Saving Families Money Since 2007
I loved this tip from Krista:
I saw the Cash4books site on your extra earning page and decided to check them out. I didn’t have much luck, so I decided to see if there were other places out there.
I found MyBookBuyer.com and started checking books with them. I am getting ready to send in 17 books which, if all are accepted, will net me $68. On the other site, I was only going to make $21. So, if you’re considering selling books, it pays to check multiple sites! -Krista
Guest post from Tammy of Skinny Mom’s Kitchen
I was inspired to write this article after reading Crystal’s guest post 8 Tips for Feeding Your Family Whole Foods on a Budget over at Heavenly Homemakers.
Over a year ago, I made the commitment to start feeding my family of four healthier minimally processed foods. This decision was based on my increased food and nutrition knowledge as well as the desire to lose weight.
As I expected, I began to lose weight–40 pounds to be exact! However, the unexpected surprise was the decrease in my grocery bill.
Prior to adopting a healthier whole foods lifestyle our grocery budget was on average $800-$900 a month–and sometimes more. Additionally, we would spend another $200 a month on take-out.
Today, since increasing the amount of whole foods and decreasing prepackaged process foods we buy, we are spending $300-$400 in groceries and $50 in take-out a month. That is more than a 50% savings!
Not only are we eating better but we are saving money too! Who knew?
I also want to point out that I never use coupons. I tried a couple times but failed miserably. My grocery savings has been solely based on cooking more wholesome nutrition foods at home. Of course, I do purchase some processed foods, but for the most part I try to prepare most of our food from scratch.
Before I go over my tips I want to quickly demystify the concept of whole foods. According to Wikipedia, “whole foods are foods that are unprocessed and unrefined or processed and refined as little as possible”.
A lot of times, because we think too much into it, we become overwhelmed trying to visualize how to move towards this lifestyle. However, adopting a healthier whole foods diet can be as simple as baking cookies instead of buying prepackaged, making homemade pizza instead of ordering out, or eating brown rice instead of instant white.
It is likely that you may already be moving towards a whole food diet without even realizing it. Of course there is more to it, but even the simplest changes can have increased health and money-saving benefits.
In addition to the eight tips that Crystal offered I would like to give a few more that I have used to make whole foods affordable:
I prefer to purchase grass-fed beef but it is expensive compared to its counterpart. We are talking $5 or more a pound! So to stretch it a little further, I always add in grains or beans.
For example, when I make taco meat, I use one pound of meat, one cup of cooked bulgur, and two cups of cooked black beans. This little trick typically provides our family of four with two full taco dinners.
Do you know what you can bake with a 5-pound bag of flour (white, wheat, or flour of choice)? Well a 5-pound bag, costs around $3-$5, and will yield 20 cups of flour. Therefore, using basic recipes, with 20 cups of flour I can make either 6-7 loaves of bread, 10 quick breads, 10 pizza doughs, 120 muffins, 144 chocolate chip cookies, 150 pancakes, or a little of everything.
Of course you will also need sugar, butter, oil, and other basic ingredients. However, even with all the ingredients the savings compared to buying everything prepackage is significant.
For example, a prepackaged loaf of whole grain bread can easily cost over $3 adding up to $18-$21 just in bread. Greater than the savings is the nutritional value of the food. When you take control of preparing the foods your family eats, you are controlling the ingredients and ultimately the quality of the food.
Many people think that it is impossible to cook from scratch. I am here to tell you that not only is it possible but much easier than you think, especially with a few nifty small appliances. I use my slow cooker, rice cooker, and bread machine weekly to prepare a number of recipes from scratch.
For example, beans, shredded chicken, sauces, large batches of brown rice, honey wheat bread, and pizza dough are all foods I am able to make regularly because of these small appliances.
Admittedly, I did not do this at first. When I finally did implement this approach I saw a huge difference in my grocery savings. As with everything, just knowing what you spend is half the battle. Basically, a grocery cost spreadsheet lists out the foods you purchase along with the price. This spreadsheet is most effective when referred to as you put your grocery list together. That way you can figure out almost exactly what you are going to spend beforehand.
To start my spreadsheet, I used old grocery receipts to locate prices of the items I purchase regularly. Then I would continue to increase the list by jotting down prices as I grocery shopped. Before I knew it I had put together a spreadsheet filled with the prices of many different grocery items.
