Monday, April 19, 2010

Saving The Greenback


Since we don't have a money tree I've been thinking since I'm a stay at home Mom who works less then 5 hrs a week on average part of my stay at home Mom job should be to save us money and be as wise with our money as possible. Here are some things I've come up with to fulfill that aspect of my job description.


Coupons.

I've joined couponsense My very first shopping trip using coupons was a huge success! I purchased $365.70 worth of groceries and only spent $169.43, that saved us $196.27! I saved more then I spent! I can't wait till I really learn how to use coupons to their full potential and start saving even more.


Insurance.

We'd had our cars and home insured through the same company for years. Hadn't really thought about it. I thought about it! I spent two or three days calling insurance companies during nap time and we are now saving about $700 a year on insurance.


Cell Phone.

We've been with Verizon for years. We are currently at their very lowest family share plan and still never come close to using all our minutes since almost everyone we know is with Verizon. So we got with our friends in the same situation, added them to our family share plan. Now both families are saving $50 a month!


Baby Food.

Did you know you can make your own?!?!?! My friend shared this great site with me. It is a wealth of information on making your own baby food. When, how, and what foods to introduce. Recipes to make the food, how to freeze, store, and thaw. It even give a great cost comparison to store bought baby food! Take a glance, you might decide to make your own baby food too! It was not hard, but it was a little time consuming. Brent and I took one Saturday and made over 300 ounces of baby food. The way I figure that should last us at least a month! One day a month for food I made myself and can feel good about feeding my baby and save money in the process, you got it!


Diapers.

We switched to Up and Up (the target brand). I honestly like them as much if not more then the Pampers we were using. They are a lot less!


Cable.

Gone! Savings $50 a month!



With all the ways I've been saving us money (which a penny saved is a penny earned) I'm "making" as much as I'd be making at a part time job!

4 comments:

Erin L said...

I always figured that keeping the house running is more than worth the money I'd make working. Yay for SAHMs!!! Also, I totally agree with you on the baby food thing. I rarely bought baby food. I always just used a baby food grinder (you can find them online) and mashed whatever we were eating. I figure they'll have to eat like the rest of us someday, might as well start from the beginning.

Morgan said...

Doesn't it feel good to know you are saving? I am the same way. I feel like I am contributing to the income when I can save money.

Artsy Aut said...

I like this post! You are a smart girl!

Kalena and Justin said...

I am the same way love to save and that is why I am a SAHM. I will have to send you an invite for the facebook cupon lady she has some awsome deals she posts all the time. And I know you hate the dreaded wal-mart and I dont know if Target does it to but Wal-mart does price matching on items. Now we live in an area surounded by those little mexican markets were things are crazy cheap. We take those ads with us and save a ton. Congrats on doing to great right out of the gate. Oh Look for my next blog you might like it and it saves.LOL