Guest post from Jennifer
After being a stay-at-home mom for almost 2 years, my husband and I had to make a decision of where our first child would go to school. Although we were excited about sending her to a private school, we were also a bit overwhelmed wondering if could afford it on one income.
I know there are many families out there living on one income and “affording more” of what’s important to you because of budget cut-backs in other areas of your life. And after looking at our own budget, we found several areas we could cut back to make a private school tuition work on one income:
1. Debt:
We had already purposefully eliminated all credit card and car loan debt, so we only owe money on a reasonable mortgage.
2. Entertainment:
- We use a TV with bunny ears, so we do not pay for cable, Netflix, etc.
- We check out movies and books at the local library for free!
- We do cheap dates (sometimes sharing an entrée at a restaurant to be able to eat out).
- We are blessed to have grandparents in town who babysit for free.
- We limit our eat-out budget, and drink water when we go out.
- We only have one smart phone in our family.
- We called our phone company to get a promotional rate on internet.
3. Clothing:
- I shop for my kids' clothes at garage, consignment, and thrift store sales. I also buy ahead for the next size up at the clearance racks at the end of a season.
- I consign my kids' clothes (and old toys) at a local sale three times a year. I price the clothes and make 70% of what they sell for and they do the work of selling them.
4. Groceries:
- I shop primarily at Aldi, with some items bought at Dillon’s with sales and coupons.
- I have started making more things from scratch, and I love using my bread machine (inspired by this blog!). My kids love "Mama Jenny's Pizzeria".
5. Gifts
- I make many gifts (birthday cakes, burlap wreaths, bracelets, baby blankets).
- I shop for gifts year round.
- I recycle all old gift bags and tissue paper that are in good condition.
6. Gas
- We buy gift cards at Dillon’s for specific purchases and get fuel points to get discounts on gas.
- We fill up both cars at once to take full advantage of fuel discounts.
7. School Credit for Reloadable Gift Card:
Our school offers credit towards tuition for purchases bought with a reloadable Dillon’s gift card, including money spent on gas. We make about $3.75 for each $100 spent and every little bit adds up!
8. Hair:
I highlight my own hair and cut all four of our hair.
9. Home repairs:
I am blessed to have a handy husband who can do most home repairs and lawn maintenance with only a few trips to Home Depot.
I realize that all of these tips will not work for everyone, but I hope this is inspiring to many readers who read MoneySavingMom.com for more ideas to cut back to afford more!
Jennifer is a stay-at-home mom of two children, 6 and 3, whose mom, out of necessity, taught her to be frugal growing up. She enjoys looking for more ways to save money, crafting, reading, teaching children at church, and spending time with her family.
photo source
I’m loving diving deeper into Swagbucks and really learning more about how to maximize it. Keep the great tips coming!
Today, I focused on looking for opportunities to earn on the homepage. I updated my profile, and earned 25 Swagbucks for that, I did some simple surveys, my kids played some games, I earned some Swagbucks for watching videos, earned 50 Swagbucks for following a YouTube channel, and I also won Swagbucks for search.
I also decided to try a survey to see what that was like. Well, it was a survey worth 60 Swagbucks and I qualified for it — which I was excited about. But then it ended up taking me more than 30 minutes to complete. And I’m usually a fast survey completer. It went on and on and on and on. I decided it was totally not worth 30 minutes for 60 Swagbucks — especially when I am easily earning 60 Swagbucks in less than 10 minutes by doing various activities on Swagbucks.
So I doubt I’ll be trying to qualify for any more in-depth surveys like that. But I’m glad I tried it so I’d know it was not for me.
All totaled, we earned 176 Swagbucks today — and hit our daily goal, earning us 9 bonus points. Yay! Maybe we’ll hit 200 tomorrow, who knows??
How many Swagbucks did YOU earn today? Have you tried completing the surveys before? Did you think they were worth your time?
As I've mentioned before, we usually make a few bulk purchases on Amazon each week using gift cards earned through Swagbucks. This week, I bought a box of canned organic pumpkin and two rolls of foil.
I’m guessing that the pumpkin should last us through the Fall baking season. And the foil will probably last us for months.
I love being able to use my Swagbucks credit to buy quality items from Amazon. And it's so nice to make bulk purchases of things we use often so that I don't have to worry about replenishing my supply as often!
