And You Will Have Kids

Saving money when you are raising children is a difficult thing to do.  It is possible however.  One way you can save money almost effortlessly is by changing your shopping day and the time you shop!

Some stores offer discounts if you shop on a certain day of the week.  One of our local gas stations offers a 5 cent discount if you purchase gasoline on a Thursday.  Although gas isn’t as expensive as it was this summer, it is still great to be able to save money on your purchases.  Another gas station offers a 10 cent discount per gallon if you purchase gasoline between 4pm and 7pm each day.

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The day after Christmas is….a great day to go shopping!

In our area of the world, most folks are all shopped out by Christmas.  Many people don’t know about or don’t care about the after Christmas sales.  Still others make it a habit to go out and start shopping for the next year’s Christmas celebration.

Shopping during the after-Christmas sales is a great way to increase the value of your gift cards.  For example, if you have a $25 gift card to a store, and that store has a 50% off sale, you’ve increased the value of that card because you $25 will go farther and purchase more items.  Typically, stores slash many holiday items 50% after Christmas.  The week after the holiday, those savings could be increased to 75%.  In January, whatever is left over from the Christmas aisle could be discounted up to 90%.  The only catch is that the longer you wait, the less of a choice you will have.  The “best” items usually go first, so if you see something that interests you, it’s best to buy it then!

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My older children have worn glasses since they were 2 years of age due to a degenerative eye disease.  I can’t tell you how heartbreaking it is to spend hundreds of dollars on a pair of glasses only to have them destroyed a few weeks later when your child is playing on the playground at school.

Over a decade ago, it was somewhat common to be able to purchase a warranty on children’s glasses. I assume that the eyeglass warranty people were losing lots of money on the deal, because eventually, it became impossible to purchase warranties on children’s eyeglasses.  I wish that I’d known about Zenni eyeglasses back then.

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Recently, my husband and I took our family to the movies as the kids wanted to REALLY see a movie that was just released. Since we usually keep our entertainment costs to a minimum due to budget concerns, it is a special treat for them to see a movie in the theater. 

I have to say that I was astounded at how much it cost for our family of 7 to have the privilege of seeing a movie in the theater when it was first released.  In my opinion, the movie was not worth the price tag. We are going back to our frugal entertainment plan. More →

There’s nothing better than free products and samples to help stretch your budget.  There are many sites on the internet that claim to have “free products” and “free samples” that you can get, BUT, many of them require you to fill out long surveys or purchase products to get the free things. 

I searched and found sites that actually do have free things that you can request-without the spam, cost, or the long surveys.  Read on for more information!

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The recent economic down turn means that consumers will have to be more frugal when planning their Thanksgiving celebration.  According to statistics, the average American family spends around $120 to feed 10-12 people on Thanksgiving Day.  But fret not!  It is possible to have a fabulously frugal Thanksgiving celebration.

1) Make a Menu and Stick to It

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Christmas will soon be here and perhaps you’re wondering exactly how you’re going to find the money to buy all the gifts you need to buy before Christmas.  As a parent, I know that it can be difficult to stretch the budget at this time of year.

It is possible to save money if you decide to create your gifts by hand and creating crafts together with your children can be a very rewarding experience.  It’s can also be very time consuming!  Before you decide to have a crafty Christmas, it’s best to honestly evaluate the amount of time and your crafting abilities.  Also be aware that there are people who honestly don’t care for handmade gifts.  Yes, for some people, nothing says “love” like an expensive professionally wrapped gift from a high end department store.  In order to avoid disappointment for yourself and for your relative or friend, it’s best to not gift this person with a handmade item. There are other people, however, who would absolutely be thrilled to receive a handmade gift! 

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If you’ve been following along with the blog, you’ve seen that I’ve started a Frugal Friday segment to share some frugal ideas I’ve used. You’ve also noticed that I’ve started a series where each week we break down the preparation for the holiday season into smaller, more manageable tasks.  This week, I’m going to write a “two for”!  Yes, this will be a frugal Christmas blog entry.  

Black Friday is a sort of shopping holiday here in the United States.  I say that because perhaps you are reading this and you don’t live in the United States.  Black Friday happens the day after Thanksgiving (which happens to be a Friday) and is called such because many retailers offer deep discounts on products and they make a hefty profit on that day.  Their budgets are “in the black” or on the positive side of the ledger.

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With the recent economic downturn in the economy, many families are tightening their belts and budgets.  Although you may need to spend less on your holiday budget this Halloween, there is no reason why you still can’t have fun!  It is possible to create inexpensive Halloween costumes for your children even if you can’t sew!

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I’d like to begin a series starting this Friday on frugality.  Every Friday, I’ll be blogging about being frugal. If you have any ideas you’d love to share or topics you want me to cover, please post!

It’s no secret that many families need to economize and down size in today’s uncertain economic times.  Part of economizing is taking a look at all of your expenditures and deciding how you can cut costs.  In our family of 7, food costs account for a large portion of our expenses.

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