Monday, August 9, 2010

richie rich

I love saving money. Some might call me cheap. Nicer people might call me thrifty. I just like to think of it as smart.

As anyone in this economy knows, it is all about the biggest bang for the buck. And as any new mom knows, babies be expensive. Diapers, formula, toys, wipes, pacis that are always getting lost and needing to be replace and last but certainly not the least, day care. We have been trying to umm, consolidate, if you will, so that we can stay within a budget. It is not easy. I miss my caramel macchiatos. I miss Target. I miss dinners out. But that is what happens when you have a baby.

So in my effort to save money, I wanted to share some of my tips with you, my favorite thrifty friends:
~Save money by ordering diapers in bulk. I sometimes wait until the big boxes are on sale at Babies R Us or Buy Buy Baby and then use my 20% off coupon to save even more. You can get coupons that work both places by signing up on their email lists. You can also order diapers from Diapers.com and just for my readers, here is a coupon code for 15% off a $49 order and free 1-2 day shipping: Code PARENTSSEP10.

~Get free samples of Similac or Enfamil formula by signing up for their mailing lists. They will sometimes send you 1 or 2 full cans of powdered formula and a bunch of coupons.

~Get rid of cable. Paying for TV sucks! It is so stinking expensive. We just downgraded to basic cable last month and have not missed it at all. And if you cannot live without Army Wives or Jersey Shore or Modern family, you can watch episodes online for free at Hulu.com.

~Look for a nanny share with another family. That has always been our hope is to share our nanny with another family so we can split the cost of her fee and Lila would have a playmate. Shameless plug: we have still not found a family to share for Lila. If you live in our area and are interested in a Tuesday/Thursday nanny share let me know!

~Get rid of junk. Look around your house and through closets at all the stuff that is just sitting there collecting dust. I hate clutter. We have a rule at our house that other than seasonal stuff, if it has not been used in 6 months, I am getting rid of it. So plan a Saturday yard sale. Or better yet, post the items on Craigslist.com, or the yard sale for lazy people as we like to call it.

~Check out Restaurant.com or Groupon.com for those occasional nights out. You can get discounted restaurant gift certificates to lots of awesome eateries. This also a great way to try out new restaurants!

What are your favorite money saving tips? How has your family cut back this year?

Money was never a big motivation for me,
except as a way to keep score.
The real excitement is playing the game.
~Donald Trump

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lindsay, You can also buy diapers by cvsing....go to hip2save.com or southernsavers.com and you won't buy diapers in bulk anymore. I have already been stockpiling. You won't believe the money you will save on other things by using ecbs. If you need help just call me. Nicole Hallman

Joy said...

go to swaggrabber.com Sheri is awesome and it is one of my favorite sites she lists tons of awesome deals every day and there is a chat area that random people will post good finds