1)  Cut back on the grocery bill.  This is one of the easiest ways that I have cut back on our spending.  I began with my normal tactics of stocking up on great sales and buy 1 get 1 free offers.  Then, I began using The Grocery Game and this has really paid off.

2)  Shop for clearance items.  I know all of the hot spots in Target for clearance items.  You may think I’m a bit nuts, but I have a route of the store that I follow so that I can walk beside all of those clearance sections.

3)  Purchase used clothing.  I check out consignment stores for gently used clothing.  I really like it when the consignment stores have end of the season sales.  Last year, my local consignment store was having 75% off their winter clothing.  I got 2 huge bags of clothes for around $50.  It’s nice to see my daughter wearing the coat that I paid $2 for. 

4)  Limit errands and driving.  When I was working, it was convenient to stop here and there on my way home.  Now that I’m at home, I try to limit my errands to one or two days a week. Errands eat up time and gas.

5)  Stay out of stores.  If I go into a store “just to look around” then it is very tempting to make impulse purchases.  When making my list of errands, I include all those stores that I need to go to for that day.  This limited amount of time also cuts back on the amount of time I can spend in the stores.

6)  Graciously accept used clothing from friends.  A large portion of my daughter’s clothing has been passed down to me from my best friend.  Her daughter is 9 months older than mine and her daughter’s clothes have been such a blessing to us.

7)  Avoid catalogs.  When I was teaching, I would receive catalogs from Current, Christian Book Distributors, ABC Distributing, Oriental Trading . . . I could go on and on.  I would pass the catalogs around my work and we would all place orders together to save on shipping.  Saving on shipping sounds good, right?  Well, actually all those catalogs caused me to buy things I didn’t really need.

8)  Avoid going out to eat.  When you’re working out of the house, there is less time to plan and prepare meals, and less energy to follow through.  Since I became a work-from-home-mom, I have made a bigger effort to avoid restaurants.  Now when I do the checkbook each month, I see where we have gone out to eat 3-4 times.  When I was working, it was more like 6-9 times a month.

9) Quit buying things just because they are on clearance.  This is a weak spot that I used to have.  I would get stuff for 75-90% off and put it away for this and that, thinking that I would use the stuff.  I was left with a lot of clutter.  Thankfully, I got the stuff so cheap that I was able to put it in my yard sale and get my money back. 

10)  Haggle whenever possible.  Negotiate on credit card interest rates, cell phone plans, cable television packages, and more.  You can save your family a pretty good amount of money if you’re willing to get on the phone and start talking.

These are the best ways that I have found to save money.  Do you have any other ways to add?  We can all learn from one another.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy