Today's market is rough, so all of us are looking for ways to
cut costs. Here are just a few that you can try for yourself:
1. Shared plans with cell phones.
If you have a cell phone that offers shared plans (two or more
phones sharing the same minutes for a small extra fee) and have
a family member that you can trust, ask them if they would like
to split the bill with you. My normal cell phone bill was $45,
but only $15 for an extra phone and number that a family member
has. We split the bill and now each of us only pay $30/month.
Not bad for free long distance!
2. Watching for "free admission" days
Many places offer "free admission" days or weekends for children
or entire families. Even discount days or weekends can help your
budget. Watch for these so you can take your family on a special
outing.
3. Only eat out on "Kids Eat Free" nights
Several restaurant chains and local places have specific days of
the week where children eat free. If you only eat out on these
specific days you will see a significant drop in your monthly
expenses. (Children can eat more than you think sometimes!)
4. Prepair Home Cooked Meals
Even if you are too busy, just cooking quick and simple meals a
3 or 4 times a week can keep you in left overs for days. One of
the simplest are roasts that you can just throw in the oven and
forget about for a few hours. If it's a large enough roast a
family of 4 can make meals out of it for days (just don't forget
to throw in several potatoes with it!).
5. Buy the "cheap" brands
Most the time the cheap brand is just as good as the name brand,
minus the fancy lable of course. If you are buying the cheap
brand for an ingredient in a home cooked meal, I doubt you or
your family can tell the difference.
6. Reusing SOS pads
A very small cost, but a way to cut it all the same. Instead of
just using that SOS pad once and throwing it away, use it
several times. Be sure to put it back in the box with the rest
of the unused pads so that it keeps.
7. Limit shopping to once a week
We all know the importance of shopping lists, so be sure that
you have everything on your list. This includes all ingredients
that you need for meals in that week. Limiting your shopping
trips will help not only on the costs for gas, but also on
impulse buying costs.
There are many, many more ways to cut your costs, but I hope
that these few simple ones will have a possitive impact on your
budget!
About the author:
Kara Kelso is the owner of Mom's Market, which is an online mall
where shoppers can support mothers by purchasing products and
services from a mom-run business. Visit:
http://www.momsmarketonline.com
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