on non-perishables. If you are sticking to a basic menu, you know things that you can always have on hand. When there is a sale on something that I use weekly, I purchase in multiples. My stockpile currently contains canned fruit, pasta sauce, ketchup, oil, Italian dressing for marinade, paper towels, and Ziploc bags.
3. Double meals & freeze. Meg is actually the best at this I think! I have mini meatloaves and lasagna in my freezer because we don't need to eat the entire recipe at one meal. So instead of making lasagna in a 9x13, I make it in 2 8x8 pans and freeze one for the next time. Same with the mini meatloaves - I cook all 8 for dinner, but then freeze half of them to be eaten later.
4. Check Comcast.com for special offers. If Comcast (I think it is actually called Xfinity now) is your cable provider, be sure to check in at comcast.com periodically to see if they have any offers for current customers. I had heard other people say that they would call Comcast and negotiate a better rate. I have tried this quite a few times (even threatening to drop my service) to no avail. But then I discovered an offer on comcast.com for current customers that cut my bill for basic cable and high speed internet from $55/month to $30/month.
5. Lower your cell phone bill. I am new to the cell phone world, but I know this is an area that can save money. Evaluate how many minutes you are actually using per month. Then visit MyRatePlan.com to shop around. I use a plan through Virgin Mobile. For $25/month I get 300 anytime talk minutes and unlimited text/data/web. I bought my phone (LG Rumor 2 with slide out keyboard) for $30 from walmart.com. The best part for me is that there is no contract, so I can back out of it whenever I want. And I was able to buy $100 in Top Up cards (used to load money onto my phone) at the grocery store and receive a $20 off my next order coupon for the grocery.
6. Buy Secondhand. Always step back and ask yourself if there's anyway you could do this cheaper - baby furniture, clothing, cars, furniture, etc. Craigslist and the Salvation Army are my best friends.
7. Check for on-line coupons/discounts. Before making an on-line purchase, check out RetailMeNot.com for a coupon code. I also check in at the coupon database on Hot Coupon World. Even if you don't clip coupons, check out this site. Often times it will have links to Internet Printable coupons that you can print off before heading out.
8. Keep a Gift Closet. I try to maintain a gift closet with toys, games, etc. that I find for a low price. This helps save money on the last minute gift purchases for birthday parties. My gift closet currently holds 2 Zhu-Zhu pets and 4 board games, as well as a cute baby girl dress I bought on super clearance from Target.
9. Check MoneySavingMom.com for grocery/drugstore weekly deals. She has a link to almost all of the grocery/retail/drugstores in the nation as a collaborative effort with frugal bloggers. Even if you don't clip coupons, there are helpful deal ideas to be found. This is a great time of year to be checking in as she posts about Back To School deals (few of which require coupons).
10. Evaluate your cable/internet/cell-phone/gadgets/etc. These items eat up a large portion of a family's monthly income. Consider what you could do without for 1 month, 3 months, 6 months. Cancel that service for a pre-determined amount of time. After you have been away from it for a time, re-evaluate whether you really miss it or need to bring it back.
Do you have any ideas to add? Do any of these inspire you?
Showing posts with label Money Saving Ideas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Money Saving Ideas. Show all posts
Budget...Ha!
Posted by | Friday, January 15, 2010 at 11:16 PM
I'm still hoping some of the other ladies will chime in this week. I feel like I have almost nothing to offer! We've struggled with this and tried several ways of keeping a monthly budget. Most have failed simply due to lack of follow-through!
My husband does the majority of managing finances in our house - mainly because when we got married, I was seriously vocal about not ever wanting to balance my checkbook again! :) We still have to communicate often and re-evaluate where we stand and what our goals are.
Here is my somewhat unorganized list of ideas or suggestions that we've learned over the past five years:
1. Sit down with a financial planner of some kind. For us, it was a close family friend that happens to be a certified financial planner. We sat down with him before we got married and he basically "taught" us (on paper) how to write a budget and things to consider when doing so. A lot of the ideas I'm sharing today came from his wisdom. Even if you don't have a CFP in the family, seeking advice from a financially (and biblically!) minded person that you trust is really a great idea. Especially for those of us who are not financially minded. (Me!)
2. Common budget categories that are forgotten include gifts, children, veterinary care and vacations. Now, these categories don't apply to everyone but if they do - consider them when making your monthly budget. Gifts is helpful for young married couples attending 200 weddings and baby showers each month. Children is helpful to set limits on spending when it comes to needed items. When Will was a baby we had a "Will" category that was used to purchase items that came with each new stage. For example, baby proofing items, new sippy cups, clothes, etc. Honestly, this category doesn't exist for us at the moment but it could re-appear if needed.
3. Reevaluate your budget MONTHLY if needed! This one was really freeing for me. I think my expectations concerning monthly budgets were unrealistic in the beginning. I thought we'd set a budget once and it would be that way FOREVER. Umm, not so much! Circumstances change and we often find ourselves reevaluating.
4. Before establishing specific amounts and categories, track your spending for a month or two. Programs like Quicken, MS Money....will help you do this. Or you can simply do it yourself. The first time we did this - I was shocked at the number of trips we made to Target in a month. (Let alone the amount of money spent!)
5. Budgeting monthly for non-monthly expenses is our biggest struggle. Expenses like car repairs, medical, etc. may or may not occur each month. Currently ALL of our "extra" money goes into the same savings account. ("Extra" meaning anything not used in a regularly occurring monthly budget category - groceries, fixed bills, etc.) I would love to find a system to better "organize" our saved funds. Currently, we have a checking account and two savings accounts. We have an additional high yield savings account with ING as well.
And in case you are wondering - we do not use a cash or envelope system. I cannot get my mind around managing that much cash. I have tried and we've set several dates to take the plunge and start using cash, but I've chickened out.
And my best piece of advice....
If you are like us and still struggling after years of trying to maintain a monthly budget - you MUST read DAVE RAMSEY. I read Total Money Makeover in summer 2008. It really changed the way we view money and finances. (I'm pretty sure I almost read the entire book out loud to Jacob! I was that excited about it.) While we may not have adopted every single idea of Dave's - we have changed a lot! (For example...cash only.)
And there it is - the most unhelpful budgeting post ever! Anyone else have any insight to share?
Payneful Money Management
Posted by | Sunday, January 10, 2010 at 10:31 PM
I wanted to share with you how we manage money at our house. We have been using this system for 9 months now. It's a system we kinda made up on our own, so it probably won't seem verbatim from any of the plans I mentioned yesterday. But, hey, it works for us!
Here's the lowdown on our financial situation. We currently have two sources of income: Ed's salary and money from babysitting (we watch a little boy 4 days/week). We have a mortgage on our home. We do not have any credit card debt, student loans, or car payments. We have an interest-free loan from Ed's dad (part of the down payment on the house) that we are paying back in equal installments over a ten year period. And we received the interest-free loan from the gov't when we bought our house that we will start paying back next year with our tax return. Oh, we also owe about $1000 in medical bills that we are paying month by month on a 12-month payment plan (that didn't cost us any extra). Praise God for good health insurance! (My bills without insurance totalled in the neighborhood of $200,000!!).
Here's how we spend our money:
1. Cash Envelopes. At the beginning of each month, Ed withdraws $600 cash. I divide this money into three envelopes: Groceries, Entertainment, and Other. I know many of you are probably laughing right now because we only have three envelopes and they are very vague! I would guess that most people who use an envelope system have many more envelopes with more specific categories. But again, this is what works for us! I put an equal $200 in each envelope. This is my money to spend througout the month. This includes: groceries, diapers, household goods, clothes, dining, entertainment, gifts. Pretty much anything and everything I need to spend money on as a Stay at Home Mom.
