Recently, I've been asked by several women in my life about the cost of having a baby and money saving strategies. Everything I know, I've learned by listening to friends and trying out their leads, so no credit belongs here. Isn't it great how we women have the capacity to come together and support one another? There's real strength and power in that. Compiled from emails I have written, here are ideas you might try.
Concepts:
Concepts:
Saving money is much more fun if you can think of it as a game that you play with yourself. Rather than bemoaning the fact that you "have" to do this or that, think of it as a challenge to see how much you're able to save on every shopping trip. Personally, I was bored out of my mind and even a little depressed by consumerism when I was reaping a very cush salary as a real estate developer. Now that we've axed my income out of the equation, I'm excited by the challenge of it. It's more fun and intellectually stimulating to go shopping now. But, I'm a dork like that. What can you do?
Many people don't use coupons, because they feel that the returns are not worth the effort. They cut the coupons, look for the sales to use the coupons with, make a trip to the store...for what? A free toothbrush? What if they need five toothbrushes? They can't get five toothbrushes with the dumb coupon! It says limit 1! Several concepts that might help here:
The most effective and lucrative use of coupons is when they're combined with another offer...a sale, a rebate program, a gift card etc.
It's important not to let saving money take over your life. If you're leaving your house several times a day to grab "deals" or driving 10 miles to a store you don't frequent, it's probably not worth your time alone. I spend an hour on Sunday evening clipping coupons after my husband and I read the Sunday paper together, and am consistently able to save more than $50 per week and get lots of free stuff. $50 for an hour of work is a pretty good deal.
Consider the concept of the STOCKPILE. The idea is that you get a free pack of floss here, another pack at some other time, a free sippy cup there, some almost-free shampoo a few different times, and sooner rather than later, when you "need" something, you'll already have it in the house (and you'll have gotten it for next to nothing)! You will be shocked at how fast the stockpile grows. In the new house, we've designated two 5-shelf systems in the garage for our stockpile (and I hope to hang a sign that says "Sy Stockpile". An big bonus for me: My husband LOVES it when I can hand him what he needs when he needs it (read: I get a lot of free razors). It makes him see me as some kind of Magic Wife, and he's proud of his home life.
I've heard the objection that businesses are saavy at crunching the numbers, so why would they let you save all this money? Well, lots of reasons! They want you to try a new product (e.g. last week, there was a free AirWick I-Motion, a new home scent gadget to be had for free from Target)...they want to create a lot of buzz around a product line or get you out to their retail stores...or they simply have to move a certain number of units to hit their projections. And it's not like they trumpet most of these deals, so how many people do you think actually take advantage of them? Frankly, I don't care that much about the why. As long as I'm saving money and not having to give out my Social Security Number, why can't it be a win-win situation?
Many people don't use coupons, because they feel that the returns are not worth the effort. They cut the coupons, look for the sales to use the coupons with, make a trip to the store...for what? A free toothbrush? What if they need five toothbrushes? They can't get five toothbrushes with the dumb coupon! It says limit 1! Several concepts that might help here:
The most effective and lucrative use of coupons is when they're combined with another offer...a sale, a rebate program, a gift card etc.
It's important not to let saving money take over your life. If you're leaving your house several times a day to grab "deals" or driving 10 miles to a store you don't frequent, it's probably not worth your time alone. I spend an hour on Sunday evening clipping coupons after my husband and I read the Sunday paper together, and am consistently able to save more than $50 per week and get lots of free stuff. $50 for an hour of work is a pretty good deal.
Consider the concept of the STOCKPILE. The idea is that you get a free pack of floss here, another pack at some other time, a free sippy cup there, some almost-free shampoo a few different times, and sooner rather than later, when you "need" something, you'll already have it in the house (and you'll have gotten it for next to nothing)! You will be shocked at how fast the stockpile grows. In the new house, we've designated two 5-shelf systems in the garage for our stockpile (and I hope to hang a sign that says "Sy Stockpile". An big bonus for me: My husband LOVES it when I can hand him what he needs when he needs it (read: I get a lot of free razors). It makes him see me as some kind of Magic Wife, and he's proud of his home life.
