1. Make a Budget and Stick to it! Budgets keep you accountable for your expenditures and give you a visable record to keep track of how much money you spend and save! My husband and I just use a simple Excel spread sheet to keep track of our expenses, but there are other pre-made budgeting tools out there that I'm sure are great too (quicken, mint.com etc. . .).
2. Don't be Afraid of Rebates! If you get into the couponing scene you will notice that sometimes the best deals you can get are combined with a rebate - from the store or a manufacturer. I have submitted for tons of rebates over the years and have always gotten my money back! As long as you submit the proper receipts, forms etc you shouldn't have a problem. Always make a copy of what rebate you are sending in for so if something doesn't go quite right you have a record of it!
Just last week I purchased 5 bottle of Purell from Office Depot and with the rebate they are FREE! Can't beat that.
3. Buy Second Hand! Buying second hand is a fabulous way to save yourself some money. Whether it be clothes, furniture or household items be sure to shop around at second hand stores, thrift stores, garage sales, craigslist, ebay etc. . . before you go out and pay full price.
We bought 2 end tables, 2 dressers and a large mirror for only $40 at a garage sale before my husband started dental school. We saved a lot of money buying used and only spent a few hours of time and $12 on paint to fix them up.
If you haven't already you can read my post about buying second hand clothes for kids by clicking here.
4. Enter Contest and Giveaways! This might seem like a funny way to save your family money, but from experience it truly can pay off. You never know - you might just win! Here are a few things my family has won in the past.
- My mom entered a contest at Fred Meyer for a family trip to Disney Land. Well, she WON!! Our family of 6 got to go to Disney Land with all expenses paid - something we would have never bee able to afford on our own. We actually were on our trip when I had my 8th birthday!
- I entered a contest at a store in the mall when I was a teenager. I won a brand new Columbia coat and I got to pick which one I wanted! It was well over $100.
- Just a few years ago there was studies coming out about how much money a stay-at-home-mom would make if she got paid. There was a magazine that was giving out "daily paychecks" to stay at home mom's who entered the contest and I WON! I got a check in my name for $396!! Wow, that was such a huge financial blessing for our little family!
Speaking of Giveaways - There are only 8 entries so far on my money saving giveaways. Your chances are pretty high to win, so if you haven't already entered go HERE to do so!!
I hope you've learned at least one new way to save money for your family this week! I'd love to hear your favorite ways to save money. Please share. We always learn best from each other!
In case you missed it, here are my money saving posts from the week!
* Couponing Basics
* Money Saving Giveaways
* Swag Bucks - Earn FREE Gift Cards
* Date Night Bargains
Don't forget about the great deal on address labels - only $3.17 for 140 customized labels! Click HERE!
Awesome! I'm so exciting to keep up with your blog---loving your tips! :)
ReplyDeleteWe have used mint.com for a couple years and I love it! You can set budgets and depending on where you spend your money it will automatically tell you how much of your budget you have spent in that month. It is an amazingly easy way to be accountable for where the money actually goes.
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