Save Money

Tips and Tricks to Save Money

June 11, 2015

Post contains affiliate links.

Homemade laundry detergent.
-I started doing this about 2 months after I married Ryan. We were looking for ways to save money and I came across a recipe on Pinterest. Of course, I consulted my mom on whether or not it was safe and all that jazz. She said that people have used this forever. After using it for almost 3 years now, I can tell you that I love it. I haven’t looked back. It cleans the clothes just as well. I do add Oxi-Clean to mine and still use regular softener.

Coupons
– I’m not suggesting you become a crazy coupon lady, although I wish I had the time to become one myself. I do suggest that before going out to eat you look for a coupon or Groupon deal etc. This also applies to shopping. When shopping online, you can almost always find a coupon code for free shipping, a percentage off, or if you’re lucky, both! I also highly recommend you shop through Ebates when shopping online. They give you a percentage of your purchase back. I saved so much money Christmas shopping last year by doing this. There is literally no excuse not to use Ebates. You can also take these short surveys to gain access to great coupons and other deals. I love using this site.

Cook at home.
-We see a dramatic increase in our spending when we eat out more one week than when we eat at home. Groceries are expensive, but they are so much cheaper to buy and prepare at home than if you go pay $25 a meal. It is also a lot healthier.

Set a budget.
– I’ll be honest. When we first got married, we budgeted for our bills, but didn’t have an allotted amount for food/groceries or for our “fun” spending. Since we set a specific amount of how much we can spend on food and extra fun things/ gifts, we have saved a lot more money. I’ll save you my budgeting rant, but that is the biggest budget tip I can give you that has helped us.

Check out this post on other money saving tips!

What do you do to save money?

Homemade Laundry Detergent

May 8, 2015

I began making my own laundry detergent right after Ryan and I got married. We were looking for ways to save money and this was such a blessing because it saves us about $200 a year! I love that you can make one simple lifestyle change and it helps you so much financially. The recipe is simple and has been used for many years. Everyone has their own way of doing it and their special little additives, but mine is pretty simple.

Ingredients:
2 Fels Naptha Bars
1 box of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
1/2 box of Borax
Optional: Oxi-Clean

Directions:
Grate the Fels Naptha Bars very well. Blend all ingredients in a large tub. Use 1 tbs per load.

This mixture lasts us about 3 months. I love it because it doesn’t take me long to blend it and it saves us so much money! It works really well. We have never had any trouble with it. Our clothes are just as clean as they were before, AND bonus points: it’s safe for babies!

Have you ever made your own laundry detergent? Do you add anything different to yours?

Saving Money with Simply Prepaid™ From T-Mobile

March 13, 2015

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ChangingPrepaid #CollectiveBias

At the beginning of the year, Ryan and I discussed our budget and decided we really wanted to save more money. With a new baby on the way and all of the added expenses, we have had a hard time saving as much as we wanted. Last week, we looked over our budget again to see where we could cut costs. One thing we were both surprised about was how high our cell phone bill has been with our current network plan.

We recently heard about the T-Mobile Simply Prepaid™ Plan. They claimed they offered unlimited data, talk and text for only $40 a month. Unlimited for $40? I pay way more than that for a set amount of minutes on my current plan. There is no way. I laughed and thought, yeah right. The only pre-paid plans I had ever heard of always had very spotty networks, second rate phones, and data speeds slower than a tortoise. But, Ryan had researched it and said that wasn’t the case with Simply Prepaid™. They offer 4G LTE data speeds on the T-Mobile network. So, unlimited talk, text, and data, plus 4G LTE speeds. All of that without having to worry about overages, credit checks or annual service contracts? Off to Walmart we went!

I purchased the Samsung Galaxy Avant and activated my new phone. I have been so happy with the coverage in my area thanks to T-Mobile’s Nationwide 4G LTE Network and high speed data. This is going to save us over $100 a month, and I couldn’t be more thankful. We discovered the Simply Prepaid™ plan just in time before we are slapped with a nice bill at the hospital.

I love that it offers unlimited data because for the last few months, Hampton has started using a couple of apps that have been very handy when we are out in public. I don’t know what we would do without them sometimes. It definitely makes my life a lot less stressful while grocery shopping. T-Mobile Simply Prepaid™ has definitely changed the way I think about wireless and prepaid plans.

Other Ways We Have Saved Money This Month:

-Turn off all lights when they aren’t being used.
-Shop bargains and use coupons (especially for groceries)
-Eating at home for most of our meals.
-Saving loose change
-Planning our errands so we don’t waste excess gas.

I’m so thankful for the money we have saved this month and will continue to save by making this simple switch. Why didn’t we do this sooner?

Now that I’ve shared my money saving tips with you, what do you do to save money? Have you cut back this year?

Zulily

March 5, 2015

Post may contain affiliate links.

It’s no secret I have been so excited to dress this baby girl! I have been to a few consignment sales and racked up on a few essentials, but thanks to a close friend of mine, I have rediscovered Zulily. I say rediscovered because I have looked on their site several times for Hampton, but it’s true that girls are way more fun to shop for than boys. Don’t get me wrong, I love shopping for Hamp, but there is just something abut a frilly little dress.

I recently bought her a dress from Jelly the Pug and I bought myself, Ryan and Hampton some TOMs for a fraction of the price. I love this site because everything is so marked down. I even scored Hampton an adorable Easter outfit for $15. I mean, you just can’t beat that. I think it’s safe to say we will definitely be shopping on this site more often now that we are on a tighter budget.

Do you shop on Zulily? Check out today’s deals here!