Yesterday I did a post on our journey to becoming debt free (https://messymamalife.com/debt-free-and-loving-it/). Following along those lines, I thought I would do a post on getting deals/ways to save some money. It may turn into a couple of posts as things are always changing.
***Disclaimer: I am not a professional. I am not a financial advisor, and I am not a financial planner or coach. I am just a Mama looking for good deals. You should always seek the advice of a certified, professional financial planner/advisor before jumping into any financial decisions. I cannot be held liable for any decisions you make from the reading of this post. You should always use due diligence, research, and seek out professional council with any questions or concerns. This coffee drinking Mama is just here to tell how we save money. It may not work or be right for you and your family.
If you read my post on how we became debt free and you just can’t live without cable or satellite, you can try contacting the company you have your service through and let them know you are planning to cancel due to the high cost of their service or that you are planning to cut some of the channels due to the high cost. Sometimes they will lower your bill. Shop around. See who has the best price that fits into your budget and fits what your family needs. Remember, you can also get an antennae to get digital channels and all you will pay is the cost of the antennae. You could then add a streaming service if you wanted a few more options. The only video services we currently have are Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. We have not branched out to any other subscription services. Ask family/friends what services they use if they do not have cable or satellite. You can usually get a pretty fair review from your friends and family. I would also encourage doing review searches for the different services to see what others say about the different services. For ALL services, look into service charges, fees, any additional charges they may not include in their advertised price.
Another way we have saved money is by shopping around for electric providers. In Texas we have the option to choose from multiple different electric companies. You do have to watch for hidden fees. You might find a company that promises an amazing price, but if you read the fine print and look for reviews of those companies, you may find that there are a lot of hidden fees that quickly add up and make the low price end up higher than some other listed prices that include the extra fees.
Since we are back down to 1 income, I changed our thermostat settings (not easy for the hormonal, hot flashes like crazy, pregnant woman). During the day I changed our A/C setting from 74 to 76 and at night from 72 to 74. Not a huge difference, but as the temperature continues to rise it helps on the load somewhat. We live in a much older home that is not as energy efficient as new homes so with the lower temperature settings, our A/C doesn’t stand a chance of keeping up with the lower settings and runs constantly. When I get too hot, I turn on a big box fan and sit my fat pregnant butt in front of it to cool off. Since I am getting up earlier to enjoy kid free coffee time, I am also taking that opportunity to use our dryer. I start the clothes in the wash machine right before I go to bed and then immediately move them to the dryer when I get up in the morning. Some of the electric companies offer free hours of energy usage (we do not have this type of plan so I do not know the specifics) and it seems those hours are typically during the night. You might be able to take advantage of those hours by running your washer and dryer during that time. Another way to save is to use a clothes line to dry clothes instead of the dryer. It might help to keep some of the heat in the house down. As I mentioned, we live in an older home so the dryer raises the temperature in our garage (where it is located) and due to the cracks and crevices, it adds a bit of heat to our kitchen as well. There are 2 things I will not dry on a clothes line just because I can’t stand the way they feel if they don’t come from the dryer: towels and jeans. This is a personal preference.
Some people choose to unplug certain appliances when not in use. There are some studies out there that point to certain appliances that pull more energy than others just by being plugged in even though not on or in use. Do your research and see if you think this will be a benefit to you. I do unplug our toaster oven when not in use, but that’s also because I have small hands that like to sometimes play with the controls on it since they can reach them. I would find it turned on with nothing inside. I also try my hardest not to use our oven on hot days if possible. Our oven really heats up our kitchen so I prefer not to use it if possible. This was one of the reasons that I took advantage of some of our unusually cooler days in June to bake meals ahead of time and then freeze them. Now all I have to do is pull them out of the deep freeze the night before I want to use them, put them in the fridge to thaw, and warm them in the microwave when we are ready to eat dinner. Bonus: They are already made up and when I’m too tired to cook or even think about cooking, I don’t have to worry about it because it’s already made! Another added bonus: I will have meals in the freezer that can easily be heated up by others when I am in the hospital and when I come home from the hospital with baby!