Of course prices change and you may want to try new things but it will give you a starting point to work with before you shop. There has been many times, after referring to my spreadsheet that I needed to make changes to my menu plan because I was going to be over budget.
In my experience, this has been the cornerstone to affording whole foods. All three of these concepts alone are effective in reducing stress, saving money, and eating healthier. However, when intentionally used together these three tools will provide even greater benefits. Think of it is this way.
Menu planning provides the road map for what you will eat and the ingredients to purchase. Make ahead meals and freezer cooking are the vehicles and fuel to help you get to your destination (affording a whole foods diet). It is much easier to eat healthy whole foods when they are already prepared and ready to eat. Not to mention you will also save money by reducing food waste because every food and ingredient you purchase will have an intended purpose.
The last bit of advice I can give is to start small, slowly make changes, and don’t put pressure on yourself. You are the only one that knows what is best for your family and budget.
Tammy, the author of Skinny Mom’s Kitchen, is dedicated to helping busy moms eat healthier and lose weight by teaching them how to combine calorie awareness with menu planning, freezer cooking, and other make ahead cooking strategies. She loves showing others how easy, and affordable, it is to serve their family healthy nutritious meals everyday.
Guest post from Anna of Real Ways to Earn Money Online
From the day I got my iPhone, it became one of my “can’t live without it” possessions. My excitement over my new toy only increased when I learned that in addition to playing games, tracking calories, and organizing my grocery list, I could also use it to earn money and redeemable points!
There are several different apps out there you can use for these purposes, but the following five are truly exceptional:
Field Agent is for iPhone users only. You get paid for using your phone to do things like take pictures of store displays and answer short surveys. Most jobs pay between $2 and $8 each. Payment is made with Paypal.
The Gig Walk app is also just for the iPhone, and it is very similar to Field Agent. You get paid cash for doing little odd jobs which normally involve taking pictures with your phone while you’re out and about.
The app is limited for use by people in certain geographic areas which currently include the San Francisco Bay area, Chicago, Los Angeles, South Florida, New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and Seattle. Payout is via Paypal.
The CheckPoints app is my favorite! I use it almost every time I go shopping. You just open the app, find the products listed in the store, and scan the item barcodes with your phone.
You’ll get redeemable points for each item you scan, and you can use these to get gift cards to your favorite stores (including Amazon)! You can also earn points for downloading and trying out apps.The Checkpoints app is available for iPhone and Android users.
The WeReward app will award you points for taking pictures of yourself with different products, checking in at various places of business, and for trying out new apps. Every point you get equals one cent and most “jobs” pay anywhere from 10 points to 500 points.
You can cash out with Paypal once you have $10 in your account. This app is open to iPhone, Blackberry, and Android users.
Using the ShopKick app is a lot like using the Checkpoints app — you scan products while you shop and earn points that you can redeem for gift cards.
You can also use the app to take advantage of special in-store offers exclusive to Shopkick users. These offers are easily redeemable right at the cash register — you just let the cashier scan your phone. The app is available for iPhone and Android users.
These smartphone apps are all FREE to download and use. Just do a search for them in your app store, install, and start getting rewarded for things you do every day!
Anna Thurman researches various online money-earning opportunities and work at home jobs. Her findings are published via her website, Real Ways to Earn Money Online.
I promised you an update to my freezer cooking adventures at 2 p.m. and I’m afraid it’s well past 2 p.m. and I have little to report when it comes to actual freezer cooking done.
However, I did read four books aloud to the children, finish our morning homeschooling lessons with the girls, unplug a stopped up toilet and clean up and disinfect the bathroom, took Silas potty multiple times (he’s doing so well with potty-training! yay!!), make lunch with the children, teach Kathrynne how to make sushi (before you think I’m some supermom, I should make it clear that we had gotten a free Annie Chun’s kit in the mail so it was a snap to do!), start a load of laundry, play basketball with Kathrynne, help Kaitlynn get her banged lip to stop bleeding, clean up the lunch dishes, answer some emails, and have a short phone call with my publicist.
So it wasn’t like I sat around and did nothing. 🙂
And I also baked the chicken
And ground the flour.
But now that we’re done with homeschooling and Silas is down for a nap, it’s time to finish the rest of the freezer cooking list. I’ll report back later this evening with my progress. Hopefully, everything will get crossed off. We’ll see!
Since my book launch is finally behind me, I’m excited to get back to some more normal things in my life–and to get back to posting menu plans, freezer cooking, recipes, shopping trips, busy bag ideas, and do-it-yourself stuff here.
