I am not naturally a frugal person.  I was raised by two frugal parents, but I lean more towards wanting to shop and buy things.  It has been a huge learning process for me to become more frugal and to learn the value and beauty in cutting back and saving money.  This learning process has been over the course of years, and quite honestly, I’m still learning and trying to better myself.  Today though I started thinking about all the things we have cut from our lifestyle over the years, and they have all been slowly cut out, and I was blown away with the amount of money we are saving ourselves just by making a few different lifestyle choices!

Pack that Lunch:  $1000

Packing a lunch for work, instead of eating out with coworkers, has been our biggest money saver.  Every night I pack a lunch for my husband to take to work.  The lunch mostly consists of some leftovers from dinner, occasionally he will bring a sandwich.  I was so surprised to find out this simple habit is saving us over $1000 a year!

Change your own oil:  $210

My husband taught himself how to change the oil in our two vehicles, all it took was watching a few you tube videos.  It takes him less than an hour to do and he claims it’s super easy.  This is not some natural talent he has, he had to get out of his comfort zone to learn this skill, however this simple task saves us $210 a year.

Cut the Cable:  $480

A few years ago we decided to get rid of our cable TV.  We were actually already on a fairly cheap rate, but we decided we could do without it.  We have saved $480 a year by doing this!  There are so many great options for cheap TV.  We use Netflix.  But I have friends who use Hulu, Roku, or Amazon Prime.

At Home Haircuts:  $200

I bought clippers 14 years ago for $20.  I have been cutting my husbands and sons hair ever since.  This is a $200 annual savings.  If you know me, you know that hair is really NOT a talent of mine.  I have watched a few you tube tutorial videos and both my husband and son get very basic cuts.  I have made my some a few mistakes on both of them, but I keep learning and trying.  And luckily boys hair grows out fairly fast!  😉

Workout at Home:  $840

We have never had a gym membership and this decision saves us $70 a month.  We have learned to get a good workout in at home.  We go for a run or bike ride during the summer and find great you tube videos to follow during the winter.  I buy cheap weights and exercise equipment to use from the thrift store.  My favorite you tube channels to follow are fitness blender and yoga with Adrienne.

The Results:  $2730

Just by making these 5 adjustments to our lifestyle we save $2730 a year!  So in five years we have saved $13,650!  Ten years it will be $27,300!  Those little expenses don’t seem like a big deal, but over time they add up to be a very very BIG deal.

It really has not been hard to cut any of these things from our budget.  We have been living this way for years and honestly never seem to miss a gym membership or cable TV.  It has just become our way of life, and it’s a great life!  It can be hard to form new habits, but once you do those habits become your way of life and you often never really look back!

Take a look at your budget and lifestyle.  Can you find a few things that you could change in order to save money?  I promise the pay off is so worth it!

“How do you do it!?”  is a question I have been asked multiple times;  “How do you raise your family on only one income!?!?”

I never really know how to respond to this question.  Honestly, living on one income is all I’ve ever known.  My oldest was born one month after I graduated from college and I chose to become a stay at home mom.

My husband is a good and hard worker, but he is a blue collar worker and he does not earn a large paycheck.  We have had ups and downs and I have had to learn to change from a SPENDER to a natural SAVER.  It has not always been easy, but I have learned a few things along the way to make it more doable.

As a Stay At Home Mom (SAHM), I do not earn a physical paycheck.  But, that does not mean that I don’t contribute to the family finances.  I consider it a large part of my job to stretch my husbands paycheck as far as I can.  A SAHMs paycheck comes in the form of saving money, budgeting smartly, spending less instead of more.  Taking this part of my job seriously has helped us to save more and live more contently.

Make a Budget and Stick to it

At the end of every month we have a “Budget Meeting” where my husband and I sit down and discuss our finances and make our budget for the next month.  It is not always easy to stick to this budget (especially not at first).  But the more we kept working on it, the easier it has become and the more freedom we have felt.  Having this budget keeps my money in check AND gives me freedom to spend without feeling guilty.  We prefer to spend most of our money using cash, you can read more about why and how we do so here:  The Envelope Money System: A Beginners Guide.

