The Bible tells us to be content with what we have. We can be content and still be frugal at the same time.
Being frugal does not mean it has to be boring either. Here are some ways to be frugal with kids:
1- Find free activities like parks, playgrounds, outside gardening, backyard games, hiking, etc. Save money by packing lunches and have a picnic. Avoid taking them out to eat or trips to malls or toy stores where the temptation to buy something is tantalizing. In other words, when you are out and about it makes you spend more money. Stress and boredom will do that.
2- If you homeschool your kids, check online or in libraries for free resources for curriculum to organize their classes with.
3- Shop yard sales and thrift stores. If you want to shop retail stores, shop going out of season clothes but go up a size for each kid. They will have new clothes for when that season rolls around again. Hit the clearance racks.
4- Save money by not going out to eat as much. Cook from scratch when ever possible. Take the money that you save from going out to eat and pay a debt off, put in a savings or put towards a vacation you have been wanting to take with the family. My parents use to save all their spare change and roll it up in the coin wrappers and take it to the bank and get cash for it. Believe it or not, this paid for the expenses of half of our vacation and sometimes, all of it. Coins equals dollars, I don't care if it's pennies.
5- Sign up for rewards programs with apps like Fetch, Retail Me Not, Receipt Hog, ibotta, etc. I have Fetch and Receipt Hog and last year I cashed in and got two Amazon gift cards. I have a referral code for Receipt Hog for you. Down load the app and sign up and use code: prub8555. You can also scan e-receipts as well. If you would rather use Fetch Rewards, use the same process as Receipt Hog but use code:8586R.
6- Sign up for grocery store membership cards like Sam's, Costco, Kroger, Aldi, Food Lion, Hoover's, Dollar General, etc. Clip tabloid or online coupons and download apps that have digital coupons. We save a lot of money by using Kroger because we also get fuel points.
7- Believe it or not, unplugging appliances that are not being used saves a little on the light bills. When things are plugged in, they are still pulling some kind of power from the outlet. They are just setting on ready to be used. Unplug things like toasters, can openers, air fryers, deep fryers, bread machines, food processors, blenders, electronics like laptops, chargers, etc. Only plug them in when ready to use.
8- Repurpose things like, milk jugs, plastic grocery sacks, etc. I use milk jugs sometimes to wash out and store filtered water in, in case of emergencies. I also use them to cover tender plants to protect them from frosts or freezes in the garden. I reuse grocery sacks to line my trash cans with. I also save wipes containers too and use them to put my grocery store bags in. I fold them like those little paper footballs we use to play with in class in school. Remember those? When I need a bag for something like sending the grandkids home with goodies, I grab a bag.
You can also use them for packing kids little lunches or snacks for road trips. You can put toys or paper and crayons also. You can make emergency baby necessities like a change of clothes, diaper, wipes, etc. and keep it in your vehicle in case of emergencies.
9- You can repurpose cardboard boxes to use as a weed barrier in gardens and flower beds to reduce weeding.
10- I save Ziploc freezer bags and wash them out and reuse them. I don't reuse them if they have had meat in them. I throw those away.
11- I save gift bags to reuse.
12- If you sew, use scrap pieces to make a quilt or hair bows for girls.
These are just some areas that I save money on in our home. I hope you can use them for your home as well.
#frugal #frugalliving #saving #groceries #budget
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