I've heard the objection that businesses are saavy at crunching the numbers, so why would they let you save all this money? Well, lots of reasons! They want you to try a new product (e.g. last week, there was a free AirWick I-Motion, a new home scent gadget to be had for free from Target)...they want to create a lot of buzz around a product line or get you out to their retail stores...or they simply have to move a certain number of units to hit their projections. And it's not like they trumpet most of these deals, so how many people do you think actually take advantage of them? Frankly, I don't care that much about the why. As long as I'm saving money and not having to give out my Social Security Number, why can't it be a win-win situation?
What about all the spam you get? This is why many people I know have issues signing up for stuff. I've mitigated this annoyance by simply creating a separate free online email account for all "vendor" correspondence. I'm free to sign up for all the preferred customer, freebie offers, online accounts I want, without having to dig through the spam for my personal correspondence. I haven't seen any increase in my postal mail either - it's probably much cheaper for the companies to send a million emails than a million printed ads. Upside: I get coupons for all manner of things (I can take a friend out for free coffee at Borders at least once a month) whenever I want them.
I casually keep a running list of the lowest unit prices I can find on home necessities. For example, I know a diaper sale is a good deal if each diaper is less than 18 cents (which is Costco's price). Remember to use unit prices because home goods come in many different sizes and packages.
Save your change. This is a fun tradition Mike and I have been doing for a number of years. Before I tell you, let me reiterate that we are, indeed, very dorky. We put all our spare change in a canister, and when it gets full, we make a special, almost ceremonial, trip to the Coinstar machine at our local grocer and cash it in for an Amazon.com gift card. If you transfer the money onto a gift card, you don't have to pay any service charge for using Coinstar. It's like finding $50 or $60 bucks in a coat pocket.
Take advantage of all your "revenue" streams. When you find yourself bemoaning the fact that you have "no" spending money, think about where it may be socked away. Have you earned the minimum to redeem the rebate off one of your credit cards? Can you double that amount by using it at one of their retail partners? Do you keep track of points earned from brand loyalty (like the Huggies Enjoy the Ride campaign)? More money in your coat pocket :) Alternatively, will you work for food? I WILL!!! I'm willing to do all kinds of things for other people in return for food. My reasoning: I don't have to plan it, shop for it, store it, and prep it. I LOVE IT! Other forms of bartering are cool too - I just love food :)
Remember that money is a means and not an end. You can live REALLY well on name brands using VERY LITTLE money. Through this money saving adventure, I've learned that living well, even in the most pragmatic, literal sense, takes developing a few character traits rather than getting more money: A sense of humor, a little curiosity, some patience, a willingness to try out new things, and deciding not to engage in mindless consumption. Be specific about how you will use your savings. My purpose in saving is twofold: a) to stay within our ever shrinking budget b) extra giving - I'm able to by prizes for my Sunday School students, say "yes" to that cancer or disaster relief organization that solicits, donate goods when asked, all because of a little elbow grease beforehand. Others are saving for a down payment on a house, a special trip. Saving for saving's sake can be soul-sucking. Plan to reward yourself for your efforts!
More specific tips:
Get the Sunday paper, and save the coupon sections. You don't have to spend an hour clipping them every week if that's not your thing. You can just file the coupons away by date, and when you see or read about a good deal, go into your file and clip the specific ones you want. Exceptions would be for things that you know you will eventually need - like diapers or your brand of contact solution...which you'll always on the look out for. Honestly, you can find most of the coupons from the paper online now, but it helps to have them all in one place in the Sunday paper...and you may want to use two of the same coupon!
The Drugstore Game: At the major drugstores, if you buy certain products, you will get a certain amount of "Extra Bucks" or "Register Rewards," depending on the chain. You can use these bucks toward any future purchase just as you would cash. If you work the deals right and keep buying items which yield register rewards using your existing register rewards, you end up getting things for free or even making money.
This brings up the important point of buying only products you will use (or you know someone else needs). If you're buying something for the sake of "saving, because it's a great deal," it's obviously a waste of money.
If I'm going to a retail store for clothing or the like, I check the store's website or my email (if I have a customer loyalty account) for deals like 40% off coupons etc.
