5 Money Saving Tips and Ideas for Stay at Home Moms and Dads

By Ann Neal
I have always been a stay-at-home-mom. It seems that the role suits me to a great extent and from tending to a garden with dexterity and knowing where to shop for the best groceries, I enjoy every single bit of it! The only bit that bothers me is the one when family members and friends have certain misconceptions regarding my choice. More often than not, I am greeted with raised eyebrows and advice by the dozen, “you know you could have done better for yourself as a career-oriented woman!”. Or the shocker, “you don’t venture much outside, do you?”. Imagine these ‘pearls of wisdom’ coming from your near and dear ones!

While it is fairly common to assume that stay-at-home-mothers and fathers don’t make money as they are “doing nothing”, we do tend to have our ways to save some extra dollars or even earn some. Part-time jobs, for instance, are one of the ways to earn some cash. But how we save money with no job in the scene, is a different ball game altogether.

Let me share some handy money saving tips and ideas, which all the stay-at-home-moms can relate to.

STORE ALL THE BILLS

The first tip is to keep all your bills in one place. If it is possible for you, organize them monthly in a folder and at the end of each month, calculate your total spending. This will help you keep a check on all your unnecessary expenditures and if needed, curb them. After all, a penny saved is a penny earned.

SHOP SMART

When it comes to shopping smart, the first thing that comes to the mind is discount coupons. Collecting the coupons and organizing them can be a bit of a hassle. Additionally, they may not serve the purpose in the end.

So, how about a plan B?

Let’s do it the way our moms and their moms did. Shall we?

I am talking about creating a shopping list and follow it to the T. However, you can give the list a little twist. For instance, instead of creating one long, lengthy list of items to purchase, create short lists. These can include – a food list, a stationery list, a gardening list, a cosmetics list, a baking list and so on and so forth. This way, you will be less tempted to purchase items that are not in the lists.

Another smart way to shop smart is to ditch your regular brand and buy the store brand. This is obvious because the store brand is often offered at slashed prices and are great quality-wise. This is better than shopping for items that are on sale. More often than not, items on sale don’t really translate into the best of the deals out there. The way to ensure this is to take a look at similar products, compare and contrast before adding them to your shopping cart. You’d want to take a look at the lower shelves for items that are available at lower prices.

LEARN SOME BASIC SKILLS

One of the important advantages of being a stay-at-home-mom is that you get plenty of time on hands. With proper planning, you can put this time to good use. For instance, you can learn some basic skills that will help you save a surprising amount of money! And you don’t even need to spend tuition fees for the same. All you need is a computer/laptop/smartphone/tablet, an internet connection and a will for learning. You can learn just about anything online, especially on websites like YouTube.com.

Here is what you can learn online:

• How to stitch awesome outfits
• How to make homemade toys
• How to throw the most awesome parties
• How to decorate your home
• How to bake
• How to make DIY cleaning supplies
• How to grow organic vegetables

Trust me, these tutorials and write-ups online will help you learn a lot of stuff and save truckloads of money. You can even use the skills to start your own home-based business someday in the future!

CONTESTS, GIVEAWAYS AND FREEBIES
There are plentiful contests online for you to take part. Also, there are many websites and blogs, where you can enter giveaways. These are no big deal as the contest questions are easy and the giveaways require you to take some basic steps such as sharing a post on social media using a hashtag. The best part is that you can take part in an endless number of such contests and giveaways, which increases your chance at winning the prize/giveaway.

Similarly, you can get your hands on some freebies from various brands and companies, which let you try their sample product for free.

Pro tip: When you avail the freebies, you can write a review about the same on your blog. In the long run, various companies will reach out to you and ask you to try their samples and post an unbiased review. This way, not only will you get to sample some free products, but also become a famous blogger. You may be even paid to write reviews for other websites. Later, if you want, you can turn this into a part-time job. Sounds exciting. Isn’t it?

RECYCLE, RECYCLE, RECYCLE

One can’t stress enough on the importance of recycling. It not only helps the environment, but also helps you save. For instance, you can create decorative items, furniture, bird baths, jewelry and even clothes made from recycling products that are lying unused in your home.

If you have children who are of the age, when they can assist you in creating these crafts, then you can also involve them in the process. This will keep them busy and also enhance their creative genius!

Wrap up

Being a stay-at-home-mother has its share of advantages and disadvantages. For the time being, let us stick to the advantages and use these tips to save money. You may need them for a rainy day. What are your thoughts on this? Or do you want to share your money-saving tips and tricks with us? We are all ears!

(Image Sources: 1, 2)

Author bio: Ann Neal is a writer with a keen interest in career, fashion, technology, and lifestyle topics. She is passionate about music and loves to play guitar in her free time. She also writes regular articles for freebies.org and loves sharing her ideas on budget living. Follow her on @Ann_G_Neal