For many reasons that I don't care to list, I recently decided that it would be best for our family if I quit working my part time job and stayed home with Lil' K. The decision to stay home was not something that was taken lightly in our house. We pondered over this choice for over a month or so, going back and forth between the pros and cons. Well, what's done is done, and lemme tell ya, now our house is always (our version of) clean, laundry is always finished, the baybay is getting one-on-one attention and enjoying daily developmentally appropriate activities, and I'm pretty sure that the fiance is loving the home-cooked meals every night when he gets in from work. Look out Martha, there's a new broad in town!
"Oh, but Sarah, how do you manage on only one income, and with a baby?! It's not like you're rolling in the dough!" is what I'm SURE you're telling yourself, right? Correct, we are nowhere near living a life of luxury, and if you know anything about me (which I hope you do, since you're reading this), you know that I'm a planner, a list-maker, a task-tackler, if you will. Type A personality all the way. I wanted to make sure that while staying home, I still contributed to our household.
First off, I'm learning to tackle the wide world of meal planning. Pinterest has come in handy with this daring feat, my friends. Although I must say, I haven't been able to find a very clear outline on the most efficient and cost-effective way to go about it. So I made my own. My Pinterest is a clusterfuck, so the first thing I had to do was slow down and make a list of all potential dinner recipes, sides included. For now I made sure not to include any crazy-eclectic ones because I can't justify spending $10+ on spices just to make a curry dish, no matter how delicious it would probably be! The next step in my the plan is to research the sales ads that we get in the mail, and pick and choose meals from my Master Meal List based on what's for sale. A deal on chicken? You better believe we're munchin' on chicken recipes for the week! My last key piece of information in my plan is to always shop at Aldi's first (unless for some reason a different store has a better price listed in the sale ads, which let's face it, is incredibly unlikely). Also, I don't buy non-grocery items (paper towels, cleaning products, contact solutions, etc.) at the grocery store. These are notoriously cheaper at the dollar stores, Walmart, and/or Target, and I usually don't buy anything like that without getting a coupon code for it from coupons.com or the actual manufacturer's website.
After the process of planning out the meals and weekly necessities is complete, I make my shopping list (broken down by grocery store sections: dairy, produce, pantry items... again, Type A...), and hit the town. If it's not on the list, it's not being purchased, simple as that. Yeah, it sounds time-consuming at overwhelming at first, but it has proven to work for us, and this preparation is the least I can do to save Mr. Bacon a few bucks. I mean seriously, going into the grocery store with no plan in mind just sounds like anarchy to me! And ALL the monies down the drain!
Oh, side note, I also signed up for freeflys.com, a (free!) website that sends you updates on all manufacturing websites that are offering free samples that day. I don't mind entering my mailing address a few times if it means I'll get dishwasher liquid, makeup, and shampoo & conditioner delivered to my doorstep at no cost. No shame here, folks.
Another way I've saved us a few bucks recently also involved some in-depth research, but I think it will definitely be worth it this coming winter. I switched our electricity provider from Ameren to a company that offers a much cheaper (and fixed for 12 months!) supply rate, no contract required, because you know how I don't like to be locked in! Our actual electricity is still provided by Ameren, just a new supplier. There's 20+ options for electric providers in our area, and you can compare them at chooseenergy.com/illinois. Based on my comparison of our personal electricity usage last year with this new supply rate, we'll save an average of $30 a month. And 30 bucks is 30 bucks, ya dig. Do some research if you'd like, because you actually have some control on this particular bill!
Starting this week, we're beginning a new financial plan, and the man of the house is thrilled, lemme tell ya. It goes like this: he gives me ALL of his paycheck (because, let's face it, I'm better with the financial side of things. When I need help on my video gaming technique, I'll be sure to hit him up), I use it on monthly bills (obviously), and we will each get a suitable CASH allowance. Once it's gone, it's gone, and there's no confusion or going over on spending by using debit cards. We'll also get a cash allowance for groceries (hence the meal planning) and Lil' K items (kept in separate envelopes) for the same reason. The remainder of said paycheck will go to small debts using the 'snowball' approach: pay the minimum balance of all debts, and put the entire remainder toward the smallest one. Once that is paid off, use that amount to pay off the second largest. This will help us tackle those pesky student loans and the credit card balance quicker and more efficiently. What can I say, I'm a planner.
Sorry for the rambling, but these are just a few ways I've been utilizing my skills and ample amount of time to contribute to our household and stretch those dolla dolla billz. It works for us, and if it helps any one of you in the process, all the better! Good luck, ya Frugal Frannies :)
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