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3rd Trimester
sschwege
member
Ideas On How To Save Money
sschwege
member
So inspired by a DD over at 2nd tri, I thought it would be fun/helpful to post ideas for ways to save money. Maybe we could all get some ideas!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Ideas On How To Save Money
I thought she DD...
Henry Cavill...You're welcome!
BFP #3: EDD 1/10/13 **DS born 12/30/12!!!**
BFP #2: MC 7/2/11 @ 12 weeks
**Missing our February '12 LoveBug**
BFP #1: MMC discovered on 12/6/10
Here's a few of mine:
When I was pregnant with DD I was working at a Catholic school and DH and I both knew that financially it didn't make sense for me to go back to work. So instead I do home daycare. It works out great because DD has someone to play with and I bring in a little extra money without having to worry about childcare for my own daughter.
Shop 2nd hand shops. I frequent the church sales in our area and pay $.50-1 for all of DD's pjs and pay $2-3 for most of her tops and pants. I got a beautiful winter coat for her last year for $5!
Use the library instead of buying a lot of books. Kids books are so expensive!
Work out a babysitting exchange with another family, so you can take turns watching each others kids and not have to pay a babysitter. Babysitters in our area charge between 12-15 an hour and it adds up quick!
We canceled our cable. After DD was born we realized we were never watching it, it saved us $780 a year and we are actually glad it's gone! We read go outside more, etc.
I'll make three points we did...
We looked at all our expenses and chose things to cut back on. Some were minor savings but every little bit helps. We cut back our DirectTv, cell phone service and got rid of DH's monthly xbox subscription...he never uses it anymore anyway and that's not likely to change once LO gets here.
We also started weekly meal planning so we shop once a week and have all our meals planned out..breakfast, lunch and dinners. That way we don't get lazy and just eat out. Plus I've turned into quite the little deal hunter and coupon clipper. I'm sure it's not an extreme savings, $5 here, $10 there...it can't hurt.
We also follow the Dave Ramsey budget where we basically zero out our checking account each pay period (not exactly, but close) we budget all our expenses including an allowance for each of us plus our grocery budget and then take the "extra" money left and immediately put it into our savings account. Otherwise, if it stays in our checking account, we'll use it. This has really helped us save $1,500+ each month. It's been great! Lately we've been buying big items like the nursery furniture, strollers, etc so we haven't been as good as we were six months ago.
Henry Cavill...You're welcome!
BFP #3: EDD 1/10/13 **DS born 12/30/12!!!**
BFP #2: MC 7/2/11 @ 12 weeks
**Missing our February '12 LoveBug**
BFP #1: MMC discovered on 12/6/10
Goodwill is a GOLD MINE for board books. They cost something like .79 apiece.
I never thought of that!
For couponing do you go to certain sites? Which ones would you recommend? I clip from Target.com, but other than that, I haven't had much luck. Part of the problem is we get most of our food from Trader Joes and I don't think they do coupons...
Yep- all of this!!
I think being a conscious shopper is huge. Just knowing what you're spending etc and what means you have.
Couponing (though most of the foods you get couponing aren't very healthy)
Cloth diapers (you can do this expensively or cheaply - it's your choice overall it will still be a bit less than sposies but you can chose to make it much much less with prefolds or used or more expensive with new pockets for example)
Breastfeeding - without accessories it's pretty cheap!
While I'd love to SAHM for me at the moment working does save us money because I earn commission and have dental care etc.
Meal plan and eat everything in your fridge!!
Shop sales or second hand (I shop at Baby Gap's sales and while the store is perceived as being expensive when you shop the sales rack it's not bad and the quality are great for handmedowns for future kids - I can't say the same for other brands)
Research before you buy things. I'd rather spend more on something that has great reviews and is good quality than not.
Insurance - in the long run it helps. Life insurance and healht insurance are both things I would recommend.
Staying healthy - goes with teh insurance - your premiums and health care costs will be lower
Season's Passes to your Fave spots - we got season's passes to two local theme parks and went there almost every weekend this summer. Really reduced the expenses for us because we'd go there vs. a differnt kind of spontaneous day!!
Coffee @ Home - not so good at this one but the $$ ads up when you don't spend it!
Take what you would have spent and save it. Sometimes it helps to go to the store and make a list of what you normally would have spontaneously purchased. Instead of buying the money track what it would have been and go home and save it. The money would hve been gone either way!
We got all of our clothing, like new from garage sales, rarely more than 50 cents a piece. We also used Craig's List to get things we didn't get from our registry like swings, etc that were in like new condition that we could clean and sanitize easily.
We also decided to cloth diaper and breast feed to save on expenses and get the added health benefits.
Edit: And I coupon like a madwoman. Whenever I shop online, I wait for the best sales, use additional coupon codes from sites like retailmenot.com and always start through a site like ebates.com to get cash back on all my purchases.