Shop thrift stores! Find local thrift stores that have good reviews, offer good deals, and have good clothes or housewares, or toys. My kiddos are growing so quickly. I buy them clothes or shoes and it seems like the next day they are already too big for said clothes or shoes. I am lucky enough that I have some friends with kiddos a little older than mine and they occasionally give me some of the clothes their kids have outgrown. I do the same for friends that have kids close in age to mine but not in the same size. It’s a great way to get clothes and to give clothes. Sometimes I need more clothes though so I set out to a local thrift store that I love. They have tags that are different colors and on different days they offer different percents off on certain color tags. If you have a thrift store like this and notice that when you look or purchase items the majority are of one tag color, find out what day those tags are on sale and shop on those days! The same thrift store here also occasionally offers everything in the store 50% off. Those days are PACKED and you will likely spend a long time in the store and have to dig for what you are looking for, but it can be worth it! Our thrift store that I really like also carries furniture, toys, books, housewares, and jewelry. They have baby, kid, and adult clothes. They also have purses, formal dresses, tablecloths, etc. You can find almost anything there! There are also resale shops and consignment stores and you can get good deals there too!
Shop discount grocery stores. We have a grocery store that is a discount store. It offers food, beauty, cleaning supplies, etc. at discounted prices. They get their items from stores that are going out of business, are overstocked on certain supplies, etc. Some of the items are expired so keep an eye on that and decide what is right for your family. Our store has a Facebook page where they post some of their prices and they do videos of what they are offering. On Saturdays they do a fresh produce market. You can get some good produce for an AMAZING price. Remember you can always freeze the produce if you won’t be using it right away so you have it when you want/need it. I have done that with blueberries, strawberries, zucchini, squash, onions, and bell peppers. Some produce requires certain procedure before freezing. Read up on it before you freeze a produce item so you don’t regret having frozen it. If you don’t have a discount grocery store, find out when your local grocery stores typically have meat that is about to expire and what day the typically put it on sale. One of our stores always puts their meat that is about to expire on sale on Tuesdays. If you have an ALDI, shop there! They have some great deals. Don’t forget your own bags so you aren’t purchasing bags at checkout! Shop around and check prices prior to going. Look at ads from stores and compare prices. You can also use store apps to find out prices of items to find the cheapest items. I did this for diapers and for some of my most commonly purchased items. I was shocked that Target was cheaper than my favorite pick up store for most items. Don’t forget about dollar stores and drug stores. They offer good deals too sometimes!
I have the Target app on my phone and downloaded apps from some other stores. Some stores offer digital coupons. You can then stack the store coupon with physical coupons you have. Some stores will also offer deals on certain items. Sometimes you can get the store deal, use the store coupon, and then the manufacturer coupon. It takes time to compare prices. I usually sit down with my morning coffee, spiral notebook, coupons, and look through my apps and store websites to find the best deal. It can require math at times and it TIME CONSUMING, but if you are living on a budget or just trying to find some good deals it is worth it.
Shop garage sales! Don’t be afraid to try to get items at a garage sale for cheaper than what the person is asking. Most people expect you to try to talk them down so they set the price a little higher than what they will take for the items so when someone tries to talk them down, they have wiggle room. Remember this if you plan to have a garage sale. Speaking of, if you need a little extra money, sell things! You could do a garage sale, join a Mommy group and try to sell your items, post it on Facebook Marketplace, etc. If you are needing to do home repairs, see if there is a Habitat for Humanity Restore near you. Check out surplus warehouse type stores. Check reviews of the stores before you go to see what customers have to say. It may or may not be worth it.
These are a few ways we have saved some money. What are some ways you save money? What is holding you back from saving more money?
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