2. Credit Card. We have a Starbucks Visa that earns 1% rewards (for every $1 we charge, we earn a penny worth of Starbucks money). There are lots of reward cards out there, but we've stuck with this one b/c Ed goes to Starbucks almost every day. (Note: you may also laugh here b/c buying coffee from a coffee shop is usually number one on the things you can cut out to save money!) We basically charge two things every month: gas and Starbucks. We also charge on-line purchases to this card - but that's usually books from Amazon and this happens maybe once every three months. And Ed has been known to charge things to the card (a burrito from Chipotle, etc) every now and again. This is pretty much our gas card and Ed's "treat card". Since we've agreed on this and Ed doesn't really spend THAT much on it, it's totally fine by both of us.
3. Debit Card. We still carry our debit cards, mostly as a back-up. If, for example, I forget to bring cash to the grocery store and don't realize it until I am standing at the checkout lane, I just use my debit card. When I get home, I take out the cash from my grocery envelope and give it to Ed. He'll go deposit it into the checking account. Or, if it's close to the end of the month, he'll just give me less cash at the start of the next month. For this reason, we leave a "cash pad" in our checking account so we don't ever overdraft.
4. Mortgage and Bills. Ed pays all the bills on-line. Each month we owe the usual suspects: mortgage, gas, electric, water, phone, and cable/internet. Ed is in charge of paying each of these bills. He does it through the bill pay with our bank.
5. Savings. We have a savings account with ING Direct. It's great b/c it has a higher interest rate than a brick and mortar bank. It is linked to our checking account and Ed can move money to and fro. We have a set amount of money that we save each month. But then Ed also puts in any money that is left over in our checking account at the end of the month. We also deposit all of our babysitting money into our savings account.
6. Retirement Savings and Flex Spending Account. These two items are taken out of Ed's paycheck before taxes. We chose a percentage of Ed's salary to go into the company 401K and also into a FSA that we then use to pay for our co-pays and doctor's bills.
7. Giving. We give a set amount of money with each paycheck. We also contribute to things with our extra money from the month to things at church or other people who are asking for financial support.
So that's basically where our money goes. My husband is a great saver, so I have him to thank for setting us on this path and making it work.
And speaking of savings, I need to say a couple of things here. One, we keep 3-months worth of Ed's salary untouched in savings as a safety net. Two, we keep goals in mind of big ticket items we want to buy (vacations, home renovation, minivan). Once we reach our savings goal, we buy the item (example - we just bought a minivan last week! And after our tax refund, we will have reached our goal to do some work on our upstairs).
This system has been great for us for a number of reasons:
1. We are saving money. Switching to cash has helped me curb some of my spending habits. And we just plain aren't spending as much when we restrict ourselves to a certain amount a month. Also, as some of you might now, I like to shop grocery deals and stockpile food. This budget has helped me step back and evaluate a "deal" before I jump in. There's only $200 in that grocery envelope, so I can't go spending a big chunk of it on soup and pasta sauce week after week. I'm much more discerning now in the deals I shop week to week.
2. We are getting along better as a couple. We used to fight a lot more about money. I would spend money on things and not write them down in the checkbook, which would drive Ed crazy. Ed would check our accounts on-line and see that I was spending money and get upset b/c he thought I was spending too much, which would drive me crazy. We would argue about how much was "too much". We would argue about having to agree before we spent money. I hated having to ask before I spent money on everything. He hated me spending money wihtout a consensus. (Does any of this sound like your house? Please tell me we aren't the only ones!). Having a monthly allotment of cash has definitely helped in this area. We have decided together how much is "enough" and now I am free to spend out of my envelopes each month. We still have to discuss big items and things that go outside of our envelopes. But this system has definitely relieved some major stress.
3. We can challenge ourselves. A few months I've asked Ed to give me less money. I've tried to live on less for that month and it's worked. (Before I pat myself on the back too much, and in the interest of full disclosure, we overspent in December on silly things that added up - so it's give and take).
Here's a quick review of our money management system:
+Babysitting money--> straight to Savings
+Ed's salary
-401K & FSA (& those lovely taxes)
=Ed's take-home pay
-->Set amount to Savings
-->Set amount to Church
-Mortgage & Utilities
-$600 Cash for Leah
-Gas & Coffee on Credit Card
=Monthly Expenses
-->Everything leftover goes to Savings
Savings account incl'ds Safety Net & Sinking Funds for Big Ticket Items
So, do you have any questions for me? Please feel free to ask.
Here's the lowdown on our financial situation. We currently have two sources of income: Ed's salary and money from babysitting (we watch a little boy 4 days/week). We have a mortgage on our home. We do not have any credit card debt, student loans, or car payments. We have an interest-free loan from Ed's dad (part of the down payment on the house) that we are paying back in equal installments over a ten year period. And we received the interest-free loan from the gov't when we bought our house that we will start paying back next year with our tax return. Oh, we also owe about $1000 in medical bills that we are paying month by month on a 12-month payment plan (that didn't cost us any extra). Praise God for good health insurance! (My bills without insurance totalled in the neighborhood of $200,000!!).
Here's how we spend our money:
1. Cash Envelopes. At the beginning of each month, Ed withdraws $600 cash. I divide this money into three envelopes: Groceries, Entertainment, and Other. I know many of you are probably laughing right now because we only have three envelopes and they are very vague! I would guess that most people who use an envelope system have many more envelopes with more specific categories. But again, this is what works for us! I put an equal $200 in each envelope. This is my money to spend througout the month. This includes: groceries, diapers, household goods, clothes, dining, entertainment, gifts. Pretty much anything and everything I need to spend money on as a Stay at Home Mom.
2. Credit Card. We have a Starbucks Visa that earns 1% rewards (for every $1 we charge, we earn a penny worth of Starbucks money). There are lots of reward cards out there, but we've stuck with this one b/c Ed goes to Starbucks almost every day. (Note: you may also laugh here b/c buying coffee from a coffee shop is usually number one on the things you can cut out to save money!) We basically charge two things every month: gas and Starbucks. We also charge on-line purchases to this card - but that's usually books from Amazon and this happens maybe once every three months. And Ed has been known to charge things to the card (a burrito from Chipotle, etc) every now and again. This is pretty much our gas card and Ed's "treat card". Since we've agreed on this and Ed doesn't really spend THAT much on it, it's totally fine by both of us.
3. Debit Card. We still carry our debit cards, mostly as a back-up. If, for example, I forget to bring cash to the grocery store and don't realize it until I am standing at the checkout lane, I just use my debit card. When I get home, I take out the cash from my grocery envelope and give it to Ed. He'll go deposit it into the checking account. Or, if it's close to the end of the month, he'll just give me less cash at the start of the next month. For this reason, we leave a "cash pad" in our checking account so we don't ever overdraft.
4. Mortgage and Bills. Ed pays all the bills on-line. Each month we owe the usual suspects: mortgage, gas, electric, water, phone, and cable/internet. Ed is in charge of paying each of these bills. He does it through the bill pay with our bank.
5. Savings. We have a savings account with ING Direct. It's great b/c it has a higher interest rate than a brick and mortar bank. It is linked to our checking account and Ed can move money to and fro. We have a set amount of money that we save each month. But then Ed also puts in any money that is left over in our checking account at the end of the month. We also deposit all of our babysitting money into our savings account.
6. Retirement Savings and Flex Spending Account. These two items are taken out of Ed's paycheck before taxes. We chose a percentage of Ed's salary to go into the company 401K and also into a FSA that we then use to pay for our co-pays and doctor's bills.