LOVE LOVE LOVE Dave Ramsey!!
YES TEAM DAVE!!!
In my hopes to SAH, I found this great budgeting blog: www.funcheaporfree.com.
It makes sense to me--basic money saving tips without having to have a deep freeze, clip crazy coupons, or run on a cash system.
I am a Dave Ramsey fan, but the envelope/cash system just doesn't work for us. We've worked her plan on funcheaporfree for one month and it seems to be much more workable!
After we found out we were pregnant, my husband and I sat down with a financial planner to make sure we were doing "the right things." For us, saving money came by paying off all our student loans all at once, instead of doing the monthly payment thing. I thought that because the student loans had low interst rates, they were ok debts to have, howeve, once we payed them off, we are able to save $600+ a month. Part of that can go into an account for the baby & some goes into retirement roth iras. That has been a real help.
I look at Target, Walgreens, and coupons.com. Plus I'm subscribed to coupons for a lot of the things we use often, like our deodorant, body wash, dishwasher tablets, cleaning supplies, etc. Just visit the individual websites and sign up. They will send you coupons randomly...some are better at it than others and some just harass you with dumb emails. It's kind of learning process.
Henry Cavill...You're welcome!
BFP #3: EDD 1/10/13 **DS born 12/30/12!!!**
BFP #2: MC 7/2/11 @ 12 weeks
**Missing our February '12 LoveBug**
BFP #1: MMC discovered on 12/6/10
My simple approach is to buy what we need and use what we buy. I plan meals to maximize what I buy and I know my prices. When something is a good deal I stock up- $1 for 6 bratwurst I'll buy them all and freeze them.
I know how many pieces of clothing we need so I keep that in mind as I shop. I've found I can get most things close to the same price new as buying second hand and I resell when done.
I also pay us first- money goes directly into DH's 401k, my Roth, and the college funds.
We carry minimal debt- a mortgage.
Target is great because you can stack store coupons with manufacturer coupons. It's not always cheaper, but sometimes you get really good deals. Also, couponmom.com has links to 4 or 5 printable coupon sites, including coupons.com.
Keep an eye on pricing, too. I usually avoid Acme like the plague because they're so overpriced on things, but every now and then they'll have a really good deal.
We're planning on CDing, also. I'm hoping to get some supplies for my shower, but if not, we'll put out the money to start it up. It'll be kind of a hefty up front cost, but if it saves as much as it looks like it will, it'll be worth it. We'll be using profiles and reusable inserts, so hopefully it won't get too out of control.
And ditto Goodwill, second hand stores, etc. I swear, I feel like I'm doing something illegal when I go in there and get a good fifty bucks worth of clothes for five. But seriously, there's no comparison. I got a pair of Old Navy overalls in perfect condition for a dollar. Some people are skeevy about used clothing, but I don't see the sense in spending a ton of money on clothes that will be worn for a very short period of time and are likely to get quite dirty.
Hoping to EBF, CDing with cloth wipes and homemade spray for the wipes.
I'm also not huge on spending tons of money on clothes so she has lots of basic white onesies instead of buying "cute" things. I figure it doesn't matter - she won't remember and I probably shouldn't photograph her daily anyways. Since she'll be in our room for 6 months we've at least delayed some of the costs of a nursery.
We cloth diaper, cloth wipe, breastfeed, I make some of the early baby food or you can do baby led weaning, make my own soap and laundry detergent, use natural recipes for lotion and shampoo.
We've also been extremely lucky in that I've had a cousin give me all of her pre-loved baby boy clothes from her two sons. I've recently found a co-worker who is now handing me down all of her baby girl clothes from her two daughters. It's great to set up getting hand-me-downs, even if you have to pay a little for them, it is still WAY cheaper than buying new. We buy used when we need to (if I can't find something he needs like shoes or a coat), and really only buy a new outfit from a real store one time each year which lasts us through family pictures, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
I also work a lot of my hours on the weekends, while DH is off, so we get the benefit of two more days income without having to pay those two days in daycare costs.
Kijiji and consignment stores for baby items whenever possible. We will be EBF and cloth diapering. We have no TV subscription, and have started budgeting our groceries far more carefully; no more eating out once per week. We drive diesel that can run on French fry oil, and we're both within walking distance of work. We keep the heat low. We try to donate or sell what we don't need. The library is awesome.
:-)
Also...just made two nursing camisoles for less than ten bucks. Kiss my arse "glamour mom" tanks!
We've been living on one salary for over 2 years now, so we were able to pay off debt with the other and now save for a house.
I also shop weekly for only the things we need. Ideally items are on sale with at least one coupon, ideally with a Target coupon & a manufacturer coupon.
We track everything in mint.com so I know how much we spend in every category every month.
I hear ya! If I could ditch Starbucks we would be rolling in the dough
It's just so good!