Affordable ways

Quote: "You do not have to be rich to be a stay at home mom, Lets step back a few hundred years when stay at home moms was all there was...And back then people had more morals,self control and respect...Lets consider that before we assume people with financial problems should just jump on to the working band wagon." -From a  Mom I know. Met a lot to hear her say that.


If we all stop buying those adorable toys in the store for our kids that are not on sale...we could save.

If we grouped all our shopping into a once a month trip,our gas tanks and wallets would start to see some extra cash.

Make a coffee at home,there are some awesome recipes online of how to even make a special caffeinated drink in the morning. Lets cut out the dunkin and starbucks and start saving some bucks.

Budget budget budget.

Take your hobby and expand too see if you can make money off of it. Those little things you make for friends and family could bring in some money. Those pictures you take,imagine them in frames in someone's home. =)

Coupons, places that double coupons and sites that you can print coupons off of. Brilliant for those little runs to walgreens or a budgeted trip to wal-mart.

Freecyle and craigslist. We know about the sites but how many times do we end up saying "I dunno...I think I'd rather have it new" Thats fine but sometimes waiting you can find it cheaper. And sometimes people don't use stuff they buy so its like new.
Which brings me to time..Your going time? What does that have to do with finances...  My husband has this really big impulse to buy something the minute he sees it instead of doing some shopping around, Yes its a pain and it takes time to go to a few stores or a few sites but you never know who will have it cheaper. Also waiting until the end of a season helps, that long sleeve sweater you want will go on sale at the end of the season so they can bring in their summer items.

Dollar bins! We all know what I am talking about. I have found them at: Target,Michael's, Iparty and K-mart.
And lets not forget dollar stores, a lot of the time people panic and say they want name brands,well name brands tend to not always be cheaper at dollar stores. Again its one of those get to know the prices,get to know the store...OWN the store haha. Try to remember how much Tide is at Wal-mart compared to Dollar general or something.

Animals. Sometimes life throws us curve balls and we discover its getting harder and harder to afford our beloved pets food and such. Some not all but I know mine does,Humane societies or rescues or anything like that offer applications you can fill out and donations will go towards you, I believe its only once a month or when ever you really need it. But any little bit helps. Lets not forget that the little things add up.....

Which takes me to my next point...those little things we buy and mumble to yourselves "well that wasn't bad for a drink" or "Cheaper then bringing lunch" or something. We are gonna do a little math.

Coffee in the morning from dunkin- $1.99(I am doing the lower end of prices)
Snack from the checkout line of a store- $ 1.99
That soda you picked up- $2.99
The candy bar-$1.00
Gum-$1.00
Lunch because you forgot yours- $5.99
Another soda for the end of the day -$2.99
Mcdonalds because you already know you don't want to cook when you get home- $14.00
Add it up. You do that 3 times a week and what do you get? $95.85........

So lets fix all these problems.
Snacks. Buy them at the beginning of the month for work or what not. Granola bars,the boxes of individual chips,string cheese or the new Kraft 100 calorie cheese packs,Containers of veggies or fruits...the list is endless

Drinks-Bring your own. If you like soda walmart has cola 24pks for one of the cheapest prices. Stock up when its on sale. Or you can bring your own bottle thing and put crystal light in it,lemonade,water...Simple things.

Ah the sweets- A lot of the time little debbie had $2/4 or you can buy in bulk at BJS,Costco or bigger places like that. Bake a little more. Good way to incorporate the kids.

Gum-hard to avoid but a bag of peppermints or a hard candy has more quantity for the price.

Lunch- Again sometimes those rushed,hectic,not going smoothly mornings throw us off our game plan. Try the night before to make your lunch up. Try to buy things you can just grab just in case of one of those mornings. Yogurt,pudding cups,keep cut veggies in your fridge at all times, it sounds silly but grabbing literally what you would need for a sandwich and throwing it in your bag and making the sandwich at work or where ever you may be can work also.

Dinner-Oh,I could talk and talk and talk about this. Crock pots!!!!!!!!!!!! Make it in the morning and bam! Simple meals. One skillet meals. Fast meals. Rachel ray is a really good one to follow for her success in short timed meals. Save the fast food and outings for the weekend or when that extra money is there to spend. =)

Want a little extra cash for those birthdays coming up???
Check these sites out.
www.chacha.com- You can be a guide. I would love to explain every site but time is not on my side as a mother of two haha. So ask if you have any questions.

www.mysurvey.com- Your opinion does count. Even though it does not add up fast it does add up and thats all that matters when it comes to money.

www.Mypoints.com- Adding up a little faster then others. Simple buy from nominated companies,click the link in an email and gain points. Sign up for their credit card and get amazing amount of points that you can then redeem and get say a gift card to wal-mart or home depot and many many other things.

Medical transcription is still needed and wanted. With a few classes you can be working from home. A little demanding but if you have an amazing support system it should be a great investment to your family.

Chuck roast...have the butcher grind it and it ends up cheaper then the regular hamburg. Now my Hannafords has hamburg on sale a lot,they have yellow stickers that say how much off it is.

Pasta sides are coming out with a lot of new kinds less sodium and go with a lot of different meals.

Make big meals and freeze them.

Try to buy fruits when they are in season,they tend to be a lower price. Something like berries when not in season the unsweetened frozen kind does wonders. =)

Sometimes over time we stop watching shows we use to watch and that means we might not watch the channel as well, go over everything and make sure theres not a bundle or a channel set up thats cheaper. Will lower your bill.

Being efficient-Helps the earth and your wallet.  Shut the lights off when your not in that room, Getting a motion detecting outside light, not leaving the tv on as back ground noise (I do for my anxiety but thats a diff story) unplugging appliances you don't use helps too. I don't always use my toaster oven so I just leave it unplugged.

In winter shoveling the snow up against your house has been proven to insulate better and cut down on your heating costs.

Tagsales!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =D

Watch websites for deals that you may not get in the stores. Also sign up to receive stuff in the mail it never hurts and a lot of the time its coupons.

A lot of companies want you to at-least try their product once so if you go to their website sometimes they will send you a coupon or even the product its self.

When you have a bad experience or something with a restaurant of any kind go to their website. Most the time they really listen and will give a gift card,coupons or a meal on them type of stuff.

Short list of rules I have made for myself when shopping- (unless in desperate need of an item)

Chicken- I never pay over $1.99 a lb for chicken breasts-But most of us know in bone chicken is less expensive

Shredded cheese-Never pay over $2.00

Cereal- Never pay over $3.00-This one is very hard. It depends on how much you like cereal.

Hate making dough  for pizza but hate the prices of frozen pizzas? Pillsbury dough!

Have a bread maker laying around. Making your own bread is healthier and cheaper!

AND Store brands are just as good! I happen to love the store Aldi's, Their stuff a lot of the time is other name brand items but in disguise lol. Now sometimes store brand never cuts it but in basic stuff it usually is fine!



There are lots of other deals in bigger cities with more choices in shopping but this is my list from someone who has no costco or sams club,or anything.  I might even be forgetting some things.

I am still learning myself as I am 4yrs out on my own,STILL lots of time to grow and find new stuff and new tricks!

Theres a show on TLC called extreme couponing-Try and catch it!



Much love!