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Stay at Home Moms
LovieBear
member
What do you save money on now that you SAH?
LovieBear
member
DH and I spend TONS on groceries...we both work long hours and when we get home its like we will go to the grocery store every day or go out to eat, we also eat lunches out and its $$$$?
Do you save a lot more through meal planning now that you SAH?
What else can you save money on now that you dont go to a company job?
?
Im not yet a SAH, little boy due in Oct, but just curious. ?
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Re: What do you save money on now that you SAH?
You will likely save money because you are not commuting back and forth to your job (gas, subway, whatever). Meal planning, couponing & just not eating out are ways to save on food. You may find that you save on clothes as well, since you will be maintaining your casual wardrobe and "going out" wardrobe, but not as much of a professional wardrobe. Also, if you have little habits like Starbucks on the way to work, stuff like that adds up.
you have to look at both sides of the coin- there are going to be things you are going to spend MORE on as well-
Our electric bill went up as did our water bill (having kids in general- maybe not just SAH) ~ all of the extra laundry and bath times. filling kiddie pool in the summer etc
honestly I just think spending shifts in general- not really saving on things per se because it shifts to other things that baby needs etc.
Yes, our food expenses are way lower because we rarely eat out and I have more time to plan our meals to take advantage of sales
Other expenses that are lower:
The biggest thing we save money on is food. Something about working outside the home = spending more on food than I ever imagined. All the impromptu lunches and co-worker birthdays and other little things just ate away at our budget. So immediately that expense was eliminated.
Also, cutting back on how much the car gets filled up helped as well.
That was pretty much me before I SAH-- on average DH and I would both be out of the house 13 hours a day-- we paid for a dog walker to come take our dog out for an hour every day, commuting costs for the both of us, we hardly ever food shopped that I could remember because we'd get home at 730 after long, stressful days and just pop out to get sushi or Italian or whatever we felt like, we both bought both meals at work every.single.day- so we probably averaged $15+ each per day on that, etc. Now that I SAH, I do spend a lot more on groceries than I ever have BUT DH only buys lunch 2x's a week since I buy him lunch foods and breakfast foods (he maybe buys breakfast 1X a week).
Not to mention before I was PG we also went out every weekend, nice dinners, drinks with friends, etc. We honestly hardly ever did anything productive (I can't even tell you how we used to spend our weekends-- we always ask ourselves what the heck we used to do before DD).
Most of our "savings" aren't deliberate, it's just that I'm home now- I don't need to buy two wardrobes of clothes anymore, I fill my gas tank 1-2x's a month (I was doing that 1-2x's a week!), our ez pass used to be refilled once every two weeks because of the tolls commuting, but now it's maybe every few months, I make dinner pretty much every night (we order take out or go out maybe once every 2 weeks, but even less than that lately because I've been on a cooking jag), we don't have to pay a dog walker anymore, and in terms of having a child and costs of that, obviously we aren't paying for daycare (which is crazy $$ around these parts), so even though we are spending more in that aspect (diapers/wipes/food, etc), it's probably way less than I was spending going to work (as insane as that sounds).
In terms of deliberate savings: I get coupons from the supermarket, I try to buy generic brands, try to only buy clothes/shoes on sale, etc. We are trying to do better in this area because although we're comfortable, we should be trying to put more into savings. Good luck!
I think we probably break even, honestly.
We spend less on groceries and gas, but more on heat/electricity/water. I also buy more cleaning supplies because I have clean a lot more than I did when we were both out of the house 9 hours a day. If this is your first, you'll probably lose even more than you thought, as there's a ton of unexpected expenses for kids in their first year.
You trade some expenses for others.
I don't really think we save much on groceries. While I have more time to meal plan, clip coupons, and shop sales, we're feeding 3 (soon to be 4) people instead of just 2 now so our food costs went up regardless. I also used to pack my lunch and snacks while working anyway. We do save money on eating out now, however. It's too expensive for all 3 of us to go out often, so we generally only eat out 2x per month, if that. Plus, I have the time to cook now so I prefer to do that.
As others have stated, our electricity costs did go up (we have a well so we don't pay for water - can't comment on that expense). Because I'm home, I probably also spend more money on activities to do with DD than I would if I were working.
Groceries is what killed us before. So, we've resorted to shopping at Walmart cause it's WAY cheaper. I used to spend $300/wk at Super Target (we liked it cause it's just down the road). But, have come to terms that if we want to save for a new car/house, we have to shop at Walmart (which is a lot further away). I can buy the weeks groceries there for about $110-190.
Last year we started using mealtime makeover (emealz.com). The membership is only $15/3 mths. We selected the Walmart menu. The recipes are yummy and CHEAP to make! I've saved up about a year's worth of recipes, so I just go back and pick random favorites to make.
What we spend also includes toiletries and non-food items (diapers, pullups, windex, etc.). Everything else, utilities, phones, cable, etc., is already pretty cheap.
In your situation I would try meal planning. A lot things can be prepared early for meal. For example, many vegetables can be precut and stored in the refrigerator until they are needed. A crockpot might be a good option for you. Brown the meat in the morning or the night before and add everything to the crockpot for a warm meal when you get home. Marinating meat to grill is another fast option. Freezer meals might also be a good option for you.
To save money on groceries in general, I wrote a long piece in my blog. It might not be realistic right now in your situation, but it will probably become realistic once you stay home.
I also have a frugal meals tag in my blog.
Ditto. Most things are within a few miles of our house, but we still drive somewhere almost daily, and 3-4 times a month we drive pretty far to have lunch with a friend or relative. When I was commuting to work, I drove about 5 miles each way, so I spend the same, if not more on gas. As for food, we spend more because we now have two kids, and even though they are small, they eat a lot. Add in diapers, wipes, formula, and activities, and we are definitely not saving anything by having me at home.