money saving

EASY MONEY SAVING TIPS FOR NON-WORKING MOMS

Living in a household where only one person brings home the bacon is hard. Especially if the income is you are trying to budget is just right enough for what you basically need. This is where money saving ideas start to kick in.

In order for me to save money from my partners take-home pay. I have to scrimp and save, and if the need arises, bend the money double if possible. Budgeting is tricky if you have a baby to feed.

I have tried searching any money saving tips and advice online, or in magazines. There are many materials on money saving and the web offers wide resources of saving money tips but what I am going to share here are the tried and tested methods that works well.

Easy Money Saving Tips

1. Create a "THINGS TO BUY" list - I know it sounds overrated and such but this is an effective way of staying on the budget when you are out there picking your groceries.

Way back when I didn't create any grocery list, I was always overboard with our expenses. My partner loves choosing his own goodies and that can get way out of hand if you don't assign a particular budget for snacks. It saved me a few hundred bucks (that's from our money currency) just by doing the grocery list every month. That way I keep track of the things I need to buy and how much my partner needs to spend for his goodies.

2. Set aside a small percentage for savings - You can set aside any amount that works for you. For us, I save about five percent (5%) from the total amount of my partner's take home pay. How much is left will be budgeted for the things we need for the next two weeks. Money saving for me has never been easier.

3. Anticipate the medical expenses - Living in a country where not everyone is insured, (Luckily my son is under his father's medicare) I save small amounts of cash for medical expenses. This is for emergency purposes. Having cash for laboratory clinics, over the counter medicines.

4. Indulge yourself - Come on, we all have our spur of the moment, "OMG, I want to watch that movie!" or "I want to buy that book". In a tight budget, it doesn't hurt to put away small amounts of cash. When moments like this arise, you can indulge yourself without feeling guilty.

5. Look for bargains -  I am an avid book reader, and I read them as fast as I bought them. But buying books is expensive. What I do is to wait for it to be available in bargain shops and bookstores and buy them in a cheap price. It doesn't matter if it's not new, paperback or hardbound, they can be available in mint condition. If you are lucky, you can even get them in their new look.

This is also applicable for clothing and other items. When I pick my clothes, I go for quality buys that would last for a few years, pretty generic brands. I don't care much about the labels, people will see how you wear them and not look at the label at the back.

6. Save your pocket change - If you can afford this 'luxury', take the time to put away all your coins accumulated from your grocery. Put them in a jar or any container of your choice. I did this for a year, saving away all the coins and before Christmas, I already saved enough for us to go book ourselves into a vacation spot in our locality.

That might sound exaggerated but you won't believe how this money saving technique can help you save enough cash by the end of the year. If you can wait that much.

7. Control your impulse - Sure, we do have that at times. We get to see this items that are cute or nice but we don't actually need and we end up buying them only to realize we don't really need them. If you see something that urges you to buy. Go around the store or get out. If you still want to buy it after a few hours then go ahead.

The list could go on and on here. We all have ideas and experience in money saving tips, but to put that into practice requires solid iron discipline.

You can save and scrimp and practice any tips or follow techniques that suits you well. All I can say is that, this worked for me, it can work for you too.