I’m sharing #Luvs in my life as part of a LUVs sponsored series for Socialstars™
Going from DINKs (duel income, no kids) to a one income family was shocking to say the least. When my daughter was born, my husband quit his full time job to become a stay at home dad. Before she was born, we were going out to eat four or five times a week, buying designer bags (at full-price – I cringe), and living large. We really took advantage of our time together before kids. But now, with less money in my 70% off past season designer bag and 2 more mouths to feed, our life is complete and we’re wealthier than ever. Love is abundant, and so is our creativity when it comes to finances.
How we got creative with our finances as a one-income family
Itemized our monthly luxuries. I am ashamed to admit this, but thanks to auto pay, I never really knew what we were paying monthly; it was just automatically deducted from our bank. When we actually sat down and looked through every monthly bill, we asked ourselves (1) what could we live without and (2) how could we cut back?
Made the baby food. Forget the store bought pouches and baby food jars. We turned $1 worth of bananas into 10 jars of baby food.
Used gift cards. Not only did I finally use the gift cards that were burning a hole in my pocket (I keep track of gift cards and store coupons in the notes app on my phone since they tend to get buried in my wallet), but I also bought gift cards to shop. My local grocery store awards money off each gallon of gas when you buy gift cards. Free gas fill-ups add up to some serious savings!
Bought plenty second-hand. I found local Facebook mom swap groups to be a major way to save money. You can find some gently used items at a fraction of what you’d pay new. Just a little bit of sanitizer and it’s good as new. Kids have such a short window for toys anyway, so buying gently used or second-hand isn’t a bad way to go (they won’t know the difference or what the packaging should look like).
Learned how to cut hair. One man head and one boy head in the home times 2 haircuts each every 2 weeks adds up to some serious spending. We bought a clipper and my husband learned how to cut both his and our son’s hair.
YouTubed. The dryer broke. We didn’t call a repair man. Instead, YouTube saved us hundreds (so what is the dryer light no longer works?).
Couponing battles. Our grocery store has a sale schedule that we studied and mastered. We saved coupons for the sale weeks to stock up. My husband and I would “battle” each other to see who could stock up on more and spend less. We saved a ton buying in bulk (we probably won’t need to buy toothpaste for at least another year).
Backed companies that stand behind their products and/or service. In the past if my food came out cold, I’d just go about my business and eat it. What I didn’t realize was that by doing so, I was devaluing my time and money. I’m lucky to have found companies over the past few years that stand behind their products and services. Luvs is one of them. They have a money back guarantee, so I know that my investment in the diapers I just stocked up on is sound. Plus, they are a great value for the money, which adds another layer of confidence in the Luvs diapers I put on my son.
Tapped into our talents and resources. I have a degree in journalism, but my career path led me to digital marketing. I missed writing and had some friends who blogged, so with their help and my entrepreneurial drive, I started Spit Up is the New Black, which has become not only a hobby, but also a means of additional income for my family.
We may have less money, but we have more wealth that we could ever ask for!
How does your family save money?
Disclaimer: I am not a financial professional and I am not providing financial advice but merely sharing how my family has saved money. What worked for us may not work for you.
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