7. Giving. We give a set amount of money with each paycheck. We also contribute to things with our extra money from the month to things at church or other people who are asking for financial support.
So that's basically where our money goes. My husband is a great saver, so I have him to thank for setting us on this path and making it work.
And speaking of savings, I need to say a couple of things here. One, we keep 3-months worth of Ed's salary untouched in savings as a safety net. Two, we keep goals in mind of big ticket items we want to buy (vacations, home renovation, minivan). Once we reach our savings goal, we buy the item (example - we just bought a minivan last week! And after our tax refund, we will have reached our goal to do some work on our upstairs).
This system has been great for us for a number of reasons:
1. We are saving money. Switching to cash has helped me curb some of my spending habits. And we just plain aren't spending as much when we restrict ourselves to a certain amount a month. Also, as some of you might now, I like to shop grocery deals and stockpile food. This budget has helped me step back and evaluate a "deal" before I jump in. There's only $200 in that grocery envelope, so I can't go spending a big chunk of it on soup and pasta sauce week after week. I'm much more discerning now in the deals I shop week to week.
2. We are getting along better as a couple. We used to fight a lot more about money. I would spend money on things and not write them down in the checkbook, which would drive Ed crazy. Ed would check our accounts on-line and see that I was spending money and get upset b/c he thought I was spending too much, which would drive me crazy. We would argue about how much was "too much". We would argue about having to agree before we spent money. I hated having to ask before I spent money on everything. He hated me spending money wihtout a consensus. (Does any of this sound like your house? Please tell me we aren't the only ones!). Having a monthly allotment of cash has definitely helped in this area. We have decided together how much is "enough" and now I am free to spend out of my envelopes each month. We still have to discuss big items and things that go outside of our envelopes. But this system has definitely relieved some major stress.
3. We can challenge ourselves. A few months I've asked Ed to give me less money. I've tried to live on less for that month and it's worked. (Before I pat myself on the back too much, and in the interest of full disclosure, we overspent in December on silly things that added up - so it's give and take).
Here's a quick review of our money management system:
+Babysitting money--> straight to Savings
+Ed's salary
-401K & FSA (& those lovely taxes)
=Ed's take-home pay
-->Set amount to Savings
-->Set amount to Church
-Mortgage & Utilities
-$600 Cash for Leah
-Gas & Coffee on Credit Card
=Monthly Expenses
-->Everything leftover goes to Savings
Savings account incl'ds Safety Net & Sinking Funds for Big Ticket Items
So, do you have any questions for me? Please feel free to ask.
This Week's Topic: Budgeting
Posted by | at 8:18 PM
This week we want to introduce the topic of Money Management, specifically creating and sticking to a monthly budget. We had put this on our list of topics to cover this year and thought we would go ahead and talk about it this week since there were a couple of questions about using an Envelope System last week.Now, there are a ton of great books and websites out there that explain the virtues of budgeting and provide great how-tos - I'm not looking to reinvent the wheel here or anything. But I do want to point you all in the right direction if you are looking for some ideas in this area.
Want to go to the two big names in Christian Personal Finance? Check out Crown Financial or Dave Ramsey. Maybe your church offers classes by one of these. Or maybe they have some of their literature in your church library.
Want to read a great, straight-forward article on creating a budget? Read here. The article is probably the best introduction to the topic.
As far as money management, here are the big three that I've seen people use:
1. Quicken (or something similar, like Microsoft Money). My parents are avid Quicken users. They use credit cards, debit cards, and cash to pay for things. My dad turns in all of his receipts to my mom, the keeper of Quicken. She records all of their transactions every few days. It is actually quite comical to watch my dad try to tell my mom where his cash went (down to the penny) when he doesn't zero out after my mom enters the receipts. And I once watched my mom fret for a good hour because she was off by 2 cents and couldn't figure out what was wrong until she finally remembered that she had given Samuel 2 pennies to throw into the fountain at the mall! (And she actually entered that into Quicken under "gifts"!). Quicken is a great tool for those who like to track things, who use the computer a lot, and for those that are good at keeping receipts. You can read Quicken's quick thoughts on creating a budget here.
2. The Cash Envelope System. At the beginning of each month, you withdraw the amount of cash you have allotted to your monthly budget. You separate this cash into envelopes marked with your various budget categories. As you spend throughout the month, you draw from the appropriate envelope. When the cash is gone, that's it - no more spending in that category for the month. Want to read more about this? Check out a great run-down of this system here. And be sure to look for more posts this week on how a few of the POH authors use the Envelope System in their household. Oh, and there is something by Crown Financial Ministries call Mvelopes, which is apparently a sort of Cashless Envelope System. Read here for more info.
3. Budgeting with ING Direct. ING Direct is a full service on-line bank. They have a great interest rate and great services. You are able to set up automatic bill-pay, pay bills on-line, sub-divide your account into many different categories, and set up automatic distribution of your paycheck, etc. You can read all about it here.
Have a great budgeting system that works for you? Feel free to e-mail me at leahpayne at hotmail dot com to share your story and have it posted on POH. Or leave a comment telling us what you use and why.
How I CVS
Posted by | Thursday, July 30, 2009 at 8:49 PM
I'm going to give a very brief overview of how I shop at CVS. If you are interested in learning more, there are a lot of great How-Tos out there that I'll give the links for.
The way that you can get free or cheap items at CVS is by shopping their deals regularly and using their "Extra Care Bucks" program. Each week CVS offers several items such as:
Buy 1 Colgate Total Advanced Toothpaste or 360 Toothbrush at $2.88, Get $2 ECBs (Limit 1)
So you will have to pay $2.88 (plus tax) out of your pocket, and then you will get back a coupon that says it is worth "$2 off of your next order".
Now, to bring down your out of pocket expense, Money Saving Mom tells you that there is a $1 off printable coupon or $1 coupon from the 7/12 SmartSource insert. That means that instead of paying $2.88 in cash, you will only pay $1.88, and you will still get your $2 Extra Bucks coupon at the end.
These Extra Care Bucks don't expire for a month. The key is to use those Extra Care Bucks coupons to buy your items for the next week instead of spending cash out of your pocket.
So here's CVSing at my house:
Each Saturday evening, I read Money Saving Mom's post on the weekly CVS deals. I write them down and collect the corresponding coupons. I then consider what amounts of Extra Care Bucks I have. For example, this week I have these Extra Care Buck coupons: $5, $5, $4, $2, $1, $.99
Once I have the deals I want to do for the week, I'll see what combination of my Extra Bucks gets me down to spending the least amount of cash out of my pocket. In this way, I am "rolling" my Extra Bucks to get the next week's items without having to pay too much cash out of my pocket.
Make sense? Really, it's not that hard to do because there are frugal bloggers out there that do all the researching and figuring for you. And I actually enjoy doing the deals.
The one great tip I've figured out is to always ask for a raincheck if they are out of an item I want. Their rainchecks never expire and can come in handy in the dry weeks when there aren't any items I want to spend my Extra Bucks on.
If you want to see more detailed explanations on shopping at CVS, check out these links:
Money Saving Mom's CVS 101
The Thrifty Mama's CVS 101
I Heart CVS blog
The way that you can get free or cheap items at CVS is by shopping their deals regularly and using their "Extra Care Bucks" program. Each week CVS offers several items such as:
Buy 1 Colgate Total Advanced Toothpaste or 360 Toothbrush at $2.88, Get $2 ECBs (Limit 1)
So you will have to pay $2.88 (plus tax) out of your pocket, and then you will get back a coupon that says it is worth "$2 off of your next order".
