Family Savings

How does your family save money?

In today's economy people are always looking to save a few dollars.

When I left my full-time job in corporate America to work part-time from home and raise my boys I knew it would be a sacrifice. Being married to a first responder we realized that we would never live in a million dollar home, drive a Mercedes-Benz, eat in expensive restaurants, or travel to exotic destinations. Instead, we sacrifice each month and appreciate the gifts God has given us. The Lord has provided for all our needs and allowed us to purchase a home we can afford and live debt free. Some might ask how we've done that. It hasn't been easy, but because of the choices we've made and support system we have we've made it.

 I'm always looking for ways to save money and earn a few extra dollars. Here are some of my favorite ways...

1. Participate in online survey's 

About twice a month I participate in online survey's. I earn points for each survey and once I have enough points I cash them in for giftcards from various retailers.

Some of the company's even send me products to try.

Currently, I'm testing a shampoo and conditioner for 4 weeks.

I'm also comparing two baby wipe brands.

2. Coupon Groceries

This is one of my favorite ways to save money. I love the thrill of locating the best deals online and locating them in local stores. This is a great way to stock up on toiletries, cereal, yogurt (a family staple for us) and household cleaners. I would call myself a couponer, but not extreme. I get so annoyed when I see people purchasing 100 bottles of Clorox just because they have the coupons. HELLO!!! Will you be able to ever use that much Clorox? Why not leave a few for the rest of us to purchase?

I could write a whole post about how to coupon, so I'll save that for another day. 

3. Watch for online specials

Recently Target had a special on diapers. I purchased 8 boxes of diapers for $200, then received $80 back in Target giftcards. We will be set for diapers for a while.

I was pretty excited to come home the other day to find these boxes at my front door. You know you've become a mom when you get excited about finding a great deal on diapers.  I'm a huge supporter of potty training early. Save the money where you can. 

Amazon Prime is a great resource!!

Yes, it cost about $100 a year, but I'm convinced that if you use it enough you can really save money. For instance the other day  Amazon(Amazon Prime Day) had an amazing special on baby wipes. I purchased 6 packages of wipes on sale for $4.XX total and received a $3 credit towards a future Amazon order. They practically gave me the wipes. 

4. Consignments and Store Clearance

I'll admit I like name brand clothes and dress my boys in nice clothes. How can I do that on such a tight budget? Well, I check out the big consignment sale that comes to our area every quarter. My boys wear Janie and Jack, Gymboree, OshKosh, and Gap and I never pay full price. Sometimes the consignments tend to be expensive and I find myself leaving empty handed. Other times I find myself leaving with multiple bag full of great clothes for my boys. 

Most of the stores that I like have semi-annual clearance sales. Those are great times to stock up and purchase bigger size clothes. For instance Gymboree just had their semi-annual sale a couple weeks ago. Everything in the store was 40% off, including clearance. I found clothes for my son for next summer and fall. I didn't pay more than $6 on an item. We now have shoes, underwear, jeans, bathing suits, shirts and more.  

Another great source are online yard sales. There are so many groups on Facebook, just look for one in your area. I've found some great deals on kids toys, clothes and more. Many people will even let you haggle with them. 

5. Cable TV

For a while we contemplated canceling our cable. When I called to cancel they negotiated with me and in the end we now pay less for cable and Internet than we did for just Internet. It pays to call and negotiate. We also decided to only have one cable box in the house. It was a great way to save money (they charge you for each box) and it limits how much we watch TV since the cable is only on one TV. We also subscribe to Netflix each month. Also, with Amazon Prime we have movie streaming.

6. Restaurant Clubs  

My husband and I love to continue to date and highly suggest it. It's difficult these days to eat out for less than $50. We've signed up for the restaurant clubs for our favorite restaurants and try to only eat out when we have a coupon. Often the restaurants send coupons for a percentage off your meal or even a BOGO coupon. Then the added bonus is many offer a free meal on your birthday.

If you participate in the surveys I mentioned above you can also earn restaurant giftcards. 

Another way to earn giftcards is to save all your change and cash your change in for giftcards at a local Coinstar machine. If you opt to put your change towards a giftcard they won't charge you a fee. 

If you don't have any restaurant coupons or giftcards, but still want to date your spouse try having a date at home. After the kids are in bed why not pull out a Digiorno pizza, bottle of Trader Joes 2 Buck Chuck wine and a Redbox movie. You can't beat a date that costs less than $10 and you never have to leave home.

7. Grandparents  

Having grandparents who spoil your children helps a lot as well. 😉 It also helps to have them around when you want to go on a date and not have to pay a babysitter.

There are so many other great ways to save money, but I'll save those for another post. 

What are some ways you save??