1. I shop for holidays AFTER the holiday is over when everything is on clearance. Things like decor especially. Target is a great place to go, their schedule of clearance is very predictable.
2. I love to frequent Target's clearance items. Almost always they combine with current coupons to make the deal sweeter!
3. Rarely do I pay full price for my kids clothes. I will get brand new clothes on good clearance sales, but I also frequent consignment shops, garage sales, etc. And, thanks to great family and friends, hand-me-downs are perfect! (I got a really nice winter coat for Lacy last weekend at Other Mother's .25 sale...for only a quarter!!!)
So, how do you try to save money?
11 comments:
I first think to save money you need to know a couple of things (and of course Marne already does this!!)
1. You need to know how much money you have coming in a month.
2. You need to know all of your expenses for the month (all basic expenses required to live - food, mortgage, utilities, etc.)
3. Then if you have any or some left over, you can shop for some other things.
So I would say the biggest way to save money it FIRST - know your budget and HOW MUCH you spend where. That will definitely cut your expenses down.
Okay - enough of budgeting, I like to shop online clearance sales. Children's Place has great clearance sales with online codes you can use for good deals! I buy clothes for my boys for the next year. That and garage sales (but they are hard to find boys clothes - girls clothes are a lot easier to find!@)
All good tips Tami, thanks for posting! You are right, budgeting is the key!
Another thing I do is save the bubble envelopes I get in the mail, so I can use them for when I mail things.
Another way I try to save (which sometimes bugs Jeff) is I unplug or turn off the power switch on things I'm not using.
I make my own bisquick (very easy!)
Great ones Tami!
I have started to make my own homemade muffin mix. Healthier for you too.
I save every little scrap of scrapbook paper, ribbon, etc no matter how small. They are perfect for cards.
Here are some more:
1. Use dry milk when cooking (tons cheaper!)
2. Make banana bread with too ripe to eat bananas
3. Make own bread - big batch and freeze some
4. Cut boys hair
5. Use credit card reward points to redeem for gift cards to go out to eat
6. Run dishwasher & laundry at times that rate of electricity is cheaper
7. Shop food sales, stock up on awesome deals, and then cook based upon my food storage (sounds like no brainer but I didn't do this before - duh!)
I joined WIC- free milk and cheese for the month.
Online bill pay- no stamps or envelopes
Craig's list and KSL- free couches, cheap furniture- We sold all our old bathroom stuff for a good price when we redid the bathroom- I couldn't believe people wanted our vanity, mirror and toilet but they did!
Ross- you can get clothes really cheap on clearance- jeans and hoodies only .99 cents- You can buy nice rugs for $5- I love Ross-
I am breastfeeding!
I joined every formula club that exists and I have received about $100 dollars worth of formula checks...I have sold them on ebay for $80!
Chay and I always go to the mall and find something we need and then get online and usually buy it for 1/2 the price...the buckle had a super good deal on shoes online- we were going to buy Chay new shoes but didn't at last minute...but that is ok- it would have been a good deal- $14.00 for $80.00 dollar shoes.
The dollar tree has good wash rags, tupperware-
oh I don't bake...so I save that way! Maybe sundays....maybe rice crispy treats or healthy cookies (I have a good recipe)...but I don't cut corners on food- if it is garbage food I don't care how cheap it is- I usually pass the good deal up. Brown rice is never on sale-
Vegetables and fruit can really add up! Having a garden will help out a lot next year!
oh and for diapers- here is a one time good deal- if you go to diapers.com you can buy luvs for .12 cents a diaper but with this code PARENTING6 you get $10 off your first order...and free shipping over $50. So you have to buy a lot of diapers but it is cheaper in the long run...it is an ok deal- they have other brands too but luvs were the cheapest
JC Penny just mailed me $10 off $10 coupon- so I got Kenzie some winter pajamas for $2.00 last night- they are really cute too. She is already in a 3T! oh my.
You can't have two lap children on a flight-I just found that out after I had bought tickets for christmas 2 months ago. I was about to buy Kenzie a ticket for $168 but called the airline instead and they told me about "infant fare" for those under 2. $80! 1/2 price!
We rarely ever go out to eat...but I will not enter a restaurant unless I have a coupon for it- Kenzie never gets to order obviously..she eats what we eat- and a lot of times Chay and I will just order one meal and split it- the portions are huge anyway...unless Chay is super hungry.
We only buy gas at Costco. It is usually 8-10 cents cheaper- we live close to Costco- so we don't have to go out of our way to go. Romaine lettuce is only $3 for 6 heads...oh my good deal.
DI has cheap children's books.
Always check your reciepts for % off next purchase if you complete a survey- I got a pair of pants on clearance at old navy for 2$ after %10 discount from completing a survey-
Sale coupons online- I have sold two 10% off Pottery Barn coupons for $40 bucks each on ebay- these coupons came in the mail- I have sold Gymboree coupons for $8 and $5- I have sold nicorette gum coupons for $5- these were just coupons I got in the paper or mail...there are people out there who will buy anything.
Before you give away anything...see what people will buy...Chay and I have made at least $300 dollars off selling our junk on craig's list and KSL. It is fun too.
ok enough for now...thanks for the ideas Marne and Tami
Thanks for the input April! I love it that we can help each other out! That's the one thing I wanted this blog to do, so thanks!
some ideas on the top of my head...
I have a part-time job at the YMCA to get my family membership for free. I work for one night a month (5 hrs). It's great because we frequent the gym daily. I'd put my name in for a job a year ago and an opening came up for it -never hurts to ask & keep asking.
Watch PYP for awesome deals for christmas/bday gifts/clothes for kids. Like Tami said - boys clothes are hard to find at Garage Sales. No DI around here either!
Freecycle - give away tons of stuff / receive too. Love to de-junk - it's refreshing to the soul!
Garage Sales is my hot spot.
Trade babysitting with friends for date nights.
Library for books - makes for a good daddy/daughter date.
Use all the free activities around town for family dates.
Always get water at restautants.
How to save money?
1) go without
Even if there are items on a "big clearance" sale that you don't NEED, don't buy them. You'll save much more by not buying things. If we find ourselves saying to our spouses "BUT I saved X.XX on this", we know we probably could have gone without - didn't "need" that purchase just "wanted" it.
2) Don't chince on important items such as electronics, furniture, etc. When we have been "cheap" - we have had to replace items multiple times... so by now, we could have had a Bose sound system in our theater room instead of whatever we do have at the moment. This is mentioned in the finance book put out by the church (to get quality stuff and you'll save $$ in the long run.
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