Now, to bring down your out of pocket expense, Money Saving Mom tells you that there is a $1 off printable coupon or $1 coupon from the 7/12 SmartSource insert. That means that instead of paying $2.88 in cash, you will only pay $1.88, and you will still get your $2 Extra Bucks coupon at the end.
These Extra Care Bucks don't expire for a month. The key is to use those Extra Care Bucks coupons to buy your items for the next week instead of spending cash out of your pocket.
So here's CVSing at my house:
Each Saturday evening, I read Money Saving Mom's post on the weekly CVS deals. I write them down and collect the corresponding coupons. I then consider what amounts of Extra Care Bucks I have. For example, this week I have these Extra Care Buck coupons: $5, $5, $4, $2, $1, $.99
Once I have the deals I want to do for the week, I'll see what combination of my Extra Bucks gets me down to spending the least amount of cash out of my pocket. In this way, I am "rolling" my Extra Bucks to get the next week's items without having to pay too much cash out of my pocket.
Make sense? Really, it's not that hard to do because there are frugal bloggers out there that do all the researching and figuring for you. And I actually enjoy doing the deals.
The one great tip I've figured out is to always ask for a raincheck if they are out of an item I want. Their rainchecks never expire and can come in handy in the dry weeks when there aren't any items I want to spend my Extra Bucks on.
If you want to see more detailed explanations on shopping at CVS, check out these links:
Money Saving Mom's CVS 101
The Thrifty Mama's CVS 101
I Heart CVS blog
Why and How I use coupons
Posted by | Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 9:51 PM
I remember reading on Christina's blog a long while ago about her "CVSing" and all the great deals she was getting. I thought it seemed like too much work, a hassle, a bunch of stuff I didn't really want, etc. and mostly I just felt too lazy to put the mental effort into figuring it out. But about a year ago I started to get an itch for a little hobby to take on. I was feeling really discouraged about how much I was spending at the grocery store every week and thought maybe I should revisit the whole coupon shopping thing. I collected coupons for about two months without doing anything to them - just saving up so I would be ready. Then in October, I took the plunge. I did two transactions at CVS and two at Walgreens. You can read all about it here. After a couple weeks of shopping at CVS and Walgreens, I figured out how to start using my coupons to shop at my local grocery chains. I discovered a website called Hot Coupon World. It has a discussion forum for each grocery chain where people post the weekly ad with coupon matchups and add ideas for cheap/free items as the week goes on.
I'm really happy to be a coupon clipper/shopper. Here are the biggest benefits:
1. I don't EVER pay for toothpaste, toothbrushes, hair care products, soap, razors.
2. I have drastically cut down our monthly grocery expenses (including toiletries).
3. I have a new hobby.
4. I have a stockpile of goods that help me to meal plan.
Here's the long and short of what couponing looks like in my life:
1. I get the coupon inserts out of my Sunday paper and I get an extra set from my next door neighbor each week. I go through the inserts and clip the coupons I think I will more than likely use at the grocery store (commonly purchased items) and file them in my coupon organizer. (My coupon organizer is a bunch of business sized envelopes in a wicker basket that are labeled cereal, meat, dairy, etc). I then write the date on the top of the insert and file it in a 12x12 scrapbook folder in case I need to go back to get a specific coupon.
2. I read Money Saving Mom and The Thrifty Mama each week to see what the CVS and Walgreens deals are for that week. You can see sample posts here and here.
3. I print out the CVS and Walgreens deals for the week (although I'm currently boycotting Walgreens) and then I go find the corresponding coupons - either already clipped in my organizer, or filed in the scrapbook folder.
4. I shop CVS during the week and I'm sure to get a raincheck if they are out of one of the items - their rainchecks never expire and they can write the coupon code on your raincheck for you to print your coupons at a later date.
5. I look over my grocery store fliers that come in the mail on Wednesday. I also consult the Hot Coupon World forum to see what deals others have posted. I make a list of all the items that are a really good deal for that week - even if I don't need them for that week's menu, I buy them when they are cheap and stockpile them.
6. I consult my menu plan for that week and make a grocery list of the items I need to pick up at the store. Sometimes I know I have a coupon for that item in my coupon organizer. If I'm unsure, I go to Hot Coupon World Coupon Database and search for that item. It gives me a list of all the current coupons that are out there for that item.
7. I go to at least one, if not two grocery stores during the week to shop the deals and buy our needed items.
8. Every now and again, I'll look at Money Saving Mom to see what coupons are yielding free/super cheap items at Target or Walmart and I'll take them with me if I happen to be going there. But we don't have SuperTarget or SuperWalmart here, so I can't always get the great deals she lists.
I have cut our grocery spending from about $480/month to less than $300/month - and that includes all of our toiletries, paper towels, laundry detergent, cleaners, etc. It also includes building up my stockpile from scratch. Here's my current stockpile:
If you want to see some of my grocery deals, click here, here, or here.
Okay, so PLEASE, ask me questions. I'd love to know your thoughts, scepticisms, etc.
I'm really happy to be a coupon clipper/shopper. Here are the biggest benefits:
1. I don't EVER pay for toothpaste, toothbrushes, hair care products, soap, razors.
2. I have drastically cut down our monthly grocery expenses (including toiletries).
3. I have a new hobby.
4. I have a stockpile of goods that help me to meal plan.
Here's the long and short of what couponing looks like in my life:
1. I get the coupon inserts out of my Sunday paper and I get an extra set from my next door neighbor each week. I go through the inserts and clip the coupons I think I will more than likely use at the grocery store (commonly purchased items) and file them in my coupon organizer. (My coupon organizer is a bunch of business sized envelopes in a wicker basket that are labeled cereal, meat, dairy, etc). I then write the date on the top of the insert and file it in a 12x12 scrapbook folder in case I need to go back to get a specific coupon.
2. I read Money Saving Mom and The Thrifty Mama each week to see what the CVS and Walgreens deals are for that week. You can see sample posts here and here.
3. I print out the CVS and Walgreens deals for the week (although I'm currently boycotting Walgreens) and then I go find the corresponding coupons - either already clipped in my organizer, or filed in the scrapbook folder.
4. I shop CVS during the week and I'm sure to get a raincheck if they are out of one of the items - their rainchecks never expire and they can write the coupon code on your raincheck for you to print your coupons at a later date.
5. I look over my grocery store fliers that come in the mail on Wednesday. I also consult the Hot Coupon World forum to see what deals others have posted. I make a list of all the items that are a really good deal for that week - even if I don't need them for that week's menu, I buy them when they are cheap and stockpile them.
6. I consult my menu plan for that week and make a grocery list of the items I need to pick up at the store. Sometimes I know I have a coupon for that item in my coupon organizer. If I'm unsure, I go to Hot Coupon World Coupon Database and search for that item. It gives me a list of all the current coupons that are out there for that item.
7. I go to at least one, if not two grocery stores during the week to shop the deals and buy our needed items.
8. Every now and again, I'll look at Money Saving Mom to see what coupons are yielding free/super cheap items at Target or Walmart and I'll take them with me if I happen to be going there. But we don't have SuperTarget or SuperWalmart here, so I can't always get the great deals she lists.
I have cut our grocery spending from about $480/month to less than $300/month - and that includes all of our toiletries, paper towels, laundry detergent, cleaners, etc. It also includes building up my stockpile from scratch. Here's my current stockpile:
If you want to see some of my grocery deals, click here, here, or here.
Okay, so PLEASE, ask me questions. I'd love to know your thoughts, scepticisms, etc.
