Alrighty Folks...
Book Number 1 on budgeting: You Can Stay Home With Your Kids! By Erin Odom.
If you have absolutely 0 clue on where to begin with money saving I strongly recommend this book.
Even for myself - someone who does well over half of things suggested in the book... I was able to find a lot of good resources, books, tips & tricks inside those pages that are truly valuable and that I will be utilizing immediately to up my budgeting game and help me get more organized.
(If you're anything like me - I can pinch pennies like it's nobodies business however my organization skills are sub par, so getting myself a little bit together and sticking with things are both things I REALLY need to work on. I find that I get bored and discouraged too quickly.)
This book has multiple sections from healthcare saving tips to food tips to clothing and much much more.
I'll throw a couple of things out here for you to check out.
Meal Stuff
One of the things I found useful in this book is simple meals & meal planning. I do NOT like food waste however sometimes it happens on my busy schedule of running a farm, a market, a thrift, raising kids etc. etc.
(I'll be doing a blog/review on the next book called six weeks to zero waste by Kate Arnell so stay tuned for that)
But reading this book and getting foodie tips made me realize that I have a LOT of affordable and simple meals in my home already I can cook. As an added bro tip - you save a LOT of money buying/growing/trading goods or services for raw ingredients that you can cook yourself. Plus it's healthier.
Here's a couple ideas from the book.
Breakfast ideas:
- oatmeal & fruit
- omelet with cheese & seasonal vegetables
Lunch/Dinner:
- tuna melts
- bean tacos
- loaded baked potatoes
- lentil soup
Snacks:
- apples & peanut butter
- boiled eggs
- home made chex mix
Dessert:
- black bean brownies
- rice krispie treats
- rice pudding
Try to keep this as home made as all possible. What you spend in time you'll make up for money.
Health Stuff
One really surprising find in this book was an affordable alternative to braces through Smile Direct Club. Essentially you do is purchase a kid to get a mold of your teeth, send it in and boom. You get aligners you can make monthly payments on. 2k vs. 7k and can take them out to eat?
Obviously the better choice.
Another cool tip I found was Fit2B. If you want to work out but want to save on cost of childcare/gas, (and... lets face it... lots of us are getting kicked out of gyms because of the two tier classist system the government is creating... but that's another rant for another time) check out this website to get into fitness streaming live into the comfort of your home!
Work Stuff
If you have talent or are able to work however childcare is beyond expensive - try making things to sell.
There are SO MANY tutorials on youtube on how to start certain crafts, lots of education online that's affordable and you can check out websites like Upwork if you have skills outside of craft making that you can easily do online.
If you choose to make crafts to sell you can check out Etsy, Shopify, Artfire or this new one I found suggested in the book Indiecart. The book suggested Hyena Cart but it's been name changed to Indie Cart.
Where To Get The Book
This one I picked up when I was in the library - an excellent resource that comes for the most part free (don't hand things in late - trust me, that piles up FAST).
If you have money I would strongly suggest you support the author by purchasing her book from her website The Humbled Homemaker.
If you're broke but want a physical copy, check out Thriftbooks.
If you're really really broke - check out your local library.
If you're super duper hardcore broke - here's a Free Link to download.
I hope you find these tips useful and I definitely recommend getting your hands on this book to start saving yourself some money along side of being the boss ass momma (or dad!) you are!