Money Saving Tips Archives - Kids Ain't Cheap

No matter what you earn in a year, if you’re raising a child, then saving money is going to be a huge part of your life. You’ll save for diapers, school supplies, soccer cleats, and college. To help in your frugal efforts, here is a master list of how to save money.

Many of these tips came from real parents discussing this important topic via SavingAdvice.com.

How to Save Money – 35 Top Ways for Parents to Save Money

This is one of those articles that can be a useful resource for you, time and time again. As you read through, there will be things you can apply to your life today, but some tips may not apply til later. I suggest you bookmark or pin this post to ensure you have access to you it later.

Switch to bank accounts with no fees.
Cancel unused memberships.
Cancel subscriptions. Examples include magazines, newspapers, online entertainment, dating, or networking memberships.
Skip the cafe and bring home brewed coffee to work.
Eat out less; cook at home more.
Save money on your electricity bill. Install a smart meter (some libraries loan them out for free) to measure how much electricity your appliances are using. You could be saving more by simply unplugging what you can.
Contact your cell phone provider to ask how to save money on your bill. They may have a discount plan to offer.
When other phone companies cold call you, ask if they can beat your current company’s price.
Are you looking at a phone for your child that’s only to be used for emergencies? Try buying a prepaid phone rather than something on contract.
Comparison shop. This is huge for every major purchase in your life – from cribs to colleges.
Don’t buy “convenient foods” when you can make something from scratch. Frozen meals are quicker to prepare but you pay for the convenience and they’re often much less healthy for you.
Buy in bulk versus smaller quantities at traditional supermarkets (Costco, Amazon’s Subscribe and Save).
Batch your meals on the weekends. By preparing a large quantity of breakfast or snack foods during the weekend, you’re setting up your week to be more frugal and freeing up a considerable amount of time.
Save those pennies and dimes. Designate a family piggy bank for all your coins. When it’s full, go do something fun together.
Don’t balk at used items. Yard sales, thrift stores, and online garage sales may have just the items you’re looking for at a fraction of the price. Children’s clothing is a prime example, especially when they’re very young. They grow so fast!
Whenever you can, shut off your heat or air conditioning and throw open those windows. You’ll save a considerable amount on your utility bill in the long run.
Get creative with transportation. Can you carpool, ride a bike, or even walk to work? These may seem like extremes, but they’re also fantastic ways to save money on gas as well as preserve the life of your vehicle.
Reconsider that credit card “deal.” As popular as it is to accumulate airline miles or to snag that 30% savings at Kohl’s consider the long-term drawback your experiencing.
Be mindful of your spending habits. If you’re bringing home a paycheck, but there’s nothing left at the end of the week to drop into savings, then it’s time to dig in and evaluate what you’re really spending.
Clip or download coupons. Apps like Cartwheel or Paribus or RetailMeNot can give you convenient methods for saving on weekly expenses.
Wait at least 24 hours before making a large purchase. Give yourself a chance to come down from your “fever” to make a more thought-out decision.
Check your wallet. By knowing how much money you have before you walk out the door, you’ll be aware of what you can and cannot spend throughout that day.
Pack your lunch.
Find some free hobbies.
Identify wants versus needs.
Lower your car insurance by combining policies or paying it annually instead of monthly.
Learn how to save money on child-related taxes. See a full run-through of your options here.
Launch a “No-Spend Challenge”. Choose a spending category (i.e. fast food) and set a time for not spending any money in that category.
Try the 52-Week Money Challenge. Learn how to save over $1,300 a year here.
Use a monthly budget. I know from experience that this will help you conquer debt more quickly and save money before you ever spend money elsewhere.
Find deep discounts on Amazon merchandise through SnagShout.com.
Don’t spend your tax return; save it.
Automate a monthly transfer into savings. You’re much more likely to stick with it!
Pay $100 extra on your mortgage each month. This doesn’t save money in the short-term, obviously, but you’ll save thousands in interest over time.
Get accountability. However you’re saving money for your family, one of your most powerful tools is support. Not only does my spouse hold me accountable on a continual basis, but I love feeding off the positive energy in a supportive Facebook group of like-minded savers called “Your Debt Freedom Family.” We only discuss things related to our families and our finances – no spam or marketing. If you’d like to join, you can do so here!

The biggest progress I made when I was trying to figure out how to save money as a parent was remembering my “Why.” In my case, it was the little one growing rapidly in my tummy. She didn’t know it at the time, but my first child gave me strength, every day, to cut back, live on the budget, and save. It was worth it for her.

What’s one money-saving tip you’d add to this list? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

Are you a stay-at-home mom? Check out these bonus resources just for you!

All over the world high school students are preparing to graduate and embark on their post secondary adventures. I know all too well how expensive post secondary can be after completing two degrees and accumulating over $90,000 in debt. In my six years of university I have made many financial mistakes but learned something from all of them.

Textbooks

Don’t buy new textbooks. If you are absolutely required to even buy a book at all, buy used textbooks. In my first year I went to the book store and dropped hundreds of dollars on my brand spankin’ new books for my accountancy and finance degree course . What a total waste of money. I could have managed just fine with used or nowadays, digital copies. Always check online at stores like Amazon or Better World Books before succumbing to the campus bookstore. Even better, borrow the book from the library. By year three or so I figured this out and did quite well without books. I went to the library almost everyday, took good notes, photocopied pages I may have needed and went home. This forced me to study and saved money.

Living Arrangements

Obviously living at home would be an ideal situation but if it’s not an option, find roommates and share costs. While you may think you’ll need a nice big apartment for yourself you’ll end up spending 90% of your time out socializing, in your room ~~pulling all nighters~~ sleeping or somewhere like the library. As long as you have a room of your own to retire to at the end of the day for some Z’s and a little privacy, shared accommodation should work just fine. If you’ve been accepted into a specific program try to reach out to fellow students via Facebook, Craigslist or other social media outlets and see if anyone else is seeking roommates. Living with someone else within your program means live-in study-buddy!

Paying Tuition

If you’re responsible for funding your own way through post secondary, getting an early start with a part-time job is a must. If getting loans is inevitable, borrow only what you need! Depending on the program you get accepted to you may have an opportunity to borrow hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even with these funds being offered to you, if you don’t need them don’t borrow.

If you’re able to, make the most of your long summers off and work to save as much as possible. There are many summer job options to college students from working at resorts to manual labour jobs. It isn’t impossible to find a summer-only position. Capitalize on your summers to get a job somewhere you would like to travel to. Children’s summer camps are around the world and always looking for university students to work for them. See the world while getting paid, why not? Plus, it helps you avoid college budget woes!

Though the primary focus of post secondary should always be academics, if you’re able to maintain a part-time job while in school, even better. Anything you can do to offset your monthly costs will help.

Budget

If you aren’t already, the most important thing you can do regarding your finances in post secondary is budget. This is especially important if you’re borrowing to pay for school, but even if your expenses are being taken care of by someone else, the monies still need to be accounted for and budgeted appropriately. Learning how to budget now will make the rest of your life much easier, trust me!

Graduating high school and embarking on a post secondary education is an exciting time. It is expensive but there are ways to help off set the costs. Enjoy your new adventures but watch your expenses!

What money saving tips do you have for college students?