If I really like certain products, like Earth's Best, Nuby, Fischer Price etc., I'll become a fan on Facebook (or Twitter), so I know when their deals are happening.
For online purchases, I basically refuse to pay shipping ever (unless I'm late sending a gift to someone, or the deal is really good even with shipping, or the product is free except for shipping). You have so many vendor options, why would you?
I also pretty much refuse to pay for magazine subscriptions, because there are so many free deals out there. The range of things I'm refusing to pay for is steadily growing HAHA.
Remember that Target's coupon policy is that you can actually use two coupons per item: one manufacturer stacked with one store coupon (marked "Target Store Coupon" at the top). You can print Target coupons through the store's website. This can be a great deal. I've gotten mascara for 24 cents, and free laundry detergent. They also have a price match guarantee, and if they tell you they don't match certain prices, you can reply that their policy (posted online) does not state that.
Start a blog! Blogspot.com allows you to start a blog for free. Even if you don't write anything in your blog, you'll have a Dashboard upon logging in that will allow you to simultaneously keep up with as many blogs as you'd like. You can enter a bunch of money-saving blogs to follow and all the new posts to those blogs will appear on your dashboard in the order they are posted. At the end of the day, all you have to do is log into Blogspot and scroll down to get an overview of the deals out available that day. Easy, fast and convenient info-gathering!
For online purchases, I basically refuse to pay shipping ever (unless I'm late sending a gift to someone, or the deal is really good even with shipping, or the product is free except for shipping). You have so many vendor options, why would you?
I also pretty much refuse to pay for magazine subscriptions, because there are so many free deals out there. The range of things I'm refusing to pay for is steadily growing HAHA.
Remember that Target's coupon policy is that you can actually use two coupons per item: one manufacturer stacked with one store coupon (marked "Target Store Coupon" at the top). You can print Target coupons through the store's website. This can be a great deal. I've gotten mascara for 24 cents, and free laundry detergent. They also have a price match guarantee, and if they tell you they don't match certain prices, you can reply that their policy (posted online) does not state that.
Start a blog! Blogspot.com allows you to start a blog for free. Even if you don't write anything in your blog, you'll have a Dashboard upon logging in that will allow you to simultaneously keep up with as many blogs as you'd like. You can enter a bunch of money-saving blogs to follow and all the new posts to those blogs will appear on your dashboard in the order they are posted. At the end of the day, all you have to do is log into Blogspot and scroll down to get an overview of the deals out available that day. Easy, fast and convenient info-gathering!
Resources:
www.moneysavingmom.com: Founded by a Christian lady with two kids who wanted to be at home, put her husband through law school and live debt free. Now that he is working, she continues what she does on the principal of good stewardship (and her website is a good source of income). All current deals are in the Categories tab. There are a lot of money saving blogs out there but this one is concise, full of wisdom and nicely organized.
http://www.freebies4mom.com/: The best way to utilize this is to search for it on Facebook and "become a fan." Once you do that, her deals will show up on your news wall every day, and you can click the ones you want to advantage of.
http://www.couponmom.com/ : A great source for advertised and unadvertised grocery deals at all the major chains around the country.
http://www.freepeats.org/: The website allows moms in major metropolitan areas to post baby and kids' items that they are giving away. Moms requesting specific items may also post. It's like a craigslist for moms. There's usually a small fee to join the group, but in the past, they have offered free sign-ups.
http://www.parentingpriveleges.com/ : If you shop through this portal, you can get an additional 10-40% off from certain retailers. I think you have to have a subscription to Parenting Magazine, though, so I'll post a free offer when it comes up. If you have Discover Card, Discover has a similar portal, among a number of other businesses. Just find one and use it :)
http://hip2save.blogspot.com : This lady seems to get the latest scoop really quickly!
www.coupons.com
www.hotcouponworld.com
I just have too many other things I want to do to try and turn this into a money saving blog...and I really don't have that kind of energy and focus (but I'm grateful for the ladies who do!). Also, I want my opinions and statements to be free and clear of any association with profit.
Hope this was informative for some of you! Night night.
P.S. Babies are expensive, but, with a little help from your friends, you'll make it!
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