Frugal Home Tips

There are so many ways to save money in the home. Our family lives a pretty frugal lifestyle, and we still learn from others’.  Nothing is unobtainable, even on a meager income. We are a one income family, but we still save money to take a vacation.

Our yearly family vacation is worth all of the savings that we apply throughout the year. While on vacation we have fun. My husband and I each take a turn doing something we would not normally do. Our goal is too make sure that the kids leave with an awesome collection of memories.

For that…..we save daily.

Frugal Home Tips

Laundry-

Frugal home tip #1, do it all on one day, then catch up later in the week one day. Don’t run the washer everyday.

Food-

Frugal home  tip #2 grow your own food, if you live in an area where chickens are permitted eggs are a great source of protein. If you live in an area where chickens are not permitted and it is cold, look at your weekly menu. Research some less expensive meals.

Vacationing- 

Frugal home tip #3, I love to take a vacation. It may not always be where in someplace with a beach, or Disney world.  A tighter budget may mean vacationing at a fun park for a few days, or an extended camping trip. Lack of funds does not necessarily mean a cancellation of any vacation time.

Clothing- 

Frugal home tip #4, only buy clothing when it is a necessity. Keep a list, and periodically check what the family needs to purchase. If it means there are more clothes or shoes than we have days in  a week, then no new clothes for awhile. Kids do not need 42 shirts. I know because at one time I counted that my 3 year old had 42 shirts. I finally figured out why the laundry was piling up! Grandparents were always bringing him a shirt! (That has stopped with each new child we had).

Utility bills- 

Frugal home tip #5 ,my first frugal home tip is on utility bills. For water usage, we use a timer. When it goes off after 12 min, each person…including us turn the water off. this saves us a lot in the water bill each month. for lights we use a timer. All, we do not leave the coffee pot or toaster plugged in.

Extra Curricular Activities-

Look at the locations and times. Just like when you are putting together a schedule, plan activities the same way. We have all of our activities on Tues/Thurs. in one location. We are gone both evenings from 5-10 pm. Frugal home tip # 6 save on gas, time, and food. Link activities to and plan them.

Homeschool curriculum-

Frugal home tip # 7,  is to reuse as much curriculum as possible. Use the same curriculum on several kids, and just re-purchase the workbook. Also, search Pinterest for as much free curriculum as possible.

School supplies-

Frugal home tip #8, is to only buy school supplies you need. Buying a bunch of college bound notebooks that are only .25 cents isn’t a savings, if you do not use them.

Weekend date nights-

I know, date nights are rare, but especially homeschool parents need to stay connected. Order in pizza, put the kids in bed early with a movie and eat together. If you are like us, we rarely can hold a conversation without being interrupted, so we communicate with each other for about an hour. Frugal home tip #9, save on a babysitter and stay home.

Family activities-

Saving money with this is a no brainer. Family activities do not mean that you always have to leave home. A great read aloud, backyard games, invite some friends over for dinner, or just go out for ice cream. There are so many ways to have fun as a family with out spending a ton of money. Frugal home tip #10, is  put some thought into family activities and see how many you can come up with that cost under $35.00.

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Cheers,

Michelle