Couponing 101
Posted by | Monday, July 27, 2009 at 2:37 PM
This weeks topic is "couponing" or the art of saving money by using coupons! We had been getting coupon questions for a while now - and now that Leah is into coupons too, we decided to make a week out of coupon tips. Later this week, she'll share some more tips - including how to play the "drugstore game" using coupons at places like CVS, Walgreens, etc.
I started using coupons in August of 2007. You can visit our family blog for some of my past deals to get an idea of what I'm regularly able to save. It would be really nice if I used labels on our blog, but I don't so you can find those deal posts here, here, here, and here. Here are some steps to saving at least 30% off your grocery bill:
1. Collect those coupons! Begin saving the coupon inserts from the Sunday paper each week. There are usually about two inserts in each paper, but look carefully. They are provided by Redplum, Smartsource and sometimes P&G Brandsaver. I would recommend saving coupons for several weeks BEFORE attempting to “use” them with the grocery game (or something similar).
We do not get the Sunday paper delivered anymore because we get plenty of coupons from our family. When I do need to get a paper, I buy it at the dollar store where it is only a $1!
2. Organize your coupons! I have tried several ways – it really depends on how you plan to use your coupons. Here are several options:
· Clip all coupons and file in a divided envelope (like a check file). This method is VERY time consuming, especially considering you will not use even half of your coupons.
· Clip all coupons and file in a 3-ring binder with see through baseball card pages. This method is even MORE time consuming and simply not necessary if you're using a list from either the grocery game or coupon mom.
· Clip all coupons and file in multiple dividers in a box of some kind. Again, very time consuming.
· Save all inserts intact and file by name (ie. RP for Redplum) and date. You would only clip the coupons you need each week!
I have tried all above options and currently use a hybrid of the last two options. My husband often helps me clip coupons before grocery trips and we both agree that this is the easiest way to do it! I keep my inserts filed in a 16 (I think) section portfolio binder. The sections are labeled by date and insert. When you get a list of deals for the week (either the grocery game or coupon mom) it will tell you where you find the coupon for that particular item.
The picture below is an example of a box with envelopes for each category where you would clip and file ALL coupons. I have previously used this box in that way, but now it is just the box I take to the store with me. I use the envelopes to file cut (but unused) coupons, coupons that came in the mail, etc. I also keep a calculator, pen, highlighter and scissors in my box!
3. Compare coupons to store sales! This is truly the key to saving lots of money. You can do this step several ways. The idea is to pair up a sale with a coupon to maximize your savings.
· Subscribe to a service like The Grocery Game. (My method!)
· Obtain the sale fliers for you preferred store from the paper or the store website.
· Use a free service like The Coupon Mom.
4. Make a grocery list! Clip or find the coupons you’ll need and head to the store! Be sure to get to know coupon policies at your preferred grocery store. For example, I shop at Harris Teeter and they only double 20 coupons per purchase. If I need to buy more items than that (this is rare) then I’ll make two trips that week.
5. Head to the store! Bring your list and ALL of your clipped coupons. It is very often that I find clearanced items for which I have a coupon. I have gotten nearly free things at Target and Harris Teeter just by having my coupons with me.
Some helpful websites:
The Grocery Game – service provides lists specific to your store, matching coupons to sales.
The Coupon Mom – free service providing similar lists and coupon info
Savvy Dollar – NC specific message boards and deal info
Hot Coupon World
Everyday Saver – source for online coupons.
A Full Cup - this site includes an extensive coupon database of all coupons and where to find them.
Money Saving Mom – great money saving blog with some great couponing 101 posts.
Deal Seeking Mom - another great blog for couponing and other deals.
The Coupon Clippers – service where you can "buy" (really a small handling fee + shipping) coupons for those really good deals.
FAQ’s
What if I don’t want to clip coupons?
Use a service like the coupon clippers. I often use this service to get extra copies of really good coupons! If you are using the GG, you can also save your coupon inserts and only clip needed coupons each week versus clipping all coupons every week!
How do you eat healthy and still use coupons?
This is probably the #1 reason people do not use coupons. Don't be sucked in by a coupon! I know when I first started using them I was tricked into buying a few things just because I had coupons! You don’t have to buy all the junk that you get coupons for! I only buy food that is healthy and that we can eat. The majority of the coupons I use are for non-food items. I save the most on things like shampoo, soap, razors, toilet paper, deodorant, etc. These savings allow me to buy plenty fresh produce, milk, eggs, meat and most of that organic or straight from the farm!
How much does the grocery game cost?
There is a FREE (just became free) 4 week trial! After that, one store list is $10 for 8 weeks. Each additional store is only $5 per 8 weeks. I cannot speak highly enough for this service as far as saving me time and money.
I buy only store brand items on sale, isn’t that cheaper than name brands?
No! I used to be a store brand only (and still am unless I have coupons) shopper. But there are rarely coupons for store brand items - Target being the exception. Frequently the name brands are cheaper when using coupons with sales. One thing to note is that to really save the most money, you can’t be too “brand loyal.” I used to buy only Charmin toilet paper, but now I use all brands and see a huge savings!
Can you use coupons at Walmart and Target?
Sure – but I don’t think the savings are any more than my local Harris Teeter. Walmart and Target do not double coupons like most grocery stores do. The Coupon Mom website includes lists for these stores. To be quite honest, neither store has a great track record for being "coupon friendly" and I am not usually happy with the produce and meat selections at these stores either.
Why do you pay for the Grocery Game when Coupon Mom is the same thing for FREE?
I have compared these two sites several times. The Coupon Mom seems to have slightly lower savings than the Grocery Game. (Both lists tell you percent savings on each item.) I believe this is because the Grocery Game doesn’t just simply pair coupons with sales. They track trends and know when the item is likely to reach its “rock bottom” price. Every time an item is on "sale" does not necessarily mean it is the best time to buy it. I see a higher savings using the Grocery Game.
After all that info, here is a rundown of my weekly coupon routine. Keep in mind that it has taken me two years to get to this point. When you first start with coupons - it will take TIME and it can be frustrating!
1. View and print my grocery game list on Sunday afternoon. (I only pay for a Harris Teeter list and it comes out on Sunday.)
2. Use MoneySavingMom or DealSeekingMom to find out my CVS deals for the week. Print a list of those as well. (More on CVS and other drugstores later this week!)
3. Using those lists, clip the coupons. This takes about 15-20 minutes depending on the length of my list.
4. Shop at Harris Teeter and CVS anytime between Sunday afternoon and Tuesday evening. (The Harris Teeter sales run from Wednesday to Tuesday - SO the grocery game list is only "valid" for that week from Sunday to Tuesday.) Usually Monday is my shopping day. However, I will shop CVS on Sunday if there are some really good deals that I will miss out on if I wait.
One final note...it is important to remember that this method of using coupons is based upon the idea of "stockpiling." Meaning - you don't simply make a meal plan, make a grocery list and use a few coupons for items on your list. You buy items you know you'll need ahead of time - when they are cheapest - and base your meal plans on what you already have or will be getting that week. Does that make sense?
In the two years since couponing, we have been able to lower our grocery budget to about $60/week. (It used to be as low as $50 - but then I added a third child to my household during weekdays and needed some more wiggle room for that!) We also have more toiletry items than I can store and we frequently donate our overflow to the Urban Ministries in Raleigh.
I love that I am able to save my family so much money while also increasing our ability to serve others - whether by donations or by making a meal for someone or by having friends over for dinner! Please ask questions for now and stay tuned for more posts later this week!
I started using coupons in August of 2007. You can visit our family blog for some of my past deals to get an idea of what I'm regularly able to save. It would be really nice if I used labels on our blog, but I don't so you can find those deal posts here, here, here, and here. Here are some steps to saving at least 30% off your grocery bill:
1. Collect those coupons! Begin saving the coupon inserts from the Sunday paper each week. There are usually about two inserts in each paper, but look carefully. They are provided by Redplum, Smartsource and sometimes P&G Brandsaver. I would recommend saving coupons for several weeks BEFORE attempting to “use” them with the grocery game (or something similar).
