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Cut back on these things to Save Money

February 10, 2020
cut backs, downsizing, save money, budgeting, stay-at-home mom, how to save money, saving money, simple cut backs to save, personal cut backs, minor cut backs, saving, budget, surviving on one income

Being a stay-at-home mom isn't always fun and games. Staying at home means you get to watch your kids grow up, teach them, play with them, and care for them. It means saving money on day care and having more freedom to do what you want to do on a day to day basis. 

It also means that you most likely will need to make sacrifices and cut back on a few things unless you are very wealthy and can afford to stay at home just for fun without making sacrifices then good for you!
If you are reading this though then you most likely aren't super wealthy and want to know how you can afford to be a stay-at-home mom and what you can do to help cut costs. 

My husband is an Elementary Education Teacher. We live in a smaller three bedroom house, drive the most basic used mini van we could find, and have four kids on one income so needless to say we aren't living it up and buying the most expensive items on the market. 

If you've read any of my past posts, you may know that I never dreamed I'd be a stay-at-home mom but here I am six years later and four kids later still mom-ing it up at home raising babies. 

I've never really been into name brands, luxurious items, and buying the latest technology on the market so not having the newest and latest items hasn't been much of a challenge but being a stay-at-home mom and living on one income can be a challenge, especially when you are a family of six. 

Depending on your spouse and your jobs and situation, you may not be able to survive on one income. In my family's case, any job I was able to get pretty much paid for the cost of daycare. Since I had stair step babies, it wasn't worth me wasting time working to put all my income toward someone else to watch my kids. You can say that staying at home choose me, literally, every time I started looking into finding a job I found out I was expecting again but anyways... 

Before you decide to stay at home, make sure to do the math, budget it out and see if being a stay-at-home mom works for your family.

If you have always dreamed of being a stay-at-home mom and don't have kids yet, I recommend to start saving money now for when the time comes because kids are not cheap.

If you are able to be a stay-at-home mom, great! Now some questions that may be running through your head are: 

What will I need to sacrifice?

What can I cut back on to save money?

Does being a stay-at-home mom mean I can't do anything fun?

If you want to be a stay-at-home mom and live on one income, your spouse and you have to be willing and able to make sacrifices, big and small, to make ends meet. 

Budgeting and money is one of the biggest pros and cons to being stay-at-home mom. You can save money by staying at home but you also lose one income so it is definitely a decision that needs to be made together.

Here are some things you can cut back on or nix all together.

How to save money on one income:

Personal cut-backs: 
NO more...
  • Getting your hair done - use box dye, learn to cut your family's hair yourself
  • Manicures & Pedicures - you can buy gel nail polish and a top coat for less than a Pedicure cost
  • Tanning Bed
  • Massages & Spa days
  • Alcohol, Cigarettes, Dip - all add up quickly and aren't good for you
  • Renting DVD & Games - check them out at the library for free
  • Magazine Subscription 
  • Monthly Subscriptions
  • Cable, Dish, Hulu, Netflix, Disney +, Amazon Prime, YouTube, HBO or any other streaming service - How often do you use these streaming services or watch TV? Invest in an antenna and watch the free channels instead, buy some $1 DVDs at the pawn store or check out free ones at your local library 
  • Stop Eating out and buying Take-out - learn to cook, make & eat leftovers
  • Coffee - save $$$ by making your own
  • Name Brand Products (clothes, food, detergent) - buy off brand, buy in bulk
  • Shopping - never pay full price, use coupons, shops opposite seasons, wear what you already have 
  • Going Out - invite friends over for a game night instead of hitting up the bar
  • paying for Car Washes; Car Detailing 

Minor cut-backs:
  • Unplug Devices when they aren't being used
  • Leave the lights off and use natural light when you can
  • Adjust the Thermostat OR turn it off and open a window
  • Set your bills to Electronic Pay & paperless - stamp cost can add up over time and some companies now charge a fee for paper billing
  • Refill water bottles with tap water
  • Reuse Things (bags, boxes, paper, rags, etc...) if possible
  • Laundry less often, larger loads, hang dry clothes
  • Turn the water off in between brushing your teeth or washing dishes
  • Look for FREE or Cheap Activities to do instead of ones that cost a lot of money - park, hiking, creek, flying kite, festival, Peddlers mall
  • Stay Off Social Media - to many tempting ads and wanting the picture perfect home pictures
  • Birthday Cards - make your own or use your kids art and write "Happy Birthday" on it
  • Party Invitations, Christmas & Thank-you Cards - Go Digital, the cost of printing/buying a card, envelopes & stamps adds up. Create a fun invite and send it out via social media, email or text

 Larger cut-backs: Consider downsizing
  • Grow your own food aka Gardening 
  • One car or at least a cheaper car, carpool if needed
  • Smaller House or Cheaper Apartment
  • Public School vs. Private School
  • No Vacations
  • Avoid Credit Cards
  • Pre-paid Phone vs. Phone Plan
  • Family Photography - take your own pictures, find a more affordable photographer

Just because it's listed above doesn't mean you have to nix it for good. I'm not saying you can never eat out or do anything fun, but just do it less often than you do now. 

Try to keep track of what you are spending and where you are spending the money. When it is all laid out in front of you, reality may hit at just how much money you actually spend in that area.

I didn't know how much we spent eating out at restaurants until I added up all the receipts and about fainted because I realized how much more food we could of bought at the grocery store to cook than what we got at the restaurants.

If you go cold turkey and cut back on everything you've been spending excess money on all at once, you may drive yourself crazy. I suggest choosing a few things to cut back on to start with and slowly adding more until your family is in a comfortable place financially.

As you start to cut back and make sacrifices, start to learn more ways to save money. You can start with these three things:

     1. Whenever you do decided to go shopping, out to eat or buy online, check for a coupon. There are several different apps out there that can save you money.

     2. Signing up for a Rewards Bank card so you earn cash back every time you go shopping.

   3. Find free activities to do with your kids. The park and library are great places to start. Also check Facebook Events to see if there are any free festivals or events going on in your area.

Check out my post, What can I do to help out financially while staying at home? for more ways to help out!

Hopefully this post helps you when deciding if you can afford to be a stay-at-home mom and if you are willing to make the sacrifices to be a stay-at-home mom. You can even make these cut backs just because you want to start saving money and spending less.

There are several different ways your family can cut back financially from the food you eat to the car you drive. These are just a few ideas I came up with and that my family no longer does, buys or started doing less of to try to save financially since we are on one income.

I'd love to know what cut backs and sacrifices you made, if any, to be stay-at-home mom. Comment below!!!


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