Frugal Tips

How do you save money on daycare or family expenses? Thought we could share the ways that we reduce our expenses and help each other out!
-I price match every week. I know the prices of the foods that I buy regularly and stock up when they are at the lowest price. It took me about 6 months to learn that everything goes on sale and that it is often cyclical (ex. never pay more that $4 for cheese or $2.88/lb for ground beef).
-I cook mostly everything from scratch. It takes time but I usually do it while I am working and when possible I get the kids involved - they LOVE it and so do the parents! It also helps them to try food they wouldn't ordinarily eat because they take pride in making it!
- I switched my daily banking to PC financial (no fees and points for groceries) and I only shop at Loblaws or Superstore for groceries.
-I turn the lights off in rooms that we aren't using.
- I buy only the fruits and vegetables that are on sale and learn how to cook/prepare snacks with them.
- I don't buy expensive craft material. There is a lot you can do with water!
- I don't buy expensive art smocks - I use my oldest son's old t-shirts - the kids love that they are wearing his clothes and I have saved money.
- I only serve water (unlimited) and one cup of milk per day - this is for nutritional reasons but works out to be cost effective too!
- I have joined some local freecycle groups and look for items that I may need for my home or daycare there before spending money.
- I only buy used books for the daycare (value village, garage sales, etc.)
- I cook in bulk and freeze portions - hinders me from ordering take-out when I don't want to cook or feel that we have 'nothing' to eat.

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I do much of what you do. Meal planning and bulk cooking and freezing, etc.

I follow many of the tips on mrsjanuary.com for couponing, rebates, checkout51, etc.

I use Swagbucks.com and earn Amazon.ca gift cards.

I follow Gail Vazoxlades's website as well for budget and financial advice.

I do most of what you do...

-price match, coupon, buy what's on sale(I literally almost never buy something unless it's on sale)...this also helps give the menu a variety of fruit and veggies
-cook in bulk and freeze
-buy toys from a local website classifieds, fb swap and shop pages, yard sales
-buy art supplies from the same as above and dollar stores or on sale at walmart/micheals
-buy gifts all year round for birthday/holidays/goody bags

My goal this year is to actually stop doing some of this and spend more money throughout the year so that I don't have to pay so much at income tax time though. I still coupon a bit for us but no more for the daycare.

I get lots of books from the library.

I do a weekly lunch and dinner plan for my family and don't buy more groceries unless we really need them.

I pay for almost everything with my airmiles credit card, and then earn $20 worn of free gas pretty much every month (and I ALWAYS pay it off every month).

I do the same as most of you:

-shop only sales and stock up on good sales
-big couponer
-turn of lights when not in the room
-turn down the heat when we leave the house for more then an hour
-HUGE fan of the library
-buy craft supplies when discounted/on sale when I can
-only run dishwasher and washer/dryer on off peak hours
-buy daycare equipment second hand when I can
-lots of homecooked meals in large portions for leftovers (used for daycare or hubbys lunches)
-get cash back when shopping through CO51

I am sure that there is more, but my brain is on Friday mode. :)

Happy to report that I do all of the above too...can't tell what a savings on budget and stress simply planning a weekly or monthly family Menu has been. I still tweak the menu if I see something on sale (& then usually make a bunch of meals ahead...love the Glad freezer to oven storage containers for that!). And I save my reward miles for vacation time...last vacation (Florida @ Christmas) our hotels were completely free with rewards...yay!! I have cut way back on take home crafts this year (1 a week max....often only 1 every 2 weeks). Also, I give them as much lunch as they wish, but where snacks are concerned I portion out and that's it...find they eat much better @ lunch now (& @ dinner for parents). Also scaled back on presents this year; I still do a small birthday gift (book and educational toy @ $15 budget), Christmas Gift ($10/child budget), and a have a great summer bucket (dollar store stuff) for my year end in June (I have summers off:). I scour end of season sales and buy lots of the gifts ahead..70% off @ Michaels was a good one for me this year...way under gift budget this year.

Another way I save is by making my own cleaning supplies - baking soda and vinegar are awesome!

@dreamalittledream - I don't shop at Michael's much but notice that there is a 50% off coupon in their flyer every week!
I also use CO51 although haven't accumulated enough $ to receive a check yet.

i haven't used swagbucks discoveries - will look into it this afternoon!

How does swag bucks work?