We do not get the Sunday paper delivered anymore because we get plenty of coupons from our family. When I do need to get a paper, I buy it at the dollar store where it is only a $1!
2. Organize your coupons! I have tried several ways – it really depends on how you plan to use your coupons. Here are several options:
· Clip all coupons and file in a divided envelope (like a check file). This method is VERY time consuming, especially considering you will not use even half of your coupons.
· Clip all coupons and file in a 3-ring binder with see through baseball card pages. This method is even MORE time consuming and simply not necessary if you're using a list from either the grocery game or coupon mom.
· Clip all coupons and file in multiple dividers in a box of some kind. Again, very time consuming.
· Save all inserts intact and file by name (ie. RP for Redplum) and date. You would only clip the coupons you need each week!
3. Compare coupons to store sales! This is truly the key to saving lots of money. You can do this step several ways. The idea is to pair up a sale with a coupon to maximize your savings.
· Subscribe to a service like The Grocery Game. (My method!)
· Obtain the sale fliers for you preferred store from the paper or the store website.
· Use a free service like The Coupon Mom.
4. Make a grocery list! Clip or find the coupons you’ll need and head to the store! Be sure to get to know coupon policies at your preferred grocery store. For example, I shop at Harris Teeter and they only double 20 coupons per purchase. If I need to buy more items than that (this is rare) then I’ll make two trips that week.
5. Head to the store! Bring your list and ALL of your clipped coupons. It is very often that I find clearanced items for which I have a coupon. I have gotten nearly free things at Target and Harris Teeter just by having my coupons with me.
Some helpful websites:
The Grocery Game – service provides lists specific to your store, matching coupons to sales.
The Coupon Mom – free service providing similar lists and coupon info
Savvy Dollar – NC specific message boards and deal info
Hot Coupon World
Everyday Saver – source for online coupons.
A Full Cup - this site includes an extensive coupon database of all coupons and where to find them.
Money Saving Mom – great money saving blog with some great couponing 101 posts.
Deal Seeking Mom - another great blog for couponing and other deals.
The Coupon Clippers – service where you can "buy" (really a small handling fee + shipping) coupons for those really good deals.
FAQ’s
What if I don’t want to clip coupons?
Use a service like the coupon clippers. I often use this service to get extra copies of really good coupons! If you are using the GG, you can also save your coupon inserts and only clip needed coupons each week versus clipping all coupons every week!
How do you eat healthy and still use coupons?
This is probably the #1 reason people do not use coupons. Don't be sucked in by a coupon! I know when I first started using them I was tricked into buying a few things just because I had coupons! You don’t have to buy all the junk that you get coupons for! I only buy food that is healthy and that we can eat. The majority of the coupons I use are for non-food items. I save the most on things like shampoo, soap, razors, toilet paper, deodorant, etc. These savings allow me to buy plenty fresh produce, milk, eggs, meat and most of that organic or straight from the farm!
How much does the grocery game cost?
There is a FREE (just became free) 4 week trial! After that, one store list is $10 for 8 weeks. Each additional store is only $5 per 8 weeks. I cannot speak highly enough for this service as far as saving me time and money.
I buy only store brand items on sale, isn’t that cheaper than name brands?
No! I used to be a store brand only (and still am unless I have coupons) shopper. But there are rarely coupons for store brand items - Target being the exception. Frequently the name brands are cheaper when using coupons with sales. One thing to note is that to really save the most money, you can’t be too “brand loyal.” I used to buy only Charmin toilet paper, but now I use all brands and see a huge savings!
Can you use coupons at Walmart and Target?
Sure – but I don’t think the savings are any more than my local Harris Teeter. Walmart and Target do not double coupons like most grocery stores do. The Coupon Mom website includes lists for these stores. To be quite honest, neither store has a great track record for being "coupon friendly" and I am not usually happy with the produce and meat selections at these stores either.
Why do you pay for the Grocery Game when Coupon Mom is the same thing for FREE?
I have compared these two sites several times. The Coupon Mom seems to have slightly lower savings than the Grocery Game. (Both lists tell you percent savings on each item.) I believe this is because the Grocery Game doesn’t just simply pair coupons with sales. They track trends and know when the item is likely to reach its “rock bottom” price. Every time an item is on "sale" does not necessarily mean it is the best time to buy it. I see a higher savings using the Grocery Game.
After all that info, here is a rundown of my weekly coupon routine. Keep in mind that it has taken me two years to get to this point. When you first start with coupons - it will take TIME and it can be frustrating!
1. View and print my grocery game list on Sunday afternoon. (I only pay for a Harris Teeter list and it comes out on Sunday.)
2. Use MoneySavingMom or DealSeekingMom to find out my CVS deals for the week. Print a list of those as well. (More on CVS and other drugstores later this week!)
3. Using those lists, clip the coupons. This takes about 15-20 minutes depending on the length of my list.
4. Shop at Harris Teeter and CVS anytime between Sunday afternoon and Tuesday evening. (The Harris Teeter sales run from Wednesday to Tuesday - SO the grocery game list is only "valid" for that week from Sunday to Tuesday.) Usually Monday is my shopping day. However, I will shop CVS on Sunday if there are some really good deals that I will miss out on if I wait.
One final note...it is important to remember that this method of using coupons is based upon the idea of "stockpiling." Meaning - you don't simply make a meal plan, make a grocery list and use a few coupons for items on your list. You buy items you know you'll need ahead of time - when they are cheapest - and base your meal plans on what you already have or will be getting that week. Does that make sense?
In the two years since couponing, we have been able to lower our grocery budget to about $60/week. (It used to be as low as $50 - but then I added a third child to my household during weekdays and needed some more wiggle room for that!) We also have more toiletry items than I can store and we frequently donate our overflow to the Urban Ministries in Raleigh.
I love that I am able to save my family so much money while also increasing our ability to serve others - whether by donations or by making a meal for someone or by having friends over for dinner! Please ask questions for now and stay tuned for more posts later this week!
One more idea
Posted by | Thursday, October 4, 2007 at 3:50 AM
Wow, Leah and Christina did a great job of covering tons of ways to save money. There's only one more suggesstion I have: Packet 8. IF you have high speed internet, you can get Packet 8 or Vonage (I have Packet 8 and it's a little cheaper than Vonage) which is a VOIP - Voice Over Internet Phone. It works just like a regular phone - you talk on a phone, call others on their phone, and it works just fine with cordless phones calling cell phones, etc. You can pick your phone number or you can "port" your current number - which simply means you keep your same number. We pay $200 for the year and this includes free long distance anywhere in America, call waiting, caller ID, voice mail, etc. You can also choose to pay monthly for about five dollars more a month. I live overseas and have a number in the states and use this phone as if I'm in America. It amazes me that I can be on another continent, talking on a cordless phone to someone in America who's on a cell phone, and the reception is still crystal clear. My mom changed her regular phone service to this because it was much cheaper and she also now has free long distance. Experiencing how well it works and how much money we save, we plan to use VOIP service when we return to the states too!
Money Saving Ideas?
Posted by | Tuesday, October 2, 2007 at 1:35 PM
This topic is kind of misleading. In my opinion, the best way to save money is to quit shopping...with that said, hunting for bargains has long been a passion of mine. It can be a HUGE trap though and I have to be so careful!! Avoiding clearance sections unless I am hunting for a specific item is one way to keep from spending. I also hate clutter, so if I can't immediatly identify where something will live in my home it doesn't get bought.
