I recently shared on Instagram that I have been feeling the stress of our finances. Nothing has really changed as far as our income or expenses go. We’re a 4-person family with two adults, one toddler and one infant. We do have to pay for some things that some 4-person families don’t have to pay for like childcare (as opposed to public school), formula, and diapers. Those costs really add up. The cost of childcare is our second largest monthly expense.
A couple of months ago I looked at our expenses to see what we could cut to help us save. I was hoping to be able to reduce our monthly grocery bill. I talked a little more about how we’re spending our money in this post. It seems everyone is examining where they can reduce costs too, so I turned to Instagram to ask how what changes you’ve made to reduce costs. There were a ton of great ideas, so I have compiled them into the list below.
What changes have you made to accommodate higher costs?
Cut out:
Cable
Convenience items like pre-cut veggies and fruits
Going out to eat
Gym memberships
Food delivery services (Doordash, Ubereats) I deleted mine off my phone completely as a result of this conversation on Instagram. I’ve been tempted to use it on my computer but I haven’t done it yet!
Replacing appliances that are old but are still working
Streaming services (Netflix, HBO, Disney+)
Reduce:
Randon Amazon and Target purchases
The amount of items on your Amazon Subscribe and Save. Do you really need everything and are you getting the best price?
The amount you are cooking to reduce food waste. Only make half a box at a time.
The cost of eating out by choosing restaurants where kids can eat free
The cost of ordering takeout by picking up the items yourself instead of getting them delivered
The number of activities kids are participating in
Utility usage (electricity, gas)
More
Ask for more money at work
Buy in bulk if it makes sense for your family
Buy store brands instead of name brands
Cooking at home and shopping your pantry/freezer
Create a budget and stick to it
DIY instead of hiring out projects
Get a second job
Intentional with gas
Meal planning
No spend monthly challenges
Pack lunches rather than eating out at work
Pay attention to price per unit of items
Put more money into savings
Shop around to get the best deals for your current bills (e.g., your phone provider, cable/internet provider, car insurance, etc.)
Shop around to find the best prices
Shopping at Walmart and Aldi
Stick to your grocery list
How are you saving when it comes to holiday shopping?
With the holidays coming up, it was natural that holiday shopping and planning entered the conversation so I also asked about that. Here are some ideas for saving/cutting costs. A LOT of people told me they are completely cutting out gift giving or seriously cutting down on gift giving.
Skipping gifts in lieu of just spending time together this year
Start looking for the best deals early (Target Circle, Amazon Prime Days, GMA Deals & Steals)
Crafting instead of buying gifts
Kids get 3 gifts
Second-hand toys
Use cashback earned through Ibotta, Rakuten, Target Circle, etc.
Only buying gifts for the kids
The Car Mom’s Thriftmas idea
Put away money from every paycheck into a separate account all year long
Let someone else who doesn’t go overboard do the shopping
Skipping new decor
Secret Santa to help cut down on the number of gifts that need to be purchased
Experiences vs. stuff
Bulk Buying
Buying in bulk also came up and while it’s a great option for a lot of people, it doesn’t mean lower prices for everyone. Sure, the numbers look good on the surface, but if you’re not actually using all the product then it may not be worth it. It seems most people have at least one warehouse membership. We have Costco and can also use my in-law’s Sam’s Club membership, but we rarely go to Sam’s. We usually do a big Costco haul every month. Some of our favorite items to stock up on from Costco are:
Baby formula
Butter
Children’s medication like Tylenol and Motrin
Diapers
Dog treats
Dry spices
Frozen chicken
Household cleaners like laundry detergent and dishwasher detergent
Protein shakes
Toilet paper and paper towels
Trash bags
I also like getting produce at Costco because it’s usually cheaper but it can be hit or miss if we use it all before it goes bad so we’re careful about buying it. If we’re there at a normal grocery day, we’ll get produce but if it’s a random mid-week trip to pick up diapers then we skip the produce. That said, their pricing for berries and bananas, and also milk cannot be beat.
Eating Outside The Home
Finally, a big area getting cut down on is eating out at restaurants or getting takeout. This one makes me sad because I love when someone makes me good food, but it’s gotten so dang expensive! We got Jersey Mike’s over the weekend and it was over $30 for just two of us… for sandwiches! And while those sandwiches were absolutely delicious it seems more and more that the quality of takeout is decreasing. I’ve left feeling dissatisfied with the food I’m getting while eating out more often than not recently. My husband and I are decent cooks so we’re giving it a go to make our favorite takeout dishes at home.
We love getting takeout on Friday night from a Chinese restaurant. Noodles are such a great way to end the week, but going to the Chinese restaurant will run us around $70-80. YIKES! Last week we made our own noodles at home. Not only were they better, but we had a ton of leftovers and probably only spent $15-20 on ingredients in total.
Another thing I’ve been wanting to do that we just started is a nice family dinner on Sundays. We both love to cook but usually get bogged down with cooking during the week because it’s hectic and the goal is just to get everyone fed as we balance wrapping up work, daycare pickup, overtired and hungry kids, etc. We go for easy options during the week, so using Sundays to spend more time and care on recipes that we don’t have time to make during the week is a nice way to spend our time. This week, we did homemade lasagna and it was 🤌🏻 And the best part is that we already leftovers for dinner tonight and some lunches this week!
It’s definitely a shift for us to be more conscious about what we’re spending, which I also realize is a huge privilege. It’s easy to sit here and feel like we’re going without in some ways, but I saw a post yesterday (I wish I had saved it) putting into perspective how lucky we are that we have hot water whenever we need it, a grocery store stocked with whatever, restaurants at our fingertips, etc.
How are you saving money these days?
xoxo, Kate
Excellent list. This issue is something that is occupying a lot of my mind lately. We are absolutely struggling to keep afloat. Fast food/eating out is one of the first things that has gone. You can't go through a drive-thru for less than $30 as a family of 4 anymore. There aren't a lot of other areas we can cut back and unfortunately every time you turn around another utility bill provider is increasing by $50. Those fees have added up this year. Nobody is getting paid any *more* and it's going to boil down to HOW can we make more money in this economy.