I use ebates for my online shopping and try and find coupon codes for my online shopping. I am not much of a couponer though--- I am not that organized and it seems so overwhelming.

Swagbucks if you wish do decide to sign up here is a referral link : swagbucks.com/refer/teinwai

If many people sign up share your referral links too so others can earn extra points too.

Basically you earn point for your online searches, poll participation, surveys, and some purchases online, etc. Walmart has free deilivery so I make some purchases online there and get visa and swagbuck points.

You then exchange the swagbucks for gift cards. The best deal is the $5 amazon ones.

*Just a note: I don't install the toolbar, as for some reason my computer really slows down if I do. Not sure if everyone has the same issue.

Hi!

Well for me....

I buy my dishsoap, name brand cleaning products (Lysol etc) from dollarama I found Dawn dish stuff there for $1.25/bottle. I also found antibacterial Lysol wipes for $2.

I buy craft stuff if we are making an occasion craft from there. Really do not do day to day crafting anymore, it was taking way to much of my budget, and besides the kids didn't really seem to care.

I also buy some food stuff from there. Some. Often you will find discon't goldfish, motts applesauce, etc (always check exp. dates)

My local co-op store has a coupon app that we use. If that store has a 10 for 10 sale we will go and get some items that way, we also buy what's on sale, and will go to more than one store. The other day I got the weeks menu for $150.00, but that's cause I got some really good deals, and am not always brand loyal.

If a store has shampoo etc on sale, I will buy that item in bulk. I do the same for dishwasher, and laundry. You can sometimes find name brand shampoos and hairspray etc at dollar stores.

We are big groupon people. We can often find a night out for very cheap.

I am a big value village person for most of my sons clothing--I have found things for old navy, gap kids, etc, and you'd never know it was not new. I too, buy things a season behind (clearance) to find the best price.

We do not have cable tv. I garage sale, I trade...I had to learn to be frugal because my daycare is not full.

Hope that helps.

I know some people don't like to coupon because it's not food that they eat but if you use coupons for other things (paper towel, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, laundry soap, dish soap, hand soap, beauty products etc) you can use the money you saved for those things to put towards the groceries. Also if you email companies of food that you do eat they will often send you coupons as well.

There are usually coupons for frozen veggies and sometimes the flyers have coupons for fresh fruit. Driscoll berries will mail you coupons and also email you coupons during your birthday month.

5 Little Monkies...it is true that the more you spend, the more you can claim, but you don't get back all of the money you spent, just the taxes you would have paid on it. So I think you are still better off to spend less in the first place and just put money aside for taxes (I am working on this one now). Great tips everyone!

I also cut down on things for my own family to save money and then didn't feel as bad about spending on the daycare when my own kids were part of it. Now I basically have everything I need so only need to buy consumable items which sucks come tax time. What I am doing is creating things for the daycare and claiming that so my crafting habit is being subsidized in more than one way by my daycare. Working on plastic canvas shamrock puzzles ( three hearts and a stem).

For sure making your own from scratch saves money for the most part. I don't do much that needs craft supplies as the kids don't appreciate the effort given their age and we have more fun playing with things like the shamrocks. A lot of crafts use scraps from my crafting or recycled items too since it is about the process and you know the parents aren't going to keep everything.

I don't do daily journals anymore so saves on paper and ink - I know email is an option but why start something I don't plan to keep. Haven't had a parent at an interview upset by the lack of a journal in many years.

Cut down on my cleaning so for example bedding is not washed weekly by every 2-3 weeks instead - I mean really 5 two hour naps is only equal to one 10 hour sleep in their bed at home and it gets the chance to air out daily. That saves 2-3 tubs of laundry a week.

Scaled back snacks too and it helped with eating.

Don't do any outings so no money there at all for travelling or admissions.

I find I am at a point where I need to buy a shaped cookie cutter or fancy muffin pan or something to make up some expenses. I try to put the money into things that if I stopped doing daycare I could use myself but that while I am doing daycare they benefit from. I am 28 years in (oldest child is 30 and I still have some of her toys in use).

I do much the same as you ladies!

Here's another one - I save all of my milk bags. If you buy bagged milk, wash it out when you are done with it. They make fantastic freezer bags. I can't tell you the money I've saved on freezer bags alone because of this!

