Money Saving Mom®

Guest post from Julia of Swirls and Spice

After I married my husband, he suggested that I stop cooking on Sundays. This was an adjustment for me, and somewhat surprising since both of us come from families where our mothers served a traditional Sunday dinner after church.

Furthermore, cooking is one of my favorite parts of homemaking, and yielding control of the kitchen is not easy for me. However, after making this our Sunday habit, I am thankful for the blessings of rest and refreshment that have come.

Four children and several moves later, we now find ourselves in the suburbs of Chicago, where the restaurant selection is amazing and quite enticing.

However, feeding six people isn’t cheap when we are intentionally not cooking at home. Eating out four to five times a month was costing us nearly $300 — and that figure was separate from our grocery budget, which covered all of our other meals at home.

Living on one income and spending so much money on restaurant food was simply not sustainable.

After pondering our predicament, my husband came up with a cost-cutting strategy that still gives me a break from the kitchen on Sundays. We get take-out food for one meal, and heat up prepared meals for the other. The take-out food could be anything from fried rice to Papa John’s pizza; and for the other meal, we rotate between several different convenience foods like Hot Pockets and taquitos.

After taking these measures, our restaurant spending went down by half. (September’s total was just $136.)

My husband also has taken charge of microwaving or baking the food we eat on Sunday. However, our older children are also capable of following the heating directions if we ever decide to go that route.

At the end of the day, I am thankful that we get two hot meals without me working in the kitchen for the whole day. After my break, I’m recharged to plan the remaining meals for the week, which I enjoy preparing mostly from scratch with whole food ingredients.

Living debt-free doesn’t necessarily mean a family has to stop eating from restaurants. So much of developing a budget comes down to prioritizing what your values are.

By tracking our spending and planning carefully, it is possible to live inside our means and not feel guilty about taking a day off from cooking. The resulting freedom helps me to move beyond survival mode and avoid burnout as I serve my family.

Developing recipes with healthy, affordable ingredients is one of Julia’s favorite pursuits. At her blog, Swirls and Spice, you’ll find a growing collection of dairy-free recipes.

photo source

Guest post by Boril

Back in 2013, Crystal shared 9 Apps That Will Save (and Make) You Money to highlight some of the most worthwhile mobile apps around. Things have changed a bit since then, as there are many new mobile apps that contain money-saving features.

If you’re looking for new ways to save, consider how each of these 10 apps can help!

1. Flipp

Flipp is an app that displays flyers in the user’s area. It updates on a regular basis, ensuring users always have the most up-to-date information.

With this app, you can quickly “flip” through different store flyers for deals. It’s also perfect for grocery shopping, as you can get a quick idea on which grocer has the best prices at the time.

2. Mint

Think of Mint as your account monitoring friend. It keeps track of everything from your checkings to your retirement account.

The app factors your previous spending to create a budget for you to follow. It also offers a lot of eye-opening as to the different ways you can save more.

3. Lawnmower

Lawnmower is an innovative finance app that converts change from your purchases into bitcoins. This is a great way for you to have a savings account without needing the label. You are guaranteed to put your money into savings. This app does the same as a bank’s ‘Bank The Rest’ feature, which typically rounds up and saves the difference of your purchase to the nearest $5 denomination.

4. Shopkick

While Shopkick was mentioned in the 2013 list we referenced earlier, it’s important to note that it’s still in good standing. In fact, more than six million people rely on the Shopkick app to save money at major retail outlets.

Users get paid rewards points for going to their favorite stores, shopping for deals, and referring their friends to the app. These points later get converted into gift cards, which means every dollar you spend stretches a little further.

5. Groupon

The immense savings made possible by Groupon is nothing to overlook. You can get as much as 90% off many products and services by using this app or website.

Just give it a shot for yourself and see what’s available at a steep discount through Groupon in your local area.

6. Gas Buddy

Gas Buddy is the only other app from the 2013 list that’s worth bringing up now. With the Gas Buddy app, you can find map out gas stations by proximity and fuel price.

7. Eat Street

Eat Street shows the best food deals from nearby eateries and restaurants.

You are able to order right off the app, which gives you reward points. These points can later be converted for real rewards, meaning you get more for your money.

The Eat Street app took over support for Campus Special, a food savings app for students, earlier this year.

8. Checkout 51

Checkout 51 is your digital coupon book, full of grocery savings in the $1 to $5 range.

After you pay, just take a picture of the receipt to scan it into the app. You will then get credited for the total amount of the coupon savings, which is based on the deals you went after.

The app updates on Thursdays and payouts are made available after reaching a $20 balance.

9. Saving Made Simple

Saving Made Simple is a top-downloaded Android app designed to help consumers save money where it counts.

Instead of focusing on savvy electronics deals or grocery discounts, the app addresses your finances behind the scenes. You can tally your bills, earnings, savings, and more, to get a full picture of your financial position for the month.

The app is versatile and can factor in variables like saving plans for electronics, school tuition, and an upcoming vacation.

10. PC Plus

The PC Plus app works as your PC Points card and is a must-have for any Canadian shopper.

The app showcases weekly deals, which give additional PC points. You could find yourself getting back as much as $15 out of $50 in purchases, but it really depends on what you buy.

At current time, you get $1 back for every 1,000 PC points earned.

What are your favorite money-saving apps?

Elite Personal Finance is an authority personal finance blog, featuring content from experts in the personal finance field. We are proud to be the home of many informative posts on subjects like credit cards, identity theft, and savings. With the right information, anyone can maximize their savings while further securing their finances.