Today, after a four-week hiatus, I’m doing a short freezer cooking session today. I jotted down a quick list and am ready to roll up my sleeves and get busy. Well, after I get my room picked up (it looks like a stuff bomb went off!) and our morning homeschooling finished.
Here’s my list:
I’ll share an update on my progress and some pictures at 2 p.m.
Anyone else doing any freezer cooking today? I’d love to hear what you’re making!
I wrote an article for RooMag recently on Navigating the Road to Financial Success. Here’s a snippet:
What would happen if you took a family road trip to an unfamiliar location hundreds of miles away and you left your map or GPS at home? Very likely you’d waste hours driving around trying to figure out which way you were supposed to go and you’d probably never reach your destination unless you stopped and bought a map or kept stopping to ask for directions.
It’s the same with finances: if you don’t really know where you are going in the first place, you’re going to be hard-pressed to ever reach your desired destination.
So many people dream of getting out of debt, saving to pay cash for another vehicle, paying off their house early, or giving more generously to others. Very few people, however, get beyond the dreaming stage. Instead, they drive around and around without a map, wishing they could go somewhere, but never determining where it is they want to go nor how they are going to get there.
It’s so easy when you start considering goal-setting to become overwhelmed by all the areas in your life you feel are in desperate need of change.
From improving as a wife and mom, to starting a business or blog, to writing a book, to learning a new skill, to starting a new ministry or being involved in one that’s already existing, to eating more healthfully, to learning to cook from scratch, to cutting your grocery bill, to experimenting with do-it-yourself ideas, to remodeling part of the house or redecorating a room, to getting in shape, to being more involved in your church or community… and on and on the list goes.
We women have so many responsibilities on our plates and we have dreams, ideas, and all sorts of things we’d love to do if we could ever find an extra ten hours in our day. But the reality is that those extra ten hours probably aren’t going to be falling from the sky any time in the near future. So we must work with what we have–and do the best we can with that.
We’re all in different seasons and stages of life. We all have different challenges and struggles. Therefore, it’s imperative that each of us recognizes our own limitations.
Think about your own unique challenges. Some of you are in school full-time. Some of you work full-time. Some of you have lots of little children. Some of you have a brand-new baby (or twins!). Some of you have health issues. Some of you are caring for elderly parents or grandparents. Some of you are in the middle of moving cross country. Some of you are dealing with a death of someone you love. Some of you are pregnant or in the middle of adopting. Some of you have children with special needs. Some of you are going through heart-breaking circumstances that many of us can’t even begin to imagine.
No matter your age or stage of life, you have your own set of difficulties and things to juggle. If it’s not something you can change, accept it realizing that what you’re able to accomplish will not be what someone else who is in a different season of life is able to accomplish. And that’s perfectly okay!
If you only have a small amount of time to devote to goal-setting, you’ll want to maximize upon it by making sure you’re focusing on the most important things. Here’s what I’d suggest doing:
No matter your limitations, adopt Teddy Roosevelt’s motto: “Do what you can with what you’ve got where you are.”
All we can do is all we can do. Spending time wishing we were in someone else’s shoes doesn’t change or improve our situation. If you’re in a really busy season of life, you may only be able to devote an extra 10 minutes five times per week to tackling your goals. Don’t be discouraged.
Do what you can do and don’t worry about what you can’t do! Doing something is always better than doing nothing.
Today’s question is from Tara:
Although the “season of giving” is technically over, I have been so inspired by other people’s giving posts in December that I have made a New Years Resolution to continue to find ways to give throughout the year. I would love to compile a list of ways my homeschool family could
minister to others and was hoping the readers on Money Saving Mom® could help me brainstorm more ideas.I am looking ideas that a family with 4 small children can do together. They can be quick, long, cheap, expensive. I would love to collect ideas that we could do every time we are out — like helping someone load groceries into their car, collecting carts, picking up trash, etc. I really want to use this year to teach my children to look around for the needs of others and meet them. -Tara
Do you have a question you’d like to ask Money Saving Mom® readers? Read the submission guidelines and submit it here.
Guest post by Lindsay of Creative Dough
My saving journey started last summer when I made the decision to find slouch boots online for $10. This declaration branded me “dreamer” in my circle of friends and family saying:
“Nobody gets boots for $10. If you’re really lucky, you’ll find them for $20.”
But I did!