Since becoming a mommy, I have definitely developed a greater desire to save money where we can and live well within our means. Currently, both my husband and I work. The plan is for me to not work once he is finished with school in May 2008. Because of this, our current income is considerably higher than we technically "need" and will live on one day very soon. We have been in the process of evaluating our budget and spending for a while now in order to weed out all unnecessary items. Some tips on creating and keeping a budget that have helped us save more money each month:
1. Ditch or reduce unnecessary services like:
Cell phone #2 - we share and whomever has Will generally takes the phone.
Home phone - for a long time we lived with just two cell phones. Now we have one cell and one home phone which is cheaper than two cells for us. Definitely get rid of features like caller id, call waiting, etc.
Internet service - shop around for the best rates. We recently switched to a different provider and slightly slower (yet still high speed) service and have been more than pleased! We pay $30 a month. This is definitely an expense that we could live without, but don't choose to at this time.
Cable or Satellite - we have the most basic package offerred by Time Warner Cable only to ensure our local channels come in. We had trouble getting CBS with our bunny ears...It costs 12.55 a month and we get all of the local channels plus HGTV (my fav), USA and TNT.
2. Don't forget to budget for gifts! It's easy to leave this out and go overboard. I LOVE giving gifts so budgeting has really helped me stay realistic in this category. This is especially helpful when all of your friends are having babies and you have a million showers to go to!
3. Keep your AC/furnace serviced (if you own a home) and be knowledgeable about your specific unit. For example, we learned the hard way that we had a multi-stage heat pump and it is NOT more energy/cost efficient to use a programmable thermostat. Brought my husband to tears to see our power bill tripled the first month we used a programmable thermostat. We have sinced gotten a new heat pump (still multi-stage) and a new thermostat. Our bill is very manageable when we take advantage of ceiling fans and cool nights.
Now some general money saving ideas that have worked for us:
1. Leah's suggestion to make baby wipes and use cloth diapers are both GREAT ideas! However, I might add that if you use cloth diapers, cloth wipes are SUPER easy to use and make. I am short on time and sewing skills so I bought mine from cottonbabies.com. We simply keep a stash of washcloth sized wipes on the changing table with a spray bottle of water. The dirty wipe gets tossed in the diaper pail and washed with the dipes.
Really, they don't need anything more than water on their bums when changed. I've found that when I do go back to using disposable wipes (during travel or when he's sick) he is more prone to rashes. I've only recently purchased more wipes (again for travel and outings) since I started using cloth in March of this year!
Cost for 2 dozen cloth wipes - $24 (this was an expensive kind of cloth wipe)
Cost of spray bottle from Target - $1
Total for 6 months of diapering = $25
2. Being a working (and pregnant) mom, I often come home too tired to even think about dinner. Weekly meal planning has significantly reduced the temptation to just order out. Each week I plan our meals and do one grocery trip. I keep a list of the weeks meal options on the fridge and make whichever I feel like. Also, my husband knows whats for dinner and can start it for me if he is home.
I also have a freezer stash of meals that I either freeze when I double a recipe (like soups and chili) or make at a place such as Dream Dinners. These are great for quick thawing when I am really rushed or tired. Dream Dinners seems like a huge expense, but for us it is significantly cheaper than going out. I'll post more about Dream Dinners (and doing your own version at home) when we do a week on meals and recipes!
3. The Grocery Game. This is the best thing since sliced bread. It has honestly saved me over 60% on groceries by maximizing coupon use. I can't speak highly enough about this service and the time and money it has saved me. Check out the site and let me know if you have questions about it!
4. Mommy Savers Website. A GREAT resource for even more ways to save money. Lots of do-it-yourself ideas. I have the book she wrote as well, "1000 Baby Bargains" and I highly recommend it.
5. Like Leah mentioned, purchase (and resell) baby/kid items using websites such as ebay and craigslist OR garage/consignment sales. To avoid clutter or storage issues in a small home, simply resell the item when you child is done. You can always purchase it again used for #2.
To give you an idea, here are some bigger/expensive items I have purchase from Craigslist or Ebay - almost all at savings of at least 50% and in like new condition:
-shoes like Robeez (got one pair .50 at yard sale!! retail approx. $30)
-small travel pack n' play for #2
-400 Lansinoh breast pads (for $10, retail is approx. $50)
-cloth diapers (yes, they can be sanitized and I used craigslist and Diaperswappers)
-exersaucer
-high chair
-used stroller for plane travel
-crib mobile
-bouncy seat
-doorway jumper
-TOYS (got a FP Little People train set for $1 at yard sale, retails $50)
-my ergo baby carrier
To give you an idea of things I have SOLD online or by consignment:
-shoes like Robeez
-pack n' play (sold our yard sale one when we got a new one for a gift)
-strollers
-bouncy seat
-bottles
-maternity clothes
-doorway jumper
-baby bjorn and other slings
-cloth diapers
6. Using a wholesale club (like BJ's, Sams, Costco) but using it WISELY. These stores can also be traps because MANY items are NOT cheaper. Here are some items that I KNOW we save $$ on, especially when buying generic brand:
-diapers and wipes (when using disposable)
-baby formula, jar foods
-paper towels and toilet paper
-some toiletries
-some dry goods (cereal, flour, sugar, etc)
-organic milk and eggs
Since becoming a mommy, I have definitely developed a greater desire to save money where we can and live well within our means. Currently, both my husband and I work. The plan is for me to not work once he is finished with school in May 2008. Because of this, our current income is considerably higher than we technically "need" and will live on one day very soon. We have been in the process of evaluating our budget and spending for a while now in order to weed out all unnecessary items. Some tips on creating and keeping a budget that have helped us save more money each month:
1. Ditch or reduce unnecessary services like:
Cell phone #2 - we share and whomever has Will generally takes the phone.
Home phone - for a long time we lived with just two cell phones. Now we have one cell and one home phone which is cheaper than two cells for us. Definitely get rid of features like caller id, call waiting, etc.
Internet service - shop around for the best rates. We recently switched to a different provider and slightly slower (yet still high speed) service and have been more than pleased! We pay $30 a month. This is definitely an expense that we could live without, but don't choose to at this time.
Cable or Satellite - we have the most basic package offerred by Time Warner Cable only to ensure our local channels come in. We had trouble getting CBS with our bunny ears...It costs 12.55 a month and we get all of the local channels plus HGTV (my fav), USA and TNT.
2. Don't forget to budget for gifts! It's easy to leave this out and go overboard. I LOVE giving gifts so budgeting has really helped me stay realistic in this category. This is especially helpful when all of your friends are having babies and you have a million showers to go to!
3. Keep your AC/furnace serviced (if you own a home) and be knowledgeable about your specific unit. For example, we learned the hard way that we had a multi-stage heat pump and it is NOT more energy/cost efficient to use a programmable thermostat. Brought my husband to tears to see our power bill tripled the first month we used a programmable thermostat. We have sinced gotten a new heat pump (still multi-stage) and a new thermostat. Our bill is very manageable when we take advantage of ceiling fans and cool nights.
Now some general money saving ideas that have worked for us:
1. Leah's suggestion to make baby wipes and use cloth diapers are both GREAT ideas! However, I might add that if you use cloth diapers, cloth wipes are SUPER easy to use and make. I am short on time and sewing skills so I bought mine from cottonbabies.com. We simply keep a stash of washcloth sized wipes on the changing table with a spray bottle of water. The dirty wipe gets tossed in the diaper pail and washed with the dipes.