Do NOT spend a lot of Money on Kids Clothes

When you are shopping for your kids clothes, do not spend a lot of money on them!  It’s hard with all these darling cute little outfits, but I promise it is a waste of money.  Kids grow out of clothes way to quickly, they spend most of their time playing outside getting their clothes dirty, and honestly, most kids (especially younger kids) do not care how much their clothes cost or what brand they are wearing.

I’ve learned a few little tricks to save money on kids clothes:

1.  SAVE everything.  If you are planning on having more children, then save all of your kids clothes.  That way when the next child comes you will already have plenty of clothing that you can use again.  I organized all my children’s old clothes into boxes (diaper boxes work great for this!) or Tupperware bins (I can usually find these for pretty cheap at Walmart) and then I labeled them by the age and gender of the clothing, for easy access to them later.
2. When at all possible buy USED!  There are a lot of great options available right now for parents to be able to buy good quality used children’s clothing.  My favorite option is a local children’s consignment store.  Check to see if you have one in your area and stop in regularly.  Some days I leave without buying anything, but other days I leave buying almost new name brand items.  A few other options are thrift stores, garage sales, and ebay.  All of these are great resources, especially if you check them often.
3. Shop off season.  Usually in the spring you can find winter clothes on a huge discount and in the fall summer clothes has a big discount.  Buy a size up from what your child is wearing currently and save it for them to wear the next year.
4. Sell clothes you will not need anymore.  If you aren’t planning on having any other children and you have clothes that they have grown out of, SELL these items.  They can be sold on Facebook marketplace, the local consignment store or at a garage sale.  If you are going to get rid of them anyways you might as well make a few bucks right!?!
5. Utilize discount stores such as Ross and TJ Maxx.  I have found some great deals on brand new clothes for good prices at both of these stores.

Meal Plan!

Every week on Tuesdays you will find me with my pen and paper.  This is the day I plan all our breakfasts, snacks and dinners for the week.  Lunches are more of a loose plan and I just try to have sandwich fixings on hand at all times.  Having a meal plan helps stop the temptation to buy fast food or go out to a restaurant to eat.  When making your weekly Meal Plan look through ads at your local grocery stores to see what the stores have on sale.  Try to plan your meal plan around those sales.  It takes time, but it saves a lot of money.  You know the saying, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”  Make a plan!

Cook from Scratch

Cook from scratch as often as possible.  I still throw a frozen lasagna into the oven occasionally, but I have learned that the more I cook from scratch the more money I will save.  Search Pinterest for ideas on snacks and meals to make.  A few of my recipes are posted here How I use ONE Roast for THREE Meals, Homemade Graham Cracker Recipe, The absolute easiest Pasta Bake Recipe!, and My favorite easy Homemade Pizza Crust Recipe.  Cooking in the kitchen can be a fun family activity.  My kids LOVE to help me in the kitchen!  We turn on some tunes, dance and laugh together while we cook.

Travel Frugally

I do think it is important to plan family travels.  It is a great way to make memories and build friendships.  But, you do not need a fancy expensive vacation to make memories.  Explore areas nearby for your family vacation.  Become tourists in your own area. Go camping at a nearby National Park, spend a couple of nights at a hotel for a “Staycation”, or explore a few local museums.  Join Groupon and look for deals that you can use as a family.  Your town just might be more interesting than you originally thought, and your kids will appreciate the extra time spent together.

Consult Pinterest cautiously

As a mom Pinterest is my go-to resource for finding kid activities and recipes.  However, if you are trying to save money you should view Pinterest cautiously.  It is far to easy to get swept away with the fancy decor and lavish birthday parties.  These are fun, and I do not put down anyone who likes to go a little over the top for their children, but for those of us who are trying to save a few bucks it is not always the best route.  Enjoy your time browsing Pinterest, but be careful not to get swept away in the pins that will end up only costing you more money.

The best things in life are actually free

Sometimes it’s hard to see others going on exotic vacations and buying fancy new vehicles.  But, I have learned that the best things in life are actually free.  Try to find joy and contentment in the simple things in your life.  Going on a family bike ride, dancing in the kitchen, and snuggling with my kids while reading books are all moments that I will treasure forever.  No amount of money is worth more than these quiet times with my children.  When we learn to find joy in these special free moments (something I am constantly working on) those lavish vacations won’t seem near as tempting.