5 Tips for the Money Saving Mom
Thanks to Alban for this guest post!
Being a mom is a full time job, which requires a large set of skills. From entertaining to educating kids, moms need to be creative, patient, good at listening and outstanding at multi-tasking. Considering most families have a limited budget and plenty of requirements, moms need to make the most of their money and develop a strong sense of frugality.
These five money saving tips have been gathered, looking at moms in their daily life. We hope they help you to bring the frugal attitude into your house.
1: Recycle As Much As You Can
Kids are growing fast, and so are their clothing requirements. When it comes to dress the little ones, the family budget can take a hit.
Kids outgrow their clothes quickly, but most of the time the clothes are still in good condition. If you have close family, friends or neighbors who have older kids, ask them if they have any clothes that might be good for yours. It might sound a little weird, but most people would be happy to give away some garments, which clutter their closets.
(Jaime’s note: I’ve asked to buy the used clothes off friends and they usually say yes but then give them to me for free. I’d suggest to ask to buy them, because asking someone to give you clothes can be rude!)
2: Compare Prices
When it comes to managing a budget, a little bit of research prior to purchasing can have a positive impact on your budget. Price comparison engines are easily accessible online, so you can quickly compare prices between different supermarkets.
In most cases, supermarkets are really competitive on specific products but are more expensive on others, so it is valuable to shop around and divide your shopping list between a few close-by shops. You can benefit from lower prices, which will leave more flexibility in your budget.
3: Seasonal Fresh Produce
Food often represents an important part of the family budget, but it only takes little effort to spend a little less without sacrificing on quality. Processed food can reduce the amount of time you spend in the kitchen, however it is often quite expensive.
If you shop around to your local grocery store or to your local market, you will find that you can get great deals on seasonal fruits and vegetables. Depending on where you live, it might also exist some cooperatives, which can provide you with high quality produce at a lower cost than the supermarket.
(Jaime’s note: It’s summer, time to hit the farmer’s market for fresh, cheap veggies and fruit!)
4: DIY
Moms excel at DIY, kids love it and it is also great for the family wallet. DIY is one of the most frugal way of feeding your family and entertaining your children. Rather than buying an expensive cake, bake it with your kids.
They will love making the dough, mixing eggs and looking at it cooking in the oven. It might require a bit of cleaning at the end, but it will keep them busy and save you money.
5: Teach Your Kids How to be Frugal
Teaching your kids how to be frugal, is not only a good thing for your family finance, but it will also be great for their education. If your kids become frugal, you will notice that they will understand (not always) why you say no to candies at the store. They will also apply frugal principles in their daily life, which will make your task easier.
Obviously this is not as straight forward as comparing prices or buying from a local producer, however a little bit of effort on daily basis to explain and teach your kids how to save money, will have a great long term impact on your families future.
(Jaime’s note: Take a look at the guest post I wrote for Free From Broke to learn how we use a chip system to teach personal finance to my three year old)
Alban is a personal finance writer. He provides budgeting tips and helps people to compare the best online savings accounts.
This post was included in the Personal Finance Carnival #261 at PopEconomics. Go check it out here!
Tags: Debt Free, debt freedom, finances, Lifestyle
Categories: All, Best Life, Debt Freedom, Finances, Goals
Hi I’m Jaime. Each and every week I bring you the top business advice from the people who know best.
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14 responses
I can’t tell you how many bags of clothes have gone back and forth between friends and us for the kids! Especially when the kids are young, clothes get worn a handful of times before they outgrow them.
I agree Craig- I saw one of my friends yesterday, and my daughter was wearing hand me downs from her daughter, and her son was wearing my son’s hand me downs. It’s a great thing! Kids aren’t as expensive as everyone says when you can be frugal!
I think the title is misnamed. These are good tips for anyone; not only moms.
.-= Bucksome Boomer´s last blog ..Groups and Vacations =-.
I agree! 🙂
I liked the “teach your kids to be frugal” point the best. 🙂
Thanks Mom and Dad!
It’s funny how much our parents know about personal finance can change our lives so drastically. 🙂
Everyone in my house calls me a cheapskate. I even reuse paper
towels. I do everything on your list… I’m trying with the kids, but I think it’s a losing battle…
My problem is that is I get a little bit ahead, some kind of emergency happens that sucks up my savings.
I’m trying.
I was brought up on a farm in the forties and fifties, and we didn’t have “things”, but we had really good homecooked food and desserts, frozen meat, canned veggies and fruits by the bushels, and all kinds of homemade pickles, relishes and such. Our clothes were from rummage sales, and hand-me-downs, and occasionally new things at Easter and at back to school in the fall. I felt dressed as well as anyone in my class or school. But we didn’t have “knicknacks” and frivolous things.
I learned work, work and more work putting in wood for the winter and hoeing fields of corn and beans after dad went through with the cultivator. We had popcorn and apples for snacks, and also leftover desserts. Mom ironed beautifully and washed things so clean that she was pround of them on the clcthesline.
But, to the issue of the response on being frugal. I had a time when I was a teenager and a young married woman at age 24 with five darling babies, that I longed to have what others had. We were really poor, but we always saw others who were worse off than we were.
As a result of this upbringing, the frugalness is born in my bones, and attached to my DNA. I live for yard sales, thrift stores, and occasionally find goodies out on the street ready for trash pickup. It is amazing what people waste. I don’t mean to imply I don’t dress nice, contrary, I find name brands, either never worn, or hardly worn. I find furniture, glassware, lamps, endtables, dining tables, and dishes of all kinds. You would be surprised at how many of my friend and relatives do the same thing!! We are saving money and recycling at the same time.
For cooking I make our foods fresh from basic recipes. I seldom buy already prepared foods. It is soooo cheap to take a few pieces of chicken and some good amish noodles and make homemade chicken soup. It is no wonder young women these days have trouble making money go around when they are taught to just run to the seven eleven and buy supper!! I could go on an on.
I admire those who are budgeting, and saving, and living for the future. It does NOT mean you do not have fun today, nor go without. Nobody needs to throw out the old computer (which works okay) or the old iphone, (also working) to run out and get the latest tech gadgets every year as new things come on the market. I make my things last and enjoy them until they bite the dust.
I wish all luck with enlarging their bank acct and preparing for the future. We won’t have to worry about foreclosures or bankruptcy when we plan ahead and don’t buy on impulse. The economic state of our great country is not good, and we are all feeling the crunch in one way or another. My husband and I had planned several years ago to retire in Florida, from Michigan, but won’t be able to until we sell our home for the equity to retire on. But at least we still have a HOMEA!! Being thankful is a necessary trait, as well as to share and help others as we grow and become. That may be the greatest lessons in all of our trials in life.
Thank you so much for your message. I agree with you completely. I love thrift stores and finding amazing things that are no longer used by others.
You are in a great position to not only save money but really enjoy life since you can see the gratitude in things. I do think it’s one of the best traits we can have. Thanks again. 🙂
Great tips! I especially liked the part about teaching kids to be financially responsible. It’s very important to start teaching kids when they are young the value of money.
Diane
http://www.savingsmania.com/
Savingsmania.com
Teaching kids how to be frugal and independent very early is key. Children will break the budget ! When the get older it cost a ton of money just to help them out a bit so that life keeps moving forward. You want the child not to fail at what they are striving for/ therefore you help them and this gets costly. An upbeat blog from a family that has been working at this for year a 60 year old couple still raising children at ?www.glossymoney.com?
Join them to get other ideas that might help as well.
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