My friend Abbey posted a list of her money saving ideas on her blog recently. I thought it was a great idea and thought I would share some of my tips as well.
*I use couponmom.com. I've talked about this a couple times on the blog, but I swear by it. I got a subscription to the Sunday Dispatch just for the coupons. It cost me $20 and just last week I saved over $100 at the grocery store! I am also going to check out couponsuzy.com which has printable coupons. I don't buy anything without a coupon unless we absolutely need it.
*I use Upromise.com. You clip "coupons" and when you buy the items the designated $ amount goes into a college fund for the kids. For instance, there might be a coupon for $1.50 if you buy Wheat Thins. I clip the coupon and when I go to Kroger and buy the crackers with my Kroger card (not a credit card), $1.50 is added to their fund and all I had to do was do my regular shopping!
*I only go grocery shopping twice a month and get what I need for the next two weeks. What we have is what we have and if we run out of apple juice, oh well. We get more at the next scheduled trip. My meal calendar helps with this.
*I buy extras of things that are on sale AND I have a coupon for them for our food storage. For instance, if canned tomatos are on sale and I have a coupon for that brand, I'll buy more of them so I have them for the next time.
*We eat all of our leftovers. I read an article saying that the average family will save $25 a week if they would only eat their leftovers.
*We stopped buying bottled water.
*We have a budget for every month so we know exactly what we bring in and what we spend. It keeps our spending in check.
*I make my own laundry soap.
*I don't yet, but I plan to make my own cleaners as well. AKA vinegar and water or bleach and water. I'm still using what I have left. Otherwise I would be wasting THAT!
*I will be making my own baby food.
*We only eat out once or twice a month at the most, but this is budgeted in.
*Also going to try not spending anything for one week out of each month. I will tell you how that goes.
*We pay a full tithe. Nothing will help you more in these economic times...or any time!
Please post your money saving ideas so we can all benefit from eachother's ideas..
10 comments:
Questions about the groceries. More and more, Jake and I are trying to eat healthier but to us that means more fruits and vegetables. What do you do about produce with your shopping trips? And no coupons on those, really... do you just watch the weekly ads?
P.S. I'm going to be making my own cleaners too! Tea tree oil is a great essential oil for cleaning, I'm excited.
Abby, I forwarded an email to you - Babies R Us is having a sale tomorrow only! If you buy two cases of Pampers you get a $15 gift card. So it's almost like buy 1.5 get the other .5 free.
I'm glad you mentioned the homemade cleaners, those are the next few tidbits on my tidbits365 blog! I've been so excited for it to post. It's funny you'll notice a theme with the vinegar and such. Pretty much don't need to buy any commercial cleamers again!
Also, I know both of the Abby/Abbey's do this but I thoght I'd mention it. I garden, or go to u-pick farms to save money on produce, and help out the local farmers.
I also buy whole chickens and boil them. Take off the breasts and then shred the rest. it lasts so much longer than just buying thighs, and the water I boiled it in is now broth for other meals.
Okay long post sorry!
Abby, this was great! I remember sitting in R.S. when I was your age and an older stood up and said these exact words, "I love coming to Relief Society because I learn wonderful things from women half my age." I was so struck by that comment...obviously, I've remembered it all these years and here I am, probably that sweet sister's same age, and learning things from you and Liz...time goes on and I'm so grateful for the things I learn from my younger sisters...I'm going to show this entry to Peter when he comes back from his splits with the elders...this is just fantastic!!!! Bravo, honey!
Here are some of my money saving tips:
* I use cold water to wash clothes, except for bed sheets those I still use hot water.
* I line dry pants, sweaters and fleece.
* I make edible play-doh for the kids. Cheap to make and makes a great snack.
* I try to buy only produce that is in season. Often buy from farmers markets during the summer and fall.
* We are expanding our veg. garden this year to include veggies that we eat on a regular basis.
* When we are at home Nora wears cloth diapers - hopefully this will speed the potty training.
* I buy the kids play clothes at Once Upon a Child or Little Darlings. Or I will wait until they are on the sale rack at Target or Carters.
* Randall bought me an espresso machine for Christmas so I could make it at home instead of buying it at a coffee shop.
* We rarely have left overs, but I will format our meal plan for the week based on what meat is on sale.
* This year we are purchasing 1/4 - 1/2 a cow from an organic farm close by.
* We can and preserve as many fruits and veggies from the garden. Last summer I made about 16 jars of blackberry jam!
* We cut out about 75% of processed foods that we used to eat.
I'm glad that you've found that coupons work for you. We tried that last year with the Sunday paper but we found that, for us, Meijer's brand was more affordable.
A note about the produce- My sister goes shopping every week and found that it saved her money. They are more likely to use everything they buy and they're able to get the produce we need. Bottom line is: Find what works for you and STICK TO IT.
I have one really great money saving tip that I swear by in two words- TWIN SALE. 90% of Lara's clothes come from the twin sale and I find it more fun than 'real' shopping. :)
How do you make your own laundry soap?
I make my own cleaners with bleach and water! I had been using this for a long time and is great!
good post Abby! I thing I'm gonna do a list to post in my blog, as you said, we all can learn from each other.
I made my own baby food with both my kids. If you have any questions I have some great tips for baby food making success.
here are mine...
1. I don't go shopping. When money is tight, I simply avoid all malls, restaurants, grocery stores, Wal-mart etc. I don't go for anything. This means cloth washrags instead of paper towels, etc. but we survive!
2. I just don't buy food for a week. We eat what is in the cupboard, freezer and fridge. We've never starved!
3. I really like e-mealz.com it saves me tons of time and probably some money too, b/c I'm not going in and out of the store everyday. Plus, we actually like the recipes. I chose the Wal-Mart low fat plan. The food costs around 75 a week and that is for a 4-5 person family. We usually have leftovers, so food budget is 100 a week.
4. At one point during med skl we were down to 30 a week for groceries. I split powdered milk with whole milk and used powdered eggs. It worked, but I admit, wasn't fun!
5. Oats and rice instead of boxed cereal.
6. I try to make homemade gifts thoughtful, but not pricey. Gifts can really cost us.
5. Always pay tithes and fast offerings!
Hey Abby!
(This is Leslie's Friend Tasha...)
I also am expecting and I've been doing some "baby cost research" recently.
I don't know what (or if) formula you feed the babies...but Sams Club has the best prices on it! My brothers little girl has to have the Isomil Soy based kind and it comes in like a 17 oz container (the powder kind) for about $25 at kroger or walmart...well at sams club you get 34 oz for $28!!! That's awesome!
Diapers and wipes are way cheaper there too :)
I also plan to make my own baby food... I got a book from the library and then I bought one at Baby's r us and it has awesome tips, recipes and gives you info about which ones to introduce, in what order!
Here's the link to the book!
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2782821
Keep us posted on the baby food making when you start! I'd love to hear how it goes :) And let me know if you want to swap Ideas...I have a few planned for storage and stuff!
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