I was determined. The fact that I didn’t give in to the shiny price tag of those $20 rip-offs has proved to make all the difference. Not only did I find my $10 very cute boots, but I’ve found similar deals again and again.
Here are a few tips I’ve learned along the way:
There is a little drop down menu that can be found at most online shopping sites that immediately puts the cheapest products first. Look for your product on that first page. Can you find it in your price range? If the answer is “no,” this probably isn’t your website (try looking at a cheaper online/clearance store).
Ask for what you want. If you would like a pair of boots for $10, type exactly that. For me, it’s kind of a wishing game. I ask the search engine for $10 boots and scan the area, if none of the websites lead me to anything substantial, then I must have asked incorrectly, so I ask again, only a different way this time (ex: Websites with cheap boots, $10 shoes, etc.)
I’ve been viewing Yahoo! questions for years. Chances are, you aren’t the only one searching for those $10 boots. Just tack the words “yahoo questions” at the end of your search and you will be surprised at the wealth of information these forums hold, and you don’t have to be a member to view them.
Before you check out, quickly search for promo codes. Retail Me Not is a great online resource to find those last minute price cuts.
Those boots may look $10 online, but with shipping they could be $16. To save on shipping, order more than one product at a time, order with a friend and share the shipping, or look for a free shipping promo code.
Finally, be patient; good things come in time. Happy Saving!
Lauren is a fun, easy-going girl who doesn’t like to spend more than $20 at a time. This takes some creative thinking, which is how she came up with her blog name, Creative Dough. Her goal is to help people who are looking to save more than just a few extra dollars!
Guest post by Sabrina from The Unlikely Homemaker
In the same way that the small things you purchase add up to a lot at the end of the month, the small ways you save can also add up to a huge amount at the end of the month.
Spending $5 at a thrift store every week for a few children’s shirts saves you money over buying them new, but over the course of a month that is $22 (plus tax!). While that is still not much, when you have almost no money, it’s like gold. I would much rather keep that $22 in my pocket and repair clothes we already own.
Buying a Sweet Tea every day on the way to pick your kids up from school can add up $22 or more if you also buy snacks for the kids. I would rather make my own at home using tea bags and honey.
If you buy a pack of gum every time you go grocery shopping (say, three times a week?) that can total $13 per month minimum, assuming you are only paying $1 per pack.
Going out to dinner can sometimes be cost/stress effective, but sometimes it is far better to prepare a meal at home. For two adults and two children (one who is only a year old) it can cost my family around $50 to have dinner out. That includes drinks and any appetizers we choose to get. For us to go out once a week, we would be spending $216 a month! Instead, we choose to go once a month, and use coupons so our cost is about $25-$30. That’s a $191 per month savings.
Buying your children a snack at the grocery store because you forgot to feed them before you left can add up to $13 a month or even more if you aren’t choosing something for under $1 (or if you have multiple children to buy for). It is much less expensive to buy a box of granola bars (or similar) and keep them in your car. That way, you won’t have to leave the store early or buy them a snack while you are there.
Small savings every day can add up to a lot. Following just the simple tips above, we save over $250 per month and saving in the small things has freed up enough extra money for me to be able to stay home with our children without it causing too much financial stress.
Sabrina Hartman is a new-ish stay at home mom to a 2-1/2-year-old and a 1-year-old. She loves to find new ways to save money to compensate for leaving the workplace, and is finding her inner homemaker in the process. She tracks her homemaking life and tips at The Unlikely Homemaker and offers a kitchen tip/guide site at Kitchen Cheat Sheet.
I really enjoyed this article by Laura Ziesel on Making the Most of Underemployment. Here’s a snippet:
When my husband and I moved to California a year and a half ago, we had no jobs lined up, only a spot in grad school. Upon arriving, we settled into our new town and immediately started applying for jobs. After we arrived in California, it was about two months before we found work, although even then I was underemployed and continued looking for work. But we look back upon those months as some of the best we’ve had. Although money was tight, we decided to make the best out of our situations.
Most likely, you’ve been in a similar position, or you may find yourself in one in the future. Though the unemployment rate is on the decline (the most recent jobs report finds it at 8.5 percent), 59 percent of Americans still believe the economy is worsening (according to a new Gallup poll). And regardless of the state of the nation, twentysomethings are still likely to encounter tough times, big moves or life changes—like going back to school or having a spouse do so—that leave them with a little more free time. Here are some of the things we did that helped us not only survive, but thrive:
Read the full article for lots of helpful tips and encouragement.
