Today I figured I would talk about saving money tips. Being a mom to 6 kids and not
alot of money coming in I really have to budget everything to make things work. So here is what helps me make ends meet.
1. budget and plan!
Ok figure out when pay checks come in on what days, figure out approx average of pay checks then see all your bills and figure out what gets paid on what days. Like Me we get paid the 1st and the 15th. So the rent and the
comcast bill( phone, cable, & Internet) and the electric gets paid on the 1st. Then the 15th the car payment, the car insurance, gas, and the water get paid. Other bills like student loans , doctor bills and etc get paid when I have extra money to pay them even if it is just $20 a month. I always make sure to leave gas money for the van and little extra for little things we need.
2. Shop around. Look at food ads and store ads for the best prices. If you
dont want to go to a bunch of stores well that is fine I like that
Walmart price matches everyone.
3. Coupons!!! I print out coupons on Coupons.com ,
smartsource, red plum and I get the coupons from the Sunday paper. I have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars with coupons. Find a good deal then use coupons to make them better and even if you have to pay full price for something you need well at least a coupon can save a little.
4. Date night at home! Yes it is possible. I put the kids to bed at 8 then I rent a movie for me and my hubby and make some popcorn and cuddle up. Great date and more personal and less crowds and saves
alot of money. Skip a steak dinner at a restaurant. Go to the store buy two nice steaks, bake potatoes, veggies, salad, and some ice cream and grab a
redbox movie go home throw the steaks on the grill or in the oven prepare the other foods. Put kids to bed bring out some candles and sweet music and relax with a nice cheaper steak dinner top it off with a big bowl of ice cream with 2 spoons and share while watching a movie. Me and my hubby do these date nights often. They are great.
5.practically Free Fun with kids. Yes it is possible. We do picnics at the parks often and we even change it up and go to different parks around the city. We have a homemade lunch , play on the playground fly kites ride bikes etc. Lots of fun and pretty much free. Adventure walks now this is a double whammy here. It not only gets you and the kids exercised and wears out some of that bottled up energy but it can be fun. I make up a list before we start of stuff that they have to find on the walk. This keeps them busy the whole time and is so fun Like a treasure hunt. Game nights, break out the cards or boards games or even the
wii or other game stations. Do it as a family everyone must participate. and make it a weekly ritual so they look forward to it!
6. Make things yourself. This means lots of things. like say you need a organizer to hold those little things well things you throw away are perfect instead of going and buying some fancy
smancy thing to hold them break out the baby food jars, peanut cans, etc with lids. If you want them to be pretty paint them or cover with paper. but they are great for the nails, thumb tacks, pencils, erasers, crayons etc.
7.Use left overs.
dont throw them away! make a whole turkey , then the next day make some turkey soup, the next day make turkey enchiladas or tacos. Leftover taco meat well use it to make taco salads, or make chili out of it or even dip. Just get creative.
8. Buy generic if its cheaper. Most generic taste or work the same as the name brands and sometimes better! I mean there are a few things I wont buy generic like green beans because there are more stems in generic but most things generic is just as good. Even cleaning supplies some of the generic work just as good.
9. Shop at dollar stores. I get party supplies there,
bday and
xmas presents there, food, crafts, household decorations, even clothing. I get cleaning stuff there too.
Youll be surprised what they have
alot of the times. They even have name brand stuff from time to time.
10. Last but not least shop clearances. this is my favorite. I get so much clothes at
walmart and target and
kohls on clearance for cheap. I get household stuff and cleaning stuff cheap then sometimes I get lucky and things will be on clearance and I have a coupons so I pay even less or even free for them.
These are what helps me save what ways do you use to save money???
