My bloggy friend Laura is hosting a blog hop about money on Mondays, appropriately titled "Money Monday." This is a chance for us all to share in money success stories, tips and ideas on how to save money, etc. So without further ado, I will give you some of my biggest tips.
*Like Laura, I buy all of Brayden's clothes through consignment. I save a BOATLOAD of money, and get name brand clothes! There are occasions I will buy clothes brand new, but I always compare prices to the consignment prices. If it's the same, or only $1 more, I'll buy it new. That's the ONLY way though. For Drew and I's clothes I generally buy at the end of the season, and always buy when it's on sale.
* I have started purchasing all of B's gifts from consignment as well. He doesn't know the difference and I am able to get twice the amount of toys for the same price as I would spend on one if I bought at full retail.
* I stock up on what we call "Blue Moon Sales." For instance, during Thanksgiving walmart always marks down their canned goods WAY low. I went to the store and purchased cases of green beans and corn, something our family eats regularly, and probably saved more than 50% when you consider the sale price and coupons.
* I remember the prices of the things I purchase regularly. Thankfully, I am still able to do this all in my head, but I am sure as the kids start piling on I'll need to create a spreadsheet. This helps me remember where I get the best deals. This means I buy milk at Braum's, canned goods, sandwich meat, creamer and pastas at Aldi's, diapers and wipes at Sam's, and everything else at Walmart. This also helps me know if something is cheaper on sale somewhere. For instance, Target had diapers on clearance. Knowing my bottom line made the decision easy for me to realize that I would save 5 cents a diaper if I bought them on sale at Target.
* I coupon. I am not one of those coupon Nazi's, but I do cut them out to use them when I can. It's especially helpful for me on soaps, shampoos and makeup. Since we don't have many grocery competitors to Walmart, a lot of the grocery coupons still don't drop the price below the Great Value brand, so we buy a lot of off brand stuff.
I have a ton more, but I will save them for a rainy day. If you have some good savings tips, be sure to check out Laura's blog on how you can join in on the Money Monday fun!
