When we got pregnant with our first child, we decided that I would stay at home with her. That meant we would have to manage with much less income. We had to make a lot of changes to make this work. I thought I would share some of those things with you here:
1) Drop cable/satellite. You may be paying between $35-$80 a month for cable (or satellite). Drop that bill & use a combination or Netflix & Redbox. To get unlimited instant viewing on Netflix, its $9 per month. We decided to use Redbox for new releases since it's just $1 & no waiting. Not to mention, if you join their email list or get their texts, they will send you code for free movies or 1/2 off all the time. See, way cheaper.
2) Shop at ALDIs y'all. You probably can't get every single thing on your list there, but you can get most of it. You could shave $50 off your grocery bill. Great place to get inexpensive flowers, too.
3) Don't be too proud for the Dollar Tree. You can get cheap socks, canned goods, plasticware, paperware, gift wrapping supplies, party supplies & craft supplies for the kiddos. At Christmastime, you can get great deals on the larger-sized ornaments we all love. I know interior designers that go there to get their supplies when decorating homes for Christmas. Seriously!
4) Consider refinancing. Rates are at an all-time low (for example we went from 4.99% to 3.6%). We were able to shave $200 off our monthly mortgage payment. It saved us about $20,000 on our overall loan amount.
5) Buy second-hand. We get the majority of the things we own used. We buy furniture & tons of home decor items from Craigslist:
we get clothes from the Goodwill, yard sales & thredup.com.
6) Become an Amazon Prime member. Great benefits. You get free 2-day shipping, free instant-streaming of a lot of movies & shows, borrow free books from the Kindle Lending Library. Many things we buy are cheaper on Amazon &, since we don't have to pay shipping, it's even cheaper.
7) Shop Ebay stores.
You can get new products with free shipping & sometimes save a ton. We bought a new large leather storage ottoman for $150 & free shipping. This one:
8)
How It Works
Pick Your Plan
To start getting eMeals, just choose a meal plan
based on your eating style, your family size
and even your favorite grocery store.
based on your eating style, your family size
and even your favorite grocery store.
Get Great Recipes
Every week, your meal plan arrives in your inbox —
complete with seven simple, creative, family–friendly
dinner recipes. Each includes an entrée and side dishes.
complete with seven simple, creative, family–friendly
dinner recipes. Each includes an entrée and side dishes.
Shop and Save
Along with the meal plan, you'll receive a detailed
grocery list organized by section and coordinated
with the weekly sales at selected stores.
grocery list organized by section and coordinated
with the weekly sales at selected stores.
Relax and Enjoy
We take care of the meal planning, the grocery list and
the budgeting — while you take credit for making healthy,
home–cooked meals that your whole family will love.
the budgeting — while you take credit for making healthy,
home–cooked meals that your whole family will love.
What is eMeals? from eMeals on Vimeo.
The real money saving here is that:
-Each meal plan is very affordable & can be customized to the store where you shop
-All of the meals share ingredients, so you end up buying less groceries at the store.
My readers can save 15% by entering promo code: SCHOOL15
- - -
These are the first things that came to my mind tonight. Hope it's helpful to you! Let me know what you do to save money!
This is a great list. We use redbox all the time for watching the newest released movies. We stopped going to the theater because it is so expensive and we wait until the movies hit to redbox. We also get tons of coupons from them as well and rarely pay full price for a movie.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I think I may do another list as I think of more ideas. : )
ReplyDeleteI would love to give up our cable but we must have the sports channels. Any ideas??
ReplyDeleteYou'd be surprised what deals your cable company might offer you if tell them you're thinking of turning it off. We just got $30 cut off our internet for a year & a new router when we complained about how slow it has been. AT&T offered us us 1/2 off their Family Cable package for a year since we already have our phones & internet through them. When we used to have satellite TV, we were going to turn it off & they lowered the price from $98 to $23 for one year! So, you never know what may be available if you ask!! Good luck!
DeleteThank you for sharing!! I will definitely be calling:)
ReplyDeleteGood ideas all! I also started baking my own bread (so easy) & slowly replaced all over the counter meds with essential oils. Has made a huge difference for us!
ReplyDeleteMaybe I should go back to making bread again! What method do you use?
DeleteA friend of mine is teaching me about theraputic-grade essential oils. Young Living? Is that what you use?
Great post! Thanks for sharing this. Im so interested in topics related toreal estate in Charlotte North Carolina
ReplyDelete