Struggling with goal-setting? Consider if any of these four things are hindering your success:
One of the biggest reasons I was a goal-setting failure for so long was because I would set these gigantic and impossible goals. It’s better to set microscopic goals and actually make some good headway on them, than to set goals that are so far out of your reach that you give up before you even take a step in the right direction.
When considering your goals, be very realistic–especially if you’re new to goal-setting. Don’t create an enormous and impossibly long. Stick with a few simple and achievable goals and break them down into bite-sized pieces.
As you become more experienced in goal-setting, you can set your sights higher. But when you’re first starting out, keep it simple and doable. Your success at simple goals will give you momentum to attempt more audacious goals later on down the road.
If you’ve failed at goal-setting in the past, it’s easy to convince yourself it’s not even worth trying again because you’ll probably just fail yet another time. Do not let the fear of failure keep you from taking the first step in the direction of success. Even if you do end up stumbling and falling and struggling, you’ll still be much farther along than if you never started at all.
Remove sentences that start with, “I can’t…” and “I’m not good enough…” from your vocabulary. These words will never set you up for success, they’ll just trap you in defeatism
Don’t compare yourself to others. Instead, celebrate your progress and success–even if it seems barely measurable. Stay focused and positive; you can do it!
Setting small goals and having a positive attitude will help propel you toward goal-setting success. However, if you do those things, but you don’t have the discipline to follow through with your goals, you’ll never get very far.
You are only guaranteed success in goal-setting if you have the discipline, perseverance, and commitment to follow through with your goals.
Accountability is the key to discipline. Write your goals out, break them down into bite-sized pieces, post them in a very conspicuous location, and review them on a daily basis.
I’ve found that it’s helpful to review my yearly goals list when making my weekly goals list and my daily to-do list. This keeps me on track and reminds what I need to do this week and today to get where I hope to be at the end of the year.
I also recommend finding an accountability partner to check up with you on a regular basis and see how you’re doing. Not only can they serve as a cheerleader to keep you moving in the right direction, they can help you get back on track if you start veering off course.
What keeps you from goal-setting success?
Guest post by Lacey from Live Loved
My family and I recently moved to a new city and remodeled a house. My in-laws graciously allowed us to stay with them for a time, paying a minimal amount for rent and groceries. Although I was ecstatic to move into our home, I felt a growing amount of worry as the time came to do so — most of it had to do with our grocery budget.
I knew there were a lot of things we would need to buy to get our pantry re-established, especially since we do the majority of our cooking and eating at home. Groceries can add up fast and our tight budget didn’t allow for much wiggle room at all.
My worry was beginning to build.
And then, I began unpacking. And do you know what I found? All kinds of canned tomatoes, oils, spices, pastas, beans, rice, and more. I had completely forgotten that I had packed whatever things I could from our stockpile and kept it in storage at our in-laws. All of which helped to fill my empty pantry that I had been so worried about.
What’s the point of all of this? I think there a few things that can be learned from my experience, and I hope they might prove helpful for you:
I realized that my worry was very unnecessary. Besides the fact that worry doesn’t accomplish anything, I also claim to rest completely in the Lord and the fact that He knows our needs better than I do. He is the one who provides for our family.
If you are moving, list all the items you can stockpile, and then do it! Include cleaning products and dried pantry goods you know will hold up to traveling and storage.
The point is to help get your family’s pantry set-up, not feed the entire neighborhood. Packing and unpacking boxes is a chore even with just a few things, so don’t add too much to your load.
If things need to be in storage, make sure they are well-covered from dust and bugs. Some things I even wrapped in plastic bags and then put into a well-sealed box.
Spices, nuts, oils, and baking goods won’t last forever, but especially not in extreme heat.
That way you know how long you have before it goes bad. I might even include the date it went into storage so that you have a good idea of its condition.
Not having to spend as much on groceries is an added blessing! Some ideas include: spaghetti or pasta dishes, beans and rice, and soups and stews.
What are your best tips to stock-pile for a move?
Lacey is the wife to Kade, mommy to Selah, unashamed coffee addict, and daily recipient of the love of Jesus. She blogs over at Live Loved.
Andrea from Simple Organized Living shows you how to make homemade Play-Doh for pennies… with just a few pantry staples!
Do you have a fun and frugal DIY idea to share? I’d love to hear about it! Read the submission guidelines and submit it here.
