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In This Tough Economy...We’re all looking for new ways to right our old wrongs. Economists and money experts all have their advice and it’s not hard to find. We’re not those kind of experts, but some of our moms have learned a few things along the way as we’ve cut back. As always take what works for you and leave the rest!
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From Suzy
1. Cook your baby's food, instead of buying processed foods from cans or glass bottles, you can save a whole lotta money by just cooking what you eat and pureeing them and freezing your food for the week.
2. Buy Walmart brand formula Parents Choice, its got the same ingredients as Similac or Enfamil..Its just cheaper because they don't pay for advertisements!
3. For soon to be moms, have your husband get together all his buddies for a "diaper Party". My husband put together a basketball game for all the guys and in order to play you had to bring a pack of diapers. We haven't bought any diapers yet because we got over 1000 diapers from the "Basketball Diaper Party"!
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from Laurie
I buy the store brands instead of the main companies. I watched a program on doing this and there are a lot of grocery products that are exactly the same. There is no difference in the product, just the price. I have been doing this for years and have only found a few items that don't seem to be the same. Soda is one of them, especially the diet ones. I also go to clearance places first, like Walgreens, Target, any grocery store. You would be surprised what you can find. If you are looking for something in particular, go to Craig’s list and I can almost assure you that you will find it. Be it tires, apartments, furniture..anything. Even houses. (Be careful though on Craig’s List, not everybody is honest).
from Adrienne
I use CouponSense for my groceries, and I save about 3-400 dollars a month over what I used to spend (yes, I actually keep a spreadsheet log of all the money I spend and have done so for four years). It's so satisfying to go to the grocery store, have my bill come up to $265, and then after coupons and discounts, I walk out having spent only $135! That includes organic produce, wine, diapers, and all of my groceries for the week! There are all sorts of coupon programs around the U.S., and this is the one I use in AZ.
To help me and my family during this tough economy, I get really creative. I've started making homemade pizza, rather than ordering it once a week. Instead of going out to dinner, I am cooking more. For Christmas, we made my son a tire swing (tire from Discount Tire and rope from the garage). It was the hugest hit! My kids are young enough, and I can buy used toys without them knowing the difference. I also buy their clothes at Kid To Kid, so they can get some designer stuff that actually lasts awhile. Instead of going somewhere on the weekend that costs a left leg for the whole family, we just went out to the desert this weekend and played in the mud, chased birds, and laughed at the dog digging for ground squirrels. It was so much fun! My 2-year-old gave her daddy a heart-felt "Thank you Daddy" as we were pulling away.
from Rebecca (a.k.a. the one that keeps it real)
I have a lot to say on this topic since I’m a home maker with a 5 mo. old and we are living off only my husbands income. First, I feel its important to prioritize. God, Husband, Family, then everything else. We spend so much time worrying about our job, our lack of income and our bills that we forget how we are so truly blessed with what we have. If we stop thanking God for the blessings we get everyday, he just may stop giving them to us. Ladies, we need to get off our husband’s backs. When we stress, we tend to let the ones we love most feel the brunt of it. And plus, in this economic crises divorce is too expensive …lol.
So you ask, “How do we get back on top in our household”? Well jobs come and they go. Lately they’ve been doing a lot more going. So it’s time to cash in on your skill. (i.e) if you are wonderful with children maybe it’s time to open a daycare. Grant money and the state take care of all expenses. You can do this all right out of your home and stay home with your children at the same time. People will always have babies. Which means you will always have a job.
Read more...
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from Rita
Some "economical" hints:- Double recipes and freeze one for later (or to have on hand for a friend in need).
- Fix crockpot meals outside in summer heat to keep house cool.
- Save unused "return" envelopes to hold items/collections
- For small family, buy gallon of milk and freeze half
- Turn off computer and accessories at night or for prolonged idle periods
- Do laundry in cold water
- Set water heater to lowest comfortable setting for bathing
- Change furnace filter and rotate mattresses on first of each month
- Wear clothing multiple times before laundering
- Use automatic or Internet billing to save postage
- Use credit card with benefits for all purchases and pay balance every month
- Save bread crusts or stale buns for bread crumbs or croutons
from Sangita:
- I always use coupons at a place where they can be doubled (Fry's Marketplace). If that same item is on sale, you can really get it at a steal.
- I shop Target for almost everything, they're prices overall are the best.
- We keep the temps in our house low in the winter (70) and warmer (76) in the summer. We also use "Time of Use" and try to run most electrical appliances during non-peak hours. This saves us on average about $30/month over the year (more of the savings show in summer).
- We try to eat out only once a week. I try to make a lot of stuff on Sunday and eat it throughout the week.
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