I have been wondering, what are your favorite ways to be frugal for your family? Since I'm asking I'll go ahead and answer for us, but I thought about this and it occurred to me I bet lots of people have different answers. So I thought it would be fun to ask. : )
Here's mine:
- purchasing used items for just about everything we need (except for my clothing since I am petite...it's worth it for me to shop sale racks instead)
- coupons for just about anything and everything
- internet phone and prepaid cell phone for emergencies
- only having 1 car for our family of 4
- being a stay at home mom (child care is expensive and my chosen career path would not do well to bring in extra income, though this is certainly not the main reason I stay home : )
- owning a condo instead of a house (for now anyway)
- learning to stockpile items we always need and will use to keep the grocery budget lower
- shopping the sales, not necessarily the 'lowest priced' grocery store
- teaching my kids to save, save, save so that hopefully they won't take loans for college like me (if they go to college...but that's another conversation)
- sharing ideas with friends like you! : )
- using the cash envelope system, and sticking to a zero $ budget (Thanks Dave Ramsey!)
Okay so I'm sure I have more, but these are a few of the big ones for us. So now its your turn. What are the biggest ways you cut down on spending for your family?
I check out books from the library instead of buying them new. Once I have kids, I think it is important for them to own books- that's why I also shop garage sales for books in good condition. I can start my stockpile now by looking for classics that are cheap and in great shape!
ReplyDelete*Stocking up on baby food when it's on sale and pureeing fresh fruit and veggies to supplement that. Baby food is really expensive...I also try to only buy the kinds I can't make at home, like meat and certain veggies.
ReplyDelete*I've been trying to cut back on fast food and frozen food as well, except when I have coupons.
*I just planted my first kitchen garden, so I'll let y'all know how that works out.
*One really inexpensive (comparatively for volume) food we really like is Quinoa. Even the baby can eat it, it's nutritious and filling, and it tastes pretty good with a cheese sauce or chicken broth.
*We watch Netflix instead of cable because we can control what comes into our home, plus it's cheaper.
We do some of the same things, ladies. Laura, I agree! I have a bit of an addiction when it comes to books for my kids, but I purchase most of them at garage sales. The rest are purchased by grandparents. : )
ReplyDeleteKim, what is Quinoa? I've never heard of it.
Oh, another thing we do is make our own yogurt (thanks to Mel!). We really like yogurt for snacks/breakfasts, and we LOVE making our own. It is sooo good and very easy. On the same vein, we like to make a lot of our own things that are worth it: pizza crust, cookies, cakes, muffins, quick breads, waffles, pancakes, etc. We can often make them healthier than if we purchased mixes, and it's just plain fun.
Oh, one more thought on books Laura: paperbackswap.com! It's a site where you offer books that you have and want to give away. When someone requests your book/books, you pay shipping to send it to them at no cost to them. When you give a book away, you earn credits and can request books from others for free. We have been doing this for ~6 mos. now, and we really like it.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa
ReplyDeleteWe do a lot of the things already mentioned. I think one of the biggest savings is netflix versus buying cable, and having cell phones only (no landline). Actually passing down clothes through the kids probably saves the most! Lol. :)
I cut my dryer sheets in half, works just as well.
I have a lot to learn still but those are my initial thoughts.
~Laura
I have heard of lots of folks doing netflix. We only have basic cable right now, which is included w/ our internet, but our internet is pricey. We're looking to get a better deal so hopefully we can cut out basic cable (no sense in canceling what we get for 'free') and then use netflix instead. The only thing is, we like having the networks available for 'breaking news' like weather, big events in the world, etc.
ReplyDelete