5 Tips for the Money Saving Mom

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Thanks to Alban for this guest post!

Being a mom is a full time job, which requires a large set of skills. From entertaining to educating kids, moms need to be creative, patient, good at listening and outstanding at multi-tasking. Considering most families have a limited budget and plenty of requirements, moms need to make the most of their money and develop a strong sense of frugality.

These five money saving tips have been gathered, looking at moms in their daily life. We hope they help you to bring the frugal attitude into your house.

1: Recycle As Much As You Can

Kids are growing fast, and so are their clothing requirements. When it comes to dress the little ones, the family budget can take a hit.

Kids outgrow their clothes quickly, but most of the time the clothes are still in good condition. If you have close family, friends or neighbors who have older kids, ask them if they have any clothes that might be good for yours. It might sound a little weird, but most people would be happy to give away some garments, which clutter their closets.

(Jaime’s note: I’ve asked to buy the used clothes off friends and they usually say yes but then give them to me for free. I’d suggest to ask to buy them, because asking someone to give you clothes can be rude!)

2: Compare Prices

When it comes to managing a budget, a little bit of research prior to purchasing can have a positive impact on your budget. Price comparison engines are easily accessible online, so you can quickly compare prices between different supermarkets.
In most cases, supermarkets are really competitive on specific products but are more expensive on others, so it is valuable to shop around and divide your shopping list between a few close-by shops. You can benefit from lower prices, which will leave more flexibility in your budget.

3: Seasonal Fresh Produce

Food often represents an important part of the family budget, but it only takes little effort to spend a little less without sacrificing on quality. Processed food can reduce the amount of time you spend in the kitchen, however it is often quite expensive.

If you shop around to your local grocery store or to your local market, you will find that you can get great deals on seasonal fruits and vegetables. Depending on where you live, it might also exist some cooperatives, which can provide you with high quality produce at a lower cost than the supermarket.

(Jaime’s note: It’s summer, time to hit the farmer’s market for fresh, cheap veggies and fruit!)

4: DIY

Moms excel at DIY, kids love it and it is also great for the family wallet. DIY is one of the most frugal way of feeding your family and entertaining your children. Rather than buying an expensive cake, bake it with your kids.

They will love making the dough, mixing eggs and looking at it cooking in the oven. It might require a bit of cleaning at the end, but it will keep them busy and save you money.

5: Teach Your Kids How to be Frugal

Teaching your kids how to be frugal, is not only a good thing for your family finance, but it will also be great for their education. If your kids become frugal, you will notice that they will understand (not always) why you say no to candies at the store. They will also apply frugal principles in their daily life, which will make your task easier.
Obviously this is not as straight forward as comparing prices or buying from a local producer, however a little bit of effort on daily basis to explain and teach your kids how to save money, will have a great long term impact on your families future.

(Jaime’s note: Take a look at the guest post I wrote for Free From Broke to learn how we use a chip system to teach personal finance to my three year old)

Alban is a personal finance writer. He provides budgeting tips and helps people to compare the best online savings accounts.

This post was included in the Personal Finance Carnival #261 at PopEconomics. Go check it out here!