Hi there!
As a single income household, we are always trying to find ways to save some dough. Today I thought I’d share a few ways that we have found to put a little cash back in our pockets savings account.
1. Homemade Laundry Detergent – I was a little skeptical about this when I started searching for recipes. It’s hard to switch after using the brand names for so long and never having a problem with store bought detergent. But, every time I went to the store for laundry soap, I would cry a little inside as I spent $10 or so for not a whole lot of soap. Even with coupons, it never seemed to make a dent in the price. This detergent recipe has only 3 ingredients and costs about $7 for 10 gallons (each batch after the first, you only have to purchase the Fels-Naptha, saving even more money!)
I recently ran out of my liquid detergent and switched to powder detergent. I used this recipe from Ask Anna, but next time I will probably not bother with the sweet orange essential oil. It didn’t seem to make much difference in the scent. I made it about 3 months ago and have only gone through 1/4 of it. Um, awesome. That means I should only have to make it once a year! Whoop!
Estimated yearly savings: $44 (for powder detergent)
It doesn’t seem like too terribly much, but it makes your trip to the store a lot less painful when you don’t have to put that laundry soap jug in your cart!
2. Homemade Household Cleaners – I know I already talked about this in the past, but just a refresher. I finally cut down from the 15 different cleaners I was using. I’m slowing making the switch to only having 2 or 3 spray bottles to tackle all the cleaning in our home! I use Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap for an all purpose cleaner, vinegar for glass/mirrors, baking soda for scrubbing, a little tea tree oil and citrus here and there. Not only does it smell better while I’m cleaning, but I have a lot less to tote (& store) around the house! Not to mention I’m definitely not spending $3 per bottle of cleaner anymore!
Supplies for making homemade cleaners:
- Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap (32 oz bottle)- $10
- Heinz Cleaning Vinegar (1 Gallon)- $2.98
- Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (4 lb box)- $2.24
- Tea Tree Oil (for disinfecting)- about $6
It’s hard to say exactly how much we save each year using our homemade cleaners. I have used about 1/3 of my Dr. Bronner’s bottle in 5 months and my window cleaner is only half gone in the same amount of time. Even if it doesn’t seem like a huge money saver, I feel better knowing that I have a lot less chemicals sitting in my house, especially with a little explorer like Alex.
3. Don’t Scoff at Secondhand – I was thrifting way before Macklemore said it was cool. I am a frequenter of thrift shops and baby consignment stores and sales. When it comes to baby clothes, you know they get worn just a few times before they are too small to keep around and there is always that outfit that you never even put your child in because it was in the back of the drawer/closet. These are what I’m searching for at the consignment stores and sales. Most places only take good quality and unstained clothing for kids which makes shopping so easy (my favorite is Once Upon a Child)! I usually score onesies for Alex for less than $2 a piece which is a HUGE savings compared to at least $5 brand new! The last consignment sale I went to, I bought a gallon bag of socks (with 3 t-shirts) for $3 and 4 rompers for $5! You can’t beat that. I’m not saying you can never buy new clothes, but I’ve found that other people will buy your children new clothes for birthdays and holidays (thanks grandparents, aunts & uncles). Thrift shops can be a little trickier looking for baby clothes. It is hit or miss, I have found. But when I do find things, they are less that $1!
Thrift shops and salvage stores are also great for home decor and building materials (remember my $25 mantle?) It takes a little longer to get where you want to be since you can’t just go in once and get everything, but I think it gives your home more character if you slowly build your design. Plus, you feel great about how much you save and you get to put your own twist on everything. Can’t beat that!
4. Know Your Grocery Store – I have finally figured out our local Kroger’s schedule! Shopping on Wednesday saves me the most money because that is when they are restocking the fruit and meat. This means that they are putting a lot of things that I buy frequently on manager’s special (chicken, ground turkey, fruit, etc.) That orange and yellow sticker calls to me. Though, it does mean that it will be expiring soon, so you should cook, eat, or freeze these items pretty soon after purchasing.
Also, learn the coupon policy. It helps to know which coupons they will double and when you can use two coupons on one item (saving you huge amounts!). My favorite is getting the Kroger coupons in the mail that are specific to what you buy. Hello free bagels and carrots!
5. Cloth Diapers – I know, I know, this is definitely not for everyone! It’s a little messy and stinky but it saves us SO MUCH money (and they are so darn cute)! We used disposables for the first 4 months and were spending around $50/month! Yikes! We spent approximately $300 on our diaper stash and we shouldn’t have to buy anymore for the next munchkin that comes along (unless it’s a girl then I will definitely need some pink and purple in my her life)! Our stash consists of 15 BumGenius Freestyles (love these diapers!), 9 BumGenius Elementals (Their organic all-in-one) and 11 Alva Baby pocket diapers (not my favorite, but way more affordable and great for starting out). We still use disposable wipes (tried cloth, not for us) but I get them at Costco (900 wipes for $15 I think).
I even got 9 of my BumGenius Freestyles for half price on Craigslist because somebody was de-stashing and the Elementals were also second hand for less than half price. It’s always great to find second hand diapers that are in good shape, you can save so much more!
If we would have stuck with disposables, going on the fact that boys potty train in an average of 36 months, we would have spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,800 on diapers. Not to mention the fact that we already have our stash for when baby number two comes along, making the savings even more substantial!
Savings for first child (for us)- $1500; for second (& each additional) child- $1,800
There are so many ways to save your family money, these are just a few of my favorite. I might have to do a part 2 in the future!
What are your favorite ways to save some cash?