Sunnydays...yes for sure! I am not going crazy and buying a lot (it's also just not in me to not be cheap with some things lol) but I am increasing my expenses a bit every month. I am buying more toys new for example and I don't coupon for daycare groceries anymore. I claim 100% of my daycare supplies, toys and groceries. I still put $2-300 away every two weeks for income tax time though just to be safe!

Just last night a friend and I went to Giant Tiger and they had some really cute kids clothes for $2!! I picked up 6 things for gifts(fyi $58 reg, $12 sale). Than we were looking at clothes for us and I found a $5 shirt for me but was hesitant to buy it. She laughed at me and convinced me to buy it for myself!! I have no issue spending on daycare so I am actually a little afraid of how much I would spend on my own children!!

Costco!! For cleaning supplies, toilet paper, etc. as well as a lot of food items. But I am careful to only buy 'real' food... At costco it is very easy to buy a lot of processed food which is more convenient but can add up FAST.

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Originally Posted by JennJubie

I do much the same as you ladies!

Here's another one - I save all of my milk bags. If you buy bagged milk, wash it out when you are done with it. They make fantastic freezer bags. I can't tell you the money I've saved on freezer bags alone because of this!

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I do this too! :thumbup:

Oh! Stop buying dishwasher soap! I ran out before Christmas, and googled a quick fix. I found a site that recommended two-three drops (NO MORE!) of regular dish soap, and a sprinkle of baking soda on each level of the washer.

My dishes came out clean and sparkly. I now use this exclusively. It saves a tonne of cash, as dishwasher detergent is pricey.

I also make all of our laundry soap, household cleaners and don't use paper towels.

I make homemade laundry soap too. I've made homemade hand soap but don't really like it. I keep wanting to try more homemade cleaning supplies but never get around to it

Is it bad I'm eager for a few more dirty dishes to try out the baking soda/dish soap method? I love learning new frugal tricks. Thank you.

I'm really excited about the dishwasher thing. But is regular dish soap bad for a dishwasher? I can't think of any reason it would be, but it seems to good to be true.

I have this long ago memory of my first husband (read useless LOL) who put regular dish soap into the dishwasher and I got to spend the rest of the day getting rid of the suds as I had to put the dishwasher on a few times to get rid of it all. Same guy put gas into the oil part of our gas lawnmower........... ...ahh the memories LOL

It's important only to use a few drops of the dish soap, or yes, it'll be all over your kitchen. :D It isn't bad for your dishwasher, no.

Finally got around to reading through this! A lot of good tips, thanks ladies!

One thing I do that isn't on here is soak our fruits and veggies in a vinegar solution (about a cup for a small sink) as soon as I get home from the store. I noticed that it helps them stay longer, and I've thrown away so much less than before I started!

Good re-reading this old post. I'm not sure about the use of a little dish soap in a dishwasher, as suds aren't great for the operation of it. Would love to not have to use expensive detergent pucks tho. I do 2 full dishwasher loads a day and those pucks just keep disappearing. I find they clean the best.

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Originally Posted by ebhappydc

Good re-reading this old post. I'm not sure about the use of a little dish soap in a dishwasher, as suds aren't great for the operation of it. Would love to not have to use expensive detergent pucks tho. I do 2 full dishwasher loads a day and those pucks just keep disappearing. I find they clean the best.

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Hi, perhaps you can search in pinterest.com , you'll be amazed with all the options and ideas. I was able to try different things and kind of made my own diy things that worked best recipes. It is amazing on how soon I got rid of store bought cleaning stuff and become more aware of the environment. I'm now in a journey of reading some books of the konmari method and also lately cooking and baking by using a solar oven. My group is absolutely enjoying all the sun baking.

Scaled back snacks too and it helped with eating.

When you know exactly what skin type or hair type you have, this might save you a few bucks. For example, reading this article, for example, would help to choose proper shampoo and conditioner, as well as define how many times you should wash your hair per week.

I rotate my own curriculum and supplies. I have TONS, and when I find something inexpensive off season I can add it to my box then. Saves a bunch.
I no longer do paper anything. Ink was a HUGE expense.
No batteries.
No transportation.
No field trips.

I'm also trying to create a meal plan that is nutritious and cheap to make.
For instance, when hams are on sale I buy one, my family eats, daycare kids get a meal, then I cube the rest and make either split pea soup, ham & potato soup or ham and beans it's enough for my family and daycare, plus we get still have leftovers for scrambled eggs or omelettes with ham.