Really, they don't need anything more than water on their bums when changed. I've found that when I do go back to using disposable wipes (during travel or when he's sick) he is more prone to rashes. I've only recently purchased more wipes (again for travel and outings) since I started using cloth in March of this year!
Cost for 2 dozen cloth wipes - $24 (this was an expensive kind of cloth wipe)
Cost of spray bottle from Target - $1
Total for 6 months of diapering = $25
2. Being a working (and pregnant) mom, I often come home too tired to even think about dinner. Weekly meal planning has significantly reduced the temptation to just order out. Each week I plan our meals and do one grocery trip. I keep a list of the weeks meal options on the fridge and make whichever I feel like. Also, my husband knows whats for dinner and can start it for me if he is home.
I also have a freezer stash of meals that I either freeze when I double a recipe (like soups and chili) or make at a place such as Dream Dinners. These are great for quick thawing when I am really rushed or tired. Dream Dinners seems like a huge expense, but for us it is significantly cheaper than going out. I'll post more about Dream Dinners (and doing your own version at home) when we do a week on meals and recipes!
3. The Grocery Game. This is the best thing since sliced bread. It has honestly saved me over 60% on groceries by maximizing coupon use. I can't speak highly enough about this service and the time and money it has saved me. Check out the site and let me know if you have questions about it!
4. Mommy Savers Website. A GREAT resource for even more ways to save money. Lots of do-it-yourself ideas. I have the book she wrote as well, "1000 Baby Bargains" and I highly recommend it.
5. Like Leah mentioned, purchase (and resell) baby/kid items using websites such as ebay and craigslist OR garage/consignment sales. To avoid clutter or storage issues in a small home, simply resell the item when you child is done. You can always purchase it again used for #2.
To give you an idea, here are some bigger/expensive items I have purchase from Craigslist or Ebay - almost all at savings of at least 50% and in like new condition:
-shoes like Robeez (got one pair .50 at yard sale!! retail approx. $30)
-small travel pack n' play for #2
-400 Lansinoh breast pads (for $10, retail is approx. $50)
-cloth diapers (yes, they can be sanitized and I used craigslist and Diaperswappers)
-exersaucer
-high chair
-used stroller for plane travel
-crib mobile
-bouncy seat
-doorway jumper
-TOYS (got a FP Little People train set for $1 at yard sale, retails $50)
-my ergo baby carrier
To give you an idea of things I have SOLD online or by consignment:
-shoes like Robeez
-pack n' play (sold our yard sale one when we got a new one for a gift)
-strollers
-bouncy seat
-bottles
-maternity clothes
-doorway jumper
-baby bjorn and other slings
-cloth diapers
6. Using a wholesale club (like BJ's, Sams, Costco) but using it WISELY. These stores can also be traps because MANY items are NOT cheaper. Here are some items that I KNOW we save $$ on, especially when buying generic brand:
-diapers and wipes (when using disposable)
-baby formula, jar foods
-paper towels and toilet paper
-some toiletries
-some dry goods (cereal, flour, sugar, etc)
-organic milk and eggs
Leah’s Money Saving Ideas
Posted by | Monday, October 1, 2007 at 12:25 PM
Okay Mamas, this week's topic is Money Saving Ideas. Sorry for the late post (in my defense, it's only 9:30 my time!). Now, I can't wait for the other ladies to chime in as well because they have some really great ideas. Here are a few we use in our family to cut costs:
1. Use Resale Resources: Craigslist, MamaBarter, and Freecycle are a few I use.
2. Homemade Wipes – These are easy to do and really cheap to make. You will need a 12 cup container (like the Rubbermaid you would use to keep flour/sugar), Baby Wash, Baby Oil, and Bounty Paper Towels. You MUST use Bounty paper towels – they are the only brand that don’t mildew (don’t ask me why!). I prefer the select-a-size variety. Cut the paper towel roll in half (this is the worst part) and place it in the plastic tub. Mix together 2 cups water, 2 T. baby wash & 2 T. baby oil. Pour them over the paper towels and cover. After about 30 minutes, turn the container upside down to let it soak back through. To use, remove the cardboard roll and pull sheets from the middle.
3. Swap babysitting nights with a friend.
4. Make you own (fill in the blank) – I always look for a way to make something myself instead of purchase it. That’s how I got into sewing slings.
5. Buy disposable cups, bowls & spoons – these are pretty cheap, can be washed & reused, and I don’t feel bad if I take them out and lose them or decide to just toss them.
6. Cloth Diaper – seriously, this saves so much money. For example, you can purchase 50 prefolds and 4 covers for about $50 and have enough to diaper your child. That's the bare bones of it, but you see just how cheap it can be.
7. Swap baby items – For example, I need a swing for the new baby that’s coming in April. But I also have an exersaucer sitting around not being used. I’m going to swap my neighbor who has a 6 month old – it’s just temporary, but that way we each can use the item and not have the other taking up space – and we don’t have to both buy two things!
8. Make your own baby food – very easy, very nutritious, and saves lots of money. Even if you don’t go all out, you can do some things. For example, it kills me to see moms buy jars of banana or apples – it doesn’t take anything to mash a fresh banana and you can by a huge jar of unsweetened applesauce for the same price as a little baby food jar.
9. Revamp old things. I didn't buy anything new for Samuel's nursery. I got the crib and dresser for $150 from a friend. It was natural wood color, but I wanted black. I painted all the furniture and was so pleased with the results. Black furniture from Babies R' Us is $750+. I saved big bucks, and I could purchase solid colored bedding for a lot cheaper than a set.
1. Use Resale Resources: Craigslist, MamaBarter, and Freecycle are a few I use.
2. Homemade Wipes – These are easy to do and really cheap to make. You will need a 12 cup container (like the Rubbermaid you would use to keep flour/sugar), Baby Wash, Baby Oil, and Bounty Paper Towels. You MUST use Bounty paper towels – they are the only brand that don’t mildew (don’t ask me why!). I prefer the select-a-size variety. Cut the paper towel roll in half (this is the worst part) and place it in the plastic tub. Mix together 2 cups water, 2 T. baby wash & 2 T. baby oil. Pour them over the paper towels and cover. After about 30 minutes, turn the container upside down to let it soak back through. To use, remove the cardboard roll and pull sheets from the middle.
3. Swap babysitting nights with a friend.
4. Make you own (fill in the blank) – I always look for a way to make something myself instead of purchase it. That’s how I got into sewing slings.
5. Buy disposable cups, bowls & spoons – these are pretty cheap, can be washed & reused, and I don’t feel bad if I take them out and lose them or decide to just toss them.
6. Cloth Diaper – seriously, this saves so much money. For example, you can purchase 50 prefolds and 4 covers for about $50 and have enough to diaper your child. That's the bare bones of it, but you see just how cheap it can be.
7. Swap baby items – For example, I need a swing for the new baby that’s coming in April. But I also have an exersaucer sitting around not being used. I’m going to swap my neighbor who has a 6 month old – it’s just temporary, but that way we each can use the item and not have the other taking up space – and we don’t have to both buy two things!
8. Make your own baby food – very easy, very nutritious, and saves lots of money. Even if you don’t go all out, you can do some things. For example, it kills me to see moms buy jars of banana or apples – it doesn’t take anything to mash a fresh banana and you can by a huge jar of unsweetened applesauce for the same price as a little baby food jar.
9. Revamp old things. I didn't buy anything new for Samuel's nursery. I got the crib and dresser for $150 from a friend. It was natural wood color, but I wanted black. I painted all the furniture and was so pleased with the results. Black furniture from Babies R' Us is $750+. I saved big bucks, and I could purchase solid colored bedding for a lot cheaper than a set.
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