What I'm doing to save $

I managed to lock myself out of my blog...I have no clue exactly how I managed the feat but, I just now got back in. Nice to be back. Okay, back to the post at hand.

If I can save us money my husband can work less. If he can work less that's more time he gets to spend with us. We grow stronger as a family and that's priceless.
So, far what we have done has made it possible to cut out about $1000 a month so now we can all live on my income and hubby can stay at home to care for me and the kids, only working online 2 hours a night....he's going back to school after baby is born...its been amazing for our relationship with each other and our kids!!

Here's what I've done so far...I'm sure there is much more i can do but this is just the changes we've made in the last 4-6 months.

1. We quit smoking...this saves sooooo much $$$$ not to mention how much healthier it is!

2. I have started making all our meals from scratch
we eat out sooooo much less...used to be at least once a day now its maybe once a month

3. I only buy something new if I can't find it on craigslist, ebay, freecycle, or another online sale and this is rare.

4. Instead of going out to the movies alot like we used to we have 'family night' and download or rent a family movie and make our own snacks (the kids are obsessed with fondue and I found a great fondue pot at the goodwill for $4!!)

5. We will be cloth diapering the new baby, cloth wipes, using homemade baby food when he's onto solids, and anything else we can do that healthier for him.

6. We have paired down everything in our house....Currently trying to get TV's out of the kids rooms and managed to finally convince hubby of no TV in our bedroom... saves electricity and we sleep better, always a plus.

7. Cut the groceries from $100-$150 a week down to only $50!! (this I'm the most proud of)

8. We do more as a family and take advantage of things in the community we never knew existed....free exhibits, local beaches and lakes, art classes, letterboxing (our #1 family activity), bike riding, playing at local parks....most everything is free and always amazingly fun for the little guys!

9. We downsized our Family TV from a 65 inch that was costing over $150 a month and giving me headaches to a better quality 55 inch that only costs us $53 a month, and will be paid off soon!

10. We started using fans in the summer and more blankets in the winter in an effort to lower the electric bill, as well as turning off more lights and unplugging things not in use...so far we've saved about $200 a month!

11. Cut back my almost $200 cable/internet bundle to only $109 a month.


Next on my list is getting cell phones paired down and maybe a garden...we have two acres so, I have no excuse!!