Six NEW Ways to Save Money

I’m constantly looking for ways to save money, especially since deciding to stay home with the baby. I knew it would be difficult on us losing my paycheck, but I was confident that we could cut spending to help the transition. So here are five ways I’ve found that help save money!

1. Stop Buying Bottled Water

We drink a lot of bottled water in my house. In fact, my daughter drinks nothing but water when she is at home. We were spending a small fortune in bottled water and much of it was going to waste. I was constantly finding half empty bottles hidden around the house, having been there for God only knows how long. Where we live the tap water has a nasty sulfur taste so drinking straight from the faucet wasn’t an option. We tried several regular water bottles and while they were great for taking out and about, they just didn’t work well at home. Finally, one day by chance I came across these awesome Re-duce bottles. They work wonderfully! I wash them in the dishwasher and after six months the design is still vibrant with no peeling or wear and tear. We simply fill the bottles with tap water filtered with a PUR filter and place them in the fridge, refilling when needed. My daughter loves them and we’ve saved tons!

2. Save on Books

My daughter (soon to be seven) really enjoys reading and has began reading chapter books on her own. It’s one of those things I typically splurge on, books. Some moms splurge on fashion for their kids, I splurge on books. But I’ve found several ways to save on used books and it’s saved us a lot of money. First, if your child has outgrown or gotten bored with some of their own books, you can swap them with another mom in the area. I did this about twice a year as my daughter was growing up and it always worked great. I’d usually post on Craigslist or Bookoo asking if anybody wanted to do a books swap. I’d say how many books I had and what kind of books I’d like in return. I never had a problem finding somebody willing to trade me with books their own child no longer used.

Now that my daughters on chapter books though she’s more particular about the books she wants. I’ve fallen in love with two sites, PaperBackSwap.com and BookMooch.com. It is so simple! You post books that you no longer want, people request a book they want of yours, you ship it at your cost (usually a few dollars) and you get one point. You can then order other books at no cost, each for one point each. Now both sites work on the same system but I tend to prefer PaperBackSwap for children’s books, simply because they have a large selection. However, my books are requested much quicker on BookMooch. My suggestion would be to use both.

3. Save on Movies and TV

Just like PaperBackSwap.com, their affiliate site, SwapADVD.com is amazing! You post movies you no longer want and for every disc that you ship you receive one point (BlueRays worth two). You can then request movies you do want with your points. The only catch is you must have the movie case, which I rarely keep.

Other ways to save on movies of course include NetFlix and Amazon Prime. I always had a hard time finding shows to watch on NetFlix. Since I switched over to Amazon Prime and use their unlimited streaming service hubby and I always find something good to watch. Movies we would have otherwise paid for are usually available for free as well. If you've never tried it click here to sign up for a free 30 day trial. My daughter also enjoys it and I enjoy seeing her watch TV shows from when I was a child. She’s a huge fan of Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

4. Take and Print Your Own Pictures

I am a sentimentalist at heart. If my house were to catch on fire I would likely be caught up in the flames as I attempted to collect all of my boxes upon boxes of pictures and scrapbooks. They are just priceless in my eyes. Before getting pregnant with our second daughter we were spending A LOT on pictures. I mean A Lot! Christmas, birthdays, Halloween, Easter, the list goes on. Each time I’d pay a session fee and usually spend between $300 to $400 on prints. Finally, I broke down and after we got our taxes back I bought one of those fancy cameras, just like I’d seen one of our photographers use. I bought a Canon EOS Rebel and was very impressed with the ease of use. I researched photography techniques and even purchased a backdrop and lighting setup and a few props. Altogether I spent about $550, but I have saved that ten times over by taking pictures myself. The only thing we pay a photographer for now is if we want family pictures taken, but we usually try to do these ourselves as well with the timer. Another way I saved both time and money is by ordering the prints offline. I use a professional service and it is SO much easier than using one of those kiosks at the stores. I use Bay Photo Lab and the cost is either the same or cheaper in most cases!

5. Make Your Own Cleaning Supplies

So a few months ago I broke down and decided to make my own laundry detergent and dishwasher caplets; two things we were buying a lot of. I was really satisfied with how both turned out and they have lasted for over two months already, saving us a good bit of money. You can find lots of these recipes on Pinterest. Stay posted as I plan to post some of my own how-to’s with personal tweaks and additions soon.

6. Buy Out of Season

This is where you combine a love of shopping and savings into one. Buy out of season. Below is a list of when I usually buy what, at steep discounts:

School Uniforms and school supplies: A few weeks after school starts

Winter clothing: Just before spring starts

Summer clothing: Just before fall

Christmas décor and wrapping: Right after Christmas

Birthday gifts: Just after Christmas (gift sets are on steep discount! Great time to stock up on bath bubbles, body wash, etc.)

Bedroom play (fishnets, costumes, lingerie): Right after Halloween