In today’s society it seems like you need to work 20 jobs to break even. (I wish I were joking.) The reality is living can be expensive. Personally, I love having things...but I hate to spend money. (I’m kinda crazy like that.) As I’ve gotten older my hatred of spending has won out over things. In fact, I want to get rid of a lot of our things now. But even without a lot of things...living is expensive (need I say FOOD). Living on a single income can be hard. So...here are some of the ways we have found to decrease bills.
1. Skip the middle of the grocery store. (This is also more healthy.) Fruits and veggies, fresh cheeses, fresh meats, milk, etc. The only time I venture into the middle of the store is if I need flour/sugar/you get the idea. This saves a ton of money because I don’t have little ones begging for cookies, ice cream, or other treats. If she doesn’t see pop tarts with super heroes on them...she won’t ask for them.
2. Meal plan!!! Meal plan using the sales ads but don’t focus on 100% following the meal plan. I know that my grocery store will have manager’s specials with produce that is getting ready to go bad. I once spent about $10 and bought about 40 pounds of apples. Homeschool lesson!!! Munchkin and I made apple sauce. (Thanks to our handy dandy apple peeler she was able to help a lot more than she expected...and she loved it.) We ate on that apple sauce for about a year. Well, we have some of it left to tell you the truth. We also hit up the pineapples when our grocery store puts them on sale for 99c each. My mom and sister get involved in this. We will head up to my sister’s house and can pineapples until the day is done then split up the goods the next weekend. We also realize that shopping in the morning is better because our grocery store will discount meat by 25% that goes out of date in the next two days. (yes, even the stuff on sale. I’ve been known to find whole chickens on sale for 88c and get 25% off of that. SCORE!) And don’t forget...look at organic produce as well. Do NOT discount organic produce just because it’s organic so it has to be more expensive. I’ve found a lot of organic produce on sale for cheaper than conventional. Farmer’s markets are also a big help.
3. Cook from scratch!!! These are great lessons for your kids in regards to science, math and home ec. Regardless of age, if they are old enough to be “in school” they are old enough to help out in the kitchen. I bought Munchkin her own “knife” years ago. (It was from a store going out of business...hard plastic, big handle and serrated. Better than a butter knife at cutting but not sharp enough to slice a finger open.) Munchkin loves cutting up fruits and veggies, measuring them out in the metal measuring cups. She loves helping break open eggs and whisking them to make scrambled eggs. She loves making tortillas, bread and other things.
4. Lower/raise the temp in the home. It really does make a difference. In winter I set our thermostat at a lower temp during the night...we already have blankets so those are free to cuddle up under. In the summer, we raise the temp during the day. (On a side note, thermal curtains, while expensive, can be a money saver long term as well.)
5. Buy used!!! Cars, clothes, curriculum, supplies and household items. I’m a huge fan of buying at pop up consignment sales (and selling). Swap shops on facebook...also a huge fan. I wouldn’t buy used undies but a shirt or pants...heck yeah! Most of Harley Quinn’s baby stuff is used. My Moby and Boba wraps...all used. (Seriously not paying 40-60 a wrap.)
6. Baby sitters are trade off days with other homeschooling moms. Yes, we take turns because baby sitters are wicked expensive!
7. Pintrest/blogs/facebook/Teacherspayteachers. Use them!!! Tons of free things! I can’t tell you how many free things I’ve found and happily used. (I’m in the process of setting up a TPT account. I promise I will get around to it one day.)
8. Getting rid of satellite. Yes, we did. We also got rid of magazine subscriptions and other paid monthly things not needed. (Ask yourself if the monthly make up samples are worth $120 you could put towards something needed or the Sirius radio service. When we cut the cords we ended up freeing up between 150-200 a MONTH!!! Holy cow!!!) The best part...we don’t miss any of it. We check out movies and tv series from our library. Heck, our library even has video games (don’t know if they have the systems to check out).
9. Use local resources! Our library is awesome. It provides book clubs, story time, art history classes, lego club and tons of other free things. I’ve taken essential oil classes, leather working classes, cooking classes, cheese making classes and so much more...all for free. Munchkin has taken ballet classes, art classes, chemistry classes, biology classes, and so much more...all for free. The local state and federal parks have classes for free (you can even request classes). We can go on hikes, play in the sand or swim in the lakes. There is so much to do and it’s all free!!!
10. Get memberships to science museums, zoos, aquariums, or other such places you want to visit more than once a year. You can use these to your advantage on purpose or by accident. (I’ve been known to be driving in town and Munchkin say “The zoo is over there, can we go?” and I respond with...”Sure, why not.” Hey, it’s free...why not! If you can’t afford memberships, contact the facility and ask when there would be discounted days, free days, or if they have scholarships you can apply for. This is also a help if you are traveling. We went to West Palm Beach awhile back on the cheap (no, really it was cheap). We were able to go to museums and other fun places cheap or for free due to our memberships. If you have a membership check out the reciprocal facilities.
11. Be ok with not spending tons of money on your kids. Getting rid of the satellite has seriously saved us money on a few fronts. First of all it stopped a rather expensive bill every month. But it had secondary benefits in regards to saving money as well. Munchkin wasn’t bombarded with the “newest and hottest” toys on the market so she didn’t constantly want want want. Meanwhile, Mad Scientist and I weren’t bombarded with the “if we loved our children we would” commercials. We got rid of all of the commercials that tried to play on our emotions. Choosy moms choose Jiff. Yeah, no they don’t. But I can promise you I would see commercials playing in my head when I would grocery shop. Now I buy food for a need instead of commercial. We no longer feel guilty for not giving/doing more. It’s ok to not spend tons of money on your kids. They don’t need to new expensive toys.
12. Learn the difference between a need and a want. I know this sounds silly and cliche but, as a society, we’ve forgotten the difference. We don’t need tons of decorations for our homes. We don’t need tons of toys for our children. We don’t need the newest gadgets. We don’t need a NEW car. We may need a car, but not a new expensive one. A car 3-4 years old within our budget is just as good as a new off the lot car. Buying a foreclosed home in good condition is just as good as buying a home at full price in good condition.
So there are some of the things we do to save money. It really does help. If you have any other tips/tricks/suggestions feel free to add to my list!